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Click on anything below and be INSTANTLY SMARTER! Global Disaster Special From bankster frauds to Fukushima collusion global disasters have come to light in a big way. There has been so much news this week we're running a bit long so let's dig in! Always ready to pile on King Jamie we have JPMorgan Complicit In Vatican Bank Money-Laundering: Jamie Dimon Seeks Time Alone With Pope To “Confess” from the Silver Vigilante Embroiled in another financial scandal pertaining to the laundering of money, the Vatican bank has been called by Forbe’s “the most secret bank in the world” and faces international scrutiny in its highly secretive banking model. Although details are limited to the public, it is clear that the Vatican bank is facing pressure from Italian and European officials over its innerworkings. In short, the bank has laundered billions of dollars. It has had help of course, in the deeply interwoven network of high finance, and none other than US bank JPMorgan abetted highly suspicious transactions, although the bank has yet to be accused of laundering itself. Though, this is a no-brainer considering the accounts the bank hosted for the Vatican. This part of the story begins when Gottii Tedeschi, now former head of Vatican bank, was relieved when four men waiting for him in the street while he was on his way to work were not hit men. They were investigators with the Carabinieri, Italy’s national military police force. Before he had reached his car, they had served him a search warrant. They escorted him back to his house, where they for many hours searched through his home office. Simultaneously, the military police force was searching through Gotti Tedeschi’s office in Milan. They confiscated two computers, two cabinets’ full of binders, a planner and his briefcase. The documents confiscated from Gotti Tadeschi, who was once a confidant of the pope, “provided Italian law-enforcement officials insight into the innermost workings of the Vatican bank.” According to Germany’s Der Spiegel:

The secret dossier includes references to anonymous numbered accounts and questionable transactions as well as written and electronic communications reportedly showing how Church banking officials circumvented European regulations aimed at combating money-laundering.

.... .... Three years ago, 4,000 documents came to light. They had been amassed and hidden by Vatican financial expert Renato Dardozzi before his death in 2003. In his will Dardozzi wrote: “These documents should be published so that everyone can learned what has happened here.” In 2009, the year Gotti Tedeschi took over as president of the IOR, the bank opened up an account with the Milan-based branch of JPMorgan Chase. According to Spiegel:

From that point on, millions started flowing on an almost daily basis from JPMorgan’s Milan office to the one in Frankfurt, where the IOR also had a JPMorgan account. Vatican officials opted for a special account in Milan with the number 1365, a so-called “sweep facility account,” which was automatically zeroed out at the end of each day. The Vatican bank confirmed the existence of this account late last week, though it said it was primarily used for handling securities transactions.

This financial account allegedly processed more than a billion euros for the Vatican bank through last year. Italian investigators suspect the account was used to launder funds from “dubious sources.” According to the strict anti-money-laundering laws to which financial institutions are supposed to be held, JPMorgan should be considered a primary suspect in massive money-laundering operations in Europe, centered at the Vatican bank. Considering the blatant record amassed by the Vatican – it’s fraudulent and illegal dealings – JPMorgan worked as one of the pope’s banksters with complete disregard for moral hazard. It was not until JPMorgan was caught naked in bed with the pope, engaging in massive and illegal transfers, did the bank begin scrutinizing the Vatican’s financial dealings to which it was an accomplice. To this point, the mainstream media has focused on the shadyness of the Vatican – an age old story, literally – and not directly implicated JPMorgan in yet further financial crimes. The transfers did not come with information regarding account holders or purposes for the transfers. Of that amount, 20 million pounds apparently was heading to the Vatican’s JPMorgan account in Frankfurt. The other 3 million euros were heading for an account at a different bank in Rome. Federal prosecutors in Rome froze the funds. Investigations followed implicating Tedeschi, for one, in violating anti-money laundering regulations. Then, JPMorgan leaped into action late, and “started asking Vatican officials where the money that had been regularly flowing through the Milan account was actually coming from. But they didn’t get any satisfactory answers. As a result, the bank then gave the IOR an internal classification as a high-risk client and started monitoring its transactions for clues that might point to money-laundering.”..... .... It is clear that JPMorgan is complicit in money-laundering in Europe with the Vatican, having abetted Vatican bank money-laundering and fraud by allowing IRS-defined suspicious transactions pass through their institution. Wonder if King Jamie has Vatican cufflinks for the occasion? Apparently BOB DIAMOND had the wrong ones! We go to Andrew Trotman at the Telegraph UK for the most excellent Bob Diamond questioned by MPs on Barclays Libor scandal: as it happened Here are some snips of interest! Go through the whole thing! Barclays chief Bob Diamond tells MPs he was unaware that the bank falsely lowered its Libor submission until this month, as TSC chairman Andrew Tyrie says his memo reads like it was a 'nod and wink' to rig the rate.

• 08.15 Today's events will focus on Mr Diamond's grilling in front of the Treasury Select Committee at 2pm. Philip Aldrick has compiled a list of key questions that Bob Diamond will have to answer.
  
• 11.54 A flashmob has descended on one of Barclays' London branches, with members withdrawing their money en masse. The flashmob has been organised via Twitter and Facebook by the "Move Your Money UK" organisation, which is calling on Brits to abandon the big high street banks in favour of more "ethical" alternatives such as credit unions, building societies and the Co-op.
  
• 13.27 A group of people from Robin Hood Tax lies in wait for Bob Diamond, chanting: "give our money back".
  
• 14.18 Diamond: "Support from shareholders and regulators hadn't been as strong as it had been and I decided to step down. Don't know if regulators called (chairman) Marcus Agius [to ask me to resign]. I did not discuss that with him.
  
• 15.26 Diamond: "I don't recall [sitting in on daily meetings on trading floor]. Compliance were looking for people complying with rules, in technology, meetings, rules for people.
  
• 16.15 Diamond: "It wasn't investment banking that was causing the issue [because other banks failed]. It was bad culture. We had bad performance and those people have gone. It could happen in a retail bank. We need strong controls.
  
• 16.27 [TSC: You seem to have seen nothing, heard nothing, know nothing. You're in charge and you're not even asking questions internally and people who are acting criminally are not coming to you. You must be grossly incompetent if you were not complicit]. Diamond: "Behaviour was wrong. It's hard to give another answer."

Spoken like a true gentleman. BWAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAAA! Then in Spain Reuters' Andrés González and Blanca Rodríguez Piedra write UPDATE 5-Spain opens fraud case on ex-Bankia chief Rato * Lawsuit accuses 33 former executives * Accusations include fraud and price fixing * Rato is former IMF chief, Spanish minister * Bankia seeking 19-billion-euro bailout -- MADRID, July 4 (Reuters) - A Spanish court opened a fraud case on Wednesday against former executives of state-rescued lender Bankia, including one-time IMF chief Rodrigo Rato, as public rage engulfs a bank which is in line for the biggest share of an EU bailout. The lawsuit was brought by one of Spain's smaller political parties and accuses 33 officials including Rato - a former government minister who stood down as Bankia chairman in May - of fraud, price-fixing and falsifying accounts. Under Spanish law, the crimes carry jail sentences ranging from six months to six years but commentators said that while corporate corruption cases grab the headlines in Spain, they rarely resulted in convictions. "It will be a long-running, complicated case," said Pedro Schwartz, economics professor at San Pablo University in Madrid. ..... Fury is particularly directed at Bankia as hundreds of thousands of small savers were persuaded to buy shares in the lender when it was floated on the stock market in 2011, only to see their investments all but wiped out in less than a year. Protesters have staged street demonstrations in their thousands, banging pots and pans and blowing whistles outside Bankia branches. ..... The case, brought by minority political party UPyD led by charismatic Basque politician Rosa Diez, is one of many complaints brought against Bankia, which requested 19 billion euros ($24 billion) in state aid in May. ..... In the case brought by the UPyD party, the High Court is demanding that Rato and other executives appear in person. Bankia Chief Executive Francisco Verdu, the only director left at the bank since Rato stepped down in May, announced his resignation late Wednesday after learning about the probe. The court also wants former Bank of Spain governor Miguel Angel Fernandez Ordonez to appear as a witness, alongside the partner in auditor Deloitte who was in charge of signing off on Bankia's results, and the chairman of the Spanish stock market regulator. Wait there's more! AP's Larry Margasak reports via boston.com Report: Countrywide won influence with discounts WASHINGTON (AP) — The former Countrywide Financial Corp., whose subprime loans helped start the nation’s foreclosure crisis, made hundreds of discount loans to buy influence with members of Congress, congressional staff, top government officials and executives of troubled mortgage giant Fannie Mae, according to a House report. The report, obtained by The Associated Press, said the discounts—from January 1996 to June 2008—were not only aimed at gaining influence for the company but to help Fannie Mae. Countrywide’s business depended largely on Fannie, which at the time was trying to fend off more government regulation but eventually had to come under government control. ..... ‘‘Documents and testimony obtained by the committee show the VIP loan program was a tool used by Countrywide to build goodwill with lawmakers and other individuals positioned to benefit the company,’’ the report said. ‘‘In the years that led up to the 2007 housing market decline, Countrywide VIPs were positioned to affect dozens of pieces of legislation that would have reformed Fannie’’ and its rival Freddie Mac, the committee said. Some of the discounts were ordered personally by former Countrywide chief executive Angelo Mozilo. Those recipients were known as ‘‘Friends of Angelo.’’ .... The Justice Department has not prosecuted any Countrywide official, but the House committee’s report said documents and testimony show that Mozilo and company lobbyists ‘‘may have skirted the federal bribery statute by keeping conversations about discounts and other forms of preferential treatment internal. Rather than making quid pro quo arrangements with lawmakers and staff, Countrywide used the VIP loan program to cast a wide net of influence.’’ ... Read on for a list of ‘‘Friends of Angelo’’ including CHRIS DODD, KENT CONRAD, BUCK MCKEON and more! KEYSTONE XL UPDATE: The Washington Post is working on a Special Report - Keystone: Down the line A journey along the proposed route of the controversial oil pipeline. with this installment Keystone XL pipeline expansion driven by oil-rich tar sands in Alberta .... The oil industry and many national security experts think that importing more oil from Canada, a stable neighbor and ally, will make the United States more secure, and they worry that, without the Keystone XL, Canada will send that oil to China. But the process of extracting oil from the sands, also called tar sands, has alarmed people worried about climate change. Unlike oil that spurts up from reservoirs in most of the world, including Saudi Arabia, half of Canada’s oil sands are dredged up in a process more akin to strip mining. Trees are cut, layers of wetland fen and peat are drained and peeled back, and then the companies dig into a rich layer of oil sands that go down nearly 400 feet. In areas to the south where the gunky oil lies even deeper, companies are drilling wells, generating and injecting steam into the ground to melt the bitumen, and then sucking it up to the surface. All of this is extremely energy intensive. Companies expend energy equal to one barrel of oil to extract four to eight barrels from the oil sands. More energy expended means more greenhouse gases. A Congressional Research Service report released May 15 estimated that Canada’s oil sands produced 14 to 20 percent more greenhouse gas emissions than the average barrel of U.S. imported crude oil — or comparable to low-quality Venezuelan crudes. By other standards, however, oil sands look worse. The “well to tank” emissions (those created just to get the gas to the car) of Canadian oil sands are about twice as high as the average U.S. crude import. .... Read more of this long piece and more about the series here. AND from Grist.org Lisa Hymas explains why Tar-sands oil spills should scare the crap out of you After a seven-month investigation, InsideClimate News has published an in-depth series on “the biggest oil spill you’ve never heard of” — a million-gallon-plus spill of oil-sands crude near Kalamazoo, Mich., in July 2010. If you like your summer reading on the heavy side, dive right into part one, or download the whole series as an e-book. Or you can get the highlights lowlights right here: The takeaway: Tar-sands spills are incredibly, frighteningly difficult to clean up. And it’s this same kind of oil that would be pumped through the Keystone XL pipeline if it gets built, sent 1,700 miles right down the middle of the country, and right over the Ogallala Aquifer, a major source of freshwater for drinking and irrigation. Tar-sands or oil-sands crude — technically called bitumen — is goopy, tricky stuff:

Bitumen is so thick — about the consistency of peanut butter — that it doesn’t flow from a well like the crude oil found in most of the nation’s pipelines. Instead the tarry resin is either steamed or strip-mined from sandy soil. Then it is thinned [by about 30 percent] with large quantities of liquid chemicals so it can be pumped through pipelines. These dilutents usually include benzene, a known human carcinogen. At this point it becomes diluted bitumen, or dilbit.

This spill from a pipeline into a tributary of the Kalamazoo River was the first major spill of dilbit in U.S. waters, so “cleanup experts at the scene were unprepared for the challenge”:

Instead of remaining on top of the water, as most conventional crude oil does, the bitumen gradually sank to the river’s bottom, where normal cleanup techniques and equipment were of little use. .... “We had no idea sinking oil would be such a problem,” [said Mark Durno, the EPA deputy incident commander for the spill, who has 20 years' experience]. “Not only was this material submerged but it was mobile and moving along the river bottom.”

WOW! Read more and there are more links to InsideClimateNews.org too. AND our BTV Kansas Bureau Chief LJM adds this item from Paul Koepp from the KC Business Journal who reports Keystone pipeline spurs controversy in Kansas, too What many people may not realize is that completed portions of the pipeline already contribute to state and county coffers in Kansas — though not without controversy of their own. The first phase of the Keystone Pipeline System, which cuts through 100 miles of northeast Kansas on its way to refineries in Illinois, went into service on June 30, 2010. The pipeline’s owner, Canadian energy company TransCanada Corp. , paid $6.9 million in 2010 Kansas property taxes and an additional $6.8 million in 2011, with portions going to Marshall, Brown, Nemaha and Doniphan counties, according to the Kansas Department of Revenue. The second phase, running from Steele City to Cushing, Okla., crosses Kansas for about 210 miles through Washington, Clay, Dickinson, Marion, Butler and Cowley counties. It went into service in February 2011. Through a program put into state law in 2006, TransCanada applied for a 100 percent tax exemption on that portion, which is worth about $18.6 million a year in tax revenue. A pipeline has to run at least 190 miles in Kansas and offer access to refineries to qualify. At issue is whether the Kansas refineries’ ability to get oil from the Cushing hub in Oklahoma constitutes direct access. Remember this is in KANSAS whose Governor is God's Senator SAM BROWNBACK, the AG is KRIS KOBACH, the Kansas House of Representatives is 75% GOPher and their Senate is dominated 32-8 GOPher. Oh and the headquaters of KOCH INDUSTRIES? Wichita, KANSAS. From the GuardianUK and Stacy Feldman for InsideClimate News, part of the Guardian Environment Network guardian.co.uk last October Koch company declared 'substantial interest' in Keystone XL pipeline Document filed with Canada's Energy Board appears to cast doubt on claims by Koch Industries that it has no interest in the controversial pipeline In recent months Koch Industries Inc., the business conglomerate run by billionaire brothers Charles and David Koch, has repeatedly told a U.S. Congressional committee and the news media that the proposed Keystone XL oil sands pipeline has "nothing to do with any of our businesses." But the company has told Canadian energy regulators a different story. In 2009, Flint Hills Resources Canada LP, an Alberta-based subsidiary of Koch Industries, applied for—and won—"intervenor status" in the National Energy Board hearings that led to Canada's 2010 approval of its 327-mile portion of the pipeline. The controversial project would carry heavy crude 1,700 miles from Alberta to the Texas Gulf Coast. ...... The controversy over the Kochs and the pipeline was sparked by an InsideClimate News report from February. That analysis, also published on Reuters.com and later cited by various news organizations, found that Flint Hills is deeply involved in the Canada-Alberta oil sands trade and is well positioned to benefit if more heavy crude is exported to the United States. The Koch brothers own nearly all of Wichita, Kan.-based Koch Industries, the second-largest private company in the United States. The energy and manufacturing conglomerate earns an estimated $100 billion in annual revenue from its network of subsidiaries—a mix of oil, gas, pipeline, chemical, fertilizer and paper and pulp companies. In addition to its Canadian operation, Koch's Flint Hills subsidiary operates oil refineries in Alaska, Texas and Minnesota as well as a dozen fuel terminals in the Midwest and Texas. The Koch brothers have donated millions to Republican candidates and conservative movements, bankrolling groups involved in Tea Party causes and in campaigns to deny climate change science and the need for cleaner energy. Through their Flint Hills subsidiary, they underwrote the failed 2010 ballot initiative that would have suspended California's landmark law capping greenhouse gases..... Over at FireDogLake Kevin Gosztola attended a GLENN GREENWALD SPEECH Glenn Greenwald on Challenging the Surveillance State Salon blogger Glenn Greenwald gave a talk at the Socialism 2012 conference in Chicago where he described how central it was to activism and movements like the Occupy movement to challenge the surveillance state in America. Any attempts to meaningfully challenge state or corporate power, he declared, run up against the surveillance state because it is designed to impede, deter and chill action. Understanding how it operates and “how to challenge it and undermine it and subvert it really is an absolute prerequisite to any sort of meaningful activism.” ..... As Greenwald continued, he expanded the discussion into how private companies are working in concert with the federal government. He characterized this cooperation as “a full-scale merger between the federal government and industry” where the two are “equally important parts” of the surveillance state. To illustrate this he shared an example where Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates announced a ban on BlackBerry devices in their countries because they could not intercept communications. The US government, along with US media, were condemning this move saying they were engaged in oppression that could not be tolerated; and yet six weeks later, according to the New York Times, the Obama administration was pushing legislation to require “all services that enable communications — including encrypted e-mail transmitters like BlackBerry, social networking Web sites like Facebook and software that allows direct ‘peer to peer’ messaging like Skype — to be technically capable of complying if served with a wiretap order. The mandate would include being able to intercept and unscramble encrypted messages.” ....... Additionally, Greenwald contends that what makes this even more pernicious is that as the government has expanded its ability to know everything American citizens are doing, it has simultaneously erected a wall of secrecy around it so citizens know very little about what they are doing to “preserve” or “protect” so-called national security. He mentioned WikiLeaks and what was disclosed and how it revealed the scale of over-classification of information by the US government. In theory, there should be transparency for the government and individuals are supposed to live in a “sphere of privacy.” That has been completely reversed as a result of the surveillance state. .... Go there to watch the videos in four parts! Then watch Glenn Greenwald with Juan Gonzales on Thursday's Democracy Now! program listed below! And read Two-tiered justice Events surrounding the release of the paperback version of "With Liberty and Justice for Some" by Glenn Greenwald at his Salon column. GSK NEWS! One of Big Pharma's biggest operators Drug giant Glaxo pleads guilty, fined $3B for drug marketing according to USA Today who published terms of a PLEA AGREEMENT Drug giant GlaxoSmithKline will plead guilty and pay $3 billion to resolve federal criminal and civil inquiries arising from the company's illegal promotion of some of its products, its failure to report safety data and alleged false price reporting, the Justice Department announced Monday. The company agreed to plead guilty to three criminal counts, including two counts of introducing misbranded drugs — Paxil and Wellbutrin — and one count of failing to report safety data about the drug Avandia to the Food and Drug Administration. The $3 billion fine will be the largest penalty ever paid by a drug company, Deputy Attorney General James M. Cole said. The company also agreed to be monitored by government officials for five years to attempt to ensure the company's compliance, Cole said. Under the terms of the plea agreement, GSK will pay a total of $1 billion, including a criminal fine of $956,814,400. The company also will pay $2 billion to resolve civil claims under the federal government's False Claims Act. Prosecutors said GlaxoSmithKline illegally promoted the drug Paxil for treating depression in children from April 1998 to August 2003, even though the FDA never approved it for anyone under age 18. The corporation also promoted the drug Wellbutrin from January 1999 to December 2003 for weight loss, the treatment of sexual dysfunction, substance addictions and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, although it was only approved for treatment of major depressive disorder. ..... Crimes and civil violations like those in the GlaxoSmithKline case have been widespread in the pharmaceutical industry and have produced a series of case with hefty fines. One reason some have said the industry regards the fines as simply a cost of doing business is because aggressively promoting drugs to doctors for uses not officially approved — including inducing other doctors to praise the drugs to colleagues at meetings — has quickly turned numerous drugs from mediocre sellers into blockbusters, with more than $1 billion in annual sales. .... The drug corporation agreed to resolve civil liability for promoting the drugs Paxil, Wellbutrin, Advair, Lamictal and Zofran for off-label, non-covered uses. The company also resolved accusations that it paid kickbacks to doctors to prescribe those drugs as well as the drugs Imitrex, Lotronex, Flovent and Valtrex. Of the penalties, $1 billion covers criminal fines and forfeitures and $2 billion is for civil settlements with the federal government and the state governments of Massachusetts and Colorado. Public Citizen has a Statement of Dr. Sidney Wolfe, Director, Public Citizen’s Health Research Group GlaxoSmithKline Settlement Still Not Enough to Deter Illegal Behavior by Pharmaceutical Industry Today’s announcement of the largest health fraud settlement ever reached between a pharmaceutical company and federal and state governments demonstrates that despite the seemingly large sums, the fines imposed on pharmaceutical companies for dangerous and illegal conduct pale in comparison to the profits generated from such activity. The industry is therefore tacitly encouraged to continue its illegal activity. ..... Today’s settlement of criminal and civil violations is nothing new for GSK. According to a 2010 Public Citizen report, GSK racked up more in fines and settlement payouts to the federal and state governments ($4.5 billion) than any other pharmaceutical company from 1991 through November 1, 2010. Until more meaningful penalties and the prospect of jail time for company heads who are responsible for such activity become commonplace, companies will continue defrauding the government and putting patients’ lives in danger. In other Big Pharma news MoJo's David Corn finds Romney Invested in Medical-Waste Firm That Disposed of Aborted Fetuses, Government Documents Show Earlier this year, Mitt Romney nearly landed in a politically perilous controversy when the Huffington Post reported that in 1999 the GOP presidential candidate had been part of an investment group that invested $75 million in Stericycle, a medical-waste disposal firm that has been attacked by anti-abortion groups for disposing aborted fetuses collected from family planning clinics. Coming during the heat of the GOP primaries, as Romney tried to sell South Carolina Republicans on his pro-life bona fides, the revelation had the potential to damage the candidate's reputation among values voters already suspicious of his shifting position on abortion. But Bain Capital, the private equity firm Romney founded, tamped down the controversy. The company said Romney left the firm in February 1999 to run the troubled 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City and likely had nothing to with the deal. The matter never became a campaign issue. But documents filed by Bain and Stericycle with the Securities and Exchange Commission—and obtained by Mother Jones—list Romney as an active participant in the investment. And this deal helped Stericycle, a company with a poor safety record, grow, while yielding tens of millions of dollars in profits for Romney and his partners. The documents—one of which was signed by Romney—also contradict the official account of Romney's exit from Bain. Go to MoJo to read the disgusting details. MORE WINGNUT NEWS Amanda Crawford writes in Bloomberg Wildfire Tests Police in Colorado Tax Movement’s Home .... Since the start of the 18-month recession in December 2007, U.S. cities have faced shrinking revenue and diminishing state support, leading to budget cuts and reductions in services and workforces. Cities faced a fifth-straight year of revenue declines in 2011, according to the National League of Cities, which estimated that municipalities would have to fill budget gaps of as much as $83 billion from 2010-2012. Colorado Springs, which depends on sales tax for about half of its revenue, was hit harder than most. The city -- the birthplace 20 years ago of the Taxpayer Bill of Rights, which later passed statewide and has been pushed around the country to restrict government spending -- became a high-profile example of cost-cutting. The law restricts government spending to the previous year’s revenue, adjusted only for population growth and inflation. “People are going to be looking at the aftermath of this disaster to see what is possible,” said Josh Dunn, an associate professor of political science at University of Colorado, Colorado Springs. “How far can you go in cutting the size of city government?” Pre-Tea The city, home of the evangelical Christian group Focus on the Family, is known for being conservative and libertarian. It “was the Tea Party before the Tea Party was cool,” Dunn said. Six of the nine candidates in last year’s nonpartisan mayoral election, including the victor, Mayor Steve Bach, signed a pledge to oppose any tax increases. Richard Skorman, one candidate who didn’t, was flooded with angry e-mails after saying in a debate why he opposed such a pledge. What, he asked, if the city got hit by a major wildfire? “Resources have been very stretched, and we were always worried,” Skorman, a 60-year-old small business owner and former city councilman who lost to Bach in an April 2011 run- off, said in a telephone interview. ..... The city has been aggressive in applying for federal grants, too, which have funded wildfire mitigation efforts, said Bret Waters, emergency management director. Dunn notes that the city, where there is strong anti- federal government sentiment, is now turning to the U.S. for assistance. Before visiting Colorado on June 29, President Barack Obama declared the state a disaster area, which frees aid for communities affected by the wildfires. “Ironically, Colorado Springs is going to rely heavily on federal funds for rebuilding,” Dunn said. “But it won’t cover everything.” WeatherChannel.com notes the nationwide Torrid Heat: 4,500 Record Highs and Counting With that in mind Professor Christian Parenti author of "Tropic of Chaos" was on Democracy Now on Wednesday and Amy Goodman posted this on Nation of Change Climate Disasters’ Toll Worsened by Sustained Attacks on Public Sector, Science & Regulation As we discuss the spate of extreme weather in the United States, the author and professor Christian Parenti argues that the Republican-led assault on the public sector will leave states more vulnerable to global warming's effects. "Another thing missing from these discussions -- it's not just the words 'climate change,' but the words 'public sector,'" Parenti says. "I mean, who's out there fighting these fires? It's the public sector. Where do people go when there are these cooling centers? It's the public sector. ... This assault on the public sector must be linked to climate change." We're also joined by The Guardian's U.S. environment correspondent Suzanne Goldenberg and by Jeff Masters, director of meteorology at the Weather Underground website. Watch the video and read the transcript there on at DN! posted below in BTV Alerts! Freedom From Relilgion Foundation is pushing back on the Catholic Bishops Defend True Religious Liberty Under Assault by Catholic Bishops Do you think Catholic Bishops should have veto power over women's contraceptive health insurance coverage? They think so! U.S. Roman Catholic Bishops are waging war against Health and Human Service's mandate, starting in August to ensure U.S. women workers have contraceptive coverage. In a colossal power play, the Bishops seek to impose their narrow religious doctrine on many of America's employees, whether or not they subscribe to the Catholic faith. The U.S. Catholic Conference of Bishops has pledged a multimillion-dollar attack against the contraceptive mandate leading up to July 4, 2012. Over 40 Roman Catholic dioceses and institutions are suing to stop Health and Human Services’ contraceptive mandate. Every Sunday from the pulpit Catholics who shun their own church’s teachings against contraception are being told to help the Bishops use the force of secular law to deny birth control to non-Catholics. The louder the Church cries “assault against religious freedom,” the harder it works to take away reproductive freedom. While the Bishops preposterously portray themselves as victims of an “attack on religious liberty,” in fact it is they who are the threat to religious liberty. They seek to impose their irrational belief that contraception is “sinful” on everyone else. True religious liberty requires a separation between dogma and government policy. .... The Bishops have introduced into Congress the so-called “Respect for Rights of Conscience Act,” which goes even further. They are lobbying Congress to pass a bill that would allow any private employer with a “religious or moral objection” to have veto power over health care coverage. For example, a Jehovah’s Witnesses employer could bar coverage of an emergency blood transfusion for employees. A Southern Baptist or Mormon employer could deny prescription birth control to unmarried female employees. Don't let church dogma trump civil rights! Join the Freedom From Religion Foundation in standing up for freedom of conscience, women’s right to contraceptive health insurance and true religious liberty. Go to ffrf.org to watch the NEW video commercial starring Julia Sweeney that counters the anti-contraceptive campaign by Roman Catholic Bishops and sign up here for more info! FRACKING UPDATE: ChrisMcGraw writes in the Examiner Gov Beverly Perdue's veto gets overridden The North Carolina State Senate has overridden a veto from Gov. Bev Perdue on a bill that would legalize fracking, which is where millions of gallons of water mixed with chemicals underground to break apart rock structures with high pressure and flush out the trapped natural gas. The legislation would legalize fracking, which Gov. Perdue supports, but her veto of the bill came from the lack of safety precautions for the people and environment, she said. Then check out this short film from Josh Fox, the director of Oscar-nominated Gasland The Sky is Pink on Vimeo! And go to nyagainstfracking.org and tell Governor Cuomo "PROTECT ALL OF NEW YORK STATE FROM FRACKING"! See Josh Fox on DN! below too! NPR's Noah Adams had this report on ATC on Monday Obama's 'Clean Coal' Fighting Words To W.Va. Dems but he never once sought out those fighting against mountaintop removal like Bob Kincaid and Coal River Mountain Watch www.crmw.net! There are some good comments there but we urge you to write NPR about this "slight" at their "Contact Us" page and ask for a follow-up on this report including the dissenting voices against Big Coal. Coincidentally Bob has been without power since the storms hit last week Friday! We're not sure of his status as of this writing but you can help out Bob and the Head On Radio Network by going to tinyurl.com/supporthorn. We also have some long reads about coal first from a ZeroHedge Guest Post: Coal - The Ignored Juggernaut ....Indeed, everything currently unfolding for coal in the United States is precisely what is not unfolding for coal globally. Prices to import natural gas to most countries via LNG remain sky-high, easily protecting coal’s cost advantage. And the demand for coal in the developing world remains gargantuan. Accordingly, just as with oil, lower US demand simply frees up supply to elsewhere in the world. The global coal juggernaut rolls onward..... And one from grist.org Coal is the enemy of the human race, mainstream economics edition Yesterday, Jess noted a new paper in the American Economic Review: “Environmental Accounting for Pollution in the United States Economy.” Brad Johnson has a longer summary here. I want to emphasize the paper’s conclusions and make a few related points. But mostly I want to beg everyone: spread this around. Coal’s net economic effects on the U.S. are poorly understood, to say the least, and this paper’s findings are stunning. Once you strip away the econ jargon, the paper finds that, on the margin, electricity from coal imposes more damages on the U.S. economy than the electricity is worth. That’s right: The next coal-fired power plant is a net value-subtraction. A parasite, you might say, that will enrich a few executives and shareholders at the public’s expense...... These are long reads but you need to read all of them for the full effect. FUKUSHIMA UPDATE: Arne Gundersen comments on the recent DIET Report calling Fukushima a "man made disaster" citing collusion among government, regulators and TEPCO. Common Dreams has the Institute for Public Accuracy (IPA) press release Fukushima Disaster “Man-Made” — Has the Nuclear Industry Captured the Regulators? ARNIE GUNDERSEN, arnie at fairewinds.org Gundersen is a former nuclear industry insider and now an independent consultant, chief engineer with Fairewinds Consulting. He said today: “I am not surprised by the Diet Committee’s conclusion and have been saying the same thing for almost a year. I’ve always felt uncomfortable calling it an accident — it’s a man-mad disaster, a catastrophe. This report confirms that. I applaud the Diet for being so forthright. I met with them while in Japan and they seemed to genuinely want to get to the bottom of things. “However, beyond the shores of Japan, some people will try to misuse this report to say it can’t happen here. The fact is that it can. Here in the U.S., the industry basically forced out Gregory Jaczko as chair of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. And of course, the International Atomic Energy Agency was in Japan. It’s a world-wide problem: the nuclear industry has taken control of the regulators.” See Fairewinds video entitled “Nuclear Oversight Lacking Worldwide” In February 2012, under contract with Greenpeace, Fairewinds wrote a report titled “The Echo Chamber: Regulatory Capture and the Fukushima Daiichi Disaster.” ..... See executive summary of the Diet report in English. Oh geez there's so much more! Start here at WhatReallyHappened.com FUKUSHIMA & OTHER NUKE DISASTERS including

• Commission report: Fukushima 'a profoundly man-made disaster'
  
• Nuclear Expert Gundersen on TV: It can no longer be called the Fukushima Daiichi ‘accident’ (VIDEO)
  
• Nuked Radio #46 Japan Reports Fuku was Man-made Disaster
  
• Gundersen: Latest probe at Unit 1 indicates “nuclear fuel has left containment” (AUDIO)
  

And if you think "This has nothing to do with me" then watch Gundersen: We just tested an air filter that has highest radioactivity seen in North America after Fukushima Daiichi — Found in Seattle HEPA purifier used since 3/11 (VIDEO) Then go to RadiationNetwork.com home of the National Radiation Map, depicting environmental radiation levels across the USA, updated in real time every minute. This is the first web site where the average citizen (or anyone in the world) can see what radiation levels are anywhere in the USA at any time. Lastly check out Sam in for Thom on The Big Picture all about 501(c)(4) “civic organizations" with Zaid Jilani of Republic Report Full Show 07/03/12: Super Duper PACs Guest host Sam Sacks examines what's worse than Super PACs this election season. Also discussed: Nixon's (and Obama's) failed war on drugs, how close scientists are to discovering the god particle and in tonight's "Daily Take" Thom discusses how the Republicans latest attack on Obamacare reveals their larger, treasonous plot to make Obama a one-term president. Good item! We finish with Matt Taibbi who has been covering all the insidious bankster moves and now screams Why is Nobody Freaking Out About the LIBOR Banking Scandal? The LIBOR manipulation story has exploded into a major scandal overseas. The CEO of Barclays, Bob Diamond, has resigned in disgrace; his was the first of what will undoubtedly be many major banks to walk the regulatory plank for fixing the interbank exchange rate. The Labor party is demanding a sweeping criminal investigation. Mervyn King, Governor of the Bank of England, responded the way a real public official should (i.e. not like Ben Bernanke), blasting the banks:

It is time to do something about the banking system…Many people in the banking industry are hardworking and feel badly let down by some of their colleagues and leaders. It goes to the culture and the structure of banks: the excessive compensation, the shoddy treatment of customers, the deceitful manipulation of a key interest rate, and today, news of yet another mis-selling scandal.

The furor is over revelations that Barclays, the Royal Bank of Scotland, and other banks were monkeying with at least $10 trillion in loans (The Wall Street Journal is calculating that that LIBOR affects $800 trillion worth of contracts). The banks gamed LIBOR for two semi-overlapping reasons. ..... That is explosive stuff. Members of Parliament will be grilling Tucker tomorrow about those events in what is sure to be a far more combative and entertaining legislative inquiry than the Jamie Dimon dog-and-pony show we just went through here in the states in recent weeks. The implications of that part of the story should be particularly chilling to Americans, who in recent years have been party to a number of revelations about strange and seemingly inappropriate contacts between senior regulatory officials and big bankers during the heat of the crisis. We know that American officials in 2008-2009 were extremely concerned about the appearance of weakness in the financial markets, so much so that they may have resisted pursuing criminal prosecutions against big banks, and we also know that they spent a lot of time commiserating with Wall Street figures before and during the crisis. If Bob Diamond and Paul Tucker were having these talks about LIBOR, is it fair to wonder what else Hank Paulson and Lloyd Blankfein were talking about in the 24 discussions they had in the six days following the AIG disaster? ...... Anyway, the LIBOR story is leading the front pages of most of Britain’s dailies, it’s on TV, and it’s producing blistering editorials and howls of outrage amongst politicians and activists. But as compadre Yves Smith at Naked Capitalism put it, where’s the outrage here in America? ....... But to me what’s missing from all of this is the “Holy Fucking Shit!” factor. This story is so outrageous that it shocks even the most cynical Wall Street observers. I have a friend who works on Wall Street who for years has been trolling through the stream of financial corruption stories with bemusement, darkly enjoying the spectacle as though the whole post-crisis news arc has been like one long, beautifully-acted, intensely believable sequel to Goodfellas. But even he is just stunned to the point of near-speechlessness by the LIBOR thing. “It’s like finding out that the whole world is on quicksand,” he says. So as far as the stateside press goes, I’ve got to assume the cavalry is coming soon. But when? Yo Matt! HINT: Not on the Sunday Funnies! Catch Matt with Sam Seder below! The Beltway Bubalas and their stenographer minions will have none of this of course. We're plum tuckered out so see below for the Sunday corporpress guest lists and so much more info from our regulars! Click on anything and be instantly smarter! See you next week!
BRICK TEEVEE ALERTS!_©

Monday, July 2, 2012

• John Ackerman, editor of the Mexican Law Review @ Democracy NOW! After Election, Mexico Poised for Return of PRI — And Continuation of Deadly U.S.-Fueled Drug War
  
• Kenneth Chamberlain Jr., Mayo Bartlett & Randolph McLaughlin @ Democracy NOW! Kenneth Chamberlain’s Family Files Suit After White Plains Police Evade Charges for Slaying, Slurs
  

Tuesday, July 3, 2012

• Suzanne Goldenberg & Jeff Masters @ Democracy NOW! "This Is Just the Beginning": Forest Fires, Deadly Storms, Record Heat Reveal a Changed Climate
  
• Christian Parenti, Suzanne Goldenberg & Jeff Masters @ Democracy NOW! Climate Disasters’ Toll Worsened by Sustained Attacks on Public Sector, Science and Regulation
  
• Suzanne Nossel, executive director of Amnesty International USA @ Democracy NOW! Will U.S., the World’s Largest Arms Manufacturer, Back Landmark U.N. Arms Trade Treaty?
  

Wednesday, July 4, 2012

li>Pete Seeger, Billy Bragg & Will Kaufman @ Democracy NOW! Woody Guthrie at 100: Pete Seeger, Billy Bragg, Will Kaufman Honor the "Dust Bowl Troubadour"

Thursday, July 5, 2012

• Olmo Gálvez, organizer with ¡Democracia Real YA!, or Real Democracy Now! @ Democracy NOW! In Win for M15 Movement, Spain Opens Criminal Probe of Ex-IMF and Bankia Chief Rodrigo Rato
  
• Stéphane Grueso @ Democracy NOW! "Something Is Starting to Happen": Spain’s M15, Precursor to Occupy, Hails Probe of Ex-IMF Chief
  
• Glenn Greenwald @ Democracy NOW! "Zero Accountability": Glenn Greenwald on Obama’s Refusal to Prosecute Wall Street Crimes & Glenn Greenwald: As WikiLeaks Reveals Syria Files, Assange Remains in Ecuador Embassy Seeking Asylum
  

Friday, July 6, 2012

• Arnie Gundersen @ Democracy NOW! As Japan Says Fukushima Disaster "Man-Made" & "Preventable," Fears Grow for Nuclear Plants Worldwide
  
• Bill Weinberg @ Democracy NOW! Peru Declares State of Emergency as 5 Die in Protest Against Gold Mine Owned by U.S. Firm, Newmont
  
• Clara Gutteridge @ Democracy NOW! Rendered, Tortured & Discarded: A Shocking Story of an Innocent Man’s Ordeal in U.S. Prisons Abroad
  
• AMY GOODMAN @ Democracy NOW! Amy Goodman in Spain on the 75th Anniversary of Guernica Bombing, Portrayed by Picasso Painting
  

»»» GRITtv @ www.grittv.org with Laura Flanders »»» FEATURED SHOW After Supreme Court Rules, Work for Single Payer: Dr. Margaret Flowers on what follows Judgement Day Margaret Flowers MD, is a pediatrician whose exasperation with the American health care system turned her into a single-payer activist. In 2009 she was arrested at the Senate Round Table on Health Insurance for attempting to speak on behalf of a single-payer plan when single payer had been cut out of the conversation. .... Around the country, though, Flowers believes single-payer supporters are in a stronger place now than they have ever been. (And during oral arguments on ACA this year, Justice Sotomayor was good enough to confirm the constitutionality of a public system) Regardless of how the court rules, we’ll still have health care woes and groups like Physicians for A National Health Program, will continue to fight for single-payer. Read a transcript of our conversation at TheNation.
BRICK TEEVEE SPORT!_© »»» MLB Sunday TBS Braves @ Phillies 2 pm et »»» MLB Sunday Night ESPN Yankees @ Red Sox 8 pm et »»» MLB All-Star Game Home Run Derby & Star Legends & Celebrity Softball Game Coverage begins on ESPN at 8 pm et »»» MLB 82nd MLB All-Star Game Tuesday Night FOX NL @ AL 8 pm et from Kaufman Stadium errr ummm CHASE FILED in KANSAS CITY MO
BRICK TEEVEE ACTION!_© The 1st Amendment is Our Permit Our permit to occupy is The First Amendment. Quickly sign the following statement which will be delivered to mayors, police chiefs and major media across the country:

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

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

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

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

B R I C K T E E V E E

_{image ©2006 arkysue}
THEY report. YOU throw bricks. ©
Get your Foam Bricks at ThrowThings.com HERE! The essential guide for watching government propaganda
IRAQ: 4,486 US Military Dead as of April 21, 2012
AFGHANISTAN: 2,029 US Military Dead as of July 6, 2012
The Obameter: Tracking Obama's Campaign Promises
Considering Democracy: 8 Things to ask your Representative

• This Week (ABC) anchor George Stephanopoulos guest host "Nightline" co-anchor Terry Moran
  • Gov. Martin O'Malley, D-Md.,
  • Gov. Bobby Jindal, R-La.
  • ROUNDTABLE: George Will; Washington Post columnist E.J. Dionne, author of the new book "Our Divided Political Heart: The Battle for the American Idea in an Age of Discontent;" PBS' "Washington Week" moderator and managing editor Gwen Ifill; former Counselor to the Treasury Secretary and Obama administration Lead Auto Adviser Steven Rattner; and Mort Zuckerman, editor in chief of U.S. News & World Report.
  

  
  

• Face The Nation (CBS) Host Bob Schiefer
  • Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz
  • Assistant Majority Leader Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill.
  • former Mississippi Gov. and former RNC Chairman Haley Barbour
  • ROUNDTABLE: CBS News making machine Jan Crawford, White House Correspondent Norah O'Donnell, Political Director John Dickerson
  • historian and author Doris Kearns Goodwin and a conversation about baseball
  

  
  

• 60 Minutes (CBS) Summer reruns....
  • A Lobbyist's Playbook - Jack Abramoff, the ex-lobbyist and now ex-convict at the center of the biggest Washington corruption scandal in decades gives his first television interview to Lesley Stahl. He reveals how he was able to influence politicians and why, despite reform, such influence buying continues.
  • Mike Wallace - For 40 years, it was the sound of the stop watch and Mike's voice that signaled the start of another edition of 60 Minutes. The broadcast pays tribute to a great reporter and colleague.
  

  
  

• Meet the Press (NBC) Host David Gregory
  • Meet the Press will not air Sunday, July 8 due to NBC Sports coverage of the Tour de France
  

  
  

• 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.
  • Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell
  • Obama Campaign Senior Adviser Robert Gibbs
  • Former CBO director Douglas Holtz-Eakin
  • Mark Zandi, Chief Economist for Moody's Analytics
  • former New Jersey Senator Bill Bradley
  

  
  

• HEAD ON RADIO with Bob Kincaid
  
  Headon Radio with Bob Kincaid 6 PM Eastern, 3 PM Pacific, 2300 GMT. Duration: 3 hrs. To be part of Conversation Radio on Head-on Radio, call toll-free (877) 443-2366, or use our Liberal community line at 304-658-3333. Email bob [at] headonradio [dot] com during the show!
  • Front Porch Friday!!!!! Bob is still without electricity as far as we know so no new shows! Listen to the June 14th Friday show 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!
  • VIDEOS: The BRAD BLOG's Desi Doyen Guest Hosting 'The Young Turks' With Cenk Uygur IN TODAY'S RADIO REPORT: guess Desi Doyen, co-host and managing editor of The BRAD BLOG's Green News Report, was such a smash in her TYT guest hosting debut on Thursday with regular host Ana Kasparian, they just had to have her back again on Friday to guest host again, this time with The Young Turks' 'Top Turk', Cenk Uygur. Of course, it's just my opinion, and I suspect I'm biased, but, frankly, she killed. See the evidence and judge for yourself in a few clips posted by The Turks below, on the Rightwing blaming Obama for CO's wildfires (seriously), the banning of "sea level rise" by VA and NC legislatures and...wait for it...talking urinal cakes. Yes. Talking urinal cakes... NOTE FROM DESI: To clarify one point made in the above clip, it's the Virginia legislature that insists the phrase 'sea level rise' should not be used in coastal planning reports, with one lawmaker calling them "liberal code words."
  • BRADBLOG UPDATE: Unsealed Ballot Bags in WI Recall's State Senate 'Recount' Suggest Fraud, Charge Republicans Well, we've got some good news on the District 21 state Senate race, some bad news, and some extraordinarily hypocritical news to report today in our long-overdue update... The good news: Even though the margin between Lehman and Wanggaard was larger than that in last year's disastrous state Supreme Court election debacle --- during which Republicans lambasted the Independent challenger JoAnne Kloppenburg for daring to demand a recount in her race against Republican Justice David Prosser --- the Republican Wanggaard did end up exercising his right to ask for a recount. The bad news: Rather than going to court to demand a hand count of paper ballots, Wanggaard foolishly allowed for the "recount" to occur on the very same unreliable electronic computer tabulators that may or may not have tallied the ballots correctly in the first place. Ridiculously, machine "recounts" are the standard under WI election code, unless candidates can convince the courts to allow for a hand count. Thus, such "recounts" are exactly as reliable as the Election Night count. Which is to say, not at all. Worse, there is even less reason to have confidence in post-election counts, given the fact that they take place weeks after the election, when ballots have been in the "darkness" and legitimate questions about their secure chain of custody arise. The ironic and jaw-droppingly hypocritical news (at least for those who closely followed The BRAD BLOG's detailed and too-often exclusive coverage of last year's state Supreme Court debacle): The Republicans are now suggesting the possibility of fraud thanks to a bag or two of ballots which showed up at the Lehman/Wanggaard "recount" apparently unsealed. Talk about chutzpah! Now they care?
  • BRADCAST UPDATE! KPFK 'BradCast': Rep. Deutch on FL Voter Purge Scam Rep. Ted Deutch (D-FL-19) joined me live on today's BradCast on KPFK/Pacifica Radio to discuss two things:
  1) Our exclusive from earlier this week on FL Gov. Rick Scott's voter purge/DHS database deception (an issue which Deutch has been raising hell about for several weeks) and 2) His OCCUPIED Amendment to get corporate money the hell out of our electoral system, particularly in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court overturning Montana's 100-year old anti-corruption law on Monday.
  • Visit BradBlog.com to see who counts yer votes! Now up to 9,200+ Election Protection posts! Find out who's counting your votes and how at ElectionIntegrity.org too.
  

  
  

• The Peter B. Collins Show PODCAST!
  
  Listen at PeterBCollins.com!
  The Peter B. Collins Show covers American news and politics from the Left Coast. Veteran talk radio personality Peter B. Collins, based in San Francisco, delivers fresh interviews, commentary and analysis on a range of important topics, with views and voices you don’t often find in the corporate media.
  • Holiday Break and Website Changes
  
  To my valued listeners: We are making some changes to the website and our terms, effective in January. We will continue to offer free podcasts–my new daily news and commentary. Our in-depth interviews will be available for $1 per episode, or to subscribers who pay $5 per month or more. Loyal listeners who simply can’t afford it should send an email to peter@peterbcollins.com, as we will be offering a limited number of scholarships to our friends who are hurting during these tough times. More information will be posted as we complete the revisions. I’m grateful to each of you for listening and supporting this work, and hope that the new model will enable us to keep it going well into the future. All the best, -pbc
  • PBC Standard Podcast July 1, 2012 Medea Benjamin on Her New Book: Drone Warfare, Killing By Remote Control; Gary Chew Reviews Woody Allen’s Latest Flick Medea Benjamin, co-founder of Global Exchange and Code Pink for Peace, is the author of the new book Drone Warfare: Killing By Remote Control. Gary Chew reviews Woody Allen’s latest, To Rome With Love.
  • PBC Standard Podcast July 3, 2012 Author Dennis Marker: 15 Steps to Corporate Feudalism Progressive activist and author Dennis Marker talks about his new book, 15 Steps to Corporate Feudalism: How the Rich Convinced the Middle Class to Eliminate Themselves
  

  
  

• 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 July 5, 2012
  • Photographer James Balog will be joining us to talk about his quest to capture footage of the effects of global climate change – a quest that was chronicled in the new documentary film Chasing Ice.
  • Alternet contributor and author Steven Rosenfeld will tell us why there might still be some hope for our extremist U.S. Supreme Court.
  • Bill Lazonick from the University of Massachusetts will be here to tell us how corporations evolved from serving the public good, to only serving their self-interests.
  • Ed Wytkind from the AFL-CIO will be joining us to discuss why its necessary for Congress to stop the partisan bickering and pass a transportation bill that will not only put Americans back to work, but help repair our crumbling infrastructure.
  • VIDEO! Papantonio – “I’m Betting Scalia is SCOTUS Leaker” Mike Papantonio appears on MSNBC’s PoliticsNation with Reverend Al Sharpton to discuss the “Supreme Court Leaker” who told the press that Roberts flipped his vote on the Affordable Care Act.
  • RT VIDEO! Papantonio: Romney and His Offshore Millions Mike Papantonio appears on The Big Picture with Thom Hartmann to talk about Mitt Romney’s offshore money shell games, where the GOP presidential candidate is holding at least $30 million in offshore banks to avoid paying U.S. taxes.
  • 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!
  
  • July 2, 2012 David Van Taylor, Judicial Confirmation Wars
  • July 3, 2012 Bill Scher, High Praise for Obama
  • July 5, 2012 Matt Taibbi, Someone Should Be Freaking Out!
  • July 6, 2012 Cliff Schecter, News & Former Conservative Boy Wonder Jonathan Krohn
  • MORE Podcast Interviews at Majority.fm!
  

  
  

• On the Edge with Max Keiser Podcasts and more @ MaxKeiser.com!
  
  "HI Y'ALL! Tell the people! Tell the people!"
  WHO IS MAX KEISER? Max Keiser is a financial expert, Prediction Markets analyst, inventor and filmmaker. He is the creator of the Hollywood Stock Exchange (HSX) the first Prediction Market. Max Keiser co-hosts "The Truth About Markets" on ResonanceFM 104.4 in London. He also produces and presents documentary films covering markets and finance for Al Jazeera’s "People & Power" series. Max Keiser started his career on Wall Street in 1983. He is the creator of KarmaBanque a site that enables activists to challenge corporate power.
  • VISIT PirateMyFilm.com!!! Crowd Funding for Pirates!
  • NEW! MaxKeiserTV on YouTube! MaxKeiserTV PLUS here is Max Keiser’s official Facebook page And here is the official Keiser Report page
  • The “Keiser Report” has been begging europe to do this for years by maxkeiser READ European Banks Preparing To Boycott Big Three Rating Agencies zerohedge(nakedcapitalism)
  • CNBC’s Admission, yes: Silver market is manipulated (skip to 9:30) by maxkeiser READ CNBC Host States Silver Manipulation is a Fact, NOT a Conspiracy! sliverdoctors.com with VIDEO! Once Barclays pointed the finger at BoE as colluding on Libor manipulation (instead of denying it), the roof got ripped off decades of blatant manipulation in these markets. The dollar and U.S. bonds have been protected with Fed interference and outright manipulation; same thing in the UK. And to bolster the price for sovereign bonds, the price of Gold and Silver has been manipulated down alongside the upside price movements of worthless paper. Ratings at CNBC have been plummeting this year – as the audience is way ahead of their talking heads on these points. When CNBC admits that markets, especially silver, are rigged, the few remaining viewers they have collectively sigh; ‘I heard that on Keiser Report three years ago.’ READ CNBC: Silver and Financial Markets Are Manipulated, But So What? Jesse's Crossroads Cafe
  • KEISER REPORT [KR308] Keiser Report: Barclays’ Bad Bet We discuss ‘big boys’ and carding crimes, marmite pots and Olympic has-beens, wash trades and perfect games. In the second half of the show Max talks to former commodities analyst and blogger, Michael Krieger, about the meaning of the escalating and blatant financial crime wave.
  • KEISER REPORT [KR309] Keiser Report: Big guy ‘scandals’ vs small fry ‘crimes’ We discuss ‘scandals’ for the big guys, ‘crimes’ for the small fry and they also examine, the worst businessman of the century. In the second half of the show Max talks to journalist and blogger, Teri Buhl of Teribuhl.com, about JP Morgan’s $9 billion problem (which she broke and then the NY Times and Andrew Ross Sorkin stole without giving her credit) and the information about fraud that the SEC is currently sitting on.
  • KEISER REPORT [KR310] Keiser Report – Bankers Doing The Ultra Violent We discuss bankers doing ‘the ultra violent’ on the global financial system and propose the Keiser Technique to remedy the asymmetric approach to financial justice. In the second half of the show Max talks to Reggie Middleton of BoomBustBlog about whether or not French banks are next to collapse and about the flashing fraud warnings on Libor that were always there in the credit default swaps market.
  • KEISER REPORT [KR311] Keiser Report: Fraud & 60 Orgasms We discuss why nobody is freaking about LIBOR in America, while JP Morgan caught doing an Enron on US energy markets and GlaxoSmithKline pays 10% of their ill-gotten gains for bribing doctors and scientists across America. In the second half of the show Max talks to Kevin Sara of the TuNur solar export project of Tunisia about solar exports from the Middle East and toxic derivatives exports from the City of London.
  • ON THE EDGE On the Edge with Catherine Austin Fitts Max interviews Catherine Austin Fitts!
  • THE TRUTH ABOUT MARKETS [TaM365] The Truth About Markets – 16 June 2012 Download show HERE (mp3)
  • THE TRUTH ABOUT MARKETS [TaM367] The Truth About Rigging Interest Rates and Liebor – 30 June 2012 Download show HERE (mp3)
  • Donate to ResonanceFM here!
  

  
  

• ANTIWAR RADIO with Scott Horton
  LIVE (9-11am Pacific, 12pm - 2pm Eastern) Plenty of archives too!
  Listen at antiwar.com/radio
  • Pepe Escobar June 30, 2012: Globetrotting journalist Pepe Escobar discusses his article “Syria and Turkey’s Phantom War;” Turkey’s violation of Syrian airspace in a purposeful, measured provocation and test of Syria’s defenses; the near-invocation of NATO Article 5 and a wider war (an attack on one NATO country is an attack on all); looking for ways to bypass the UN on Syria, since China and Russia won’t let an interventionist resolution pass the Security Council; grand plans for NATO expansion in the official “Assured Security, Dynamic Engagement” plan; counterrevolutions in the Middle East and South America, as the US looks to rebuild its portfolio of client states; and how Qatar has become the new superpower in the Middle East, surpassing even Saudi Arabia.
  • SCOTT HORTON July 5, 2012: Scott says goodbye to Antiwar.com. Scott Horton is the former host of Antiwar Radio. Visit his blog Stress. Due to budget cuts Scott lost his gig at AntiWarRadio.com! Whoa! See ScottHortonShow.com for archives! Send emails to Scott at scotthorton.org to help Scott keep his podcast going!
  • Many more interviews at Antiwar Radio!
  

  
  

• fauxnews
  • DNC party chair Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL)
  • RNC party chair Reince Priebus
  • Rep. Tom Price (R-GA), Chairman of the Republican Policy Committee
  • Rep. Xavier Becerra (D-CA), Vice Chair of the House Democratic Caucus.
  

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