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The Imperial Presidency If gwb did HALF of what 0bomber is doing to the U.S. Constitution, human rights and "rule of law" the progressives/liberals/dems would be outraged and in the streets. Instead we have the Vichy Dems SUPPORTING the ILLEGALITY of 0bombers actions! Talk about Cognitive Dissonance? The best argument the Vichy Dems can come up with is "Think of the Supreme Court" or "Imagine how much worse it would be under a pResident Mitt Headroom". Seriously. That's all they got. Remember this:

“If voting changed anything, they'd make it illegal.” -Emma Goldman, Lithuanian born American International anarchist who conducted leftist activities in the United States from about 1890 to 1917.

For those interested in OCCUPY BILDERBERGS the big-wig secret society has been meeting all weekend at the Westfields Marriot in Washington D.C. Read some more info at Bilderberg Power Masters Meet in the US. Then JOHN "Crybaby" BOEHNER made a speech last week where he said, "It's clear that the policies we've seen are not working." But he never acknowledges WHY. Like how his party has continually BLOCKED ANY IDEA or PROPOSAL or AMENDMENT that would even marginally HELP. Anyone. Somewhere. Anywhere. No. The GOPhers said NO. Thom Hartmann explains on RT's Big Picture Friday in the last segment. (Show not posted at RT as of this writing. We'll update as soon as it is so you can watch and be outraged too! -Ed.)
Next ZeroHedge.com has a Guest Post: Income Disparity Solution: Restore The Minimum Wage To 1969 Levels by Charles Hugh Smith from Of Two Minds If we want to lessen income disparity, the solution is easy: restore the minimum wage to levels considered reasonable 43 years ago in 1969. There is much hand-wringing about the vast income disparity in the U.S. between the top 5% and the bottom 25%, and precious little offered as a solution. Once again we are told the problem is "complex" and thus by inference, insoluble. Actually, it's easily addressed with one simple act: restore the minimum wage to its 1969 level, and adjust it for the inflation that has been officially under-reported. If you go to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Inflation Calculator and plug in $1.60 (the minimum wage in 1969 when I started working summers in high school) and select the year 1969, you find that in 2012 dollars the minimum wage should be $10 per hour if it were to match the rate considered "reasonable" 43 years ago, when the nation was significantly less wealthy and much less productive. ..... Read on and see the excellent graphs! Then read his follow-up Income Tax Solution: Apply Social Security Taxes to the Super-Wealthy. Great ideas but is there any "political will" to do any of this?
More ZeroHedge! Obama Ordered The "Code Stux" When Iran's nuclear facilities were publicly crippled in 2011 by what then was considered a revolutionary computer virus which destroys physical equipment, many immediately assumed the virus originated in Israel for obvious reasons. They were wrong. In what can be described as the first presidentially-mandated and condoned act of cyberwarfare, one circumventing the War Powers Act of course, the NYT informs us that the order to physically impair Iranian sovereignty came from none other than the Nobel Peace prize winning president: Barack Obama. From the NYT:

From his first months in office, President Obama secretly ordered increasingly sophisticated attacks on the computer systems that run Iran's main nuclear enrichment facilities, significantly expanding America's first sustained use of cyberweapons, according to participants in the program..... Told it was unclear how much the Iranians knew about the code, and offered evidence that it was still causing havoc, Mr. Obama decided that the cyberattacks should proceed. In the following weeks, the Natanz plant was hit by a newer version of the computer worm, and then another after that. The last of that series of attacks, a few weeks after Stuxnet was detected around the world, temporarily took out nearly 1,000 of the 5,000 centrifuges Iran had spinning at the time to purify uranium. This account of the American and Israeli effort to undermine the Iranian nuclear program is based on interviews over the past 18 months with current and former American, European and Israeli officials involved in the program, as well as a range of outside experts. None would allow their names to be used because the effort remains highly classified, and parts of it continue to this day.

For those confused - yes: this is an act of war. A New Normal war.

It appears to be the first time the United States has repeatedly used cyberweapons to cripple another country's infrastructure, achieving, with computer code, what until then could be accomplished only by bombing a country or sending in agents to plant explosives. ....

.... Remember though: they hate America for its freedoms.

Mr. Obama has repeatedly told his aides that there are risks to using - and particularly to overusing - the weapon. In fact, no country's infrastructure is more dependent on computer systems, and thus more vulnerable to attack, than that of the United States. It is only a matter of time, most experts believe, before it becomes the target of the same kind of weapon that the Americans have used, secretly, against Iran.

And it will be a shock, SHOCK when the world retaliates against America.
David Cole at The Nation reports on potential Military Detention for Journalists The important question of whether the military may hold US citizens and foreign nationals in indefinite detention came to a head recently in two important forums: a federal court in Manhattan and the House of Representatives. On May 16, US District Judge Katherine Forrest ruled unconstitutional an important section of the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2012, finding that it threatened US citizens with military detention for First Amendment–protected speech and associations. Two days later, taking up the NDAA for 2013, the House rejected a rare bipartisan proposal to bar the military detention of people apprehended on US soil. At the same time, it approved language that appeared to mandate that all foreign nationals who can be tried in a military commission must be tried there rather than in civilian criminal court. These developments underscore the remarkable fact that more than ten years after the September 11 terrorist attacks, the scope of the government’s power to use military authority to lock up human beings indefinitely remains fundamentally unclear. Indeed, it was that very ambiguity that led Judge Forrest to rule an important part of the NDAA unconstitutional. There is undoubtedly a legitimate place for military detention in the context of an armed conflict, so long as it conforms to the laws of war. But it is deeply disturbing that a decade into the conflict with Al Qaeda, there remain serious doubts about the extent of that awesome authority. Still more troubling is the apparent fact that the government is unwilling to erase those doubts. ..... On the merits, she determined that giving the government the power to detain on the basis of undefined “support” to undefined “associated forces” was both too broad and too vague. The government has the power to detain, she confirmed, but such a significant power must be subject to narrower and more clearly articulated limits. Forrest preliminarily barred the law’s enforcement against the plaintiffs. The government is certain to appeal. .... The other place this problem could be resolved, at least in theory, is Congress. It could amend the NDAA to make clear that it does not permit detention based on First Amendment–protected speech, and does not authorize the detention of US citizens. But that body has long since proven itself incapable of solving problems about civil liberties in the struggle against terrorism. In its latest intervention, the House refused to bar the military detention of people apprehended in the United States and has simultaneously insisted that, whenever possible, foreigners be tried in the military commission system, even if a civilian criminal trial would be simpler, more legitimate and more effective (as has consistently been shown to be the case for ten years). We have long known that we cannot expect rational action from Congress on these subjects. But the administration’s conduct in the lawsuit against the NDAA suggests it has lost its capacity for reason as well. Terrorists aim to induce fear and irrationality in their targets. Are they winning?
Brentin Mock at The Nation reports a Federal Judge Overturns Draconian Voter Registration Rules in Florida Florida scored a second big victory yesterday (here’s the first one) in federal judge Robert Hinkle’s decision to strike the forty-eight-hour deadline rule for groups handing in voter registration applications. Before Florida’s HB 1355 law was passed last year, completed registration applications could be turned in within ten days, allowing for those staging voter registration drives to do quality control checks to make sure forms were filled out accurately. But under HB 1355, a person wishing to register voters has to first register with the state to obtain an identification number—a provision left untouched by the judges ruling—and then had to turn in voter registration forms in literally forty-right hours after the minute it was signed. That last part is no joke—each voter registration form has to have the third-party registration organization’s state-issued ID number, date, hour and minute of form completion on it. If the form is handed in after the forty-eight-hour window, the registrar could face penalties, in some cases up to $1,000, even if the forms came late because of a natural disaster or car accident or got lost in the mail. Judge Hinkle called this part of the law “unworkable” and “burdensome” on those practicing their constitutional right to register people to vote.... BRADBLOG gets it FEDERAL JUDGE BLOCKS FL GOP'S 'ONEROUS' RESTRICTIONS ON VOTER REGISTRATION ...I'm happy to post a press release just sent out by the non-partisan Brennan Center for Justice at NYU, breaking the news that a federal judge has issued a preliminary injunction blocking the "key provisions of a restrictive voting law in Florida today." The Brennan Center describes the ruling as "a breakthrough victory for Florida voters and voting rights advocates nationwide." This is great news!
For more good news Bernie Sanders Introduces OCCUPIED Constitutional Amendment To Ban Corporate Money In Politics Last month, Rep. Ted Deutch (D-FL) stood up for the 99 Percent by introducing the Outlawing Corporate Cash Undermining the Public Interest in our Elections and Democracy (OCCUPIED) Amendment, which would overturn the Citizens United decision, re-establishing the right of Congress and the states to regulate campaign finance laws, and to effectively outlaw the ability of for-profit corporations to contribute to campaign spending. “Americans of all stripes agree that for far too long, corporations have occupied Washington and drowned out the voices of the people,” said Deutch in a statement introducing the amendment. “It is time to return the nation’s capital and our democracy to the people.” Today, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) introduced a Senate version of Deutch’s amendment. “There comes a time when an issue is so important that the only way to address it is by a constitutional amendment,” said Sanders in a statement provided to ThinkProgress. “I am thrilled that Senator Bernie Sanders has introduced the Saving American Democracy Amendment, a companion bill to H.J. Res 90, my legislation in the House,” said Deutch. “The dominance of corporations in Washington has imperiled the economic security of the American people and left our citizens profoundly disenchanted with our democracy. I look forward to working with Senator Sanders to save American democracy by banning all corporate spending in our elections and cracking down on secret front groups using anonymous corporate cash to undermine the public interest.” See DN! below for a great interview with Rep. Ted Deutch!
From the BBC Mavi Marmara: Israeli officers face Turkish trial A Turkish court has charged four senior Israeli military commanders over the killing of nine Turkish activists trying to reach Gaza in 2010 - Ex-military chief of staff Gabi Ashkenazi and former heads of military intelligence, the navy and air force are expected to be tried in absentia. The nine pro-Palestinian activists were killed after Israeli troops boarded their ship, the Mavi Marmara. They had been hoping to breach Israel's naval blockade and deliver aid to Gaza. A prosecutor at the court in Istanbul has called for each of the four Israeli officers to face nine life sentences, Turkish news agency Anatolia reported. The other three commanders are ex-naval chief Vice Admiral Eliezer Marom, former head of military intelligence Major General Amos Yadlin, and former head of the air force Brigadier General Avishai Lev. If they are convicted, the Turkish court could issue a warrant for their arrest.....
Bill Boyarsky at TruthDig asks Who Will the President Kill Next? It’s a Secret The revelation that President Barack Obama is personally selecting names for a kill list of suspected al-Qaida terrorists is a striking illustration of what actually occurs behind the White House’s closed doors. .... The idea of Obama picking out individuals for the death list brings back memories of President Lyndon B. Johnson selecting targets for bombing in Vietnam. So intent was Johnson on micromanaging the war that he lost sight of how the bombing strengthened the will of North Vietnam. Like Johnson, Obama micromanaging the drone attacks, with their killings of noncombatants, may be strengthening our foes. ..... Pre-emptively killing potential fighters was a motive for the Balkans’ ethnic cleansing. We can assume that’s not going on with our government, but we have a right to be certain. With Obama’s secrecy, we’ll never know the criteria he uses for his death lists. He and the rest of his administration brag about the killing of bin Laden as a justification for these deaths. But that was different. Bin Laden had been the subject of great public discussion for years. He was not some anonymous person put on a death list or an innocent killed in a drone attack. In this election year, the Times story is probably a plus for Obama and his effort to project a tough image. If the process were put to a vote, most Americans would probably agree with his decisions. But in 1942, most Americans agreed with President Franklin D. Roosevelt when he sent Americans of Japanese descent to prison camps. In the end, the imprisonment, planned in secret and sprung without warning on the victims, stained an otherwise admirable record. The secretive death list may do the same to Obama’s legacy.
Sign DAVID SIROTA'S 'DO NOT KILL LIST' NOW! Please don’t kill me, Obama In the trio of unalienable rights outlined in the Declaration of Independence, the reason “life” was listed first should be obvious: If you aren’t alive, you can’t have liberty or pursue happiness (or much of anything else, for that matter). That’s why this week’s revelations about President Obama personally overseeing a “Kill List” is so significant — the president’s extralegal actions undermine the very right from which all other rights exist. And it’s why I launched an official White House petition asking the president to create a “Do Not Kill” list that would at least allow Americans to protect themselves from being deprived of their lives at the hand of the president. Following the lead of other government-administered lists like the “Do Not Call” list and the “No Fly” list, the petition’s proposal is straightforward. It reads:

The New York Times this week reports that President Obama has created an official “Kill List” that he uses to personally order the assassination of American citizens. Considering that the government already has a “Do Not Call” list and a “No Fly” list, we hereby request that the White House create a “Do Not Kill” list in which American citizens can sign up to avoid being put on the president’s “Kill List” and therefore avoid being executed without indictment, judge, jury, trial or due process of law.

Sadly, the need for the government to create a “Do Not Kill” list is no longer theoretical. .... This all underscores why we need a “Do Not Kill” list — and thanks to the White House’s new petition system, there’s a chance we can make that a reality. If we get 25,000 signatures, the administration will have to consider the proposal and issue a public response to it. I hope everyone reading this will click here to sign the petition, forward it on to your friends, post it on your Twitter feed and post it on your Facebook page. If we want the most unalienable of rights to survive, we must speak out now and force the president to at least give us one way to avoid his execution orders.
Chris Floyd piles on at opednews.com Hymns to the Violence: The NYT's Love Letter to Obama's Murder Racket I must, at last, admit defeat. I simply have no words, no rhetorical ammunition, no conceptual frameworks that could adequately address the total moral nullity exposed in Monday's New York Times article on the death squad that Barack Obama is personally directing from the White House. ("Secret "Kill List' Proves a Test of Obama's Principles and Will.")
It is not so much a newspaper story as a love letter -- a love letter to death, to the awe-inspiring and fear-inducing power of death, as personified by Barack Obama in his temporary role as the manager of a ruthless, lawless imperial state. In the cringing obsequiousness of the multitude of insiders and sycophants who march in goose-step through the story, we can see the awe and fear -- indeed, the worship -- of death-dealing power. This enthrallment permeates the story, both in the words of the cringers and in the giddy thrill the writers display in gaining such delicious access to the inner sanctum.
In any other age -- including the last administration -- this story would have been presented as a scandalous exposé. The genuinely creepy scenes of the "nominating process" alone would have been seen as horrific revelations. Imagine the revulsion at the sight of George W. Bush and Dick Cheney and Don Rumsfeld sifting through PowerPoint slides on "suspected terrorists" all over the world, and giving their Neronic thumbs-up or -down as each swarthy face pops up on a screen in front of them. Imagine the tidal wave of moral outrage from the "Netroots Nation" and other progressive champions directed at Bush not only for operating a death squad (which he did), but then trotting out Condi and Colin and Bob Gates to brag about it openly, and to paint Bush as some kind of moral avatar for the careful consideration and philosophical rigor he applied to blowing human beings to bits in sneak attacks on faraway villages.
But the NYT piece is billed as just another "process story" about an interesting aspect of Obama's presidency, part of an election-year series assessing his record. It is based entirely on the viewpoints of Beltway insiders. The very few dollops of mild criticism of the murder program are voiced by figures from deep within the imperial machine. And even these caveats are mostly tactical in nature, based on one question: "Does the program work, is it effective?" There is not a single line that ever suggests, even slightly, that the program might be morally wrong. There is not a single line in the story suggesting that such a program should up for debate or even examination by Congress. Nor is there even a perfunctory quote from mainstream organizations such as the ACLU or Amnesty International or Human Rights Watch -- or from anyone in Pakistan or Yemen or the other main targets of Obama's proudly proclaimed and personally approved death squad.
In other words, this portrait of an American president signing off -- week after week after week after week -- on the extra-judicial murder of people all over the world is presented as something completely uncontroversial. Indeed, the main thrust of the story is not the fact that human beings -- including many women, children and men who have no connection whatsoever to "terrorism," alleged or otherwise -- are being regularly killed by the United States government; no, the main focus is how this program illustrates Barack Obama's "evolving" style of leadership during the course of his presidency. That's what's really important. The murders -- the eviscerated bodies, the children with their skulls bashed in, the pregnant women burned alive in their own homes -- are just background. Unimportant. Non-controversial. Here's how it works: ....[]... It is, I confess, beyond all my imagining that a national leader so deeply immersed in murdering people would trumpet his atrocity so openly, so gleefully -- and so deliberately, sending his top aides out to collude in a major story in the nation's leading newspaper, to ensure maximum exposure of his killing spree. .... Read the whole thing at OpEdNews.
Salon's Glenn Greenwald has had much to write about this week, way too much for us to snip, so we encourage you to read all of these:

• Obama the Warrior A new NYT article sheds considerable light on the character of the Democratic Commander-in-Chief
  
• How extremism is normalized The Obama administration has converted once unthinkable government claims into permanent political fixtures
  
• Deliberate media propaganda The media now knows that "militant" is a term of official propaganda, yet still use it for America's drone victims
  
• A reminder about WikiLeaks As the risk intensifies that Assange may be prosecuted for his journalism, it is vital to remember what's at stake
  

The Guardian UK's reporters Owen Bowcott and Esther Addley have the story Julian Assange given 14 days to challenge extradition ruling Julian Assange's fight against extradition to Sweden may stagger on to a second round at the supreme court after he was granted permission to submit fresh arguments. Despite losing by a majority of five to two, his lawyers have been given 14 days to consider whether to challenge a central point of the judgment on the correct interpretation of international treaties. The highly unusual legal development came after the supreme court justices decided that a public prosecutor was a "judicial authority" and that therefore Assange's arrest warrant had been lawfully issued. ..... The obscure but potentially pivotal issue raised by Dinah Rose QC, Assange's barrister, relates to Article 31.3 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties. It states that treaties can be interpreted bearing in mind the "subsequent practice" of their application. Assange's lawyers believe that several of the justices on the seven-judge panel relied on that principle of subsequent practice in deciding that a public prosecutor had become accepted across Europe as a judicial authority. .... His lawyers may also, concurrently, begin the process of appealing against the judgment to the European court of human rights in Strasbourg. According to the supreme court, the Crown Prosecution Service cannot start extraditing Assange until 13 June at the earliest. "The majority of the judges believe that parliament was seriously misled when it approved the European arrest warrant system," said Peirce. "Parliament thought a 'judicial authority' meant a judge or court but the majority of supreme court judges based their decision on what is the practice in Europe and decided it on the basis of the Vienna Convention, which was never argued before the court." ...... The veteran Australian journalist John Pilger, who has been supporting Assange, said: "I don't think this judgment is a blow. We are disappointed but it came so close. Three of the judges [who found against Assange] were tipping in our favour. "There was a consensus [on the bench] that parliament had been misled on this law. The court has now agreed to allow Julian Assange's legal team to go back and reconsider this. This case moves in mysterious ways and we are about to move into another mysterious stage of this whole unnecessary process." Jago Russell, chief executive of Fair Trials International which monitors the use of European extradition warrants, said: "[This] ruling takes Julian Assange one step closer to being extradited to Sweden. Although Sweden is rightly proud of its justice system, its overuse of pre-trial detention means that, if extradited, he is likely to be imprisoned and placed under extremely restrictive conditions." ...... In a related matter Greg Mitchell at The Nation reminds us Bradley Manning Marks Two Years in Custody as His Trial Nears Coverage of the Manning case may heat up this summer, so to mark the two-year anniversary of when he first came to the attention of the public, here is a look back at how the story unfolded in early June 2010. It’s taken from my new book and ebook with Kevin Gosztola, Truth and Consequences. Near the close of the book, Gosztola covers the latest Manning hearings this past spring, including a lengthy account of Adrian Lamo’s rather uncomfortable appearance on the witness stand. POPE-GATE Agence France-Presse reports (via Canada's Leader-Post) Pope's butler held in letters leak Vatican police arrested Friday a man - reportedly the pope's butler - on allegations of having leaked confidential documents and letters from the pontiff 's private study to newspapers. The man was caught in possession of secret documents, the Vatican said, but it would not confirm the suspect's identity, age, or when he had been arrested. "The inquiry carried out by Vatican police - allowed them to identify someone in possession of confidential documents. This person is currently being questioned," Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi told journalists. According to Il Foglio newspaper and ANSA news agency, the detained man is none other than the pope's butler, Paolo Gabriele, a member of the small team which works daily in Pope Benedict XVI's apartments. The Italian daily said he is likely to be used by the Vatican as "a handy scapegoat" for several others suspected of being involved in leaking documents, some of which ended up in a new book on the tiny state published a week ago. ..... Last month, the pope set up a special commission of cardinals to probe the leaks, which began in January and have seen private documents splashed in the Italian media - to the embarrassment and rage of the Holy See. Among papers leaked to Italy's press are some that have dealt with allegations of corruption within the Vatican. .... In a related matter Annie-Rose Strasser at ThinkProgress finds Church Excommunicates Doctor And Mother Of 9-Year-Old Rape Victim — But Not The Man Who Raped Her No matter one’s stance on contraception and abortion, most people feel sympathetic for a 9-year-old rape victim who is impregnated with twins by her step father, and is forced to undergo an abortion to save her life. The Catholic Church, however, excommunicated those who helped rescue her. In 2009, a 9 year old in Brazil had to have an emergency abortion after her mother brought her to the hospital for complaining about severe stomach pains and discovered the girl was four months pregnant. But after the procedure, instead of embracing the victim and offering to help the family, the Catholic Church excommunicated the doctor who performed the abortion and the girl’s mother. The Church did not excommunicate the rapist:

The controversy represents a PR nightmare for the Vatican. The unnamed girl’s mother and doctors were excommunicated for agreeing to Wednesday’s emergency abortion yet the Church has not taken formal steps against the stepfather, who is in custody. Jose Cardoso Sobrinho, the conservative regional archbishop for Pernambuco where the girl was rushed to hospital, has said that the man would not be thrown out of the Church, because although he had allegedly committed “a heinous crime”, the Church took the view that “the abortion, the elimination of an innocent life, was more serious”.

While the circumstances are much more grave in this example, the same conflict of beliefs is now happening the United States: While 82 percent of Catholics support birth control use, the Catholic Church is suing to have it removed from required health care plans..... And there's even more bad news for the Catholic Church in Philly. We go to the Philadelphia Priest Abuse Trial Blog for Closing Arguments in the Archdiocese Sex Abuse Case Quote Shakespeare, Martin Luther King, and A Love Letter From A Pedophile Priest A defense lawyer quoted Shakespeare and Twelve Angry Men as he talked to the jury about reasonable doubt. A prosecutor read a pornographic love note that a priest had written to a seventh-grader, and then he showed jurors a smiling, baby-faced photo of a 10-year-old altar boy before he was raped. It was time for closing arguments Thursday in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia sex abuse case, with lawyers from both sides looking to score last-minute points as they closed out 10 weeks of testimony. Judge M. Teresa Sarmina is expected to charge the jury Friday morning, and then it will be time for deliberations. ..... Meanwhile, back in Courtroom 304 of the Criminal Justice Center Thursday, Bergstrom portrayed Msgr. Lynn as "the man who documented the abuse" of children in the archdiocese. Jurors were repeatedly shown thousands of pages of Lynn's notes and confidential reports from the secret archive files mandated by canon law that were subpoenaed by the district attorney. Bergstrom said Lynn's reports "didn't pull any punches," but they also lead to Lynn's undoing. .... Msgr. Lynn is charged with endangering the welfare of a child, and conspiracy to endanger the welfare of a child. Father James J. Brennan is charged with the attempted rape of a 14-year-old, and endangering the welfare of a child. A third defendant, Father Edward V. Avery, has already pleaded guilty to involuntary deviant sexual intercourse with a 10-year-old, endangering the welfare of a child, and conspiracy to endanger the welfare of a child. In addition to the evidence against Msgr. Lynn and Father Brennan and Father Avery, the prosecution has been allowed to present the case files of 21 additional abuser priests, for the purposes of showing a pattern of behavior in the archdiocese in the handling of sex abuse claims against the clergy. Bergstrom said that by his count, 36 days out of the 40-day trial have been spent hearing evidence on the 21 additional priests. So Lynn is not only on trial for his own decisions in the handling of the two priests who were his co-defendants, but the monsignor is also being held accountable for the collective sins of a corrupt organization that has been raping and sexually abusing children -- and successfully covering it up -- since 1948. .... To find Lynn guilty on the endangerment charge, Bergstrom said, the jury would have to find that Lynn knowingly endangered children, or that he took no action to protect children, or that he took action "so lame and meager" that it resulted in children being endangered. ... Many more details at the link! Chris Hedges has a great interview with gay activist and pastor Mel White in his latest column at TruthDig.com The War on Gays who explains “What kind of environment creates a Dharun Ravi who would carry out that kind of bullying, as well as a kid like Tyler who would become a victim of that kind of bullying?” White asked when I reached him by phone at his home in Long Beach, Calif. “It is society. At its heart it is the church. The churches should be convicted, not just Ravi. He’s just an extension of the hatred that people feel about this threat, this gay threat. Pope Benedict XVI should be on trial. Richard Land from the Southern Baptists should be on trial. Religious leaders, Protestant and Catholic, should be on trial. They made this happen, but too few Americans make the connection.” And also in Philadelphia Michael Hirsch of the United Federation of Teachers reports Philadelphia school privatization plan triggers protests The state-appointed School Reform Commission’s recently announced plan to privatize most of the Philadelphia School District — the commission calls it “decentralization” –– is drawing fire from teachers, parents and community members, including those from Occupy Philadelphia. If approved, the plan would close 64 neighborhood schools in the next five years –– 40 next year alone –– and send thousands of students from traditional neighborhood schools to charter schools. The plan envisions that 40 percent of Philadelphia students will attend charters by 2017. The plan would also call for laying off custodial, transportation and maintenance service workers if they don’t agree to work for less than what private companies, already in negotiations with the district, are offering to charge. Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter says the city has a stark choice: either accept his plan to hike property taxes that disproportionately affect low-income residents or let schools close. Philadelphia Federation of Teachers President Jerry Jordan decried the radical restructuring, saying that the School Reform Commission was divesting itself of many of the core responsibilities of public education. He called it a “cynical, right-wing, market-driven” blueprint, one that is “totally dismantling the system.” Philadelphia Inquirer Staff Writer Kristen A. Graham reports Amid protests, Philly SRC adopts $2.5 billion school budget at wild meeting Over the objections of hundreds, the School Reform Commission adopted a $2.5 billion 2012-13 budget at a wild Thursday meeting interrupted frequently by chanting angry audience members. No one - activists or officials - likes the spending plan, which leaves many schools without full-time nurses or police officers and which banks on extra city money that may not come through. Still, "in this circumstance, we have little choice," Chief Recovery Officer Thomas Knudsen said. "We are effectively maxing out our credit card." The district will borrow $218 million to meet expenses, but officials say they will be able to restore structural balance - not spending more than they take in - by 2013-14. .... "We don't trust you," testified the Rev. Alyn Waller, pastor of Enon Tabernacle Baptist Church. "We don't trust what you say is true." ..... PFT leaders have said they will not negotiate early or make any financial concessions. .... Ramos also questioned the motivation of the activists who protested at the meetings. "I think parents are often drowned out by existing adult economic interests," he said. He said the coalition organized to oppose the budget was fueled by unions, specifically the PFT. PFT president Jerry Jordan dismissed that sentiment, saying his union was helping to organize, but was not putting words in anyone's mouth. .... "Instead of leadership and advocacy, all we hear from the SRC is deafening silence," Jordan said. "Our children cannot wait until the economy improves to get an education. They need safe schools and great programs now." ..... For more background see ColorLines The Remaking of Philadelphia Public Schools: Privatization or Bust. With the recall election in Wisconsin just days away John Nichols at The Nation describes Scott Walker's Recall Hypocrisy .... Barrett challenged this spin with a suggestion that Walker is a recall hypocrite. Referring to Walker during the debate, Barrett said: “He has signed recall petitions, it’s my understanding, against Senator Feingold, against Senator Kohl, not for criminal misbehavior, but because he disagreed with political decisions that were made.” Walker did not respond immediately. But the next day the governor said, “I have no memory” of signing on for the recall of the Democratic senators when they were targeted in 1997 by anti-abortion groups. Since organizers of the Feingold-Kohl recall effort say they’re unaware of whether Walker signed, and since the old petitions have been destroyed, this particular debate may remain unresolved. But there is no question that Scott Walker has spoken enthusiastically about the use of the recall power. Indeed, he attained his previous position as Milwaukee County executive in large part because of a recall initiative. And that initiative clearly delighted him. Back when he was a state legislator, Walker was an enthusiastic proponent of recall elections—especially in Milwaukee County. Walker got even more enthusiastic about recalls in 2002, when he became the favored candidate of the group seeking to remove Milwaukee County Executive Tom Ament. After Ament resigned, Walker was elected to replace him. When he ran for governor in 2010, Walker talked up the 2002 recall drive as an exercise in democracy. .... TAKE ACTION: Help Tom Barrett Defeat Scott Walker!!! GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE 400 PPM? AP's Seth Borenstein reports (via CSM) Climate change: Arctic passes 400 parts per million milestone Arctic monitoring stations show carbon dioxide levels are now above 400 parts per million. Carbon dioxide is the chief climate-change gas and stays in the atmosphere for 100 years. Before the Industrial Age, carbon dioxide levels were 275 ppm. -- Monitoring stations across the Arctic this spring are measuring more than 400 parts per million of the heat-trapping gas in the atmosphere. The number isn't quite a surprise, because it's been rising at an accelerating pace. Years ago, it passed the 350 ppm mark that many scientists say is the highest safe level for carbon dioxide. It now stands globally at 395. So far, only the Arctic has reached that 400 level, but the rest of the world will follow soon. .... It's been at least 800,000 years — probably more — since Earth saw carbon dioxide levels in the 400s, Butler and other climate scientists said. Until now. .... YIKES! Read on for the grim news. In a related matter The Union of Concerned Scientists have issued a new report on CORPORATE GREENWASHING A Climate of Corporate Control - How Corporations Have Influenced the U.S. Dialogue on Climate Science and Policy An overwhelming scientific consensus supports the reality of human-induced global warming and the importance of prompt action to limit its impact. Constructive, science-based public discussion of climate change impacts and policy solutions is urgently needed. Unfortunately, many U.S. companies are using their influence to muddy the waters—casting unwarranted doubt on the science, adding confusion to the policy discussion, and holding back or slowing down action on solutions. The 2012 UCS report, A Climate of Corporate Control, looks at statements and actions on climate science and policy by 28 U.S. companies, shows how these contributions can be problematic, and suggests steps that Congress, the public, the media, and companies themselves can take to address the problem. Corporations have the right, of course, to weigh in on public policy issues that affect their interests. But too often they do so irresponsibly, misrepresenting and misusing science at the public's expense, and in recent years their influence has grown. Corporations skew the national dialogue on climate policy in a variety of ways—making inconsistent statements across different venues, attacking science through industry-supported organizations, and taking advantage of the secrecy allowed them by current legal and regulatory structures.... Read more at the link and download "A Climate of Corporate Control (2012): Executive Summary" (pdf). DOMA Sunday's NYT has an editorial In Defense of Marriage which reads in part .... The panel’s key finding was that there was no "demonstrated connection" between the law’s hurtful treatment of same-sex couples and "its asserted goal of strengthening the bonds and benefits" of heterosexual marriage. It also said another rationale for the law — that it preserves scarce federal resources — was simply not true. We were disappointed that the panel declined to formally adopt the “strict scrutiny” standard of review in evaluating the measure’s legitimacy, as the plaintiffs and the Justice Department had urged. Laws like the Defense of Marriage Act that focus on a group long subjected to unfair discrimination, as gay people have been, should be presumed invalid unless lawmakers’ purpose in adopting the law is shown to serve a real and compelling interest. Even so, the panel took unusual care in reaching a conclusion grounded in current equal-protection jurisprudence. The court was clear that neither tradition nor the law’s stated aim of showing “moral disapproval of homosexuality” were legitimate grounds to discriminate. .....This is unlikely to be the final word. The case appears headed for the Supreme Court. The nation would be well-served if the justices let the panel’s ruling stand. Better yet, Congress should just repeal the dreadful law. ALEC UPDATE: Walmart Ends Membership In ALEC (Reuters via HuffPoAOL) Wal-Mart Stores Inc , the world's No. 1 retailer and the biggest seller of firearms in the United States, is dropping out of a U.S. conservative advocacy group that has been a lightning rod over voting and gun laws. Wal-Mart said late Wednesday it is suspending membership in the American Legislative Council (ALEC), which the retailer joined in 1993. ... Wal-Mart is the latest group to back away from supporting ALEC, including Coca-Cola Co, Kraft Foods Inc, McDonald's Corp, Procter & Gamble Co and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Wal-Mart's announcement comes as it grapples with recent allegations of bribery at its Mexican unit and a management decision to squelch an investigation -- a likely subject at the annual shareholders meeting on Friday. Speaking of that meeting we find at The Telegraph Walmart vows to 'get to the bottom' of corruption allegations as Lionel Richie plays at shareholder meeting! You just cannot make up stuff like this! For more stories you won't find on the corporomedia check out change-links.org Good stuff! As for the Beltway Bubalas it's CAGE MATCH SUNDAY with George Snufagopolis matching campaign "advisers" STEPHANIE CUTTER for 0bomber and ERIC FEHRNSTRON for Mitt Headroom while Face the Bob matches up REINCE PRIEBUS vs. DAVID AXELROD plus ED RENDELL vs. KAY BAILY HUTCHINSON. Meet the David "referees" DEVAL PATRICK vs. JOHN KASICH (prime brick target) but Dave comes off looking like the loan WWE official not seeing the havoc outside the ring! Haha! Not to be left on the sidelines State of the Candy snags Scott Walker opponent Milwaukee Mayor TOM BARRETT (who CNN claims is 7 points behind Herr Walker). Look for Nobel Laureate PAUL KRUGMAN on Snuffy's show promoting his new book "End This Depression Now!" and nicely telling George Will he's an idiot! Haha! Enough of that, eh? Check out DN! below for their Memorial Day Veterans @OCCUPYNATO, JIMMY CARTER about the Egyptian Elections, GLENN GREENWALD on 0bomber's "Kill List", Assange's attorney, TED DEUTCH on the FL VOTER SUPPRESSION RULING and more! AntiWarRadio has GARETH PORTER and PBC has an EXCLUSIVE with JASON LEOPOLD on Abu Zubaidah’s Brother! Ring of Fire has ERIC ALTERMAN and THOMAS FRANK and Majority Report has Friday regular Cliff "News Dissector" Schecter and Max is still covering JPM and the Euro crashes with gusto on the Keiser Report! Click anywhere and be instantly smarter! Really! It works! Ya can't go wrong! Don't forget this Wednesday is the 68th anniversary of D-Day. Perhaps OCCUPY somewhere with CANDLES. Wear a cool t-shirt and leave the signs at home. Just CANDLES. I'm sure you'll find somewhere in your community to go and OCCUPY. WITH CANDLES. BRICK TEEVEE ALERTS!_©
Monday, May 28, 2012

• VETERANS OCCUPY NATO @ Democracy NOW! Memorial Day Special! Watch the whole show!
  

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

• Sharif Abdel Kouddous, independent journalist and Democracy Now! correspondent @ Democracy NOW! Report from Cairo: Protests Erupt in Egypt as Mubarak’s Ex-PM Secures Spot in Presidential Runoff
  
• President Jimmy Carter @ Democracy NOW! Jimmy Carter on Monitoring Egyptian Elections, U.S.-Egypt Relations, Future of Camp David Accords
  
• Director Charles Ferguson @ Democracy NOW! "Inside Job" Director Charles Ferguson: Wall Street Has Turned the U.S. into a "Predatory Nation"
  

Wednesday, May 30, 2012

• Julian Assange Ruling @ Democracy NOW! Divided British Court Upholds Extradition of WikiLeaks Founder Julian Assange to Sweden AND Assange Attorney: British Ruling Sets Alarming Precedent for Judicial Independence in Europe PLUS With Global Spotlight on Assange Case, Bradley Manning Marks 2 Years Behind Bars
  
• Glenn Greenwald @ Democracy NOW! Glenn Greenwald: Obama’s Secret Kill List "The Most Radical Power a Government Can Seize"
  
• Charles Glass @ Democracy NOW! Veteran Mideast Journalist Charles Glass on Syria’s Violence & the Prospect of Military Intervention
  

Thursday, May 31, 2012

• Vicki Saporta & Dr. Willie Parker @ Democracy NOW! 3 Years After George Tiller’s Murder, Reproductive Rights Face New Legislative Attacks, Hate Crimes
  
• Nabeel Rajab, president of Bahrain’s Center for Human Rights & Zainab Alkhawaja, pro-democracy activist in Bahrain @ Democracy NOW! Out of Jail, Bahraini Activists Nabeel Rajab and Zainab Alkhawaja Urge End to U.S.-Backed Crackdown
  
• Jane Regan, journalism instructor and coordinator of Haiti Grassroots Watch @ Democracy NOW! Who Will Benefit from Haiti’s Gold Rush? Haitian Government Embraces U.S., Canadian Mining Firms
  

Friday, June 1, 2012

• Rep. Ted Deutch & Diana Sen, lead counsel for LatinoJustice @ Democracy NOW! Justice Department Orders Florida to Stop Voter Purge Targeting Latino, Democratic Voters AND The OCCUPIED Amendment: Rep. Ted Deutch on Banning Corporate Campaign Money Post-Citizens United
  
• Marc Solomon, national campaign director of Freedom to Marry @ Democracy NOW! In Victory for Marriage Equality, Appeals Court Rules DOMA Discriminates Against Same-Sex Couples
  

»»» 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 on FOX It's the FedEx 400 benefiting Autism Speaks from Dover! Coverage begins at 12:30 pm et
»»» MLB Sunday TBS Yankees @ Tigers 1 pm et
»»» MLB Sunday Night ESPN2 Cardinals @ Mets 8 pm et
»»» MLB Monday Night ESPN Dodgers @ Phillies 7 pm et
»»» MLB Wednesday Night ESPN Rays @ Yankees 7 pm et
»»» NBA CONFERENCE FINALS ESPN Sunday Miami @ Boston 8:30 pm et Game 4 - Heat lead 2-1; TNT Monday Thunder @ Spurs 9 pm et Game 5 - Series tied 2-2
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! Also visit Rep Alan Grayson's site www.savedemocracy.net 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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The essential guide for watching government propaganda
IRAQ: 4,486 US Military Dead as of April 21, 2012
AFGHANISTAN: 1,998 US Military Dead as of June 1, 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'
  • Obama deputy campaign manager Stephanie Cutter
  • Romney campaign senior advisor Eric Fehrnstrom
  • ROUNDTABLE: George Will, Democratic strategist and ABC News contributor Donna Brazile, and Nobel Prize-winning economist and New York Times columnist Paul Krugman, author of the new book "End This Depression Now!"
  

• Face The Nation (CBS) Host Bob Schiefer
  • David Axelrod, Obama's chief campaign strategist
  • Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus
  • ROUNDTABLE: Former Governor Ed Rendell, D-Penn., Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, The Washington Post's Michael Gerson (the former Bush speech writer) and The Week's Bob Shrum (he was John Kerry's strategist in 2004).
  

• 60 Minutes (CBS)
  • SpaceX - The company founded by Elon Musk recently became the first private firm to launch a space vehicle into orbit and successfully dock it at the International Space Station. The next test for SpaceX is whether it can compete against larger, more entrenched aeronautical companies to become the first private venture to put a man into orbit. Scott Pelley reports. Harry Radliffe is the producer.
  • The Murder of an American Nazi - Lesley Stahl reports on the murder of a neo-Nazi leader and captures a growing subculture of hate playing out in America's backyards and alongside the border -- where neo-Nazis patrol in order to keep illegal immigrants out. Shachar Bar-On 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!
  • Obama backer Gov. Deval Patrick (D-MA)
  • Romney backer John Kasich (R).
  • Fmr. Sen. Bill Bradley
  • ROUNDTABLE: Romney Senior Adviser Kevin Madden, Former McCain ’08 Senior Strategist Steve Schmidt, President of the Center for American Progress Neera Tanden, and Atlanta’s Mayor Kasim Reed (D).
  

• 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.
  • Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett
  • RGA Chairman, Governor Bob McDonnell of Virginia
  • Senator Richard Lugar (R-Indiana)
  • ROUNDTABLE: Washington Post's Dan Balz, the Wall Street Journal's Stephen Moore and Mark Zandi, chief economist for Moody’s Analytics.
  

• 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!
  • LIVE SHOW MONDAY!!!!! Bob The Activist is back from Europe but no new shows. Meanwhile catch Monday's live show from May 14! 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' - We'll Back June 7th! The Green News Report was scheduled to stand down for a few episodes beginning during Memorial Day Week next week, but my cold (the one you may have noticed in Tuesday's report) has gotten a bit worse. Actually, I feel fine, but my voice has another idea entirely. So we're going to duck out a bit earlier than planned, since we're on the road this week anyway and it makes life, and healing, a bit easier before the holiday. Brad and I will return with the Green News Report on its usual twice-weekly schedule beginning Thursday, June 7th! "See ya" then!
  • BRADBLOG UPDATE: Thanks to Wisconsin's Scott Walker for Helping to Put Talk Radio on Trial at the FCC Guest blogged by Sue Wilson - Anyone remember a time when radio seemed friendly and informative, rather than hostile and manipulative? I do. And I remember when it changed in 1996, after Bill Clinton signed the Telecommunications Act into law, and suddenly, huge corporations like Clear Channel began using our public airwaves --- those scarce radio frequencies which are owned by us ALL --- as a hammer to pummel Clinton and all other Democrats. I've been working to correct the problem ever since 1998. I've advocated rewriting the Telecommunications Act, made the film Broadcast Blues to educate people about the problem, founded the Media Action Center to get local groups communicating with their local broadcasters, filed petitions to deny stations' licenses, and more. Nothing worked. But now, I believe I have found the legal means to put Talk Radio on trial at the FCC --- and perhaps eventually at the Supreme Court --- and, ironically enough, we just may have embattled Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker to thank for it...
  • 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 Standard Podcast May 29, 2012 Jason Leopold’s Exclusive Investigation: Abu Zubaidah’s Brother, Part I Jason Leopold details his exclusive report on the brother of alleged al Qaeda ringleader Abu Zubaidah, who’s been living in the US since 1998 and paid a huge price for having a brother at Gitmo who has been tortured–but never charged or tried.
  • PBC Standard Podcast May 30, 2012 Jason Leopold on Abu Zubaidah’s Brother, Part 2: About the Investigation In Part 2 of our interview with Jason Leopold of Truthout, we talk about his 14-month investigation. It started when he read a comment on Andy Worthington’s site that referred to Abu Zubaidah’s brother.
  

• 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 1, 2012
  • best-selling author Thomas Frank will tell us how colleges are helping banks rip students off with toxic student loans.
  • Former GOP operative Michael Fumento will tell us why he’s decided to abandon the Republican Party – a party that he says has completely gone off the deep end.
  • And we’ll take a close look at our corporate-controlled media: Eric Alterman from The Nation will tell us how the wealthiest 1% of Americans are benefiting the most from our inept, corporate-controlled media, and Kingsley Dennis from Truthout will tell us how the corporate media is inhibiting our critical thinking abilities.
  • VIDEO! Papantonio: Mitt Romney Defends Student Loan Banking Scams Mike Papantonio appears on The Big Picture with Thom Hartmann to discuss the student loan banking scams that are putting billions of dollars in the pockets of Wall Street insiders, and leaving college graduates with debt loads that they’ll never be able to pay off.
  • VIDEO! Papantonio: Industry Covers Up Blood Thinner Dangers One of the first things that George W. Bush did when he took office was to pack every possible federal agency with industry hacks. The result is that we were left with an FDA staffed with former employees of drug manufacturers like Pfizer, Merck, and Bayer. Those industry insiders were more concerned with helping their former employers by approving deadly drugs than they were with protecting the public’s safety. Mike Papantonio discusses the latest in a long line of dangerous drugs that have been approved by our still-industry-friendly FDA with attorney Ned McWilliams.
  • 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!
  
  • May 29, 2012 Nick Hanauer, Elites & Failure of Trickle-Down Economics
  • May 30, 2012 Obama’s Targeted Killing & Other Stories
  • May 31, 2012 Manissa Maharawal & Zoltan Gluck, Student Stikes in Montreal & Tasteful Nudes, Dave Hill
  • June 1, 2012 Casual Friday! Cliff Schecter, Week’s News & Josh Orton, Film Favorite
  • 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
  • MUST READ BLOCKBUSTER REPORT FROM TERI BUHL ON WHY JP MORGAN’S PROBLEMS ARE JUST BEGINNING by maxkeiser READ SEC Tells JP Morgan Enforcement Action Coming over Bear’s Mortgage Backed Securities Violations
  • BREAKING: ANOTHER MAJOR VICTORY FOR THE SLA AGAINT JPM by maxkeiser READ JPM Cuts Q3 GDP Forecast From 3% To 2% (zerohedge)
  • VIDEO! Cant Pay Wont Pay! Solidarity with the People of Greece – Fourman Films by maxkeiser
  • KEISER REPORT [KR293] Keiser Report: Reform = Crime To Favor Wall St. Crooks We discuss the 99% knocking on Timmy Geithner’s door looking for ‘reform’ of criminal behavior. In the second half of the show Max talks to independent video journalist, Luke Rudkowski, about livestreaming to the world from a smartphone and his recent work covering the NATO summit in Chicago.
  • KEISER REPORT [KR294] Keiser Report: Asymmetric Accounting We discuss ‘asymmetric accounting,’ flatulent dark market clubs in austerity London and the $72 trillion claim against Limewire, while President Obama settles for $26 billion for widescale, systemic mortgage fraud. In the second half of the show Max talks to Jan Skoyles of TheRealAsset.co.uk about her campaign to Buy Britain’s Gold Back.
  • KEISER REPORT [KR295] Keiser Report: With Hugo Salinas Price We discuss the tax-free living Christine Lagarde, an unelected official, waving the flag for French banks while harassing Greek citizens while Silvio Berlusconi’s ‘pleasure chest’ drives up the bunga bunga market. In the second half of the show Max talks to Hugo Salinas Price who appeals to Alexis Tsipras to propose bringing a silver standard to Greece.
  • KEISER REPORT [KR296] Keiser Report: Plankton of Fraud We discuss the plankton of accounting fraud welcoming Jamie Dimon to the club. In the second half of the show Max talks to Simon Rose of SaveOurSavers.co.uk about the price of money and the central planning of the Bank of England
  • ON THE EDGE On the Edge with Dan Collins – 02 June 2012
  • 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
  • Robert P. Murphy May 27, 2012: Robert P. Murphy, author of The Politically Incorrect Guide to Capitalism, discusses his article “Who Needs War for Oil;” why the US military doesn’t need to intervene in the Middle East to “secure” supplies of oil; how embargoes hurt oil exporting countries more than their customers (shown by the US-supported embargo on Iran); and the contrarian theory that oil scarcity and higher prices are the true US policy goals.
  • Grant F. Smith May 27, 2012: Grant F. Smith, director of the Institute for Research: Middle Eastern Policy, discusses his article “US Charity Secretly Funds Israeli Nukes ;” how the Weizmann Institute, posing as a non-profit charity, conducts espionage and fundraising for Israel’s nuclear weapons program; why the US government continues pretending that Israel’s nukes don’t exist; the IRS’s tentative ruling on tax-deductible donations to the Weizmann Institute; how the Justice Department’s secretive “shutdown” orders on productive FBI investigations violates US obligations under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty; and why the mainstream media won’t touch this stuff with a ten foot pole.
  • Adam Morrow June 01, 2012: IPS News journalist Adam Morrow discusses his article “From Mubarak to Worse ;” the final two candidates - a Muslim Brother and a former Mubarak official – in Egypt’s presidential run-off election; why Egyptians are more concerned with Islamic dress codes than Gaza policy or foreign meddling; the Muslim Brotherhood’s history of cooperation with the West; Egypt’s unfinished constitution; and why Egypt’s socialist/leftist groups haven’t had any electoral success.
  • Gareth Porter June 01, 2012: Gareth Porter, investigative historian and journalist specializing in U.S. national security policy, discusses his article “US Hard Line in Failed Iran Talks Driven by Israel;” the deal-breaking US positions on sanctions relief and Iran’s Fordow enrichment facility; the US’s tried-and-true model for justifying military action, from Kosovo to Iraq, that works by sabotaging any diplomatic alternatives; the Obama administration’s seeming opposition to war with Iran; and how the neoconservatives won over all the ultra-rich philanthropists.
  • Many more interviews at Antiwar Radio!
  

• fauxnews
  • Ed Gillespie
  • Steven Rattner
  

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

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