Bananas could be future staple BBC. Better than sugar, but still high glycemic index, meaning not good in large doses for populations that have a tendency to diabetes.
Supreme Court to Decide if Drug Dogs Pass Constitutional Smell Test Wired
Pesticide Industry Backed Opponents of Prop 37 Caught in Possible Criminal Act Alternet (furzy mouse)
“We Have a Planetary Emergency”: Hansen, leading NASA climate scientist, urges unions to act Cornell University (Aquifer)
Corporate China hit by unpaid bills Financial Times (furzy mouse)
German Retail Sales Increased for a Second Month in September Bloomberg
From MI6 Al Qaeda Plot to Kill Gaddafi to Spying on Domestic Dissent: An MI5 Whistle Blowers Story Real News Network
Storm porn:
Sandy: New York devastation mapped BBC
The Sandy Storm Surge: Is This What Climate Change Will Look Like? Atlantic
Did Climate Change Cause Hurricane Sandy? Scientific American (Richard Smith)
Sandy’s Power Blackouts Could Last Beyond U.S. Election: Energy Bloomberg and Power Outages May Last More Than a Week Wall Street Journal
How To Get Around New York City in the Aftermath of Hurricane Sandy ABC
Borrowers hit by Sandy may get relief MarketWatch
Councilman Pushes For Charges Against Twitter User Who Spread Falsehoods BuzzFeed (Richard Smith). This is Sandy related…more background here: Hurricane Sandy, @ComfortablySmug, and The Flood of Social Media Misinformation Forbes/
For Years, Warnings That It Could Happen Here New York Times
Lee Iacocca: Mitt Will Make It Easier for Auto Companies to Evade Taxes on Cars Built in China March Wheeler
Major Retailer Urges Workers To Take ‘Civics Course’ With Anti-Obama Content Alternet (furzy mouse)
Why I’m Voting Green Chris Hedges, TruthDig (Aquifer)
Vote for Policies. A survey!
Barclays warns it faces further US fine Financial Times
Why are there no famous financial whistleblowers in this crisis? Bill Black, New Economic Perspectives
Occupy is increasingly well-informed Financial Times
M.B.A.s Rethink Wall Street Wall Street Journal
Who Loses When Fed Keeps Interest Rates Low? Bloomberg (Dr. Kevin)
* * *
Mission elapsed time: T + 53 and counting*
Sometimes it’s better to light a flamethrower than curse the darkness. —Terry Pratchett, Men at Arms
Lambert here: My power returned quickly (though on a map of Sandy’s Northeast power outages, I saw a tiny dot near Bangor, so my neighborhood was not alone). So in the end, totally a first world problem, but thanks for asking!
AZ. Sllavery: “Four family members indicted in July 2011 for turning immigrant Vietnamese nationals into what investigators called modern-day slaves at their Flagstaff wedding shop [(!!)] face 15 additional criminal counts.”
CA. Unions: “Despite intense pressure by the Los Angeles Unified School District leadership and the federal government, UTLA has insisted that its members should be evaluated by evidence-based methods, not by ‘value-added assessment’ that has not been proven to work anywhere.” … Homeless: “[Costa Mesa] Mayor Eric Bever [here] has asked city administrators to investigate enforcing the city’s nuisance ordinance, normally applied to organizations that contribute to increased local crime, on two longstanding city charities in an attempt to boot them out of town. Bever believes that Someone Cares Soup Kitchen and Share Our Selves are responsible for attracting homeless people to the city and that the homeless create problems.”
DC. Hurricane Sandy: ” Federal government offices in the Washington area will reopen Wednesday after being closed for two days because of superstorm Sandy.”
FL. Hispanic vote: “If the numbers are all over the place, there’s a reason for it: The FL Hispanic vote is not monolithic. Survey in one area (like Cuban-heavy South Florida or Puerto Rican-heavy Central Florida) and your poll can move right or left. Since 2008, the Hispanic voter rolls have grown 22 percent overall to 1.7 million, about 14 percent of the electorate. Hispanic no-party affiliation growth: 38 percent. Democratic growth: 22 percent. Republican growth: 7 percent.” … Tinpot tyrants: “[Manatee County Commissioner Donna Hayes] said, ‘This doesn’t mean anything to me. I’m a county commissioner. It doesn’t matter. I can do whatever I want,'” White said. “She said she was an elected official. She said poll workers are a joke and that she outranked me. At this time I didn’t even know who she was.”‘ … The Romney: “The Romney campaign announced that the candidate will headline a trio of rallies Wednesday in FL.”
IA. Austerity: “Cedar Rapids shouldn’t get federal help with flood control until Congress reduces the debt, R congressional candidate Ben Lange said.” … Voting: ” A slam of the gavel abruptly ended a combative meeting of the Johnson County Board of Supervisors Thursday. The purpose of the meeting was to get to the bottom of [County Auditor Tom] Slockett’s purchase last month of 70 laptops, 70 identification scanners and 70 printers at a total cost of $62,580 for use at voting precincts.” Identification scanners? Huh?
IL. Hurricane Sandy: “Sandy’s outer bands were violent enough to rip up near-record high waves Tuesday on Lake Michigan, sending a community of avid surfers in Chicago into the cold, churning waters. Wave heights out in the middle of the lake reached 20 feet, short of the 23-foot record set last year by a strong storm pushing down from Canada.”
MD. Hurricane Sandy: “More than 2 feet of snow fell in parts of Garrett and Allegany counties as the remnants of Hurricane Sandy collided with a cold front backed by polar air.” And in Maine? Nothing.
ME. Landfill: “‘It should be restated that DEP has no obligation to serve [state-owned landfill operator] Casella’s customers,’ [Ed] Spencer said. ‘If Casella wants to stop incinerating in Biddeford, they have choices,’ among them, sending southern Maine waste out of state or to one of the three other waste-to-energy plants in Maine.” Well, in a market state, yes the DEP does. … Angus King: “On [Independent Angus] King’s side, the 501(c)(4) nonprofit group Americans Elect continues to spend on the former governor’s behalf. As of Monday morning, the organization had spent $1.42 million on promoting King.That organization had raised $1.75 million from three donors — New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Americans Elect founder Peter Ackerman and San Francisco investor John Burbank — specifically to aid King.”
NC. Voting: “State Board of Elections Executive Director Gary Bartlett says his office has received many reports of ‘aggressive electioneering’ at in-person voting sites during early voting that ends Saturday. Bartlett said he’s never heard more complaints, misinformation and what he calls voter suppression or intimidation activities during his tenure.”
NY. Fracking: “In one ad [for Catskill Citizens for Safe Energy] he states, ‘This is Robert Redford. New York faces an urgent decision: Whether to begin hydraulic fracking, a process that blasts toxic chemicals into the ground to release natural gas. It would be a dangerous mistake. Fracking is a bad deal for local communities.'” … Hurricane Sandy: ” An out-of-control six-alarm blaze is ravaging the Breezy Point neighborhood in Queens and has destroyed at more than 50 homes. Some hydrants in the area were submerged under seawater and that firefighter rigs could not access the area to fight the blaze.” … Hurricane Sandy: “A million bees living on the banks of the East River met a horrible end on Oct. 29 when Hurricane Sandy tore their hives apart. The insects were part of a honey-making plan by the urban farmers at the Brooklyn Grange, who maintained 25 hives — each containing about 40,000 bees — on Pier K at the Brooklyn Navy Yard.” … Hurricane Sandy: ” “There was a lot of criticism of FEMA from the [Hurricane] Katrina days, and today you hear nothing but good things about FEMA. they certainly have been very helpful to us,” [Bloomberg] said.” … Hurricane Sandy: “Anyone affected by Sandy, including homeowners, renters, and businesses, can call the Federal Emergency Managment Agency (FEMA) at 800-621-3362 (FEMA) or visit www.disasterassistance.gov to register for federal disaster assistance.”
OH. Voting: “As a strategy, TrueTheVote has tried to align itself with election officials and seek some form of deputized role. In CO, they offered to help counties with their voter list purges. In WI during last June’s gubernatorial recall election, they wanted to help verify recall petition signatures. Those two efforts led nowhere. But now in OH, they clearly are pushing the legal line with their poll worker training.” … Jeep flap: “Last week, Romney recklessly told a large audience in Defiance that he’d read that Chrysler’s Italian owners — that would be Fiat, which has controlled the American automaker since 2009 — were planning to move all Jeep production to China. But apparently Romney had been reading a blogger [(!!?!?)] who misunderstood reports that Chrysler was looking to again make some Jeeps in China for that expanding market. The news is a sign of Chrysler’s health, not of some sinister intentions by its management. A company spokesman called any suggestion that Chrysler is abandoning its U.S. plants ‘a leap that would be difficult even for professional circus acrobats.’” Language! Then again, Obama did bail them out, so fair’s fair. … Jeep flap: “An advertisement from the R candidate’s campaign run on both radio and television this week suggested that Chrysler was preparing to shift production of its Jeep brand from the US to China. The Chrysler chief executive, Sergio Marchionne, wrote in an email message to the Detroit Free Press that the company felt it needed to ‘unambiguously restate our position: Jeep production will not be moved from the United States to China.'” … Jeep flap: “Here is the bottom line regarding the Romney camp’s Jeep ad: It gives the impression that they’re trailing in OH. Otherwise, they never would have resorted to this kind of TV ad; it’s the feel of going nuclear” (The Trail). Note that Romney is resuming campaigning in FL, not OH.
PA. Voting: Just horrible confusion in Philly (BradBlog). World’s greatest democracy! … Foreclosures: “The federal court has upheld the Montgomery County Recorder of Deeds’ right to sue [MERS] and banks doing business with that company for $15.7 million that she claims is owed to the county in recording fees.”
TN. Fracking: “According to the newly approved Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) rules on fracking, ratified by the Tennessee Oil and Gas Board on Sept. 28, if enough of your neighbors sign away their mineral rights (sometimes for as little as $10 an acre), a gas drilling company can use your land, whether you like it or not.”
VA. Hurricane Sandy: “‘To get a disaster declaration in literally a matter of hours is almost unprecedented,’ said McDonnell, a staunch Rpmney supporter.” … The trail: “Romney will make a three-city swing through VA on Thursday, including an evening rally in Virginia Beach.”
WA. Police state: “To obtain a warrant to search someone’s home, person, car or records, police need probable cause, based on a sworn statement, to believe the thing being searched contains evidence of a crime. But under the [WA] special inquiry statute, they can obtain those same records with a subpoena secretly issued by a judge based on a lesser legal standard, reasonable suspicion. No sworn statements are required, though many jurisdictions say their investigators or prosecutors are under oath when they ask the judge for a subpoena.”
WI. Surrogates: “Romney canceled his West Allis appearance last night because of Hurricane Sandy. But today, his wife and running mate are scheduled to be in the state. Joe Biden and Bill Clinton will be filling in for Obama this week.” … Food carts: “The city’s Vending Oversight Committee, as part of its annual review of food carts, on Wednesday will discuss whether carts must offer vegetarian menu items.” Never happen in Philly. Sausage inna bun!
Outside baseball. Role of government: “[F]or the past 40 years we’ve had this constant drumbeat of no we can’t, it’s too hard, we can’t afford it, everybody fends for themselves, there’s no help for anybody, let’s all just go home and if you have to step over a homeless dude to get to your car then do it because that’s the price of doing business. People deserve to have their homes submerged and their shops wiped out and their lives ruined because of where they live or what they do or who they are, and there’s nothing anybody can do about it, because only government is big enough to solve this problem and we all know government isn’t the answer to anything anymore” (Yeah, well, whatever). … Meteorology: “Roger Hill, a WDEV weather forecaster and consultant, called Sandy’s behavior and trajectory “unprecedented” because tropical storms don’t usually hook left, as Sandy is doing.” Or Presidential candidates. … Public goods: “‘We must seek out today’s public square and public voices.’ [PBS News Hour co-anchor Jeffrey Brown said. He] offered no specific ideas to that end, but did suggest that public broadcasting has a role to play. Brown also observed that all things ‘public,’ including public schools, public parks, public universities and public broadcasting, seem to be under some degree of attack.” Indeed.
The trail. Data: “The glowing accounts [e.g.; e.g.] in the newspapers conjure up visions of hip young geeks parked in front of gleaming banks of computers, winning elections with the click of a mouse. … The sophisticated techniques the press describes (like using data to tailor phone pitches to voters) are things the campaign aspires to but fails to execute properly, at least in my field level view. The irony is that the ‘old-fashioned’ way of doing things – before powerful databases – could possibly be more effective than all that tedious mucking about with low quality data.” This is an important post. I have anecdotal evidence that the D field operations hollowed out when many (female) volunteers hung up their clipboards post-2008. We might view the data-centric approach as the electoral version of drone strikes: A high-tech substitute for a hollowed out field force, and far less accurate than claimed. I can think back to one vaunted D field operation that got its lunch handed to it by Rs, and quite recently: The WI recall (not high tech, but just as heavily marketed). We’ll soon know! … Data: “Some of these [‘voter fraud vigilante’] challenges appear to be the work of isolated individuals, others are coordinated by local groups ’empowered by’ national entities like True the Vote. The common thread is that the challenges are based not on personal information about particular voters, but computerized scans of data records.” … Hurricane Sandy: “Public opinion polling operations were disrupted Monday and Tuesday because the storm cut power and telecommunication services to millions of voters in the Northeast and in the battleground states of OH and VA.” … Hurricane Sandy: “Because Sandy is hitting major population centers, it will affect the election, altering early voting, get-out-the-vote drives and last-minute, door-to-door campaigning. In Virginia’s Senate race, D Tim Kaine and R George Allen jointly asked their supporters to take down their yard signs lest the placards become injurious missiles in Sandy’s high winds.” … Hurricane Sandy: “If poll hours are extended, under a 2002 law passed by Congress in response to the disputed 2000 presidential election, any voters who show up outside of regular hours must use provisional ballots, which are counted later and could be challenged. Sandy’s impact was felt in some of the most competitive states in the presidential race, including Virginia and Ohio. The more provisional ballots that are cast, the greater the chances are that the winner won’t be known until days or even weeks after the election” (good explainer). … Polling: “It’s not a conspiracy theory; those other polls are just simply missing a critical segment of Obama’s coalition: cellphone users.” And: “If you look at the election through cell phones, you see Obama gain an 11-point lead in the convention and post-convention period, but if you look at landline respondents, the race has been close and pretty stable.” I dunno. Seems like a pretty basic methodological flaw for very well-paid vendors to overlook. … Horse race: “[Obama: 253 EV/27 states, Romney 191/23]. The seven jump ball states with a total of 94 electoral votes are CO (9), FL (29), IA (6), NH (4), NC (15), OH (18), and VA (13). To win, Obama needs to win states with 17 [of that] 94, while Romney needs 79 of 94. However, the Obama advantage is not as clear cut as this suggests. In each of these states, Obama and Romney are within 5 percentage points of each other and in most they are within 2 or 3 points of each other” (Charlie Cook).
The Romney. Hurricane Sandy: “Indeed, NBC’s Andrea Mitchell reports that the Red Cross told her they were ‘grateful for Romney donation but prefer people send money or donate blood don’t collect goods NOT best way to help.'” Clueless CEO. … Ryan: “Instead of reinvigorating Romney’s campaign with bold, radical evocations of a brave new world where old people clutching vouchers buy pensions on the open market, Ryan, it appears, has been hidden away lest he frighten the horses.” … Benghazi: [I’m reading this thing, and McCain can’t even get out a good quote. What’s happening to the Rs? They used to be able to gin up a good scandal!]
The Obama. Hurricane Sandy: “Obama took the rare step of granting major-disaster declarations to NY and NJ without a full federal assessment [verbally] , clearing the way more quickly for direct grants to individuals hit hardest by former Hurricane Sandy” (2012-10-30). … Hurricane Sandy: Presidents can overcome the effect of even the most severe weather damage in a particular location by declaring that location a disaster area (and therefore eligible for federal disaster funds).” (Monkey Cage, 2012-10-28. So, has Team Obama read the literature?) … Hurrricane Sandy: “While Romney was playing political defense, Obama was the model of bipartisanship. He complemented local officials of both parties, saying without the steps taken by state and local officials, the death toll could have been much higher. He also went on to praise first responders and promised ‘no bureaucracy, no red tape’ by the federal government in responding to this disaster.” … Hurricane Sandy: “After suspending official campaigning in deference to Hurricane Sandy for three crucial days, he’s using the power of his office not only to oversee the federal government response, but also to showcase for voters the popular side of an active government while presenting a take-charge image of himself reinforced by the multi-media message machinery of the White House.” It’s a sad day when performing the basic operations of government becomes a cause for celebration. … Obama remarks to the Red Cross: [Obama rises to the occasion (and if I say that…) Yes, it’s a shame that the solidarity Obama evokes in an emergency is being corroded and destroyed on a day-to-day basis by Obama’s market state-driven policies, and one can see quite easily how the mechanisms deployed for “natural” disasters — especially the stress on compliance — could be repurposed for “emergencies” less natural, but this was no Katrina moment for Obama. And Obama’s reach-around to leverage Chris Christie‘s 2016 ambitions was a master stroke. (“Already, the late-night calls to Republican Gov. Chris Christie are public (thanks to Christie, not the president, by the way.”) Ha.]
* Slogan of the day: Unite With The Obama To Achieve An Even Greater Victory!
* * *
Antidote du jour:
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bananas: my GP’s nurse said “no more than three per week”. I’ve compromised on half a banana at breakfast every day. Half a banana turns out to give much the same pleasure as a whole banana. Yippee.
The same nurse had a good tip for apples. Don’t eat one all-at-once: eat slices of one spread through the day. This is valuable advice for those of us who live in countries where the apples are worth eating, but it may be useful for you Americans too.
I think the BBC is using “bananas” as a catch-all in lieu of the more proper term “plantain,” because most English-speakers are not very familiar with the other members of the banana family. They are indeed quite versatile, and many if not most are not so sugary as the Cavendish variety we are being fed.
Who Loses When Fed Keeps Interest Rates Low? Bloomberg (Dr. Kevin)
The thing that annoys me about the Fed and low interest rates is the dogmatic belief that the low rates are being passed along to consumers. The below NYT article helps, but does anybody know what the percentage interest rate spread between what the AVERAGE consumer pays today and say 6 years ago? Or is the FED entirely aware and that is a feature, not a bug?
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2012/08/08/business/dealbook/windfall-for-mortgage-originators.html
http://www.economonitor.com/blog/2012/10/the-central-fact-that-folks-dont-get-about-fannie-and-freddies-role-in-the-crisis/?
Maybe that has been posted before, but Black’s analysis is very insightful.
Somehow this little bit of sillyness manages, in twenty mintues, to distill the very essense of the Democratic Party experience, and horrifyingly well at that. Watch as an idealistic young alien named Ten is given a chance to help people in need, or so it would seem…
The Obama administration backs the use of drug-sniffing dogs by law enforcement, while stepping up DEA raids on marijuana dispensaries. Civil liberties continue to decline as the duopoly exercises increasing control.
“The Good Wife” season premier “I Fought The Law” shows how the drug sniffing dogs are not infallible when there is human involvement, and how bad cops can bend the rules when they seek probable cause for a search. It was based on a case in Illinois:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/08/terrance-huff-michael-reichert-lawsuit-traffic-stop_n_1500394.html
Finally! Something we can speak to in my region of the world! You northerners probably are unaware that bananas can be cooked green thereby making a savory, as opposed to sweet, dish. I recently published my own recipe for something that approaches shepherd’s pie, only with bananas. It is on page 39.
Like plantain chips. Delicious.
The woman from the MI5 story on the Real News network is a total looper. She’s a 9-11 and 7-7 truffer, but her ex-partner, David Shaylor, is a real piece of work.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xCiZe45d-rI
The story she tells about Libya is true though.
The only thing of interest, since we all watched MI6 parachute special forces into Libya without any finesse whatsoever and then proceed to foment the revolution – like who needs a journalist or a whistleblower to understand what was going on – Even Gaddafi figured it out then – but she, Annie Machon is involved in the EU movement to legalize drugs. That’s pretty cool. Her expose about false flag terrorism now, at this late date, might indicate the state of the art has moved on.
Before the election, more journalists need to report on the following as it might make a big difference among the entire political spectrum. Because if true, we need to know.
http://bigdanblogger.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2012-09-23T08:15:00-04:00&max-results=3&start=6&by-date=false
If the media, prompted by The Republican Noise Machine echo chamber of Rush Limbaugh & Co. is keeping the Benghazi attack in the “news” for over a MONTH now, to the point where they’re also bringing up WACO, why did they SKIP 911 where 3,000 Americans died on American soil under Bush’s watch, and many of the Bush administration 911 gang is in the ROMNEY CAMPAIGN: Dov Zakheim, Michael Cherotoff, John Bolton, & Elliott Abrams…among others?
Thursday, September 20, 2012
Zionists & Neo-Cons Manipulating U.S. & Western Media (WILK is part of this) To Provoke Muslim World For Benefit Of Romney & Israel & WWIII; Are You Still Falling For The “Anti-Semite” and “Conspiracy Theory” TRICKS?
The Ground Zero Mosque “usual suspects” are behind the Islamophobia surrounding the Arab/Muslim “protests” against a possibly non-existent anti-Muslim “film”: Pam Geller, Daniel Pipies, FRANK GAFFNEY, Zionist U.S. mainstream media, the RIGHTWING radio shows Rush Limbaugh, Mike Savage, etc…rightwing neo-cons (Karl Rove, etc…), only the stakes are higher this time: to get Mitt Romney “elected”. The dust is settling and the truth is slowly coming out. They play the U.S. media LIKE A FIDDLE!!!
…..
http://www.veteranstoday.com/2012/09/12/embassy-killings-in-libya-the-stench-of-ciamossad-false-flag/
First of all as to the “film” or whatever. As news managed to get past the “controllers,” it became obvious that the “Israeli” director never existed and the film had been financed by a group out of Las Vegas in the casino business tied directly to the Romney campaign.
This we know. You will see no reporting of this although the security around those funding the film and the quick “pounce” Romney made on Obama are enough to spark curiosity, if such a thing existed.
Actual intelligence sources in Libya have told us the following:
“The killings of the diplomats were done under the cover of the riots which had been orchestrated in advance over a series of days.
Four color printed placards were ready to distribute prior to the Jones “stream-cast” and groups had been warned in advance to prepare for a “serious foreign threat.”
The actual killings are said to have been done by a team of newly trained Special Forces from the United Arab Emirates working directly in conjunction with the Mossad.
Crowds were being managed by French DGSE agents, seen by the dozen, and British security service personnel were present but their role was not clear.
What is clear is that this was a carefully planned operation, orchestrating civil protests in order to facilitate the killing of American diplomats.”
WHY NOW?
The reasons for the entire operation are several. Two in particular are mentioned by analysts who actually observed some of the advance planning in both Egypt and Libya.
There are more than two, however.
Netanyahu wished to embarrass President Obama after receiving a “slight” over his upcoming visit to the US. Though Obama phoned Netanyahu, there will be no White House visit.
Netanyahu and his US affiliates carefully orchestrated these terror acts with supporters of the Romney camp including the “donors” responsible for the production of the original film.
CIA cooperation in an attack on American diplomats was arranged through Bush era intermediaries who manage contractor firms that are now tasked with all CIA “black ops”
Netanyahu is very upset at the US for scaling back joint military operations and actually citing Israel, during secret briefings, as a potential threat to US forces.
Netanyahu has been further emotionally destabilized by nearly violent confrontations with US Chief of Staff Martin Dempsey and US Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro, a close friend of President Obama’s.
As more information comes available and we are able to provide additional verifications, all printed above carries “double” verification already, we will keep our readers informed.
……….
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/05/26/1095014/-Bain-Capital-and-Mitt-Romney-s-Best-Kept-Secret-Clear-Channel-Radio
Mitt Romney’s Secret Weapon: Clear Channel Radio
In 2008, Bain Capital acquired Clear Channel Radio and 850 radio stations for $24 billion, and records show 14 of the company’s directors have contributed more than $700,000 to Romney’s campaigns. Romney left the firm in 1999, but still rakes in millions from his sizable share of Bain investments and pays 15 percent tax.
Romney’s Bain Capital controls the board of directors of Clear Channel. These are people who started giving to Romney in 1994. This is a social and economic network that is deeply involved in Clear Channel and tightly controlled. These are Romney’s friends and allies going back to the very beginning of his political career. And now they control Clear Channel Radio, America’s largest and most powerful FM and AM radio station corporation. It operates 850 radio stations and reaches 110 million Americans.
Clear Channel syndicates most conservative talk radio shows including Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Glenn Beck and Michael Savage. And what about all that “free” advertising that Romney gets every day on hundreds of radio stations across the country on these talk shows? What better way to control the message of conservative talk radio than to BUY it? Rush Limbaugh was given a $400 million contract in 2008 when Bain Capital purchased Clear Channel. He broadcasts on over 600 radio stations. Sean Hannity is heard on over 500 stations by 13.5 million listeners. Hannity also received a new and lucrative contract when Bain purchased Clear Channel in 2008.
It’s quite a propaganda budget…but if Mitt Romney wins the White House it’s worth it, right?
Before the election, more journalists need to report on the following as it might make a big difference among the entire political spectrum. Because if true, we need to know.
http://www.veteranstoday.com/2012/09/12/embassy-killings-in-libya-the-stench-of-ciamossad-false-flag/
Embassy Killings in Libya, the Stench of CIA/Mossad “False Flag” (Updated)
Real Intelligence Reports at Total Odds with Reported News
—————
by Gordon Duff, Senior Editor
———-
Recent reports tying Coptic Christians to the “film” which was never the issue in the Middle East upheaval is an attempt by the same forces responsible for the Alexandria church bombings to bring about civil war between Christians and Muslims in Egypt.
snip
First of all as to the “film” or whatever. As news managed to get past the “controllers,” it became obvious that the “Israeli” director never existed and the film had been financed by a group out of Las Vegas in the casino business tied directly to the Romney campaign.
This we know. You will see no reporting of this although the security around those funding the film and the quick “pounce” Romney made on Obama are enough to spark curiosity, if such a thing existed.
Actual intelligence sources in Libya have told us the following:
“The killings of the diplomats were done under the cover of the riots which had been orchestrated in advance over a series of days.
Four color printed placards were ready to distribute prior to the Jones “stream-cast” and groups had been warned in advance to prepare for a “serious foreign threat.”
The actual killings are said to have been done by a team of newly trained Special Forces from the United Arab Emirates working directly in conjunction with the Mossad.
Crowds were being managed by French DGSE agents, seen by the dozen, and British security service personnel were present but their role was not clear.
What is clear is that this was a carefully planned operation, orchestrating civil protests in order to facilitate the killing of American diplomats.”
WHY NOW?
The reasons for the entire operation are several. Two in particular are mentioned by analysts who actually observed some of the advance planning in both Egypt and Libya.
There are more than two, however.
Netanyahu wished to embarrass President Obama after receiving a “slight” over his upcoming visit to the US. Though Obama phoned Netanyahu, there will be no White House visit.
Netanyahu and his US affiliates carefully orchestrated these terror acts with supporters of the Romney camp including the “donors” responsible for the production of the original film.
CIA cooperation in an attack on American diplomats was arranged through Bush era intermediaries who manage contractor firms that are now tasked with all CIA “black ops”
Netanyahu is very upset at the US for scaling back joint military operations and actually citing Israel, during secret briefings, as a potential threat to US forces.
Netanyahu has been further emotionally destabilized by nearly violent confrontations with US Chief of Staff Martin Dempsey and US Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro, a close friend of President Obama’s.
As more information comes available and we are able to provide additional verifications, all printed above carries “double” verification already, we will keep our readers informed.
……….
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/05/26/1095014/-Bain-Capital-and-Mitt-Romney-s-Best-Kept-Secret-Clear-Channel-Radio
Mitt Romney’s Secret Weapon: Clear Channel Radio
In 2008, Bain Capital acquired Clear Channel Radio and 850 radio stations for $24 billion, and records show 14 of the company’s directors have contributed more than $700,000 to Romney’s campaigns. Romney left the firm in 1999, but still rakes in millions from his sizable share of Bain investments and pays 15 percent tax.
Romney’s Bain Capital controls the board of directors of Clear Channel. These are people who started giving to Romney in 1994. This is a social and economic network that is deeply involved in Clear Channel and tightly controlled. These are Romney’s friends and allies going back to the very beginning of his political career. And now they control Clear Channel Radio, America’s largest and most powerful FM and AM radio station corporation. It operates 850 radio stations and reaches 110 million Americans.
Clear Channel syndicates most conservative talk radio shows including Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Glenn Beck and Michael Savage. And what about all that “free” advertising that Romney gets every day on hundreds of radio stations across the country on these talk shows? What better way to control the message of conservative talk radio than to BUY it? Rush Limbaugh was given a $400 million contract in 2008 when Bain Capital purchased Clear Channel. He broadcasts on over 600 radio stations. Sean Hannity is heard on over 500 stations by 13.5 million listeners. Hannity also received a new and lucrative contract when Bain purchased Clear Channel in 2008.
It’s quite a propaganda budget…but if Mitt Romney wins the White House it’s worth it, right?
So hang on, the UAE, the Isrealis, Brits and the French, together with the Romney campaign, conspired to kill a bunch of American ambassadorial staff in Libya. Because Netanyahu was upset.
If it’s on the internet, and it’s been “double verified”, I suppose that means it has to be true. Wow.
To Synopticist and other skeptics: Maybe their intention wasn’t to specifically assassinate the US Ambassador, but just to make a compelling case for Obama administration incompetence, including not having backed Mubarak. Why all the skepticism? Look back at history. It has become patently clear that Israel had a role in nurturing the creation of Hamas as a counterweight to Fatah! Furthermore, at the time, whoever thought that the Reagan administration was capable of concocting anything as bizarre as Iran Contra? To think that sinister (or maybe just plain stupid) forces directly or indirectly related to powerful groups within America and Israel are not capable of this is to demonstrate a crass lack of historical perspective.
It is like globalization in general.
…….
East Coast because of the hurricane, you now should demand to vote on real evidence–paper ballots hand counted in public in precinct on election night. Otherwise…
See:
http://www.freepress.org/departments/display/19/2012/4756
Romney family and friends will help tabulate the vote count in Cincinnati: Hart Intercivic holds maintenance contracts on their own machines
by Gerry Bello and Bob Fitrakis
October 24, 2012
Election officials lie to cover the facts
Since the Columbus Free Press broke the story of Tagg, Mitt, HIG Capital and your e-vote, there has been a bi-partisan effort on the internet to restore faith in the system. There are Democrats who wish the Free Press would remain silent, fearing that exposure of these facts will demoralize their base and lead to low voter turnout. Pundits like Chuck Todd have used the phrase “conspiracy theory” and even gone so far as to say “The voting machine conspiracies belong in same category as the Trump birther garbage.” An industry shill, Michelle Shafer, who currently works as media director for Scytl, a Spanish-based vote-counting company, and has worked for all but one of the major voting machine manufacturers, has replied via comment to our articles with additional falsehoods and misrepresentations.
As stated in a previous Free Press article, through a closely held equity fund called Solamere, Mitt Romney and his wife, son and brother are major investors in an investment firm called H.I.G. Capital. H.I.G. in turn holds a majority share and has three out of the five board members on Hart Intercivic, a company that owns the notoriously faulty electronic voting machines that will count the ballots in swing state Ohio on November 6. Hart is majority owned by a private equity firm run by fundraisers for the Romney campaign.
…………
http://markcrispinmiller.com/2012/10/hey-doj-investigate-tagg-romneys-ties-to-hart-intercivic-and-dont-stop-there/
Hey, DoJ, investigate Tagg Romney’s ties to Hart InterCivic! (And don’t stop there…)
Tagg Romney’s not the only fishy player who owns a piece of the computerized election-stealing system.
All the players atop that system are suspicious characters—as that whole system is itself a crime against democracy, and those who still refuse to face that fact are as complicit as Karl Rove himself.
But do let’s start by looking carefully at Romney’s ties to the vote-counting apparatus.
MCM
From: moveon-help@list.moveon.org
Sent: 10/24/2012 6:11:40 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time
Subj: DOJ: Investigate Ohio voting machines owned by Tagg Romney
Below is an email from Alea Bankston, a MoveOn member in Louisville, Kentucky, who created a petition on SignOn.org, the nonprofit site that allows anyone to start their own online petition. If you have concerns or feedback about this petition, click here.
Dear MoveOn member,
According to an article on PoliticolNews.com, Mitt Romney’s son, Tagg, is a major investor in Hart InterCivic, the company that owns electronic voting machines that will be used in Ohio for this election.1 The article also alleges that these machines are easily hacked. Not to mention it’s an obvious conflict of interest.
That’s why I created a petition on SignOn.org to U.S. Attorney General Eric H. Holder and President Obama to get the Department of Justice to initiate an investigation into this issue before Election Day on November 6, 2012.
The petition says:
Ensure that the election is not stolen and that the results are not tampered with or altered: Investigate voting machines owned by Tagg Romney.
Click here to add your name to this petition, and then pass it along to your friends.
Thanks!
–Alea Bankston
Sources:
1. “Tagg Romney Invested in Ohio Electronic Voting Machines,” Politicol News, October 21, 2012
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=283274&id=55870-7696054-llYjbbx&t=3
“Angst in Ohio about Bain, Romney donors links to voting machine company,” The Washington Post, October 23, 2012
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=283337&id=55870-7696054-llYjbbx&t=4
This petition was created on SignOn.org, the progressive, nonprofit petition site. SignOn.org is sponsored by MoveOn Civic Action, which is not responsible for the contents of this or other petitions posted on the site. Alea Bankston didn’t pay us to send this email—we never rent or sell the MoveOn.org list.
………..
And, in addition to owning e-voting machines, a story is needed to account for the win…
http://bigdanblogger.blogspot.com/2012/10/rush-limbaugh-is-getting-frustrated.html
If the media, prompted by The Republican Noise Machine echo chamber of Rush Limbaugh & Co. is keeping the Benghazi attack in the “news” for over a MONTH now, to the point where they’re also bringing up WACO, why did they SKIP 911 where 3,000 Americans died on American soil under Bush’s watch, and many of the Bush administration 911 gang is in the ROMNEY CAMPAIGN: Dov Zakheim, Michael Cherotoff, John Bolton, & Elliott Abrams…among others?
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Rush Limbaugh is getting frustrated that rightwing media’s “BENGHAZI CENTRAL” isn’t breaking outside of the rightwing Republican media “BUBBLE”
snip
…It’s BENGHAZI CENTRAL!!!
But today, Rush Limbaugh said he is UPSET that the “mainstream media”/”drive by media” isn’t picking up on the BENGHAZI CENTRAL.
……….
http://thinkprogress.org/security/2012/10/30/1110901/bush-fema-director-katrina-hits-obama-sandy/?mobile=nc
Bush’s FEMA Director During Katrina Criticizes Obama For Responding To Sandy Too Quickly
By Hayes Brown
snip
Former FEMA Director Michael Brown offered criticism of President Obama’s early responses to Hurricane Sandy yesterday, including a dig at the administration’s response to last month’s attack in Libya.
snip
Brown turned then to a reliable right-wing attack on the President’s response to the attack on a U.S. diplomatic outpost in Benghazi that killed four Americans:
“One thing he’s gonna be asked is, why did he jump on [the hurricane] so quickly and go back to D.C. so quickly when in…Benghazi, he went to Las Vegas?” Brown says. “Why was this so quick?… At some point, somebody’s going to ask that question…. This is like the inverse of Benghazi.”
……..
http://www.veteranstoday.com/2012/10/22/vts-30-day-old-story-on-benghazi-had-it-right/
Egyptian Film Promoter Complicit, Google/Youtube Suspect, Tea Party/GOP Involvement Key
—
by Gordon Duff, Senior Editor
—
September 22, 2012 – Intelligence sources in Libya reported that foreign “assault teams” had arrived in Libya in advance of the unrest due to the Terry Jones telethon which included a short but insulting film clip involving the Prophet Mohamed.
snip
Now key admissions of the nature of the attack make it virtually impossible for any Libyan group to have been involved, a story now being “sold” to the press along with Libyan reprisals.
Studies now reveal as many as 15 separate teams involved, from surveillance to traffic management, to perimeter security to fire support and communications, not to mention “infil” and “exfil” teams along with logistical support. In comparison, the US attack on the “bin Laden compound” in Abbotabad was poorly executed and amateurish.
What makes the new information “key” is more detailed information on the attack which proves conclusively it had taken days, perhaps weeks to plan and coordinate.
Those efforts would have been useless without the influx of GOP funding for the Jones telethon, without Google’s violation of its own policies, keeping an offensive YouTube video online and without key sources in the Middle East promoting the video carefully time to the assault by highly trained special operations forces believed to have flown in from Dubai.
Management of the US press, continually dancing from one conspiracy theory to another, is a clear sign that this operation originated in the United States.
It was handed off to an intelligence agency tied to the Romney campaign and Netanyahu, who turned to friends in the Gulf, as intelligence reports confirmed, to complete the complex and well coordinated military operation on two continents.
…………
And, mother of god, I never thought I would read something like the following…help us all…NO MORE FALSE FLAGS.
(Why is this not reported, investigated in a domestic paper?)
http://www.veteranstoday.com/2012/10/31/press-tv-us-military-planned-mutiny-on-the-bounty-to-topple-obama/
Press TV: US military planned mutiny on the Bounty to topple Obama
October 31st, 2012
Admiral Gaouette was part of a group of military officers who have been under suspicion for planning a “Seven Days in May” type overthrow of the US government if President Obama is re-elected.
“His [Romney’s] real intent is to occupy Iraq and attack Iran. In the process, America intends on “neutralizing” the nuclear capability of Pakistan. This is the plan, it is known, not just in the Department of Defense, but by all intelligence agencies, the plotters have all been recognized, are all under surveillance and they have not been very careful.”
The Obama administration has had American military, both on domestic and foreign bases on high alert since October 1. However, there has been no known terrorist enemy threatening the US. The enemy is called “domestic” but its origins are far from American.
Today, Rear Admiral Charles M. Gaouette was “fired” from his command of one of the three carrier battle groups back to Bremerton, Washington to face an investigation.
It is impossible to adequately state how unusual this is and how serious.
The Navy was clear that the charges had nothing to do with his personal conduct, no rape or sexual misconduct, no stolen money, no drug use, the things that usually bring down careers in the Navy, that and crashing ships into each other.
Gaouette was sent back because the Secretary of Defense found him unfit for command, sent him across the world in the middle of one of the largest combat exercises in history, one both timed prior to an election and one at a critical location, near the Straits of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf.
Gaouette commanded nearly one third of the Naval and air combat forces in the region.
The decision was made based on a conversation with the Secretary of Defense who, at the end of the talk, believed Gaouette was part of a group of military officers who have been under suspicion for planning a “Seven Days in May” type overthrow of the US government if President Obama is re-elected.
This is not conjecture, dozens of key officers face firing, hundreds are under investigation, all with direct ties to extremist elements in the Republican Party and the Israeli lobby.
Reports received are sourced at the highest levels of the Pentagon and indicate that the administration has been aware of these plans for months. It is not just the Obama administration. This happened before.
more
…………
Good luck to us all.
It is like globalization in general.
And, in addition to owning e-voting machines, a story is needed to account for the win…
http://bigdanblogger.blogspot.com/2012/10/rush-limbaugh-is-getting-frustrated.html
If the media, prompted by The Republican Noise Machine echo chamber of Rush Limbaugh & Co. is keeping the Benghazi attack in the “news” for over a MONTH now, to the point where they’re also bringing up WACO, why did they SKIP 911 where 3,000 Americans died on American soil under Bush’s watch, and many of the Bush administration 911 gang is in the ROMNEY CAMPAIGN: Dov Zakheim, Michael Cherotoff, John Bolton, & Elliott Abrams…among others?
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Rush Limbaugh is getting frustrated that rightwing media’s “BENGHAZI CENTRAL” isn’t breaking outside of the rightwing Republican media “BUBBLE”
snip
…It’s BENGHAZI CENTRAL!!!
But today, Rush Limbaugh said he is UPSET that the “mainstream media”/”drive by media” isn’t picking up on the BENGHAZI CENTRAL.
……….
http://thinkprogress.org/security/2012/10/30/1110901/bush-fema-director-katrina-hits-obama-sandy/?mobile=nc
Bush’s FEMA Director During Katrina Criticizes Obama For Responding To Sandy Too Quickly
By Hayes Brown
snip
Former FEMA Director Michael Brown offered criticism of President Obama’s early responses to Hurricane Sandy yesterday, including a dig at the administration’s response to last month’s attack in Libya.
snip
Brown turned then to a reliable right-wing attack on the President’s response to the attack on a U.S. diplomatic outpost in Benghazi that killed four Americans:
“One thing he’s gonna be asked is, why did he jump on [the hurricane] so quickly and go back to D.C. so quickly when in…Benghazi, he went to Las Vegas?” Brown says. “Why was this so quick?… At some point, somebody’s going to ask that question…. This is like the inverse of Benghazi.”
……..
http://www.veteranstoday.com/2012/10/22/vts-30-day-old-story-on-benghazi-had-it-right/
Egyptian Film Promoter Complicit, Google/Youtube Suspect, Tea Party/GOP Involvement Key
—
by Gordon Duff, Senior Editor
—
September 22, 2012 – Intelligence sources in Libya reported that foreign “assault teams” had arrived in Libya in advance of the unrest due to the Terry Jones telethon which included a short but insulting film clip involving the Prophet Mohamed.
snip
Now key admissions of the nature of the attack make it virtually impossible for any Libyan group to have been involved, a story now being “sold” to the press along with Libyan reprisals.
Studies now reveal as many as 15 separate teams involved, from surveillance to traffic management, to perimeter security to fire support and communications, not to mention “infil” and “exfil” teams along with logistical support. In comparison, the US attack on the “bin Laden compound” in Abbotabad was poorly executed and amateurish.
What makes the new information “key” is more detailed information on the attack which proves conclusively it had taken days, perhaps weeks to plan and coordinate.
Those efforts would have been useless without the influx of GOP funding for the Jones telethon, without Google’s violation of its own policies, keeping an offensive YouTube video online and without key sources in the Middle East promoting the video carefully time to the assault by highly trained special operations forces believed to have flown in from Dubai.
Management of the US press, continually dancing from one conspiracy theory to another, is a clear sign that this operation originated in the United States.
It was handed off to an intelligence agency tied to the Romney campaign and Netanyahu, who turned to friends in the Gulf, as intelligence reports confirmed, to complete the complex and well coordinated military operation on two continents.
…………
And, mother of god, I never thought I would read something like the following…help us all…NO MORE FALSE FLAGS.
(Why is this not reported, investigated in a domestic paper?)
http://www.veteranstoday.com/2012/10/31/press-tv-us-military-planned-mutiny-on-the-bounty-to-topple-obama/
Press TV: US military planned mutiny on the Bounty to topple Obama
October 31st, 2012
Admiral Gaouette was part of a group of military officers who have been under suspicion for planning a “Seven Days in May” type overthrow of the US government if President Obama is re-elected.
“His [Romney’s] real intent is to occupy Iraq and attack Iran. In the process, America intends on “neutralizing” the nuclear capability of Pakistan. This is the plan, it is known, not just in the Department of Defense, but by all intelligence agencies, the plotters have all been recognized, are all under surveillance and they have not been very careful.”
The Obama administration has had American military, both on domestic and foreign bases on high alert since October 1. However, there has been no known terrorist enemy threatening the US. The enemy is called “domestic” but its origins are far from American.
Today, Rear Admiral Charles M. Gaouette was “fired” from his command of one of the three carrier battle groups back to Bremerton, Washington to face an investigation.
It is impossible to adequately state how unusual this is and how serious.
The Navy was clear that the charges had nothing to do with his personal conduct, no rape or sexual misconduct, no stolen money, no drug use, the things that usually bring down careers in the Navy, that and crashing ships into each other.
Gaouette was sent back because the Secretary of Defense found him unfit for command, sent him across the world in the middle of one of the largest combat exercises in history, one both timed prior to an election and one at a critical location, near the Straits of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf.
Gaouette commanded nearly one third of the Naval and air combat forces in the region.
The decision was made based on a conversation with the Secretary of Defense who, at the end of the talk, believed Gaouette was part of a group of military officers who have been under suspicion for planning a “Seven Days in May” type overthrow of the US government if President Obama is re-elected.
This is not conjecture, dozens of key officers face firing, hundreds are under investigation, all with direct ties to extremist elements in the Republican Party and the Israeli lobby.
Reports received are sourced at the highest levels of the Pentagon and indicate that the administration has been aware of these plans for months. It is not just the Obama administration. This happened before.
Iran-Contra, yeah fair enough. But if Mossad did it, why involve the French, Brits and the UAE? Surelly they’re capable of a stunt loke this on their own, with far less security risk from involving others. No-one in western Europe wants Romney in power, he’s a power-mad flake backed by an insane party.
And no-one’s denying that the militia in question carried out the deed. They got driven out of town as a result.
There’s really no mystery to explain. A mental armed gang took advantage of a wave of protests, security f*cks up, lots of confusion prevails, fog of war etc, the Prez manfully blames his subordinates, wingnuts go apesh*t.
If anything, this new theory is a COUNTER-WINGNUT narrative. Someone in the Obama camp has got sick of dealing with loopy rightwing Bebghazi claims, and decided what they need is a equally quasi-plausible, overheated, poorly sourced LEFTWING delusional theory.
Karl Rove would have done it if he was on the defending team. It spreads the heat round for a while, keeps the Breibartesque attack dogs from upping the pressure too much.
Pardon the double posting.
Providing link to one of the above articles:
http://signon.org/sign/department-of-justice-4?source=mo&id=55870-7696054-llYjbbx
Department of Justice: Investigate Ohio Voting Machines Linked to Tagg Romney
By Alea Bankston (Contact)
To be delivered to: Eric H. Holder, Jr., Attorney General and President Barack Obama
I needed to include link to Move.on petition about investigating Ohio’s vote being counted on e-voting machines with close financial ties to the Romney family.
I think a note needs to be made by the petition signers to include all the states in addition to Ohio that are at stake with these machines.
See:
http://www.freepress.org/departments/display/19/2012/4725
Vote counting company tied to Romney
by Gerry Bello & Bob Fitrakis
September 27, 2012
In all 234 counties of Texas, the entire states of Hawaii and Oklahoma, half of Washington and Colorado, and certain counties in swing state Ohio, votes will be cast on eSlate and ePollbook machines made by Hart Intercivic. Hart Intercivic machines have famously failed in Tarrant County (Ft. Worth), adding 10,000 non-existent votes. The EVEREST study, commissioned by the Ohio secretary of state in 2007, found serious security flaws with Hart Intercivic products.
Looking beyond the well-documented Google choking laundry list of apparent fraud, failure and seeming corruption that is associated with Hart Intercivic, an ongoing Free Press investigation turned its attention to the key question of who owns the voting machine companies. The majority of the directors of Hart come from the private equity firm H.I.G. Capital. H.I.G. has been heavily invested in Hart Intercivic since July 2011, just in time for the current presidential election cycle. But who is H.I.G Capital?
Out of 49 partners and directors, 48 are men, and 47 are white. Eleven of these men, including H.I.G. Founder Tony Tamer, were formerly employed at Bain and Company, and two of those men, John P. Bolduc and Douglas Berman are Romney bundlers along with former Bain and H.I.G. manager Brian Shortsleeve.
Additionally, four of these men were formerly employed at Booz Allen Hamilton. Bush family friendly Carlyle group is an owner of Booz Allen which also made voting machines for the United States military. Booz Allen was also the key subcontractor for the controversial PioneerGroundbreaker program, an NSA data mining operation that gathered information on American citizens until it was shut down and replaced with even more invasive successor programs like MATRIX and Total Information Awareness.
H.I.G. Capital employees have given $338,000 to Mitt Romney’s campaign. That amounts to over $1500 per employee. Bain Capital, Mitt’s former company, by comparison, only gave him $268,000. H.I.G. is the 11th largest donor to the Romney Campaign. Clearly they are working really hard for their man. It appears that they will work even harder on election night. Although not boisterously promising to deliver states where their machines are to Romney as Wally O’Dell of Diebold did for Bush in 2004, they can alter hundreds of thousands of votes and swing the vote in the crucial swing state of Ohio.
Will Mitt’s cronies steal our democracy the way they stole our jobs? Time will tell, but they have certainly positioned themselves to do so if they choose.
In our first investigative article Who owns Scytl? George Soros isn’t in the voting machines, but the intelligence community is,
the Free Press revealed that Scytl, a Spanish-based company now contracted to count 25% of the U.S. presidential vote, has ties to Booz Allen. Scytl’s start up funding comes from three European Venture Capital Firms, Balderton Capital, Nauta Capital, and Spinnaker SCR. The director of Nauta’s American operations is Dominic Endicott, who went from Cluster Consulting to Booz Allen Hamilton (NYSE: BAH) where he oversaw wireless practice. He then rejoined his former colleagues from Cluster Consulting at Nauta. In his capacity as a Nauta partner Endicott also sits on the board of CarrierIQ.
Scytl has emerged as the most mysterious election counting company in this presidential election. Scytl claims to have a Scytl USA division located in Glen Allen, Virginia. The following is a photo of the Scytl USA national corporate offices at 6012 Glen Allen Drive. The land deed records show that the owner of the property at that address is Hugh Gallagher, now listed as the managing director of Scytl USA. The deed, which was prepared in Ohio by a relocation firm in 2002, pre-dates the creation of Scytl USA. A Scytl USA sales office is located in Baltimore, Maryland, and appears to be a Rent-an-Office, often referred to as a “virtual” office which has a shared secretary and serves as a mail drop.
………………
However, I really think that this effort to cheat and steal another election should disqualify him.
And, if the stories about Libya (and a coup) are further confirmed and verified, and our Ambassador was murdered to provide a story for Clear Channel to use against Obama, and to use to invade other countries, they should be arrested.
And, again, good luck to us all.
It’s not at all clear to me that democrats mind needless war, mass humanitarian murder or false flags if their “guy” is doing it.
And the old Clear Channel Romney news is always worth repeating… as long as one mentions the source – the Clinton disastrous neoliberal telecommunications act of 1996 led to the Clear Channels of today.
You obviously didn’t read the post properly. The delusional conspiracy theory de-joure is that the ROMNEY campaign, alongside Mossad bla blah pulled off the Bengazi atack.
Please pay more attention, this stuff is of overwhelming importance.
No, I didn’t misread. Time and time again… anti war advocates who have long been remarkably correct get sucked into these arguments… when, imho, it’s time to quit doing so. The war upon Libya itself was false flag, inhumane and illegal. All stop. Work from there if you want to have any integrity.
Never wrestle in the mud with war pigs over their bloody antics, because you both get filthy and the war pig LOVES it.
The following report needs confirmation by brave reporters–it is too important if true, and we need to know before the election.
To note: I would think Romney would bring a case of slander against Gordon Duff, if these stories are not true. But, given what Romney has done to own e-voting and tabulating machines counting his own votes (which should disqualify him), and owning the right wing hate mongering Clear Channel, and hiring Bush’s 911 “national security” people…this report seems consistent not inconsistent. But, again, real additional confirmation is needed by real reporters. And, were it not for the fact that Max Keiser also reports via the same media and presents the wonderful likes of Michael Hudson, Naomi Klein, Bill Black, Bill Still, and so many more great people, I don’t think I would ever have picked up any of these articles. So, if these stories are true, we need to know. If not, we also need to know…fast.
http://www.veteranstoday.com/2012/11/01/romney-leaks-drugs-blood-diamonds-and-a-cuban-mistress/
FBI, CIA and Foreign Intelligence Agencies “Leak” Romney Files
(See Addendum for updated critical material)
Vote for Romney or Else!!!
by Gordon Duff, Senior Editor
BIG SNIP
What is particularly good news for the Romney camp is that this information has been in the hands of GOP officials, major news agencies, several US Attorney’s and the intelligence agencies of over a dozen countries for just under two years.
Most top GOP donors were sent copies. None, when questioned as to why they still donated money seemed to care. One from Montana was quoted as saying, “As long as he is a Republican, we don’t care if he is a drug dealer or damned ‘Ruskie’ spy.”
……………..
http://www.freepress.org/departments/display/19/2012/4767
Why we fight to prevent stolen elections in 2012 and beyond
by Joan Brunwasser, Sally Castleman, Victoria Collier, Bob Fitrakis, Lori Grace, Emily Levy, Mark Crispin Miller, Greg Palast, Jonathan Simon and Harvey Wasserman
October 31, 2012
With election day less than a week away, the spectre of another stolen election is upon us. The airwaves and internet are at last filling with discussion of this possibility.
When the first stories were broken by a handful of us after the fiascos of Florida 2000 and Ohio 2004, there was a stunning silence, followed by a wide range of attacks. Today the warnings about the possibility of another election theft are taken with increasing gravity.
The question is deep and profound, with a huge body of research and writing surrounding it.
But among the many concerns, two are key: massive disenfranchisement, and manipulation of the electronic vote count.
DISENFRANCHISEMENT:
There is no doubt the Republican party has done much to prevent likely Democrats from voting. This “Jim/Juan Crow” strategy has included legislation aimed at requiring photo ID as a means of restricting the vote. This involves financial and other burdens that would prevent as many as ten million citizens from voting according to the Brennan Center at New York University, the vast bulk of them likely Democrats.
Though these photo ID and other restrictive laws are being overturned in some courts, it’s a virtual certainty Republican poll workers and challengers will use them—overturned or otherwise—as pretext for intimidating people away from the voting booths.
There has been massive stripping of voter rolls, often by electronic means, as was done in Florida 2000 and Ohio 2004. Much of the disenfranchisement has focused on the inner cities which, again, lean heavily Democratic. In Ohio, more than a million citizens—some 20% of the electorate—have lost their right to vote this way since 2009. The phenomenon is clearly nationwide.
Misinformation is being spread by Republican-controlled election boards about voting place locations and times and dates when the polls will be open, a tactic widely used in Ohio 2004 and elsewhere.
Threatening billboards, fliers, phone calls and more have been deployed to intimidate potential voters.
Right wing organizations such as the Tea Party, True the Vote and others have organized to work as poll workers or challengers at the polls, with the mission of discouraging potential Democrats from voting through intimidation and delay.
All these tactics are being choreographed as part of a larger strategy aimed at slashing the vote count among minorities and other target groups not only in the presidential race, but for control of Congress and statewide offices, and in key referenda over such issues as labeling GMO food, legalizing marijuana and more.
ELECTRONIC VOTE THEFT
Virtually the entire national vote count is now being conducted on electronic voting machines, which include optical scanning computers. There is one overriding reality that defines their use: the courts have ruled that their software is proprietary, and therefore in essence immune from public scrutiny. In practical terms, this means the vote counts for tens of millions of American citizens is opaque and beyond investigative or legal monitoring or recall.
As we saw in Volusia County, Florida, in 2000, and in Ohio 2004, as well as in numerous Congressional and other races, control of the electronic vote count can decide an election, and there is nothing the public can do to prove it, or to challenge the outcome through the legal system.
That a firm with deep ties to the Romney family and campaign has a major interest in a company that owns, programs, manages and tallies votes in at least four swing states that could decide the election must be a matter of concern.
Beyond Hart Intercivic, nearly all the nation’s electronic voting machines are also owned, programmed, managed and tallied by firms with deep Republican ties. Among them are ES&S, Sequoia, Dominion, Triad and more. They are spread throughout the United States, and will surely control the decisive votes in many if not all key swing states.
The essential insecurity of the electronic vote count is an affront to democracy. That a theft can be done so easily—and with the overwhelming body of evidence indicating it HAS been done—means that the individual vote of any American citizen is not sacred: that it’s up for grabs. No matter what margin of victory may present itself in any election, this is not acceptable. Each and every vote cast by each and every American citizen, swing state or otherwise, decisive or not, has been won with the blood of our ancestors and, in many cases, of those of us still living. Each vote cast by an American citizen has meaning, and must be protected—at all costs—by the structure of the voting process.
The “solution” to electronic election theft can never lie in building up a margin of victory sufficient to overcome stolen numbers. Massive turnouts of voters are always a great thing. But electronic votes are the ultimate fungible blind article. The process desecrates everything democracy is supposed to stand for, and is never acceptable under any circumstances.
The fact that Republicans might steal elections from Democrats and vice versa means further that the two of them together can always shut out a third or fourth party trying to mount a serious challenge to corporate power. This has in fact been done throughout American history to protect the power of the corporate structure. We now have an African-American in the White House. But the last president who was not a Democrat or Republican was the Whig Millard Fillmore, whose “term” ended in 1853. As long as the vote count can be manipulated by those in power, electronically or otherwise, there is no hope for meaningful change through the ballot box.
As this year’s massive electoral drama unfolds, more and more disturbing stories surface about the ease with which it could be stolen. They are to be taken with profound gravity, no matter who one favors for the presidency or other office.
The gargantuan sums of cash flowing into the process due to Citizens United and other loopholes in the system mean, simply enough, that our government is wholly owned and operated by large corporations. Systematic disenfranchisement and electronic vote theft are the cornerstones of that power.
Until we have money out of politics, abolition of the Electoral College, universal automatic voter registration and universal hand-counted paper ballots, there is no hope for real democracy in this country. As election protection advocates, activists and investigators, we urge everyone to pay very close attention to what happens in this election, to work to prevent the terrible abuses we see forthcoming, and to follow in the coming years with a powerful social movement that will deliver real democracy to this country.
Which candidate gets your vote is not our concern here. As Americans, we agree on one thing: all citizens must have their right to a ballot and to have it counted. In the long run, our one best hope for a sustainable future is the power of an fully enfranchised people.
………
http://markcrispinmiller.com/2012/11/take-the-pledge-to-say-no-to-another-stolen-race-and-keep-on-fighting-after-the-election/
Take the pledge to SAY NO to another stolen race—and keep on fighting AFTER the election!
Dear Dianne,
Election Day is next week. We need you now.
Take the pledge: No More Stolen Elections!
And forward this email to everyone you know.
~ PLEDGE OF ACTION: No More Stolen Elections! ~
http://nomorestolenelections.org/pledge-action
WE REMEMBER Florida 2000, Ohio 2004, and Wisconsin 2011, and are willing to act this year if the right to free and fair elections is denied again.
WE SUPPORT efforts to protect the right to vote leading up to Election Day.
IF NECESSARY, WE PLEDGE to join nationwide pro-democracy protests starting on the next day, either in my community, in key states where fraud occurred, or in Washington, D.C., and if necessary, to demand a recount, investigation, and criminal prosecutions of those responsible.
CLICK HERE TO JOIN US:
http://nomorestolenelections.org/pledge-action
Sign the Pledge of Action
Initial signatories* . . .
Noam Chomsky, professor, MIT
Thom Hartmann, author and journalist
Medea Benjamin, co-founder, CODE PINK
Jill Stein & Cheri Honkala, presidential ticket, Green Party
Rocky Anderson, presidential nominee, Justice Party
Tim Carpenter, Progressive Democrats of America
David Cobb, initiator, 2004 Ohio Recount
Ben Manski, founder, Liberty Tree Foundation
Margaret Flowers & Kevin Zeese, It’s Our Economy
Laura Bonham, Justice Party USA
Tom Hayden, co-founder, Students for a Democratic Society
Nancy Price, co-founder, Alliance for Democracy
Jerome Scott, co-founder, U.S. Social Forum
Kaitlin Sopoci-Belknap, co-founder, Move to Amend
Bill Fletcher, co-founder, Rainbow Coalition
John Matthews, Exec. Director, Madison Teachers, Inc. (MTI)
Daniel Wayne Lee, Occupy LA
Mimi Kennedy, actress
Lee Camp, comedian
Daniel Ellsberg, The Pentagon Papers
Karen Dolan, Cities for Progress
Sarah Manski & Adam Porton, co-founders, Wisconsin Wave
David Swanson, author, War is a Crime
John Cavanagh, Institute for Policy Studies
Jim & Rebecca Goodman, Family Farm Defenders
George Martin, former co-chair, United for Peace and Justice
Frances Fox Piven, professor, CUNY
* all affiliations for ID purposes only
CLICK HERE TO JOIN US: Sign the Pledge of Action
http://nomorestolenelections.org/pledge-action
…………..
http://nomorestolenelections.org/pledge-action
I pledge: No More Stolen Elections!
Please accept my personal pledge of non-violent action to prevent another stolen election:
I REMEMBER Florida 2000, Ohio 2004, and Wisconsin 2011, and I am willing to take action this year if the right to free and fair elections is denied again.
I SUPPORT efforts to protect the right to vote leading up to and on Election Day.
If necessary, I PLEDGE to join nationwide pro-democracy protests starting on the next day, either in my community, in key states where fraud occurred, or in Washington, D.C., and if necessary, to demand a recount, investigation, and criminal prosecutions of those responsible.
“We can no longer accept the government under these circumstances, the money in politics, the rule by special interest, the war for profit and the imposed third world slavery that the American people are expecting their grandchildren to face.
Obama doesn’t get off the hook. He is now free to do all those thing he promised.”
– Gordon Duff, Senior Editor Veterans Today
……..
The runway has been cleared for Obama to keep his promises. We need to keep up with the pressure to make sure he does.
Meanwhile, the voters won.
I thank everyone at Naked Capitalism and the election integrity people and Veterans Today whose insider contributors provided background information so important to the public.
Post election Update:
http://www.veteranstoday.com/2012/11/06/romney-landslide-loser-refuses-timely-concession/
Romney, Landslide Loser Refuses Timely Concession
GOP Retains Control in the House, Dems Sweep Senate
—
…by Gordon Duff, Senior Editor
_
America does some really dumb things but running an organized crime boss for president, and a bumbling wimp of one at that, this had gone too far.
What we can tell you is that the senior active and retired intelligence and top law enforcement and DOJ professionals, the drug enforcement officers, they are the ones that beat Romney, not the Obama campaign.
They wouldn’t allow Romney to turn America into something even worse than the seemingly hopeless mess we have now and moved.
Probably the worst scam in the entire election was the accusations made by a few stooges, some former military, sold out to organized crime, that accused the president of murdering an ambassador in order to try to lose the election.
Add to that a phony corporate media who never attempted to dig out who paid for ex-CIA Rev. Terry Jones’ all day Muslim rant webcast that cost millions of dollars.
This was a smoking gun that the whole thing was the expected October surprise, and took us only a day to find out who all was involved. Data mining is a wonderful thing.
These stories need to be kept and whenever one of these phony military fatass types tries to cash in, they need to be shut down. Veterans Today’s archives are backed up on proxy servers off shore and can never be ‘disappeared’, hacked or firebombed.
Then we have Hannity, Dick Morris, George Will, Newt, and, don’t forget poor Sheldon “Kiss of Death” Adelson who thought he bought five states for Romney and got none.
Then we can see how well the Israel lobby did, New York is solidly Obama and, as of this writing, Florida is in play, a state that was supposed to be solid Romney territory with his Cuban connections.
Oops, we forget. Romney got burned for his Castro meetings.
The other upside is that the Israel lobby is now where it belongs, toothless, its massive influx of illegal cash into race after race and voters in almost ever case went the other way.
Cuba, the recent revelations, burned Romney more than we suspected. We ran the story, pushed to do so at the last minute but didn’t think it would get solid distribution.
We were wrong. We simply published, others put it in the hands of key political figures and squashed Romney’s backing in several key political and ethnic groups.
Our intel friends were busy in more areas also.
They leaked Romney’s ties to blood diamonds, money laundering, his ties to Castro and the cartels in Mexico and Columbia.
They even leaked his mistress, a Russian/Cuban spy name Maria Perez Andropov.
A few days before the election, what may actually be the best we have, a flawed lot I admit, but including key members of our military, moved on Romney and Netanyahu and, and, and…
snip
We can no longer accept the government under these circumstances, the money in politics, the rule by special interest, the war for profit and the imposed third world slavery that the American people are expecting their grandchildren to face.
Obama doesn’t get off the hook. He is now free to do all those thing he promised.
snip
The fun followup will be the wild conspiracy mongering that has already begun on Fox News, claiming ACORN and the Black Panthers rigged the election.
It is a reasonable estimate, not without some backing, that 5 million votes were flipped to Romney through software hacking, ballot box stuffing and simply destroying ballots.
He still lost big.
snip
…here…despite the fact we are the largest active veterans group and, by miles the most politically effective, we continue to be minimized.
Veterans don’t need cigarettes, booze and bingo. Americans don’t need a police state. If government doesn’t want to hear the unpleasant truth, it can change or we will find a way of removing it. We didn’t take down the criminal cabal around Romney and his Bush associates by ourselves but we were a third of that effort, done without one cent of fund raising.
We had Americans with us. Again, my thanks to all that stood with us at VT, numbers I would never have imagined. I am humbled. Please post all election conspiracy theories in the comment section.
……………
And, another update:
http://markcrispinmiller.com/2012/11/score-one-at-last-for-the-election-integrity-movement/
Score one (at last) for the Election Integrity movement!
Late last night, after Obama took Ohio, Karl Rove was on Fox News, doggedly refusing to concede. He insisted that Ohio was still in play, as Romney was going to win in Hamilton County—where the votes were “counted” on machines made and maintained by Hart InterCivic, a company effectively controlled by Romney’s family. (The same machines were also used in Williams County.)
So it’s not surprising that the GOP’s Lord Voldemort foresaw an “upset victory” in that county. It is surprising that he said it on Fox News, and when the game was obviously lost, so that a sudden Romney “victory” in Ohio would have seemed especially suspicious—even in the eyes of Rove’s old allies on Fox News (or those not in the loop).
To those of us with vivid memories of Election Nights 2000 and 2004, it was a creepy moment—and things got even creepier when Brad Friedman reported that the website of the Ohio SoS had suddenly gone down, which had also happened at that very hour eight years before; and when it had come back on, Kerry, who had been ahead, was now behind. And—horribly—the rest was history.
But that didn’t happen this time, as Rove had obviously lost control—of himself (his recklessness in mouthing off like that was staggering), and, infinitely more important, of his well-oiled, fabulously subsidized election-theft machine. For all his plans, and all the preparations made by Ohio SoS Jon Husted (among others), Rove was clearly overruled on this Election Day, as cooler heads prevailed.
The fact is that, this time, yet another late-night “upset victory” would have been too risky—for the US press had finally done its job, enough to make a lot of people conscious of what’s happened to our voting system, and, therefore,of what could happen to let Romney “win.”
The honor roll includes, among many others, Harper’s (for publishing Victoria Collier’s brilliant overview), the Atlantic, Esquire, the Christian Science Monitor, Forbes (which came out with a killer piece about Ohio’s voting system early on Election Day), Huffington Post, and even DailyKos (which had been fervently denialist since 2004).
This time, such organs, and others, played up news that most of them would once have buried or ignored—especially the news of what was happening in Ohio, broken by Gerry Bello and Bob Fitrakis in the Columbus Free Press, and carried even by such unlikely outlets as Fox 19 in Cincinnati.
In short, our work online was finally resonating through the mainstream press—not the New York Times or CNN, of course, but others numerous and respectable enough to give some traction to the questions we’ve been raising for so many years. Thus the old smear of “conspiracy theory” finally sounded not like common sense but like the mere ad hominem evasion that it’s really always been; and so those few who used that smear this time were shot to pieces for it.
When NBC’s Chuck Todd compared concerns about e-voting to “birther garbage,” Brad Friedman cleaned his clock, with a devastating catalogue of proven instances of fraud that didn’t just expose the ignorance of NBC’s so-called “elections expert,” but which can now be used by anyone who wants to fight for fair elections.
And, as usual, that tired old slur came not just from the corporate media but, even louder, from the left—ThinkProgress and Alternet both coming out with marvelously stupid pieces whose effect, potentially, is so destructive that Karl Rove himself might just as well have written them. (In its error-riddled item calling the Hart InterCivic story “FALSE,” Snopes.com used Alternet as a source.) And yet the dozens of smart, angry comments posted in response to those outrageous screeds make clear that leftist pundits can no longer get away with laughing off this all-important fight for real elections in America.
It’s time to put an end to such complacent jeering; because people need to know—and want to know—what’s happened here, and what they can do about it. That growing public interest is the reason why our work has finally broken through, with Brad, Victoria, Bob, Gerry and Harvey Wasserman, Jonathan Simon, Sally Castleman, Richard Charnin, Michael Collins, Greg Palast, Bev Harris, John Ennis, Sheila Parks, Paul Lehto, Marta Steele and so many others (and please do forgive me if I didn’t name you here—I’m really tired!) finally seeing, if not their names in lights, their vital findings resonating through the public sphere. In my own case, that broad public interest recently came home to me when my half-hour interview with Heather Wokusch on MNN (NYC’s public access channel) instantly went viral up on YouTube, getting over 80,000 hits in just four days.
And it’s because our work has reached so many people that it’s not just we ourselves who spread the word, but countless others who aren’t activists. As Rove and his confederates mulled their options yesterday, who knows how much they fretted over that explosive bit of video posted by “centralpavoter,” showing that an ES&S iVotronic e-voting machine had repeatedly flipped his Obama vote to Romney? (The Raleigh Telegram reported that the same thing was happening on machines in North Carolina.) The fact that it went viral—vividly disproving the GOP’s propaganda claimsthat Democrats were somehow flipping Romney votes—had to help decide them not to rip off this election after all.
So while this day after is a thrilling time for Democrats, it is a moment of rare triumph for those fighting for legitimate elections in America. We’re feeling this elation not because Barack Obama won, but because we’ve helped prevent the right from pulling off another “win” despite the will of the electorate. And—despite that Democratic sweep—we will keep up this fight to realize American democracy itself, which must be saved not only from Karl Rove, the Kochs and Sheldon Adelson, but from the long joint grip of both the parties, and the money flooding through them.
MCM
*****
From Victoria Collier:
THANK YOU TO THE ELECTION INTEGRITY MOVEMENT!
The awareness of potential GOP vote rigging was unprecedented leading up to the 2012 November election, and it made a difference. Many within the election integrity movement – Progressives, Libertarians and even Republicans – did not believe that Mitt Romney could win in honest elections.
Election Day 2012 did see break-downs of electronic voting machines all across the country, enormous lines in African-American districts, and we will probably end up tallying millions of likely-Democratic votes lost in voter roll purges, discarded ballots, and other votes lost to GOP robo-calling and other dirty tricks.
Which means that, as in 2008, it’s likely that Democratic wins are much larger than officially recorded.
But the alarms had been sounded presidential vote-rigging was unprecedented and MILLIONS of eyes were on Ohio and Florida.
Though we still have a task in front of us – instituting election reform; clean elections, the end of corporate campaign financing, and transparent vote counting – we must count this election in many ways as a victory for our movement.
—
Victoria Collier
Editor: VoteScam.org
Read more at http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2012/11/obama-wins-the-system-is-broken.html#L7GYOKRT3zUVhzoK.99
http://truth-out.org/news/item/12442-an-mi5-whistle-blowers-story
EXCERPT from Transcript:
//MACHON: Well, it’s very much a sort of network of old public schoolboys, so, you know, as chaps might talk casually to each other. But I think the major problem is cultural, because until 1994, MI6 had operated outside the law. It was only in 1994 the new law came in which said they should get permission to do this sort of thing. And I think by 1995 the old boys hadn’t really got to grips with the fact they had to follow the law. I think it was just that simple.
/JAY: I mean, it’s noticeable now, of course. You roll forward to 2011 and the war in Libya, the NATO invasion, and MI6 people were on the ground in Libya helping the Benghazi rebels, and most of those rebels were the very same groups that they’d been funding in 1996 secretly. This time they were funding and training and helping them overtly. I think it is important, I think, from what I know of the Benghazi situation—that is, one segment of the rebels, ’cause there are a lot of people involved in that rebellion that were not al-Qaeda and not linked to MI6—or, we should add, French intelligence, ’cause the French were up to their eyeballs in all this.
/MACHON: Absolutely. Yeah. Yeah.
/JAY: And also, just for the sake of the record, we shouldn’t jump over the fact that after this ’96-’97 period you’re talking about, Gaddafi made his grand bargain with Cheney and Bush and had kind of had his rapprochement, including with the British, and Gaddafi’s son was running around with British lords and Rothschilds and other people.
/MACHON: Well, again, there’s some interesting history there, because we know (it’s on the public record) that the Shayler case was one of the negotiating factors between the Gaddafi regime and the Tony Blair government, that and the Lockerbie trial, you know, the two suspects that were wanted for the trial of bombing Pan Am 103 in 1988. So we have a situation where that was one of the sort of hot potatoes that helped Gaddafi use as a lever to get a deal with Blair and come in from the cold.//
http://www.gregpalast.com/starting-today-no-charge-for-my-bestselling-book-no-joke/
Starting Today: No Charge for
my Bestselling Book. No Joke.
Friday, November 2, 2012
Palast Fund to give away FREE copies of Bestseller
Billionaires & Ballot Bandits:
How to Steal an Election in 9 Easy Steps
A personal note from Greg Palast
Call me crazy. The Palast Investigative Fund is dead broke and our office in New York is under water. No kidding.
But America is drowning and I can’t stand by and watch.
So I’ve made a decision: For the last few days leading up to the election, you can download a complete copy of my New York Times bestselling book, Billionaires & Ballot Bandits: How to Steal an Election in 9 Easy Steps.
Stone cold free.
No tricks. I am asking those of you who can, to make a tax-deductible donation when you download the book or simply make a contribution here. Totally voluntary. That’s the only way we can keep our investigative team alive and make sure we can report on the wholesale shoplifting of the ballot I am witnessing here in Ohio.
My staff is currently operating on our dangerously exploding credit card balance. But America is in the balance and they haven’t cancelled our card yet.
I’m not making this up, my friends. Please donate $200, $20, $2000, $5. Whatever you can. And if you want a signed (dry) book or film, go to our “store” and make a tax-deductible donation there.
Or give zero.I just want you and your friends to read this book. If you do want the printed edition or the NOOK and Kindle version, you can get those from your bookstore,Amazon, IndieBound or Barnes & Noble.
Billionaires & Ballot Bandits has been on the New York Times bestseller list for the five weeks since its release – at the cover price of $15. Now, YOU can get it for FREE. (I will cover the publisher’s loss. Somehow.)
It contains details, which we revealed in the The Nation cover story “Mitt Romney’s Bail-out Bonanza,” of how Mitt Romney profited directly at the taxpayers expense. The book also tells you the full sickly funny but horrific tale of Romney’s secret business partner and top donor Paul Singer a.k.a. The Vulture, and dishes the dirt on his other sugar daddies, the Ice Man, the Snake, and the three Koch brothers.
From our wet, dark office, and on the road, we are producing stories for Nation,Democracy Now! and a hundred other outlets. Hell or high water we will expose the 9 ways these ballot bandits are stealing the vote in Ohio, Colorado, and Florida.
We do old fashioned non-partisan investigative reporting.
We will keep digging but are asking you to donate and help to pay for our shovels. TODAY, if you at all can.
And get the book. In print, for eReader or download it free.
I thank you and my sleepless team thanks you.
This is Greg Palast, in Toledo, Ohio, reporting …until they pull the pencil from my cold, dead hand.
* * * * * * * *
Greg Palast is the author of the New York Times bestsellers The Best Democracy Money Can Buy, Armed Madhouse and Vultures’ Picnic.
Palast’s brand new NYT bestseller Billionaires & Ballot Bandits: How to Steal an Election in 9 Easy Steps, is available from Barnes & Noble, Amazon or Indie Bound and on the NOOK and Kindle.
Author’s proceeds from the book go to the not-for-profit Palast Investigative Fund for reporting on voter protection issues.
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The Halloween classic, “Zombie Banks”, still lives:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmKWJMENMxE
Curious, I googled “Unite With The Obama To Achieve An Even Greater Victory!” and after clicking a few links came to this:
—“Greene stated on her blog that Obama would be reelected in the 2012 presidential election. She has looked at both Romney’s and Obama’s astrological chart and can see past their fluffed up promises and possible condescending words.
“Romney is kind of the big gung ho kind of guy and Americans seem to like that,” confessed Greene, “He’s [Romney]a Pisces, he’s a chameleon, in a way he’s the perfect snake oil salesman.” From his chart Greene can see his true colors. Romney is manipulative, devious and he’s after a lot of power, which compels her not to trust him.”—
http://english.ruvr.ru/2012_10_17/Psychics-predict-the-US-presidential-election-And-the-winner-is/
Is this Astrologer an Axelrod/Plouffe plant? :)
Liz Greene is a fairly well-respected astrologer in the field, so I’d take her at face value.
Of course, astrologers use much the same judgment and interpretation as economists when determining the appropriate techniques to apply and the right charts to compare, and undoubtedly some have axes to grind and books to talk. Here is one example of an astrologer calling it for Romney, complete with an obligatory dig at the objectivity of the astrological establishment with whom his call disagrees. Isn’t that telling!
I haven’t seen one astrologer yet who contests that Mercury starting its retrograde motion on election night strongly suggests the post-election 2012 is going to be uncertain for a while like in 2000, and no official result until after Mercury goes direct. Wheeee! I got a Stein ready for the Nader-haterade that will surely flow abundantly from corporate Democrats.
Duh, I should have read the linked article… Tara Greene, I don’t know from Adam.
Yea, Liz Greene is quality—applying Jungian Psycholgy to understanding charts.
I find consulting the entrails of banksters to be much more accurate.
from sf chronicle blog post today
Wells Fargo Bank Concord CA
Every last one of them in Concord online banking email group got their notice today. 30 days working. 30 days non working and then whatever time they have from their tenure. We think the total is between 50-70 people. No option to go on the phones… nothing.
Most of these people have between 8 and 15 years on the job. They are raising families and paying rent or buying homes in Contra Costa.
Each and every one of those jobs went to India….
Have you found a Credit Union that you like nearby?
Sign of the times:
http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1696484/rihanna-diamonds-executive-platinum-album.jhtml
Pretentious much?
What? No mention of the new Henri Le Chat Noir Halloween Video??
http://youtu.be/R_fUsssnHPw
“No one ever dresses (up) as crippling self-doubt.” Then…that last frame. Pauvre Henri.
Oh, I didn’t realize there were more Henri films! Thanks!
Jim Hansen. “It is a planetary emergency.” He was speaking as a citizen, not for NASA, which always puzzles me. NASA of all people should be standing behind him. But they remain impeccably non-political. But his message and his method are exciting. He is appealing to the workers of the world. I think that is really cool. I can almost hear them singing! And his seminar at Cornell was a cooperative effort of Cornell’s Global Labor Institute and the Rosa Luxemburg Fdn in NYC. (I didn’t know there was a Rosa Luxemburg Fdn.)
“If the (weakened) ice sheets begin to collapse it will create several meters of sea level rise in ONE year.” – Remember the ocean surge with Sandy was only 4 meters. And that has caused most of the devastation in NYC.
Hansen doesn’t understand why nations, we, ignore the danger of fossil fuels. So he is appealing directly to Labor to understand the danger and demand the switch to clean alternatives. It will create lots of new good-paying jobs, etc. And oil and natgas need to be much more expensive to reflect the damage they are doing and make alternatives affordable.
Scientific American. Yes, climate change did cause Sandy. Global warming causes a change in the jet stream bringing down troughs of Arctic air which collide with warmer weather coming up from the Gulf and the Atlantic. The warmer Gulf and Atlantic storms are bigger because they are warmer and what ensues is weather chaos a la Sandy. Insurance companies are not pretending that global warming is insignificant. Munich RE considers North America, with its complex weather patterns, to be an ongoing catastrophe.
The more you argue the point the more they’ll deny it. Sigh…
No, you fooooools, its a gigantic conspiracy, by scientists who are secret socialists.(Or something. Maybe pagans.)
These guys have much more political lobbying power than the petro-carbon industries. Thank goodness we have brave men like the Koch brothers willing to stand up for the little guy.
“But they remain impeccably non-political.”
Did the author forget the snark tag?
Hedges:
The November election is not a battle between Republicans and Democrats. It is not a battle between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney. It is a battle between the corporate state and us…And for this reason I will vote next month for Jill Stein, the Green Party candidate, although I could as easily vote for Rocky Anderson of the Justice Party….
All the major correctives to American democracy have come through movements and third parties that have operated outside the mainstream. Few achieved formal positions of power. These movements built enough momentum and popular support, always in the face of fierce opposition, to force the power elite to respond to their concerns.
=========
Perspectives:
Hedges and Stoller come to the same conclusion: vote Green, but Hedges has a different perspective than Stoller. Stoller makes “The Progressive Case Against Obama” but Hedges, I think, would view Obama as just a symptom of the disease.
=========
Green vs. Justice:
Neither can “win” (in quotes because a vote for Third-Party – some are now saying “Second-Party” because the R+D’s are so alike – is a “win” in that it sends a message to the establishment). But Green is a more established Party. Justice was only founded in November 2011 and has yet to write a Party Platform.
They have very similar positions. I don’t know why the Justice Party people didn’t just join with the Greens.
M.B.A.s rethink Wall Street.
Hopefully, students will rethink M.B.A. soon.
Re: Hedges
While it’s interesting to see Hedges confess his true colors…so to speak…and while I support and understand his decision, I must disagree with his statement, ” I will step outside the system.”
Red, Blue, Green, or (what is that…Navy Blue for Johnson?), it’s a vote for the same system…capitalism…that got us into this mess. The “emergent parties” may not be mainstream, but they are not “outside the system.”
Same scripture…different church…different clergy…but same scripture.
Planetary emergency.
The first step is to declare the whole planet a major disaster area.
Will that lead to a dictator for the protection of Nature, I don’t know.
For ancient Romans, they would probably hold a special election to see if they wanted a dictator.
Like wheat, bananas are a dangerously vulnerable monoculture.
Jeffrey Brown is a co-anchor on PBS’ NewsHour? I guess this shows how long it’s been since I watched it. I have to wonder if his awareness of attacks on public institutions isn’t another example of an Establishment liberal who, à la Krugman, notices the obvious from time to time without ever consistently following up on it.
Like many here, Hansen has realized that the government and the political process are incapable of addressing any long term crisis. A hurricane in the Northeast days before an election? Sure. But the global climate change which spawned it? Not so much.
Re Pesticide Industry Backed Opponents of Prop 37
This is the first people versus foreign corporations direct political battle.
Californians have created this ballot measure, Proposition 37, with almost a million voters’ signatures, to force genetically modified food to be labeled. Thousands of yard signs and bumper stickers are seen everywhere “Yes on 37″-label genetically modified food.” “We have a right to know what’s in our food”, “Our children are not lab rats” etc.
However, there are NO bumper stickers or yard signs saying “no on 37” seen anywhere. There is a tsunami of TV, radio and print ads for the No side.
A million and a half dollars a day is coming from overseas corporations like Bayer, Syngenta and Nestle as well as Monsanto, a domestic corporation, to convince voters to reject the measure and thus protect the four corporations’ multi billion dollar profits selling the seeds, chemicals and most of all, the ignorance of what people are getting with their food.
The Tsunami of no ads is pretending to be down home straw hat farmers and simple folk concerned about rising food prices, nasty lawsuits and the ultimate howler, the ready availability of organic food, therefore there’s no need to inform anyone of what they are eating because it might just confuse them or lead to lawsuits or higher grocery bills etc.
http://www.carighttoknow.org
The basis for health concerns is best seen here:
http://www.geneticroulettemovie.com
or searching Youtube for “genetic roulette movie remix” a ten minute version of the longer video above.
Kris re; “Our children are not lab rats” – Oh, but we are lab rats by Bayer et al.
CONNECT:
http://www.eu-facts.org/en/background/dark_roots_europe_lecture.html
//The corporate preparations for World War II started as early as 1925, when Bayer, BASF, Hoechst and other German multinationals formed a cartel called “IG Farben Industry”. The declared goal of this cartel was to obtain control of the global markets in the key industrial sectors of chemistry, pharmaceuticals and petrochemicals. Already in 1925, when this cartel was founded, its corporate value surpassed 11 billion Reichsmark and it employed more than 80,000 people.
/One of the strategic industries for which IG Farben sought global control was the pharmaceutical “investment business”. They knew that the pharmaceutical industry is not primarily a health industry, but an investment business that defines the human body as its marketplace. While presenting itself as the purveyor of health, the entire existence of this investment industry has been based on the continuation and expansion of diseases as multibillion dollar markets for patented drugs.//
——————-
CONNECT the incriminating DOTS aggregated below:
A Century of War: : Anglo-American Oil Politics and the New World Order by F. William Engdahl (Feb 21, 2011);
Seeds of Destruction: The Hidden Agenda of Genetic Manipulation by William Engdahl (Nov 20, 2007);
“THE SHOCK DOCTRINE: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism” by Naomi Klein.
———————————
To *THEM* – WE ARE only: the human body “marketplace” of the Global Reich.
You do know that the A.M.A is against labeling don’t you?
Medical corporations, device makers and their allies will go broke if people stop being sick.
The American Cancer Society doesn’t dare speak up, people might make the connection between GMOs and profits for their members.
Monsanto’s genetically modified Bovine Growth Hormone did for cancer what a cupful of gasoline does for a smoldering ember.
What would you think of an industry that swore up and down that their products were safe and that people that questioned them were wrong? “Show me the proof” is what you would say?
Just like cigarettes, asbestos, pesticides, Agent Orange, L-Trytophan, Thalidomide, Bovine Growth Hormone, the biotech industry has its hired experts to testify that their products are safe and there’s nothing to worry about.
Just like the victims of those industries, once you are sick and dying it’s too late. Parents, are you going to risk your unborn child, your infant, your children, or your own health to their promises and reassurances? What’s more important, their potential loss of profits or your health?
Yes on 37. Just label the genetically modified creations in the supermarket. We’re smart enough to use that freedom to do what we think is right.
Do-over: http://dailybail.com/home/meet-jon-corzines-daughter.html
Stealing money from a Girl Scout “cookie entrepreneur”
This interview of Stephanie Kelton has been plugged before but she does such a great job of explaining MMT that I couldn’t help mentioning it again.. some tidbits..
current laws (passed by Congress) don’t allow the fed govt (treasury) to run a deficit at the Fed
treasury bond sales are a way for the govt to maintain positive interest rates, they do this by taking money (bank reserves) out of the system when they sell/issue a bond
It’s the govt creating currency/spending money into existence (over and above taxes) that creates these surpluses
China holds about 1 trillion of our 16 trillion debt
The US treasury works as a ‘saving account’ for China to invest its export earned dollars and earn interest
unemployment is an indication that deficits are too small, inflation is an indicator that govt is ‘spending’ too much
taxes don’t need to be raised unless you are trying to slow something down. ie they don’t need to be raised to adequately fund social programs
http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2012/10/links-102912.html
jerry 101 says:
October 29, 2012 at 11:29 am
Did you all hear Le Show over the weekend (Harry Shearer (Ned Flanders) from the simpsons radio show)?
It was great. He interviewed Dr. Stephanie Kelton.
http://www.kcrw.com/etc/programs/ls/ls121028le_show_-_october_28
A great intro for the masses to MMT. She did a great job explaining what’s wrong with our current political economy.
Here at the Peter Pinguid Society, we’re constantly on the look out for any signs of opposition, or anything that might pose a threat to the rule of the 0.01 percent.
Lately this job has been pretty boring, as it’s getting harder and harder to find anyone who hasn’t already been co-opted.
The list of “progressives” urging the public to vote for the neoliberal Obama as the lesser evil now includes the editors of the Nation magazine, Rebecca Solnit, Matt Taibbi, Daniel Ellsberg, Noam Chomsky, and we even persuaded Douglas Brinkley (superstar pop historian and all-around serious man of letters) to go easy on Obama during his recent interview for Rolling Stone. :)
So we’re not too worried about opposition from progressives. Our motto is give us a progressive for 15 minutes and we’ll make him into a neoliberal.
We believe man is a piece of white paper. A blank sheet. You can take a man and torture him to a gibbering wreck, or tell him he’s God one minute, then shoot him the next; man is changeable, and can be molded to whatever we want him to be.
Only about five percent of the population is even capable of leadership in any case. So the first thing you do is remove these from the rest of the population, you take away all those who have leadership personalities.
You make them an offer they can’t refuse and 99 percent will accept. As for the ones who refuse, you quietly get rid of them. You remove them. You either shoot them or put them in a separate camp. You want to leave only the mass that can be molded, destroyed and remade.
And we may have gone too far in the case of Douglas Brinkley with that Rolling Stone interview, just as we went too far with Michael Lewis in that Vanity Fair article. We agree, it was a pathetic sight, watching both of them get down on their hands and knees and fellate Obama, then lick his feet, chanting over and over “Unite With The Obama To Achieve An Even Greater Victory!”
In the process of molding, destroying and remaking people, sometimes we get carried away and take it a little too far, we’d be the first ones to admit it. And when that happens, you have collateral damage such as the sad case of Douglas Brinkley (still groveling on his hands and knees, the last we heard, only now he’s groveling along with Michael Lewis in a padded cell) but there’s no way to avoid collateral damage. It’s part of the process.
“We are the Peter Pinguid Society, we are the 0.01 percent”.
“… but there’s no way to avoid collateral damage. It’s part of the process.”
You are nailing the “voice,” PPS. Straight-up, matter-of-fact, ruthlessness.
Nice post, thanks!
Peter dude, you are so nailing it.
Thanks for peek into the moral abyss of the global inherited rich.
You have to hand it to the Mayor and the MTA — they are perfectly consistent in their miserliness towards the 99% who rely on the public transportation (that they, incidentally) pay for.
First, MTA has “not made any decisions on whether to refund MetroCard holders for the days of lost service. The agency did not refund riders any money when it shut down service for Tropical Storm Irene.” Just Wow!
Second: Buses free today, but pay-only again tomorrow. As if tomorrow will be any (measurable) improvement on today, including skeletal service compared to demand, with resulting overstuffed buses that take 2 hours on trips normally 25-30 minutes long. From WSJonline: “Buses Running with delays Metropolitan Transportation Authority buses will start fare collection Thursday. Buses are running as a free service Wednesday and operating on a regular weekday schedule for the first time since the onset of the storm. Most bus lines are experiencing delays.”
Considering the hundreds of thousands of dollars that the MTA and other public authorities waste on dead-wood managers, poorly-managed (and corrupt) construction projects, and so on, (not to mention Bloomberg with his dozens of failed billion dollar IT projects) you would think the Spirit of Mercy would to take hold — if only to give New Yorkers a break in the bus and subway fares until, I don’t know, full service is restored?
Nope. Straphangers and busriders are hostages of a well-oiled publicly-funded monopoly (controlled by the Mayor and Governor in significant part through their Board appointments) that operates under the Randyan “pursuit of self-interest.” It translates as “tough s**t” people — ha ha!
Lambert wrote (re. the data-centered Electocracy): “We might view the data-centric approach as the electoral version of drone strikes: A high-tech substitute for a hollowed out field force, and far less accurate than claimed.”
Sharp insight, LS, thank you. Similar, also, to the “data-centric – online-classroom” movement to gut education by removing teachers, classrooms and content of studies. In a very real sense, the Neo Liberal Program is replacing human institutions (and human substance and depth) with a series of data consoles that produce and signify nothing.
Yes, where they can collect rent on every byte that moves.
Right. They “produce and signify nothing, whilst providing infinite byte-based rent-extraction.”
Should be MARCY Wheeler [Emptywheel] credited with the story on Lee Iacocca and tax evasion on sales of autos built in China