Brick TeeVee and Assange's Ecuadorian Gambit!

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Assange's Ecuadorian Gambit Following up on his Senate hearing King Jamie appeared before the House Financial Services Committee and Julia La Roche and Linette Lopez at BusinessInseder.com note This Hearing Was NOTHING Like The Senate's — Dimon Got Hit Hard with highlights from his testimony like

12:02 PM | Frank: There is legislation floating around that would've exempted this trade from regulation in Volcker, do you believe this should be passed? Dimon: Yes. Frank: Why would we want to DImon: 60% of these trades were cleared and fully collateralized. Frank: If they were they would've met the rule... but you are in favor of exempting these trades from American regulation? Once agains I'm disappointed. You saty you have a fortress balance sheet your bank is fine... but what about others? Dimon: I dont' know but you should all take comfort in the fact that American banks are far more capitalized... Frank: That's not the question... You say you have a fortress balance sheet... like there's something special about your bank... Dimon: (Interrupts) Frank: That's not the question Mr. Dimon please don't philibuster... What about clawbacks. Dimon: All of that is overseen by the board. Frank: And your compensation will that be put into consideration? Dimon: (Throws it back to his board)

Here's another whopper!

MAXINE WATERS: You called the Volcker rule unnecessary...and at the same time conceded that it also may have stopped your losses in the CIO...'Did the $30 billion drop in share value effect shareholders in the US?" Dimon: Yes it did Waters: But you have lobbied for the foreign markets to be exempt if this impacts your shareholders here why would you do that? Dimon: We're concerned about overseas competition. That's why we're concerned about extraterritoriality. Our clients will go elsewhere if we can't give them the best deal. Waters: So you take the position...and continue to lobby even though it harms shareholders here? Dimon: Lobbying is a Constitutional right.

HOO BOY! And it goes on like this! SilverVigilante.com notes JPMorgan & Other Financials Still Receiving Billions Annually From U.S. Taxpayer: TARP Institutionalized, When Dimon Should Be Institutionalized .... Dimon’s defensiveness suggests lies, as he “roared” that the only reason the bank took government funds and borrowed at near-zero percent interest rates from the Federal Reserve was because the government made it. It’s the excuse of a child. Woah, come on Jamie, no reason to freak out or anything… Despite his riposte, the bank is still receiving approximately $14 billion a year, according to the official numbers by Bloomberg, which was based on an International Monetary Fund study. According to Bloomberg:

The money helps the bank pay big salaries and bonuses. More important, it distorts markets, fueling crises such as the recent subprime-lending disaster and the sovereign-debt debacle that is now threatening to destroy the euro and sink the global economy.

The IMF deduced that “too big to fail” banks borrow at about 0.8 percentage points less than do smaller banks. This lower interest rate means around $76 billion in lost revenue for the U.S. taxpayer and savings for the 18 biggest U.S. banks. $14 billion thereof is JPMorgan’s. That’s not all the funds, of course, that JPMorgan is being force-fed, as Dimon noted in a conference call recently that the Home Affordable Refinancing Program, which enables banks to generate income through the modification of government guaranteed mortgages, significantly contributed to JPMorgan’s earnings in the first three months of 2012. These subsidies to major banking institutions is a huge source of the rampant fraud and manipulation in financial markets as criminal banks pen their “Great Work” of ensuring “stability” in the financial sector – that is, the institutionalization of fraud. Nothing to worry they have, as the countless hours of toil and labor of individuals – forced to pay burdensome taxes - will guarantee any missteps in the casino of high finance as transnational banks, central banks and keystone steering groups play their part in consolidating acute power among the top banking brass of the planet. Nearly a year ago we noted from Guardian UK's Ian Traynor Greece set to default on massive debt burden, European leaders concede Viviane Reding, the EU justice commissioner, said: "Europe can't allow three private US enterprises to destroy the euro." Either their "cartel" was smashed or "independent" European and Asian ratings agencies would be set up. "We can't have a situation where a cartel of three US enterprises decides the fates of entire national economies and their citizens," she said. Not much has changed, as ZeroHedge.com's Tyler Durden notes in Here We Go: Moody's Downgrade Is Out - Morgan Stanley Cut Only 2 Notches, To Face $6.8 Billion In Collateral Calls ....And there you have it - the reason for the delay were last minute negotiations, most certainly involving extensive monetary explanations, by Morgan Stanley's Gorman (potentially with Moody's investor Warren Buffett on the call) to get only a two notch downgrade. And Wall Street wins again. .... So instead of $9.6 billion, MS will face only $6.8 billion in collateral calls. Still the firm is not out of the woods .... And let certainly not forget JP Morgan:

...The lowering of the standalone credit assessment to a3 positions JP Morgan in the first group of firms with significant global capital market activities. This position reflects the risks related to JP Morgan’s (i) very large capital markets business (representing 26% of reported firm-wide revenues in 2011); (ii) relatively high absolute level of secured and unsecured wholesale funding within the overall balance sheet; and (iii) the recent control failure within its Chief Investment Office (CIO), which has tarnished JP Morgan’s otherwise strong track record of risk management. These factors are mitigated by (i) JP Morgan’s diversified and sustainable earnings streams from its five other lines of business; (ii) relatively low earnings volatility compared with the peer group; (iii) good structural liquidity and large liquidity pool; (iv) capital levels that are solid and resilient under Moody’s stress tests; and (iv) leverage that is below the industry median. JP Morgan’s recently announced loss within the CIO was an important factor in the downgrade of the standalone credit profile. It illustrates the challenges of monitoring and managing risk in a complex global organization — and highlights the opacity of such risks. The firm has substantial earnings and liquidity, which affords it the time to work out of the positions. Management is also acting aggressively to stem the losses and has already added new controls to the CIO.....

Check the full report at Zerohedge "Moody's downgrades firms with global capital markets operations". Ellen Brown of Web of Debt explains Wall Street's Protection Racket of Covert Derivatives: JPMorgan Derivatives Prop Up U.S. Debt - at globalresearch.ca When Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase Bank, appeared before the Senate Banking Committee on June 13, he was wearing cufflinks bearing the presidential seal. “Was Dimon trying to send any particular message by wearing the presidential cufflinks?” asked CNBC editor John Carney. “Was he . . . subtly hinting that he’s really the guy in charge?” The groveling of the Senators was so obvious that Jon Stewart did a spoof news clip on it, featured in a Huffington Post piece titled “Jon Stewart Blasts Senate’s Coddling Of JP Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon,” and Matt Taibbi wrote an op-ed called “Senators Grovel, Embarrass Themselves at Dimon Hearing.” He said the whole thing was painful to watch. “What is going on with this panel of senators?” asked Stewart. “They’re sucking up to Jamie Dimon like they’re on JPMorgan’s payroll.” The explanation in a news clip that followed was that JPMorgan Chase is the biggest campaign donor to many of the members of the Banking Committee. That is one obvious answer, but financial analysts Jim Willie and Rob Kirby think it may be something far larger, deeper, and more ominous. They contend that the $3 billion-plus losses in London hedging transactions that were the subject of the hearing can be traced, not to European sovereign debt (as alleged), but to the record-low interest rates maintained on U.S. government bonds. The national debt is growing at $1.5 trillion per year. Ultra-low interest rates MUST be maintained to prevent the debt from overwhelming the government budget. Near-zero rates also need to be maintained because even a moderate rise would cause multi-trillion dollar derivative losses for the banks, and would remove the banks’ chief income stream, the arbitrage afforded by borrowing at 0% and investing at higher rates. The low rates are maintained by interest rate swaps, called by Willie a “derivative tool which controls the bond market in a devious artificial manner.” How they control it is complicated, and is explored in detail in the Willie piece here and Kirby piece here. .... Financial analyst John Olagues, a former stock options market maker, points out that the loan was guaranteed by $55 billion of Bear Stearns assets. If Bear had that much in assets, the Fed could have given it the loan directly, saving it from being swallowed up by JPMorgan. But Bear did not have a director on the board of the NY Fed. Olagues also notes that JPMorgan received an additional $25 billion in TARP payments from the Treasury, which were evidently paid off by borrowing from the NY Fed at a very low 0.5%; and that JPM executives received some very large and highly suspicious bonuses called Stock Appreciation Rights and Restricted Stock Units (complicated variants of employee stock options and restricted stock). In 2009, these bonuses were granted on the day JPMorgan stock reached its lowest value in five years. The stock quickly rebounded thereafter, substantially increasing the value of the bonuses. This pattern recurred in 2008 and 2012. Olagues has evidence of systematic computer-generated selling of JPMorgan stock immediately prior to and on the dates of the granted equity compensation. Collusion to manipulate the stock to accommodate the grant of options is called “spring-loading” and is a violation of SEC Rule 10 b-5 and tax laws, with criminal and civil penalties. All of which suggests we could actually have a felon at the helm of our ship of state. There is a movement afoot to get Dimon replaced on the Board, on the ground that his directorship represents a clear conflict of interest. .... The derivatives casino itself is just a last-ditch attempt to prop up a private pyramid scheme in fractional-reserve money creation, one that has progressed over several centuries through a series of “reserves”—from gold, to Fed-created “base money,” to mortgage-backed securities, to sovereign debt ostensibly protected with derivatives. We’ve seen that the only real guarantor in all this is the government itself, first with FDIC insurance and then with government bailouts of too-big-to-fail banks. If we the people are funding the banks, we should own them; and our national currency should be issued, not through banks at interest, but through our own sovereign government. .... Great stuff! Be sure to click over to Jim Willie and Rob Kirby for more details!
At Salon Joe Stiglitz explains how We’ve been brainwashed It's no accident that Americans widely underestimate inequality. The rich prefer it that way. How, in a democracy supposedly based on one person one vote, could the 1 percent could have been so victorious in shaping policies in its interests? It is part of a process of disempowerment, disillusionment, and disenfranchisement that produces low voter turnout, a system in which electoral success requires heavy investments, and in which those with money have made political investments that have reaped large rewards — often greater than the returns they have reaped on their other investments. There is another way for moneyed interests to get what they want out of government: convince the 99 percent that they have shared interests. This strategy requires an impressive sleight of hand; in many respects the interests of the 1 percent and the 99 percent differ markedly. The fact that the 1 percent has so successfully shaped public perception testifies to the malleability of beliefs. When others engage in it, we call it “brainwashing” and “propaganda.” We look askance at these attempts to shape public views, because they are often seen as unbalanced and manipulative, without realizing that there is something akin going on in democracies, too. What is different today is that we have far greater understanding of how to shape perceptions and beliefs — thanks to the advances in research in the social sciences. It is clear that many, if not most, Americans possess a limited understanding of the nature of the inequality in our society: They believe that there is less inequality than there is, they underestimate its adverse economic effects, they underestimate the ability of government to do anything about it, and they overestimate the costs of taking action. They even fail to understand what the government is doing — many who value highly government programs like Medicare don’t realize that they are in the public sector. .... This big battle is crucial for understanding the evolution of inequality in America. The success of the Right in this battle during the past thirty years has shaped our government. We haven’t achieved the minimalist state that libertarians advocate. What we’ve achieved is a state too constrained to provide the public goods—investments in infrastructure, technology, and education—that would make for a vibrant economy and too weak to engage in the redistribution that is needed to create a fair society. But we have a state that is still large enough and distorted enough that it can provide a bounty of gifts to the wealthy. The advocates of a small state in the financial sector were happy that the government had the money to rescue them in 2008—and bailouts have in fact been part of capitalism for centuries. These political battles, in turn, rest on broader ideas about human rights, human nature, and the meaning of democracy and equality. Please read the entire piece, adapted from his new book The Price of Inequality.
Over at WashingtonsBlog.com JimQ explains WHO DESTROYED THE MIDDLE CLASS – PART 2 In Part 1 of this three part series I addressed where and how the net worth of the middle class was stolen. In Part 2, I will tackle who stole your net worth and in Part 3, why they stole your net worth. Now let’s zero in on the culprits of this crime. Dude, Who Stole My Net Worth? When you dig into the charts and data supplied by the Federal Reserve generated report, the data which goes back to 2001 tells a story not addressed by the deceptive, manipulative, political propaganda that passes for investigative reporting by the captured mainstream media. The chart below compares the median versus mean income growth from the last three Fed consumer surveys. Overall, it reveals a lost decade of negative income growth for the average middle class family. In the early part of the decade the average middle class family made some progress as jobs were relatively plentiful and the internet crash mostly impacted the rich, who own most of the stocks in the country. This is why the median income rose while the average income fell. The wealthy have a large impact on the average because they own the vast majority of assets in this country. The stock market debacle was unacceptable to the oligarchs and their money printing puppet Greenspan. ..... The master plan worked like a charm from 2004 through 2007 as you can see by the tremendous surge in average income. The stock market rocketed by 75% between 2003 and 2007 and national home prices shot up by 50%. Wall Street creatively invented no doc, negative amortization, interest only, subprime mortgages and generated a frenzy of demand from anyone that could scratch an X on a loan document, just as Greenspan had demanded. Being “sophisticated” financial institutions, they were able to assemble thousands of shit loans that were certain to default into one big derivative package of shit and their captured lackeys at the “sophisticated” rating agencies stamped a AAA rating on the smelly pile of feces. Always looking out for the best interests of their clients (aka muppets), the upstanding Wall Street firms sold the derivative piles of shit to them as can’t miss investments. Wall Street profits went off the charts. Billions in bonuses flowed to the rich and powerful Wall Street titans. Mega-corporations generated record profits as consumers utilized the Fed induced tsunami of easy debt to buy BMWs, 72 inch HDTVs, home theaters, stainless steel appliances, granite counter-tops, Caribbean cruises, Jimmy Choo shoes, and Rolex watches in a mad frenzy of consumer delusion. What you might also notice in the chart above is that median household income somehow declined during this decadent orgy of corporate fascist pleasure. How could this be? Table 2 from the Fed report makes it clear. The vast majority of households in this country generate 75% to 81% of their income from wages. Virtually none of the income generated in 85 million households (the bottom 75%) comes from interest, dividends or capital gains. You need money to make money. The top 10% only generated 46% of their income from wages. The report does not provide details on the top 1%, but wages most certainly account for less than 20% of their income. Interest, dividends and capital gains represented 22.2% of the income for the top 10%, while it represented less than 1% of income for the bottom 75%. This data is the smoking gun that proves that Federal Reserve policy and control fraud on a grand scale by the titans of Wall Street was designed and executed to benefit only the wealthy elite billionaire class and their co-conspirators. All the income gains during this time accrued to the psychopathic amoral financial oligarchy. The average family saw their real wages decline and anyone lured into the housing market during this time frame by the “sophisticated” financial experts at Citicorp, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Merrill Lynch, Countrywide, Washington Mutual, Wachovia, Bear Stearns, Goldman Sachs, Lehman Brothers, and the other members of the Too Big To Fail criminal syndicate was set up for epic loses. [Table 2] As expected, the psychopathic banker class could not be satisfied with the results of their looting. Their gluttonous voracious greed culminated in a historic collapse of the worldwide financial system resulting in a housing implosion, stock market crash and 8 million middle class Americans losing their jobs. The Fed report does show that average household income declined more than median household income after this historic financial oligarchy created collapse. One look at Table 6 from the Fed report will explain why. ..... Much much more you need to read!
ASSANGE UPDATE: Wikileaks Central is liveblogging from http://wlcentral.org/node/2663
[UPDATE: 13:07 BST] RT published an exclusive interview with Julian Assange's mother, Christine. She discusses his decision to seek asylum and his abandonment by the Australian government.
Another journalist has spoken with Gavin MacFadyen, reiterating previous comments that Mr Assange is doing well and in good spirits.
[UPDATE: 13:35 BST] The Embassy of Ecuador in London has posted official contact details relating to Julian Assange's asylum application:
"Please use 0207 590 2503 or ecuembpress@gmail.com"
NYT eXaminer reported on Mr Assange's request, commenting on The New York Times' use of "protective asylum" rather than "political asylum".
Graphic artist Somerset Bean has created a badge design in support of Mr Assange's decision to seek asylum

Includes a statement from Michael Moore....
BREAKING: The Ecuadorian embassy in London has just given sanctuary to WikiLeaks' Jullian Assange. He is asking them for political assylum (which they had offered him in the past). Well, thank you Ecuador! IMHO, there is no doubt that if the UK sends him to Sweden, Sweden will send him to the USA. Sweden says they "just want to talk to him" about the accusations leveled at him (he has still not been charged with any crime). If Swedish police want to question him, there is an SAS flight that leaves Stockholm at 7:55 tomorrow morning (flight #525) to London. I'm sure the British authorities would have no problem with the Swedish police questioning Mr. Assange. Then Sweden can decide if it wants to charge him with a crime. Any and all allegations of sexual abuse by anyone and to anyone MUST be treated very seriously, and Mr. Assange should cooperate with the inquiry. But it appears that Sweden has little interest in these charges - what they really want is the ability to extradite Assange to America. And that, simply, must not happen.

Jacob Applebaum ....
I wrote this letter in support of Julian Assange and submitted it to the Ecuadorian embassy in the UK by web form: http://www.ecuadorembassyuk.org.uk/contact
---------------------------------------------------

This letter is intended to reach the government of Ecuador.

I am writing as someone who has suffered immense harassment at the hands of the United States government because of my associations with Julian Assange, a dear and personal friend. My case is well documented and if you require additional information, I will gladly provide it.

I believe that the Swedish and British governments are acting with the malice of forethought, knowing that the US wishes to persecute Julian Assange, and that the request to extradite Julian is in bad faith. Sweden has taken every measure to hinder justice in this matter.

I know for a fact that a US Grand Jury has been seriously investigating WikiLeaks - it is thought at this time that there is a sealed indictment against Julian. The documents that I have seen with regard to this Grand Jury state that it is an investigation relating to the espionage act - a famously brutal, cruel and unjust law.

Under this law, in my country, people, such as Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were sentenced to death and the sentence was carried out. They are not alone and we must not allow Julian Assange to join them.

In this US Grand Jury, people have been compelled to testify and threatened with (implied indefinite) detention for refusal to cooperate.

Julian's organization, his friends, his acquaintances and even some of his media partners are specifically being targeted for harassment and more, above and beyond reason. WikiLeaks is facing unbelievable hardships as a journalistic organization. The New York Times, the Washington Post and others have not suffered under these kinds of threats relating to WikiLeaks. These attacks on Julian are specifically an attempt to undermine WikiLeaks, a contextual matter that should not be dismissed.

I firmly believe that if he is not granted asylum and he finds himself in my country, the United States, he would not be treated fairly. His own country, save Senator Scott Ludlam of the Australian Greens, has abandoned their duty to protect Julian.

I urge you to grant Julian Assange asylum - it may be a matter of life and death.

Sincerely, Jacob Appelbaum

Glenn Greenwald in Salon Assange asks Ecuador for asylum .... Assange’s resolve to avoid extradition to Sweden has nothing to do with a reluctance to face possible sex assault charges there. His concern all along has been that once he’s in Swedish custody, he will far more easily be extradited to the U.S. .... Can anyone claim that Assange’s fear of ending up in American custody is anything other than supremely reasonable and rational? Just look at what has happened to people — especially foreign nationals — over the last decade who have been accused of harming the national security of the United States. They’re imprisoned — still — without a whiff of due process, and President Obama just last year signed a new indefinite detention bill into law. Moreover, Assange need merely look at what the U.S. has done to Bradley Manning, accused of leaking documents and other materials to WikiLeaks: the Army Private was held for almost a year in solitary confinement conditions which a formal U.N. investigation found were “cruel, inhuman and degrading,” and he now faces life in prison, charged with a capital offense of aiding Al Qaeda. Beyond that, the Obama administration has been uniquely obsessed with punishing whistleblowers and stopping leaks. Worse still, the American federal judiciary has been staggeringly subservient to the U.S. Government when it comes to national security cases, rendering defendants accused of harming national security with almost no chance for acquittal. Would you have any confidence in obtaining justice if you were accused of harming U.S. national security and came into the clutches of the American justice system? ..... UPDATE III [Wed.]: I have an Op-Ed in The Guardian today elaborating on some of these points, adding others, and responding to media discussions of this issue over the past day. WATCH Amy Goodman with Assange attorney Michael Ratner from Wednesday Julian Assange of WikiLeaks Seeks Asylum in Ecuador in Attempt to Avoid Extradition to U.S. and Ratner on The Big Picture with Thom Hartmann Free Assange! Then Ray McGovern at ConsortiumNews.com observes Julian Assange’s Artful Dodge Barring a CIA drone strike on the Ecuadorian embassy in London, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange’s sudden appeal for asylum there may spare him a prison stay in Sweden or possibly the United States. Assange’s freedom now depends largely on Ecuadorian President Rafael Vicente Correa Delgado, a new breed of independent-minded leader like Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez. Correa has been a harsh critic of U.S. behavior toward Ecuador and its Latin American neighbors as well as an outspoken fan of WikiLeaks. Atypically for the region, Ecuador is not a major recipient of U.S. economic or military aid, so Washington’s leverage is limited. This suggests that the Ecuadorian government may decide to defy Washington, accept Assange’s request for asylum, and have him flown to Ecuador pronto. .... Interesting, is it not, that Assange — just days before he was to be extradited to Sweden — was able to (I guess) slip out of his ankle monitor, sneak through the cordon of Bobbies on watch at the estate where he was under house arrest, dodge other Bobbies and security chaps, and hit pay dirt inside the Ecuadorian embassy. There is no denying that Assange is a clever chap. But unless you think him some kind of Houdini, there has to be some more likely explanation as to how he slipped through the various police checkpoints and walked into the embassy, which is located behind the popular Harrods department store in London. Were the British security forces all out for tea? Or were they just as happy to have the Assange case – and all the pressure from Washington – focused elsewhere? Certainly, the British had enough clues that, in extremis, Assange might attempt to make it to the Ecuadorian embassy. In late November 2010, Ecuadorian Deputy Foreign Minister Kintoo Lucas publicly offered Julian Assange residency in Ecuador, saying that Ecuador was “very concerned” by information revealed by WikiLeaks linking U.S. diplomats with spying on friendly governments. “We are open to giving him residency in Ecuador, without any problem and without any conditions,” Mr. Lucas said. President Correa promptly backtracked, saying that Kintto Lucas’s remarks were unauthorized and that no formal invitation had been extended to Assange, and noting that residency for him would require legal review in the event he requested it. (This came just one week before Assange was arrested, imprisoned, and then put under house arrest.) .... Ecuador’s embassy in London, announcing Assange’s arrival Tuesday afternoon, said he was seeking asylum, and added: “As a signatory to the United Nations Universal Declaration for Human Rights, with an obligation to review all applications for asylum, we have immediately passed his application on to the relevant department in Quito,” Ecuador’s capital. “While the department assesses Mr. Assange’s application, Mr. Assange will remain at the embassy, under the protection of the Ecuadorian government.” The embassy added that the bid for asylum “should in no way be interpreted as the government of Ecuador interfering in the judicial processes of either the United Kingdom or Sweden.” ..... Assange’s mother not only applauded her son’s decision to seek asylum, but summed up the situation concisely, telling the press:

“I hope Ecuador will grant him asylum, and if not, another third-world country. I hope the third world can stand up for what’s morally right when the first world can’t and won’t because they’ve got their snouts in the trough, rolling over for U.S. greed and big business. “Julian is a political prisoner, a journalist, a publisher of the truth about corruption, war crimes, kidnapping, blackmail, and manipulation. … He remains uncharged and unquestioned on a crime which, if you explore it, has absolutely no basis. Of course he would seek asylum.”

She added that her son was a victim of decisions by the United States, Britain, Sweden and Australia to abandon proper legal process. .... So, put yourself in Julian Assange’s place. If the New York Times accurately described President Barack Obama as saying it was an “easy” decision to authorize the killing of Anwar al-Awlaki, a U.S. citizen alleged to have participated in terrorist operations against U.S. targets, how confident would you be that the onetime constitutional scholar would resist the political pressure to get rid of you? A drone strike over London can be ruled out. But Assange understandably could fear a covert operation by Britain’s FBI and CIA counterparts — MI-5 and MI-6 — to eliminate him “with extreme prejudice,” in old CIA parlance. .... We go to the Sydney Morning Herald for the latest Ecuador envoy recalled over Assange Ecuador has recalled its ambassador to Britain to discuss what to do about the WikiLeaks founder, Julian Assange, who has sought refuge in the country's diplomatic mission in London. ''We are calling our ambassador back for consultations because this is a very serious matter,'' the President, Rafael Correa, said. From JustForeignPolicy.org we have Moore, Glover, Stone, Greenwald, Wolf, Ellsberg Urge Correa to Grant Asylum to Assange The following letter has been circulated mostly in the United States by Just Foreign Policy. It will be hand-delivered to the Embassy of Ecuador in London by Just Foreign Policy Policy Director Robert Naiman on Monday, June 25. We will also hand-deliver the online petition circulated by Just Foreign Policy, which has now been signed by more than 4000 people. That petition - which you can still sign - is here: http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/act/assange-asylum Read the entire letter then SIGN THE PETITION NOW!!!
As the Brick TeeVee Crew gets ready to head out to COL OH for the DAVID COBB MOVE TO AMEND BARNSTORMING TOUR today at ComFest we were alerted to some new information regarding corporate personhood from a guest on the Mike Malloy Show Rick Staggenborg running for U.S. Senate in Oregon on the Green Party ticket. WATCH his video Staggenborg for US Senate - End Corporate Person-hood - YouTube then read the
COMPARISON OF PROPOSED AMENDMENTS There are many amendments that have been proposed whose sponsors claim will abolish corporate personhood and/or declare that money is not free speech. Here is a discussion of the problems with the four types that have been introduced in Congress to date and of two that are being promoted by various groups and individuals to address these problems. Do read these comparisons especially MOVE TO AMEND PROPOSAL TO ESTABLISH THAT CORPORATIONS ARE NOT PEOPLE AND MONEY IS NOT FREE SPEECH The major problem with the amendment is that it does not make contributions by these entities illegal. Instead, it states that:
"Federal, State and local government shall regulate, limit, or prohibit contributions and expenditures, including a candidate’s own contributions and expenditures, for the purpose of influencing in any way the election of any candidate for public office or any ballot measure." SoldiersForPeaceInternational.org: Our mission is to join individuals and groups working in different ways to ensure that our children live in a rational, sustainable world. When enough people abandon the belief that war is inevitable,it will become unthinkable. War is conducted for corporate Empire. Therefore,the first step to ending war is ending corporate control of the US government. All social justice efforts lead to the end of war, the ultimate injustice. Those who work for justice are Soldiers For Peace. In a related matter we hope you've been following Peter B. Collins and his podcasts with Attorney Carl Mayer and activist Adam Fergatch who are trying to get Citizens United thrown out by using the 11th Amendment "states rights" argument to the SCOTUS on the Montana challenge. Go to PBC Website to hear all the FREE interviews with Adam and Carl including their latest installment No Action Yet from Supreme Court on Montana Appeal. Here's the latest from their website Supreme Court Surprises in Citizens United Montana Case, Delays Order. Bob Kincaid of Head On Radio has been on his own barnstorming tour speaking about the evils of mountaintop removal. Jeff Biggers posts this at EcoWatch.org BREAKING: Mountaintop Removal Moratorium Introduced Recognizing the mounting humanitarian crisis from mountaintop removal mining in the Appalachian coalfields, Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) and Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-NY) joined Congressional representatives from across the nation today and introduced H.R. 5959, The Appalachian Communities Health Emergency (ACHE) Act. The historic bill places “a moratorium on permitting for mountaintop removal coal mining until health studies are conducted by the Department of Health and Human Services.”
“The ACHE Act will stop new mountaintop removal coal mines until the science clearly demonstrates the mines will not cost these hard working communities their health or their lives. It will also fund some of the best researchers in the world to carry out that science,” Kucinich said. .... “Today marks a new, but long overdue journey in the pursuit of justice for the victims of mountaintop removal mining,” said Bo Webb, the 2010 Purpose Prize recipient with the Appalachian Community Health Emergency group, who lives under a mountaintop removal operation in West Virginia and has often testified to the toxic fallout of silica dust and heavy metals. ..... Led by a movement of affected Appalachian coalfield organizations, the ACHE Act has the backing of the major environmental groups in Washington, DC, including Earthjustice and the Sierra Club, as well as West Virginia Highlands Conservancy, the Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition and Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards. “The A.C.H.E. Act is a clear demand on behalf of people being poisoned by mountaintop removal that the poisoning cease and that we be afforded all the protections available to the rest of America,” said Bob Kincaid, board president of the Coal River Mountain Watch. “We refuse to be the coal industry’s sacrificial victims for even another instant.” Visit EcoWatch’s MOUNTAINTOP REMOVAL page for more related news on this topic. Of course all this is ignored or swept under the rug in favor of the "Washington CONsensus" from the Beltway Bubalas using what Brad Friedman calls the "David Gregory Technique" (see below). Top Chamber of Commerce water boy and all-around millionaire crook DARRYL ISSA gets his panties in a wad on Fake Snooze, This Snufagopolis and the aforementioned Meet the David with GOPhers everywhere else like MARCO "polio" RUBIO on Meet the David, RICK "Good Hair" PERRY and TIM PAWLENTY on Face the Bob and ED GUILE-ESPIE on State of the Candy, good brick targets all! The Tribe has regained 1st Place in the AL Central after sweeping the Reds at home. Look for the Tribe on ESPN Monday night from the new Yankee Stadium - Josh Tomlin goes up against Hiroki Kuroda! Go Tribe! And we'll see you Sunday in COL OH for COMFEST, watering ourselves at microbrew Barley's Brewing Co. and maybe a Columbus Clippers game later in the evening! Have a great week!





BRICK TEEVEE ALERTS!_©



Monday, June 18, 2012

• Rep. Luis Gutiérrez @ Democracy NOW! Rep. Luis Gutiérrez: In Obama Deportation Move, Long-Term Immigration Activism "Has Been Rewarded"
  
• Lorella Praeli & Jose Antonio Vargas @ Democracy NOW! After Years of Struggle, DREAM Act Activists Hail Monumental Victory for Immigrants Living in Fear
  
• Voices From NYC "Stop-and-Frisk" March @ Democracy NOW! Thousands Hold Silent March to Mayor Bloomberg’s Home in Protest of NYPD’s "Stop-and-Frisk"
  

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

• "Stop-and-Frisk" Discussion @ Democracy NOW! Watch the entire show! Excellent interviews!
  

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

li>Sharif Abdel Kouddous reports from Egypt on the country’s growing political crisis @ Democracy NOW! A Coup in Cairo: As Muslim Brotherhood Claims Election Victory, Military Strips President of Power
• Michael Ratner @ Democracy NOW! Julian Assange of WikiLeaks Seeks Asylum in Ecuador in Attempt to Avoid Extradition to U.S.
  
• Kumi Naidoo, executive director of Greenpeace @ Democracy NOW! Failed Pledges, Weak Draft Lower Hopes for Rio+20 U.N. Conference on Sustainable Development in Brazil
  

Thursday, June 21, 2012

• Activist Brittany Trilford @ Democracy NOW! "Are You Here to Save Face — or Save Us?": Brittany Trilford, 17, Addresses World Leaders at Rio+20
  
• Activist Nnimmo Bassey @ Democracy NOW! Nigerian Activist Nnimmo Bassey: Rio+20 Summit Will Not Get Us Out of Environmental Crisis
  
• Severn Cullis-Suzuki @ Democracy NOW! At Rio+20, Severn Cullis-Suzuki Revisits Historic '92 Speech, Fights for Next Generation's Survival
  

Friday, June 22, 2012

• Anthony Graves, former Texas death row prisoner & journalist James Ridgeway @ Democracy NOW! Torture in U.S. Prisons? Historic Senate Hearing Takes Up Solitary Confinement’s Devastating Toll AND From Death Row to Exoneration: Fmr. Texas Prisoner Anthony Graves on Surviving Solitary Confinement
  
• Monika Bauerlein &Andy Kroll of Mother Jones magazine @ Democracy NOW! Dark Money: Will Secret Spending by a Group of Billionaires Decide the 2012 Election? (Pt. 1)
  

»»» GRITtv @ www.grittv.org with Laura Flanders »»» FEATURED SHOW Chicago Workers have Economic Plan: Go Co-Op! Leah Fried of the United Electrical workers (UE,) talks with Laura Flanders about the decision by Chicago factory workers to purchase the plant they once famously occupied. Fried and Flanders spoke at Labor Notes 2012 in Chicago. BRICK TEEVEE SPORT!_© »»» MLB Sunday TBS Interleague Play! Braves @ Red Sox 1:30 pm et »»» MLB Sunday Night ESPN Yankees @ Mets 8 pm et »»» MLB Monday Night ESPN TRIBE @ Yankees 7 pm et »»» MLB Wednesday Night ESPN Tigers @ Rangers 8 pm et BRICK TEEVEE ACTION!_© The 1st Amendment is Our Permit Our permit to occupy is The First Amendment. Quickly sign the following statement which will be delivered to mayors, police chiefs and major media across the country:

Our permit to occupy public squares and parks is in The First Amendment, which affirms "the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances." When people across the Middle East occupied public squares, leaders in Washington mostly cheered those protesters and warned Middle Eastern governments not to use force to clear them. Those other societies don’t have a First Amendment. Yet Washington affirmed the universal right to assembly and protest. We do have a First Amendment. The force being used to clear nonviolent protesters from public squares in our country is unacceptable. It must stop.

October2011.org Sign the Petition to Get the 99% Deficit Proposal Heard in Congress

Please SIGN THE PETITION in support of the "99%'s Deficit Proposal" and plan direct actions to tell the Super Committee that the 99% have better solutions to our nation's crises. You can plan your own action at your Congressmember's office or join us in Freedom Plaza in Washington, DC for marches to Capitol Hill. Check our calendar for announcements.

VotersForJustice.org OUR GOAL: TO EMPOWER voters with facts and perspectives necessary to decipher the spin, obtain the truth, and support candidates that best represent their interests and values. NET NEUTRALITY! SaveTheInternet.org A Push for Privacy in the Wake of the Carrier IQ Controversy Remember Carrier IQ, the company that makes the secret spying software that’s installed on more than 140 million phones? You know, the software that can record our most sensitive personal data? ... Thanks in part to the 22,000 people who joined Free Press’ call for a congressional investigation, some of those questions are closer to being answered and mobile users are closer to being protected. The protection comes in the form of a bill from Massachusetts Rep. Ed Markey. Markey released a draft of a bill called the "Mobile Device Privacy Act" that would require phone companies to disclose to users just what is being done with all of their data. If the bill passes, an opt-out provision would go into effect a year later and would require companies to allow users to opt out of data-collection schemes like the one developed by Carrier IQ........ CAMPAIGN FOR AMERICA'S FUTURE American Majority Rejects Washington Austerity Consensus – And We Demand Media Coverage by Roger Hickey, President, Campaign for America's Future: No more silent majority. The Campaign for America’s Future is joining with the Center for Economic and Policy Research (whose Co-Director, Dean Baker blogs regularly about economic bias in the media) and with FAIR (Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting) to monitor the media’s coverage and representation of the American Majority views as they go into covering the big deficit fight. But we want to enlist YOU too. Send us accounts of unbalanced coverage in the national media and in your local newspapers and television. Call up reporters, editors, assignment people and tell them when they are under-representing the views of the American Majority. We should have at least half the experts, pundits, quotes and real people represented in their coverage. In a debate as important as the one we are going into, we can’t allow the media to ignore the American Majority. Much more at www.ourfuture.org MOVE TO AMEND! www.movetoamend.org SIGN HERE NOW! And check out more actions on the Move to Amend Calendar featuring David Cobb's Barnstorming Tour! Also visit Rep Alan Grayson's site www.savedemocracy.net GET INVOLVED! And Alan Grayson is running again in FL-8! Help out at CongressmanWithGuts.com SUPPORT THE TROOPS WHO REFUSE TO FIGHT See CourageToResist.org and Bradley Manning Support Network UPDATE! Michael Ratner on ANTIWAR RADIO Michael Ratner May 2, 2012: Michael Ratner, President Emeritus of the Center for Constitutional Rights, discusses his article “Bradley Manning: a show trial of state secrecy;” Manning’s quasi-public trial (which is open to observation, yet vital evidence and court documents are withheld from the media and public); why the NY Times is just as guilty of “aiding the enemy” as Manning and WikiLeaks; how President Obama and Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta made a fair trial impossible; and how you can support Bradley Manning in his time of need. DONATE YOUR OLD CELL PHONES TO T.J. MARTELL FOUNDATIONHelp save lives. Donate your old & used iPhone, Blackberries, Droid and other phones to help the T.J. Martell Foundations fund life-saving cancer & AIDS research. For more information, go to www.tjmartellfoundation.org CELLULAR PHONE TASK FORCE EDUCATION, ADVOCACY, SUPPORT at CellPhoneTaskForce.org The Cellular Phone Task Force is dedicated to halting the expansion of wireless technology because it cannot be made safe. We provide: education to the public concerning electromagnetic pollution (electrosmog); advocacy for an electromagnetically cleaner environment; support for individuals disabled by radiation from wireless technology and other sources.

B R I C K T E E V E E _{image ©2006 arkysue} THEY report. YOU throw bricks. © Get your Foam Bricks at ThrowThings.com HERE! The essential guide for watching government propaganda IRAQ: 4,486 US Military Dead as of April 21, 2012 AFGHANISTAN: 2,017 US Military Dead as of June 14, 2012 The Obameter: Tracking Obama's Campaign Promises Considering Democracy: 8 Things to ask your Representative

• This Week (ABC) anchor George Stephanopoulos with Jake Tapper subbing
  • Fact Checking ABC's "This Week" at NPR "On the Media" - Jake Tapper, interim host of ABC's "This Week," liked the idea of fact-checking his guests' comments, so he set up a partnership with Politifact, a non-partisan fact-checking organization. See Politifact Statements ABC News 'This Week'
  • Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif.
  • ROUNDTABLE: Vice Chair of the House Democratic Caucus Rep. Xavier Becerra, D-Calif., ABC News' George Will, National Journal White House correspondent Major Garrett, Wall Street Journal columnist Peggy Noonan, and Democratic strategist Hilary Rosen.
  

  
  

• Face The Nation (CBS) Host Bob Schiefer
  • Texas Gov. Rick Perry
  • former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty
  • Los Angles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa
  • Obama's deputy campaign manager Stephanie Cutter
  • Eric Fehrnstrom, one of Mitt Romney's closest advisers
  • ROUNDTABLE: Washington Post's Dan Balz, CBS News Chief White House Correspondent Norah O'Donnell and CBS News Political director John Dickerson
  

  
  

• 60 Minutes (CBS)
  • Greg Mortenson - He's written inspiring best sellers, including "Three Cups of Tea," but are the stories all true? Steve Kroft investigates. Andy Court, Kevin Livelli and Maria Usman are the producers.
  • Howard Buffett - Legendary investor Warren Buffett has chosen his son Howard to succeed him as head of his multibillion dollar holding company. But as Lesley Stahl reports, "Howie" -- a farmer -- is no chip off the old block. Karen Sughrue and Julie Holstein are the producers.
  

  
  

• Meet the Press (NBC) Host David Gregory
  • Meet the Facts at NPR "On the Media" - Last December, NYU professor Jay Rosen proposed something simple yet revolutionary: why don't the Sunday morning chat shows fact check their guests? After "Meet the Press" host David Gregory declined, two college students launched a website to do it for him. One of them, Chas Danner, explains what they're trying to accomplish. See their website MeetTheFacts.com updating soon!
  • Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL)
  • Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA)
  • ROUNDTABLE: Former Governor Bill Richardson (D-NM); POLITICO’s Senior Political Reporter Jonathan Martin; and NBC News Chief Foreign Affairs Correspondent Andrea Mitchell.
  

  
  

• State of the Union With Candy Crowley (CNN) At 9 AM ET, Candy talks to the power players: politicians, business leaders and international newsmakers who will make Monday morning's headlines. At NOON ET, Candy wraps it all up with fresh interviews and the best of the earlier hours.
  • Romney campaign senior adviser, Ed Gillespie.
  • Former Bush Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez
  • Congressman Luis Gutierrez (D-IL)
  • ROUNDTABLE: Susan Page of USA Today, and Peter Baker of The New York Times
  

  
  

• HEAD ON RADIO with Bob Kincaid
  
  Headon Radio with Bob Kincaid 6 PM Eastern, 3 PM Pacific, 2300 GMT. Duration: 3 hrs. To be part of Conversation Radio on Head-on Radio, call toll-free (877) 443-2366, or use our Liberal community line at 304-658-3333. Email bob [at] headonradio [dot] com during the show!
  • Prayer Meetin' Wednesday!!!!! Uber Pope/Imam/Rabbi Bob lets the Religious Right have it! Listen HERE (mp3) NOW! Amen to the White Rose Society! Donate to Head On HERE! And join Coal River Mountain Watch at www.crmw.net!
  

  
  

• YOUR GREEN NEWS REPORT
  
  The Green News Report with Brad Friedman & Desi Doyen: 6 minutes of green news, politics, analysis & snarky comment! BOOKMARK greennews.bradblog.com NOW!
  • 'Green News Report' - June 21th IN TODAY'S RADIO REPORT: Good news and bad --- mostly bad --- from the Rio+20 Earth Summit; Deluged in Duluth - record storm, record floods; Awkward!: 3 new oil spills complicate Canada's Keystone XL pipeline dreams; PLUS: Greenpeace billboard rejected --- you'll never guess their offensive slogan (no, really!)... All that and more in today's Green News Report!
  • IN 'GREEN NEWS EXTRA' (see link): Outdoor recreation jobs outnumber oil jobs 3 to 1; CA leads the way on GMO labeling; US Dems demand stronger fracking rules; Senate rejects block to new mercury rules; L.A. to get much hotter (we ain't talking bikinis); AZ mining company wants pollution fines reversed; Not-so-bad farm bill passes Senate; Canada's new budget 'buts' environmental protections ... PLUS: 'It's madness' that waste isn't a bigger international priority ... and much, MUCH more! ...
  • BRADBLOG UPDATE: #NPRFail: Florida's Rick Scott Gets Free Ride on Voter Suppression, Claims About DHS Database Perhaps we should call it the David Gregory Technique, since the dreadful Meet the Press host seems to use it, and little more, week in and week out during his usually useless interviews with public officials. Here's how the David Gregory Technique works: Ask a public official for "your response to that charge?" Get that response. And then move on to the next question. No follow-up. No challenge. It's that simple. Just get their "response" on record --- like an in-person performance of the public official's already-published press release responding, either accurately or not, to the same issue. Afterword, news consumers are no more informed or enlightened than before going in, other than to become familiar with the political talking points in play, whether they are based in fact or reality or not. Who knows? Such was the treatment that Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R) enjoyed last week from Michele Martin on the apparently ironically named TELL ME MORE program on National Public Radio concerning his spate of allegedly unlawful, attempted voter suppression programs in the Sunshine State. NBC's David Gregory couldn't have done it better himself...
  • BRADCAST UPDATE! KPFK's 'BradCast': Ron Paul Senior Advisor Doug Wead on the Still-Presidential Candidate's Curious (and Often Successful) Delegate Strategy
  • Visit BradBlog.com to see who counts yer votes! Now up to 9,200+ Election Protection posts! Find out who's counting your votes and how at ElectionIntegrity.org too.
  

  
  

• The Peter B. Collins Show PODCAST!
  
  Listen at PeterBCollins.com!
  The Peter B. Collins Show covers American news and politics from the Left Coast. Veteran talk radio personality Peter B. Collins, based in San Francisco, delivers fresh interviews, commentary and analysis on a range of important topics, with views and voices you don’t often find in the corporate media.
  • Holiday Break and Website Changes
  
  To my valued listeners: We are making some changes to the website and our terms, effective in January. We will continue to offer free podcasts–my new daily news and commentary. Our in-depth interviews will be available for $1 per episode, or to subscribers who pay $5 per month or more. Loyal listeners who simply can’t afford it should send an email to peter@peterbcollins.com, as we will be offering a limited number of scholarships to our friends who are hurting during these tough times. More information will be posted as we complete the revisions. I’m grateful to each of you for listening and supporting this work, and hope that the new model will enable us to keep it going well into the future. All the best, -pbc
  • PBC Podcast 506 June 18, 2012 No Action Yet from Supreme Court on Montana Appeal; Journalist Rory O’Connor on Perils of Facebook and the Web Attorney Carl Mayer and activist Adam Fergatch return to update us on the important Montana appeal that challenges Citizens United; journalist and author Rory O’Connor’s new book is Friends, Followers and the Future.
  • PBC Standard Podcast June 22, 2012 Special Report: California’s Barbaric Solitary Confinement Prisons In this special report, we feature 4 views on the use of long-term solitary confinement in the California prison system. Led by the Center for Constitutional Rights, a group of legal advocates has sued to change this harsh practice and limit the length of time that prisoners can be placed in isolation.
  • PBC Standard Podcast June 21, 2012 Boiling Frogs: Author Chase Madar on Whistleblower Bradley Manning Attorney Carl Mayer and activist Adam Fergatch return for Part 4 of our series on their effort to overturn Citizens United. This podcast is free, available to all–please share it!
  

  
  

• Ring of Fire Radio
  
  Find us at http://ringoffireradio.com and http://goleft.tv/ hosted by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Mike Papantonio and Sam Seder
  Ring of Fire Radio - GoLeft TV - Robert F. Kennedy, Mike Papantonio, Sam Seder - Politics, Commentary, and News.
  This Week on Ring of Fire! June 15, 2012
  • We’ll be hearing more interviews from this year’s Netroots Nation convention, including:
  
  • Bill McKibben, founder of 350.org and author of the new book “Eaarth.”
    
  • Heather Hurlburt from the National Security Network and Matthew Duss from the Center for American Progress will join us to discuss the situation in Syria.
    
  • Activist Zach Wahls will discuss marriage equality.
    
  • Forrest Brown will tell us how the PCCC is working to get progressives elected across the country.
    
  • Robert Borosage from the Center for American Progress on how we can create a political system that works for the 99%
    
  • Tyson Slocum from Public Citizen will discuss the need to reign in oil speculators
    
  • Mother Jones’ Andy Kroll on how the Wisconsin uprising was hijacked
    
  • Alternet Senior Editor Josh Holland will discuss the media’s misrepresentation of Bain Capita
    
  • Truthout’s Mike Ludwig will tell us about the bully tactics of the fracking industry
    
  • And Steven Rosenfeld from Alternet will discuss the geezer billionaires that are now running the GOP.
  • VIDEO! Papantonio: Media Gives Romney Free Pass On Bain Capital The mainstream media has done a great job of getting the story completely wrong about Bain Capital. And when they aren’t getting the story wrong, they’re making excuses for Romney’s history at Bain, and telling us that his professional career shouldn’t be relevant to his political career. The truth is that Romney’s tenure at Bain Capital serves as the blueprint for what he wants to do to America, and Mike Papantonio spoke with Alternet’s Josh Holland recently about what a “Bain-America” would look like, and why the media wants to ignore the ugly truth. • RT VIDEO! Ongoing Fast and Furious Conspiracy Theory Mike Papantonio, Attorney/Host-Ring of Fire Radio joins Thom Hartmann. As part of their ongoing Fast and Furious conspiracy theory - Republicans on the House Oversight Committee voted yesterday to hold Attorney General Holder in contempt. When will Democrats wake up and fight back against Republicans and all of their political stunts? • Support Those Who Support Progressive Media! 2011 has certainly been a great year for Ring of Fire, and we’ve had some great sponsors that have helped support the show throughout the year. We wanted to take the time to personally thank each and every one of them, and we encourage all of our listeners to take the time to support those who have support us. • Join our blog at www.ringoffireradio.com. You can now SUBSCRIBE TO OUR PODCAST by clicking on the "Podcast" tab at the top of the Ring of Fire blog. Please help support progressive radio by signing up! Ring of Fire Radio Ring of Fire, hosted by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Mike Papantonio and Sam Seder: Saturdays at 3 o’clock Eastern, rebroadcasts 8-11 et Sunday evenings on Chicago's Progressive Talk WCPT AM & FM and 4 pm et on Sirius/XM 167 featuring The PAP Attack! "We’ll bring you the stories that the mainstream media didn’t feel like reporting this week."

• Majority Report with Sam Seder Streaming LIVE weekdays 11:30 am et @ Majority.fm!
  
  • June 18, 2012 Abe Bonowitz, Abolish Death Penalty & Sen. Sherrod Brown
  • June 19, 2012 Bill McKibben, Our Earth & Dave Zirin, Politics of Sports
  • June 20, 2012 Rick Perlstein, Republican Cheaters
  • June 21, 2012 Chris Hayes on Elites, Meritocracy & More
  • June 22, 2012 Casual Friday! Cliff Schecter with News & Matthew Film Guy
  • MORE Podcast Interviews at Majority.fm!
  

  
  

• On the Edge with Max Keiser Podcasts and more @ MaxKeiser.com!
  
  "HI Y'ALL! Tell the people! Tell the people!"
  WHO IS MAX KEISER? Max Keiser is a financial expert, Prediction Markets analyst, inventor and filmmaker. He is the creator of the Hollywood Stock Exchange (HSX) the first Prediction Market. Max Keiser co-hosts "The Truth About Markets" on ResonanceFM 104.4 in London. He also produces and presents documentary films covering markets and finance for Al Jazeera’s "People & Power" series. Max Keiser started his career on Wall Street in 1983. He is the creator of KarmaBanque a site that enables activists to challenge corporate power.
  • VISIT PirateMyFilm.com!!! Crowd Funding for Pirates!
  • NEW! MaxKeiserTV on YouTube! MaxKeiserTV PLUS here is Max Keiser’s official Facebook page And here is the official Keiser Report page
  • The “Keiser Report” has been begging europe to do this for years by maxkeiser READ European Banks Preparing To Boycott Big Three Rating Agencies zerohedge(nakedcapitalism)
  • VIDEO! Max Keiser and Hugo Salinas Price on Sunny TV – Athens, Greece by maxkeiser Interview by George Noulas.
  • KEISER REPORT [KR303] Keiser Report: Elite Losers & Heroes of Fraud We discuss whether elites are failures and losers or whether they are acting in show trials while wearing Presidential seals of approval. They also review Bloomberg’s lawsuit seeking evidence of tacit collusion between the EU and Greece regarding Goldman Sachs’ swap deals to hide its debt. In the second half of the show Max talks to economist, professor and Member of Parliament in Tunisia, Moncef Cheikhrouhou, about building real economies so that the next generation will inherit olive trees not debts.
  • KEISER REPORT [KR304] Keiser Report: Runaway Greek Cash We discuss economic Jack and the Beanstalk style miracles that look a whole lot like simple ponzi schemes that Lilliputian financial journalists fail to report. In the second half of the show Max talks to Satyajit Das, author of Extreme Money, about the European debt crisis, how much longer Germany can stay solvent and whether German banks would have survived if the Irish taxpayer had not bailed them out in the first place. Oh, and Max barks.
  • KEISER REPORT [KR305] Keiser Report: Feta Cheese Trap We discuss smashed watermelon and dead rat collateral and the fraud flow of a less than zero balance sheet. In the second half of the show Max talks to economist, Constantin Gurdgiev, about intergalactic bailout bonds to the rescue and other crazy ideas to solve the global debt catastrophe and the significance of the gold collateral to Germany’s idea of a European Redemption Fund.
  • ON THE EDGE On the Edge with Greg Hunter
  • THE TRUTH ABOUT MARKETS [TaM365] The Truth About Markets – 16 June 2012 Download show HERE (mp3)
  • THE TRUTH ABOUT MARKETS [TaM366] The Truth About Markets – 23 June 2012 Download show HERE (mp3)
  • Donate to ResonanceFM here!
  

  
  

• ANTIWAR RADIO with Scott Horton
  LIVE (9-11am Pacific, 12pm - 2pm Eastern) Plenty of archives too!
  Listen at antiwar.com/radio
  • Richard Silverstein June 19, 2012: Richard Silverstein, writer of the Tikun Olam blog, discusses his article “Flame: Israel’s New Contribution to Middle East Cyberwar ;” the IDF’s "Unit 8200" cyberwarfare department; the differences between industrial-sabotage virus Stuxnet and the sophisticated espionage worm Flame; how state-created computer viruses can get out of control and wreak havoc on their creators; President Obama’s antisocial foreign policy of anonymous drone strikes and cyber attacks; and the US’s rejection of Russia’s proposed international ban on cyberwar (Max Boot hates the idea , so maybe the Russians were on to something).
  • Adam Morrow June 19, 2012: IPS News journalist Adam Morrow discusses Muslim Brotherhood candidate Mohamed Morsi’s narrow victory in Egypt’s presidential runoff election; how Egypt’s military and supreme constitutional court are subverting civilian government and democratic reforms; the danger of false flag bombings designed to sow unrest and discredit the Islamists; and why Egypt’s military is better suited for domestic repression than national defense.
  • Eva Galperin June 23, 2012: Eva Galperin, International Freedom of Expression Coordinator for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, discusses her article about pro-Syrian-government hackers using malicious computer software against Syrian activists; the online information battle between loyalists and anti-government groups, in the absence of on-the-ground media; why Skype isn’t any safer to use than social media like Facebook; protecting yourself online by encrypting communications and staying informed about threats; and how rudimentary hacking tools can be just as effective as the very sophisticated and expensive Stuxnet and Flame viruses.
  • Many more interviews at Antiwar Radio!
  

  
  

• fauxnews
  • Congressman Darrell Issa
  • Congressman Elijah Cummings
  • T. Boone Pickens
  

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Brick TeeVee - THEY report. YOU throw bricks. ©

We're here because you're there. ©

First brick is on us! Get your Foam Bricks at ThrowThings.com HERE!

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Brick TeeVee and King Jamie's Court!

Your Guest List for Sunday's Talking Head News Shows beamed across America by Corporate Media PLUS reports from the best lib/prog media! If you have related STORIES share below! DEBUNK HERE! Throw Bricks! First brick is on us! Get your Foam Bricks at ThrowThings.com

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King Jamie's Court No you silly Miami Heat fans, not King LeBron James! We're talking about Congress's Favorite Banker JPMC's Jamie Dimon! More on that in a bit. If you missed RoF last week with Academy Award nominated filmmaker Rachel Grady discussing the new film “Detropia” check out Detropia the movie! SYNOPSIS: Detroit's story has encapsulated the iconic narrative of America over the last century— the Great Migration of African Americans escaping Jim Crow; the rise of manufacturing and the middle class; the love affair with automobiles; the flowering of the American dream; and now . . . the collapse of the economy and the fading American mythos. With its vivid, painterly palette and haunting score, DETROPIA sculpts a dreamlike collage of a grand city teetering on the brink of dissolution. As houses are demolished by the thousands, automobile-company wages plummet, institutions crumble, and tourists gawk at the "charming decay," the film's vibrant, gutsy characters glow and erupt like flames from the ashes. These soulful pragmatists and stalwart philosophers strive to make ends meet and make sense of it all, refusing to abandon hope or resistance. Their grit and pluck embody the spirit of the Motor City as it struggles to survive postindustrial America and begins to envision a radically different future.
Last week we alluded to David Sirota's item The War on Whistle-Blowers and Sirota makes some excellent points. When a democracy functions properly, media revelations of executive branch misconduct typically result in an investigation by the legislative branch. Watergate epitomized this healthy dynamic—illegal acts exposed by the Washington Post prompted congressional hearings and ultimately prosecutions. In other words, checks and balances functioned properly, and the system both cleansed itself of wrongdoers and rejected the Nixonian notion that no matter what a president does, it is inherently legal. So when The New York Times this week ran the headline “Senate Will Investigate National Security Leaks About Terrorism ‘Kill List,’” it was a frightening sign that something has gone horribly wrong since the Woodward-and-Bernstein days. ..... the memo laying out this utterly preposterous legal theory is secret—and, of course, hasn’t been ratified by any court. In terms of size, scope and long-term effects, this program makes the Watergate scandal look altogether quaint. You would therefore think that at minimum, even the most flaccid, rubber-stamp Congress might ask a few questions about the president’s “kill list” and the dangerous precedents it sets. But evidently, you would be wrong. As the Times noted in that subsequent follow-up story, Congress is focused not on shutting down—or even overseeing—the assassination program. It is instead focused on making sure those who blew the whistle on it are punished. Why? Because that will ensure that other such unauthorized programs can continue. If you think that description of motive is overwrought hyperbole, think again. As Sen. John McCain (R) made clear, he wants revelations of illegal activity halted and possibly prosecuted specifically because “such disclosures can only undermine similar ongoing or future operations.” This, of course, is part of a broader campaign against those who are courageously exposing illegality. As former Foreign Service officer Peter Van Buren reports, the federal government is now targeting whistleblowers for recrimination, with “the number of cases (against whistleblowers) suggest(ing) an organized strategy to deprive Americans of knowledge of the more disreputable things that their government does.” That’s right—rather than celebrating the heroes who expose wrongdoing and then stopping the illegal acts, the government is shooting the messengers in order to let the crimes continue.
If you are an Obama partisan who insists the crackdown is appropriate because your favored politician is in power, take heed of the president’s own warning. As he said a few years ago, allowing any executive to ignore the Constitution is problematic because “you never know who is going to be president four years from now.” You also never know what other executive might make the same moves in your own hometown. After all, if a president is arguing that indictments, juries and trials aren’t necessary to execute someone, it’s not hard to imagine a governor or mayor arguing the same thing when locking people up. That’s why this war on whistleblowers is not just some theoretical problem only for academics to debate or for foreigners to worry about. It represents a genuine domestic threat to democracy itself. If through our silence and complacency we allow that threat to expand, we shouldn’t be surprised when more of us are in the government’s crosshairs. Well said, David. Here are a few items of interest you should check out:

• BusinessInsider.com Former Pentagon Analyst Says China Can Shut Down All The Telecom Gear It Sold To The US
  
• Christian Science Monitor Iran's nuclear program: 4 things you probably didn't know
  
• Tales of the Freewayblogger Wake Up and Smell Los Angeles
  
• RT via TheIntelHub.com 'Parliament Must be Dissolved' – Egypt’s Highest Court
  
• Christian Science Monitor Supreme Court declines case accusing Donald Rumsfeld of torture The Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal arguing the US government violated the constitutional rights of citizen José Padilla by detaining and subjecting him to harsh interrogation as an enemy combatant suspected of having links to Al Qaeda.

And if you didn't tune into any of Brad Freidman guest hosting The Mike Malloy Show last week you missed discussions on yesfairelections.org AB 1648, California DISCLOSE Act, www.Pay2Play.tv , ElectionFraudRemedy.com and much more! To listen to the shows and read the chat logs see our BradCast updates below for links to the shows. Excellent! Thom Hartmann has Zaid Jilani on Thursday's RT show Money has Crushed the Voice of People Zaid Jilani, Republic Report, United Republic, joins Thom Hartmann. Former Gingrich campaign backer and billionaire casino mogul Sheldon Adelson is pledging unlimited donations to Mitt Romney's campaign. Is the American democracy dead when billionaires can funnel endless money into politics - and take away the voice of the people? David Cobb Barnstorming Tour for MoveToAmend! TODAY LAS VEGAS, NV: Move to Amend Barnstorming tour with David Cobb then COLUMBUS, OH: MTA spokesperson David Cobb at ComFest next Sunday, June 24, 2012 - 1:00pm then Toledo, OH on Monday and Battle Creek Mi on Wed! Next JimQ at Washington's Blog explains how IT ONLY TOOK A GLOBAL DEPRESSION TO REDUCE GAS PRICES BY 40 CENTS in which he uses very colorful language to describe U.S. Media (underlined for your convenience) You can’t watch the mainstream media propaganda channels for more than ten minutes without a talking head breathlessly announcing that gas prices have dropped for the 24th day in a row and are now back to $3.55 a gallon. Wall Street oil analysts, who are paid hundreds of thousands of dollars per year to tell us why prices rose or fell after the fact, are paraded on CNBC to proclaim the huge consumer windfall from the drop in price. This is just another episode of a never ending reality show, designed to keep the average American sedated so they’ll continue to spend money they don’t have buying crap they don’t need. The brainless twits that pass for journalists in the corporate mainstream media never give the viewer or reader any historical context to judge the true impact of the price increase or decrease. The government agencies promoting the storyline of those in power extrapolate the current trend and ignore the basic facts of supply, demand, price and peak oil. The EIA is now predicting further drops in prices. Two months ago they predicted steadily rising prices through the summer. What would we do without these government drones guiding us? [chart] As you can see from the chart, gas prices tend to be volatile and unpredictable in the short term. You can also see that since 1998 the trend has been relentlessly higher. The average inflation adjusted price of gasoline in 1998 was $1.41 per gallon, versus $3.55 today, a 152% increase in fourteen years. Over this same time frame the BLS manipulated CPI was up only 44%. If we are swimming in oil, as the MSM pundits claim, why the tremendous surge in price? It must be those evil oil companies. It couldn’t possibly be the impact of peak oil. To acknowledge the fact that worldwide oil production has reached its peak would be to concede that our suburban sprawl, just in time world is drawing to an excruciating end. So the politicians spout their assigned storylines, supported by their paid off “experts” (aka Daniel Yergin), and unquestioningly reported as fact by their designated corporate media outlet. Those of a liberal bent assail oil companies and speculators; refuse to acknowledge the law of supply and demand, while touting green energy as the solution to all our energy needs. Those of a conservative bent believe in attacking foreign countries to secure “our” oil, refuse to acknowledge the law of supply and demand, and spout “drill, drill, drill” slogans because dealing with facts is inconvenient. The willfully ignorant public believes whichever storyline matches their preconceived beliefs. All is well – no one is required to think critically. Thinking is hard. ...... The MSM blathering baboons of bullshit dutifully report the price of gas on a given day. People who live in the real world fill up their gas tanks every week, so the average price over a period of time is what matters. The average price of a gallon of gasoline in 2008 was $3.39. The average price in 2011 was $3.48. The average price in 2012 has been $3.62 thus far. This data paints an entirely different picture than the one painted by the politicians, experts and the clueless captured media. Gas prices are higher than they were prior to the last economic implosion. Cause and effect is a concept beyond the intellectual capabilities of MSM journalists and the millions of government educated zombies they mesmerize with misinformation. The lack of intellectual curiosity and critical thinking skills plays directly into the hands of those with a storyline to sell or truth to obscure. ..... "MSM blathering baboons of bullshit"! Priceless! Read on for more facts about oil prices and neat charts! THEN Omar R. Valdimarsson reports in Bloomberg Iceland Court Sentences Ex-Byr Savings Executives to Jail Byr Savings Bank former Chairman Jon Thorsteinn Jonsson and the lender’s ex-Chief Executive Officer Ragnar Zophonias Gudjonsson were today found guilty of fraud and sentenced to four and half years in prison by Iceland’s Supreme Court. The court found that the two former executives had used their positions at Byr to grant an 800-million kronur ($6.2 million) loan to Exeter Holdings ehf in 2008 as Iceland’s financial system was on the brink of collapse. Proceeds of the loan were used by Exeter to buy Jonsson’s and Gudjonsson’s shares in Byr. Exeter guaranteed the loan by putting the Byr shares up as collateral. “In deciding the punishment” the Supreme Court took account of the fact that the “magnitude of the offences was significant,” according to the ruling posted on the Reykjavik- based court’s website. Jonsson’s action “relieved him from personal guarantees on loans” and Gudjonsson’s “infraction was committed under the auspices of his mandate” as Byr’s chief executive officer, according to the ruling. Great to see some heads roll! The Big Wheels involved in Iceland's crash Hreidar Mar Sigurdsson, the Icelandic lender Kaupthing Bank’s former chief executive, and Sigurdur Einarsson, the former chairman, are also awaiting trial. Public Citizen's Global Trade Watch has Breaking News: TPP investment text leaked A leaked draft of one of the most controversial chapters of the TPP reveals extreme rights granted to foreign investors. See TPP: Corporate Power Tool of the 1% Have you heard? The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) “free trade” agreement is a stealthy policy being pressed by corporate America, a dream of the 1 percent, that in one blow could:

• offshore millions of American jobs,
  
• free the banksters from oversight,
  
• ban Buy America policies needed to create green jobs and rebuild our economy,
  
• decrease access to medicine,
  
• flood the U.S. with unsafe food and products,
  
• and empower corporations to attack our environmental and health safeguards.

Closed-door talks are on-going between the U.S. and Australia, Brunei, Chile, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, Malaysia and Vietnam; with countries like Japan and China potentially joining later. 600 corporate advisors have access to the text, while the public, Members of Congress, journalists, and civil society are excluded. And so far what we know about what's in there is very scary! Read on and dig into the pdf's! Then At Salon Josh Eidelson adds Trans-Pacific Partnership: Larger than NAFTA? Leaked documents reveal disturbing truths about a trade deal Obama's negotiating that could grow bigger than NAFTA. Too much to snip! GO READ ALL OF IT! LEARN MORE and TAKE ACTION! Then watch The Big Picture on RT Obama Trade Document leaked... Melinda St. Louis, Public Citizen's Global Trade Watch joins Thom Hartmann. Time to ditch so-called Free Trade - and get back to protecting our domestic manufacturers like we used to do under every single President since George Washington - but have forgotten in the last thirty years. and catch LORI WALLACH of Public Citizen’s Global Trade Watch @ Democracy NOW! below. Yves Smith at NakedCapitalism.com chimes in Obama Plans to Put Foreign Companies Above the Law Zach Carter has a must-read new article up at Huffington Post on leaked documents from trade negotiations that have been posted at the website Public Citizen. You should read his entire article, pronto, but here is the money quote:

The newly leaked document is one of the most controversial of the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact. It addresses a broad sweep of regulations governing international investment and reveals the Obama administration’s advocacy for policies that environmental activists, financial reform advocates and labor unions have long rejected for eroding key protections currently in domestic laws. Under the agreement currently being advocated by the Obama administration, American corporations would continue to be subject to domestic laws and regulations on the environment, banking and other issues. But foreign corporations operating within the U.S. would be permitted to appeal key American legal or regulatory rulings to an international tribunal. That international tribunal would be granted the power to overrule American law and impose trade sanctions on the United States for failing to abide by its rulings.

This is an active effort to undermine US laws and make certain US laws subordinate to non-US tribunal that sits outside any democratic process. President Obama took an oath to uphold the land. I’d like to throw this out to readers. As much as trade agreements (which were approved by Congress) have sometimes run into friction with existing laws, this move by Obama looks to be a far more radical effort to increase the power of multinational companies. And US companies would argue for, and likely eventually get, similar breaks, assuring a legal/regulatory race to the bottom (if you think what we have is bad now, do not underestimate how much worse it could get). Let’s set aside the fact that no current Congress will stand in the way of a pro-business measure. I’d like readers to tell me whether they think this initiative is an impeachable offense. Does this sort of effort to gut US laws rise to the level of “high crimes and misdemeanors“? Update: The use of the “I’ word has led some readers to argue (basically) “What are you talking about? This is just a negotiation.” True, but it is also revealing how little we expect of Congress and how much its standing has fallen. This idea should be so far outside the pale that both the substance as well as the process would, in another era, have elicited a serious pushback from Congress. But of course, in that other era, a cagey politician like Obama would never have gone this far either. We seem to be living the Frederick Douglass quote: Find out just what any people will quietly submit to and you have the exact measure of the injustice and wrong which will be imposed on them. From the Common Dreams staff Federal Reserve Directors' Banks and Businesses Took $4 Trillion in Bailouts: Report A report released today by US Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) has revealed the names of 18 former and current directors from Federal Reserve Banks who directly benefited from financial bailouts after the 2008 crisis. The Reserve directors worked in banks and corporations that collectively received over $4 trillion in bailout money allocated by the Federal Reserve. Essentially, action taken by the Federal Reserve overwhelmingly benefited directors of the Federal Reserve, above other beneficiaries. The report titled Jamie Dimon Is Not Alone names the top 18 Reserve directors including Jamie Dimon who received the largest Federal Reserve loans and other financial assistance during the crisis. "This report reveals the inherent conflicts of interest that exist at the Federal Reserve. At a time when small businesses could not get affordable loans to create jobs, the Fed was providing trillions in secret loans to some of the largest banks and corporations in America that were well represented on the boards of the Federal Reserve Banks. These conflicts must end," Sanders said. To read the report click here (pdf). More Bernie at Common Dreams! In a preview to King Jamie Dimon's appearance Wednesday in front of the Senate Banking subcomittee on how JPMC "lost" $2 billion Jesse catches this video of Chris Whalen: Will Jamie Dimon Tell the Truth, Because He Hasn't Done So Yet Chris Whalen makes some interesting observations and cuts to the heart of the matter, although he sometimes falls into the morality of the income statement. The reactions of the CNBC spokesmodels and Andrew Ross Sorkin are worth watching. .... It is interesting that the argument keeps coming back to the defense that Wall Street firms 'write off big losses all the time.' It is not so much the size of the balance sheet, but rather the leverage and risks that are stacked against those assets, and the likely outcomes of cascading losses in a deeply intertwined financial system. ..... It seems that JPM was mispresenting and mispricing their risks, egregiously to the point of making false statements to the press, the public, and probably the regulators, and they were doing so with public funds and government guaranteed deposits in the pursuit of outsized income for their traders and management. And it may involve regulatory capture and accounting misrepresentations executed by offshoring portions of their trade book, and perhaps fraud. There seems to be a pattern of behaviour here, of a firm taking very large positions in the markets and rationalizing them as 'hedges' in order to take undisclosed risks for short term profits and thereby presenting systemic risk. This is precisely the genre of problems that led to the collapse of Lehman Brothers. We ought not to forget that JPM was also sitting on over $600 million in stolen MF Global customer money for many months, and quietly returned it over a weekend not so long ago. And that they have claimed that 'hedging' is the rationale for their enormously large and leveraged short positions in the silver market, although I doubt that the truth of that will ever be allowed to come to light with any consequence. Have we learned nothing? When a people declare that 'greed is good' is their overweening motto and principle of action, then they have already forsaken their liberty, and ensured themselves and their children nothing more than a miserable and despicable decline. The Banks must be restrained, and the financial system reformed, with balance restored to the economy, before there can be any sustained growth and recovery. Did you catch that? JPM RETURNED over $600 Million to MF Global? Here's the scoop from June 1 JPMorgan has returned $600 million of MF Global money: WSJ (Reuters via yahoo finance) JPMorgan Chase & Co (NYS:JPM - News) has returned about $600 million that was at the bank when MF Global Holdings Ltd (MFGLQ.PK) went bust in October, the Wall Street Journal reported late on Friday citing people familiar with the matter. MG (sic) Global's bankruptcy trustee James Giddens might have additional claims against JPMorgan for several hundred million dollars, the business daily said. JPMorgan officials contend that the bank no longer holds any MF Global money, the Journal said citing the people. A JPMorgan spokeswoman was unavailable for comment outside regular business hours. Trustee James Giddens, who is unwinding MF Global's broker-dealer, is to provide a written report to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan on the status of his investigation into the company's unraveling. Yep the old "unavailable for comment" routine, eh? But King Jamie WAS available for comment on Wednesday. Lisa Du at BusinessInsider.com caught this clip of "Washington's Favorite Banker" WATCH: Jamie Dimon Schmoozes With Senators Before His Banking Committee Hearing There were a lot of complaints about some of the softball questions JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon got during his Senate Banking Committee hearing over his bank's $2 billion losing trade. Many pointed to the fact at JP Morgan and Dimon were huge donors to many of the senators on the banking committee. Well, this clip from Fox Business Network of Dimon before the hearing began can give you some more insight on that. In true banker fashion, Dimon walks into the room and immediately shakes hands with all the Senators he sees. Can you blame Jamie Dimon for being Jamie Dimon? Haha! Then see this picture in Max's Obama’s got his back: Jamie Dimon was wearing Presidential cufflinks at hearing Stacy Summary: Just in case the American peasant population needed to have their faces pushed into the dirt a little more, Jamie shows them who is boss. Yves Smith at NakedCapitalism fleshes out Dimon Testimony Whopper: CIO’s Gambling on Disaster = “Portfolio Hedging” Well, there’s nothing like seeing Jamie Dimon swinging for the fences. Dimon has taken his defense and turned it into an offense, in both senses of the word. In Senate testimony, Dimon revealed his idea of “portfolio hedging” to be even more egregious than the harshest critics thought. Dimon presented the job of the CIO to be to make modest amounts of money in good times and to make a lot of money when there’s a crisis. (That does not appear to be narrowly true, since in the last couple of years, during which there was no crisis, the CIO’s staff were among the best paid in the bank and produced significant profits for the bank. That is a bald faced admission that the CIO’s mandate had nothing to do with hedging. A hedge is a position taken to mitigate losses on an underlying exposure should they occur. Instead, Dimon has admitted that the mission of the CIO is to place bets on tail risks that are unrelated to JP Morgan’s exposures. A massive, systemically destructive strategy like the Magnetar trade would fit perfectly within the CIO’s mandate. Needless to say, this definition is an inversion of not just what the Volcker rule was meant to stand for (limiting financial firm gambles with taxpayer money), it’s NewSpeak, or in this case, DimonSpeak: “a hedge is whatever I say it is, no more and no less.” Another bit of DimonSpeak was his specious response when he was arguing against the Volcker rule. The JP Morgan chief asserted that a customer loan could be construed to be a prop trade. Um, no, Volcker applies to trading books. The fact that he’d run a line like that shows how little he thinks of the intelligence of the Senate Banking Committee and the public generally. ..... Ironically, Dimon’s throwaway comment to Merkley, that he’s already confessed to and takes full responsibility for the ‘small’ synthetic derivative portfolio’s mistakes, was never picked up by the other senators, and I’ll be surprised if the media appreciates the significance of that wee confession. Since Dimon has admitted in Congressional testimony that he was responsible for the internal control failures in the CIO portfolio SOX should now be a slam dunk for the SEC. But of course, that will never happen. .... WATCH the video of Nassim Nicholas Taleb on the BBC at the link! For our LAST WORD we go to Nomi Prins on DN! Thursday! JPMorgan Chase CEO Gets Warm Hill Welcome from Senators Flooded with Millions in Wall St. Donations Yeah, well, when I was tweeting about it, I think my reaction was to laugh. But I know it’s not really funny. It’s really quite sad. What he—to interpret what he just said there, it’s something like: "We didn’t really tell the regulators what was going on, because they didn’t ask. And when we knew what was going on, which we weren’t really watching, we told them, and then they sort of looked into it, and then all this happened." It’s this chicken-and-egg thing with regulators. And actually, throughout his testimony, he was very admissive of regulators doing anything. But he basically said, "Look, we misinformed them because we were misinformed." And the use of the word "we" kind of indicates a general "we." You know, on the one hand, he’s sorry. You know, "I am sorry." Jamie Dimon is sorry. On the other hand, "we sort of collectively didn’t really know, and then we did know, and when we did know, we told the regulators," and so forth. First of all, it’s the regulators’ job. This was 20 percent of the firm’s assets. Twenty percent of the largest bank in the world’s assets were tied up in these trades. You’re not allowed to, as a regulator, not know, not ask every single day, hour, whatever, what is going on in that trade. So that was definitely a fault of the regulators. But on the side of Chase, yes, we don’t know—and that’s sort of what he admitted, without wanting to admit it—what was really going on as that trade was going wrong. And again, the trade was a substantial portion of the assets of the firm. It was not a little trade that blew up. It was not something that, you know, he calls a mistake. It was a dedicated transaction, which he did not explain yesterday, for which, in a derivative’s way, in something called a synthetic derivative’s way, which is the most risky way of putting on the trade they were putting on, the position that they were taking, as we are seeing, they basically lost money by betting that North American corporate credits were going to improve over that period of time, and they did not. And the way that they bet that was a very expensive and risky way to do it. So, for Jamie Dimon to indicate that he kind of didn’t know until he did know is not—it cannot be true. ..... Well, first of all, it should be noted that Senator Merkley is not one of the recipients of JPMorgan Chase’s campaign contributions, so that gave him, I think, the latitude, which we need from our senators, in asking these kind of questions, number one. Number two, this has been the myth that Jamie Dimon has perpetuated from the get-go, that JPMorgan Chase was the only bank that was somehow isolated from the interrelationship of all of the subprime assets that were basically toxically created and fraudulently distributed through the global investor community on the backs of subprime loans that were basically extracted from individuals throughout the country and that somehow they were the only bank that was clean on this. In other words, it would not have suffered any losses, any negativity, had there not been any form of bailout or guarantees from the United States government. The—two points on that. First of all, he wasn’t separate from the New York Fed. You know, Tim Geithner was not someone kind of separate from him. Jamie Dimon, then and now, was and is a Class A director of the New York Fed, so he is the New York Fed in a lot of instances. But on a wider point, JPMorgan Chase benefited from two very big things that Senator Merkley didn’t even mention, which was that they achieved an acquisition of Bear Stearns, for which the government is still backing to the tune of $29 billion of guarantees for the assets in that acquisition, and it received some very favorable terms, and in negotiations, to acquire Washington Mutual. So, the result of that entire period was for JPMorgan to have emerged, by the help of so many things that Merkley mentioned as well as the two things I have just mentioned, to become the largest bank in the United States. So for him to sit there and say, "You know what? No, this was all just because I was really good, and it was—I was taking one for the team on Wall Street; otherwise—you know, they arm-twisted me. You know, they had a gun to my head. I couldn’t help it; I had to take the money," is absolutely ridiculous. ...... What we saw yesterday was a glimpse of how that lobbying money, as well as additional campaign money, and in many meetings and phone calls throughout the entire process, which we don’t even really quantify in those terms but have a tremendous impact on regulations and on how the industry is viewed and how particular members of it, certainly the larger ones like JPMorgan Chase, are viewed and the power that they have within the Senate and, therefore, with respect to regulation of their own industry. And the fact that there is a revolving door is very much intrinsic to the problem there. You’ve got an industry where—before, JPMorgan was talking about effectively policing himself, you know, regulators not knowing until we told them, and when we did, you know, and all of that. You know, we have a Senate Banking Committee that’s comprised, except for six members, actually, of people who have gotten contributions in some manner from JPMorgan Chase. You know, we have lobbyists who are going back and forth. Chuck Schumer is an example of someone who asked incredibly tepid questions yesterday. One of the things he said, I think, was, "Well, you know, shareholders lost some money, but taxpayers didn’t." And then he kind of proceeded to tag a question onto that, which was very, very light-handed. And so, these people really protect, on the side of Washington, the relationships with JPMorgan Chase. ...... But in terms of real structural change and regulation to make these banks smaller, to make them more accountable, to separate, you know, the deposits and loans of individuals from these types of trades that can go on in a chief investment office and lose billions of dollars, or even make billions of dollars, but have that kind of risk swing, is all because of the relationships, the monetary relationships and revolving door between the banking industry and the banking regulations. ...... Yeah, I mean, this is—this is why there’s no line between legislators and bankers. And beyond the millions of dollars that they are getting to run their campaigns and to stay in office or to get elected into office and so forth, there’s also all the sort of additional value that is received by the fact that JPMorgan Chase actually is giving them money, because if one bank is giving them money, it’s not the only bank giving them money, it’s the entire industry. And we’re looking at a piece of it through, you know, the largest and most powerful commercial bank in the United States, but this is the way it works. And these people know that partially why they are sitting there in those seats is, unfortunately, not because they were simply voted in, but because they had the money to basically market themselves and stay in and connect to their real friends, which are the banking community they’re supposed to be legislating against. MORE NOMI PRINS with Max below! If you have any of your money in Chase Bank (the "C" in JPMC) we strongly recommend www.moveyourmoneyproject.org and move your money OUT of Chase! For the Cherry on Top we dig our own Maddy for the BTV Tweet of the Week! _©

Yes, Jen. We. Are. Here. Meanwhile.......this Tweet made me lol...in a sad gut wrenching way. :P
Jesse LaGreca@JesseLaGreca Looking forward to the moment when Jamie Dimon holds up a treat & the whole Senate Committee gets up on their hind legs like he taught them

BradBlog chatter LinearBob adds But before that 90% rate, wasn't there an unbroken series of booms and busts? In other words, if the 1% can endlessly accumulate, then the economy will be unstable. We have a long history of such boom and bust cycles -- until we set up laws to prevent the bankers from gambling with their depositors money, and when the 1% had a good reason to leave their money in their companies instead of pulling it out, we had stability. What say you? Indeed! Of course the Beltway Bubalas only want you to hear their "version of events" starting with the WH Limo Ride for Obomber Senior Advisor DAVID PLOUFFE first on This Snufagopolis then Meet the David and State of the Candy plus even FAKE SNOOZE! Look for HOWARD DEAN on Face the Bob and while there throw bricks at MITT HEADROOM and LINDSEY GRAHAM. Aim yer bricks also at SICK SANTORUM on Candy and Snuff and JOHN "CRAZY TRAIN" MCCAIN on Meet the David. All the roundtables feature a sordid collection of D.C. navel-gazers so save a few bricks for them. Plenty of great stuff at our regulars including many interviews from last weekend's Netroots Nation and more from Peter B Collins on the War on Citizens United and how we can fight back (all free podcasts btw)! Tell yer friends! The Brick TeeVee crew ran into a small problem when the garden tiller wouldn't run but a C-Note fixed that so the glorious garden can continue! If our new fortified garden fence can keep out the critters we expect bumper crops, if it rains at all this summer (no rain to speak of in NE OH for the last four weeks). Have a great week and we'll hook up with you next Sunday in COL OH to see DAVID COBB on his MoveToAmend.org Barnstorming tour! BRICK TEEVEE ALERTS!_©
Monday, June 11, 2012

• Mariela Castro @ Democracy NOW! Mariela Castro, Daughter of Cuban President, Helps Lead Struggle for LGBTQ Rights in Changing Cuba & Mariela Castro on Ending the Embargo & Swapping Cuban Five for Jailed U.S. Contractor Alan Gross
  
• Saul Landau @ Democracy NOW! Will the Real Terrorist Please Stand Up: Saul Landau on U.S.-Aided Anti-Castro Militants & the Cuban 5
  

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

• Shayana Kadidal & Andy Worthington @ Democracy NOW! Supreme Court Rejects Gitmo Appeals, Spelling Potential End to Prisoners’ Legal Fight for Release
  
• Don Gorton, an LGBTQ rights advocate @ Democracy NOW! Romney Blocked Anti-Bullying Guide as Mass. Governor over Mention of "Bisexual," "Transgender"
  
• Chantal Berman, Democracy Now! fellow & Patrick Markee, senior policy analyst at Coalition for the Homeless in New York City @ Democracy NOW! Bloomberg Cuts Threaten Thousands with Eviction as NYC Homeless Population Hits Record 43,000
  

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

• Journalist Patrick Seale vs. Activist Rafif Jouejati @ Democracy NOW! Is Syria in a Civil War? Journalist Patrick Seale Debates Activist Rafif Jouejati on a Just Response
  
• Military Suicides Roundtable @ Democracy NOW! Military Suicide Epidemic: More U.S. Soldiers Have Killed Themselves Than Died on Battlefield in 2012
  

Thursday, June 14, 2012

• NOMI PRINS @ Democracy NOW! JPMorgan Chase CEO Gets Warm Hill Welcome from Senators Flooded with Millions in Wall St. Donations
  
• LORI WALLACH, director of Public Citizen’s Global Trade Watch @ Democracy NOW! Breaking ’08 Pledge, Leaked Trade Doc Shows Obama Wants to Help Corporations Avoid Regulations
  
• Jesselyn Radack, former ethics adviser to the United States Department of Justice @ Democracy NOW! After Unprecedented Attack on Whistleblowers, Obama Admin Accused of Leaking Info for Political Gain
  

Friday, June 15, 2012

• Sharif Abdel Kouddous, Democracy Now! correspondent reporting from Cairo @ Democracy NOW! A Judicial Coup in Egypt: Muslim Brotherhood-Controlled Parliament Dissolved, Military Gains Power
  
• RALPH NADER @ Democracy NOW! Ralph Nader: 30 Million Workers Would Benefit from Raising Minimum Wage to 1968 Level AND Overcoming Corporatism: Nader on 2012 Race, Wisconsin Recall, Attack on Pensions & the Supreme Court
  

»»» GRITtv @ www.grittv.org with Laura Flanders
»»» FEATURED SHOW Do We Need A Coming-Out Movement for the Poor? Is poverty such a problem in the US because poverty alleviation programs don't work, or because we have too many low-wage jobs? Peter Edelman of Georgetown University Law Center joins Laura Flanders to explain how we became a nation that fails to help its most needy citizens, what can be done and his new book, So Rich So Poor.
BRICK TEEVEE SPORT!_©
»»» NASCAR TNT It's the Quicken Loans 400 on the flat wide-open 2-mile oval! Coverage begins at 12:00 pm et
»»» MLB Sunday TBS Interleague Play! Yankees @ Nationals 1:30 pm et
»»» MLB Sunday Night ESPN Red Sox @ Cubs 8 pm et
»»» MLB Monday Night ESPN Braves @ Yankees 7 pm et
»»» MLB Wednesday Night ESPN2 Cardinals @ Tigers 7 pm et
»»» NBA FINALS on ABCOklahoma City @ Miami Game 3 - Series tied 1-1 Coverage begins at 9 pm et
BRICK TEEVEE ACTION!_©
The 1st Amendment is Our Permit Our permit to occupy is The First Amendment. Quickly sign the following statement which will be delivered to mayors, police chiefs and major media across the country:

Our permit to occupy public squares and parks is in The First Amendment, which affirms "the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances." When people across the Middle East occupied public squares, leaders in Washington mostly cheered those protesters and warned Middle Eastern governments not to use force to clear them. Those other societies don’t have a First Amendment. Yet Washington affirmed the universal right to assembly and protest. We do have a First Amendment. The force being used to clear nonviolent protesters from public squares in our country is unacceptable. It must stop.

October2011.org Sign the Petition to Get the 99% Deficit Proposal Heard in Congress

Please SIGN THE PETITION in support of the "99%'s Deficit Proposal" and plan direct actions to tell the Super Committee that the 99% have better solutions to our nation's crises. You can plan your own action at your Congressmember's office or join us in Freedom Plaza in Washington, DC for marches to Capitol Hill. Check our calendar for announcements.

VotersForJustice.org OUR GOAL: TO EMPOWER voters with facts and perspectives necessary to decipher the spin, obtain the truth, and support candidates that best represent their interests and values.
NET NEUTRALITY! SaveTheInternet.org A Push for Privacy in the Wake of the Carrier IQ Controversy Remember Carrier IQ, the company that makes the secret spying software that’s installed on more than 140 million phones? You know, the software that can record our most sensitive personal data? ... Thanks in part to the 22,000 people who joined Free Press’ call for a congressional investigation, some of those questions are closer to being answered and mobile users are closer to being protected. The protection comes in the form of a bill from Massachusetts Rep. Ed Markey. Markey released a draft of a bill called the "Mobile Device Privacy Act" that would require phone companies to disclose to users just what is being done with all of their data. If the bill passes, an opt-out provision would go into effect a year later and would require companies to allow users to opt out of data-collection schemes like the one developed by Carrier IQ........
CAMPAIGN FOR AMERICA'S FUTURE American Majority Rejects Washington Austerity Consensus – And We Demand Media Coverage by Roger Hickey, President, Campaign for America's Future: No more silent majority. The Campaign for America’s Future is joining with the Center for Economic and Policy Research (whose Co-Director, Dean Baker blogs regularly about economic bias in the media) and with FAIR (Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting) to monitor the media’s coverage and representation of the American Majority views as they go into covering the big deficit fight. But we want to enlist YOU too. Send us accounts of unbalanced coverage in the national media and in your local newspapers and television. Call up reporters, editors, assignment people and tell them when they are under-representing the views of the American Majority. We should have at least half the experts, pundits, quotes and real people represented in their coverage. In a debate as important as the one we are going into, we can’t allow the media to ignore the American Majority. Much more at www.ourfuture.org
MOVE TO AMEND! www.movetoamend.org SIGN HERE NOW! And check out more actions on the Move to Amend Calendar featuring David Cobb's Barnstorming Tour! Also visit Rep Alan Grayson's site www.savedemocracy.net GET INVOLVED! And Alan Grayson is running again in FL-8! Help out at CongressmanWithGuts.com
SUPPORT THE TROOPS WHO REFUSE TO FIGHT See CourageToResist.org and Bradley Manning Support Network
UPDATE! Michael Ratner on ANTIWAR RADIO Michael Ratner May 2, 2012: Michael Ratner, President Emeritus of the Center for Constitutional Rights, discusses his article “Bradley Manning: a show trial of state secrecy;” Manning’s quasi-public trial (which is open to observation, yet vital evidence and court documents are withheld from the media and public); why the NY Times is just as guilty of “aiding the enemy” as Manning and WikiLeaks; how President Obama and Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta made a fair trial impossible; and how you can support Bradley Manning in his time of need.
DONATE YOUR OLD CELL PHONES TO T.J. MARTELL FOUNDATIONHelp save lives. Donate your old & used iPhone, Blackberries, Droid and other phones to help the T.J. Martell Foundations fund life-saving cancer & AIDS research. For more information, go to www.tjmartellfoundation.org
CELLULAR PHONE TASK FORCE EDUCATION, ADVOCACY, SUPPORT at CellPhoneTaskForce.org The Cellular Phone Task Force is dedicated to halting the expansion of wireless technology because it cannot be made safe. We provide: education to the public concerning electromagnetic pollution (electrosmog); advocacy for an electromagnetically cleaner environment; support for individuals disabled by radiation from wireless technology and other sources.

B R I C K T E E V E E

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THEY report. YOU throw bricks. ©
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The essential guide for watching government propaganda
IRAQ: 4,486 US Military Dead as of April 21, 2012
AFGHANISTAN: 2,009 US Military Dead as of June 14, 2012
The Obameter: Tracking Obama's Campaign Promises
Considering Democracy: 8 Things to ask your Representative

• This Week (ABC) anchor George Stephanopoulos with Jake Tapper subbing
  • Fact Checking ABC's "This Week" at NPR "On the Media" - Jake Tapper, interim host of ABC's "This Week," liked the idea of fact-checking his guests' comments, so he set up a partnership with Politifact, a non-partisan fact-checking organization. See Politifact Statements ABC News 'This Week'
  • White House senior adviser David Plouffe
  • former Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum
  • ROUNDTABLE: Romney national campaign co-chair and former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, ABC News' George Will, political strategist and ABC News political analyst Matthew Dowd, former Obama economic adviser and ABC News consultant Austan Goolsbee, and editor and publisher of The Nation Katrina vanden Heuvel.
  

• Face The Nation (CBS) Host Bob Schiefer
  • On the trail with Mitt Romney
  • former Vermont Governor and 2004 Democratic Presidential Candidate Howard Dean
  • Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC)
  • ROUNDTABLE: The Wall Street Journal's Peggy Noonan, National Review & TIME Magazine's Richard Lowry, CBS News Political Correspondent Jan Crawford and CBS News Political Director John Dickerson
  

• 60 Minutes (CBS)
  • Insiders - Steve Kroft reports on how America's lawmakers could legally buy stock based on non-public information simply because they wouldn't pass a law against themselves - a law they finally passed after this story first ran. Ira Rosen and Gabrielle Schonder are the producers.
  • Freeman Hrabowski - University President Freeman Hrabowski has turned the University of Maryland Baltimore County into a well-known producer of outstanding scientists and engineers, many of whom are minorities. Byron Pitts reports. David Schneider is the producer.
  

• Meet the Press (NBC) Host David Gregory
  • Meet the Facts at NPR "On the Media" - Last December, NYU professor Jay Rosen proposed something simple yet revolutionary: why don't the Sunday morning chat shows fact check their guests? After "Meet the Press" host David Gregory declined, two college students launched a website to do it for him. One of them, Chas Danner, explains what they're trying to accomplish. See their website MeetTheFacts.com updating soon!
  • White House senior adviser David Plouffe
  • Sen. John McCain (R-AZ)
  • ROUNDTABLE: Washington Post associate editor David Maraniss; presidential historian Doris Kearns Goodwin; TIME’s Mark Halperin; Fmr. Rep. Harold Ford, Jr. (D-TN); and the Wall Street Journal’s Kim Strassel.
  

• State of the Union With Candy Crowley (CNN) At 9 AM ET, Candy talks to the power players: politicians, business leaders and international newsmakers who will make Monday morning's headlines. At NOON ET, Candy wraps it all up with fresh interviews and the best of the earlier hours.
  • White House Senior Adviser, David Plouffe
  • former presidential candidate Rick Santorum
  • Senator John Barrasso (R-WY)
  • Ranking Member of the House Budget Committee, Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD)
  • ROUNDTABLE: Matt Bai of the New York Times and Jessica Yellin, CNN’s Chief White House Correspondent
  

• HEAD ON RADIO with Bob Kincaid
  
  Headon Radio with Bob Kincaid 6 PM Eastern, 3 PM Pacific, 2300 GMT. Duration: 3 hrs. To be part of Conversation Radio on Head-on Radio, call toll-free (877) 443-2366, or use our Liberal community line at 304-658-3333. Email bob [at] headonradio [dot] com during the show!
  • Prayer Meetin' Wednesday!!!!! Uber Pope/Imam/Rabbi Bob lets the Religious Right have it! Listen HERE (mp3) NOW! Amen to the White Rose Society! Donate to Head On HERE! And join Coal River Mountain Watch at www.crmw.net!
  

• YOUR GREEN NEWS REPORT
  
  The Green News Report with Brad Friedman & Desi Doyen: 6 minutes of green news, politics, analysis & snarky comment! BOOKMARK greennews.bradblog.com NOW!
  • 'Green News Report' - June 14th IN TODAY'S RADIO REPORT: Big Oil worried about global warming! And still fighting to keep their billion-dollar taxpayer subsidies; OPEC fights to raise oil prices; Koch-funded Americans For Prosperity fights environmental extremist kite-flying schoolchildren; PLUS: Hey Fox 'News', whaddaya say now that gas prices have fallen? ... [cue: crickets] ... All that and more in today's Green News Report!
  • IN 'GREEN NEWS EXTRA' (see link): Poll: Independents (even Republicans) concerned about global warming, support clean energy; NY fracking proposal creates "sacrifice zones" in poor counties; NOAA: Hottest May on record; US solar installations jump 85%; SunEdison brings solar to India villages; Battery maker A123 unveils "breakthrough"; Diesel exhaust causes lung cancer; Deep divisions at UN's Rio+20 conference next week; Forest floors add moregreenhouse gases in a warming climate ... PLUS: Mayor Bloomberg Offering $9 Million for Good Ideas ... and much, MUCH more! ...
  • BRADBLOG UPDATE: ACLU Files Suit to Block 'Illegal' Purge of 'Potential Non-Citizen' Voters in Florida Guest blogged by Ernest A. Canning - The state of Florida and it's Secretary of State Ken Detzner (R) are knowingly violating Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act in their attempted purge of "potential non-citizens" from the Sunshine State voting rolls, according to a new federal lawsuit [PDF] filed by the ACLU and the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. The complaint follows on the heels of a May 31, 2012 two-page letter submitted to FL election officials by T. Christian Herren, the chief lawyer of the U.S. Justice Department's Voting Rights Division. In his letter, Herren opined that the state's voter roll purge is in violation of Section 5 --- at least in the 6 Florida counties "covered" by that section --- because the state has not sought preclearance from either the DOJ or a federal court, as required by that section of the 40-year old federal law. Additionally, the DOJ notes in its letter, the purge, coming as it does within the 90 days before Florida's federal primary election, is also in violation of the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) which covers the entire state. In response, FL State Department spokesman Chris Cates initially said they would continue the purge nonetheless, as they were "firmly committed to doing the right thing and preventing ineligible voters from being able to cast a ballot." In his official response to the DOJ a few days later, Detzner all but challenged the feds to bring a suit in order to stop the state from continuing their efforts...........
  • BRADCAST UPDATE! GUEST HOSTING the Mike Malloy Show (Nationally Syndicated, air affiliates, SiriusXM Ch. 127, Call-in#: 877.520.1150) MON-FRI 6/11-6/15, 6p-9p PT (9p-Mid. ET)
  
  • MON 6/11: WI Recall results questions; Can unions survive?; MUCH MORE!...
    
  • TUE 6/12: FL's illegal voter purge; CO exempts ballots from public records requests...
    
  • WED 6/13: Ron Paul surprise in Tampa?; The fight for/against money in elections...
    
  • THU 6/14: Dark corporate money in politics and how we the people can fight back...
    
  • FRI 6/15: Obama's immigration surprise; PLUS: Bush Admin whistleblower Rick Piltz...
    
  • Visit BradBlog.com to see who counts yer votes! Now up to 9,200+ Election Protection posts! Reference yer background/research at Who's Counting? too.

• The Peter B. Collins Show PODCAST!
  
  Listen at PeterBCollins.com!
  The Peter B. Collins Show covers American news and politics from the Left Coast. Veteran talk radio personality Peter B. Collins, based in San Francisco, delivers fresh interviews, commentary and analysis on a range of important topics, with views and voices you don’t often find in the corporate media.
  • Holiday Break and Website Changes
  
  To my valued listeners: We are making some changes to the website and our terms, effective in January. We will continue to offer free podcasts–my new daily news and commentary. Our in-depth interviews will be available for $1 per episode, or to subscribers who pay $5 per month or more. Loyal listeners who simply can’t afford it should send an email to peter@peterbcollins.com, as we will be offering a limited number of scholarships to our friends who are hurting during these tough times. More information will be posted as we complete the revisions. I’m grateful to each of you for listening and supporting this work, and hope that the new model will enable us to keep it going well into the future. All the best, -pbc
  • PBC Podcast 497 June 11, 2012 Montana AG Refuses to Use 11th Amendment in Supreme Court Brief; Dr. Jeff Kaye on Misuse of Malaria Drug on All Gitmo Prisoners Veteran attorney Rob Hager joins Adam Fergatch in part 3 of our series on the Montana appeal that directly challenges the Supreme Court’s decision in Citizens United; psychologist/journalist Jeffrey Kaye updates his investigation into misuse of malaria drug at Gitmo.
  • PBC Podcast 499 June 12, 2012 Part 4 on ‘Citizens United’: Mayer and Fergatch Respond to Adam Liptak Report in New York Times, and to Our Listener, Natalie, from Montana Attorney Carl Mayer and activist Adam Fergatch return for Part 4 of our series on their effort to overturn Citizens United. This podcast is free, available to all–please share it!
  • PBC Podcast 500 June 13, 2012 ‘Citizens United’ Part 5: File Name for Montana Case Mysteriously Changes; Sister Maureen Fiedler on the “War on Religion” and Much More Attorney Rob Hager returns to talk about key issues in the Montana appeal to the Supreme Court challenging Citizens United; public radio host Maureen Fiedler talks about religion in politics and politics in the Catholic religion.
  

• Ring of Fire Radio
  
  Find us at http://ringoffireradio.com and http://goleft.tv/ hosted by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Mike Papantonio and Sam Seder
  Ring of Fire Radio - GoLeft TV - Robert F. Kennedy, Mike Papantonio, Sam Seder - Politics, Commentary, and News.
  This Week on Ring of Fire! June 15, 2012
  • We’ll be hearing a collection of interviews from last week’s Netroots Nation event in Providence, Rhode Island:
  • Senator Sheldon Whitehouse will discuss his efforts to help reform our campaign finance system.
  • Senator Sherrod Brown from Ohio will discuss the student loan epidemic that is economically crippling college graduates.
  • Dave Zirin, political sportswriter for The Nation and Edge of Sports.com, will be here to tell us about the dangers that high school and college football players face, and why no one is talking about that issue.
  • And Joel Rubin from the Ploughshares Fund will give us the latest details on the situation regarding Iran’s nuclear programs.
  • VIDEO! Papantonio: How The Wisconsin Uprising Was Hijacked
  • VIDEO! Papantonio Introduces “Rick Scott: Governor Gollum” Last week, Scott Walker managed to retain his office as governor of Wisconsin, in spite of the fact that he’s one of the most disliked governors in the country. After 18 months of protests, rallies, and outside help, unions and other activists were unsuccessful in their efforts to oust Walker and his Republican cronies. And although Walker’s friends helped him win by pouring tens of millions of dollars into the race, that wasn’t the only deciding factor – Another factor that has gone overlooked is that the activists who started the recall drive and protests allowed their movement to be hijacked by politicos – on both sides – who managed to obscure the message that was so clear at the beginning of the Wisconsin uprising. Mike Papantonio talks about why this happened, and why there’s still hope, with Mother Jones reporter Andy Kroll.
  • VIDEO! Papantonio: Billionaires Now Running Our Democracy Mike Papantonio talks about how the billionaire inheritance class has completely hijacked our democratic process, and how they’re using Mitt Romney to fulfill their wishes for the future of our country.
  • Support Those Who Support Progressive Media! 2011 has certainly been a great year for Ring of Fire, and we’ve had some great sponsors that have helped support the show throughout the year. We wanted to take the time to personally thank each and every one of them, and we encourage all of our listeners to take the time to support those who have support us.
  • Join our blog at www.ringoffireradio.com. You can now SUBSCRIBE TO OUR PODCAST by clicking on the "Podcast" tab at the top of the Ring of Fire blog. Please help support progressive radio by signing up!
  Ring of Fire Radio Ring of Fire, hosted by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Mike Papantonio and Sam Seder: Saturdays at 3 o’clock Eastern, rebroadcasts 8-11 et Sunday evenings on Chicago's Progressive Talk WCPT AM & FM and 4 pm et on Sirius/XM 167 featuring The PAP Attack! "We’ll bring you the stories that the mainstream media didn’t feel like reporting this week."
  

• Majority Report with Sam Seder Streaming LIVE weekdays 11:30 am et @ Majority.fm!
  
  • June 11, 2012 Heather Hurlburt, Matt Duss on Syria & Shannyn Moore, Pebble Mine Threat
  • June 12, 2012 Eliot Spitzer, Facing the Fiscal Cliff
  • June 13, 2012 Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, Long-term Economic Reform, Kill List & Markos Moulitsas
  • June 14, 2012 Joel Rubin, Iranian Nuclear Arsenal, Jesse LaGreca & Zach Wahls
  • June 15, 2012 Casual Friday! Cliff Schecter, News & Isabel Gillies, Movies & Jeff Smith D17 Trial
  • MORE Podcast Interviews at Majority.fm!
  

• On the Edge with Max Keiser Podcasts and more @ MaxKeiser.com!
  
  "HI Y'ALL! Tell the people! Tell the people!"
  WHO IS MAX KEISER? Max Keiser is a financial expert, Prediction Markets analyst, inventor and filmmaker. He is the creator of the Hollywood Stock Exchange (HSX) the first Prediction Market. Max Keiser co-hosts "The Truth About Markets" on ResonanceFM 104.4 in London. He also produces and presents documentary films covering markets and finance for Al Jazeera’s "People & Power" series. Max Keiser started his career on Wall Street in 1983. He is the creator of KarmaBanque a site that enables activists to challenge corporate power.
  • VISIT PirateMyFilm.com!!! Crowd Funding for Pirates!
  • NEW! MaxKeiserTV on YouTube! MaxKeiserTV PLUS here is Max Keiser’s official Facebook page And here is the official Keiser Report page
  • The “Keiser Report” has been begging europe to do this for years by maxkeiser READ European Banks Preparing To Boycott Big Three Rating Agencies zerohedge(nakedcapitalism)
  • VIDEO! Max Keiser and Hugo Salinas Price on Sunny TV – Athens, Greece by maxkeiser Interview by George Noulas.
  • KEISER REPORT [KR300] Hot Potato Counterfeit Cash We discuss hot potatoes, big fish, counterfeit collateral and a stealth British default. In the second half of the show Max talks to Charles Hugh Smith of OfTwoMinds.com about austerity death spirals and phantom wealth.
  • KEISER REPORT [KR301] Keiser Report – Con Games Go Global! We discuss the European short change con in which debt and debt facilities are created and swapped at ever increasing speeds in order to defraud the population. In the second half of the show Max talks to economist Yanis Varoufakis about the ponzi austerity screwing Europeans right down to the ground with more debt.
  • KEISER REPORT [KR302] Keiser Report: City of Biggest Crooks We discuss Libor traders who rigged global interest rate market escaping charges while Iceland sentences bankers to four year prison terms. At the same time, Iceland’s central bank is raising interest rates to deal with a growing economy while Western bankster-riddled economies prepare for another round of money printing to deal with all the fraud. In the second half of the show Max talks to Brett Scott about financial activism, a Wikileaks for finance and collaboration with hedge funds.
  • ON THE EDGE [OTE163] On the Edge with Nomi Prins
  • THE TRUTH ABOUT MARKETS [TaM-362] The Truth About Intergalactic Jet Lag Download show HERE (mp3)
  • Donate to ResonanceFM here!
  

• ANTIWAR RADIO with Scott Horton
  LIVE (9-11am Pacific, 12pm - 2pm Eastern) Plenty of archives too!
  Listen at antiwar.com/radio
  • Sarah Marusek June 12, 2012: Sarah Marusek, social science doctoral candidate at the Maxwell School of Syracuse University, discusses her article “West Must Recognize Peaceful Palestinian Resistance Movement ;” the hundreds of thousands of down-and-out Palestinian refugees in Lebanon who, inspired by the Arab Spring uprisings in Egypt and beyond, are demonstrating to get back home; the surprising alliance between competing Palestinian factions (Fatah, Hamas) and militant groups (Islamic Jihad) that are joining together for peaceful rallies; the mainstream media’s refusal to cover (or contemplate) an event that shows Palestinians peacefully resisting Israeli occupation; and the leading women activists in the Palestinian movement.
  • Joe Lauria June 12, 2012: Independent investigative journalist Joe Lauria discusses his article “Security Council Blames Syria for Attack ;” allegations that the Houla massacre was actually Sunni rebels killing pro-government Alawites and Shia; why Bashar al-Assad deserves the blame for Syria’s civil unrest; the media’s scant coverage of al-Qaeda’s presence within Syria’s rebellion; Russia’s strategic interests in Syria aside from the Tartus naval port; why NATO intervention would almost certainly worsen the crisis; and the revenge massacres likely to follow in the wake of Syrian regime change, with a Sunni Islamist government in charge.
  • Jason Ditz June 14, 2012: Jason Ditz, managing news editor at Antiwar.com, discusses his debate with the “Prince of Darkness” (Richard Perle) on BBC Radio; the Obama administration’s refusal to apologize for the deadly November attack on a Pakistani military outpost – even though critical supply lines to Afghanistan remain closed as a consequence; the technological barrier preventing other countries from using drones the way the US does; and how the dearth of journalists in Syria allows the Western media to spin the narrative any way they choose.
  • Eric Margolis June 14, 2012: Eric Margolis, internationally syndicated columnist and author of American Raj, discusses his article “Egypt Headed for an Explosion;” the vote-rigging funny business that enabled a Mubarak retread to get in the presidential runoff election; why Egypt won’t remain a US client state, 2 billion a year in military aid notwithstanding; how the US Navy came to be both tremendously expensive and strategically useless; the USAF’s critical role in US foreign policy; and the Pentagon’s promotion of China as the next big threat to justify their enormous budget.
  • Many more interviews at Antiwar Radio!
  

• fauxnews
  • David Plouffe, Senior Adviser to the President
  • Chairman of the Senate Homeland Security Committee Joe Lieberman
  • former CIA Director, General Michael Hayden (Ret.)
  

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

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