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Brick TeeVee's Shotgun Blasts to the Bill Of Rights!

2012-01-29T03:54:00.000-05:00

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Shotgun Blasts to the Bill Of Rights We had an opening rant that goes something like this:
"JOSE PADILLA CASE ZERO RIGHTS COURT IGNORES AND BETRAYS THEIR CONSTITUTIONAL BALANCE OF POWER - Some may call it "TROIKA!" or "Three Strikes" or "Father-Son-Holy-Spirit" or "Hook Line and Sinker". Any way you look at it ALL THREE BRANCHES of Federal Government have been taken over by transnational corporations, a likelyhood The Founders feared: One force taking over all three branches of government, "if you can keep it" Ben Franklin quipped" but the BTV Crew gets easily distracted by the day's news even though U.S. citizens can now be deemed "enemy combatants" by The pResident at whim then "renditioned" to a far-away land for "enhanced interrogation" or even assassinated, habeus corpus is non-existent, telcos can monitor and save all citizens' electronic communications and hand them over to the government all without a court warrant while the government cries "STATE SECRETS" at every trial challenging these draconian laws and the judicial branch exonerates the plaintiffs as not having "standing" in the "opinion" of "The Court" while transnational corporations can spend unlimitied money getting their cronies elected to pass even more laws like these and the U.S. "defense" budget dwarfs all other countries' military expenditures COMBINED while the U.S. Constitution's Bill Of Rights has been riddled with so many legal shotgun blasts it is practically moot. But our regular BTV readers KNOW ALL THIS, right? So we move on....
The long saga of the murders in Haditha Iraq apparently have come to an end as the BBC reports Haditha marine Frank Wuterich enters guilty plea The final US marine to face charges over the killing of unarmed Iraqi civilians in Haditha in 2005 has pleaded guilty to dereliction of duty. Sgt Frank Wuterich was one of eight marines charged with murder or failure to investigate the killings, but now faces just three months in jail. The charges against six were dropped or dismissed, and one was acquitted. Sgt Wuterich reached a plea deal to bring an end to the most notorious case against US troops from the Iraq war. He faces a maximum of three months confinement, two-thirds forfeiture of pay and a demotion to the rank of private. Filmmaker Nick Broomfield wrote a few weeks ago in The Guardian UK
For the families of Haditha, this is a matter of honour ... My film, Battle for Haditha, which recreated the incident in all its brutality, split critics along political lines and drew cries of "unpatriotic" at a screening in front of marines in Los Angeles. Eight of those charged had their charges dropped and one was acquitted, leaving just Wuterich to stand. But if there was any doubt that the killings that day could be classed as anything other than war crimes, a number of incriminating documents have come to light in the past few weeks that place guilt beyond doubt. Some 400 pages from the military interrogation of the offending troops, which should have been destroyed as the Americans left Iraq last year, were uncovered by a New York Times reporter at a junkyard in Baghdad. One statement from a marine says Wuterich told his men to "shoot first and ask questions later", another witness recalls seeing Wuterich and other marines telling occupants of the taxi to kneel down before spraying them with bullets. One statement from soldier Steven Tatum, who has already been granted immunity, shows he changed his recollection of the day to admit he knew he was firing upon children at the time. Also recovered are the failed polygraph results of Sergeant Sanick Dela Cruz, who responded "no" on both counts when asked if he shot men at close range and kneeling down, and who later confessed he was told by Wuterich to lie about what happened that day.
Raheem Salman and Patrick J. McDonnell report for the Los Angeles Times In Iraq, Haditha case is reminder of justice denied The teacher still keeps family photos of the dead, visual mementos of lives cut short in an unremitting hail of gunfire. "The Americans killed children who were hiding inside the cupboards or under the beds," said Rafid Abdul Majeed Hadithi, 43, a teacher in the city of Haditha who says he witnessed the 2005 assault by U.S. Marines that took the lives of 24 unarmed Iraqi civilians. "Was this Marine charged with dereliction of duty because he didn't kill more? Is Iraqi blood so cheap?" In the United States, the brutal saga of Haditha — among the dead were seven children, including a toddler, three women, and a 76-year-old man in a wheelchair — may have concluded Monday with Marine Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich's guilty plea to negligent dereliction of duty. A military judge said Tuesday that Wuterich will serve no time in the brig under the terms of his plea bargain. Charges were previously dropped against six others involved in the Euphrates Valley incident; a seventh Marine was acquitted. The plea closed the books on a politically charged case that sparked debate about the manner in which U.S. troops react amid the "fog of war" and the tension of combat. For many Iraqis, however, Haditha remains a visceral reminder of the most troubling aspects of the 2003 U.S.-led invasion and subsequent occupation of their homeland. ... "This is the wrong message," said Yaseen Mehdi, an engineer and human rights activist. "We are not looking for financial compensation. We are looking for ethical compensation." Others have lamented what they saw as a lack of contrition. "With such crimes, the man who is responsible at least has to apologize to the families of the martyrs," said Ashwaq Jaff, a member of the Iraqi parliament's human rights committee. She has no doubt that cases such as Haditha, reinforcing the perception that U.S. forces went unpunished in the death or abuse of Iraqis, helped sully America's image. "There was a very negative reaction as a result of these incidents," said Jaff, a Kurd, one Iraqi ethnic group that did largely welcome the U.S. invasion. "This made the Iraqi street refuse their [continued] presence in Iraq." ... CBS News also reports Iraq eyes legal action over deadly Haditha raid Iraq will take legal action to ensure justice for the families of 24 unarmed Iraqi civilians killed in a U.S. raid in Haditha seven years ago, a government spokesman said Thursday, after the lone U.S. Marine convicted in the killings reached a deal to escape jail time. Residents in Haditha, a former Sunni insurgent stronghold of about 85,000 people along the Euphrates River valley some 140 miles northwest of Baghdad, have expressed outrage at the American military justice system for allowing Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich to avoid prison. "The Haditha incident was a big crime against innocent civilians," said Ali al-Moussawi, a spokesman for the Iraqi government. "We will follow up all legal procedures and judiciary measures" to seek justice in the case, he added. And NYT's Michael S. Schmidt adds Anger in Iraq After Plea Bargain Over 2005 Massacre ... Khalid Salman, 45, whose cousin was killed by the Marines in the massacre...vowed not to let the matter rest. “That soldier would be sent to prison for more than three months if he had thrown trash on the streets in America,” he said, adding: “We won’t be silent. We will resume the case through all international courts, and we will appeal the American resolution. Injustice has won this round, but there are many more rounds left.” Assim Omar al-Hadithi, 40, a relative of another victim, said that such a light sentence “shows the lies of the Americans, whether they are judges or members of the military.” He continued: “All the world knew that the American soldiers committed crimes in Iraq. We were extensively surprised when we heard the news, and it has made our minds even worse. It is no consolation for the victims’ families.”
SURVEILLANCE ALERT: Robert Wenzel of the Economic Policy Journal has this item at lewrockwell.com Dear Americans, We Are Surrounded ... But, now, in addition to these minor harassments, we have the NDAA, which allows the military on the President's order to grab any American off the street, who is deemed to be "aiding terrorists" and hold that American until the end of the "War on Terror", without trial or jury. And now, the DHS wants funding for more Visible Intermodal Prevention & Respons (VIPR) teams. What will these teams do? According to LaTi: As many as 25 VIPR (Visible Intermodal Prevention & Response) teams began patrolling train stations nationwide last summer conducting an estimated 9,300 "suspicionless" spot searches of travelers. The agency has said the presence of officers with explosive detection dogs, radiation monitors and other devices will act as a deterrent in the nation’s busiest travel hubs...A video shot in a train station in Savannah, Georgia, in February apparently showed TSA agents screening passengers as they stepped off a train — as opposed to the more common pre-boarding screening procedures..The TSA is planning to add an additional 12 VIPR teams across the country in 2012. As I said, we are surrounded, and still that doesn't mean much in and of itself, other than the minor harassment, but here's how things could get bad very fast. Serious price inflation could be only months away. It is very possible that this could result in the President putting price controls in effect at some point. Every person , who knows the first thing about price controls, knows they don't work and only result in shortages, still presidents reach for them. ... I fear price controls in a period when we are surrounded with all sorts of enforcement personnel tired of playing enforcement and looking for real enforcement. Unlike, during Nixon's price controls when there were no enforcement patrols, the enforcement teams are already in place. What could this mean? If the price inflation is high enough and the price controls tight enough, shortages could quickly develop across the country, but unlike the controls during the Nixon era, you have a built in DHS bureaucracy that will want to see the controls maintained, so they can show how necessary they are, just like we have now with the Drug Enforcement Agency. Welcome to the police state comrades!
Last Saturday marked the second anniversary of the SCOTUS's now infamous Citizens United ruling and it was met by Move to Amend Occupies the Courts! On HuffPo/AOL Mile Mogulescu explains On 2nd Anniversary of Citizens United: Why the Right, Left and Center Should Support Getting Money Out of Politics ... At least 15 constitutional amendments declaring that corporations are not people (at least for the purposes of making electoral contributions) and/or that money isn't speech have been introduced in Congress. A number of old line good government groups like Common Cause, Public Citizen and People for the American Way, as well as a number of new groups like United Republic, Move to Amend, and Free Speech for People have initiated mass citizens' movements to get money out of politics. City councils in Los Angeles, New York and a number of smaller cities have passed resolutions supporting amending the Constitution and efforts are under way to pass similar resolutions in cities, towns and states throughout the country. But even when this movement is led by non-partisan organizations like Common Cause and Public Citizen, they have been supported largely by people on the left of center and have received little support, or even been opposed by, conservatives. ... Surprisingly, many of the biggest corporations who make large campaign contributions would rather not have to. They feel that they're in an arms race in which they must make large-scale investments in political campaigns because their competitors do to. But anonymous sources tell me that many CEOs would rather not spend so much of their corporate cash in this way. If the playing field could be leveled, there may be support from elements of the business community to limiting money in politics. .... Conservatives should consider that getting money out of politics and ending the corruption of legal bribery that guarantees the continuation of wasteful government spending paid for by campaign contributions may well be in their best interest. Likewise, getting money out of politics should be a priority for "centrists" who would like to see a "grand bargain" in which the deficit is addressed by conservatives agreeing to tax increases and liberals agreeing to cutting spending, including on Medicare and Social Security. .... So on this second anniversary of the Citizens United decision, let's begin a dialogue between left, right and center on how to end the corruption of big money that is destroying American democracy. Let's create a system in which elections can produce an honest debate across the political spectrum of the best way to solve America's growing problems, based on who has the best ideas and not who has the most money. James Kwak, an associate professor at the University of Connecticut School of Law, writes at The Atlantic Citizens United Turns 2—and It's Still Wrong Since then, Harvard law professor John Coates has put some effort into figuring out just what corporations are doing with their political spending, and how it affects their shareholders. The short answer, revealed in his new working paper, is that political activities are bad for shareholders. ... The glorification of the corporation over the past thirty years has been predicated in large part on the myth that corporations are solely dedicated to maximizing shareholder value. But corporations only maximize shareholder value if shareholders have a way to keep executives and employees in line and prevent them from simply lining their own pockets. Decades of research have shown numerous failings in the standard corporate governance model: boards that are stuffed with cronies of the CEO, directors who have no ability to evaluate what their companies are actually doing, massive golden parachutes that insulate CEOs against failure, and so on. Poor oversight of political activity may be another to add to the list. There is much work still to be done on corporate political activity and its implications for shareholders. But the early evidence is that we cannot simply assume, as the Supreme Court did in Citizens United, that shareholder pressure will magically ensure that a company's political spending is always in its best interests. In this context, the need for improved disclosure is even more urgent. In a related matter The Institue for Public Accuracy has some comments from the The Nation Institute's Max Blumenthal via iWatchnews about how Newt Gingrich Gets Another $5 Million Via Pro-Israeli Casino Mogul Adelson .... He said today: "After Newt Gingrich befriended Las Vegas casino baron Sheldon Adelson in the late 1990's, Gingrich's politics on the Middle East suddenly developed a hawkish, neoconservative edge. Adelson, who is America's 8th wealthiest man, is a vocal supporter of the Greater Israel project of Jewish settlements and a military strike on Iran. .... Back in the U.S., Adelson pumped millions into rehabilitating Gingrich's career after the former House Speaker's ignominious political demise and descent into personal scandal. Thanks to Adelson, Gingrich was able to found a think tank that allowed him to build the infrastructure for his coming presidential bid. "On the presidential trail, Gingrich injected an ugly tinge of Islamophobia and anti-Arab bigotry into the campaign. His remark to a right-wing Jewish news outlet that the Palestinians were 'an invented people' was met with widespread criticism — and a vigorous defense by Adelson. Days later, Adelson funneled $5 million into a pro-Gingrich Super PAC, turning the key to Gingrich's stunning upset of Mitt Romney in South Carolina. Now, with Gingrich polling ahead of Romney in Florida, Adelson has pledged another $5 million, virtually guaranteeing that Gingrich will be competitive — and that more nasty attacks on Palestinians, Muslims, and Obama's foreign policy lay on the horizon. Adelson's relationship with Netanyahu, and his motives for funding Gingrich, were outlined in detail in Blumenthal's investigative report for the new Lebanese-based Al-Akhbar English, "The Bibi Connection" earlier this month. Blumenthal wrote that Netanyahu is waging a "shadow campaign … intended to be a factor in defeating Obama and electing a Republican in his place." Of course the most radical right-wingers are lining up to start a war against Iran and the most pro-Israel group that supports this is the American Israel PAC or AIPAC. Here's an ACTION ALERT! Will You Occupy AIPAC?

OCCUPY AIPAC

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Even as Gnewt Gingrich Namedrops ‘Ronald Reagan’ More Times In Debates Than Everyone Else Combined (mediaite.com) and the Right desperately try to rewrite history (see this classic with Mike Stark of StarkReports.com Rush Limbaugh chats w/me about Ronald Reagan’s legacy) ConsortiumNews.com has this "Exclusive: Guatemala has begun a politically difficult process to make human rights violators of the 1980s accountable for their crimes, including genocide inflicted on Indian villages, but the United States still heaps praise on the killers’ chief American accomplice, Ronald Reagan, writes Robert Parry" in Reagan’s Hand in Guatemala’s Genocide (Contains graphic descriptions)
We ask you to read Activists express concern for imprisoned priest at DisarmNowPlowshares.wordpress.com [83-year-old] Jesuit Fr. Bill Bichsel was serving a three-month prison term in the Federal Detention Center near Seattle, Wash., for a July 2010 action at the Y-12 [Nuclear Resisters] National Security Complex in Oak Ridge, Tenn., where a new nuclear weapons manufacturing facility is being planned. The priest has not eaten since Jan. 10 to protest his placement in solitary confinement. .... Supporters say Bichsel was visited by Buddhist monks with the Nipponzan Myohoji order when he was moved to the Tacoma facility Jan. 10. They say the authorities at the facility reprimanded Bichsel for the visit and had him rearrested the next morning. According to Kremer, Bichsel started his fast partly “to unite us as one and strengthen resolve against nuclear weapons” and would be appreciative of any who would join him in the effort. UPDATE: Bix has ended his fast… and some words from him!!!
Listen to Alternet's Joshua Holland on FRIDAY's Rick Smith Show (bottom of hour 2) where Holland announces a **NEW SHOW** Alternet Radio with Joshua Holland beginning Sunday February 7th at 6 PM ET on WE ACT RADIO. More info as it becomes available!
Liam Fox at NewsJunkiePost.com asks and answers Has Ex Goldman Sachs Staff turned Democrat Campaigner Infiltrated Occupy?
And last week pResident Obomber delivered his "State of the Union" speech we're sure you all watched! For a recap we defer to Melissa McEwan who decodes So the President Gave a Speech Last Night... at shakespearessister.blogspot.com with all the dog whistles exposed. Haha! Good Item! Then Lambert at The Daily Beast deconstructs George Soros in asking
The eternal question: Are the 1% stupid and/or evil? Soros votes for both Go read this excellent deconstruction! We already know Fox News Viewers Know Less Than People Who Don't Watch Any News so now comes a Yahoo News piece by LiveScience.com's Stephanie Pappas Low IQ & Conservative Beliefs Linked to Prejudice There's no gentle way to put it: People who give in to racism and prejudice may simply be dumb, according to a new study that is bound to stir public controversy. The research finds that children with low intelligence are more likely to hold prejudiced attitudes as adults. These findings point to a vicious cycle, according to lead researcher Gordon Hodson, a psychologist at Brock University in Ontario. Low-intelligence adults tend to gravitate toward socially conservative ideologies, the study found. Those ideologies, in turn, stress hierarchy and resistance to change, attitudes that can contribute to prejudice, Hodson wrote in an email to LiveScience. .... Nonetheless, there is reason to believe that strict right-wing ideology might appeal to those who have trouble grasping the complexity of the world. "Socially conservative ideologies tend to offer structure and order," Hodson said, explaining why these beliefs might draw those with low intelligence. "Unfortunately, many of these features can also contribute to prejudice." In another study, this one in the United States, Hodson and Busseri compared 254 people with the same amount of education but different levels of ability in abstract reasoning. They found that what applies to racism may also apply to homophobia. People who were poorer at abstract reasoning were more likely to exhibit prejudice against gays. As in the U.K. citizens, a lack of contact with gays and more acceptance of right-wing authoritarianism explained the link. ..... This item was too late for last week's BTV we have an UPDATE from Jesse's Café Américain Corzine, MF Execs and JPM Named in RICO Lawsuit snagged from Bloomberg Jan. 20 (Bloomberg) -- Jon Corzine, MF Global Holdings Ltd.’s former chief executive officer, was sued under U.S. racketeering law by commodity customers alleging he and other executives “unlawfully” took money from their accounts and failed to segregate their money as the law requires. The suit alleges that hundreds of millions of dollars were transferred from customers’ accounts to other MF Global units, at a time when the company was short of cash and faced calls for collateral as its risky Eurobond and other investments fell in value. Named in the suit, JPMorgan Chase & Co., the company’s banker, should have noticed the “depletion” of customer money, and should have investigated, according to the plaintiff. The customers are seeking unspecified restitution and damages. Privately sponsored RICO lawsuits have a difficult time obtaining the types of information that are required to make a conspiracy case unless they get lucky in the discovery process or find a willing whistleblower. The defendants generally lawyer up and stonewall, using the types of court maneuvers that prove so effective in mortgage fraud cases, theft of customer funds, and mass foreclosures based on forged documents. The chances of an Obama Administration investigation with teeth seems unlikely. Their Justice Department has strong ties to the big banks and mortgage companies and a very poor record of prosecuting fraud cases. Of course there is little reason to hope for anything different from any Republican administration. Ron Paul would be honest enough, but it is hard to tell which laws he would choose to enforce and which ones would be considered an intrusion on free markets. It might be more effective for the public to demand the appointment of a special prosecutor with a proven record of effective investigation of the big banks. Too bad Eliot Spitzer was taken out of the picture in a bank sponsored 'investigation' into his sex life by the Bush Justice Department. Also MAX KEISER alerts us with
Jamie Dimon to MF Global clients: “Let them eat shit” and points out this item at Bloomberg MF Global Clients May Lose in $700M Fight In another too-big-to-fail story Pat Garofalo at ThinkProgress posts this encouraging headline Bank Of America’s Offer To Homeowners: We’ll Modify Loans If You’ll Erase All The Mean Things Said About Us On Twitter ... According to BusinessWeek, Bank of America is fighting back by giving loan modifications to borrowers who have made complaints. The catch is that, in return for the modification, the borrower must agree to stay silent and expunge any previous criticisms of the bank from his or her public record: [story here] ...Now, if the Arizona officials’ claims are true, Bank of America has gone from obstruction to explicit payoffs in order to keep its mortgage mess under wraps. (HT: Naked Capitalism) Speaking of Naked Capitalism Matt Stoller posts Can the Schneiderman-Infused Financial Fraud Unit Prosecute Vikram Pandit? .... The Obama administration’s posture is not passive because Obama is weak, it is passive because President Obama and his administration believe passivity towards business interests is the appropriate role of government. Schneiderman does not believe this, he wants to govern. And that’s why he wants this Federal task force, because the Federal government has more resources and tools (including legal authority, personnel, jurisdiction, and documents) that he needs to do a reasonable job explaining to the country through the use of the Justice system what happened in the multi-trillion theft and why. But he is coupled, as co-Chair, with several of these people who, as Matt Taibbi puts it, might “in an ideal world… be targets of their own committee’s investigation.” This makes it very difficult to consider how they could possibly work well together, with such misaligned interests. There is a possible a collision coming, because the two parties have contradictory objectives. For now, the administration probably believes that this is a good political talking point, and nothing more. Perhaps the task force will go after a few mid-level people, or not, but it isn’t really going to cause any major problems for them. Schneiderman for his part has already said he’d walk away publicly if he is impeded in his investigation, as Dave Dayen noted in his terrific series of articles on the whole episode. As just one example, Jonathan Weil keeps wryly pointing out that Vikram Pandit at Citigroup may be guilty of violating Sarbanes-Oxley..... Speaking of D-Day he finds The Schneiderman Gambit: Financial Fraud Unit Appears Designed to Fail, and Grease Skids for Foreclosure Fraud Settlement ... This move opens up access to a variety of federal resources, at a larger scale available than in the New York Attorney General’s office. Schneiderman already had a deal with the Inspector General of the FHFA on information-sharing, but it was more limited. It also opens up other relevant jurisdictions that Schneiderman can pursue. But that assumes Schneiderman can get the buy-in he needs from co-chairs that seem committed to protecting the banks from harm. As Abigail Field writes, the deck looks stacked against Schneiderman if the goal is to reach consensus on prosecutions. And that could mean that the long-view goal here was not to prolong investigations and delay the settlement , as Felix Salmon believes, but precisely the opposite (though I do think Felix makes good points in that post, particularly about how this endless process has mainly delayed needed principal reductions). As one observer close to an AG told me last night, “I don’t know how Eric Schneiderman gets a wave and a wink from the President of the United States in the State of the Union address without standing behind the Administration’s agreement.” Indeed. That upsets the entire balance of power with respect to the settlement. If Schneiderman joins, it undermines the group of “Justice Democrat” AGs who were working on how to deal with investigations in the absence of a settlement. AG offices are freaking out about this, and it will be tough to keep them from acquiescing now. After all, they have a fig leaf of this new new investigation. More important, this announcement has collapsed the unified wall of objection on the left to a settlement. And I mean COLLAPSED. .... Only this isn’t a victory at all, at least not yet. Schneiderman may be trying to work from within, but he’s saddled with a panel full of co-chairs tied to banks with a history of obstructing accountability. The united front of Justice Democrats has been nicked. Kamala Harris, facing enormous pressure to go along with the settlement (she remains opposed at this point), now must contend with being the main big-state holdout AND having a family member co-chairing the investigation panel! .... I’d really like to be wrong about this. But this just reads like a gambit, a fix, a charade.
Our own BTV contributor msgeaux finds this very interesting article at GOLEM XIV from December
Plan B – How to loot nations and their banks legally. Does anyone think that if our governments fail to keep to their austerity targets and fail to keep bailing out the banking sector, that the banks will just shrug and say, “Well, thanks for trying” and accept their fate? Or do you think the banks might have a Plan B of their own? .... What I offer from here on is thinking out loud. I obvioulsy have no proof at all that there is a plan B. All I can hope to do is show you the elements which I think could make a Plan B for the banks. Then my argument is that if the mechanism I describe could work, if I have not simply misunderstood something, then I think the banks will surely have thought of it before me. And so it either already exists or it will. I think there are scraps of information that suggest it does exist and the collapse of MF Global might even be the first example of Plan B in action. The MF Global case certainly contains all the clues. .... The answer to all these questions lie in a change to Bankruptcy laws that happened around the world between 2002 and 05. This might seem like a detour into nerd city but it is not. It is the key. We urge you all to read this very carefully because this may be the linchpin of the entire global economy's collapse.
OUR LAST WORD comes from CHRIS HEDGES at TruthDig.com. Please go there to read all of this essay. We snip these....
Thank You for Standing Up

....... Our electoral system, already hostage to corporate money and corporate lobbyists, gasped its last two years ago. It died on Jan. 21, 2010, when the Supreme Court in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission granted to corporations the right to spend unlimited amounts on independent political campaigns. The ruling turned politicians into corporate employees. If any politician steps out of line, dares to defy corporate demands, this ruling hands to our corporate overlords the ability to pump massive amounts of anonymous money into campaigns to make sure the wayward are defeated and silenced. Politicians like Obama are hostages. They jump when corporations say jump. They beg when corporations say beg. They hand corporations exemptions, subsidies, trillions in taxpayer money, no-bid contracts and massive loans with virtually no interest, and they abolish any regulations that impede profits and protect the citizen. Corporations like Goldman Sachs, because they own the system, are bailed out by federal dollars and given essentially free government loans to gamble. I am not sure what to call our economic system, but it is not capitalism. And if any elected official so much as murmurs anything that sounds like dissent, the Supreme Court ruling permits corporations to destroy him or her. And they do. Turn off your televisions. Ignore the Newt-Mitt-Rick-Barack reality show. It is as relevant to your life as the gossip on “Jersey Shore.” The real debate, the debate raised by the Occupy movement about inequality, corporate malfeasance, the destruction of the ecosystem, and the security and surveillance state, is the only debate that matters. You won’t hear it on the corporate-owned airwaves and cable networks, including MSNBC, which has become to the Democratic Party what Fox News is to the lunatic fringe of the Republican Party. You won’t hear it on NPR or PBS. You won’t read about it in our major newspapers. The issues that matter are being debated, however, on “Democracy Now!,” LINK TV, The Real News , OCCUPY websites and Revolution Truth. They are being raised by journalists such as Glenn Greenwald and Matt Taibbi . You can find genuine ideas in corners of the Internet or in books by political philosophers such as Sheldon Wolin. But you have to go looking for them. Voting will not alter the corporate systems of power. Voting is an act of political theater. Voting in the United States is as futile and sterile as in the elections I covered as a reporter in dictatorships like Syria, Iran and Iraq. There were always opposition candidates offered up by these dictatorships. Give the people the illusion of choice. Throw up the pretense of debate. Let the power elite hold public celebrations to exalt the triumph of popular will. We can vote for Romney or Obama, but Goldman Sachs and ExxonMobil and Bank of America and the defense contractors always win. There is little difference between our electoral charade and the ones endured by the Syrians and Iranians. Do we really believe that Obama has, or ever had, any intention to change the culture in Washington? In this year’s presidential election I will vote for a third-party candidate, either the Green Party candidate or Rocky Anderson , assuming one of them makes it onto the ballot in New Jersey, but voting is nothing more than a brief chance to register our disgust with the corporate state. It will not alter the configurations of power. The campaign is not worth our emotional, physical or intellectual energy. Our efforts must be directed toward acts of civil disobedience, to chipping away, through nonviolent protest, at the pillars of established, corporate power. The corporate state is so unfair, so corrupt and so rotten that the institutions tasked with holding it up—the police, the press, the banking system, the civil service and the judiciary—have become vulnerable. It is becoming harder and harder for the corporations to convince its foot soldiers to hold the system in place. ....... “History shows the demands made by those in revolt are never initially considered by government,” [Kevin Zeese] said. “Our job is to make the politically impossible the politically inevitable.” I do not know how long it will take to dethrone the corporate state, but I do know it is a dead and terminal system of power. As the global economy deteriorates and climate change causes greater disruptions, these corporations will be increasingly discredited. I know the iron grip of corporations over our lives will, eventually, be broken. The corporate state will, like all wounded animals, lash out with a blind fury, which is why I suspect we have been given the National Defense Authorization Act, which permits the military to arrest and hold U.S. citizens without due process. It will increase pressure to become crueler and more callous at the base of the columns it depends on for survival. And eventually it will break. No one knows how long this will take. It could be months, years, maybe even a decade, although the massive assault by the fossil fuel industry on the ecosystem will probably force a popular response sooner than we expect. The only question is how much damage these corporations will be permitted to inflict. I attended a rally Friday night in Foley Square, a few blocks from the criminal court where I had spent the morning. It was part of the Occupy the Courts event held across the nation to protest America’s corporate coup and the Supreme Court ruling in the Citizens United case. It was cold and blustery. Snow was on the way. Many in the crowd of a couple of hundred were visibly chilled. I spoke about the movement. I spoke about the lawsuit I have brought against Barack Obama and the secretary of defense to challenge the National Defense Authorization Act. I spoke about the inevitability of the Occupy movement. I realized, afterward, I had forgotten to say what was most important. I forgot to say thank you. Thank you for standing up to corporate power on a cold winter’s night. Thank you for making hope visible. You must never underestimate your power. I was sentenced in the day. I was exonerated in the night.

Well said, Mr. Hedges, well said. And we didn't have time to cover the First Anniversary of Egypt's Tahrir Square protests so see Sharif Abdel Kouddous at DN! for that story. Read, watch and listen to more of this week's stories and events below and have a good active week! OCCUPY SOMEWHERE!

BRICK TEEVEE ALERTS!_©

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»»» Jared Bernstein @ Democracy NOW! WATCH NOW Fmr. Obama Adviser: Focus on U.S. Inequality in Election-Year SOTU Has Occupy Wall Street’s Imprint Jan 25, 2012

»»» Ralph Nader @ Democracy NOW! "He Says One Thing and Does Another": Ralph Nader Responds to Obama’s State of the Union Address Jan 25, 2012

»»» Sharif Abdel Kouddous @ Democracy NOW! Egypt: Sharif Abdel Kouddous Reports from Cairo as Crowds Mark 1 Year of Revolution in Tahrir Square AND "In Tahrir Square": HBO Doc on Egypt’s Revolution Through Eyes of Democracy Now!’s Sharif Kouddous Jan 25, 2012

»»» Time Magazine contributor Tim McGirk @ Democracy NOW! WATCH NOW Iraqis Voice Outrage as Haditha Massacre Trial Ends in No Jail Time for Accused U.S. Marines Jan 26, 2012

»»» Paul M. Barrett, author of "Glock: The Rise of America’s Gun" @ Democracy NOW! WATCH NOW Glock: As Giffords Exits, a Look at the Gun Used in Tucson Rampage and Other U.S. Mass Shootings Jan 26, 2012

»»» Juan Gonzalez, New York Daily News columnist and co-host of Democracy Now! @ Democracy NOW! WATCH NOW Despite Salary Caps, Treasury Approved Lucrative Exec Payouts at Dozens of Bailed-Out Firms Jan 27, 2012

»»» Linda Sarsour & Gal Beckerman @ Democracy NOW! WATCH NOW Gingrich’s Extremist Anti-Palestinian Stance Follows Millions from Casino Magnate Sheldon Adelson Jan 27, 2012

»»» GRITtv @ www.grittv.org with Laura Flanders

»»» FEATURED SHOW Where are the Peace Pundits? President Obama's 2012 State of the Union opened and closed with a celebration of the US military. That was his choice; the media chose not to raise a peep of critique. Yet US military targets proliferate—abroad—with unmanned drones assassinating unconvicted suspects in innumerable undeclared wars. And at home. The 2012 National Defense Authorization Act makes indefinite military detention without charge or trial a permanent feature of the American legal system. It’s kind of the critics not to mention that—or the president's four-year-old pledge to close Guantánamo, and to restore the “rule of law.” If only peace activists were invited to contribute to those post-show pundit panels! Long time peace-builder and GRITtv regular, Kathy Kelly joined Laura in studio in June 2010 to discuss the consequences of a "robotized" U.S. military. She described the devastation she had seen and the way people are forced to live, and she questioned the logic of continuing to spend so much money on war. You can read Laura's column on the president's speech ("Not a Peep") in full at TheNation.com .

BRICK TEEVEE SPORT!_©

»»» NBA on TNT! Double-header Thursday! Bulls @ Knicks 8 pm et then Nuggets @ Clippers 10:30 pm et

BRICK TEEVEE ACTION!_©

360.org January 24 2012 in Washington D.C. Blow the Whistle on Big Oil Corruption On Tuesday January 24th, we going to Washington DC to blow the whistle on Big Oil corruption in Congress. We'll be gathering at the Capitol dressed in referee uniforms (yep, stripes and all), and then heading to the American Petroleum Institute - Big Oil's top lobby - to do the same. It will be unavoidable, very visible, and just disruptive enough to absolutely get the attention of the oil industry's representatives in Congress and put them on notice that the era of big oil corruption will soon be coming to an end.
UPDATE: We're still working out the exact meeting place and a few other details, but here are the key things you need to know:
What: Blowing the Whistle on Big Oil Corruption in Congress
When: Tuesday January 24th, 12 Noon
Where: West Lawn, US Capitol Building, Washington DC

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.

NET NEUTRALITY! SaveTheInternet.org SOPA If you've been living under an Internet-free rock the past couple of weeks, you might have managed to miss the steady drumbeat of opposition to HR 3261, the so-called Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA). Then again, if you've been living under an Internet-free rock, you've already had a preview of what we're facing if SOPA goes into effect. AmericanCensorship.org has pulled together an infographic that explains in very basic terms the services and sites that are at greatest risk from SOPA here: Infographic: Effects of the Internet Blacklist Bill (SOPA). More info at American Censorship Day READ Internet Censorship: Not Today, Not Tomorrow SIGN NOW! Internet censorship is coming to America. It’s in the form of a bill in Congress that gives corporations unprecedented power to blacklist websites at will. If passed, the “Stop Online Piracy Act,” or SOPA (HR 3261), could rip apart the open fabric of the Internet. People could see their websites disappear from the Internet for a “crime” as innocent as posting a video of themselves singing along to a favorite song. Sign this petition NOW! Keep BTV and YOUR blog alive! Listen to Sam Seder with Tim Karr of Free Press on Net Neutrality [11•10•11] UPDATE: Bypass SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) DNS Blocking with DeSopa 1.1 A new anti-SOPA add-on for Firefox, titled “DeSopa” is such a counter measure.When installed, users can click a single button to resolve a blocked domain via foreign DNS servers, bypassing all domestic DNS blockades and allowing the user to browse the site though the bare IP-address (if supported).“I feel that the general public is not aware of the gravity of SOPA and Congress seems like they are about to cater to the special interests involved, to the detriment of Internet, for which I and many others live and breathe,” DeSopa developer T Rizk told....

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 UPDATE! Manning-Lamo Chat Logs Revealed at wired.com plus The Deeply Personal Details in New Bradley Manning Chat Logs and Bradley Manning Support Network Much more at link.

UPDATE! BRADLEY MANNING UPDATE: Robert Parry Exclusive America’s Debt to Bradley Manning So, it was useful to examine the WikiLeaks documents regarding the election of the new IAEA leader in 2009 to understand why this flip may have occurred. What those classified State Department cables show is that the IAEA’s new director general, Japanese diplomat Yukiya Amano, credited his victory largely to U.S. government support and promptly stuck his hand out for U.S. money. Further, Amano left little doubt that he would side with the United States in its confrontation with Iran and that he would even meet secretly with Israeli officials regarding their purported evidence on Iran’s nuclear program, despite the fact that Israel is arguably the world’s preeminent rogue nuclear state and rejects IAEA inspections of its own nuclear sites. According to U.S. embassy cables from Vienna, Austria, the site of IAEA’s headquarters, American diplomats in 2009 were cheering the prospect that Amano would advance U.S. interests in ways that outgoing IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei wouldn’t. ..... In private, Amano agreed to “consultations” with the head of the Israeli Atomic Energy Commission, Pyatt reported. (It is ironic indeed that Amano would have secret contacts with Israeli officials about Iran’s alleged nuclear weapons program, which has yet to yield a single bomb, when Israel possesses a large and undeclared nuclear arsenal.) In a subsequent cable dated Oct. 16, 2009, the U.S. mission in Vienna said Amano “took pains to emphasize his support for U.S. strategic objectives for the Agency. Amano reminded ambassador [Glyn Davies] on several occasions that … he was solidly in the U.S. court on every key strategic decision, from high-level personnel appointments to the handling of Iran’s alleged nuclear weapons program. “More candidly, Amano noted the importance of maintaining a certain ‘constructive ambiguity’ about his plans, at least until he took over for DG ElBaradei in December” 2009. In other words, the emerging picture of Amano is of a bureaucrat eager to bend in directions favored by the United States and Israel, especially regarding Iran’s nuclear program. Amano’s behavior surely contrasts with how the more independent-minded ElBaradei resisted some of Bush’s key claims about Iraq’s supposed nuclear weapons program, denouncing some documents as forgeries. Today, with some Republican presidential contenders falling over themselves to bond with Israel over its desire to attack Iran, this sort of detail puts the IAEA report into a fuller context that can help American voters judge whether another war is necessary or whether they’re being misled again by hyped allegations. More at link...

DONATE YOUR OLD CELL PHONES TO T.J. MARTELL FOUNDATION Help 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

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: 4,484 US Military Dead as of Dec 31, 2011

AFGHANISTAN: 1,888 US Military Dead as of Jan 27, 2012

The Obameter: Tracking Obama's Campaign Promises

Considering Democracy: 8 Things to ask your Representative

This Week (ABC) anchor George Stephanopoulos

UPDATE: CNN reported today that renowned international correspondent Christiane Amanpour will be returning to CNN with a weekday program on its International network, while continuing at ABC News as a global affairs anchor. Former “This Week” host George Stephanopoulos will return to the program on 8 January, while continuing his role as an anchor for “Good Morning America”. FULL STORY

• 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'

• former House Speaker Newt Gingrich

• House Speaker John Boehner

• ROUNDTABLE: George Will, Democratic strategist Donna Brazile, former Obama economic adviser Austan Goolsbee, and radio host and Fox News contributor Laura Ingraham
Face The Nation (CBS) Host Bob Schiefer this Sunday: Live from Miami

• Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz

• Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus

• former Presidential Candidate, Republican Congresswoman Michele Bachmann

• Businessman Donald Trump

• Florida Congressmen Republican Allen West and Mario Diaz-Balart

• ROUNDTABLE: CBS News' Political Director John Dickerson, Real Clear Politics' Scott Conroy, Marc Caputo of the Miami Herald

• Florida native, humorist Dave Barry
60 Minutes (CBS) "60 Minutes Presents: Into the Wild," a special hour devoted to the natural world

• Defense Secretary Panetta - He's balanced the budget, run the CIA and eliminated Osama bin Laden. Now, Leon Panetta takes on another great challenge as U.S. Secretary of Defense, with massive responsibilities, including keeping Iran from producing a nuclear bomb. Scott Pelley reports. Henry Schuster is the producer.

• Big Game Hunting - The same kinds of exotic, sometimes endangered, species found in places like Africa can be hunted here in the U.S. for a price. The ranchers who breed them claim to be preserving them, a notion animal rights people strongly disagree with. Lara Logan reports. Max McClellan 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!

• For Romney, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ)

• For Gingrich, Fmr. Sen. Fred Thompson (R-Law & Order)

• ROUNDTABLE: MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough, presidential historian Doris Kearns Goodwin, & NBC News Political Director Chuck Todd
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.

• Presidential Candidate and Texas Congressman Ron Paul

• Florida Governor Rick Scott

• Sen. Mitch McConnell

• debate with Carlos Gutierrez, a former Bush commerce secretary, and Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, an Obama supporter
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 the conversation 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.

• PRAYER MEETIN' WEDNESDAY!!!!! Uber Pope-Imam-Rabbi Bob dissects one religious pundit's obsession with gay sex! Side-splitting great show! Don't miss it! And of course the rest of the H.O.R.N. family chimes in! 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' - January 26, 2012 IN TODAY'S RADIO REPORT: Drill-Baby-Drill and Frack-Baby-Frack: Obama talks energy in his State of the Union address --- featuring actual clean energy! --- while climate denier Republicans double down on dirty energy; PLUS: Speaking the forbidden words --- out loud! ... All that and more in today's Green News Report!

IN 'GREEN NEWS EXTRA' (see link): Conoco profits jump 66%; 5 energy issues to watch for in tonight’s GOP debate in FL; WH pressured scientists to underestimate BP spill; State Dept: Don’t mess with us on Keystone; CO2 is “driving fish crazy”; NHTSA: 'Chevy Volt is safe'; Judge blocks health studies from mine permit; NASA animation charts modern global warming ... PLUS: Raiding the bread basket: use and abuse of the Mississippi River basin ... and much, MUCH more! ...

Visit BradBlog.com to see who counts yer votes! 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
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! January 20, 2012

• MSNBC host and author Dylan Ratigan will join us to discuss his new book “Greedy Bastards.”

• University of Maryland professor and author Mark Feldstein will be joining us to talk about how muckraking journalists used to help expose political scandals, rather than helping to cover them up.

• 3rd Party presidential candidate Rocky Anderson will tell us why he’s challenging President Obama for the progressive vote in America.

• Mother Jones’ Andy Kroll will tell us about the dark money that’s influencing the GOP primary results.

• And George Washington University professor John Sides will tell us which candidates voters think will take care of the middle class the best.

• VIDEO! Papantonio: The New Right Wing Confederacy About the only consistent theme we’ve seen come from the pathetic crop of Republican presidential wanna-be’s is their eagerness to appeal to the most bigoted and racist members of their Republican Tea Party base. By attacking Muslims, African Americans, and basically anyone that isn’t a white Christian, GOP candidates like Newt Gingrich and Rick Perry are helping to further divide America with their hate. Mike Papantonio talks about how these candidates are creating a new confederacy with Theo Anderson, a contributor to In These Times magazine.

• VIDEO! Papantonio: Public Says Romney Only Cares for the Wealthy One of the biggest questions that voters will have to ask themselves this coming November is “who will take of my interests better.” The latest polls tell us that voters have already asked themselves that question, and the answer for most of the 99% is Obama. But for those in the top 1%, they overwhelmingly support Republicans like Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich. Mike Papantonio talks about how voters’ perceptions of who is the friendliest to Wall Street will play out this year with John Sides, political science professor and contributor to The American Prospect.

• 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!

• No Said the Elephant, a song from the Screaming Majority [01•23•12]

• Steve Kornacki on Mitt Romney's Meltdown, South Carolina & the Race Going Forward [01•23•12]

• Digby on All Things GOP [01•24•12]

• David Dayen on the State of the Union Address & NY AG Eric Schneiderman [01•25•12]

• Jeff Smith of the Occupy Wall Street Press Team on Recent Occupy Actions [01•25•12]

MORE Podcast Interviews at majorityreport.official.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

• Jamie Dimon to MF Global clients: “Let them eat shit.” READ MF Global Clients May Lose in $700M Fight (bloomberg)

• Gold/Silver Vigilante No. 1 Throws Down! See Eric King interviews Eric Sprott – Extremely important interview and listen to the mp3

• KEISER REPORT [KR240] Keiser Report – Dangerous Species of Bankers

• KEISER REPORT [KR241] Keiser Report – Kill Hollywood! We discuss discuss killing Hollywood, poor Chris Dodd and how Mubarak’s fall brought about the assault on the internet. In the second half of the show, Max interviews Mike Ruppert about SOPA, the NDAA and Iranian oil.

• ON THE EDGE [OTE141] On the Edge with Gonzalo Lira Great interview with Gonzalo Lira. The UK government did NOT want you to see this.

• THE TRUTH ABOUT MARKETS [TaM-1231] The Truth About Markets! 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

• Roy Gutman January 12, 2012: Roy Gutman, Baghdad Bureau Chief for McClatchy Newspapers, discusses the bureaucratic hindrances to the MEK’s move out of Camp Ashraf in Iraq; how individual asylum cases will essentially force the MEK to disband (as no country is willing to accept the whole group); Iraqi Prime Minister Maliki’s efforts to consolidate power in the splintered and unworkable Iraqi government system; the many Iraqi politicians with huge security forces that also function as hit squads against rivals; why Iraq’s political outcome is critical to the region, world oil market and Western world; how Iran, Saudi Arabia and Turkey are jockeying for position in the “up for grabs” countries of Syria and Iraq; why US intervention in the Middle East is necessary to protect oil resources and fill the security vacuum; and the merits of US interventionism in general, from Iraq to Afghanistan.

• Pepe Escobar January 24, 2012: Globetrotting journalist Pepe Escobar discusses his article “Sinking the Petrodollar in the Persian Gulf ;” the increasingly divergent US and Israeli “red lines” on Iran’s nuclear program; proposed pipelines that would route oil around the Persian Gulf, marginalizing Iran’s ability to shut the Strait of Hormuz; how sanctions on Iran have lessened the US dollar’s dominance in global oil trading transactions; and the civil strife in Syria, where the opposition is no more credible than the reigning minority Assad regime.

• The Other Scott Horton January 24, 2012: The Other Scott Horton (no relation), international human rights lawyer and contributing editor at Harper’s magazine, discusses his article “Spanish Court Resumes Gitmo Prosecution;” the many other foreign courts, frustrated with the US’s refusal to act, restarting their own torture prosecutions; uncertainty of how high up the chain of command indictments will go, and whether the White House OLC lawyers enabling torture will be targeted; how WikiLeaks got the ball rolling again by exposing high-level US efforts to squash previous Spanish investigations of American political and military figures; the US’s repudiation of international law and universal jurisdiction, after helping establish them after WWII; and Ron Paul’s effort to repeal the NDAA’s indefinite detention provision.

Many more interviews at Antiwar Radio!
fauxnews

• Presidential Candidate Gnewt "Contract with Israel" Gingrich

• Congressman Paul Ryan, Chairman of the House Budget Committee

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

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We're here because you're there. ©

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Brick TeeVee and the SOPA PIPA Internet Blackout!

2012-01-22T02:12:00.000-05:00

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ALL LINKS OPEN A NEW WINDOW!!!
Click on anything below and be INSTANTLY SMARTER!
SOPA PIPA INTERNET BLACKOUT
Picking up on our post from two weeks ago Jonathan Turley codifies 10 reasons the U.S. is no longer the land of the free ... While each new national security power Washington has embraced was controversial when enacted, they are often discussed in isolation. But they don’t operate in isolation. They form a mosaic of powers under which our country could be considered, at least in part, authoritarian. Americans often proclaim our nation as a symbol of freedom to the world while dismissing nations such as Cuba and China as categorically unfree. Yet, objectively, we may be only half right. Those countries do lack basic individual rights such as due process, placing them outside any reasonable definition of “free,” but the United States now has much more in common with such regimes than anyone may like to admit. These countries also have constitutions that purport to guarantee freedoms and rights. But their governments have broad discretion in denying those rights and few real avenues for challenges by citizens — precisely the problem with the new laws in this country. The list of powers acquired by the U.S. government since 9/11 puts us in rather troubling company. ... If you haven't yet committed all ten to memory already then click over! There will be a test later! Next Senator Carl Levin thought he was pulling a fast one and sent out a letter saying Turley was all wrong about indefinite detention of U.S. citizens in the NDAA! Turley quickly calls "Bullshit!" on Levin Indefinite Detention of Citizens: A Response To Senator Carl Levin

Is the Senator familiar with the fact that it was the administration which asked us to remove the very language which we had in the bill which passed the committee, and that we removed it at the request of the administration that this determination would not apply to U.S. citizens and lawful residents? Is the Senator familiar with the fact that it was the administration which asked us to remove the very language, the absence of which is now objected to by the Senator from Illinois?

“The provisions on detention of terror suspects in the bill got more attention than all these other important priorities. The criticism of these provisions has usually been wildly inaccurate; if the bill did what some of its critics claim, I would have led the opposition. . . . It does not prohibit civilian trials for terror suspects. It does not strip the FBI and other civilian law enforcement agencies of their authority. It does not allow the military to make arrests on U.S. soil. It does not enact new authority to hold U.S. citizens without trial or charge. It does not provide for indefinite detention of citizens without access to civilian courts.”

First they came for the communists, and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a communist. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a trade unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a Jew. Then they came for the Catholics, and I didn’t speak out because I was Protestant. Then they came for me and there was no one left to speak out for me.

While people appear ready to protest over taxes against “big government,” some of the people often seem to remain silent in the face of the very abuses that the Framers sought to combat from indefinite detention to warrantless searches to assassination.

Now author, journalist and activist Chris Hedges has sued Obama over the NDAA Why I’m Suing Barack Obama Attorneys Carl J. Mayer and Bruce I. Afran filed a complaint Friday in the Southern U.S. District Court in New York City on my behalf as a plaintiff against Barack Obama and Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta to challenge the legality of the Authorization for Use of Military Force as embedded in the latest version of the National Defense Authorization Act, signed by the president Dec. 31. ... I have had dinner more times than I can count with people whom this country brands as terrorists. But that does not make me one.
Once a group is deemed to be a terrorist organization, whether it is a Palestinian charity or an element of the Uighur independence movement, the military can under this bill pick up a U.S. citizen who supported charities associated with the group or unwittingly sent money or medical supplies to front groups. We have already seen the persecution and closure of Islamic charity organizations in the United States that supported the Palestinians. Now the members of these organizations can be treated like card-carrying “terrorists” and sent to Guantanamo.
But I suspect the real purpose of this bill is to thwart internal, domestic movements that threaten the corporate state. The definition of a terrorist is already so amorphous under the Patriot Act that there are probably a few million Americans who qualify to be investigated if not locked up. Consider the arcane criteria that can make you a suspect in our new military-corporate state. The Department of Justice considers you worth investigating if you are missing a few fingers, if you have weatherproof ammunition, if you own guns or if you have hoarded more than seven days of food in your house. Adding a few of the obstructionist tactics of the Occupy movement to this list would be a seamless process. On the whim of the military, a suspected “terrorist” who also happens to be a U.S. citizen can suffer extraordinary rendition—being kidnapped and then left to rot in one of our black sites “until the end of hostilities.” Since this is an endless war that will be a very long stay.
This demented “war on terror” is as undefined and vague as such a conflict is in any totalitarian state. Dissent is increasingly equated in this country with treason. Enemies supposedly lurk in every organization that does not chant the patriotic mantras provided to it by the state. And this bill feeds a mounting state paranoia. It expands our permanent war to every spot on the globe. It erases fundamental constitutional liberties. It means we can no longer use the word “democracy” to describe our political system.
The supine and gutless Democratic Party, which would have feigned outrage if George W. Bush had put this into law, appears willing, once again, to grant Obama a pass. But I won’t. ... Please go to TruthDig.com to read the rest for yourself plus the entire Text of Hedges’ Legal Complaint (Updated) & the NDAA Official Text that Professor Turley has dissected. Listen to Peter B Collins interview Attorney Carl Mayer Talks About Chris Hedges’ Suit Against Obama; Journalist Jason Leopold Exposes FBI “Blackballing” of FOIA Requests for more background and analysis. In a related story Yves Smith at nakedcapitalism explains how the Ron Paul Debate Flushes Out Gender-Baiting Right Wing Opportunists Masquerading as Progressives ... The gender card is similarly played shamelessly and with remarkable hypocrisy by Megan Carpentier in the Guardian on the Greenwald post: [...] Greenwald’s position on Paul is so blatantly distorted by Carpentier as to render her article worthy of retraction (see Greenwald’s objection for details) but her dissimulation is more important than her hatchet job. ... Who is Megan Carpentier? She’s currently the executive editor at Raw Story. And reading her salvo at Greenwald, most readers would assume she’s a progressive. She’s hectoring Greenwald from a presumed leftist position. In fact, Carpentier is no such thing. She is a conservative opportunist using her feminist fundamentalism as a cover. She was a lobbyist for seven year and wrote an op-ed for the Washington Post which is noteworthy for trying to improve the public image of lobbyists by stating that they weren’t obscenely well paid, that they really were interested in politics, and that they provide helpful research to Congressional staffers. But Carpentier is less than forthcoming about her history and her ideological leanings. Her last gig as a lobbyist was for the Tax Foundation, which was an early anti-New Deal outfit founded in 1937 by reactionary oligarchs like GM Chairman Alfred Sloan. It was “financially troubled” when the Koch brothers purchased its name and other assets and made it a unit of their’ “Citizens for a Sound Economy” (CSE in 2004 split into Americans For Prosperity and FreedomWorks). The Tax Foundation newsletter that announced she had joined touts her “extensive experience in promoting sound economic and tax policies to Congress and state legislatures.” In other words, she is a loyal and effective foot soldier for the right. ... It’s disingenuous for Carpentier to cavil about white male privilege and the need for women to have rights to abortions, when those rights are less meaningful if you can’t afford to exercise them. Soi disant feminists like Carpentier are missing in action when it comes to defending their supposed sisters on economic issues, most importantly, labor rights.
Now your might claim I’m being unfair, that Carpentier had a Pauline (pun intended) conversion from her former faith. Why is there no mention of her Koch connection?. Why hasn’t she done a David Brock mea culpa? Rather than proudly put forward why she had changed her views (which is what you’d expect if they really had changed) has she instead tried to downplay the power of lobbyists? Why, when the influence of the Koch brothers were one of the biggest progressive story of the past 3 years, has she had NOTHING to say about her time working for one of their key outfits? .... So here we have it: Carpentier, a closet libertarian, falsely depicting “progressive” support of Ron Paul as a symbol of white male bigotry and distorting Greenwald’s nuanced discussion of Ron Paul as an endorsement to create a brouhaha, apparently to cover her own tracks. With Quislings like this, the progressives don’t need enemies. So keep THAT in mind when going to Raw Story.
Wednesday's internet blackout in response to SOPA/PIPA was widespread. Here is wikipedia's explanation on their English Wikipedia anti-SOPA blackout TechDirt.com has A Gallery Of The SOPA Blackout Protest Screens by Dennis Yang from the mr-smith-takes-over-the-internet dept.
TechDirt's Mike Masnick lays out some facts in
An Updated Analysis: Why SOPA & PIPA Are A Bad Idea, Dangerous & Unnecessary from the enough-of-the-bull dept. ... So, let's look at the facts. PIPA & SOPA are (now) very similar bills, both with significant problems. In fact, the remaining "differences" in the bills each have serious problems , which is why neither bill is a "better" bill, since both are terrible. The claimed purpose behind these bills is to give both law enforcement and private individuals/companies tools to go after "foreign" websites that are offering infringing (either copyright or trademark) content. The bills offer two ways to do this: via the Attorney General taking action against the sites, or via a "private right of action," in which copyright or trademark holders take direct action themselves against a site they believe is dedicated to infringement. ... ... The "only impacts foreign sites" claim is also a red herring. It's a favorite of the pro-PIPA/SOPA folks, but it's a lie. While the current bill targets foreign sites, all of the remedies and enforcement require compliance by domestic sites. That's costly. I recognize that policy analysts, lawyers, lobbyists and politicians who have never actually run a business think this stuff is simple, but for those of us who actually run companies, this is terrifying. We now have to worry about staying in compliance with a broad law that's almost impossible to comply with in any realistic manner. In our debate yesterday, the US Chamber of Commerce's Steve Tepp insisted that there was "no liability" for any domestic site. This is ridiculous. What he meant was no direct monetary liability. Leave it to an out of touch policy guy to think that it's only a liability if there's the potential to cost you money in court. The liability is in the possibility of being dragged to court over this. It's in the possibility of facing additional punishment/sanctions for failing to obey an impossible-to-obey court order to cut off certain users. That is a tremendous liability. There are additional provisions that are troubling, including SOPA's inclusion of "felony streaming" provisions, that could lead to jail time for those who lip synch over songs and put that up in a YouTube video, or those who embed infringing YouTube videos on their own site. PIPA does not have that directly, but there is a companion bill in the Senate that has similar things. So why, specifically, are these two bills so bad: Read the rest and BE INFORMED! Tell yer friends and pass it on! Great stuff at TechDirt! Troll around there and find more great stories! Of course "anonymous" could not stand by idly as TechDirt's Mike Masnick also reports
The Internet Strikes Back: Anonymous Takes Down DOJ.gov, RIAA, MPAA Sites To Protest Megaupload Seizure from the doj-does-not-understand-what-has-been-unleashed dept I'll have a more detailed look at the Megaupload indictment tomorrow (there are some really ridiculous claims in there, but also some evidence of bad actions on the part of Mega, which isn't too surprising). However, even if you're 100% positive that Megaupload was a bad player in the space, you have to question both the timing and the process of completely taking down the site/company the day after practically the entire internet rose up to protest the threat of similar takedowns under SOPA/PIPA. For them not to think the reaction would be fast and furious shows (yet again) just how incredibly, ridiculously, out of touch with the internet the DC establishment is. Within minutes of the site being shut down, and DOJ releasing its statement, Anonymous sprang into action and started taking down a ton of sites -- including websites for the DOJ, the US Copyright Office, Universal Music, the RIAA, the MPAA and a bunch of other sites. They're apparently still targeting more.... But Wait! There's more! From RT Anonymous downs government, music industry sites in largest attack ever ... Only hours before the DoJ and Universal sites went down, news broke that Megaupload, a massive file sharing site with a reported 50 million daily users, was taken down by federal agents . Four people linked to Megaupload were arrested in New Zealand and an international crackdown led agents to serving at least 20 search warrants across the globe. The latest of sites to fall is FBI.gov, which finally broke at around 7:40 pm EST Thursday evening. Less than an hour after the DoJ and Universal sites came down, the website for the RIAA, or Recording Industry Association of America, went offline as well. Shortly before 6 p.m EST, the government's Copyright.gov site went down as well. Thirty minutes later came the site for BMI, or Broadcast Music, Inc, the licensing organization that represents some of the biggest names in music. Also on Thursday, MPAA.org returned an error as Anonymous hacktivists managed to bring down the website for the Motion Picture Association of America. The group, headed by former senator Chris Dodd, is an adamant supporter of both PIPA and SOPA legislation. ... [Anonymous operative Barrett Brown tells RT on Thursday afternoon and] adds that “more is coming” and Anonymous-aligned hacktivists are pursuing a joint effort with others to “damage campaign raising abilities of remaining Democrats who support SOPA.” As a side note the main sponsor of SOPA had an image on his OWN WEBSITE that he copped from Creative Commons but NEVER gave credit to the photographer! And just to show how much these politicians are only water boys for big industry and have no clue what's in the lobbiest-written legislation they try to pass The Author of SOPA Is a Copyright Violator sez Vice.com's Jamie Lee Curtis Taete US Congressman and poor-toupee-color-chooser Lamar Smith is the guy who authored the Stop Online Piracy Act. ....So I took a look back at an archived, pre-SOPA version of his site. This is a screenshot of his site as it appeared on the 24th of July, 2011. [pic] And this is the background image Lamar was using. I managed to track that picture back to DJ Schulte, the photographer who took it. [pic] I contacted DJ, to find out if Lamar had asked permission to use the image and he told me that he had no record of Lamar, or anyone from his organization, requesting permission to use it: "I switched my images from traditional copyright protection to be protected under the Creative Commons license a few years ago, which simply states that they can use my images as long as they attribute the image to me and do not use it for commercial purposes. "I do not see anywhere on the screen capture that you have provided that the image was attributed to the source (me). So my conclusion would be that Lamar Smith's organization did improperly use my image. So according to the SOPA bill, should it pass, maybe I could petition the court to take action against www.texansforlamarsmith.com." ... We need your help! Join our "Shop a SOPA" Copyright Hypocrite Hunt and help us find copyright violations on the other 31 SOPA co-sponsors' websites. Much more SOPA coverage with Max Keiser on [TaM-1231] The Truth About Markets!, Sam Seder Garlin Gilchrist of MoveOn on the SOPA / PIPA Internet Blackout [01•18•12] and Jon Fox on HeadOnRadio (mp3). In a related issue General Dynamics has been hired to "monitor" websites. We go to Washingtonsblog for details
Homeland Security Shreds Constitutional Right to Anonymous Political Speech – Not to Protect Our Security – But to Monitor Dissent ... Gene Howington provides details in a must-read essay: Do you have a right to anonymous political free speech?
According to the Supreme Court, you do. According to the Department of Homeland Security, you don’t. They’ve hired General Dynamics to track U.S. citizens exercising this critical civil right. The history of anonymous political free speech in America dates back to our founding. The seminal essays found in “The Federalist Papers” were written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and John Jay under the nom de plume of “Publius” although this was not confirmed until a list of authorship complied by Hamilton was posthumously released to the public. As previously discussed on this blog, the right to anonymous political free speech has been addressed by the Supreme Court. Most notably in the cases of Talley v. California, 362 U.S. 60 (1960) and McIntyre v. Ohio Elections Commission, 514 U.S. 334 (1995). In Talley, Justice Hugo Black writing for the majority said that, “Anonymous pamphlets, leaflets, brochures and even books have played an important role in the progress of mankind. Persecuted groups and sects from time to time throughout history have been able to criticize oppressive practices and laws either anonymously or not at all.” In McIntyre, Justice John Paul Stevens writing for the majority said that, “Anonymity is a shield from the tyranny of the majority. [… ] an author’s decision to remain anonymous, like other decisions concerning omissions or additions to the content of a publication, is an aspect of the freedom of speech protected by the First Amendment.” That seems clear enough in defining that citizens do have a Constitutionally protected right to anonymous political free speech. .... This question about the right to anonymous political free speech is also asked over the background of the Electronic Privacy Information Center filing a FOIA request against the DHS to find out the details of the agency’s social network monitoring program. ... As part of recent disclosures related to the EPIC suit, it is revealed that the DHS has hired and instructed General Dynamics to monitor political dissent and the dissenters. The range of websites listed as being monitored is quite impressive. Notably, jonathanturley.org is not on this list [Howington's essay is a guest blog on constitutional law professor Jonathan Turley's website], but equally of note is that this list is by the DHS’ own admission “representative” and not “comprehensive”. ... Some of the more high profile and highly trafficked sites being monitored include the comments sections of The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, Newsweek, the Huffington Post, the Drudge Report, Wired, and ABC News. In addition, social networking sites Facebook, MySpace and Twitter are being monitored. For the first time, the public not only has an idea who the DHS is pursuing with their surveillance and where, but what they are looking for as well. General Dynamics contract requires them to “[identify] media reports that reflect adversely on the U.S. Government, DHS, or prevent, protect, respond government activities.” The DHS also instructed General Dynamics to generate “reports on DHS, Components, and other Federal Agencies: positive and negative reports on FEMA, CIA, CBP, ICE, etc. as well as organizations outside the DHS.” In other words, the DHS wants to know who you are if you say anything critical about the government. Anybody thinking of the name “Goebbels” at this point is not out of line. This has nothing at all to do with keeping us safe:

BEFORE 9/11

start monitoring all criticism against it

using anti-terror laws to crush dissent

Protest is considered low-level terrorism, as is questioning war, asking questions about pollution or about Wall Street shenanigans, supporting Ron Paul, being a libertarian, holding gold

stocking up on more than 7 days of food

investigating factory farming

can get your harassed

a nation of powerful men arbitrarily making laws in secret

protect their power

Calling the GOP's bluff to decide on the Keystone XL Pipeline's fate by February 21 Obama puts Keystone pipeline on hold, decries 'rushed and arbitrary' deadline Mark Gaurino at csmonitor.com President Obama announced Wednesday he is putting the controversial Keystone XL oil pipeline expansion project on hold, saying a decision can’t be made by the February deadline imposed by Congress. While environmental groups cheered the news, the setback is temporary and the pipeline operator says it will resubmit plans to have the pipeline running in 2014. ... Republicans in Congress, in return for their support for an extension of the payroll tax holiday, forced the new Feb. 21 deadline, a date that Mr. Obama on Wednesday called “rushed and arbitrary.” His statement stressed the decision was not a ruling on the merits of the pipeline, but on the action of Congress, which he said, “prevented the State Department from gathering the information necessary to approve the project and protect the American people.” “I’m disappointed that Republicans in Congress forced this decision, but it does not change my administration’s commitment to American-made energy that creates jobs and reduces our dependence on oil,” he said. .... The Keystone XL project is far from resolved, as TransCanada is allowed to resubmit its permitting application, which the company says it will have ready by September or October.
Following Obama’s decision, the company announced it will work with the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality to determine a possible new route to avoid running the pipeline over portions of the Ogallala Aquifer, a major source of fresh water for drinking and agriculture that runs under several states in the US heartland. ... Bill McGibbon of 350.org then sent this email to 350.org supporters in the United States and Canada
Big News: Obama rejects Keystone XL - but we can't stop here. We wanted to share with you the news: this afternoon the Obama Administration announced that they are denying the permit for the Keystone XL pipeline. You did good work, against some of the longest possible odds. ... For years, the knock on the President Obama was that he backed down too easily in the face of opposition. Not here. When Republicans in Congress forced the issue again by passing a 60-day time limit on the President's final decision, he stood strong and denied the permit. And that was despite the most explicit threats from Big Oil: that they would exact ‘huge political consequences’ if he did the right thing on Keystone. Make no mistake—this is a brave decision.
And make no mistake about this either—Big Oil will do everything it can to overturn that decision, because they are not used to losing. They have one weapon—money. They’ve used it to buy the allegiance of many Representatives and Senators and now they’ll use Congress to try and get their dirty work done. That’s what happened when the President delayed the permit last November, and we should expect them to try again now.
That’s why we’re going to Congress and Big Oil, beginning next Tuesday the 24th. If you can join us, we’re meeting at noon on the West Lawn, and you should wear a referee’s shirt. We’re going to ‘blow the whistle’ on the corruption that passes for business as usual on Capitol Hill, where people take money from companies whose interests they vote on. Check your email for the rest and check our BTV ACTION for more details. Of course the right wing and the corporate extraction industries' "spokespeople" are HOWLING, calling Obama a "job killer" and worse. However it's all kabuki theater!
David Sirota at Salon explains The real beneficiaries of energy subsidies Don't buy the GOP's claims. Oil companies, not green alternatives, are making a killing from the government Listen to the typical conservative rhetoric about energy being thrown around on talk radio or in Republican presidential debates, and you’re likely to hear that our government primarily uses its regulatory and financial power to create a destructive green energy boondoggle — one that enriches a few politically connected Solyndra executives, appeases a bunch of wild-eyed tree huggers, but hides the fact that renewables supposedly can’t stand on their own in the private sector.
In the face of catastrophic climate change and dwindling fossil fuel resources, this cartoonish narrative has gained traction because it invokes the moment’s most powerful political metonyms, from implicit allegations of crony capitalism to hippie-themed epithets about environmentalists to “free market” fundamentalism. The underlying idea — which will only be more amplified in the wake of the Obama administration’s pipeline decision Wednesday — is that fossil fuels are being persecuted by the American government.
But the reality, of course, is something wholly different. Indeed, this mythology is a perfect example of Orwellian Newspeak in which the reverse of the rhetoric is true. As recent news highlights, the government is doing exactly the opposite of what conservatives say: It is aggressively favoring the fossil fuel industry in ways that give that industry a special economic advantage over clean energy. .... According to data compiled by the Environmental Law Institute, the United States is a big contributor to this global subsidy imbalance, “provid(ing) substantially larger subsidies to fossil fuels than to renewables.” In practice, some of the biggest of those U.S. subsidies come in the form of special tax breaks for oil and gas development , and in direct taxpayer funding of multinational corporations’ foreign mining projects (yes, you read that right — your tax dollars go to fund fossil fuel development overseas). Notably, the latter subsidies champion some of the most environmentally hazardous practices in operation such as “fracking” — a practice that our own Environmental Protection Agency has found in two separate reports to be a major potential threat to groundwater....... it all adds up to a government that is far more committed to toxic and finite sources of energy than to clean and renewable sources of energy. You may not hear that from either party’s presidential candidates or media defenders — but the facts are quite clear, even if they are inconvenient. Does it have to be this way? We go to Scotland and Brian Merchant Scotland Guns for 100% Renewable Energy by 2020 treehugger.com In 2010, Alex Salmond, the First Minister of Scotland, announced that his government was aiming to power all of Scotland with 100% renewable energy by 2025. Just a few months later, they kicked it up a notch or five: Scotland would seek to run entirely on renewable power by 2020. Most of that would come from ambitious onshore and offshore wind farms, as well as some smaller wave and tidal power projects—and there are 7 GW of such clean energy projects already completed or underway. By the end of 2011, it looked as if all was going to plan, despite the requisite naysaying from skeptics. Here's Triple Pundit on Scotland's progress thus far: [...] "The costs of offshore wind will have to be reduced by 20% to be competitive," [Alex Salmond] said at a press conference today. Efforts to analyze and improve the supply chain will be a top priority, as will examining transmission challenges inherent in efficiently transporting electricity over long distances. Salmond repeatedly emphasized the need to commercialize offshore wind to make the technology available for wider deployment (and granting Scotland a foothold in one of the next generation's most promising industries).... So where is the U.S. and its "can-do" attitude? Stuck in the morass of "drill baby drill" anywhere and everywhere (Shell’s Arctic Drilling Plan Clears Hurdle nyt), fracking (Confirmed: Fracking caused Ohio earthquakes rt.com), blowing up more Appalachian mountains (Alpha fights to block health studies from permit lawsuit wvgazette) and fighting more wars for natural resources. Global climate change is a non-starter in the "conventional wisdom" of the DC Bubalas. How many more oil spills, earthquakes and wars will it take? Grrrrr. On a happier note Our Man in Wisconsin John Nichols of The Nation reports A Million Wisconsinites Petition to Recall Scott Walker Petitions with the names of 1 million Wisconsinites were submitted to state elections officials today, in a move that will jump-start the process of removing the nation’s most notorious antilabor governor from office. A total of 540,208 valid signatures are required to recall Scott Walker, the Republican governor, who was elected in 2010. On Tuesday afternoon, the United Wisconsin movement that was organized to recall and remove the governor submitted almost twice that number. The people have spoken loud and clear and we are ready to put an early end to Governor Walker’s reign," announced Wisconsin AFL-CIO President Phil Neuenfeldt. In addition to the 1 million signatures seeking Walker's recall, petitions with 845,000 signatures were submitted to force the recall of Republican Lieutenant Governor Rebecca Kleefisch. Petitions were also filed to recall four Republican state senators: erry Moulton in northwest Wisconsin, Pam Galloway in north-central Wisconsin, Van Wangaard in southeast Wisconsin and Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, Walker's legislative point man in the struggle last year over the governor's move last year to strip collective bargaining rights from state, county and municipal employees and teachers. If just one of the four senators is recalled and removed, control of the chamber will shift from the Republicans to the Democrats—who picked up two seats in recall elections last summer. In all, close to 2 million signatures were submitted Tuesday, building the historic in-the-streets popular uprising that rocked Wisconsin in 2012 into a electoral uprising that has the potential to rock the politics not just of the state but of the nation in 2012. The movement to oust Walker will have secured the support of a higher percentage of eligible voters than has ever before sought to recall an American governor. No other gubernatorial recall drive in American history has gathered the signatures of so large a proportion of the electorate. .... But most indications are that the challenges raised by Walker and his agents will be acts of political theater and strategy, rather a serious threat to the recall process. That is because these petitions were not be casually submitted; they have been meticulously collected, reviewed and prepared for submission by 25,000 volunteers with the United Wisconsin movement . While some signatures will undoubtedly be disqualified in the review process, and by the Walker team’s challenges, even Republican election observers quietly acknowledge that the petitions are likely to pass muster. .... The Wisconsin democracy movement is real. And Scott Walker should be afraid, very afraid, of the opposition he has unleashed in a state where it is now clear that the people are prepared to defend their rights, and their future. ON WISCONSIN! Listen to John Nichols on Ring of Fire Radio for more info.

We end today saying good-bye to blues singer Etta James. She will be missed by many.

R.I.P. Etta James (born Jamesetta Hawkins)

January 25, 1938 – January 20, 2012

BRICK TEEVEE ALERTS!_©

»»» William Hartung @ Democracy NOW! Drones, Asia and Cyber War: Pentagon Shifts Priorities in New Review; Budget Still Exceeds Bush Era Jan 9, 2012

»»» Colin Goddard, a survivor of the 2007 Virginia Tech massacre @ Democracy NOW! As Arizona Remembers Tucson Shooting, Virginia Tech Massacre Survivor Calls for New Gun Control Jan 9, 2012

»»» Guantánamo Bay Prison’s 10th Anniversary @ Democracy NOW! Guantánamo Detainees Launch Hunger Strike to Protest Prison’s 10th Anniversary AND Guantánamo Exclusive: Former Chief Prosecutor, Ex-Prisoner Call on Obama to Close Prison PLUS NDAA: Obama Signs Law Restricting Transfer of Guantánamo Prisoners and Expands Indefinite Detention Jan 10, 2012

»»» Dale Kuehne, Arnie Arnesen, Arnie Alpert @ Democracy NOW! Rivals’ Attacks on Romney’s Corporate Record Display Occupy Wall Street’s Wide Reach RELATED: How New Hampshire Became Last U.S. State to Recognize MLK Day Holiday Jan 11, 2012

»»» Michael Copps WATCH NOW Ex-FCC Commissioner Michael Copps on Media Consolidation, Broadband Expansion, Threats to Journalism Jan 12, 2012

»»» Trita Parsi, founder and president of the National Iranian American Council @ Democracy NOW! A Path to War? Assassination of Iran Nuclear Scientist, New Sanctions Strain U.S.-Iran Relations Jan 12, 2012

»»» Randall Robinson, founder and past president of TransAfrica @ Democracy NOW! 2 Years After Devastating Earthquake, Haiti’s Rebuilding Weighed Down by Legacy of Foreign Meddling Jan 13, 2012

»»» Michelle Alexander & Randall Robinson @ Democracy NOW! WATCH NOW On Eve of MLK Day, Michelle Alexander & Randall Robinson on the Mass Incarceration of Black America Jan 13, 2012

»»» GRITtv @ www.grittv.org with Laura Flanders

»»» FEATURED SHOW This Video is Absurd as Corporate Personhood What will it take to overturn the Supreme Court’s decision in Citizens United? Perhaps a viral video! Here is “It’s Viral,” with The Nation’s own Katrina vanden Heuvel, Jim Hightower and more. Exec produced by the We the People Campaign. Think it’ll work? And while you're thinking, repost! For more on citizens' opposition to Citizen's United, read the full post at TheNation.com .

BRICK TEEVEE SPORT!_©

»»» NFL Conference Championship Ravens @ Patriots 3 pm et & Giants @ 49ers 6:30 pm et on Sunday!

»»» NBA on TNT! Double-header Thursday! Celtics @ Magic 8 pm et then Grizzlies @ Clippers 10:30 pm et

BRICK TEEVEE ACTION!_©

360.org January 24 2012 in Washington D.C. Blow the Whistle on Big Oil Corruption On Tuesday January 24th, we going to Washington DC to blow the whistle on Big Oil corruption in Congress. We'll be gathering at the Capitol dressed in referee uniforms (yep, stripes and all), and then heading to the American Petroleum Institute - Big Oil's top lobby - to do the same. It will be unavoidable, very visible, and just disruptive enough to absolutely get the attention of the oil industry's representatives in Congress and put them on notice that the era of big oil corruption will soon be coming to an end.
UPDATE: We're still working out the exact meeting place and a few other details, but here are the key things you need to know:
What: Blowing the Whistle on Big Oil Corruption in Congress
When: Tuesday January 24th, 12 Noon
Where: West Lawn, US Capitol Building, Washington DC

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:

B R I C K T E E V E E

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THEY report. YOU throw bricks. ©
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IRAQ: 4,484 US Military Dead as of Dec 31, 2011

AFGHANISTAN: 1,886 US Military Dead as of Jan 20, 2012

The Obameter: Tracking Obama's Campaign Promises

Considering Democracy: 8 Things to ask your Representative

This Week (ABC) anchor George Stephanopoulos

UPDATE: CNN reported today that renowned international correspondent Christiane Amanpour will be returning to CNN with a weekday program on its International network, while continuing at ABC News as a global affairs anchor. Former “This Week” host George Stephanopoulos will return to the program on 8 January, while continuing his role as an anchor for “Good Morning America”. FULL STORY

• 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'

• former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum

• ROUNDTABLE: GeoGeorge Will, political strategist and ABC News analyst Matthew Dowd, National Journal's Ron Brownstein, and The Nation's Katrina vanden Heuvel
Face The Nation (CBS) Host Bob Schiefer

• Gov. Haley Barbour (R-Miss.)

• Sen. Lindsey Graham (D-S.C.)

• ROUNDTABLE: CBS News political director John Dickerson, TIME Magazine's Joe Klein and The Wall Street Journal's Kelly Evans.
60 Minutes (CBS) "60 Minutes Presents: Into the Wild," a special hour devoted to the natural world

• The Great Migration - Scott Pelley visits Kenya, the site of the great wildebeest migration, and looks at the threats to this natural spectacle comprised of over a million animals. Henry Schuster and Rebecca Peterson are the producers.

• Qatar -The tiny and prosperous Middle Eastern country with no income taxes and free health care is an island of calm in a sea of unrest as neighbors like Syria, Egypt and Bahrain experience social upheaval. Bob Simon reports. Harry Radliffe is the producer.

• The Secret Language of Elephants -Researchers listening to elephant sounds and observing their behavior are compiling an elephant dictionary. Bob Simon goes to Central Africa to listen to the language of the forest elephants first hand. Harry Radliffe is the producer.

• Jane Goodall -Jane Goodall brings Lara Logan and 60 MINUTES cameras back to the forests of Tanzania, where she began her love affair with chimpanzees 50 years ago, to remind the public that chimps are endangered. Max McClellan 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!

• Romney Supporter Gov. Chris Christie (R-NJ)

• GOP Hopeful Newt Gingrich

• ROUNDTABLE: Joe Scarborough, Republican strategist Mike Murphy, the BBC’s Katty Kay, and NBC News Political Director Chuck Todd.
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.

• Rick Santorum

• Newt Gingrich

• Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC)

• House Assistant Democratic Leader James Clyburn (D-SC)

• Reverend Brad Atkins, president South Carolina Baptist Convention
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 the conversation 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.

• PRAYER MEETIN' WEDNESDAY!!!!! Jon Fox Hosting! TOPIC: The SOPA/PIPA Internet Blackout. Great show! 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!
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The Green News Report with Brad Friedman & Desi Doyen: 6 minutes of green news, politics, analysis & snarky comment!

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• 'Green News Report' - January 19, 2012 IN TODAY'S RADIO REPORT: White House wins GOP Keystone XL pipeline game - for now; Perry's Texas tough-guy talk on EPA fails; Snowmageddon in Seattle; Snow No-show in California; PLUS: Climate change, now with slightly less apocalypse! ... All that and more in today's Green News Report!

IN 'GREEN NEWS EXTRA' (see link): TX to unlock secrets of fracking; 'No evidence' that Wind Turbine Syndrome exists; Bush speechwriter slams 'culture war' over climate change; Should we only have rules coal lobbyists agree to?; Bat deaths a catastrophe in the making; New mileage standards save money immediately; Coral reef disease hits Hawaii; Breakthrough material 'eats' CO2 in the air ... PLUS: 5 myths about the Keystone XL pipeline ... and much, MUCH more! ...

Visit BradBlog.com to see who counts yer votes! 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
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! January 20, 2012

• Award-winning investigative journalist Robert Parry will tell us how the Republicans are trying to turn America into a giant shanty town.

• John Nichols from The Nation will be here to talk about the continuing anti-union attacks coming from right wing state governors.

• And we’ll have a collection of interviews from this week’s Families USA‘s Health Action 2012 conference.

• VIDEO! Papantonio: Public Says Romney Only Cares for the Wealthy One of the biggest questions that voters will have to ask themselves this coming November is “who will take of my interests better.” The latest polls tell us that voters have already asked themselves that question, and the answer for most of the 99% is Obama. But for those in the top 1%, they overwhelmingly support Republicans like Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich. Mike Papantonio talks about how voters’ perceptions of who is the friendliest to Wall Street will play out this year with John Sides, political science professor and contributor to The American Prospect.

• VIDEO! Papantonio: How Republicans Packed Our Courts While all the putrid Republican conduct was playing itself out during the Bush years, the Democrats and most Americans appeared to be virtually unaware of how the Grand Ol’ Party was doing its most serious damage. The GOP and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce knew where they could do the most harm to democracy and, at the same time, improve the balance sheets for their corporate pals.
They could accomplish both of those goals in the Court system – the civil justice system where judges are often the last line in the sand when it comes to protecting Americans from the type of reckless criminal conduct that the Bush Republicans carried out for 8 dark years. While Americans were distracted trying to figure out where the Hell the WMDs were, the Republicans were packing the federal trial courts and appellate courts from the bottom up. Not with talented experienced jurists, but with political hacks who had proven their commitment to right wing ideology completely enough that they were rewarded with a black robe and a federal courtroom gavel.

• 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!

• Rocky Anderson on his Presidential Run, Ron Paul & Occupy Wall Street [01•10•12]

• Corey Robin on his book The Reactionary Mind: Conservatism from Edmund Burke to Sarah Palin [01•17•12]

• Jeff Smith of the OWS Press Team with a Live in DC J17 Occupy Congress Report [01•17•12]

• Garlin Gilchrist of MoveOn on the SOPA / PIPA Internet Blackout [01•18•12]

• Tina Dupuy of Crooks and Liars Live in DC on Occupy Congress [01•18•12]

MORE Podcast Interviews at majorityreport.official.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 [Max Keiser's] information is so powerful they wish to keep it secret by maxkeiser. READ Voting with your dollar: More than just SOPA and PIPA (examiner): “You’re taking a traditional boycott and applying economic metrics and in this process it gives the activist more leverage,” says financial activist Max Keiser, “Think strictly in strategic results. If you have enough boycotters and activists applying the boycott you will attract attention from the global hedge fund community, which is always looking for stocks to sell short or prices to attack.”
This information is a powerful tool for activists of all spectrums be it left-wing Occupy or further to the right Tea Party. The information is so powerful they wish to keep it secret, such as the SOPA [Stop Online Piracy Act] iPhone app or Firefox extension. Critics claim that SOPA will destroy free speech on the internet. The app works by scanning a barcode and if the company supported ‘SOPA’ through campaign donations or lobbying a ‘stop’ sign appears encouraging you to not buy this product. Receiving a ‘clear’ status results from the company’s hands being clean of the debate.
Boycotting so such a powerful tool that already numerous Senators and Representatives have switched to the oppose column concerning PIPA and SOPA despite the Hollywood lobbyist money flowing into their individual PACs and Committees. Now you’ve got a multi-trillion dollar industry blindly working with activist to attack the stock. The result is a lower stock price,” Max Keiser continues that the only way to see if your boycott is effective is by measuring the stock price. “The only thing that an activist should look for, in terms of whether they’re successful or not—it’s not what the company says, it’s not what the company writes in its annual report, it’s not what some politician says the company says—they should only look at one thing, and that’s the stock price. The stock price goes up, they’re failing; the stock price goes down, they’re winning.”

• KEISER REPORT [KR238] Keiser Report: Scam On Epic Scale We discuss 419 scams and Tim Geithner’s gimp. In the second half of the show, Max talks to financial blogger and semi-retired Wall Street executive Warren E. Pollock about MF Global, wealth confiscation and bank holidays.

• KEISER REPORT [KR239] Keiser Report: Sinking Ship In Credit Sea In this episode, we discuss captains of the financial industry abandoning ship while tripping into TARP. In the second half of the show, Max talks to former oil market regulator, Chris Cook, about the imminent collapse of the oil market …

• ON THE EDGE [OTE141] On the Edge with Gonzalo Lira Great interview with Gonzalo Lira. The UK government did NOT want you to see this.

• THE TRUTH ABOUT MARKETS [TaM-1231] The Truth About Markets! 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

• Roy Gutman January 12, 2012: Roy Gutman, Baghdad Bureau Chief for McClatchy Newspapers, discusses the bureaucratic hindrances to the MEK’s move out of Camp Ashraf in Iraq; how individual asylum cases will essentially force the MEK to disband (as no country is willing to accept the whole group); Iraqi Prime Minister Maliki’s efforts to consolidate power in the splintered and unworkable Iraqi government system; the many Iraqi politicians with huge security forces that also function as hit squads against rivals; why Iraq’s political outcome is critical to the region, world oil market and Western world; how Iran, Saudi Arabia and Turkey are jockeying for position in the “up for grabs” countries of Syria and Iraq; why US intervention in the Middle East is necessary to protect oil resources and fill the security vacuum; and the merits of US interventionism in general, from Iraq to Afghanistan.

• Gareth Porter January 19, 2012: Gareth Porter, independent historian and journalist for IPS News, discusses the Israeli Mossad’s false flag operation that made the CIA appear responsible for terrorist attacks inside Iran; using Jundullah to assassinate Iranian nuclear scientists to provoke a military response – not set back their nuclear program; how terrorist attacks marginalize Iranian political moderates and make diplomatic negotiations with the US impossible; and the predictable nationalistic “blowback” response of Iranian students, who are defiantly switching majors to nuclear science .

• Philip Giraldi January 21, 2012: Former CIA officer Philip Giraldi discusses his article ”What War With Iran Might Look Like;” the many layers of obfuscation (like peeling an onion) in the Jundallah/CIA/Mossad frame-up; President Bush’s “absolutely ballistic” response to Israeli operatives, posing as CIA officers, recruiting Jundullah agents to commit terrorist acts in Iran; and why the Obama administration is powerless to stop Israel from starting a war with Iran (and dragging the US along with it).

Many more interviews at Antiwar Radio!
fauxnews

• Presidential Candidate Mitt Romney

• Speaker of the House John Boehner

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Brick TeeVee - THEY report. YOU throw bricks. ©

We're here because you're there. ©

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Brick TeeVee and Ten Years of Gitmo

2012-01-15T04:13:00.001-05:00

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ALL LINKS OPEN A NEW WINDOW!!!
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Ten Years of Gitmo We begin with this from Face the Bob Democracy Now Headlines Monday Jan 9, 2010 On Sunday, U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta appeared on CBS’s "Face the Nation" to discuss Iran. Leon Panetta: "I think the pressure of the sanctions, I think the pressure of—diplomatic pressures from everywhere—Europe, the United States, elsewhere—is working to put pressure on them, to make them understand that they cannot continue to do what they’re doing. Are they trying to develop a nuclear weapon? No. But we know that they’re trying to develop a nuclear capability. And that’s what concerns us. And our red line to Iran is, do not develop a nuclear weapon. That’s a red line for us." Did you catch that? "Are they trying to develop a nuclear weapon? No." NO! From the transcript Panetta's true hubris comes out: "We made very clear that the United States will not tolerate the blocking of the Straits of Hormuz. That's another red line for us and that we will respond to them." Go to AntiWarRadio and listen to Scott Horton Interviews Flynt Leverett from January 1, 2012 for a more sane assessment: Flynt Leverett, former Senior Director for Middle East Affairs at the National Security Council, discusses Iran’s threat to close the Strait of Hormuz, as a response to sanctions that may eventually cut off Iran’s oil exports; why the US and Israel don’t really have a problem with Iranian nuclear weapons, just Iran’s refusal to submit to US regional hegemony; Israel’s “red line” on Iran’s uranium enrichment at Qom; why US foreign policy planners don’t learn from prior mistakes (because superpowers don’t have to); and why waging war with borrowed money is a sure sign of a declining empire. Flynt Leverett runs The Race For Iran blog for more good info.

Bloomberg.com's William D. Cohan explains How Wall Street Turned a Crisis Into a Cartel Almost 65 years ago, in 1947, the U.S. government sued 17 leading Wall Street investment banks, charging them with effectively colluding in violation of antitrust laws.
In its complaint -- which was front-page news at the time - -- the Justice Department alleged that these firms had created “an integrated, overall conspiracy and combination” starting in 1915 “and in continuous operation thereafter, by which” they developed a system “to eliminate competition and monopolize ‘the cream of the business’ of investment banking.”
The U.S. argued that the top Wall Street investment banks - - including Morgan Stanley (MS) (the lead defendant) and Goldman Sachs -- had created a cartel by which, among other things, it set the prices charged for underwriting securities and for providing mergers-and-acquisitions advice, while boxing out weaker competitors from breaking into the top tier of the business and getting their fair share of the fees.
The government argued that the big firms placed their partners on their clients’ boards of directors, putting them in the best possible position to know when a piece of business was coming down the pike and to make sure that any competitors were given a very hard time should they dare to try to win it.
The government was spot on: The investment-banking business was then a cartel where the biggest and most powerful firms controlled the market and then set the prices for their services, leaving customers with few viable choices for much needed capital, advice or trading counterparties. The same argument can be made today. .... Today, while there is no inkling of an antitrust lawsuit against Wall Street, its cartel-like behavior is very much in evidence. The remaining banks have increased their hold over the marketplace and continue to collude when it comes to pricing their services. ....

The Automatic Earth digs deeper with Ashvin Pandurangi writing about the global "Mergers and Acquisitions" (M&A) and mass "centralization" in January 7 2012: Death of an Institution: Desperate Mergers & Destructive Acquisitions ...It is, in reality, a sign of desperation and a harbinger of decreased resilience (a.k.a. "impending doom"), and that becomes quite clear when we consider the type of M&A activity that has been occurring over the last few years. Relatively large companies are suddenly finding themselves in a position of pure desperation, where they must either combine with other companies through some legal process or die. .... They are the last remaining dust particles of competition within those industries, waiting to be vacuumed up as soon as the slightest window of opportunity presents itself. These opportunities are pervasive in the current volatile environment, where share prices of public companies are frequently pummeled down in tandem and the markets remain in an indefinite state of uncertainty due to opaque asset valuations and government policy. ..... Should we be surprised that the wholesale destruction of European economies is described as presenting the "best buying opportunities" in history? Perhaps we should call them the "best opportunities for institutional cannibalism in all of history". This centralization process does not only take the form of "voluntary" mergers, especially in present times, but more often results from bankruptcy filings that force companies to liquidate or restructure their assets. ......So as the lower and upper "middle class" citizenry of the developed world are being rapidly digested in the acidic bowels of financial capitalism, the "big, yet not quite big enough" institutions are systematically having their "assets" aggregated on the books of a few supranational giants at not only cheap prices, but through illegal transfers and illegally discounted prices. As the weak wither and die, the strong draw lots to see who among them will be devoured first (JPM and Goldman always draw the biggest straw). ... Make no mistake, these are not rational economic actors acting in the best interests of their stakeholders and maximizing long-term institutional value, but desperate, irrational and short-sighted actors coerced into deals for a quick payoff. The low-level employees and mid-level managers of the acquired institutions usually find themselves joining a line in the local unemployment office or perhaps attending a "networking seminar", designed to create the illusion that they remain important to the system. Meanwhile, there are millions of new, starry-eyed faces that have been spewed out of various "educational" institutions, wading tens of thousands deep in debt, who are now "willing" to work longer hours for much less salary and fewer benefits. Your degree, work experience and interpersonal skills mean next to nothing, because there is simply no more room for your specialized "credentials" in the institutional system. ....

A Must-Read from Glenn Greenwald from a couple of weeks ago Progressives and the Ron Paul fallacies ... Whatever else one wants to say, it is indisputably true that Ron Paul is the only political figure with any sort of a national platform — certainly the only major presidential candidate in either party — who advocates policy views on issues that liberals and progressives have long flamboyantly claimed are both compelling and crucial. The converse is equally true: the candidate supported by liberals and progressives and for whom most will vote — Barack Obama — advocates views on these issues (indeed, has taken action on these issues) that liberals and progressives have long claimed to find repellent, even evil. Then read his follow-up Democratic Party priorities ....The chances that any of these issues will be debated in an Obama/Romney presidential contest are exactly zero. On all of these issues — Endless War, empire, steadfast devotion to the Israeli government, due-process-free assassinations, multiple-nation drone assaults, escalating confrontation with Iran, the secretive, unchecked Surveillance and National Security States, the sadistic and racist Drug War, the full-scale capture of the political process by bankers and oligarchs — Romney is fully supportive of President Obama’s actions (except to the extent he argues they don’t go far enough: and those critiques will almost certainly be modulated once the primary is over, resulting in ever greater convergence between the two). As National Journal‘s Michael Hirsh put it yesterday: “In truth, Obama and Romney are far closer in mindset and philosophy than anyone is willing to acknowledge just now.” ...

As the tenth anniversary of the opening of Guantanamo Bay passes Marcy Wheeler at emptywheel explains This Gitmo Anniversary Needs to Be about Bagram, Too No one has, as far as I know, asked the more general question: “does the Administration plan to get out of the due process-free indefinite detention business?” That question would be a lot harder for Carney to answer–though the answer, of course, is “no, the Administration has no intention of stopping the practice of holding significant numbers of detainees without adequate review.” Rather than reversing the practice started by the Bush Administration, Obama has continued it, even re-accelerated it, expanding our prison at Bagram several times. That question seems to be absent from discussions about Gitmo’s anniversary, too. .... There’s a difference between what is legal under international law developed for very different wars and what is just or what is the best way to conduct that war. And the problem with Gitmo (mitigated somewhat over the decade)–and the problem with Bagram, still–is that we’re spending unbelievable amounts of money to detain and abuse people that we haven’t even adequately reviewed to make sure we need to detain them. That’s not a smart way to conduct a war, particularly not one its backers insist will never end, particularly one that depends on our ability to win support among Afghans and other Muslims. The only thing that was and is problematic about Gitmo that is not also problematic about Bagram is the publicity surrounding it (presumably, though, just here and in Europe–I imagine Afghans, Pakistanis, and al Qaeda members know as much about Bagram as they do about Gitmo). That is, by treating–and allowing the Administration to treat–Gitmo as the problem, rather than due process-free and possibly abusive indefinite detention generally, we’re all acting as if the problem is that people know we’re conducting due process-free indefinite detention, not that we’re doing it at all. We’re letting the Administration off easy with its claims that mean old Congress has prevented it from closing Gitmo, when Bagram offers proof that it wants to do so not for the right reasons–because it is wrong, because it damages our ability to claim to offer something better than corrupt regimes–but because what America has become and intends to stay is embarrassing, politically inconvenient. I understand that this anniversary will attract general attention to Gitmo. I’m thrilled that, for once, people are listening to the reporters and activists and lawyers and guards and especially the detainees who have fought to close it. But by allowing the myth that Gitmo is the problem to go unchallenged, and not our due process-free indefinite detention generally, we’re simply pretending that unjust and stupid actions that occur outside of the glare of the press don’t matter as much as those that make the news. We are led to believe (of course) that those imprisoned in Gitmo are "the worst of the worst" yet many were simple farmers or taxicab drivers, turned over to the U.S. by people motivated by revenge and a nice cash handout or "reward" offered by the military, what Noam Chomsky calls the global "unpeople" in Recognizing the "Unpeople"
...On March 12, the Arab League gained the status of people by supporting U.N. Resolution 1973. But approval soon faded when the League withheld support for the subsequent Western bombardment of Libya. And on April 10, the Arab League reverted to unpeople by calling on the U.N. also to impose a no-fly zone over Gaza and to lift the Israeli siege, virtually ignored. That too makes good sense. Palestinians are prototypical unpeople, as we see regularly. Consider the November/December issue of Foreign Affairs, which opened with two articles on the Israel-Palestine conflict. One, written by Israeli officials Yosef Kuperwasser and Shalom Lipner, blamed the continuing conflict on the Palestinians for refusing to recognize Israel as a Jewish state (keeping to the diplomatic norm: States are recognized, but not privileged sectors within them). The second, by American scholar Ronald R. Krebs, attributes the problem to the Israeli occupation; the article is subtitled: “How the Occupation Is Destroying the Nation.” Which nation? Israel, of course, harmed by having its boot on the necks of unpeople. ... Whatever one thinks of capturing a soldier from an attacking army, kidnapping civilians is plainly a far more serious crime – unless, of course, they are mere unpeople. The strange breed of unpeople can be found everywhere, including the U.S.: in the prisons that are an international scandal, the food kitchens, the decaying slums. But wouldn't you know the so-called "worst of the worst" Taliban leaders held at Guantánamo Bay to be released in peace talks deal reports Guardian UK's Julian Borger and Jon Boone. The US has agreed in principle to release high-ranking Taliban officials from Guantánamo Bay in return for the Afghan insurgents' agreement to open a political office for peace negotiations in Qatar, the Guardian has learned. According to sources familiar with the talks in the US and in Afghanistan, the handful of Taliban figures will include Mullah Khair Khowa, a former interior minister, and Noorullah Noori, a former governor in northern Afghanistan. More controversially, the Taliban are demanding the release of the former army commander Mullah Fazl Akhund. Washington is reported to be considering formally handing him over to the custody of another country, possibly Qatar. The releases would be to reciprocate for Tuesday's announcement from the Taliban that they are prepared to open a political office in Qatar to conduct peace negotiations "with the international community" – the most significant political breakthrough in ten years of the Afghan conflict. The Taliban are holding just one American soldier, Bowe Bergdahl, a 25-year-old sergeant captured in June 2009, but it is not clear whether he would be freed as part of the deal. Damn. MORE EMPTYWHEEL The Beat from Hell: Carol Rosenberg’s Decade Covering Gitmo For the record, Carol Rosenberg has been covering Gitmo for more than the decade that has elapsed since she arrived there on January 9, 2002 to cover the impending arrival of the first war on terror detainees. ....
But it was 10 years ago today when Rosenberg first started covering the base’s use as a prison for alleged terrorists. As I’ve heard others who have made the trip explain, Rosenberg is now the institutional memory of the place, often describing what a space was used for years before DOD’s current press minders ever showed up. Or, as she described in a National Press Club speech last year, what the rules used to be for journalists and attorneys. ....
Of course, for much of that decade, Rosenberg was one of the only ones–aside from the detainees, their attorneys, and those unlucky enough to get stationed there–paying attention. She’s often been the one to report on hunger strikes and force feeding, one new Kafkaesque rules invented for the detainees, and most recently on the high cost of keeping detainees at Gitmo–a remarkable contrast to her reporting on the cost-cutting at Gitmo from 1999. Much more on Carol Rosenberg's coverage of Gitmo at EmptyWheel.

Some good news from Bill Moyers: Back With a New Series (truthout): I'm coming back because in tumultuous times like these I relish the company of people who try to make sense of the tumult. These are the people I'll bring to our new broadcast, Moyers & Company.
Journalism has long been for me a continuing course in adult education. Given what's happening in this country, it's time to sign up for more classes. The lack of civility and common sense that has paralyzed our democracy, the vast economic and social inequality that sends both left and right raging into the streets, the corrosive influence of money in politics - we're in a tailspin with little hope for a course correction from our elected leadership or corporate-dominated media. The need for voices of reason, simple and eloquent, has rarely been stronger. ... This will be a political series, but not a partisan one. In the conversation of democracy, everyone's invited. That means you, too. You're welcome to share opinions in the marketplace of ideas we'll be offering with our all-new website, billmoyers.com. Our aim is dialogue, not diatribe, and we want you in it.

And for those who like lists, here's a few from AlterNet

Martha Rosenberg: 4 Creepy Ways Big Pharma Peddles its Drugs
Tana Ganeva: 5 Things You Should Know About the FBI's Massive New Biometric Database
Les Leopold: 7 Ways to Really Take the Ax to Wall Street

And here's one more worth a study Dr. Lawrence Britt outlines Fourteen Defining Characteristics Of Fascism at Rense.com originally at Free Inquiry. SOPA/PIPA UPDATE: From Yves at nakedcapitalism Why Banks Back SOPA, the “Bring the Chinese Internet to America” Bill So why is the American Bankers Association one of the sponsors of a bill that seems awfully remote from its terrain? The bill allows anyone to send a complain about a purported SOPA violation and get the site disappeared. This faster and more brutal than the execution of Wikileaks via cutting off its access to payment networks. From TechDirt in December (emphasis theirs): .... That’s because this section says that anyone who takes voluntary action “based on credible evidence”: basically gets full immunity. Think about what that means in practice. If someone sends a service provider a notice claiming infringement on the site under this bill, the first thing every lawyer will tell them is “quick, take voluntary action to cut them off, so you get immunity.” Even worse, since this is just about immunity, there are no counternotice rules or anything requiring any process for those cut off to be able to have any redress whatsoever… End result: SOPA 2.0 contains a crazy scary clause that’s going to make it crazy easy to cut off websites with no recourse whatsoever. And this part isn’t just limited to payment providers/ad networks — but to service providers, search engines and domain registrars/registries as well. Yes. Search engines. So you can send a notice to a search engine, and if they want to keep their immunity, they have to take the actions in either Section 102(c)(2) or 103(c)(2), which are basically all of the “cut ‘em off, block ‘em” remedies. That’s crazy. This basically encourages search engines to disappear sites upon a single notice. It encourages domain registries to kill domains based on notices. With no recourse at all, because the providers have broad immunity. Oh no, this isn’t crazy at all, it’s authoritarian. Imagine how long Goldman666 or Matt Taibbi or Karl Denninger or yours truly would be around with this rule. Wikileaks demonstrates that even Swedish domiciled sites are not safe.And it isn’t just the banks that favor SOPA. So too does the AFL-CIO... YOIKES! BTV's msgeaux offers Lessons in American History: Scapegoating "Iran is Not the Real Target," writes Gordon Duff, Senior Editor Veterans Today Some time ago, during the Clinton administration, I learned that a group of Israeli/American extremists in Washington were planning on forcing the US to invade Iran. Some of these people worked with friends in the White House, some being taped by the FBI tied to spying by their closest associates, spying on the US, nuclear secrets and such, secrets passed on by Israel to China. As soon as Bush took office, friends at every agency told me they were being asked to submit falsified intelligence about weapons programs in Iraq and terrorist cells in both Iraq and Iran. They said the orders came from the president’s national security advisor who was planning a war on Iraq. Other friends, some at the highest levels of government, Reagan onward, now working as lobbyists, told me a pattern was emerging and that war was coming. All were good friends of Israel, some had visited many times, some actually headed pro-Israeli organizations in the US. ..... The lying started long before Bush. Oklahoma City was Clinton’s gift, an attempt to paint America’s right wing as terrorists. “Working groups” were set up in several agencies, groups that met “off campus” to discuss the real work of our government, running drugs, coordinating with organized crime and planning acts of domestic terrorism. However, when the Bush gang got in, they had a plan in hand, invade Iraq, invade Iran, quadruple the size of government, tax the middle class out of existence, end Social Security, flood the country with illegal aliens. With control of Afghan opium production they could switch the cities from “crack” to cheaper heroin which was controlled by the Bush family for decades. And they could end the electoral process through using the CIA to run elections through Diebold and other companies like Wackenhut. A systematic plan was put in place to take control of Federal courts, killing the constitution, the Supreme Court was stacked with “bought and paid for” organized crime shills. Then came 9/11, planned two years before, with FBI agents infiltrating terror cells that were really Israelis, with thousands of pages of new laws annulling the constitution, some written as early as 1999 suddenly showing up. This should be the history we are teaching our children, grade school, high school, college, what our military is being taught about the wars they fight. Now we are talking about pushing Iran to war by cutting their oil revenue with an illegal blockade and starving 100 million people to death. Read on! Dahr Jamail writes at AJE Fallujah babies: Under a new kind of siege Doctors and residents blame US weapons for catastrophic levels of birth defects in Fallujah's newborns. Fallujah, Iraq - While the US military has formally withdrawn from Iraq, doctors and residents of Fallujah are blaming weapons like depleted uranium and white phosphorous used during two devastating US attacks on Fallujah in 2004 for what are being described as "catastrophic" levels of birth defects and abnormalities. Dr Samira Alani, a paediatric specialist at Fallujah General Hospital, has taken a personal interest in investigating an explosion of congenital abnormalities that have mushroomed in the wake of the US sieges since 2005. "We have all kinds of defects now, ranging from congenital heart disease to severe physical abnormalities, both in numbers you cannot imagine," Alani told Al Jazeera at her office in the hospital, while showing countless photos of shocking birth defects. As of December 21, Alani, who has worked at the hospital since 1997, told Al Jazeera she had personally logged 677 cases of birth defects since October 2009. Just eight days later when Al Jazeera visited the city on December 29, that number had already risen to 699. "There are not even medical terms to describe some of these conditions because we've never seen them until now," she said. "So when I describe it all I can do is describe the physical defects, but I'm unable to provide a medical term." ..... Alani showed Al Jazeera hundreds of photos of babies born with cleft palates, elongated heads, a baby born with one eye in the centre of its face, overgrown limbs, short limbs, and malformed ears, noses and spines. She told Al Jazeera of cases of "thanatophoric dysplasia", an abnormality in bones and the thoracic cage that "render the newborn incompatible with life". ... Alani, along with Dr Christopher Busby, a British scientist and activist who has carried out research into the risks of radioactive pollution, collected hair samples from 25 parents of families with children who have birth defects and sent them to a laboratory in Germany for analysis. Alani and Busby, along with other doctors and researchers, published a study in September 2011 from data obtained by analysing the hair samples, as well as soil and water samples from the city. Mercury, Uranium, Bizmuth and other trace elements were found. The report's conclusion states: "Whilst caution must be exercised about ruling out other possibilities, because none of the elements found in excess are reported to cause congenital diseases and cancer except Uranium, these findings suggest the enriched Uranium exposure is either a primary cause or related to the cause of the congenital anomaly and cancer increases. Questions are thus raised about the characteristics and composition of weapons now being deployed in modern battlefields." "As doctors, we know Mercury, Uranium and Bismuth can contribute to the development of congenital abnormalities, and we think it could be related to the use of prohibited weapons by the Americans during these battles," Alani said. .... In Babil Province in southern Iraq, the head of the Babil Cancer Centre, Dr Sharif al-Alwachi, said cancer rates have been escalating at alarming rates since 2003, for which he blames the use of depleted uranium weapons by US forces during and following the 2003 invasion. "The environment could be contaminated by chemical weapons and depleted uranium from the aftermath of the war on Iraq," Dr Alwachi told Al Jazeera. "The air, soil and water are all polluted by these weapons, and as they come into contact with human beings they become poisonous. This is new to our region, and people are suffering here." The US and UK militaries have sent mixed signals about the effects of depleted uranium, but Iraqi doctors like Alwachi and Alani, and along with researchers, blame the increasing cancer and birth defect rates on the weapon. Abdulhaq Al-Ani, author of Uranium in Iraq, has been researching the effects of depleted uranium on Iraqis since 1991. He told Al Jazeera he personally measured radiation levels in the city of Kerbala, as well as in Basra, and his Geiger counter was "screaming" because "the indicator went beyond the range". Alani explained that she is the only doctor in Fallujah registering cases of congenital abnormalities. ... Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists press release: DOOMSDAY CLOCK MOVES 1 MINUTE CLOSER TO MIDNIGHT WASHINGTON, D.C. -- January 10, 2012 -- Faced with inadequate progress on nuclear weapons reduction and proliferation, and continuing inaction on climate change, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists (BAS) announced today that it has moved the hands of its famous "Doomsday Clock" to five minutes to midnight. The last time the Doomsday Clock minute hand moved was in January 2010, when the Clock's minute hand was pushed back one minute from five to six minutes before midnight. In a formal statement issued at the time of today's announcement, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists noted: "It is five minutes to midnight. Two years ago, it appeared that world leaders might address the truly global threats that we face. In many cases, that trend has not continued or been reversed. For that reason, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists is moving the clock hand one minute closer to midnight, back to its time in 2007." Much more you need to read at TheBulletin.org! Doomsday Clock Overview The Doomsday Clock conveys how close humanity is to catastrophic destruction--the figurative midnight--and monitors the means humankind could use to obliterate itself. First and foremost, these include nuclear weapons, but they also encompass climate-changing technologies and new developments in the life sciences that could inflict irrevocable harm. ... SURVEILLANCE UPDATE! Homeland Security Monitors Journalists Freedom of speech might allow journalists to get away with a lot in America, but the Department of Homeland Security is on the ready to make sure that the government is keeping dibs on who is saying what. Under the National Operations Center (NOC)’s Media Monitoring Initiative that came out of DHS headquarters in November, Washington has the written permission to retain data on users of social media and online networking platforms. Specifically, the DHS announced the NCO and its Office of Operations Coordination and Planning (OPS) can collect personal information from news anchors, journalists, reporters or anyone who may use “traditional and/or social media in real time to keep their audience situationally aware and informed.” According to the Department of Homeland Security’s own definition of personal identifiable information, or PII, such data could consist of any intellect “that permits the identity of an individual to be directly or indirectly inferred, including any information which is linked or linkable to that individual.” Previously established guidelines within the administration say that data could only be collected under authorization set forth by written code, but the new provisions in the NOC’s write-up means that any reporter, whether someone along the lines of Walter Cronkite or a budding blogger, can be victimized by the agency. Also included in the roster of those subjected to the spying are government officials, domestic or not, who make public statements, private sector employees that do the same and “persons known to have been involved in major crimes of Homeland Security interest,” which to itself opens up the possibilities even wider. The department says that they will only scour publically-made info available while retaining data, but it doesn’t help but raise suspicion as to why the government is going out of their way to spend time, money and resources on watching over those that helped bring news to the masses. ... SURVEILLANCE UPDATE II ! Justin Elliott at Salon The Army is reading your Bradley Manning tweets! Our LAST WORD goes to Hal Crowther at IndyWeek.com Otherwise occupied: What price revolution? Here are some highlights ... Idiot force has been deployed against Occupy at dozens of its tent cities, although assault rifles have yet to appear anywhere other than Chapel Hill. Every image of belligerent overreaction to a nonviolent protest—diligently videotaped, instantly online—is a victory for this promising experiment in civil disobedience, which in the digital age commands an audience inconceivable to Mohandas Gandhi or Martin Luther King Jr. But those great martyrs of nonviolence, who succeeded in spite of the violence they failed to survive, laid down the rules of this game. It's about self-control: You conquer by conquering yourself. Your enemy is exposed, isolated and in the end defeated by his brutality and lack of restraint. That's all to the good, unless those are your ribs, your hair. The other lesson young rebels learn rapidly is that revolutions, in the words of one of Chapel Hill's declared anarchists, "are not like a dinner party." Civil disobedience is no walk in the park. It involves serious physical risks. There are sometimes martyrs. Pressed sufficiently, even the most benign authority will usually show its fangs. Television deceives. Was there ever a real-life lawman like Sheriff Andy Taylor, who never met a malefactor he didn't like? Or even one like Marshal Matt Dillon, who was always fair and avoided violence if he could? It's not a great secret that most people who seek authority, or defend it, fall toward the controlling side of the psychological spectrum. They tend to prize order and orderly citizens, an equilibrium that civil disobedience so rudely violates. "Disturbing the peace" is a punishable offense with deep historical roots. Disturb their peace and they will bite you, they will beat you. They might shoot you. Expect no smiles, no brownies. You make a stern, life-altering commitment when you take your grievances to the street. I had to grin at an e-mail an old friend forwarded to me, from his daughter in New York, who joined last week's night march across the Brooklyn Bridge to reclaim Zuccotti Park. "Being a revolutionary is cold work," she reports. ...... It's up to them now, the green, clean, unexpected revolutionaries one Manhattan office worker called "those terrific kids in the park." It's up to you, whoever you are, and encouraging polls indicate that most Americans don't buy the predictable smears from the right-wing coven, the ones that dismiss you as spoiled children of privilege who would rather demonstrate than work. If our self-esteem is based on the noxiousness of our enemies—I cherish mine—you should all be swollen with pride. You've been called "fascists" by Karl Rove, a criminal thug who belongs on Cellblock B instead of Fox News. Ann Coulter claims that America views you with "hilarity and revulsion," which pretty accurately sums up her own impact and her career. "Go get a bath right after you get a job," snarls Newt Gingrich, an influence-peddler who's had no legitimate job for 15 years and exists only to give the word "hypocrisy" a human face. My sympathies are obvious. What you in the tents can accomplish remains to be seen. But what I think I see, through the media fog of polarized America, is the return of the full-fledged idealists (as opposed to single-issue idealists) who seemed to go underground around 1980, possibly because the mass media abandoned them during the mudslide of self-celebration that began with Reaganism and culminated in Facebook. I say God bless them, and God will if he still has any investment in the United States of America. The Goliath they challenge has crushed a thousand Davids. The good news is that "the kids" are right on target. Their diagnosis is bull's-eye correct, and the patient is critical. For this country to survive, it must find saner ways to pursue and multiply wealth, and find them quickly. The cannibal capitalism that produced a Goldman Sachs and a Bernie Madoff is subhuman and obscene. There's no form of government more inherently offensive than plutocracy—only theocracy comes close. When a citizen comes of age in a plutocracy, he has no moral choice but to slay Pluto or die trying. .... This is beyond unacceptable, much closer to unspeakable, like an economic survey comparing the French court at Versailles to the sans-culottes. This is not what the Founders of the Great American Experiment had in mind (they thought slavery might be the fatal worm in our apple, but it turned out to be capitalism). This is what the OWS demonstrators, emerging from our underperforming high schools and colleges, found blocking their way to the future. Critics chide them for failing to establish specific demands, but a slate of demands from Occupy Chicago struck me as savvy and dead-on: repeal tax cuts and close loopholes for the rich, prosecute the Wall Street felons of 2008, separate commercial lending from investment banking, rein in lobbyists, eliminate corporate personhood and overturn the Supreme Court's Citizens United decision of 2010. This last demand is perhaps the most critical. The decision that defined campaign contributions as free speech, delivered by the court's 5-4 Republican majority, removed the last legal obstacles to a wallet-based political system that leaves the 1 percent, or one-hundredth of 1 percent, in unchallenged control of our fortunes and our public lives. It opened the floodgates for a multibillion-dollar campaign to defeat President Obama, and any candidates who might resist corporate feudalism, in 2012. In the words of the late Molly Ivins, "We either get the money out of politics or we lose the democracy." There's a grave possibility that it has already been lost. But those "terrific kids" in the tents, with their black-and-blue ribs and their eyes red from pepper spray, seem to be the only Americans who are dead sure what's at stake. The usual GOPher Circus suspects dominate yer Sunday Funnies but look for NOBEL LAUREATE PAUL KRUGMAN on THIS SNUFAGOPOLIS returning to "This Week" since Christine Anapour left to return "to CNN with a weekday program on its International network, while continuing at ABC News as a global affairs anchor" while KRUGMAN debates the troglodytes on the class war being waged BY the GOP and how the GOP 1% is winning. Throw yer bricks at everybody else because the Klown Kar is everywhere! Meanwhile check out MAX KEISER with news dissector Danny Schechter and Nomi Prins, RING OF FIRE has Slate's Dahlia Lithwick, VIDEO with The Nation's Ari Berman and Chauncey DeVega PLUS The Atlantic's Steve Clemons and WILLIAM HARTUNG on Democracy Now! PLUS AntiWarRadio's interview with Robert Koehler discussing his article Bugsplat’: the civilian toll of war. It is truly amazing that "The Right" can claim the media is "librul" when the CONservatives DOMINATE the airwaves. Be sure to watch Ex-FCC Commissioner Michael Copps on Media Consolidation, Broadband Expansion, Threats to Journalism. There just ARE NOT ANY LIBERALS on yer teevee AT ALL save KRUGMAN trying desperately to get the word out that "These people are crazy" and NONE of their "solutions" work whether it's economics, science, foreign policy or domestic policy. The entire CANARD of "The Evil Librul Media" is just that: a CANARD. And too many voters buy into this CANARD hook, line and sinker. Why? That's all they get on right-wing corporate-controlled terrestrial airwaves 24-7. We recommend Manufacturing Consent: Noam Chomsky and the Media at informationclearinghouse "Required Viewing for every citizen in the Free World." The Brick TeeVee Crew was surfing around and found this video from Sept 2011 Tom Morello on REAL TIME with Bill Maher.... WATCH NOW! TOM MORELLO THE NIGHTWATCHMAN Enjoy Martin Luther King Day 2012!

BRICK TEEVEE ALERTS!_©

»»» William Hartung @ Democracy NOW! Drones, Asia and Cyber War: Pentagon Shifts Priorities in New Review; Budget Still Exceeds Bush Era Jan 9, 2012
»»» Colin Goddard, a survivor of the 2007 Virginia Tech massacre @ Democracy NOW! As Arizona Remembers Tucson Shooting, Virginia Tech Massacre Survivor Calls for New Gun Control Jan 9, 2012
»»» Guantánamo Bay Prison’s 10th Anniversary @ Democracy NOW! Guantánamo Detainees Launch Hunger Strike to Protest Prison’s 10th Anniversary AND Guantánamo Exclusive: Former Chief Prosecutor, Ex-Prisoner Call on Obama to Close Prison PLUS NDAA: Obama Signs Law Restricting Transfer of Guantánamo Prisoners and Expands Indefinite Detention Jan 10, 2012
»»» Dale Kuehne, Arnie Arnesen, Arnie Alpert @ Democracy NOW! Rivals’ Attacks on Romney’s Corporate Record Display Occupy Wall Street’s Wide Reach RELATED: How New Hampshire Became Last U.S. State to Recognize MLK Day Holiday Jan 11, 2012
»»» Michael Copps WATCH NOW Ex-FCC Commissioner Michael Copps on Media Consolidation, Broadband Expansion, Threats to Journalism Jan 12, 2012
»»» Trita Parsi, founder and president of the National Iranian American Council @ Democracy NOW! A Path to War? Assassination of Iran Nuclear Scientist, New Sanctions Strain U.S.-Iran Relations Jan 12, 2012
»»» Randall Robinson, founder and past president of TransAfrica @ Democracy NOW! 2 Years After Devastating Earthquake, Haiti’s Rebuilding Weighed Down by Legacy of Foreign Meddling Jan 13, 2012
»»» Michelle Alexander & Randall Robinson @ Democracy NOW! WATCH NOW On Eve of MLK Day, Michelle Alexander & Randall Robinson on the Mass Incarceration of Black America Jan 13, 2012

»»» GRITtv @ www.grittv.org with Laura Flanders
»»» FEATURED SHOW This Video is Absurd as Corporate Personhood What will it take to overturn the Supreme Court’s decision in Citizens United? Perhaps a viral video! Here is “It’s Viral,” with The Nation’s own Katrina vanden Heuvel, Jim Hightower and more. Exec produced by the We the People Campaign. Think it’ll work? And while you're thinking, repost! For more on citizens' opposition to Citizen's United, read the full post at TheNation.com .
BRICK TEEVEE SPORT!_©
»»» NFL Divisional Playoffs 49'ers and Patriots move on! Giants @ Packers & Texans @ Ravens on Sunday!
»»» NBA on TNT! Double-header Thursday! Lakers @ Heat 8 pm et then Mavs @ Jazz 10:30 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:

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.

NET NEUTRALITY! SaveTheInternet.org SOPA If you've been living under an Internet-free rock the past couple of weeks, you might have managed to miss the steady drumbeat of opposition to HR 3261, the so-called Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA). Then again, if you've been living under an Internet-free rock, you've already had a preview of what we're facing if SOPA goes into effect. AmericanCensorship.org has pulled together an infographic that explains in very basic terms the services and sites that are at greatest risk from SOPA here: Infographic: Effects of the Internet Blacklist Bill (SOPA). More info at American Censorship Day READ Internet Censorship: Not Today, Not Tomorrow SIGN NOW! Internet censorship is coming to America. It’s in the form of a bill in Congress that gives corporations unprecedented power to blacklist websites at will. If passed, the “Stop Online Piracy Act,” or SOPA (HR 3261), could rip apart the open fabric of the Internet. People could see their websites disappear from the Internet for a “crime” as innocent as posting a video of themselves singing along to a favorite song. Sign this petition NOW! Keep BTV and YOUR blog alive! Listen to Sam Seder with Tim Karr of Free Press on Net Neutrality [11•10•11] UPDATE: Bypass SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) DNS Blocking with DeSopa 1.1 A new anti-SOPA add-on for Firefox, titled “DeSopa” is such a counter measure.When installed, users can click a single button to resolve a blocked domain via foreign DNS servers, bypassing all domestic DNS blockades and allowing the user to browse the site though the bare IP-address (if supported).“I feel that the general public is not aware of the gravity of SOPA and Congress seems like they are about to cater to the special interests involved, to the detriment of Internet, for which I and many others live and breathe,” DeSopa developer T Rizk told....
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 UPDATE! Manning-Lamo Chat Logs Revealed at wired.com plus The Deeply Personal Details in New Bradley Manning Chat Logs and Bradley Manning Support Network Much more at link.
UPDATE! BRADLEY MANNING UPDATE: Robert Parry Exclusive America’s Debt to Bradley Manning So, it was useful to examine the WikiLeaks documents regarding the election of the new IAEA leader in 2009 to understand why this flip may have occurred. What those classified State Department cables show is that the IAEA’s new director general, Japanese diplomat Yukiya Amano, credited his victory largely to U.S. government support and promptly stuck his hand out for U.S. money. Further, Amano left little doubt that he would side with the United States in its confrontation with Iran and that he would even meet secretly with Israeli officials regarding their purported evidence on Iran’s nuclear program, despite the fact that Israel is arguably the world’s preeminent rogue nuclear state and rejects IAEA inspections of its own nuclear sites. According to U.S. embassy cables from Vienna, Austria, the site of IAEA’s headquarters, American diplomats in 2009 were cheering the prospect that Amano would advance U.S. interests in ways that outgoing IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei wouldn’t. ..... In private, Amano agreed to “consultations” with the head of the Israeli Atomic Energy Commission, Pyatt reported. (It is ironic indeed that Amano would have secret contacts with Israeli officials about Iran’s alleged nuclear weapons program, which has yet to yield a single bomb, when Israel possesses a large and undeclared nuclear arsenal.) In a subsequent cable dated Oct. 16, 2009, the U.S. mission in Vienna said Amano “took pains to emphasize his support for U.S. strategic objectives for the Agency. Amano reminded ambassador [Glyn Davies] on several occasions that … he was solidly in the U.S. court on every key strategic decision, from high-level personnel appointments to the handling of Iran’s alleged nuclear weapons program. “More candidly, Amano noted the importance of maintaining a certain ‘constructive ambiguity’ about his plans, at least until he took over for DG ElBaradei in December” 2009. In other words, the emerging picture of Amano is of a bureaucrat eager to bend in directions favored by the United States and Israel, especially regarding Iran’s nuclear program. Amano’s behavior surely contrasts with how the more independent-minded ElBaradei resisted some of Bush’s key claims about Iraq’s supposed nuclear weapons program, denouncing some documents as forgeries. Today, with some Republican presidential contenders falling over themselves to bond with Israel over its desire to attack Iran, this sort of detail puts the IAEA report into a fuller context that can help American voters judge whether another war is necessary or whether they’re being misled again by hyped allegations. More at link...
DONATE YOUR OLD CELL PHONES TO T.J. MARTELL FOUNDATION Help 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

IRAQ: 4,484 US Military Dead as of Dec 31, 2011
AFGHANISTAN: 1,875 US Military Dead as of Jan 13, 2012
The Obameter: Tracking Obama's Campaign Promises
Considering Democracy: 8 Things to ask your Representative

This Week (ABC) anchor George Stephanopoulos

UPDATE: CNN reported today that renowned international correspondent Christiane Amanpour will be returning to CNN with a weekday program on its International network, while continuing at ABC News as a global affairs anchor. Former “This Week” host George Stephanopoulos will return to the program on 8 January, while continuing his role as an anchor for “Good Morning America”. FULL STORY

• 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'

• Texas Gov. Rick Perry

• comedian Stephen Colbert

• ROUNDTABLE: George Will and Cokie Roberts, ABC News senior political correspondent Jonathan Karl, the Wall Street Journal's Peggy Noonan, and New York Times columnist and Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman
Face The Nation (CBS) Host Bob Schiefer

• GOP presidential candidate Rick Santorum

• GOP presidential candidate Newt Gingrich

• Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C.
60 Minutes (CBS)

• Groupon - In his first major interview since taking the multibillion dollar Internet company public late last year, the founder and CEO of online daily deals site Groupon talks about the company Forbes called the fastest growing in the world. Lesley Stahl interviews Andrew Mason. Shachar Bar-On is the producer.

• Qatar -The tiny and prosperous Middle Eastern country with no income taxes and free health care is an island of calm in a sea of unrest as neighbors like Syria, Egypt and Bahrain experience social upheaval. Bob Simon reports. Harry Radliffe is the producer.

• Jake -At 13 years old, Jake Barnett is already attending college and tutoring his much older "peers." In fact, the math and science prodigy was acing college courses when he was just eight and hopes to use his gift to change the world someday. Morley Safer reports. Katy Textor 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!

• GOP presidential candidate Newt Gingrich

• Sen. Lindsey Graham

• Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV)

• Personal finance guru Suze Orman

• Tea-Party backed freshman Rep. Tim Scott.
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.

• Texas Governor and Republican presidential candidate Rick Perry

• senior campaign strategist David Axelrod

• Sen. John McCain (Senile-AZ)

• South Carolina evangelical leaders, Bob Jones III, chancellor Bob Jones University and

• Reverend Brad Atkins, president South Carolina Baptist Convention
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 the conversation 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.

• PRAYER MEETIN' WEDNESDAY!!!!! Uber Pope Imam Bishop Rabbi Bob! Listen now HERE (mp3)!

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' - January 12, 2012 IN TODAY'S RADIO REPORT: GOP planning end-run around Obama on Keystone XL pipeline?; 2 years after massive earthquake, Haiti still devastated; Big polluters in your neighborhood? There's a map for that; PLUS: While Obama talks clean energy, Germany actually does it ... All that and more in today's Green News Report!

IN 'GREEN NEWS EXTRA' (see link): Cow (poo) Power for Seattle; Deaths in Nigerian oil subsidy riots; Oil prices rise on Iran tensions; Federal judge reinstates EPA boiler rule; Thomas Edison's revenge?; Improving TV energy efficiency saves money; Lesions on gulf fish linked to BP oil spill; NASA's Hansen: extreme heat in TX, OK, Russia "caused by global warming ... PLUS: "Profound cascading consequences" as Rocky Mountains lose snowpack ... and much, MUCH more! ...

BRADCAST UPDATE: Guest Hosting 'Malloy Show' Friday the 13th! A Nightmare on Malloy Street! TONIGHT: All of your worst 2012 nightmares, plus great news out of Wisconsin!

Visit BradBlog.com to see who counts yer votes! 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
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! January 13, 2012

• Legal correspondent for Slate Dahlia Lithwick will tell us why the Montana Supreme Court sent a message to corporations, informing them that they are NOT people.

• Psychologist and Alternet contributor Bruce Levine will talk to us about the over-medication of our children.

• Steve Clemons from The Atlantic will join us for a discussion on how to restore America’s super power status in the world.

• Steve Kornacki from Salon.com will tell us why Mitt Romney will have to appease Ron Paul if he wants to win the Republican nomination.

• And author and radio host Maria Armoudian will be here to tell us about the evolution of the Occupy Movement.

• VIDEO! Papantonio: Inside the GOP’s Block The Vote MachineMost Americans are under the correct assumption that the right to vote is a guarantee for every legal US citizen. But as we’ve noted during this show, the GOP is working tirelessly to prevent minorities, the elderly, and young people from being able to cast a vote in next year’s presidential election. That’s because these groups tend to favor Democrats over the GOP’s new brand of crazy Tea Party candidates. Mike Papantonio talks about the GOP’s war on voting rights with author and Nation Magazine contributor Ari Berman.

• VIDEO! Papantonio: Racism Prevalent at GOP Primaries When you drill down to the heart of the GOP’s war on voting, you’ll see that racism is the driving factor. And that racism isn’t just coming in the form of voter suppression – even the GOP Tea Party candidates are diving head first into the realm of race baiting. Mike Papantonio talks about how racism is driving the Tea Party candidates’ campaigns with blogger and author Chauncey DeVega.

• 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!

• Rocky Anderson on his Presidential Run, Ron Paul & Occupy Wall Street [01•10•12]

• Jeff Smith of the Occupy Wall Street Press Team on the Upcoming J17 Occupy Congress Events [01•10•12]

• Dave Weigel of Slate on the New Hampshire Primary [01•11•12]

• Matt of Occupy New Hampshire on Their Role in the NH Primary [01•11•12]

• Robert Forrant on Bread and Roses Labor Strike [01•12•12]

MORE Podcast Interviews at majorityreport.official.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

• COMPETITION FROM RT AND THE ‘KEISER REPORT’ HAS FORCED THE NYT into admitting it’s not pursuing truth and then asking its readers if they are interested in the truth… by maxkeiser. READ NYT OpEd: Should The Times Be a Truth Vigilante? (nyt) maxkeiser: I like to think we had a hand in this… Our reports on RT are so shockingly truthful that now the NYT is playing catch-up in the truth business. Something you would have thought they were doing all along.. But we told you otherwise. And that’s the truth. See Cenk Uygur rips New York Times over ‘truth vigilante’ column!

• VIDEO! Max Keiser on Capital Account: Presidential Futures are like “Running Man on Steroids” by stacyherbert.

• KEISER REPORT [KR233] Keiser Report: Spiral of debt towards the paranormal In this episode, we discuss Brits using payday loans to pay off interest only mortgages while Greeks bury their cash for fear of being Gaddafi’d by the banksters. In the second half of the show, Max talks to David Morgan of Silver-Investor.com about silver, Sprott and bonds.

• KEISER REPORT [KR234] Keiser Report – Hollywood Cons Congress We discuss copyright and how Hollywood cons Congress by using Wall Street accounting. In the second half of the show, Max talks to Amir Taaki about hackers, piracy, technology and bitcoin.

• KEISER REPORT [KR235] Keiser Report – Death by Thousand Revelations In this episode, we discuss death by a thousand revelations and destroying the City to save the City. In the second half of the show, Max talks to author, Nomi Prins about the role of JP Morgan in Jon Corzine’s MF Global crime.

• KEISER REPORT [236] Keiser Report: Wall Street Gangsta! We discuss corruption with a clean face and Jamie “Spaghetti Face” Dimon. In the second half of the show, Max talks to investment adviser and blogger Michael Krieger about Ron Paul, the Fed and political futures.

• ON THE EDGE On the Edge with Danny Schechter Max talks to the news dissector, Danny Schechter.

• THE TRUTH ABOUT MARKETS [TaM-1228] The Truth About Markets – 10 December 2011 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

• Flynt Leverett January 1, 2012: Flynt Leverett, former Senior Director for Middle East Affairs at the National Security Council, discusses Iran’s threat to close the Strait of Hormuz, as a response to sanctions that may eventually cut off Iran’s oil exports; why the US and Israel don’t really have a problem with Iranian nuclear weapons, just Iran’s refusal to submit to US regional hegemony; Israel’s “red line” on Iran’s uranium enrichment at Qom; why US foreign policy planners don’t learn from prior mistakes (because superpowers don’t have to); and why waging war with borrowed money is a sure sign of a declining empire. Flynt Leverett runs The Race For Iran blog.

• Mark Sheffield January 12, 2012: Mark Sheffield of the Policy on Point blog discusses his article “Skip the Turban, Check the Brain: It’s Called the Persian Gulf for a Reason;” why the Persian Gulf qualifies as US-occupied territory; the mainstream media’s spin on Iran’s naval war games and their bluff and bluster about closing the Strait of Hormuz; Iran’s asymmetrical options for counterattacking a US or Israeli airstrike; and the danger of Silkworm missiles to US naval vessels, especially aircraft carriers.

• Robert Koehler January 12, 2012: Nationally syndicated writer Robert Koehler discusses his article “‘Bugsplat’: the civilian toll of war;” robbing America’s enemies of their humanity through derisive name calling or utter indifference; how US nationalism – America’s civic religion – permits the government to commit atrocities abroad without domestic political repercussions; why all the regular people look like ants to those on high; and military recruiting through video games and high unemployment.

Many more interviews at Antiwar Radio!
fauxnews

• Former Senator Rick Santorum

• Rick Tyler, a senior adviser to the pro Gingrich Super Pac

• Chris Chocola, the president of the Club for Growth

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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! T

Brick TeeVee and the End of the Constitution

2012-01-08T02:16:00.001-05:00

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ALL LINKS OPEN A NEW WINDOW!!!
Click on anything below and be INSTANTLY SMARTER!
THE U.S.CONSTITUTION IS NOW DEAD Fellow Clevelander Andy Borowitz at BorowitzReport tweets "If only 8 more people liked me than Rick Santorum I would put a gun in my mouth." From The BTV "They watch so you don't have to" Department we get a "Happy New Year" greeting from Sick Santorum! Our interpid jen then snags this nugget from CROOKSANDLIARS on New Year's Day David Gregory Pushes Back at Rick Santorum For Lying About the President Not Meeting With Republicans WITH VIDEO! by Heather

Sadly what we did not get from David Gregory here is pointing out the record number of filibusters and Republicans refusing to vote for things that they claim they once supported and the fact that they're more worried about making President Obama a one term president than ever cooperating with him on anything. Instead he allowed Santorum to rant and rave about how the President hasn't been talking nicely enough to them, while in the mean time they're out calling him a Socialist and a Marxist and turning the definition of "class warfare" on its head when it's their party that's waging it.

Now we cannot let this stand. ThinkProgress has Rick Santorum’s Top 10 Most Outrageous Campaign Statements where we need to point out these three items:

• 8) HEALTH REFORM WILL KILL MY CHILD: Santorum, who claims that Obamacare motivated him to run for president, told reporters in April that his daughter Bella — who was born with a genetic abnormality — wouldn’t survive in a country with “socialized medicine.” “Children like Bella are not given the treatment that other children are given.” FOR THE RECORD Senator Sanatarium AND HIS FAMILY recieve LIFELONG FEDERAL HEALTH CARE funded by EVERY TAXPAYER IN THE U.S. See USA Today Lawmakers far outpace most Americans in benefits: "any member who lasts five years in office also can get taxpayer-subsidized health care until he or she reaches Medicare age."

for a black man

of course is a phony exception

NOW for the hypocritical truth read this from Philly.com Articles Collection 1997 Issue Turns Personal For Santorums The Senator And His Wife Had To Consider An Abortion As She Lay Near Death which is the most accurate item the BTV Crew could find. And the truth-challenged Sick Santorum now goes with this Santorum’s Racist Welfare Rant: ‘I Don’t Want To Make Black People’s Lives Better’ With Taxpayer Money And now can you believe Santorum Denies Making Racially-Charged Claim After Apparently Acknowledging Saying It with VIDEO! Watch and YOU DECIDE!
Here's some Schadenfreude News Two Ex-Scott Walker Staffers Arrested In Ongoing Investigation An expansive “John Doe” corruption investigation targeting employees and former employees of Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) has led to its first arrests today, nabbing three people, including two former aides to Walker. The investigation centers around Milwaukee County workers during Walker’s tenure their as executive, and has previously involved an FBI raid on the home of a fourth person, one of Walker’s top aides.
At George Washington's blog Psychopaths Caused the Financial Crisis … And They Will Do It Again and Again Unless They Are Removed From Power ...Unless We Remove the Psychopaths from Power, They Will Cause More and More Destruction. The inmates are still running the asylum. Anyone who knows Jamie Dimon, Lloyd Blankfein or the other Wall Street “leaders” can tell you that they haven’t changed a bit since 2008. They are not repentent for their role in the financial crisis. They don’t feel bad that the taxpayers have had to bail them out again and again … and that they have used that money to enrich themselves and stick it to the little guy.
The Daily Bell has an Exclusive Interview with Catherine Austin Fitts on Wall Street's Corruption, the Austrian School and Who's 'Really' in Charge Good item!
And AmericanBanker predicts Jamie Dimon Will Have His Comeuppance in 2012
Zerohedge has a Guest Post: Eight Simple Truths You Need To Know About 2012 submitted by Simon Black from Sovereign Man. Yesterday we discussed certain events that, in my view, are nearly mathematical certainties. Things like a restructuring of public pensions and Social Security in Europe and the US. Western governments blocking Internet and mobile networks. War. The US government being forced to issue debt in a foreign currency. All of these events are underpinned by a simple premise: 1) Public and private debts included, most western nations are insolvent. Big time. .... Read on for the other seven!
At NakedCapitalism Yves Smith posts Philip Pilkington: The Reactionary Mind – The Truth About Conservatism; An Interview with Corey Robin Part I Well worth the whole read; here's just a small snip.

PP: Interesting point about the conservative ideologue being an outsider. That brings to a point that you raise in your book which I found fascinating as it really chimed with my personal experience: namely, that conservatism is the ‘politics of the loser’. In talking about this realistically I think we risk opening up criticism on two fronts: on the left, if we are frank, we break the pact of political correctness and open ourselves up to criticism in that vein; while the right will simply accuse us of getting our political knives out. But no matter because I think this should be spoken about quite clearly. Conservatism is an ideology that seems to appeal to people with a chip on their shoulder. That sounds strange because this is usually the argument raised against the left; most profoundly in the Nietzschean vein of the priest appealing to the ressentiment of the masses. But in my experience – and I’ve spoken with others who move in such circles in private and they agree with me – conservative ideologues are often people with enormous chips on their shoulders. Many are afflicted with some disadvantage or other – or, at least, something that they seem to think a disadvantage. .... It’s often people of this disposition that stand up in defence of power. And there seems to be some sort of psychology behind it that’s not often talked about – the phrase ‘identification with the aggressor’ certainly comes to mind, for example. How deeply does this psychology run in conservative doctrine? And how do you make sense of it?
CR: Again, I want to stress that mine is not a psychological theory of conservatism. I’m leery of speculating about the psychic states that lead men and women to subscribe to one theory or another, particularly since so many of those states seem like universal experiences, elements of the human condition that can’t be limited to one set of the population or another. But I will say this: the sensibility you describe – experiencing or identifying oneself as a victim — is a consistent feature of conservative thought. Regardless of whether the ideologue or camp follower of conservatism sees him or herself as a victim, the idea of victimhood plays a critical part in conservatism. Going back to Burke. Marie Antoinette is the first great victim of the conservative canon. The sovereign who Joseph de Maistre recommends be restored to power once the counterrevolution prevails – someone Maistre describes as being schooled in the ways of adversity, who’s been brought low by fortune and thus learned a thing or two – he’s a victim (and Maistre recommends him to power on the basis of that victimhood). William Graham Sumner’s “forgotten man” is another victim. Nietzsche’s master class, in fact, is a victim. So is Nixon’s silent majority. And so on. ..... But as you say, it speaks for the loser not by democratizing society – making things more equal – but by making it more elite, more privilege, more unequal.

ThinkProgress has this from Wednesday BREAKING: Obama To Make Recess Appointments To National Labor Relations Board President Obama is planning to announce today that, in addition to his recess appointment of former Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray as the first director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, he will also use his recess appointment powers to place Department of Labor Attorney Sharon Block, labor lawyer Richard Griffin, and NLRB counsel Terence Flynn to the National Labor Relations Board. Like the CFPB, Republicans have spent the past year blocking nominations to the NLRB in an effort to keep the agency from functioning. Those efforts would have paid off soon, since after Craig Becker’s term on the board expired this week, the NLRB would have been reduced to two members, which is the number it had for more than two years from 2008 to 2010. This effectively shuts down the board, since the Supreme Court ruled in 2010 that two members does not constitute a legal quorum, and thus, a two-member board can’t make binding rulings. All 47 Senate Republicans have warned Obama of a “constitutional conflict” should he choose to use his recess appointment powers — authority he is well within his right to use, as ThinkProgress’ Ian Millhiser noted yesterday — but it was Chief Justice John Roberts, a noted conservative, who suggested the president should make recess appointments to keep the NLRB functioning, as ThinkProgress reported in 2010. Obama’s appointment of Block, Flynn, and Griffin is important, too, because it boosts the board’s membership to five, protecting its quorum even if member Brian Hayes follows through on his threats to quit. Preserving its right to quorum ensures that its rulings will not be thrown out on legal challenges, as more than 600 cases were by the Roberts Court in 2010. We didn't put in all the cross-links so go to ThinkProgress to follow those juicy items. Now, think back to the "conservative as a victim" meme as you read the UPDATE: Republicans have shown outrage at Obama for using his recess appointment powers with Consumer Financial Protection Bureau director Richard Cordray, and similar outrage is likely to follow the news of the NLRB appointments. But the past three Republican presidents also made recess appointments to the NLRB. Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush each made three recess appointments to the NLRB, while George W. Bush made seven such appointments.
Matt Taibbi at Rolling Stone offers Iowa: The Meaningless Sideshow Begins In the wake of the Tea Party, the Occupy movement, and a dozen or more episodes of real rebellion on the streets, in the legislatures of cities and towns, and in state and federal courthouses, this presidential race now feels like a banal bureaucratic sideshow to the real event – the real event being a looming confrontation between huge masses of disaffected citizens on both sides of the aisle, and a corrupt and increasingly ideologically bankrupt political establishment, represented in large part by the two parties dominating this race. Let’s put it this way. What feels more like a real news story – Newt Gingrich calling Mitt Romney a liar for the ten millionth time, or this sizzling item that just hit the wires by way of the Montana Supreme Court:

HELENA — The Montana Supreme Court restored the state's century-old ban on direct spending by corporations on political candidates or committees in a ruling Friday that interest groups say bucks a high-profile U.S. Supreme Court decision granting political speech rights to corporations… A group seeking to undo the Citizens United decision lauded the Montana high court, with its co-founder saying it was a "huge victory for democracy." "With this ruling, the Montana Supreme Court now sets up the first test case for the U.S. Supreme Court to revisit its Citizens United decision, a decision which poses a direct and serious threat to our democracy," John Bonifaz, of Free Speech For People, said in a statement.

The Iowa caucus, let’s face it, marks the beginning of a long, rigidly-controlled, carefully choreographed process that is really designed to do two things: weed out dangerous minority opinions, and award power to the candidate who least offends the public while he goes about his primary job of energetically representing establishment interests. If that sounds like a glib take on a free election system that allows the public to choose whichever candidate they like best without any censorship or overt state interference, so be it. But the ugly reality, as Dylan Ratigan continually points out, is that the candidate who raises the most money wins an astonishing 94% of the time in America. .... The reason 2012 feels so empty now is that voters on both sides of the aisle are not just tired of this state of affairs, they are disgusted by it. They want a chance to choose their own leaders and they want full control over policy, not just a partial say. There are a few challenges to this state of affairs within the electoral process – as much as I disagree with Paul about many things, I do think his campaign is a real outlet for these complaints – but everyone knows that in the end, once the primaries are finished, we’re going to be left with one 1%-approved stooge taking on another. ..... The campaign is still a gigantic ritual and it will still be attended by all the usual pomp and spectacle, but it’s empty. In fact, because it’s really a contest between 1%-approved candidates, it’s worse than empty – it’s obnoxious. It was always annoying when these two parties and the slavish media that follows their champions around for 18 months pretended that this was a colossal clash of opposites. But now, with the economy in the shape that it’s in thanks in large part to the people financing these elections, that pretense is more than annoying, it’s offensive. And I imagine that the more they try to play up the drama of these familiar-but-empty campaign rituals, the more irritating to the public it will all become. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if, before the season is out, the campaign itself will become a hated symbol of the 1% -- with the conventions and the networks’ broadcast tents outside the inevitable "free speech zones" attracting protests the same way the offices of Chase and Bank of America did this fall. Or maybe not, we’ll see. In any case, it all starts tonight. It’s the same old campaign ritual, but I just don’t think it’s going to fly the same way this time around. MORE TAIBBI! Listen to Sam Seder's interview Matt Taibbi on the Meaningless Sideshow that is the GOP Primaries [01•04•12] AND Goldman's Latest Boiler-Room Stock: America It seems Jim O'Neill, the head of Goldman's Asset Management department, is predicting that the United States stock market may go up "15 to 20 percent." O'Neill apparently believes Ben Bernanke and the Federal Reserve will resort to another round of money-printing, and finally green-light the long-awaited "Qe3," or third round of "Quantitative Easing." ..... Goldman is building an impressive resume of sweepingly bullish predictions that later on, in retrospect, look more like signals to investors that they should run screaming in the opposite direction. A good example might be May of 2008, when Goldman boldly predicted that oil would go to $200 a barrel; oil would go on to peak at $147 less than two months later and crash to the floor soon after. Read more at Rolling Stone for the full effect.
Will Potter at GreenIsTheNewRed reveals FBI Says Activists Who Investigate Factory Farms Can Be Prosecuted as Terrorists
The FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force has kept files on activists who expose animal welfare abuses on factory farms and recommended prosecuting them as terrorists, according to a new document uncovered through the Freedom of Information Act. This new information comes as the Center for Constitutional Rights has filed a lawsuit challenging the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act (AETA) as unconstitutional because its vague wording has had a chilling effect on political activism. This document adds to the evidence demonstrating that the AETA goes far beyond property destruction, as its supporters claim. The 2003 FBI file details the work of several animal rights activists who used undercover investigation to document repeated animal welfare violations. The FBI special agent who authored the report said they “illegally entered buildings owned by [redacted] Farm… and videotaped conditions of animals.” The animal activists caused “economic loss” to businesses, the FBI says. And they also openly rescued several animals from the abusive conditions. This was not done covertly in the style of underground groups like the Animal Liberation Front — it was an act of non-violent civil disobedience and, as the FBI agent notes, the activists distributed press releases and conducted media interviews taking responsibility for their actions. Based on these acts — trespassing in order to photograph and videotape abuses on factory farms — the agent concludes there “is a reasonable indication” that the activists “have violated the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act, 18 USC Section 43 (a).” Click here to view the FBI document. The file was uncovered through a FOIA request by Ryan Shapiro, who is one of the activists mentioned. [Please note that this document has additional redactions in order to protect the identities of the other activists, at their request.] Shapiro is now a doctoral candidate at MIT. “It is deeply sobering to see one’s name in an FBI file proposing terrorism charges,” he said in an email. “It is even more sobering to realize the supposedly terroristic activities in question are merely exposing the horrific cruelty of factory farms, educating the public about what goes on behind those closed doors, and openly rescuing a few animals from one of those farms as an act of civil disobedience.”
But then shouldn't the FDA be looking into these practices? The Department of Agriculture? The CDC? Somebody? Anybody? In a related story our intrepid Maddy finds out that the FDA Gives Up on Antibiotic Restrictions in Livestock by Tom Laskawy The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) pulled a Scrooge move just before Christmas. The agency published an entry in the Federal Register declaring that it will end its attempt at mandatory restrictions on the use of antibiotics in animal agriculture. The agency isn’t advertising the shift, though: This news would have remained a secret if not for Maryn McKenna’s Superbug blog over at Wired. McKenna, who specializes in writing about antibiotics and their link to pathogens, caught the Federal Register notice. .... Inaction has consequences: According to the vast majority of microbiologists and public health experts, restrictions on agricultural uses are key to preserving the effectiveness of antibiotics as well as to preventing the spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria like MRSA and salmonella Heidelberg (cause of last summer’s record-breaking ground turkey recall). And it’s no small dosage: Every year 29 million pounds of antibiotics are given to animals — often via their feed. That figure represents 80 percent of all antibiotics used in the U.S. Consumer groups like the Union of Concerned Scientists and the Pew Charitable Trusts have been calling for an end to the practice for years. But it’s not just outsiders who are fed up with the agency’s work on this issue; the administration’s own watchdog group, the Government Accountability Office, recently gave the agency a failing grade in the subject. In many ways, this issue parallels the ongoing battle over BPA, the endocrine-disrupting chemical used in food packaging, plastics, and register receipts. When finally pushed to ban the chemical, the FDA declared that “its hands were tied” by regulatory hurdles and jurisdictional questions. Yet soon after, the industry lobbying group American Chemical Council responded to consumer anger and petitioned the agency to go ahead and ban BPA. Only then did the FDA indicate it would follow through. In other words, the FDA is admitting that as long as the industry opposes it, the agency can’t keep antibiotics out of our meat and dairy products (nor, for that matter, can it ensure that antibiotics will remain effective). It’s also admitting it has no real power over the industries it regulates. If the agency continues to favor industry’s concerns over the public health, it begs the question: Who exactly is looking out for us? BTV's msgeaux exclaims "Can you say serious cases of dysbiosis in all people eating the treated animals? Destroying the beneficial microbes in the human gut leads to diseases such as dyspraxia, autism, ADD, ADHD, Dyslexia, Depression, Schizophrenia, Autoimmune diseases, serious immune system disfunction, etc. 85% of your immune system is in the gut and is provided by the gut's beneficial bacteria, fungi, yeast, and many more microbes unidentified by man. The USDA has a collection of over 95,000 species of beneficial microbes in store. This is a travesty of immense proportions." BTV's jen chimes in "Yup. Federal agencies, also owned and controlled by big money. The more light is shined on big money's influence on governent, to the great detriment of society and the environment, the less they're going to be able to stay in control. If only people had the means to completely boycott mass produced, corporate meat and vegetables, and buy only organic foods, this chit would change immediately. "
ASTROTURF ALERT from ThinkProgress The 1 Percent Solution: Koch Brothers Bankroll Right-Wing ThinkProgress Clone This morning in Politico, Ben Smith breaks the news that the Koch Brothers and others on the right are launching a new organization explicitly modeled after ThinkProgress:

Impressed by the effectiveness of the liberal Center for American Progress, a group of conservative journalists and operatives are preparing to engage in their own sincerest form of flattery

according to its chairman, Michael Goldfarb, and will house a new conservative online news outlet, the Washington Free Beacon, edited by former Weekly Standard writer Matthew Continetti.

.... The new organization’s mimickry of ThinkProgress and CAP at times borders on comical. For example, Smith reports that “the new group’s mission statement, for instance, appears at points to be literally copied and pasted from CAP’s, with the word ‘freedom’ substituted for ‘progress.’” Let us digress to The Reactionary Mind interview with Cory Robin. He goes on to say, "And yet as you note, there is often a not-so-secret affinity between conservatism and radicalism. At its most basic, the conservative often realizes – indeed, this can be a condition of his coming to awareness of himself as a conservative – that if he is going to oppose the left, he must borrow from, imitate, and even in some way become like, the left. That can mean everything from the rhetoric of the left (freedom and rights, for example, are two tropes that the right often borrows from the left) to the tactics of the left (street protest) to the underlying worldview of the left (that men and women have it in their capacity to order the political world as they see fit). This borrowing can be very self-conscious and instrumental. You have folks like Margaret Thatcher saying that the other side have got an ideology, we’ve got to have one too. But more interesting, to me at any rate, is when it’s not self-conscious or instrumental, when it happens – as it were – almost behind the back of the conservative, without him or her realizing it. Think about it: there is the conservative arguing, day in and day out, against his antagonist. At some level, that argument has to start shaping the way he thinks about his own views. Sometimes that means he will sharpen and come to a deeper awareness of his own beliefs and their presuppositions. But sometimes it will also mean that he be influenced by his antagonist, that he will – again, without even realizing it – let slip an argument, or betray an assumption, a way of thinking and speaking, that came from that opponent."
ASTROTURF ALERT II: Israeli students to get $2,000 to spread state propaganda on Facebook reports Ali Abunimah on Electronic Intefada The National Union of Israeli Students (NUIS) has become a full-time partner in the Israeli government’s efforts to spread its propaganda online and on college campuses around the world. NUIS has launched a program to pay Israeli university students $2,000 to spread pro-Israel propaganda online for 5 hours per week from the “comfort of home.” The union is also partnering with Israel’s Jewish Agency to send Israeli students as missionaries to spread propaganda in other countries, for which they will also receive a stipend. This active recruitment of Israeli students is part of Israel’s orchestrated effort to suppress the Palestinian solidarity movement under the guise of combating “delegitimization” of Israel and anti-Semitism.
The involvement of the official Israeli student union as well as Haifa University, Tel Aviv University, Ben-Gurion University and Sapir College in these state propaganda programs will likely bolster Palestinian calls for the international boycott of Israeli academic institutions. ... The paid scholarship will allow them to get training and then work from home for five hours per week for a year to “refute” what it calls “misinformation” about Israel on social networking sites. .... What is completely missing from the program is any indication that criticism of Israel could be valid. Rather the National Union of Israeli Students apparently seeks to indoctrinate Israeli students that every criticism of Israel is “hate” and “anti-Semitism” and that the Internet should be seen as a battlefield on which they are foot soldiers. -Using e-learning tools for government propaganda- An interesting aspect of the NUIS program is that it uses the common open source virtual learning environment Moodle as its interface with program participants. This interface can be found at students.digitalchange.co.il. Whereas Moodle was designed for education – to spread mind-opening learning beyond the constraints of geography – the Israeli innovation here is to use it for mind-narrowing propaganda: getting students to be uncritical, to not think for themselves, but rather to spread Israel’s state-sponsored propaganda. See the world, spread more propaganda!
Dave Lindorff writes for OpEdNews.com Killing Kids is So American discussing "another point, that gets beyond this one case of overkill by police: the double standard of concern when it is an American kid and when it is foreign kids who are killed." (WARNING: graphic pic at top of story).
OCCUPY UPDATE: For those who relied on Tim Pool for some excellent live streaming of the OWS on the Ustream channel TheOther99 please read this Tim Pool short story "Tim Pool of TheOther99 on today's events. "
NYT published a study on Upward Mobility in Harder for Americans to Rise From Lower Rungs ... At least five large studies in recent years have found the United States to be less mobile than comparable nations. A
project led by Markus Jantti, an economist at a Swedish university, found that 42 percent of American men raised in the bottom fifth of incomes stay there as adults. That shows a level of persistent disadvantage much higher than in Denmark (25 percent) and Britain (30 percent) — a country famous for its class constraints. Meanwhile, just 8 percent of American men at the bottom rose to the top fifth. That compares with 12 percent of the British and 14 percent of the Danes. Despite frequent references to the United States as a classless society, about 62 percent of Americans (male and female) raised in the top fifth of incomes stay in the top two-fifths, according to research by the Economic Mobility Project of the Pew Charitable Trusts. Similarly, 65 percent born in the bottom fifth stay in the bottom two-fifths.
By emphasizing the influence of family background, the studies not only challenge American identity but speak to the debate about inequality. While liberals often complain that the United States has unusually large income gaps, many conservatives have argued that the system is fair because mobility is especially high, too: everyone can climb the ladder. Now the evidence suggests that America is not only less equal, but also less mobile.... Very disturbing. How's that "trickle down economics" working out for you now?
David Sirota writes about "Words we don’t want to lose" By far, the laziest, most vapid articles annually published during this post-holiday season are lists of the past year’s top 10 words and aphorisms. Admittedly, the sloth of such an endeavor tempts me. But as a new dad obsessed with my 1-year-old son’s future, I think I’ve got a more worthy list to add to the pile — one of current words and phrases that my kid may never know because they might end up as relics of a lost vernacular. Here are those harrowing 10. I hope I’m wrong but fear I’m not.
WHITEOUT PRESS has this "hair-on-fire" article US Troops going to Israel In one of the most blacked-out stories in America right now, the US military is preparing to send thousands of US troops, along with US Naval anti-missile ships and accompanying support personnel, to Israel. It took forever to find a second source for confirmation of this story and both relatively mainstream media outlets are in Israel. With one source saying the military deployment and corresponding exercises are to occur in January, the source providing most of the details suggests it will occur later this spring. Calling it not just an “exercise”, but a “deployment”, the Jerusalem Post quotes US Lt.-Gen Frank Gorenc, Commander of the US Third Air Force based in Germany. The US Commander visited Israel two weeks ago to confirm details for “the deployment of several thousand American soldiers to Israel.” In an effort to respond to recent Iranian threats and counter-threats, Israel announced the largest ever missile defense exercise in its history. Now, it’s reported that the US military, including the US Navy, will be stationed throughout Israel, also taking part. Also confirming the upcoming US-Israeli military missile exercises is JTA.org - 'global news service of the Jewish people'. In their account, they report, 'Last week, plans for Gen. Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, to visit Israel in January were leaked to Israeli media; his visit likely will coincide with the largest-ever joint U.S.-Israel anti-missile exercise'. ... In preparation for anticipated Iranian missile attacks upon Israel, the US is reportedly bringing its THAAD, Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, and ship-based Aegis ballistic missile systems to Israel. The US forces will join Israeli missile defense systems like the Patriot and Arrow. The deployment comes with “the ultimate goal of establishing joint task forces in the event of a large-scale conflict in the Middle East”....

We have no more Constitution in any meaningful sense. It had a darn good run.

R.I.P. US Constitution

1887 - 2012
Esteemed George Washington University Constitutional law professor Jonathan Turley proclaims on his blog Final Curtain: Obama Signs Indefinite Detention of Citizens Into Law As Final Act of 2011

President Barack Obama rang in the New Year by signing the NDAA law with its provision allowing him to indefinitely detain citizens. It was a symbolic moment to say the least. With Americans distracted with drinking and celebrating, Obama signed one of the greatest rollbacks of civil liberties in the history of our country . . . and citizens partied only blissfully into the New Year. Ironically, in addition to breaking his promise not to sign the law, Obama broke his promise on signing statements and attached a statement that he really does not want to detain citizens indefinitely.
Obama insisted that he signed the bill simply to keep funding for the troops. It was a continuation of the dishonest treatment of the issue by the White House since the law first came to light. As discussed earlier, the White House told citizens that the President would not sign the NDAA because of the provision. That spin ended after sponsor Sen. Carl Levin (D., Mich.) went to the floor and disclosed that it was the White House that insisted that there be no exception for citizens in the indefinite detention provision.
The latest claim is even more insulting. You do not “support our troops” by denying the principles for which they are fighting. They are not fighting to consolidate authoritarian powers in the President. The “American way of life” is defined by our Constitution and specifically the Bill of Rights. Moreover, the insistence that you do not intend to use authoritarian powers does not alter the fact that you just signed an authoritarian measure. It is not the use but the right to use such powers that defines authoritarian systems.
The almost complete failure of the mainstream media to cover this issue is shocking. Many reporters have bought into the spin of the Obama Administration as they did the spin over torture by the Bush Administration. Even today reporters refuse to call waterboarding torture despite the long line of cases and experts defining waterboarding as torture for decades. On the NDAA, reporters continue to mouth the claim that this law only codifies what is already the law. That is not true. The Administration has fought any challenges to indefinite detention to prevent a true court review. Moreover, most experts agree that such indefinite detention of citizens violates the Constitution.
There are also those who continue the long-standing effort to excuse Obama’s horrific record on civil liberties by either blaming others or the times. One successful myth is that there is an exception for citizens. The White House is saying that changes to the law made it unnecessary to veto the legislation. That spin is facially ridiculous. The changes were the inclusion of some meaningless rhetoric after key amendments protecting citizens were defeated. The provision merely states that nothing in the provisions could be construed to alter Americans’ legal rights. Since the Senate clearly views citizens are not just subject to indefinite detention but even execution without a trial, the change offers nothing but rhetoric to hide the harsh reality. THe Administration and Democratic members are in full spin — using language designed to obscure the authority given to the military. The exemption for American citizens from the mandatory detention requirement (section 1032) is the screening language for the next section, 1031, which offers no exemption for American citizens from the authorization to use the military to indefinitely detain people without charge or trial.
Obama could have refused to sign the bill and the Congress would have rushed to fund the troops. Instead, as confirmed by Sen. Levin, the White House conducted a misinformation campaign to secure this power while portraying Obama as some type of reluctant absolute ruler, or as Obama maintains a reluctant president with dictatorial powers.
Most Democratic members joined their Republican colleagues in voting for this unAmerican measure. Some Montana citizens are moving to force the removal of these members who they insist betrayed their oaths of office and their constituents. Most citizens however are continuing to treat the matter as a distraction from the holiday cheer.
For civil libertarians, the NDAA is our Mayan moment. 2012 is when the nation embraced authoritarian powers with little more than a pause between rounds of drinks.
So here is a resolution better than losing weight this year . . . make 2012 the year you regained your rights.

ACLU press release President Obama Signs Indefinite Detention Bill Into Law ... “President Obama's action today is a blight on his legacy because he will forever be known as the president who signed indefinite detention without charge or trial into law,” said Anthony D. Romero, ACLU executive director. “The statute is particularly dangerous because it has no temporal or geographic limitations, and can be used by this and future presidents to militarily detain people captured far from any battlefield. The ACLU will fight worldwide detention authority wherever we can, be it in court, in Congress, or internationally.” Under the Bush administration, similar claims of worldwide detention authority were used to hold even a U.S. citizen detained on U.S. soil in military custody, and many in Congress now assert that the NDAA should be used in the same way again. The ACLU believes that any military detention of American citizens or others within the United States is unconstitutional and illegal, including under the NDAA. In addition, the breadth of the NDAA’s detention authority violates international law because it is not limited to people captured in the context of an actual armed conflict as required by the laws of war. “We are incredibly disappointed that President Obama signed this new law even though his administration had already claimed overly broad detention authority in court,” said Romero. “Any hope that the Obama administration would roll back the constitutional excesses of George Bush in the war on terror was extinguished today. Thankfully, we have three branches of government, and the final word belongs to the Supreme Court, which has yet to rule on the scope of detention authority. But Congress and the president also have a role to play in cleaning up the mess they have created because no American citizen or anyone else should live in fear of this or any future president misusing the NDAA’s detention authority. ...” TAKE ACTION! He signed it. We'll fight it. Sign the ACLU's pledge to fight worldwide indefinite detention.
Forbes has this headline President Obama Signed the National Defense Authorization Act - Now What? by E.D. Kain, Contributor For every story of police abuse I’ve read, there’s another story about corruption and violence exposed by something as simple as a camera phone. But can technology help us overcome truly pernicious legislation like the National Defense Authorization Act recently signed by the president? The National Defense Authorization Act greatly expands the power and scope of the federal government to fight the War on Terror, including codifying into law the indefinite detention of terrorism suspects without trial. Under the new law the US military has the power to carry out domestic anti-terrorism operations on US soil. “The fact that I support this bill as a whole does not mean I agree with everything in it,” the president said in a statement. “I have signed this bill despite having serious reservations with certain provisions that regulate the detention, interrogation and prosecution of suspected terrorists.” Worse, the NDAA authorizes the military to detain even US citizens under the broad new anti-terrorism provisions provided in the bill, once again without trial. ....
Bob Alexander opines at tvnewslies From now on … Our Biggest Mistake is Believing We Are Free ...Fast forward to December 31, 2011 when Reader Supported News editor Marc Ash wrote, “President Obama today signed the highly controversial Defense Spending Bill. The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), with its so-called Homeland Battlefield provisions, allows, according to many legal scholars, the indefinite detention of US citizens by the US military. What is most striking is a lengthy signing statement by Obama, in which he maintains his reservations about the Homeland Battlefield provisions, saying, 'I have signed this bill despite having serious reservations with certain provisions that regulate the detention, interrogation, and prosecution of suspected terrorists.' His defense of civil liberties in the signing statement was passionate. Nonetheless, at the same moment, he signed the bill into law.” So as of now … anyone … anywhere … can be detained indefinitely by order of the President of the United States. Obama said. “I want to clarify that my Administration will not authorize the indefinite military detention without trial of American citizens.” But what he just signed says he can. We just have to trust him … and all future presidents from now on. Florida Democratic representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz says she’ll be working with other Democrats to repeal the Homeland Battlefield provisions as soon as Congress reconvenes. Good luck with that one. What are the chances a Republican controlled house will repeal provisions it had already passed in a 283 to 136 vote? If the provisions are not repealed, or if the president changes his mind and decides to use the law he signed … then any of us could end up like Al-Jazeera journalist Sami Al-Hajj. He was arrested in Pakistan on December 15, 2001 and detained at Guantánamo for over 6 years. According to documents published by Wikileaks, the government wanted Al-Hajj “to provide information on the al-Jazeera News Network's training program, telecommunications equipment, and newsgathering operations.” He was beaten, sexually assaulted… and released without charge on May 1, 2008. We are all now officially … small prey animals. We have the same rights a field mouse has against a hawk. Prey animals can’t get a lawyer or a trial. Prey animals get eaten. So let’s kick off The New Year with what we know about Late Great The United States. ... Read on at tvnewslies!
Naomi Wolf explains how "State and corporate actors everywhere are learning how to repress protesters while maintaining democratic facades" in
The streets of 2012 ... What does the New Year hold for the global wave of protest that erupted in 2011? Did the surge of anger that began in Tunisia crest in lower Manhattan, or is 2012 likely to see an escalation of the politics of dissent? The answers are alarming, but quite predictable: We are likely to see much greater centralisation of top-down suppression - and a rash of laws around the developed and developing world that restrict human rights. But we are also likely to see significant grassroots reaction. What we are witnessing in the drama of increasingly globalised protest and repression is the subplot that many cheerleaders for neoliberal globalisation never addressed: the power of globalised capital to wreak havoc with the authority of democratically elected governments. From the perspective of global corporate interests, closed societies like China are more business-friendly than troublesome democracies, where trade unions, high standards of human-rights protection, and a vigorous press increase costs. All over the world, the pushback against protest looks similar, suggesting that state and corporate actors are learning "best practices" for repressing dissent while maintaining democratic facades. .... Finally, in the US, the National Defence Authorisation Act, enacted by Congress in December, allows the president to suspend due process for US citizens, detain them indefinitely and render them for torture. One should not be surprised to see similar legislation adopted in democracies worldwide. Not only are laws criminalising previously legal dissent, organising, and reporting being replicated in advanced democracies; so are violent tactics against protesters, backed by the increasing push in countries with long traditions of civil policing to militarise law enforcement.....
WATCH Lifting the Veil movie "Barack Obama and the failure of capitalist 'democracy' " on Vimeo!
Is this not an abrogation of the U.S. Constitution by a freakin "alleged" constitutional lawyer (yeah you go see if you can dig up any records of The Great 0! attending Columbia or anywhere else. YOU WOULD THINK any college would BOAST about their graduate becoming pResident, NO?) Especially from the self-proclaimed "most transparent administration" EVER!
We're calling BULLSHIT. Is this not an abrogation of Congress's oath to "protect" the Constitution? Is it Treasonous?
With all the chaos going on worldwide we turn introspective with our LAST WORD from Dana Mrkich at her Evolution Revolution blog. (h/t BTV contributor lsophia) This year integrity and authenticity override fear.
January 2012 Monthly Visions: Expect More

.... This is the year that we show the world that our ‘crazy’ ways actually work, and that in fact the old ways of working is what’s crazy! It is the year that many conscious souls who have not been able to find their place in the mainstream will come out of hiding as if an inner alarm has gone off saying ‘get out there’. More people will be asking for, and needing, assistance to understand the higher energies that are coming in and the resulting changes occurring to them and around them. You will be shining your light brighter than ever before, but this won’t be coming anymore from a ‘I have to save the world’ mentality. As you shine your light, you will help others find their own light. It’s like being in a dark forest with a huge torch, so that others can look down and find their own torch that has been on them (in them) the whole time. One has to enter the new reality from a space of self-empowerment, but that doesn’t mean we are on our own – support is available for anyone who asks in whatever form they need it. Looking down on humanity from above, it’s going to look like the scene when you fly over a city just as sun sets – millions of little lights all sparking up one at a time. It is beautiful and magical. In many ways it will seem like a year of contradictions. Every day we will be immersed in more and more high frequency energy, giving us more support than ever before to embody our true, divine natures, create magical lives and co-create a magnificent world. At the same time there is less and less energy supporting the ways of the old world, and so we will witness a lot of collapsing systems and structures that will be experienced as either cause for celebration or cause for despair, depending on which side of the reality coin you predominantly reside in. The two realities are like a sticker peeling away from a piece of paper. They have co-existed for a long time but now that the peeling away has begun there is no turning back, there is no ‘sticking it back together’. As the sticker peels further away from the paper, we may experience it as a feeling of disconnection and detachment from the old reality, and those still residing there. It can at times feel like there is a movie playing somewhere, but you know it isn’t real and if you don’t want to watch it you simply don’t tune in to that channel. This doesn’t mean we ignore people’s genuine suffering and hardship – quite conversely we may find ourselves more and more wanting to be out there on the ground working actively toward social reform and assisting with humanitarian efforts. Rather, we will feel no connection to people engaging in old dramas, and we will see right through the facade of news broadcasts, political speeches and perspectives given to us by the media. It will feel like we are watching a fictitious movie because in reality we are. ..... Now that it is time to re-enter the light, a lot of people will be shocked by the amount of deception and restriction humanity has endured. We will witness one revelation after the other across all areas including politics, health, science, religion, economy, energy and other-planetary beings. It will be hard for many people to digest the fact that the minority have held knowledge about free energy technology and health cures for decades, have deliberately created wars and repressed truth simply because it benefitted them to do so despite the detrimental effect on others. For a heart-centred person, which most of humanity are, it is inconceivable to think that someone with a cure for cancer for example or the ability to ensure all people have access to electricity and running water, would repress this information for the sake of making more money or gaining more power, yet we’ll discover that there are such people. We will also (eventually) discover that this minority were being used in the same way they were using us by some of the less nice other planetary beings, being promised untold power in exchange for selling out earth and humanity. However it is not our destiny to be sold in this way, and thus those beings also have underestimated both us and those who protect us. ..... The so called Arab Spring and Occupy Movement are not random events, they are the beginnings of something we will see increase: the uprising of a humanity who have had enough. We are all now active participants in an evolution revolution triggered by our growing awareness that something is very wrong and needs to be put right, and triggered by the awakening of our true selves and authentic power. The world is not ending in 2012, the illusion is ending. In its place a new reality will be revealed, a new humanity will emerge and a new world will be born. These are truly special times.

Perhaps WE are the people we've been waiting for.

BRICK TEEVEE ALERTS!_©

»»» Year of Global Uprisings Year of Global Uprisings, from the Arab Spring to Occupy Wall Street: A Special Look Back at 2011 Jan 2, 2012

»»» John Nichols, Washington correspondent for The Nation @ Democracy NOW! Super PACs, Occupy Iowa Protests and a Surging Rick Santorum: Iowa GOP Caucus Begins 2012 Race Jan 3, 2012

»»» Thomas Frank @ Democracy NOW! "Pity the Billionaire": Thomas Frank on the "Unlikely Comeback of the Right" Ahead of Iowa Caucus Jan 3, 2012

»»» Iowa Caucus Discussion @ Democracy NOW! Santorum’s Emergence Signals Divided GOP Base While Paul Gains from Dems’ Disenchantment with Obama Jan 4, 2012

»»» Lawrence Lessig @ Democracy NOW! As States Take on Citizens United, Lawrence Lessig Offers Bold Plan to Get Money Out of Politics Jan 4, 2012

»»» Robert Weissman, president of Public Citizen @ Democracy NOW! Defying GOP and Eying Re-Election, Obama Makes Bold Recess Pick of Cordray for Consumer Bureau Jan 5, 2012

»»» Bob Wieckowski, Melissa Mark-Viverito & Robert Weissman @ Democracy NOW! WATCH NOW Citizens United Backlash Grows from Cali. to NYC Urging Congress to Overturn Corporate Personhood Jan 5, 2012

»»» Ralph Isenberg, Reverend Peter Johnson & Jacqueline Stevens WATCH NOW Deportation of U.S. Teen to Colombia Latest Failure of Immigration System Jan 6, 2012

»»» Mark Provost WATCH NOW Occupy New Hampshire Member on His Exchange with Mitt Romney over Support for Corporate Personhood Jan 6, 2012

»»» Buddy Roemer WATCH NOW Buddy Roemer: GOP Pres. Candidate Who Backs Occupy, Campaign Finance Reform, Excluded from Debates Jan 6, 2012

»»» GRITtv @ www.grittv.org with Laura Flanders

»»» FEATURED SHOW The F Word: Iron Lady: The Margaret Thatcher Movie We Don't Need In the new bio-pic, Margaret Thatcher's iron isn't just rusty, it's melted down into something depoliticized and personal. The Iron Lady give us Thatcher -- The ABBA Version. It's the last thing we need

BRICK TEEVEE SPORT!_©

»»» NFL Wild Card Playoffs Texans and Saints move on! Falcons @ Giants & Broncos @ Steelers on Sunday!

»»» College Bowl Games BCS Title Game No. 1 LSU (13-0) vs. No. 2 Alabama (11-1) Monday on ESPN 8:30 pm (Now why wouldn't any over-the-air broadcast network show this game? Hmmmm)

»»» NBA on TNT! Double-header Thursday! Knicks @ Grizzlies 8 pm et then Magic @ Warriors 10:30 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:

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: 4,484 US Military Dead as of Dec 31, 2011

AFGHANISTAN: 1,872 US Military Dead as of Jan 6, 2012

The Obameter: Tracking Obama's Campaign Promises

Considering Democracy: 8 Things to ask your Representative

This Week (ABC) George Stephanopoulos hosts a special edition of "This Week" live from Manchester, N.H.

• 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'

• former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee

• Obama campaign adviser David Axelrod

• ABC News senior political correspondent Jonathan Karl

• ROUNDTABLE: George Will, Republican strategist Mary Matalin, ABC News political analyst Matthew Dowd, Democratic strategist Donna Brazile and ABC News senior White House correspondent Jake Tapper
Face The Nation (CBS) Host Bob Schiefer

• Defense Secretary Leon Panetta

• Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey

• Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.
60 Minutes (CBS) (Special 8 p.m. broadcast)

• Stem Cell Fraud - Stem cells still have not proven to be the panacea many claimed they could be, yet the Internet is alive with stem cells for sale to treat incurable illnesses. Scott Pelley reports on one man offering to treat cerebral palsy who a respected stem cell researcher says could be endangering patients. Oriana Zill and Michael Rey are the producers.

• The Most Expensive Food in the World - European white truffles can sell for as much as $3,600 a pound. But harvests are down and a black market has emerged that has allowed an influx of inferior and cheap Chinese truffles that are diluting this lucrative market. Lesley Stahl reports. Ira Rosen 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!

• Special MTP event: NBC News-Facebook Debate

• This Sunday, David Gregory will moderate the final presidential debate before the all-important New Hampshire primary on Meet the Press.

• Visit the MTP Facebook page to submit a question you would like to hear asked.
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.

• Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D) Minority leader

• the latest on the 2012 elections from New Hampshire
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 the conversation 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.

• PRAYER MEETIN' WEDNESDAY!!!!! Uber Pope Imam Bishop Rabbi Bob! Listen now HERE (mp3)!

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' - January 5, 2012 IN TODAY'S RADIO REPORT: Riots over oil in Nigeria; Victory over Big Oil in Ecuador; Curbing drug abuse (antibiotic drug abuse, that is) and antibiotic super bugs(!) in farm animals; Heat wave in Antarctica; PLUS: Mutant hybrid sharks! ... All that and more in today's Green News Report!

IN 'GREEN NEWS EXTRA' (see link): December 2011 setting heat records; Is there really 100 years’ worth of natural gas beneath the United States? [NO.]; Insurance payouts point to climate change; U.S. coasts unprepared for higher seas; The end of real maple syrup?; EPA regs create more jobs than Keystone XL pipeline; Low income kids exposed to more pollution; Future of a stable climate depends on the 2012 Presidential Election: report ... PLUS: ZOMG! Zomb-bees! ... and much, MUCH more! ...

BRADCAST UPDATE: Brad on Hartmann TV: Hypocrisy of Gingrich's 'Voter Fraud' & of GOP's Iowa Caucus Processes By Brad Friedman on 1/4/2012 5:00pm: I've been busy doing a lot of media and a lot of digging today. So until I can get free to follow up here on some Iowa Caucus issues, here's my latest appearance on The Big Picture with Thom Hartmann, from last night... AND catch Brad with PAP (see Ring of Fire VIDEO below!)

Visit BradBlog.com to see who counts yer votes! 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.

• PBC Live! Weekly on KGO PBC Live! Weekly on KGO Your humble host has been remiss in keeping you apprised of his other media activities. Since February, I’ve been hosting a regular weekly show on KGO, the leading San Francisco talk station with a huge coverage area–at night, you can hear it anywhere on the West Coast. TFN (till further notice), you can hear me every Friday night–or, more precisely, Saturday morning, from 1-5 am (PDT) on 810-AM or streaming at www.kgoradio.com. If you’d like to be alerted each week, sign up on Facebook as a fan of “Peter B. Collins Show” or you can follow me on Twitter, @pbcsf

• PBC News & Comment, Tuesday January 3 CNY Times won Pulitzer for exposing Rumsfeld’s propaganda on Iraq invasion, but buries report of Inspector General exonerating Rummy and the gang. Plus: appeals court on wiretapping lawsuits, North Korea’s L’il Kim and much more……….Catching up on a backlog of items reported during the holidays...

• PBC News & Comment, Wednesday January 4 Santorum’s surge and Paul’s strong showing in Iowa lead Perry and Bachman to drop out; progressives see Ron Paul as better than Obama on many key issues.

• PBC Chats with Listener: Should Progressives Support Ron Paul? Meet Author and Anarchist scott crow! Listener Doug Zimmerman joins PBC to talk about the pluses and minuses of Ron Paul–should progressives support him, at least in the primaries? Anarchist scott crow (sic, no caps) deepens the definition of “anarchism”…..prepare to be surprised!

• Holiday Break and Website Changes
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! January 6, 2012

• best-selling author Thomas Frank will join us for a discussion on his new book “Pity the Billionaire.”

• Occupy Wall Street activist Jesse LaGreca will tell us about his recent trip to Washington to fight for the middle class.

• Reverend Nathan Monk joins us for a discussion on the importance of local elections, and how the right wing is trying to pack school boards and city councils.

• John Amato from Crooks and Liars will be here to talk about the elite class that rules our Congress.

• Policy adviser to New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, John Feinblatt, will be here to tell us how convicted criminals are getting their hands on illegal firearms.

• And investigative journalist Brad Friedman will join us to discuss the ongoing problems with electronic voting machines.

• VIDEO! Papantonio: Will Voting Machines Steal 2012 Election? We’ve talked a lot recently about the GOP’s plan to stop the vote ahead of the 2012 election, but there are other hurdles for voters, even if they manage to make it to the polls. Those hurdles come in the form of electronic voting machines. The same problems that voters have been experiencing for the last decade with electronic voting machines not counting votes, changing votes, or deleting votes are still as rampant today as they were years ago. Mike Papantonio talks about the latest round of voting machine problems with investigative journalist Brad Friedman.

• VIDEO! Papantonio: Inside the GOP’s Block The Vote Machine Most Americans are under the correct assumption that the right to vote is a guarantee for every legal US citizen. But as we’ve noted during this show, the GOP is working tirelessly to prevent minorities, the elderly, and young people from being able to cast a vote in next year’s presidential election. That’s because these groups tend to favor Democrats over the GOP’s new brand of crazy Tea Party candidates. Mike Papantonio talks about the GOP’s war on voting rights with author and Nation Magazine contributor Ari Berman.

• 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 Sunday nights at 7 pm ct 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! NEW SHOWS NEXT WEEK!

• Dave Weigel Live in Iowa on the Iowa Caucus [01•03•12]

• Matt Taibbi on the Meaningless Sideshow that is the GOP Primaries [01•04•12]

• Jeff Smith of the OWS Press Team on the NDAA Grand Central Protest [01•05•12]

• Cliff Schecter and Sam Seder discuss the Iowa Caucus, Rick Santorum, Ron Paul & more! [01•06•12]

• An Update from Occupy New Hampshire! [12•22•11]]

MORE Podcast Interviews at majorityreport.official.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

• VIDEO! MISH’s year end predictions by maxkeiser. READ Mish 2012 Predictions; 2011 Year in Review with Max Keiser (globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com)

• VIDEO! Max Keiser on Capital Account: Presidential Futures are like “Running Man on Steroids” by stacyherbert.

• KEISER REPORT [KR231] Keiser Report – From Russian Oil With Love We present an Eastern European special looking at Swiss franc mortgages in Hungary, bank runs in Latvia and the wisdom of austerity. In the second half of the show, Max talks to economist, Professor Constantin Gurdgiev....

• KEISER REPORT [232] Keiser Report: Wall Street saints above God & law

• KEISER REPORT [KR233] Keiser Report: Spiral of debt towards the paranormal In this episode, we discuss Brits using payday loans to pay off interest only mortgages while Greeks bury their cash for fear of being Gaddafi’d by the banksters. In the second half of the show, Max talks to David Morgan …

• ON THE EDGE On the Edge with Paul Craig Roberts We interview Paul Craig Roberts; here’s his latest blog post at his new site: The Dismal Economic Outlook For The New Year

• THE TRUTH ABOUT MARKETS [TaM-1228] The Truth About Markets – 10 December 2011 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

• Anthony Gregory January 1, 2012: Anthony Gregory, Research Editor at the Independent Institute, discusses his article “Non-Interventionism: Cornerstone of a Free Society;” why war is just legalized mass murder, made acceptable because a state – instead of an individual – does it; why Americans have a hard time seeing their own government as an aggressive war-maker (we’re the good guys!); the irony of veteran soldiers (who supposedly fought for our freedom) getting killed by cops while peacefully demonstrating; and getting lied into war yet again, this time with Iran.

• Jason Ditz January 1, 2012: Jason Ditz, managing news editor at Antiwar.com, discusses Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s attempt to purge Sunnis from government; how Iraq’s central state is being challenged by Kurdish and Sunni autonomous regions; the thousands of Americans remaining in Iraq to staff the embassy and provide training; why most members of Congress still don’t understand that the US gave Iraq to Iran on a silver platter; and how the recent killing of 35 Kurds by the Turkish military resembles the US practice of execution without due process.

• Gareth Porter January 1, 2012: Gareth Porter, independent historian and journalist for IPS News, discusses the Israeli Mossad chief’s admission that a nuclear-armed Iran would not be an “existential threat;” the conflict between policy “realists” in Israel’s military and intelligence community and the “messianic” hawks aligned with Netanyahu and Ehud Barak; why a Republican presidential victory in 2012 (excepting Ron Paul) would advance Netanyahu’s push for war; how ever-harsher sanctions are leading to a complete shutdown of Iran’s oil exports (which could provoke a reaction like Japan’s in 1941); and why Obama would be “crazy” to push for a Libyan-style regime change in Syria.

Many more interviews at Antiwar Radio!
fauxnews

• Congressman Ron Paul

• RNC Chairman Reince Priebus

• DNC Chair Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz

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First brick is on us!

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Brick TeeVee Rings In the 2012 New Year!

2011-12-31T21:03:00.001-05:00

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!
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ALL LINKS OPEN A NEW WINDOW!!! Click on anything below and be INSTANTLY SMARTER! New Year 2012 EDITION! Here's a late xmas present from ILARGI at The Automatic Earth: December 25 2011: Most. Tragic. Species. Ever. Very long read so here's a small snip ...What may be worse than all of this is a conflict that is brewing, slowly simmering, and that will tear our societies apart from within. It happens slow enough to perhaps not be much noticed next year, but that is not a good thing: it would be better to put out the fire before it spreads. Unfortunately, there is no way in sight to put it out. It looks like it will have to burn it course before it fades. This one will pit parents against their own children and grandchildren. That's how you tear a society apart. ...... Yes, it's not just generation versus generation, not just parents against their children. The problem is much more perverted. We no longer have a functioning financial system, a functioning banking system, or a functioning political system for that matter. All these systems died on the same battlefield. Credit. WaPo provides this shocker Growing wealth widens distance between lawmakers and constituents ...the financial gap between Americans and their representatives in Congress has widened considerably since then, according to an analysis of financial disclosures by The Washington Post. Between 1984 and 2009, the median net worth of a member of the House more than doubled, according to the analysis of financial disclosures, from $280,000 to $725,000 in inflation-adjusted 2009 dollars, excluding home equity. Over the same period, the wealth of an American family has declined slightly, with the comparable median figure sliding from $20,600 to $20,500, according to the Panel Study of Income Dynamics from the University of Michigan. ... The Center for Responsive Politics [...] reports that 37 Senate Democrats and 30 Senate Republicans reported an average net worth in excess of $1 million, as did 110 House Republicans and 73 House Democrats. Jeez can you guess which ones work for the 1%? Or are PART of the 1%? MoJo Editors Monika Bauerlein and Clara Jeffery explain "Grotesque income inequality is just a symptom of our larger political disease" in Occupied Washington (January/February 2012 Issue) ... In chronicling Occupy Wall Street, it struck us that the protesters, the passersby, and even the cops weren't just pissed about being permanently gated off from the spoils of the über-rich. Oh no. What they were really pissed about is that the megawealthy and Washington have become so symbiotic as to be a single entity. Indeed, Occupy's best move, as conservative blogger/financier Gregory Djerejian noted at TheAtlantic.com, was "directing their ire squarely toward the real elites of the country, rather than their bought-and-paid marionettes sitting in Washington." You didn't have to spend long at the edge of Zuccotti Park before you heard the phrase Citizens United, as folks who'd come to see the camp from New Jersey, Texas, and Montana began to contemplate the connection between their anemic bank accounts and political decisions that line the pockets of those already most advantaged. Americans are not opposed to the rich getting richer—as John Steinbeck is said to have noted, "Socialism never took root in America because the poor see themselves not as an exploited proletariat but as temporarily embarrassed millionaires." But this prospect only satisfies so long as people believe that with luck and hard work, their ship, or at least their kids' ship, may some day come in. In a system overrun by piracy—a system in which the pirates also, sorry to stretch the metaphor, run the Navy—the dream becomes hard to sustain. .... While the media and political professionals fixated on the movement's lack of demands, they missed the real story. It wasn't about demands; it was about diagnosis. The occupations provided a catalyst, but the most interesting conversations haven't taken place in the camps via the human mic. They've happened among the millions of people who found that kids in tents were quite effectively articulating their own sense of abandonment. What comes next is the question that should occupy us in 2012, and beyond. Also see MoJo's Aaron Ross for "A short, shady history of how American elections are bought and paid for" in Timeline: The Best Government Money Can Buy. Next Tyler Durdan at zerohedge reports Former Fed VP Accuses Bernanke Of Bailing Out Europe Via Currency Swaps First it was Zero Hedge. Then Ron Paul joined in. Now it is the turn of a former Dallas Fed Vice President, Gerald ODriscoll, to outright accuse the Fed of bailing out Europe courtesy of "incomprehensible" currency swaps, and implicitly accusing Bernanke of lying that he would not bail out Europe even as he has done precisely that. And not only that: by cutting the USD swap spread from OIS+100 to OIS+50, the Fed has made sure it gets paid less than ever for extended Europe the courtesy of bailing it out all over again. Incidentally, O'Driscoll says, "America's central bank, the Federal Reserve, is engaged in a bailout of European banks. Surprisingly, its operation is largely unnoticed here." One thing we can say proudly - it has been noticed loud and clear here... From the WSJ:... The two central banks are engaging in this roundabout procedure because each needs a fig leaf. The Fed was embarrassed by the revelations of its prior largess with foreign banks. It does not want the debt of foreign banks on its books. A currency swap with the ECB is not technically a loan. The ECB is entangled in an even bigger legal and political mess. What the heads of many European governments want is for the ECB to bail them out. The central bank and some European governments say that it cannot constitutionally do that. The ECB would also prefer not to create boatloads of new euros, since it wants to keep its reputation as an inflation-fighter intact. To mitigate its euro lending, it borrows dollars to lend them to its banks. That keeps the supply of new euros down. This lending replaces dollar funding from U.S. banks and money-market institutions that are curtailing their lending to European banks—which need the dollars to finance trade, among other activities. Meanwhile, European governments pressure the banks to purchase still more sovereign debt. This Byzantine financial arrangement could hardly be better designed to confuse observers, and it has largely succeeded on this side of the Atlantic, where press coverage has been light. Reporting in Europe is on the mark. ... Continue reading at WSJ. Art Cashin Exposes The Behind The Scenes Panic In Europe Think "all is fine" in Europe after today's largely irrelevant Italian bill auction (the auction was for 6 month debt - even Greece can raise that kind of money)? Think again. Here is the Fermentation Committee Chairman explaining why Europe is so hard pressed to create a fake sense of calm, allowing those who know the real story to take advantage of the situation while they still can, and sharing the behind the scenes truth you won't get anywhere else. From UBS:

The distrust on the streets is said to be growing also. Barroom gossip says that safe-deposit boxes are in a demand that borders on frenzy. They allow you to take your Euros and covert them into something of value (gold, Swiss Francs, etc.) and sock it away in a safe place. Others are said to be buying property in London and elsewhere lest you awake one day and discover that your Euros have reverted to drachmas or lira. Savvy bankers are said to be setting up personal and communal trusts domiciled in places like the Bahamas, the Caymans or the Isle of Jersey.

The scramble for currency (value) protection among the public could turn into that bank run in the same way that a crowd can instantly turn into a mob. Watch the money flows out of Greece and Italy very carefully.

Glenn Greenwald dissects WaPo's Greg Miller Under Obama, an emerging global apparatus for drone killing in Snapshots of Washington’s essence The article, by Greg Miller, is being promoted by the Post this way: “In 3 years, the Obama administration has built a vast drone/killing operation”; it describes the complete secrecy behind which this is all being carried out and notes: “no president has ever relied so extensively on the secret killing of individuals to advance the nation’s security goals.” ... Because it’s a Democrat (rather than big, bad George W. Bush) doing this, virtually no members of that Party utter a peep of objection (a few are willing to express only the most tepid, abstract “concerns” about the possibility of future abuse). And even though these systematic, covert killings are widely known and discussed in newspapers all over the world — particularly in the places where they continue to extinguish the lives of innocent people by the dozens, including children — Obama designates even the existence of the program a secret, which means our democratic representatives and all of official Washington are barred by the force of law from commenting on it or even acknowledging that a CIA drone program exists (a prohibition enforced by an administration that has prosecuted leaks it dislikes more harshly than any other prior administration). ..... This media invisibility of America’s victims is due in part to the fact that it’s considered unpatriotic to discuss them in any prominent way (as MSNBC’s Ashleigh Banfield pointed out in the 2003 speech that led to her demotion and firing), but also because, at this point, there’s no partisan gain to be had from it: given that it’s a policy supported by both parties, it doesn’t help one side or the other win an election, so what’s the point of talking about it? Anyone who does raise it will be immediately met with these vapid questions from election-obsessed partisans .... (2) I have an Op-Ed in today’s print edition of The Guardian regarding the challenge faced by GOP presidential candidates in attacking President Obama given that he has governed, in Paul Krugman’s words, as a “moderate conservative” (at least in the domestic policy realm; he’s further to the Right in the foreign policy/civil liberties realm). That Op-Ed can be read here. Joe Kishore of wsws.org also has a take on the Post's drone article at Global Research Obama’s Global Murder, Inc. .... The Post provides a description of competing “kill lists” drawn up by the CIA and the military’s Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC), with no publicly available information on the criteria used to select targets for assassination. The CIA’s list is apparently shorter than the military’s, which some in the drone program attribute to the fact that it has had less time to compile it. “Over time, officials said, the agency would catch up.” Among those killed have been three US citizens, including Anwar Al-Awlaki by the CIA on September 30 and his 16-year old son by the JSOC a few weeks later, both in Yemen. In the latter attack, the Post claims, the young Awlaki was not the intended target. “A US citizen with no history of involvement with al-Qaeda,” he was, instead, “an unintended casualty.” In explaining the increase in drone assassinations, the Post cites the official closure of CIA detention programs and an end to new transfers to Guantanamo Bay. This left “few options beyond drone strikes…” In other words, instead of locking alleged “terrorists” in prison camps and torture centers, the Obama administration decided it would be more efficient to simply kill them in secrecy. ... The actions of the Obama administration, and the vast growth in the secret powers of the CIA and the military, go far beyond these past crimes. Extra-judicial state-sanctioned killing is a metastasis of the global “war on terror,” an escalation of international criminality that has included the launching of aggressive wars, indefinite detention, and torture. It has become a central component of US military policy, including the war in Libya, which was concluded with the US-backed assassination of Muammar Gaddafi. Obama has singled out the extra-legal killing of Osama bin Laden as a high point and defining moment of his administration. Unbridled violence and the suppression of democracy are two sides of the same process. The revelations by the Post come less than two weeks after the passage of the National Defense Authorization Act, which for the first time provides an explicit congressional imprimatur on the indefinite military detention of US citizens and non-citizens alike, at the discretion of the president. The act effectively abolishes the writ of habeaus corpus and basic constitutional guarantees of due process. The administration that is overseeing this assertion of quasi-dictatorial powers, headed by Obama, is essentially an alliance of powerful financial interests and the military-intelligence apparatus. This government of extreme reaction has the crucial support of sections of the affluent middle class, which, on the basis of identity politics, has reconciled itself to policies that go beyond even those carried out by the Bush administration. Anything is acceptable, even “progressive,” so long as it is carried out by an African-American president. David S. Cloud at the Los Angeles Times discovers Civilian contractors playing key roles in U.S. drone operations America's growing drone operations rely on hundreds of civilian contractors, including some — such as the SAIC employee — who work in the so-called kill chain before Hellfire missiles are launched, according to current and former military officers, company employees and internal government documents. Relying on private contractors has brought corporations that operate for profit into some of America's most sensitive military and intelligence operations. And using civilians makes some in the military uneasy. At least a dozen defense contractors that supply personnel to help the Air Force, special operations units and the CIA fly their drones are filling a void. It takes more people to operate unmanned aircraft than it does to fly traditional warplanes that have a pilot and crew. The Air Force is short of ground-based pilots and crews to fly the drones, intelligence analysts to scrutinize nonstop video and surveillance feeds, and technicians and mechanics to maintain the heavily used aircraft. ... Writing in a military law journal in 2008, Lt. Col. Duane Thompson, chief lawyer for the Air Force Operations Law Division, warned that allowing nonmilitary personnel to communicate targeting information directly to pilots would violate international laws of war. Moreover, civilians are not subject to the Uniform Code of Military Justice, which subjects military personnel to prosecution for war crimes or for violations of rules of engagement on when to use force. "Persons who relay target identification for an imminent real-world mission to persons causing actual harm to enemy personnel or equipment should be uniformed military," Thompson wrote. The "involvement of civilians in intelligence collection, analysis and planning" is "less objectionable" because it is "further removed" from actual combat, he added. That involvement is now substantial. In a recent job advertisement, SAIC said it had 450 employees working for the Air Force Special Operations Command and other units analyzing video feeds from the battlefield. BAE Systems Inc., a U.S. subsidiary of a British aerospace firm, posted an ad seeking an Air Force Special Operations Command veteran to manage "several hundred employees while conducting ISR/FMV missions." ISR and FMV are military abbreviations for Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance, and Full Motion Video, both of which commonly come from drones..... Washington's Blog has some cool videos at Fly Your Own Spy Drone … For $300 with this Disclaimer: We don’t know whether there are any Department of Homeland Security, FAA or other regulations or laws prohibiting flying your own spy drone. Consult with a representative of all appropriate Federal, state, county and local agencies to determine whether or not you may fly your own drone. Russ Baker at WHO WHAT WHY points out Justifying War with Iran A growing body of evidence points to a concerted campaign to prepare Americans and the world for war against Iran. This is not idle speculation. It fits a pattern that repeatedly preceded previous hostilities. Here are the recent examples on Iran: [...] ... And here are a few past examples (1990 to 2011). Add your own in the COMMENTS section below: [...] ... You don’t have to approve of these regimes to see that these appear to be (and in many cases certainly were) false provocations that reek of ulterior motives (hint: how many of these countries are oil exporters?) In fact, you can abhor these regimes and hope that they will not survive, and still realize how problematical it is for the American government to repeatedly foist big lies on its own people. This kind of thing is beneath any administration claiming lofty ideals and purporting to serve the public interest—and something that none of us should feel comfortable being party to. If the public interest is defined as “seizing oil wherever it may be found,” then, well, that’s a conversation we need to have…and quick. There are severe consequences of this definition. Among them, the empowerment of those forces, both corporate and governmental, that profit most from the unbridled development of fossil fuels—and that have good reasons to block the development of renewable sources of energy. They’re known today as the One Percent, and they are destroying our world. Read all of it at whowhatwhy.com. Next Iranian writer, Middle East expert, Iranologist and lexicographer Dr. Ismail Salami writes for Global Research Building Another Pretext to Wage War on Iran: US Court Holds Tehran Responsible for the 9/11 Attacks - $100 billion in damages In line with its silent war with Iran, a US court in Manhattan made a mockery of justice, issued a default judgment against Iran, and accused Tehran of being involved in the 9/11 terrorist attacks, an allegation which stands in stark contrast to reason in view of the plethora of evidence pointing with force and logic to the joint role of the CIA and the Mossad in the tragic incident. Juxtaposing Iran with the Taliban and the al-Qaeda is an outrageously calculated move devised to further drag Iran into the margins of isolation on the one hand and to sway the sympathy of the international community to support a US-led invasion of Iran on the other. Any time there is a new allegation against Iran, one should not ignore the prominent role the Zionist lobby plays in the matter. In this case too, a Zionist-funded Birmingham law firm had an important part to play in contributing to the warps and wefts of the plot. Among the eight law firms colluding in this case is Wiggins Childs Quinn & Pantazis. ... The Manhattan court decided in late December that Iran and Hezbollah materially and directly financed and supported al-Qaeda in the attacks, thereby holding them legally responsible for to-be-determined monetary damages to family members. ... READ MORE! Then listen to Scott Horton's interview with Gareth Porter on AntiWarRadio! Porter blows GIANT HOLES in this court's ruling! Excellent! And David Swanson chimes in with this headline at WarIsACrime.org US Tells Israel Under What Specific Circumstances It Would Commit an International Crime of Mass Slaughter, Israel Insists on Full Commitment From the Daily Beast: The Obama administration is trying to assure Israel privately that it would strike Iran militarily if Tehran’s nuclear program crosses certain “red lines”—while attempting to dissuade the Israelis from acting unilaterally. Eli Lake reports exclusively. With all the talk of aggression against Iran (again) let us not forget how this might unfold. We go to an article by USAF veteran Douglas Herman at rense.com from January 2005 Day One -The War With Iran The war began as planned. The Israeli pilots took off well before dawn and streaked across Lebanon and northern Iraq, high above Kirkuk. Flying US-made F-15 and F-16s, the Israelis separated over the mountains of western Iran, the pilots gesturing a last minute show of confidence in their mission, maintaining radio silence. Just before the sun rose over Tehran, moments before the Muslim call to prayer, the missiles struck their targets. While US Air Force AWACS planes circled overhead--listening, watching, recording--heavy US bombers followed minutes later. Bunker-busters and mini-nukes fell on dozens of targets while Iranian anti-aircraft missiles sped skyward. The ironically named Bushehr nuclear power plant crumbled to dust. .... The Iranian air force, like the Iranian navy, never really knew what hit them. Like the slumbering US sailors at Pearl Harbor, the pre-dawn, pre-emptive attack wiped out fully half the Iranian defense forces in a matter of hours. By mid-morning, the second and third wave of US/Israeli raiders screamed over the secondary targets. The only problem now, the surprising effectiveness of the Iranian missile defenses. The element of surprise lost, US and Israeli warplanes began to fall from the skies in considerable numbers to anti-aircraft fire. At 7:35 AM, Tehran time, the first Iranian anti-ship missile destroyed a Panamanian oil tanker, departing from Kuwait and bound for Houston. Launched from an Iranian fighter plane, the Exocet split the ship in half and set the ship ablaze in the Strait of Hormuz. A second and third tanker followed, black smoke billowing from the broken ships before they blew up and sank. By 8:15 AM, all ship traffic on the Persian Gulf had ceased. US Navy ships, ordered earlier into the relative safety of the Indian Ocean, south of their base in Bahrain, launched counter strikes. Waves of US fighter planes circled the burning wrecks in the bottleneck of Hormuz but the Iranian fighters had fled. At 9 AM, Eastern Standard Time, many hours into the war, CNN reported a squadron of suicide Iranian fighter jets attacking the US Navy fleet south of Bahrain. Embedded reporters aboard the ships--sending live feeds directly to a rapt audience of Americans just awakening--reported all of the Iranian jets destroyed, but not before the enemy planes launched dozens of Exocet and Sunburn anti-ship missiles. A US aircraft carrier, cruiser and two destroyers suffered direct hits. The cruiser blew up and sank, killing 600 men. The aircraft carrier sank an hour later. .... By 9:30 AM, gas stations on the US east coast began to raise their prices. Slowly at first and then altogether in a panic, the prices rose. $4 a gallon, and then $5 and then $6, the prices skyrocketed. Worried motorists, rushing from work, roared into the nearest gas station, radios blaring the latest reports of the pre-emptive attack on Iran. While fistfights broke out in gas stations everywhere, the third Middle Eastern war had begun. ... Read on! Remember this is already six years old. To find out more about Iran go to StopIranWar.com. Boston University Professor of International Relations Andrew J. Bacevich at The Atlantic compares the warnings Eisenhower gave in 1961 on the Military-Industrial Complex we are all familiar with to today's global U.S. hegemony and military empire and its “military metaphysics” properties in The Tyranny of Defense Inc. In 1961, Dwight Eisenhower famously identified the military-industrial complex, warning that the growing fusion between corporations and the armed forces posed a threat to democracy. Judged 50 years later, Ike’s frightening prophecy actually understates the scope of our modern system—and the dangers of the perpetual march to war it has put us on..... In his 1956 book, The Power Elite, C. Wright Mills, a professor of sociology at Columbia, dubbed this perspective “military metaphysics,” which he characterized as “the cast of mind that defines international reality as basically military.” Those embracing this mind-set no longer considered genuine, lasting peace to be plausible. Rather, peace was at best a transitory condition, “a prelude to war or an interlude between wars.” Perhaps nothing illustrates military metaphysics more vividly than the exponential growth of the U.S. nuclear stockpile that occurred during Eisenhower’s presidency. In 1952, when Ike was elected, that stockpile numbered some 1,000 warheads. By the time he passed the reins to John F. Kennedy in 1961, it consisted of more than 24,000 warheads, and it rapidly ascended later that decade to a peak of 31,000. ...... If anything, Eisenhower’s characterization of the cozy relations between the military and corporate worlds understates the contemporary reality. C. Wright Mills came closer to the mark when he wrote of “a coalition of generals in the roles of corporation executives, of politicians masquerading as admirals, of corporation executives acting like politicians.” Add to that list the retired senior officers passing as pundits (often while simultaneously cashing the checks of weapons manufacturers), policy wonks pretending to be field marshals, and journalists eagerly competing to carry water for heroic field commanders. Throw in the former members of Congress who lobby their successors on behalf of defense contractors, and the serving members who vote in favor of any defense appropriations that send money to their districts, and one begins to get a sense of the true topography. With what result? Not peace, and not prosperity. Instead, American soldiers traipse wearily from one conflict to the next while the nation as a whole suffers from acute economic distress. What has gone amiss? Be sure to read all of this as you begin to absorb the mass media hypnosis cheerleading the next war. As Bascevich points out, If anything, Eisenhower’s characterization of the cozy relations between the military and corporate worlds understates the contemporary reality. C. Wright Mills came closer to the mark when he wrote of “a coalition of generals in the roles of corporation executives, of politicians masquerading as admirals, of corporation executives acting like politicians.” Add to that list the retired senior officers passing as pundits (often while simultaneously cashing the checks of weapons manufacturers), policy wonks pretending to be field marshals, and journalists eagerly competing to carry water for heroic field commanders. Throw in the former members of Congress who lobby their successors on behalf of defense contractors, and the serving members who vote in favor of any defense appropriations that send money to their districts, and one begins to get a sense of the true topography. Go to AntiWarRadio and listen to Scott Horton Interviews Andrew Bacevich November 14, 2011: Author of The Short American Century: A Postmortem , Andrew Bacevich discusses his article “The Passing of the Postwar Era;” the major factors leading to a “transformative” decline in US power and prestige on the world stage; the American political elites who are driving the country into a ditch; the redundancy or counter-productivity of overseas bases (excepting the Asia Pacific region); and the lack of “prudent” decision making in Washington D.C. For a good bird's eye view of the current global situation see this interview with Brazilian-born journalist Pepe Escobar "Our Man in Pipelineistan" by German journalist Lars Schall at Consortium News Shifting Ground for Vital Resources. Very long and very good! READ ALL OF IT! And catch PBC Podcast 340 Back Story on Syria: Sibel Edmonds and Journalist Pepe Escobar too! Also at Global Research Homeland Security's Covert Surveillance of Facebook and Twitter: Electronic Privacy Information (EPIC) files lawsuit against DHS EPIC has filed a Freedom of information Act lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security to force disclosure of the details of the agency's social network monitoring program. In news reports and a Federal Register notice, the DHS has stated that it will routinely monitor the public postings of users on Twitter and Facebook. The agency plans to create fictitious user accounts and scan posts of users for key terms. User data will be stored for five years and shared with other government agencies.The legal authority for the DHS program remains unclear. EPIC filed the lawsuit after the DHS failed to reply to an April 2011 FOIA request. For more information, see EPIC: Social Networking Privacy. SOPA UPDATE at Washington's Blog Sopa Would DESTROY Jobs and the Economy … So Why are Unions Supporting It? with a long list of groups and people AGAINST the bill. AND from TechDirt.com Who Will Be The First Politician To Be GoDaddy'd? Having GoDaddy back off its support for SOPA/PIPA is one thing, but it hardly kills off these bills. Politicians are still very much in support of the bills, and both bills are poised to move forward in Congress when it comes back into session in late January. Of course, 2012 is an election year, which means that all of the members of the House who are supporting SOPA are up for re-election, and 1/3 of the Senate is up for re-election. If I were a candidate looking to challenge the incumbents, I'd be paying close, close attention to what happened to GoDaddy, and seeing how the "netroots" community was willing to band together quickly to make things happen. I'd be especially focused on this if I were running against one of the key supporters of SOPA, like Lamar Smith, John Conyers, Bob Goodlatte or Mel Watt (whose opponent should just play that video of him saying he doesn't understand technology, but believes the experts are wrong anyway, over and over and over again). Perhaps a little crowdsourcing is in order. Can we figure out who's already registered to run against the incumbent supporters of SOPA and PIPA, and reach out to get their opinions on the bills and of censorship of the internet? ... It seems that anyone running against these folks would be missing out on a huge opportunity not to make the incumbent's support of censoring the internet into a campaign issue. GOOD ITEM! Suburban Guerilla Susie has more on the Dai-Ichi Fukushima nuclear catastrophe Clusterf**k with VIDEO! I have to think this is in our future, too. (After all, we’re giving a loan guarantee to TEPCO to build a nuclear plant in Texas .) And it’s pretty clear that when it comes to these corporate disasters, the financial needs of the corporations are always going to override the public’s health:

authorities had grossly underestimated tsunami risks, assuming the highest wave would be 6 meters (20 feet). The tsunami hit at more than double those levels. The report criticized the use of the term “soteigai,” meaning “outside our imagination,” which it said implied authorities were shirking responsibility for what had happened. It said by labeling the events as beyond what could have been expected, officials had invited public distrust.

But wait, there’s more! Health experts are also extremely critical

opted to “define the problem out of existence” by raising the permissible level

Mark Crispin Miller reports On Election Day 2008, ’09 & ’10, ES&S op-scans blocked the (Democratic) vote in Cuyahoga County, Ohio! (2 items) The scanners are “defective,” finds the US Election Assistance Commission (EAC). One in ten would “miss some votes,” freeze up “inexplicably,” etc. Although ES&S “tried to fix the problems earlier this year… the upgrade actually created more problems.” “Defective”? Not really. Those scanners have been performing as intended by ES&S—an outfit started up and managed by right-wing Republicans, whose goods are always pooping out, or screwing up, in Democratic areas, like Cuyahoga County. That their goods thus deliver for the party means there’s really nothing wrong with them per se. What’s “defective,” rather, is the US voting system overall—and the vision of all those (the EAC included) who refuse to see what’s happening right before their eyes. -MCM Click over to News from Underground for the two items MCM lists from the CLE Pee Dee. BradBlog.com scoops GINGRICH ADMITS CAMP COMMITTED MASSIVE 'VOTER FRAUD' IN VA! Can you imagine? Next OpEdNews.com has this Stop Elections from Being Stolen: Election Integrity's Victoria Collier Speaks Up Write Voterfraud@foxnews.com and give them some good examples of REAL voter fraud! InsightOutNews hopes to be live streaming Occupy Rose Bowl LIVE on Monday! Tune into InsightOutNews to see if they get it going while you watch the parade. Get more info and updates at Occupy The Rose Parade. And you might want to get started with this in the New Year too! Occupy Facebook: The Occupy Movement is Planning and Launching Their Own Social Network January 2012. Good item for the New Year! We close our first post of 2012 with this call to action from The Peoples Congress

The recent spate of corporate scandals is only the tip of an iceberg that is on a rapid collision course with our democratic Republic. Although the call for government accountability to the People is getting louder, our representatives will not heed the cries for meaningful reform until we organize into one unified voice for real change. That is the intention of the Peoples Congress. There are so many organizations, groups, and individuals working to create a better world. We all share a common problem. Runaway corporate power is preventing the free and meaningful exercise of democracy. Now with the Supreme Court’s decision in the Citizens United case, there is simply no restraint on corporations and unless we act decisively, our voice will soon be forgotten. We are a group of American citizens organizing this grassroots call to action because it is the only solution to our escalating crisis. With your participation in the Peoples Congress, the era of global dominance by multinational corporations may close and a new era of democracy, hope, and justice may begin. Our dreams for a sustainable world do not have to remain dreams. If we gather our strength, collect our will, focus our energy, demand to be heard, tomorrow will be more than a shadow of our hopes. ... Peoplescongress.org is calling for a week long action in which We the People pass specific legislation which, when enacted by Congress, will put an immediate end to the corporate take-over of our government, revitalize and re-democratize elections, allow for a more responsible and open media, and end the secrecy in policy making. Until we reform these institutions and the laws governing them, our goals for a just and sustainable world will remain elusive at best. An earnest national dialog about our future cannot happen until we re-balance the wheels of democracy. It is the intention of the People’s Congress to secure that change directly in accordance with the will of the People and the principles established by our Constitution. This action may persist beyond the planned one-week horizon if necessary. Over the course of 5 days, we will collect our voices and determination, present a People’s State of the Union message, seat a “People’s Congress” on the Mall and pass legislation to be ratified by our national legislature. Finally, we will celebrate our unity and commitment to a just and sustainable world centered on peace.

The People’s Congress will take place the week(s) preceding the Congressional Summer Recess, 2012. Currently, the Majority Leader’s office has not published a calendar for 2012, so an exact date is not yet possible to determine. Once our steering committee has this information, a specific date will be announced. For now, plan for late May through early July, 2012 Official notice, Executive Committee

This is your invitation to dream. Success is only limited by our imaginations. If we are to live in a just and sustainable world, we must all have the courage to set our imaginations free. Now is the time to choose your future. You can remain stuck in the past and hope change will come, or charge ahead with the courage of your convictions and demand change together! The potential of this event is undeniable just as surely as it is unavoidable. It is time to end the corruption and dysfunction that has become to appear all too normal. We the People do have the Power. The time has come to use it. If you wish to participate in the development of the People’s Congress, please visit our Forum page now and log in to the subject which is of most interest to you.

As we head into 2012 we hope you resolve to become engaged in this process, get involved locally and be ready to OCCUPY somewhere with your own MIC CHECK at the ready! HAPPY NEW YEAR!

BRICK TEEVEE ALERTS!_©

»»» Catherine Crump, staff attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union & George Schulz, works with the Center for Investigative Reporting @ Democracy NOW! The War at Home: Militarized Local Police Tap Post-9/11 Grants to Stockpile Combat Gear, Use Drones Dec 27, 2011
»»» Nnimmo Bassey, executive director of Environmental Rights Action in Nigeria @ Democracy NOW! Oil Slick from Massive Spill in Nigeria Threatens Coastline, May Be Largest Spill in a Decade Dec 27, 2011
»»» Alaa Abd El Fattah, Egyptian Blogge @ Democracy NOW! Alaa Abd El Fattah, Egyptian Blogger and Critic of Military Regime, Speaks Out After Months in Jail Dec 28, 2011
»»» Syrian cyber-activist Karam Nachar & Syrian activist and filmmaker Bassel @ Democracy NOW! Syrian Activist Speaks Out from Hiding as Arab League Mission Fails to Slow Deadly Crackdown Dec 29, 2011
»»» Bruce Cumings, professor of history at the University of Chicago @ Democracy NOW! North Korea’s New Leader Kim Jong-un Inherits Father’s Nuclear Legacy & Country’s Uncertain Future Dec 29, 2011
»»» Lorenzo Lopez, Korina Lopez & Dr. Rodolfo Acuña @ Democracy NOW! Tucson Orders Closure of Mexican-American School Program as Ethnic Studies Faces Nationwide Threat Dec 29, 2011
»»» Scott Olsen @ Democracy NOW! WATCH NOW Scott Olsen, U.S. Vet Wounded at Occupy Oakland, on Recovery, Protests, Iraq and Bradley Manning Dec 30, 2011
»»» Stephen Cohen, professor of Russian studies at New York University WATCH NOW Election Fraud Galvanizes Russian Opposition, Communist Party 20 Years After Soviet Union’s Collapse Dec 30, 2011

»»» GRITtv @ www.grittv.org with Laura Flanders
»»» FEATURED SHOW Nobel Prize Winner Laymeh Gbowee on Sex, War & Invisible Heroes 2011 Nobel Paace-Prize winner, Laymeh Gbowee of Liberia talks to Laura Flanders of GRITtv about sex as an organizing tool, the prospects for women in Eqypt and where NGOs - and the US - go wrong when it comes to making peace after war.
BRICK TEEVEE SPORT!_©
»»» NFL Week 17 Check you local listings
»»» College Bowl Games The traditional New Year's Day games will be on Monday including The Outback, Gator, Capital One, TicketCity, Fiesta and Rose Bowl! Check your local listings. The rest of the bowls will be on the rest of the week with the majority on ESPN.
»»» NBA on TNT! Double-header Thursday! Heat @ Hawks 8 pm et then Lakers @ Blazers 10:30 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:

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.

NET NEUTRALITY! SaveTheInternet.org SOPA If you've been living under an Internet-free rock the past couple of weeks, you might have managed to miss the steady drumbeat of opposition to HR 3261, the so-called Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA). Then again, if you've been living under an Internet-free rock, you've already had a preview of what we're facing if SOPA goes into effect. AmericanCensorship.org has pulled together an infographic that explains in very basic terms the services and sites that are at greatest risk from SOPA here: Infographic: Effects of the Internet Blacklist Bill (SOPA). More info at American Censorship Day READ Internet Censorship: Not Today, Not Tomorrow SIGN NOW! Internet censorship is coming to America. It’s in the form of a bill in Congress that gives corporations unprecedented power to blacklist websites at will. If passed, the “Stop Online Piracy Act,” or SOPA (HR 3261), could rip apart the open fabric of the Internet. People could see their websites disappear from the Internet for a “crime” as innocent as posting a video of themselves singing along to a favorite song. Sign this petition NOW! Keep BTV and YOUR blog alive! Listen to Sam Seder with Tim Karr of Free Press on Net Neutrality [11•10•11] UPDATE: Bypass SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) DNS Blocking with DeSopa 1.1 A new anti-SOPA add-on for Firefox, titled “DeSopa” is such a counter measure.When installed, users can click a single button to resolve a blocked domain via foreign DNS servers, bypassing all domestic DNS blockades and allowing the user to browse the site though the bare IP-address (if supported).“I feel that the general public is not aware of the gravity of SOPA and Congress seems like they are about to cater to the special interests involved, to the detriment of Internet, for which I and many others live and breathe,” DeSopa developer T Rizk told....
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 UPDATE! Manning-Lamo Chat Logs Revealed at wired.com plus The Deeply Personal Details in New Bradley Manning Chat Logs and Bradley Manning Support Network Much more at link.
UPDATE! BRADLEY MANNING UPDATE: Robert Parry Exclusive America’s Debt to Bradley Manning So, it was useful to examine the WikiLeaks documents regarding the election of the new IAEA leader in 2009 to understand why this flip may have occurred. What those classified State Department cables show is that the IAEA’s new director general, Japanese diplomat Yukiya Amano, credited his victory largely to U.S. government support and promptly stuck his hand out for U.S. money. Further, Amano left little doubt that he would side with the United States in its confrontation with Iran and that he would even meet secretly with Israeli officials regarding their purported evidence on Iran’s nuclear program, despite the fact that Israel is arguably the world’s preeminent rogue nuclear state and rejects IAEA inspections of its own nuclear sites. According to U.S. embassy cables from Vienna, Austria, the site of IAEA’s headquarters, American diplomats in 2009 were cheering the prospect that Amano would advance U.S. interests in ways that outgoing IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei wouldn’t. ..... In private, Amano agreed to “consultations” with the head of the Israeli Atomic Energy Commission, Pyatt reported. (It is ironic indeed that Amano would have secret contacts with Israeli officials about Iran’s alleged nuclear weapons program, which has yet to yield a single bomb, when Israel possesses a large and undeclared nuclear arsenal.) In a subsequent cable dated Oct. 16, 2009, the U.S. mission in Vienna said Amano “took pains to emphasize his support for U.S. strategic objectives for the Agency. Amano reminded ambassador [Glyn Davies] on several occasions that … he was solidly in the U.S. court on every key strategic decision, from high-level personnel appointments to the handling of Iran’s alleged nuclear weapons program. “More candidly, Amano noted the importance of maintaining a certain ‘constructive ambiguity’ about his plans, at least until he took over for DG ElBaradei in December” 2009. In other words, the emerging picture of Amano is of a bureaucrat eager to bend in directions favored by the United States and Israel, especially regarding Iran’s nuclear program. Amano’s behavior surely contrasts with how the more independent-minded ElBaradei resisted some of Bush’s key claims about Iraq’s supposed nuclear weapons program, denouncing some documents as forgeries. Today, with some Republican presidential contenders falling over themselves to bond with Israel over its desire to attack Iran, this sort of detail puts the IAEA report into a fuller context that can help American voters judge whether another war is necessary or whether they’re being misled again by hyped allegations. More at link...
DONATE YOUR OLD CELL PHONES TO T.J. MARTELL FOUNDATION Help 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

B R I C K T E E V E E
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The essential guide for watching government propaganda
IRAQ: 4,484 US Military Dead as of Dec 31, 2011
AFGHANISTAN: 1,863 US Military Dead as of Dec 31, 2011
The Obameter: Tracking Obama's Campaign Promises
Considering Democracy: 8 Things to ask your Representative

This Week (ABC) with Christiane Amanpour
• 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. Ron Paul
• Rep. Michele Bachmann
• Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad
• BC News' senior political correspondent Jonathan Karl
• Radio Iowa's O. Kay Henderson
• ROUNDTABLE: ABC News political analyst Matthew Dowd, Neera Tanden of the Center for American Progress, Washington Examiner chief political correspondent and Fox News contributor Byron York, and former Iowa Republican Party political director Craig Robinson, founder and editor-in-chief of The Iowa Republican.
Face The Nation (CBS) Host Bob Schiefer
• Sen. Rand Paul
• former Sen. Jim Talent
• former Congressman J.C. Watts
• ROUNDTABLE: Mike Allen of Politico; John Dickerson of CBS; Norah O’Donnell of CBS; and David Yepsen of the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute.
60 Minutes (CBS)
• The Majority Leader - Lesley Stahl profiles House Majority Leader Eric Cantor about his life and the recent bipartisan wars in Congress. Karen Sughrue is the producer
• The Perfect Score - In his first interview about his criminal fraud, Sam Eshaghoff tells how he was able to take the SAT and ACT college admissions exams for others who paid him up to $2,500 per test. Alison Stewart reports. Katherine Davis 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!
• Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum
• IOWA PREVIEW: NBC News Political Director Chuck Todd and Chair of the Republican Party of Iowa, Matt Strawn.
• ROUNDTABLE: Des Moines Register’s Kathie Obradovich, GOP strategist Mike Murphy, the New York Times’ David Brooks, Time’s Mark Halperin, and NBC’s 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.
• Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas)
• Rep. Steve King, (R-Iowa)
• Iowa Governor Terry Branstad (R)
• Dan Balz of the Washington Post and Neil King of the Wall Street Journal.
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 the conversation 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.
• PRAYER MEETIN' WEDNESDAY!!!!! Uber Pope Imam Bishop Rabbi Bob! Listen now HERE (mp3)!
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' - December 22, 2011 IN TODAY'S RADIO REPORT: Breaking: More aid to Africa for drought/famine relief; Good year-end news for anyone who breathes: new rules to clean up toxic mercury and arsenic from coal plants; 30k Chinese 'occupy' to protest coal plants; Meet today's World's Newest Oil Spill, now in Nigeria; PLUS: Um... "explosive" trends in a melting Arctic ... All that and more in today's Green News Report!
IN 'GREEN NEWS EXTRA' (see link): House GOP earns ‘Worst Environmental Record Of Any Congress’; Record TX drought kills 500m trees; Genetic mutations in farm-raised salmon; New material breakthrough could double solar efficiency - with cheap plastic; Seattle bans plastic bags; Keystone XL would ship oil to China; USDA deregulates Monsanto GMO seed; Top clean energy stories of 2011 ... PLUS: Don't paint it black: US researchers invent paint-on solar cells ... and much, MUCH more! ...
BRADCAST UPDATE: Brad sits in AGAIN on the Mike Malloy Show Thursday & Friday!
• THU 12/29: The GOP's 'Voter Fraud' Fraud, the IA Caucuses & Occupying the LAPD... THE GOP LOVES VOTER FRAUD! And tonight, I'll prove it! With lots of "fraud" news to cover from the caucuses of Iowa to the primary ballots of Virginia and beyond! OCCUPYING FOR ACCOUNTABILITY I'll be joined in studio by several OccupyLA'ers who will share their stories of horrific treatment at the hands of the LAPD, as we try to bring some accountability. Also will speak with the great independent citizen journalist/web-streamer Spencer "OakFoSho" Mills on his quest for accountability for LAPD Officer Escamilla. PLUS! More than I have time to mention here,
• FRI 12/30: The 2012 circus begins, w/ Bev Harris, Desi Doyen & Ernie Canning!... END OF THE YEAR/BEGINNING OF ELECTION YEAR ROUND-UP: Everything we've yet to get to this year, and everything you'll need to know as the zany 2012 election year circus will finally get under way! VISITS FROM FRIENDS: In addition to (hopefully) lots of calls from you guys, we may have a few visits from a few friends o' the blog! PLUS! Anything and everything that's on your minds at year's end as 2012 awaits
• Check out the LIVE CHAT you can read through on these links! Excellent commentary and more links!
AND BRAD on Thom Hartman's THE BIG PICTURE Tuesday My Appearance on Thom Hartmann's TV Show Last Night... My appearance last night on The Big Picture with Thom Hartmann was a round-up of a bunch of the latest voting news, from the DoJ's rejection of South Carolina's Photo ID restriction, to Newt's failure to get enough signatures to make it onto the VA Primary ballot, to the 93-year old woman who cleaned the TN state capitol for decades being told she may not be able to vote with her expired state ID, to the U.S. EAC finding, finally, that hackable ES&S paper ballot op-scan computers fail to count some votes without notice to anybody...
Visit BradBlog.com to see who counts yer votes! 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.
• PBC Live! Weekly on KGO PBC Live! Weekly on KGO Your humble host has been remiss in keeping you apprised of his other media activities. Since February, I’ve been hosting a regular weekly show on KGO, the leading San Francisco talk station with a huge coverage area–at night, you can hear it anywhere on the West Coast. TFN (till further notice), you can hear me every Friday night–or, more precisely, Saturday morning, from 1-5 am (PDT) on 810-AM or streaming at www.kgoradio.com. If you’d like to be alerted each week, sign up on Facebook as a fan of “Peter B. Collins Show” or you can follow me on Twitter, @pbcsf
• PBC Podcast 340 Back Story on Syria: Sibel Edmonds and Journalist Pepe Escobar Cutting through the disinformation and spin, Sibel Edmonds and Pepe Escobar reveal back stories about the conflict in Syria that are not reported in the mainstream media.
• Holiday Break and Website Changes
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 The Best of Ring of Fire! December 30, 2011
• Brave New Films founder Robert Greenwald will join us to discuss his latest film that will expose every shady activity being carried out by the Koch Brothers.
• Mark Potok from the Southern Poverty Law Center will be here to tell us about the rising numbers of anti-government hate groups that have popped up in the last year.
• Investigative journalist Chris Hayes will be joining us to discuss the real reason behind skyrocketing gas prices at the pump.
• And author Rick Perlstein will be here to give us an update on the situation in Wisconsin.
• VIDEO! Papantonio: GOP War On Voting Heats Up There is going to be a race taking place between Republicans trying to prevent minorities, elderly, and 18 -25 year olds from voting and Democrats who believe the right to vote is important. The race is taking place in the courts – in an effort to enforce the guidelines laid out in the 1965 Voting Rights Act.
• 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 Sunday nights at 7 pm ct 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! NEW SHOWS NEXT WEEK!

• David Graeber, one of the original Occupy Wall Street organizers, on Debt: the First 5,000 Years, OWS & D12 [12•12•11]
• Jason Benlevi on Our Digital Life: How We're Changing and Who Benefits? [12•19•11]
• Brian Beutler of Talking Points Memo on the Payroll Tax Cut Fiasco [12•21•11]
• Digby on Ron Paul, Libertarianism & the 2012 Elections [12•22•11]
• An Update from Occupy New Hampshire! [12•22•11]]
MORE Podcast Interviews at majorityreport.official.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
• VIDEO! MISH’s year end predictions by maxkeiser. READ Mish 2012 Predictions; 2011 Year in Review with Max Keiser (globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com)
• VIDEO! Max Keiser on Capital Account: Presidential Futures are like “Running Man on Steroids” by stacyherbert.
• KEISER REPORT [KR228] Keiser Report – Parasites with bailouts
• KEISER REPORT [KR229] Jamie Dimon Suckles on Ben Bernanke’s Quantitative Easing We discuss London brokers shrinking, boycotting JP Morgan, boycotting the financial system and command and control credit derivatives. In the second half of the show, Max talks to JS Kim of SmartknowledgeU about the MF Global fraud and gold and silver.
• KEISER REPORT [KR230] Keiser Report: Outrageous Predictions for 2012 This week we discuss virtual dollars and American plots and tinned goods and small-caliber weapons. In the second half of the show, Max talks to Detlev Schlichter about elastic money and financial crises.
• ON THE EDGE Euro crisis-On the Edge with Max Keiser-12-09-2011 Guest: Greg Hunter
• THE TRUTH ABOUT MARKETS [TaM-1228] The Truth About Markets – 10 December 2011 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
• Barbara Slavin December 24, 2011: Barbara Slavin, author of Bitter Friends, Bosom Enemies: Iran, the U.S. and the Twisted Path to Confrontation, discusses her article “Mass Tragedy Feared as Closure of MEK Camp Looms;” how MEK leader Maryam Rajavi is using the camp residents as pawns while pressuring the State Department to remove the group’s terrorist status; the proposed 2003 prisoner swap (MEK for al-Qaeda) between the US and Iran that was scuttled by Doug Feith and Paul Wolfowitz; and how UN interviews with MEK members (to arrange relocation after Camp Ashraf’s closing) could reveal brainwashing and other unflattering cult-like behavior.
• Stephen Zunes December 26, 2011: Dr. Stephen Zunes, Professor of Politics and International Studies at the University of San Francisco, discusses the Arab Spring as the culmination of decades of peaceful rebellion against tyrannical governments; why nonviolent protests are more inclusive and tougher to eradicate; why the Libyan revolution was not in the Arab Spring mold (more like a foreign intervention/regime change); how violent revolutions tend to breed more violence and result in authoritarian governments; how the Bush administration helped bring down Middle East/North African client dictators (without meaning to); and the status of Syria, Yemen, Bahrain, Morocco and Algeria.
• Jason Ditz December 26, 2011: Jason Ditz, managing news editor at Antiwar.com, discusses the large bombings in Iraq after US withdrawal; Prime Minister Maliki’s attempt to arrest Vice President Tareq Hashemi as a “terrorist;” Iraq’s coalition government falling apart, as Maliki overreaches; the 700 US troops scheduled to remain behind as trainers; the military’s report justifying the fatal US air attack on Pakistani border posts; back-channel negotiations between the US and Pakistan’s civilian government to undermine the Pakistani military’s power; and indications NATO is staying in Afghanistan for the long haul.
• Gareth Porter December 30, 2011: Gareth Porter, independent historian and journalist for IPS News, discusses his article “Crackpot Anti-Islam Activists, ‘Serial Fabricators’ and the Tale of Iran and 9/11;” the US court judgement finding Iran liable for the 9/11 attacks in a civil lawsuit brought by victims’ families; the testimony of an Iranian defector, previously discredited as a “serial fabricator;” the alleged secret meeting between Iran’s leadership and OBL’s son, complete with miniaturized models of 9/11 targets and an ominously dangling toy missile; the anti-Islam groups peddling a grossly exaggerated, conspiratorial narrative in “Protocols of the Elders of Zion” style; and how Iran’s passport-stamping practices have become the basis of “material support” of al-Qaeda charges.
Many more interviews at Antiwar Radio!
fauxnews
• Congressman Ron Paul
• Texas Governor Rick Perry
• Congresswoman Michele Bachmann.

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