A friend is giving me a ticket for Otello at the Met, and so I need to get on a more normal sleep cycle to be in shape to enjoy it. Please forgive the lack of original posts!
Tributes in purple to superstar Prince BBC. Even the FT has this as its top story.
Petition: You can make Japanese whaling a deal breaker Care2
Gender stereotyping may start as young as 3 months—study of babies’ cries shows Medical Xpress (Chuck L)
Solar plane successfully departs from Hawaii with no fuel (Update) PhysOrg (Chuck L)
Koch Brothers Look West, Set Sights on Mining the Grand Canyon Sputnik (Chuck L). Ugh.
Leaders Roll Up Sleeves on Climate, but Experts Say Plans Don’t Pack a Wallop New York Times
Signing on to a more secure and stable world Bangkok Post. Climate.
Light-driven dinitrogen reduction: Scientists shed new light on global energy, food supply challenge PhysOrg. Chuck L: “This could be mucho beneficial. In the short term. Unfortunately, it will likely encourage the breed-the-way-to-dominance theocrats such that the human-lemmings make an even bigger splat when our descendants eventually hit the wall.”
We Still Haven’t Found a Fountain of Youth in Our DNA MIT Technology Review (David L). Key point: “Longevity is one of the lowest heritable traits.”
Apple should pay more tax, says co-founder Wozniak BBC. 50% tax rate! Go Woz!
Mossack Fonseca
9 questions you were too embarrassed to ask about the Panama Papers Vox
China?
The Post-Crisis Economy’s Long Debt Hangover Project Syndicate (David L)
Criticism of EU’s Budget Rules Gains Traction Wall Street Journal
Refugee Crisis
Europe’s rising shame: Islamophobia and de-democratization RT
Brexit?
History suggests the UK will vote to stay in the EU… but only just Europp
Big Brother is Watching You Watch
Open Letter to Congress on Encryption Backdoors Zdziarski’s Blog of Things (guurst)
FBI paid more than $1.4m for iPhone hack Financial Times. Contrast this with the post above on the value of the information….
News Flash: Only “Customary” Speakers Protected From Prior Restraint Patrick Durusau. Another horror.
Imperial Collapse Watch
After drones: the indelible mark of America’s remote control warfare Guardian (resilc)
2016
With Uncertainty at Top of Ticket, Republicans Back Off in Some States New York Times
Paul Ryan’s House of woes Politico
Sanders Campaign’s Commitment To Victory Irritates Media, Offends Clinton Campaign Common Dream (Judy B)
Enough with the Hillary cult: Her admirers ignore reality, dream of worshipping a queen Salon (resilc)
Board of Elections official ‘scapegoated’ for voting mess New York Post (martha r)
Provisional Ballots Poised To Rock The Vote: Brooklyn Protested Board Of Elections, Voters’ Lawsuit Moves Forward Iinquisitr (martha r). Important.
Election Fraud Proven at Audit by Chicago BOE – flipped precinct by 18pts from Bernie to Hillary DailyKos. Dan K:
Click-bait headline, the video gives insights on the process and the dynamics in play. Video at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OSNTauWPkTcMost detailed and cogent description of a problematic audit process is at 1:16:13, several examples of different methods of adjustment of audit tallies to match reported (“certified”) numbers.: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OSNTauWPkTc&feature=youtu.be&t=1h16m13s
Right before the 24-minute mark referenced in the dailykos page, they pass a motion to destroy the records… before opening the floor to statements by observers.
FB shuts down FB page of election justice usa Facebook (martha r)
How Sanders Could Lay the Foundation for a Third US Political Party TruthOut (Chuck L)
Bernie Sanders and the Rainbow in Vermont (1990) Verso. Lambert: “Important”
Native American Council offers amnesty to 220 million undocumented whites Minds (Chuck L)
How Clarence Thomas Became the Supreme Court’s Strangest Justice Vice (resilc)
Congress’ Top Legal Pot Advocate on the Future of Marijuana Policy Rolling Stone. Resilc: “Better to use smack for pain since it supports the economy of Afghanistan is the DC thought I gather.”
Gunz
More Than 1,000 Shot in Chicago So Far This Year New York Magazine (Dr. Kevin)
Why Haven’t Bankers Been Punished? Just Read These Insider SEC Emails ProPublica. While the documents provide some additional detail, as Richard Smith points out, there really isn’t anything new here. From the outside, it was clear the SEC had decided to make only a token effort of prosecuting banks for creating toxic CDOs, with one settlement per player. We wrote about this in gory detail at the time. And the article skips over the real reason: the head of enforcement, Robert Khuzami, had been General Counsel of the Americas for Deutsche Bank from 2004 to 2009. Greg Lippmann (featured prominently in The Big Short and in Greg Zuckerberg’s The Greatest Trade Ever, which has much more detail on the subprime short strategy) was patient zero of subprime CDOs. Deutsche had a program like Goldman’s Abacus program called Start. Any serious investigation of CDOs would implicate Khuzami. It was never going to happen.
How Goldman Sachs’ vampire squid became a flattened slug Gillian Tett, Financial Times
US finance professionals face fresh pay crackdown Financial Times. I hope to say something on this for Sunday or Monday. This is promising but (as usual) there are potential problems.
Class Warfare
All the Sad, Broke, Literary Men Helaine Olen, Slate
Uber Drivers Settle With Ride-Hailing Company in Labor Dispute Wall Street Journal. This sucks.
U.S. Suicide Rate Surges to a 30-Year High New York Times (furzy)
Is the One Percent Really the Problem? Bill Moyers (Chuck L)
Antidote du jour (Kittie W via Lawrence R):
See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.
218 comments
Comments are closed.
From “Europe’s rising shame: Islamophobia and de-democratization”:
“I will venture to say that a return to the rule of law makes for a good strategy. I will also remind readers that it was Russia which found a way out of this no-way street. As Europe’s democracies waver, and Islamophobia has risen, Moscow has anchored its policies in equality before the law – there lies the cornerstone of real democracy. There lies a lesson Europe would do well to heed if it is not to sink back into old habits.”
So Russian rule of law and democracy is now the role model. Never thought I would find such a link on NC.
I suppose then that Human Rights Watch is also an extension of the CIA and simply spewing out anti-Russian propaganda: https://www.hrw.org/europe/central-asia/russia
From the Wikipedia entry on HRW:
I would say that is an understatement. HRW is a deeply conflicted organization, its leader in particular.
There we are. Human Rights Watch is a band of CIA operatives and everything the organisation publishes and writes should be discredited.
I suppose the same goes for Amnesty: https://www.amnesty.org/en/countries/europe-and-central-asia/russian-federation/report-russian-federation/
Fortunately the Russian democracy has its own internal and impeccable tools to uphold human rights and the rule of Law: “Russia human rights: New ombudsman is former police general” http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-36112536
The freethinkers, the gays, the transgender, the journalists etc. in Russia feel even better now
I don’t suppose you’ve been to any declasse Philly suburbs or say to the outskirts of Reno or Jacksonville lately. The well earned legitimacy of US and US based “Civil Society” institutions of the post war era has been systematically debased as the New Deal and its associated policies have all been murdered. The collapse of legitimacy amongst the de-politicised, de-urbanized American poor now expresses itself in a robust and growing suicide rate. Our institutions are no longer the “good guys.”
Even in that gilded Post War era, any number of US cultural luminaries were on AID, CIA or DIA payrolls. While the Marshall Plan intent was ascendent these agencies did a lot of good world wide, since the NeoCon/NeoLib inversions, an equal or greater harm. The US now has Modi in India provoking China, fingers in the chaos in Brazil, has put Poland onto the front line against a re-militarizing Russia provoked into re-building a real ground combat army by US pig headedness.
That Putin and his cronies suck has been ameliorated by the NeoCon/NeoLib effort in the West to suck more: it has been a signal accomplishment of the US to have created the conditions in Syria where Russia could wage war in every play according to international law while the US is on the wrong side of it in almost every particular of our involvement.
Times change and the meaning of the past changes with it.
Hi JSN,
No, I have not been to any of the poor areas of the US ever. I have neither been to any of the countries devastated by Russian dictatorship and dominance either. I have neither, ever, been part of a Gay Pride in Russia where the Church and the Government, in full embrace, attack the participants. Nor have I attempted any feminist demonstration in Russia, which too often leads to the participants being locked up.
I have certainly never tried to be an independent journalist in Russia since my life here, on this side of a grave, is way too comfortable.
I am Swedish. The last time we harrassed Russia was 200+ years ago. But still they intimidate us in too many ways, forcing us to increase defense spending when we previously pretty much had cut everything.
Times change, and so should Russia.
While the “progressive policies” of the US make us seem like “special” folks, many nations, including Russia, have very deeply conservative cultures. Trying to change cultures, or nations, with external “regime change” proves itself wrong again and again.
As for Russia intimidating Sweden; how about the US intimidating Sweden into charging Assange on nebulous charges for US benefit. Not convinced at US capability to intimidate? Review the air-piracy by proxy of Bolivian president Evo Morales.
Who is “us”?
Thanks
Bourgeois liberals, in general. Spoiler: they’re not special, just arrogant.
Well, then, “arrogantly”, who is “us”?
Not necessary to provide Russian postal code. Simply indicate identity of your employer.
Want some cheese with that whine?
Do not worry about me.
Enjoy that Vodka
Enjoy your straw.
Please, when Russians and Swedes drink together, we drink by the bottle. Then you degenerate into the middle ages and we simply get a hangover and carry on.
My comments are being censored by NC. As by the KGB!
Adieu, Yves, after what? 7 years?
You are really out of line in accusing me. I have gotten up only now.
You used words that are on our moderation list. That has gotten you in bad graces with our moderation software, which clearly has some artificial intelligence in it, that is why Lambert and I call it Skynet. And having changed your handle to get around it has dug you in further. You blame us with this is of your own doing. I most assuredly did not put you in moderation, but once the mod software has tagged you, we can’t undo it. For instance, every comment by James Levy goes into moderation, for reasons we cannot fathom, since they violate no known rules, and he waits patiently till we free them.
“Yves Smith” (not you)
Have your become a Robot?
Anyhow, “your” Gibberish obviously does not make any sense.
За здоровье!
Lex, I enjoy your comments. I value your opinions on Russia because they add to the total picture. Hope you’ll keep commenting. Your comments make me question my assumptions. Always a good thing.
I’ve had plenty, and I mean plenty, of comments go off into the moderation ether never to be seen again. I can only guess they go off to where ever lost socks go since often there was absolutely nothing in them, not even a URL or youtube link nor any naughty words, that should have flagged them. Such is the intelligence of computer AI algorithms. ;)
“flora”?
Never heard of you on NC before.
Are you actually Флора?
Never ever seen or heard of your comments before.
The way you write the language of Shakespeare however suggests that you are a non-English speaker with an agenda that has nothing, whatsoever, in connection with posting anything unbiased on NC. On the contrary, “flora”, you most probably are a total fake fabricated in one of Putin’s cyber gulags. I do not blame you. You simply did not have the stamina, energy or the intelligence to make anything intelligent out of your life. Thus far.удачи
Flora is a regular. You are again out of line.
The rules here are you argue on the merits. You’ve descended into complete ad hominem. This is a violation of our written comments policies.
Yves, since I know I can be 1) impetuous, 2) intemperate, and 3)wrong, it’s best to let your software do its thing!
NC is the best-curated comments section on the web, with the best Links.
I’m amazed when my most intemperate comments disappear and happy when my malformed opinions get through. Whatever process is behind it, please don’t change a thing
Just anecdotal, but I have found in talking with about a dozen Swedish citizens from different areas, between 18 and around 50 years old, that there is a consistent Anti-Russian bent when the subject comes up. When I have asked them why this might be I never really got an answer from older individuals, but the young consistently cited that the country had to live under the spectre communist Russia next door for decades and negative feelings about this still exist.
You zpeak Zenglish wiz fantaztic Ruzzian accent!
NC used to be great forum for free exchange
Now commented by Ruski trolls
I’d be angry at Sweden if it made me believe for years that Russia was going to attack(when it didn’t.)
If you are going to do this, I suggest you do not sound like the Russian version of Google Translate.
You sound absurd.
1. What was trollish about sharing anecdotal observations about Swedish feelings towards Russia?
2. You say “free exchange” and then seem to disqualifiy Russians from taking part I said exchange, (oh and I’m not Russian).
I would say your reaction reinforces my IRL anecdotal observations.
Just out of curiosity “HBE”, where is your physical position?
And who is your employer?
благодаря
This was utterly out of line. You should be ashamed of yourself. Each and every one of the readers you attacked is established and has commented almost exclusively on domestic American matters.
“You made my case”, wonderful Russian Robot! Are your a “Googlish” version of Достоевскому
Not.
Here is a challenge for you. Post something intelligent, for a change, пожалуйста
*in said
Yeah, but just because billionaire capitalist George Soros has helped fund numerous “color revolutions” in former Soviet republics is no reason to suspect his HRW would be reflexively anti-Russian. And maybe he did say, “Europe needs to wake up and recognize that it is under attack from Russia.” But surely his NGO can be trusted to be completely even-handed and not at all a propaganda machine. There’s no reason at all, therefore, to seek alternative news sources with opposing views.
I would agree with everything had it not been for the fact that I do not understand anything of what you are saying.
If that was your pourpose, you have won.
Soros was deeply involved with the Ukrainian coup, among many other things. He’s given at least a 100 million dollars to Human Rights Watch. “NGOs” like HRW and AI are frequently nothing more than ways to weaponize token Enlightenment principles to further imperialist policy. Anything they claim is suspect at best, and their outrage at abuses very selective and conspicuous in who it’s directed against.
Is this a troll who left behind a bot?
shargash: “HRW is a deeply conflicted organization”
Swedish Lex, restating: “There we are. Human Rights Watch is a band of CIA operatives…”
Straw man much? Or, to prove my bona fides as a Russian intelligence operative…
соломенная человек!
Cthulhu asks you to vote for the lesser of two evils. And the only seemingly other choice? Do not vote. Again Chtulhu wins. Cthulhu always wins. Democracy whithers. Decency dies.
But Cthulhu’s greatest win, its sweetest victory is when otherwise normal people find reason to vote for their choice of a “lesser” evil. It’s not the voting that satisfies. It is rationalising that tastes so sweet.
Russia a paragon? Compared to the EU. Toss the coin.
Heads I win, tails you lose.
Yep. I’ve been trying to sift through coverage at RT to counterweight, uh…. NATO-oriented coverage. They all to often slip from offering an account of interests that should be taken seriously to lipsticking the pig. Russia’s legitimate national interests, especially having neutral, non-belligerent bordering nations, are being pursued by a oligarchic political order.
Human Rights Watch is the one whose executive director does things like take pictures of Gaza after the 2014 Israeli blitz and tweet them out, claiming they’re from Syria and the result of ‘barrel bombs’. So, basically, yeah, HRW is a tool of the US Empire.
And Amnesty International recently put out a video of what is pretty obviously a standard FAB bomb, claiming it was, you guessed it, one of the dreaded barrel bombs. They sure love those don’t they?
Amazing, how attaching an innocuous word like barrel to an obvious word like bomb somehow makes both immeasurably sinister. So much moreso than simply bomb.
You know, I’ve often wondered why the “barrel bomb” is supposed to be so much worse than the US standard 500 lb. iron bomb, much less, say, a BLU-97A/B warhead on a BGM-109D Tomahawk submarine-launched cruise missile, such as was used on the village of Ma’jalah in Yemen for reasons that are still unknown.
Working link for Bernie Sanders and the Rainbow in Vermont —
http://www.versobooks.com/blogs/2612-bernie-sanders-and-the-rainbow-in-vermont-1990
And here’s the link for How Sanders Could Lay The Foundation for a Third US Political Party.
“Why haven’t bankers been punished?” Three-year-old children everywhere would like to know: how can you break the law enough to pay a $2 billion dollar fine but not enough to go to jail? This is the main reason I would vote for Trump over HRC. I think there’s at least a chance he would want to bring criminal charges against the banksters—as opposed to Hill, a bought-and-paid-for tool of the brigands.
He is above all a populist, he wants to be popular.
Racist because in the rep party that is sufficiently popular to win the nomination.
He of course knows how popular it would make him if bankers are hauled off in cuffs… Which would also give him power over the banks.
Similarly he knows wars and military spending is unpopular, which is why the neocons are already jumping to Clinton. Imagine wanting a balanced position in the Middle East and reaching accommodation with Putin.
He spoke of protecting SS and I think is supportive of single payer.
Of all candidates only Bernie is more independent of corporations.
Imo he is to the left of Clinton on all non-race issues… And she has been itching to lunge to the right for months.
Agreed. But it goes deeper too. Hillary is also indebted to many disparate groups at multiple levels. e.g. not many know she’s taken Millions from companies like Tata and Infosys so her policy on H1-B visas is pretty clear. Then there’s the money from the Saudis. The same people who behead women for sorcery while she claims Trump is a misogynist. Ugh. It’s like evil just gloms onto her..
re: Koch mines The canyon…“Your dead cease to love you and the land of their nativity as soon as they pass the portals of the tomb and wander away beyond the stars. They are soon forgotten and never return.
Our dead never forget this beautiful world that gave them being. They still love its verdant valleys, its murmuring rivers, its magnificent mountains, sequestered vales and verdant lined lakes and bays, and ever yearn in tender fond affection over the lonely hearted living, and often return from the happy hunting ground to visit, guide, console, and comfort them.” Speech of Chief Seattle http://www.kyphilom.com/www/seattle.html
Curious. That’s totally different from the view of death Tony Hillerman describes in his novels about modern day Navajos. Granted, novels are fiction, but I think he tries to accurately describe their culture. According to his novels there is no “happy hunting ground” but after death a person’s evil character lingers on as a “chindi,” or dangerous, harmful ghost.
– Bernie Sanders and the Rainbow in Vermont (1990)
“outspoken anti-imperialism”
I do not remember a successful politician who has a more clearly distinguished consistent record than Sanders. Clinton is undistinguished by having a record of policies and practices indistinct from the status quo. Trump has no record.
The considerations of a third party are unnecessary. What can be done is removing the impediments to enacting the polled wishes of the Democratic constituency. Sanders’ focus on policy continues to impress me as going about things the right way, and making clear that this is a real decision.
When Bernie had his yuge rally in Seattle, there was a rainbow (literally out of nowhere as there was no rain!) over the stadium.
Very cool.
Then there was the tiny bird that sat looking at Bernie as he stood at his podium. These are great signs!
I would second the “Important” recommendation. There is a lot of food for thought in the article, esp about insurgent campaigns working with Democrats.
“News Flash: Only “Customary” Speakers Protected From Prior Restraint”
Perhaps some service providers should start annual letters to all customers to which an NSL has NOT been issued.
This sort of thing has been attempted.
Reddit’s canary has died, by the way.
Re: autism story from last week
Just a follow-up for Lambert and any others interested
I caught Fresh Air yesterday on NPR as Terry Gross interviewed both John Elder Robison and the Neurologist who worked with him, Alvaro Pascual-Leone. Listening to a story usually gives it a better sense of dimension increasing the likelihood that I will interpret it in the way the story-teller intends me to, although there is never a guarantee of that.
It’s not difficult to feel sympathy for John Robinson. He’s a good narrator, a credible witness, and basically a likable character. He also assures people that last quality is fairly new (thanks to TMS treatments) because if you knew him ‘back when’ the experience would be different from what it is today.
The segment acknowledges the POV of the autism community – our sensitivity to “cures” and other forms of ableism that wreak havoc in the lives of autistics and our families. They even use the term ‘neuro-diverse’ and acknowlege other autistic community issues. However, those references seem to pass rather quickly since the main focus is on research into brain activity, neurological disorders, and the potential development of different types of diagnostic and therapeutic tools.
John Robison’s discovery after TMS is that with Autism he was missing important things needed make him a whole person. In fact, he does a really great job talking about finally ‘getting it’ about how much he’s missed out on in not understanding pettiness of the average person including those who bullied, teased, and otherwise sought to abuse him in the past. The nature of the predatory, cunning, sarcastic, angry beast….. everything but the inspirational, nurturing, gentle, loyal, generous aspect of human nature. Well, even Robison found it exceedingly one-sided.
That thesis of not being whole enough, especially by the end of the interview, left me feeling bad for being myself and my brother for being himself, and the young woman at the University who leads the neurodiversity alliance for students, again for being herself. The message is, then, there is something inferior about autism and we who strive for acceptance and inclusion are misguided. We should be striving to be cured (or treated) so that we are emotionally competent and “switched on.”
I guess I return to my original position too, although I wish the narrator all the best. If you’ve met one person with autism, then you’ve met one person with autism.
Electric Currents And An ‘Emotional Awakening’ For One Man With Autism
http://ijpr.org/post/electric-currents-and-emotional-awakening-one-man-autism#stream/0
I feel for you. My daughter’s not on the autism spectrum, but she does react to frustrations and feelings of loss of control and isolation with extreme intensity. The admins at her school always try to make it seem like she has a condition that needs to be managed, though in most of the instances of her presumably unacceptable behavior, I can see how the situation they’ve put her in, what with its ever increasingly narrow and authoritarian expectations, leads directly to the outburst. I’ve told them again and again that you can’t just dictate to her what to do; she shuts down. But if you explain your rationale for doing something or get her to understand and empathize with your own experiences, she’s actually quite malleable and amenable to most things. Their typical response: “we shouldn’t have to justify the way we do things all the time to a child.” Well, then, you get to deal with the fits, if that’s the way you want to be.
It’s remarkable to me just how much education now serves to enforce docility and compliance. I kind of knew it–after all, it was like that somewhat when I was a child–but the degree to which all independence is stifled in the name of “safety” is absolutely staggering.
I love my son on the autism spectrum dearly – he turns 9 tomorrow. But even though he’s “high functioning” – whatever that means – at almost 9 years old he’s as dependent on my wife and I as our 4 year old son in many ways, if not more so. Unless he has a significant “awakening” as to how to function in a neurotypical world my wife and I live with the fact that we may be caring for him for the rest of our lives. And when we die – then what?
So while I do understand the desire of folks on the spectrum to be accepted as-is I’m very much in favor of continuing to research and search for effective ways to treat and manage what is, at its core, a neurological condition.
I think the answer lies in her statement- “If you’ve met one person with autism then you’ve met one person with autism.”
Since its got such a broad spectrum, it’s going to have a pretty broad “treatment.” Some “treatment” should include accepting some of us are just wired differently then others(if they are okay with being different, perfectly capable of caring for themselves and not harming anyone then why should they be “treated.) It strikes me that treating someone like that you’d be doing the equivalent of “conversion therapy” on someone who is gay or forcing someone transgender to live out their lives as the gender they were born even though their mind says their bodies are wrong.) Our culture really tries to force those that are different to conform and I think in some cases it isn’t for the sake of others but for our own discomfort with variances in the human condition.
Had only Galileo been able to short flat earth…. all would have ended well….
Disheveled Marsupial…. hay crazzy was that a 10 bagger gone wanting or what…. epic trade…
xoxoxoxo Eppur si muove. ~GG
Skippy, is that you?
Hay Swedish Lex….
Yes its me and before I get caught up in the imbroglio due to some sort of extension, remember I actuality fought the so called ‘commies for mommy’ back in the day…
Anywho it seems your a bit tense, seeing a lot of that these days from all quarters, camps, and pay grades. You should see the slow political melt down here in Oz, the LNP has run right out of savors, big 4 banks are desperately engaged in CWA claiming any EOD sunlight [Royal commission] will set off an explosion and result in a sovereign down grade. The agency’s which completely miss priced the GFC somehow still have those nasty fright powers. The ALP is showing some spine, tho aware of their culpability in events and worry about pushing anything too hard or the explosion will spread the dirty laundry everywhere, for everyone, too see.
Then to top all that off our reef is a mess, even the west coast and in Sydney bay, mining sector taking a powder [Adani is still pushing through thou – must need velocity for the consortium], health and education are becoming more Disneyfied-walmartzation crapified and to top it all off the RE sector is on the verge of coming down from a long stimulant high from dodgy product all whilst their is like 10 years of high density apartment building in the pipe line [mate works for one of the biggest builders and they have stopped taking tenders].
Then you have the voices from the wild frontiers of philosophical bent going all old testament, spouting the boomers did it, wealth as stolen, government, central banks, devaluing money, creative destruction, ethnic groups, religious immigration, its a shite show….
The back drop to all this is the Temp won’t go down and its Rugby season already just as the youngest son is starting both club and school comp for the first time, just club before from under 6’s. Loose head prop with size, strength and speed like a back, 80 kilos playing up a grade in club [under 13s], but has to play age at school level [12 years old].
Skippy…. On the Russian thingy…. its been going on for a long time mate… here, there, just seems more about perception management and dialing the focus nob hard… lots of stuff all going on at the same time…. everywhere… we all knew this was a decade or better wash load…
Nice summary of what’s happening in Oz. Cheers.
Dunno how much stock to put into this, but Politico is reporting that Sanders has been told to leave the game before Philadelphia. http://www.politico.com/story/2016/04/insiders-to-bernie-dont-take-the-fight-to-philly-222291
Profiles in courage – 10 DNC insiders who didn’t want to be quoted on the record.
The more of these stories we see, the more leverage Bernie has. PUMA.
The Democrats continue to demonstrate just how out of touch they are with what used to be their constituency. If they had understood how angry and frustrated the liberal base was, they would never have allowed Sanders to run as a Democrat in the first place- they would have realized how “dangerous” he is. (If they had both understood and cared about the state/frame of mind of the liberals, his candidacy wouldn’t have been necessary, because liberals would not have been disenfranchised by the party to begin with). Now, even with so much evidence in front of them, they still suffer from the delusion that the rift will be healed and the party united if that pesky Sanders will just go away. Bernie understands that the movement is (and has to be) bigger than he is; he is a leader for us to coalesce around, but he is not “the movement”. The Party still hasn’t figured that out, just as they haven’t figured out that their bullying tactics are the best way to ensure that we Sandersnistas have no desire whatsoever to “unite” with the party establishment or vote for their corrupt candidate. They aren’t going to woo any independents with that approach, and even the lifelong Democrats they are counting on to return to the fold won’t respond well to being insulted and marginalized, then told they have to just suck it up and be a team player.
After the 2008 contest, the Democratic elite who are largely Clinton creatures convinced themselves Obama was a brilliant, once in a life time figure instead of focusing on their own weaknesses. Sanders night just exposing Hillary, he’s exposing her sycophants everywhere. If they Clintonistas don’t make it to the White House, what do they have?
The party is cracking up. It has recently been a fragile coalition of working class whites, blacks, gays, latinos, and it used to be a little less warmonger-friendly than the repugs. The white people that liked Bernie don’t like Hill, for the same reasons. Take me–I’m a white male. I don’t need pro-black or pro-gay legislation but I would put up with that to vote for an anti-war and anti-free trade bill candidate. I would have voted for Ron Paul. Actually, a lot of the working class white lifelong dems deserted a long time ago. That’s why it’s comical when I see some union leader endorse HRC, the implication being that everybody in that union will follow his lead. Actually, a lot of union workers are devout repugs, and I’ve met some that are devout Nazis.
Same here, working class white. Non-union trades (biggest mistake I ever made…) The thing about Bernie that appeals to me is, he’s anti-trade agreements and anti-war, pro social causes and domestic policy. 30 yrs too late I found out that the unions were right, Now I’m too old and bitter.
It’s never too late. A truism that never fades.
I have often mused upon the idea that the Buddha was the first highly visible existentialist thinker.
Like you, I never really pursued the Union way in work. This was, in hindsight, a big blunder. However, in our defense, the Unions were not in any large scale organizing mode when we were coming up. We suffered from a social version of Nixons’ “benign neglect.” That’s where the ‘Overtons’ Window’ and other forms of message control come into play. How can one chose something one is socialized into not taking seriously? Some of my school mates who were from true working clas backgrounds did take the Union way, and have done fairly well by it. The drawback to that, when not coupled with a strong political element in the Union system, is that several of them are facing ‘retirement fund’ “problems.”
So, estimable dharma bum, do not feel ‘bitter’ at all! At least, your eyes are open. So many are willfully blind I have to laugh. I’ve cried too much, and a fat lot of good it’s done me.
Are you saying (and I agree) the union leaders who endorse HRC are not representing their members? What good are those unions, one would have to ask.
And while it makes sense that a lot of the working class white lifelong dems deserted a long time, and therefore are either Independents now, or are repugs, some, as you, are devout Nazis. Does the D party (or any new party) really want them back?
……..”Embrace The SSUUUUUCCCCKKK”……….
Your vilely,
Nancy & Co.
As Thomas Frank points out in his new book, Listen, Liberal, only a “democrat” could effect the neoliberal turn demanded by the elites who are, as a group, apolitical.
The “democrat party,” calculated, correctly where obama was concerned, that exploiting cultural “firsts”–the first black president and now the first woman–would make this turn seem consistent with the image of the “party of the people” to which they continue to lay claim.
The cultural significance of these “breakthroughs” would silence any criticism or protest of the policy betrayal, and allow it to proceed virtually uncontested. The plan seems to have hit a snag with hillary.
It’s hard to know whether it’s hillary’s personal repugnance or the disasters produced by the policies themselves that is responsible, but one thing’s for sure. The democrat party doesn’t want its constituency to do any more than mark the ballot then sit down and shut up.
But Bernie just won’t. And saving “the party” just doesn’t seem like a particularly “compelling” reason to do so.
Indeed, saving the Party means saving the Empire, which a lot of us don’t wish to do.
When you strip the Hillary/DNC machine down to its core idea, it is neoliberal: that America has the right, duty, and mission to tell the whole world how to live, and we’ll break anyone who disagrees. For their own good. Let the sun never set on the American Empire.
When you strip the Sanders campaign down to its core idea, it is that this nation’s prime mission is to care for its people, to see that no one is trampled, denied or left out, and that success is demonstrating an example of civilization and humanity to the world they actually admire, and follow if they please. Let the Empire go before it bleeds us dead.
Hillary has been on the national stage for 25 years. If you are 30 today, you were seven when Bill announced the co-Presidency. Given the real economy and the lack of Hillary accomplishments, it’s amazing anyone thinks she was a sensible candidate. If Bill was a golden age President, it would be different, but 2nd years is too long especially since she’s been rejected once before. If Obama didn’t turn things over to Clinton creatures right away, it might be different, but Clinton puppets have ruled team blue for years while producing very little. Hillary isn’t Jefferson or Adams who had long self lives, but the wife for Mr 27% has been around too long to be liked. She’s not fighting a real battle for women’s rights.
Ted Cruz, an end times lunatic, and a reality TV show host are her greatest allies.
I had the bad idea of listening to the Albany-area NPR station on the way to work this morning and the guy who runs the whole shooting match (don’t ask) is like, “Progressives have nowhere to go, so Hillary is going to pick someone more ‘centrist’ as her VP nominee, not Warren.” The idea that “progressives” i.e. Sanders voters, have no where to go so they’ll show up for Clinton is dogma to these people. But millions will just go home that day and skip the polls, and I’ll bet a million or more will pull the lever for alternative candidates. And the fact that in the broader American context Clinton is already a Center-Right candidate is just unmentionable in the mainstream media. If you are to the Left of Ted Cruz, you’re “on the Left.” Talk about moving the goal posts! The entire discourse of the top 10%, which is the only discourse we are exposed to, is completely unmoored from reality.
“Unmoored from reality.”
You, as a practicing historian should know that, with Fukuyamas’ declaration of “The End of History,” the conservative elites had “jumped the shark.” History has had almost thirty years now to plan a suitable revenge. (In this formulation, History becomes a co-imperator with Fate.)
The D/R constituency is money/power. The process is ceremony. It is always an outside chance the voters could ever get a decent human being in office. The myth was that Sanders supporters would not turn out for Clinton. The latest exit polls in NY dispel that myth. The % that won’t vote for Clinton is no more than the % of Clinton’s that wouldn’t vote for Obama.
The left is not the base of the Ds and they have never needed them. The % of the left that turns out for the Ds will rituallistically do so again. Both likely candidates are repulsive and my guess is they will compete for a reduced turnout while the rest are left in the lurch with no where to put their focus.
I went to register voters again yesterday. Stuck with yet another Sanders supporter that seems to think S and C are interchangeable and was discussing Clinton more than Sanders with voters. That was three times attempting to register w/weak Sanders supporters.
Young people on the other hand…. but people are already screwed and working out 3 and 4 election cycles is too late.
From the piece:
How can you hurt someone with poor favorability ratings? Aren’t they hurt enough?
I have a different reading of the article. Basically, 50% of the polled “Democratic insiders” say Bernie should end his campaign on or before the DC primary. 40% say quit after the last primary. 10% say go all the way to the convention.
Given the poll was done on insiders with a vested interest in feeding the Beast, 50% “drop out now” is about what I’d expect or possibly even less than I’d expect given it’s “her turn” in their minds. The headline is grabbing and the quoted sub-headline is offensive, but the survey results are pretty much what you might expect.
So the democratic “activists, strategists and operatives” are admitting that Clinton is a very weak candidate and can’t take much more of this. First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.
Nice thought, but I don’t think we are going to win, and I think that Clintonistas would rally to a Trump dictatorship before they’d submit to a socialist president.
Even so, the next president gets an ungovernable nation with multiple wars and no legitimacy…
It won’t be a victory for whoever it is and it won’t be a defeat for those getting organized.
I respectfully disagree. Clintonistas, i.e. institutional Democratic partisans, want Trump out of the race precisely because he is every bit the threat to their ornately decorated rice bowls as Sanders — there has to be some friendly to throw the election to! They’d rather have Cruz — most of them can travel for abortions anyway, and those that can’t “deserve” to be punished by the market.
My point was “rather than”, and I stick with it: many institutional Democratic partisans would rather have Trump as a caudillo than Sanders as president. I use as Exhibit A Salvador Allende.
So I dug into their list of “insiders.” They have 11 Wisconsin Dems on their insiders list. Most are county party leaders, some are fundraisers, etc. I would guess that all are good with HRC, even if perhaps 1 or 2 is a closet Bernie supporter. So they fact that only half said he should get out, and not all of them, is the interesting fact.
There are 1400 pledged delegates still up for grabs. Hillary needs 900 of them to clinch the nomination. Unless Sanders supporters give up, I think it’s likely that she will not have the pledged delegates necessary to push her over the top.
All the more reason to take it to the convention and force the superdelgates’ hands.
Virtually all of the superdelegates are Party stalwarts, or career lobbyists, bundlers, and political consultants.
They are vested in their careers, and will not be inclined to lay those careers on the line even for a woman candidate once she has has been indicted by the FBI. They won’t go the distance when she is charged with criminal felonies.
The FBI does not normally vote in American Presidential elections, but they most definitely will be weighing in on this one. Just a question of when.
hours after we reported that a “mysterious illness” resulting from inhalation of toxic chemical fumes was causing hundreds of school children to fall ill in China’s Jiangsu Province, we’re now learning that a massive chemical explosion and fire has taken place in the same province. ZH
___________________________
Reuters confirmed that a fire broke out at a chemical warehouse following a blast around 9am in China’s eastern Jiangsu province. As of right now no casualties have been reported, and the government has said the fire is now under control. spinning winning
Barrier Breakers 2016, a new project by Correct the Record, sounds like it is going to reward us with legions of paid trolls to play with. Professional ones! One grows so tired of the amateurs, this might be fun!
But I don’t think it will do much good for Hillary’s image at this point.
I think the only thing that would help Hillary’s image at this point would be if she died in some kind of freak accident. No one likes to speak ill of the dead.
That was a good one, nippersmom.
nor the ‘living dead’…….
Please note, re: Election Fraud Proven at Audit by Chicago BOE – flipped precinct by 18pts from Bernie to Hillary
The records to be destroyed were from an election in 2014.
The questionable audit practices were from the 2016 primary.
That is correct, my mistake.
Re: suicide rate
Could it possibly be that the “unemployment rate” doesn’t really reflect actual unemployment, underemployment, disemployment? I guess the Times couldn’t be bothered to go there. What a shock.
That would require actual investigative reporting; we know that is no longer allowed at MSM outlets.
Or they actually know the answer and don’t want to let on. Also, notice that the economy isn’t the problem quote is attributed to anonymous “other experts”. I guess we’re not entitled to know their names and credentials.
Doubtful if the ups and downs of the economy have a large effect on suicide.
It’s finding yourself completely shut out of the economy that leads to despair, hunger, failure to provide for yourself or your family, inability to afford medical care, kids going to school without breakfast, loss of self respect, and hopelessness.
Which is fertile ground for suicide.
“The economy” is a poor euphemism for, “Are we eating today?”
Your comment makes very little sense.
One need not be “completely shut out” of the economy to experience despair, hunger, failure to provide, inability to afford medical care. Many people employed in low-wage jobs (overwhelmingly the most common jobs that have been created since the financial crisis of 2008) experience exactly those things.
And while “the economy” may not be a euphemism for “are we eating today” its absurd to deny a connection between people’s ability to eat, provide and care for themselves and economic conditions. How else do you think people get the money to support themselves other than working for a wage – something that is indisputably linked to economic conditions?
Yes, this push to labor ‘flexibility’ has led to much increased job insecurity as well as lower wages. This is combined with a loss of retirement benefits and medical benefits.
It points to the urgent need to increase the social safety net including universal free medical care and an expansion of social security (such as with a guaranteed basic income)
And of course government can create useful jobs and set the standard for private employment.
That’s what we call willful ignorance — it’s the stock and trade of the pundit class.
Please add inadequate wages into that. You can be working 60 hours a week, but if you are taking home less three hundred dollars or less a week you may not be making enough to pay your rent, feed yourself, get yourself to and from your job(s) and still pay for your subsidized and useless health insurance.
Yes, good point.
Myself and most of my coworkers are/have gone thru this… only it isn’t 300 a week, more like 500 and yu can still be screwed *hard*…. hows that trickle-down working?
That is certainly true where I live, and for me. So maybe I should have made that “300,400 or even 500 dollars a week”. Truly sad when you consider that most of the jobs “created” in the last six years make $10/hr or less, you are talking somewhere less than $500 a week even working 60 hours, and these assholes DO NOT GET IT.
I think they get it. And it’s not even the presumption that they don’t care. I think they get a definite delight out of the hardship of others.
gee….whocouldanode……..???
certainly not the paper of propaganda !!
I wonder if some of these geniuses are considering the stress that is involved in working two jobs to stay afloat(and sometimes still failing)? That’s still an economic factor even if it isn’t “unemployment.”
Latest Obamacare update from Bob Laszewski’s blog:
United Healthcare Leaving the Obamacare Exchanges Is Not the Point––What’s Happening to the People Who Have No Choice But to Buy Their Health Insurance Under Obamacare Is
working link:
http://healthpolicyandmarket.blogspot.com/2016/04/united-healthcare-leaving-obamacare.html
Thanks!
“In fact, only about 20% of those making between 251% and 300% of the federal poverty level have signed up for the program
That’s us. The deductibles make the insurance worse than useless.
i can’t believe he actually asks the question is the affordable care act about insurance companies or consumers. Wasn’t that obvious from the time it was being written, by the insurance companies, and we had to pass it to find out what was in it. Sometimes i think people take stupid pills.
No.
They think WE do!
The elite are so out of touch that they can’t recognize that $3000 is the equivalent of asking someone to pay an extra $250 a month for health care on top of the premium.
Well, we have to make sure the insurance companies have health. Right?
Don’t buy it……It’s ‘Health Insurance Carrier’ health insurance….nothing more…..
Don’t buy into the con !!!!
As a total sideways comment about Panama Papers and US Grants. The Grameen Foundation is a 501c3 NGO in the US that is about microfinancing, or supposedly helping the poor. Who is one of their board members: Carlos Fonseca. http://990s.foundationcenter.org/990_pdf_archive/731/731502797/731502797_201403_990.pdf?_ga=1.35640681.95348487.1450554002 ( page 7)
https://www.usaspending.gov/Pages/AdvancedSearch.aspx?k=grameen
Still giving money to Bernie…please someone give me a reason to stop. Although I have started giving to Tim Canova. Is this what the “Revolution” looks like. I’ve made peace with Bernie not getting the nomination so he better do something real special.
Try this: http://berniecrats.net/
there is only one from my state in ct, so I’ll help her but will also donate to others. I already help Tim Canova
Bernie is right.
It’s the message, not any personality, lest there be a cult.
The test is whether we see many fair-weathered politicians jump on the bandwagon to take advantage, because they think the public is hungry for it.
I believe there’s a minor error in this article. It says that up until now, there were only two processes that break the strong triple bond of nitrogen gas molecules: a bacterial process and the Haber-Bosch industrial procedure. But doesn’t lightning also break the triple nitrogen bond? Thunderstorms produce nitrates, which provide fertilizer for crops, lawns, and naturally occurring plants.
I’m trying to understand why there’s a need to justify the use of nanotech to manufacture ammonia for crop fertilization. Nitrogen fixing plants of the Fabaceae family already use sunlight + soil microbes to fix soil nitrogen (they are essentially living fertilizer). Just plant beans, peas, clover, alfalfa, peanuts, etc. This laughably low tech process yields the added benefits of carbon sequestration, water cycling, prevention of soil erosion, provides habitat, beauty, and, oh yeah, FOOD!
If I am missing something, I entreat someone to expound. Otherwise, this looks like a ridiculously complex way to reinvent one of Earth’s oldest, proven technologies in order to patent it.
Happy Earth Day, everybody!
And yes, Vatch, you are correct that lightning energy combines atmospheric oxygen and nitrogen into nitrates for plants. Just add rain. Funny how it already works so beautifully without human ingenuity! (:
“What we have here gentlemen…is a Lightning Gap!…..”
Because you can’t bill for lightning or mycorrhizae.
“Light-driven dinitrogen reduction: Scientists shed new light on global energy, food supply challenge ”
I’ve poured cold water on other claims of scientific breakthroughs designed to address the world’s overpopulation/ degrading biosphere problem, but this may well be the magical solution we have been waiting for! I’ve always thought if there was a fix, it would be something like humans developing the ability to do photosynthesis. Taking nitrogen from the air and eating it is close. Currently, humans get food production to the amounts needed by heavy use of fossil fuels, which means the biosphere degrades as much as humans can expand production.
As the comment noted, the negative about this is that humans still love babies and creating babies. Every time food production has expanded, population has exploded, so at most a few generations were brought before starvation. Far from proving Malthus wrong, each expansion of food production proved him correct, the predicted population increase always followed. The problem with population above seven billion is that even a small percentage increase amounts to millions of people in absolute numbers. Even something like terraforming Mars would buy only a generation or two, an additional third of an Earth is not enough.
This doesn’t change my doomerish outlook, since I already incorporated the ability of scientists to literally pull a trick or two from thin air in my thinking. This still means catastrophe this century, but something like this could push it from mid-century to late century.
But when a country’s population drops due to low birth rate it is considered a crisis.
“Everything you need to know about Japan’s population crisis”.
http://theweek.com/articles/453219/everything-need-know-about-japans-population-crisis
Here is a linguist’s take on why Trump’s speaking style is very effective. http://digg.com/video/donald-trump-linguistics-answer-question
Or the economy is bad, and Trump is winning in counties where white poverty is growing. Being attacked by the unpopular Republican establishment, or Jeb’s sheepdogs, was important too. The usual villains hate Trump, and there is a real gap between GOP elites and GOP voters which can’t be ignored. Except for running as a Republican, Nader wrote a piece about the prospects for a billionaire candidacy. Hatred towards the system can elevate anyone who can get media coverage as an outsider can make a serious run. When Republican voters wouldn’t just acknowledge Prince Jeb, his sheepdog moved to attack Trump as a conman and fraud. Then Trump soared and supporters moved from “”waiting for Reagan” to real Trump supporters. There was shopping. Carson and Fiorino had opportunities.
I agree with you. A Client sent me this and I had to laugh at how desperate the tribal Democrats are getting. They can’t possibly acknowledge that the masses are revolting because of the horrible lives most people now live. No job security; lousy and expensive health care while hoping to get a job taking care of some rich a-hole’s house, pets, kids, lawn, website i.e. The crumbs from the table. Before replying to him, I wanted help from the bright people over here at NC.
I am goingto a party with some new “friends” who are staunch Hillary people. Since they are wealthy, the status quo has been working for them. All good people but live in a bubble. Wish me luck at dancing among the raindrops . Hope to just get people to think a bit outside without myself becoming an jerk.
Montanamaven, I’d suggest you survive by listening. Look, you’re not going to change any of these new friends’ minds. So regard the evening as an anthropology excursion: you’re trying to understand why these people think they way they do and why they choose Queen Hillary as the supporter of their values. It doesn’t sound like they’re still trying to decide among candidates and are open to hearing opposing values. When someone’s not in the mood for listening, don’t wear yourself out talking.
And face it: it’s not a friendly crowd, so they’re probably not interested in what you have to say, so just spend all your time as a spy.
Afterwards you’ll know how many people you need to get to the polls to cancel these folks’ votes.
Good luck.
Montanamaven, how did the party turn out? Did you get any insight into the thoughts of the Hillary supporters? Did any of them show any awareness of any of the things wrong with her record?
“Board of Elections official ‘scapegoated’ for voting mess ”
This one qualifies as a must read, because the article names the names and describes the people who administer the elections and count the votes. I was generally aware, but have never seen anything so specific. For many people this will be eye opening.
Elections are locally administered, and this is only for New York State, but other states don’t differ that much except in usually in taking a less over-the-top approach.
Generally, the New York Post is the only paper based in New York worth reading for getting news about what the city and state government is up to, and their business columnist and sports coverage is worth reading too. Its safe to skip the other part of the paper, which are mixture of celebrity gossip and neocon propaganda.
Paglia: Too Funny.
“They don’t give a damn about international affairs—all that matters is transgender bathrooms and instant access to abortion.”
Not always a Paglia fan, but that was a great piece!
She’s a great reader of the Hellary pathology.
I personally find it insulting to belittle domestic issues.
“instant access to abortion” almost sounds like a GOP talking point and is a long way from Hillary’s position of “safe, legal and rare.”
Quite frankly, I think the brown people are more important that women or gays here crowd disgusting(and I’m going to hazard a guess it’s really easy for them to make that determination since they are neither) and bullying.
Worth watching: “Jobless Economy and Citizenless Democracy”
An interview with Robert McChesney and John Nichols, who say these are the two greatest issues facing the world in the next 30 years, as discussed in their book: People Get Ready
http://therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=74&jumival=16175
Also global warming…that’s also a greatest issue.
When I saw the title of this article, I immediately thought it was Onion style satire. But the article is serious, and the only satire is the self-satire being practiced by the hard core Clinton supporters and Democratic insiders.
They are bored with the campaign, as they have grown bored with hatched jobs on Trump (whom I despise but must acknowledge has been treated abysmally by the press). They crave a new narrative, and are now pensively sniffing which way the wind is blowing. If they can’t get their ya-yas off with brokered conventions (still a very remote possibility on the R side but less and less likely on the D side, which is why they want Sanders to disappear) then they want to skip ahead to the presidential horse race pronto.
Media personalities must be really annoyed because Sanders forces the occasional discussion on issues versus whether Bill Clinton’s title would become “first gentleman. ” I have no doubt the average pundit believes “first lady” is an actual title instead of a nickname for Dolly Madison, which is a nickname Hillary, Betty Ford, Eleanor, and Woodrow wife actually did warrant.
“How will the Secret Service handle Bill leaving the toilet seats up?” Wolf Blitzer December 2017.
Thats actually a good question. I would have no problem with calling Bill “First Lady”.
How about “First Predator”?
Found this link over at Hacker News, it’s the secret 28 pages the secret 28 pages of the 9/11 report
Just started reading…
That’s a lot of names named.
“[Philip: We are not sure if these are worded too strongly. What do you think?]
1 Did the FBI intentionally withhold from the Joint Inquiry information about the
informant’s relationship with the hijackers and subsequently attempt to obstruct
the Joint Inquiry’s investigation of the matter?”
Internecine labyrinth.
Also, word repetitions:
Bandar: 4 times.
Diplomat: 10 times.
Embassy: 14 times.
Upon closer examination, I think the document linked to may be source material for the 28 redacted pages?
It’s interesting that you won’t find this doc by Googling for the secret 28 pages.
I down-loaded a copy just in case it goes poof.
Haven’t digested it yet…
Very interesting stuff pops up on Hacker News.
This article by Lynn Parramore makes a good point: some of the people at the bottom end of the top 1% really have deservedly earned their money. It’s the people at the top of the top 1% who are wallowing in unearned or fraudulently earned wealth. They are also the ones who are destroying democracy with their financial control of politicians and the media.
I like to refer to the top 0.01% as the enemies; Ms. Parramore refers to the top 0.1%. Either group is a valid target of indignation, but not the people in the bottom of the top 1%.
Look, if the 99 percent can’t get our act together without help from the bottom 0.9 percent of the top 1 percent, then we are completely, utterly, permanently f*cked.
I don’t know whether we need the assistance of the lower part of the top 1%, but I’m pretty sure we don’t need to demonize them, which is what some people do. I don’t like the artificial dichotomy between the 1% and the 99%. Why not distinguish the 3% from the 97%, or the 10% from the 90%? I think it’s more useful to recognize that the real adversaries are the people who are genuine unaccountable oligarchs, and that the people in the bottom of the top 1% simply aren’t that powerful. Sure there are some exceptions, but in general, a person needs several hundred million dollars to be a true oligarch in the U.S.
So only the royal family, so to speak, is the problem, but all the courtiers just get a free pass?
I don’t think we need to demonize people who actually do something useful for their money, however, we also need to recognize that our economic system does not remunerate people in a fair way. Lots of people work hard, almost none of us get anywhere near 6 figures a year to do it. It’s the corrupt system that’s been designed by those at the top (.1%, .01%, doesn’t make much difference) that allows those people at the bottom of the 1% to make what they do. They may not be running the show, but they are some of the primary beneficiaries of the farce.
First of all, I said that there are exceptions. There are lawyers, lobbyists, accountants, politicians, and police officers who support the plutocrats. Some of those people aren’t even close to being in the top 1%.
Second, the top 0.01% consists of 32,000 people, and the top 0.1% consists of 320,000 people. The top 1% is 3.2 million people, and I just don’t see the point in declaring all of them to be enemies. Let’s focus on the people who have an exceptionally unfair control of resources.
See, I think we disagree on what constitutes an “exceptionally unfair control of resources.” Here’s where I’m coming from, philosophically:
In Praise of Equal Pay: Towards a New Common Sense
And, if they use their resources to fight the unjust economic system (which seems somewhat unlikely, though not impossible, as they are beneficiaries of it) they won’t be counted as “enemies” (which is your term, not mine). I just think we need to be real about what the real enemy is, and that’s the system that creates this inequality while destroying the planet to boot. And I’m well aware that plenty of people far from even the bottom of the 1% support the system, largely because it’s placed them in a rather comfortable spot, especially compared to the bulk of their countrymen.
That’s the problem with trying to sell equality to people who are relatively privileged: one way or another, those on the top are going to have to come down to allow those at the bottom to come up. So even if you’re only in the top 20%, you still have an interest in maintaining the system, since you’re doing considerably better than average. Fighting the system requires a commitment to justice that exceeds one’s commitment to personal wealth, which is a much less common trait than one might hope for.
Looking at how Christianity spread, it seems that when you could get the king to convert, the rest would follow, including the warrior caste (the serfs had no choice) and more often than that, there was even a new power structure or system (now, to share sources with the clergy).
For a more recent example, we see that once the Leader was gone, the generals and majors reversed course, and the war in Europe ended.
I think that the minimum wage should be raised significantly, and I believe that very high marginal incomes should be taxed at a very high rate, but I do not agree that all wages should be the same.
There are many good justifications for differences in income, and even in differences in wages. Here are some justifications for either higher income or higher wages:
Difficulty learning to do a job.
Hazardous work.
Scarcity of people performing a needed job.
Working longer hours.
Simply doing a better job than average members of one’s profession, possibly due to talent or a strong work ethic.
Of course I acknowledge that measuring some of these is not easy, and sometimes impossible. But equal wages for everyone? No.
Agree. My much longer comment just got sucked down the WP black hole, but suffice it to say that I think it’s BS that Lynn tries to lump people with $8 million in the bank together with the 50% of the population that has less than $1000 in savings. Just because their are class distinctions among the rich doesn’t mean that the class distinctions between the rich, the middle, and the bottom don’t matter.
There is one overwhelming thing the “lower” half of the the 1% have in common with guys who have less than $1000 to their names — they do not have “fuck you money”. It might look to you like they do, but some 55 y.o. guy with a non-working middle-aged wife, three to four kids in high school through grad school, and at least 1-3 indigent extended family members doesn’t have the freedom you think he does.
I know people in this exact circumstance. Who make >$350,000/yr, but whose assets are nowhere near $8 million, and who have 5-6 dependents. Most of whom have gotten accustomed to waayyyy too fine a lifestyle, I’ll grant you. But he’s still got to keep them fed.
Yes but I get tired of hearing that folks with a nanny, a job that affords them the luxury to vacation, the means to send the kids to summer camp and the myriad of other things should be treated as if he weren’t part of the 1% and like he’s totally the same as those making median wage. Just because you’ve spent more to maintain a lifestyle it doesn’t make you the same as those that can’t afford health insurance or to send your kids to college.
And yes, I think the 1% are part of the problem. These are the people socking away money for their kids in tax deductible vehicles and then whining when told that the government would do away with them and allow EVERY child an opportunity to get two years of college. Screw them.
From Counterpunch head honcho Jeffrey St. Clair (Sanders supporters might want to skip)
St.Clair’s view is that Sanders compromised himself by coming to believe that he could actually win. And in truth Clinton may be correct in portraying herself, not Bernie, as someone who represents everything the current Democratic Party stands for. After all the Dems today are largely made in the Clintons’ image. More here:
http://www.counterpunch.org/2016/04/22/bernie-sanders-the-candidate-who-came-in-from-the-cold/
Sayeth Jeffrey St. Clair:
Well, okay then. I wonder how one would categorize votes for Clinton?
Cthulu for President!
My answer to Mr. St.Clair is that while it may be true the the Democratic Party as run by the Clintons and their sycophants no longer represents me, I’m pretty damn sure that Sanders is showing that his version IS the party of the young, the aware AND the traditional Democrat. And no, I don’t think this really has become about Sanders winning for him. I think it is about making sure that people across this country hear that “No, you are not the minority. No, you are not alone. And Yes, what you want for your future and the future of this country IS possible.” It truly is about the revolution.
+1
Exactly. The Montgomery bus strike made black people realize they had power and they could force change. We are still in the “boycotting the buses” stage. Bernie may not be perfect but he is teaching us that we don’t have to sit in the back of the economic bus.
Either there still is a pathway or there isn’t.
A> If there still is, then fight on.
B> If there is no pathway, then, yes, the message has been delivered, “You are not alone. We can do it. We shall overcome.” With that, if possible (that is, not breaking any promise), go run on the Green ticket or go Independent, and keep the message alive in August, September, October, November (and beyond).
But some say he has made a promise to the Democrats. So, I don’t know.
The beauty of a MOVEMENT is it doesn’t matter if Bernie Sanders made a promise. The movement is not about him, it’s about US. The Democratic Party is going to be in for a rude awakening. Unlike the “cult of personality” vote for Clinton because she’s a woman show they’ve been running, Sanders has said repeatedly his campaign is less about him and more about what the American people want and are willing to fight for.
I read yesterday that the Green Party and Ms. Stein had reached out to Sanders to run with them.
Will any promise with the D party enter into his decision making?
That would be one way to extend the movement and keep the message going.
I think his word will figure into his decision making. I would expect that from an honest statesman.
Although, I have to admit I was a little disappointed to hear he has stated that he’ll be staying in the Democratic Party following the election. It would make it very difficult for him to help/ let alone start a third party movement.
Of course Clinton is ” correct in portraying herself, not Bernie, as someone who represents everything the current Democratic Party stands for.” That’s the problem.
And if “the real war against neoliberalism” does not include “voting” for the candidate that is waging war on neoliberalism, then exactly how IS it waged?
Counterpunch has a holier than thou attitude that can defy logic. Sanders was never pure enough for them.
It clearly never occurred to Mr. St. Clair that the reason Bernie has to “deliver the same tepid stump speech” is because the majority of the voters haven’t heard it yet. The only way that would happen is if they belong to some Sanders-related Facebook group or otherwise access their information via the internet, and the bloc of older people who voted for HRC in the early primaries clearly didn’t.
So, this is yet another example of the “enlightened” sneering at those who are deemed to be less so. A pox on his house.
I’m certain the Hillary voters would vote for anyone else as long as she runs. Their demographics reflected a degree of comfort and age, and with the exception of Edwards voters in New Hampshire, Hillary has probably simply won her old voters based know her winning an eerily similar turnout at the precinct level.
Not to mention the anti-semitic dog whistles Hillary used.
I think when people go to his rallies, they know the message already.
The rallies are mostly emotional…like all important human endeavors. That psychological energy is vital…night time rallies, torches, songs, etc. They energize the troops before rushing into the next battle.
Sometimes, a candidate will introduce some new initiatives or proposals. They do that as they make responses in the primary process…add, subtract, or modify.
I stopped reading Counterpunch at the beginning of the election. They have been anti-Bernie since the start. Apparently, by refusing to run as an independent, Bernie wasn’t “pure” enough for them. Just ignore Counterpunch. It’s not worth reading anymore.
If you had continued reading Counterpunch you would know that they print a range of opinion, much of it ardently pro-Bernie in the last few months. But St. Clair and the late Alex Cockburn never had much use for the modern Democratic Party. For example one of their books is Al Gore: A User’s Manual.
I do agree with St. Clair that the system is long past any hope of reform. If you aren’t bringing true revolution you may be wasting your time. We see this with things like Dodd-Frank and Obamacare. Incrementalism can even make things worse.
I also think Bernie should have challenged a few results and demanded recounts if nothing other than to make a statement and keep state parties on their toes. And to bring the whole issue of electronic voting systems into the spotlight. I find the reports of Bernie winning paper count districts and losing electronic counts rather intriguing.
Many other things need to be brought into the spotlight.
One of them has been, and it’s open vs. closed primaries.
Another, still ignored, is how difficult it is to run as an Independent (Here is something that is much, much more outdated, unfair than open vs. closed primaries).
Thus, a good man, who has never been a Democrat (much less wanting to save it) had to join to run.
Camile Paglia? We are linking to Camile Paglia?????????????
And why shouldn’t they be? Liberal Cooties? Sound sense isn’t a moral property, Enlightenment self-flattery notwithstanding.
Sound sense?
I’d say that point was debatable.
Re Chi voting: sickening re kindergarten level tossing of votes BUT the records to be destroyed are from 2014 not this year
Re the Uber drivers settle article
There may be hope yet…provided that this one person can resist a cash settlement sure to be beyond his wildest dreams
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/legal-problem-could-crash-uber_us_5718d485e4b0479c59d714f6?utm_hp_ref=politics
R.I.P. Prince. He should be getting headlines.
A good musician who refused to play the Record Industry’s games and despite that managed to keep packing them in wherever he went.
Eric Clapton was once asked what it was like to be the best guitar player. He replied, “I don’t know, ask Prince.”
Here he is with some of the best – While My Guitar Gently Weeps – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6SFNW5F8K9Y&feature=youtu.be
My goodness!
Is the One Percent Really the Problem? Bill Moyers (Chuck L)
Moyers makes the same mistake that Lawrence Lessig did — of looking at income distribution and seeing the 1% closer to the rest of us than the .1% — so he tells us to focus on them instead.
But he forgets that the 1%, though not quite as wealthy, certainly contains within it most all of D.C.’s senators and congressmen, also the heads of most regulatory departments and most members of the media.
In short, yes the .1% has more money, but it’s the 1% as a group that includes almost all of our politicians, as well as most of the people who influence popular opinion. It’s perfectly correct to target this group for political pressure. If they are really on our side, they have plenty of resources with which to make that stance plain.
Do they really have plenty of resources? Most of the “courtiers” (lawyers, lobbyists, politicians, police officers, pundits) are paid by the people in the top 0.01% or the top 0.1%. We can focus our rage on the top 1%, and force the people at the bottom of the top 1% to identify with the top 0.01%, or we can focus on the real plutocrats.
Yes, how could those bottom 1% survive the rest of their lives with “only” $8 million in assets? They “have to” push the 99% into the ovens or they will surely starve.
Are there really 3.2 million Americans with at least $8 million in assets? That seems fishy to me. Here’s an article that implies that there are a lot fewer than this:
http://www.cnbc.com/2015/03/09/more-millionaires-than-ever-are-living-in-the-us.html
So if there are 1.3 million households with $5 million or more, it’s pretty unlikely that there are 3.2 million individuals with $8 million or more. There are 320 million Americans, in case anyone is wondering where the 3.2 million one percenters come from.
Can anyone point us to a rigorous estimate of how much wealth one must have to be a one percenter in the U.S.?
Ha! Good point. Is it possible that one household with say two adults and an 18 year old, with $8 million in the bank, could be counted as 3 individuals for wealth purposes? For wealth stats, it seems likely that the same financial assets could be getting counted as contributing to at least two different people’s wealth, getting double-counted, as it were. That’s not an issue for income, of course, but doesn’t the joint checking account get counted as individual wealth for both signatories?
Yes, if a household has assets of $X and four people, should we say that each person has $X/4? Or should we say that the two adults each have $X/2, and the children have very little?
So if there are 1.3 million households with $5 million or more, that could be anything between 1.3 million and 2.6 individuals with at least $2.5 million (some households only have one person). Still fewer than 1% of the population, and a sizable amount of money, but a lot less than a minimum of $8 million.
Assets = liabilities + equity.
I would try to find out what they mean by assets. Are they net of liabilities (i.e. equity)? Do they mean equity when they say ‘worth?’
Most of the “courtiers” (lawyers, lobbyists, politicians, police officers, pundits) are paid by the people in the top 0.01% or the top 0.1%.
Why is “police officer” in this list? They are paid by the taxpayers.
As for the lawyers, lobbyists and politicians and pundits, yes I know they are paid by the 1%, that’s the problem. You can’t act as if they are somehow just bystanders here.
To paraphrase Upton Sinclair: It is hard to get a man to understand something when he spends his whole life clawing his way up the ladder to get that cushy job where his paycheck depends on not understanding.
The 0.01% pay more than the 1% for their politicians.
Should it become necessary, the 0.01% will let the 1% know who is in charge.
Maybe I shouldn’t have put police officers on the list. I was thinking that some of them serve as enforcers for the 0.01%, but I guess I made a mistake.
I guess we’re both partially right. They serve as enforcers and the taxpayers foot the bill.
It’s win-win.
Right on. Reminds me of this week’s Archdruid Report article. Starhawking the conversation away from the their privilege by pointing at someone else’s.
Although, please note that the article was penned by Lynn Parramore, not Moyers. It just ran on his site.
Thanks.
To target the 1% only, or to target both the 1% and 0.01% (plus the 0.1%)?
The 0.01% would prefer the former. For that, I agree with Moyers that we should focus on them (I read it to mean the 0.1%) and the 0.01% instead.
Do you go after Dictator Kim or his colonels and captains, who are more numerous?
I believe if Emperor Kim III is removed, you will see real change (from the top).
Regarding the massive rise in suicides:
Personal experience. Fighting the bankers over the unlawful foreclosures for the last 7 years, there has not been a day when I have not contemplated suicide. The ONLY reason I have chosen to stay on this lousy earth is that should I kill myself, then the crooks really do win.
Several months ago, a Washington State man facing eviction, committed suicide in Wenatchee. What the newspaper failed to report is that his first shot was through the front door, hoping to shoot his evictors. Following his death, a Colorado foreclosure fighter shot several Sheriffs and then shot himself. Yet, not one of my lousy Washington legislators would do a damn thing to stop the train of foreclosure and evictions in this state. So far, the banker$ have stolen 680,000 homes, causing suicide, rising rents, and exploding homelessness. And even then, liberal elected officials like CM Sawant and CM Licata have refused to acknowledge that unlawful foreclosures are considerably responsible for these damning social issues which are making Seattle undesirable.
The toll this fight has taken on my health, my happiness cannot be paid back. And will never be compensated. It has turned me into a person who does not trust our government, which includes even CM Sawant and CM Licata. I find myself completely ashamed of what our country has become…..upholding the theft of the crooks and thugs on Wall Street while allowing good men and women to crumble. This is the biggest injustice I have ever witnessed and the foreclosure fighters often fight this fight completely alone.
It is no wonder the suicide rate is rising dramatically. It’s just too bad it no longer includes bankers jumping from buildings in shame, but now it is the victims of their crimes.
Yep..agree w/ your sentiments 100% perpetualWAR !!!
Oh…….and regarding the banksters……..”Jump…You Fuckers!”
Don’t let them jump until we spread out the bed of nails on the ground (no sense taking any chances).
well…if they’re high enough on that ladder………..
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%*#@$#!
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It’s likely the newspaper didn’t “fail” to report it. It’s more likely a matter of protecting the hive mind from the awareness that there is a war going on, lest the livestock get Ideas as they’re led to the milking barn.
An old slashdot troll post actually comes true in this case…
“…meanwhile (as it may take a while longer (for the puppets of jahbulon) to finish wrecking this place); the corepirate nazi illuminati is always hunting that patch of red on almost everyones’ neck. if they cannot find yours (greed, fear ego etc…) then you can go starve. that’s their (slippery/slimy) ‘platform’ now. see also: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antisocial_personality_disorder
never a better time to consult with/trust in our creators. the lights are coming up rapidly all over now. see you there?
greed, fear & ego (in any order) are unprecedented evile’s primary weapons. those, along with deception & coercion, helps most of us remain (unwittingly?) dependent on its’ life0cidal hired goons’ agenda. most of our dwindling resources are being squandered on the ‘wars’, & continuation of the billionerrors stock markup FraUD/pyramid schemes. nobody ever mentions the real long term costs of those debacles in both life & any notion of prosperity for us, or our children. not to mention the abuse of the consciences of those of us who still have one, & the terminal damage to our atmosphere (see also: manufactured ‘weather’, hot etc…). see you on the other side of it? the lights are coming up all over now. the fairytail is winding down now. let your conscience be your guide. you can be more helpful than you might have imagined. we now have some choices. meanwhile; don’t forget to get a little more oxygen on your brain, & look up in the sky from time to time, starting early in the day. there’s lots going on up there.”
Enough with the Hillary cult: Her admirers ignore reality, dream of worshipping a queen Salon (resilc)
Hey, how about a little warning next time you link to a Camile Paglia article? It’s a bit like being rick-rolled.
Native American Council…amnesty…200 million undocumented whites.
Because they did not build any walls when the illegals first came in the 17th century, the council is issuing the amnesty from a reservation, and not from their ancestral homeland.
Kindness…unreturned.
Though undocumented, these 200 million illegals are educated – they have been taught in school that, those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it. Guilty feelings or not, the objective lesson is clear to our bright students who know the importance of education.
Re whaling:
I visit Japan a couple times a year on bidness and must confess sushi is a guilty pleasure (see: dangerously over-fished oceans); I find whale on the menus of no small number of sushi joints, especially in Tokyo, and there’s little if any consciousness among the general populace about it. I haven’t asked any Japanese people in years, but when I did very few knew that whales aren’t fish. The prognosis for change is not positive (as if the continued existence of the Taiji slaughter weren’t proof enough).
To expand on the point in a different direction, during my last trip I was asked about Trump; to one person I drew a comparison with Ishihara Shintaro based on their mutual extreme xeonphobia, and the comparison in that regard (at least) is apt, but my interlocutor, who as a stranger was being typically extremely polite, suddenly became instead extremely annoyed, repeating “not the same, not the same!” until I mumbled something vague and changed the subject. There remains in Japan a very strong sense of “we do it our way and don’t pretend you can criticize much less tell us what to do.”
The moral outrage over whaling has always struck me as hypocritical. The number of whales killed is minute compared to the number of fish, birds and mammals killed for food. Furthermore, I’d much prefer to be a whale that lived in its natural habitat and died via whaling (unpleasant as that would be) than be an animal that spends its entire existence in a dark, tiny, stinky cage.
When they kill endangered species that’s one thing, but outrage over whaling in general? Look in the mirror.
I can’t figure out that sort of thinking either. 400+ people showed up for a protest in Hong Kong because a local train hit a dog, but they won’t do anything about pigs being transported to the local fresh markets, spending days in baskets which break their limbs, lacerate their skin, etc, and makes them dehydrated and in heat shock. Based on news coverage in the USA, I’d expect pretty much the same thinking there, so this isn’t a Hong Kong thing.
Just as depressing about human ethics, none of them showed up, despite being invited, to a protest 3 days later, against US bombing civilians in several countries. I’ve friends in the USA who donate money and time to animal rescue, but have no empathy for rescuing refugees from the horrible dictatorships set up to make American lives more cushy. It’s a strange logic where dogs matter more than humans.
Earthday 1994 Gaia gave the earth a gift by calling on lucifer to come gather up his daemon “milhous” and rid this wonderful planet of this stain on mankind…sadly his love child $hillary is still among us…
Everyday seems to be counted as a day of/for ‘something’…….when, in actuality, ‘one’ day is meaningless and flippent!
“FB shuts down FB page of election justice usa Facebook (martha r)”
FB page called “Election Integrity” was also shut down it seems. Occupy Rigged Elections is still going strong on FB.
Lest we forget what’s going on “over there” among the Terrarists and the Moderate Rebels and Our Sacred Imperial Troops and the Rooskies and all that, a gentle reminder:
“God is Great, and Combat is Fun!”
https://m.youtube.com/watch?ipadtype=3&sts=16913&utcoffset=-240&v=De0X6tOPFTo&oref=https%3A%2F%2Fm.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DDe0X6tOPFTo%26itct%3DCLICEKQwGAEiEwjXhIK266LMAhUCIqoKHdG1BpYyCmctaGlnaC1yZWM%253D&has_verified=1&layout=tablet&client=mv-google Gotta love the musical background, too…
Makes me wonder what Tampa and Atlanta and Chicago and BosWash will look like if present trends continue…
Election Justice USA has been an incredible help this election cycle.
They’re trying to raise money to help pay for the contesting the election in NY
https://www.gofundme.com/ElectionJusticeNY
(I hope this is okay Lambert and Yves.)
More Than 1,000 Shot in Chicago So Far This Year
Another gun control success story.
yep……..OH LOOK….YEEHADIS!
If anyone has an in with the intercept, it might help if they could try a FOIR for the # of contacts between Google and the campaigns of the each candidate in each party for POTUS.
https://theintercept.com/2016/04/22/googles-remarkably-close-relationship-with-the-obama-white-house-in-two-charts/#comment-223292