Pitch to The Washington Post editorial board Washington Post. Readers? I imagine a big impediment would be the need to remain civil.
Plane Lands at South Pole in Daring Winter Medical Rescue ABC (furzy).
The Future of the Blockchain in Financial Services Communications FINalternatives (furzy)
Regulators warn on risks posed by bitcoin Financial Times
Google Gets Practical about the Dangers of AI MIT Technology Review (David L)
The Buddhist Monk Using Age-Old Wisdom to Shape Robotics Bloomberg (resilc)
China?
China’s capital outflow is accelerating MacroBusiness. Important. The overinvoicing, which is the biggest way to get capital out of the country, means China does not have a trade surplus.
China orders demolition of half of world’s largest Tibetan Buddhist institute Lion’s Roar (furzy)
China’s New Supercomputer Puts the US Even Further Behind Wired (resilc)
Video shows China bank employees being spanked BBC (Doug S)
To Stay Open, Europe Needs to Close Its Doors | Foreign Policy (resilc)
Greek current account gap shrinks in April on lower trade deficit Reuters
Brexit?
Uneasy calm takes hold ahead of UK vote Financial Times. Conventional wisdom is the undecideds will to a large degree support the status quo.
Pollsters and bookies pose different questions John Kay, Financial Times (David L)
EU referendum: Tate & Lyle Sugars joins campaign to leave EU BBC (furzy)
Brexit would be a decisive strike against the banking-corporate neo-Feudalism failed evolution
Syraqistan
Update on the Palestinian Water Crisis Chuck Spinney (guurst)
Big Brother is Watching You Watch
Goodbye, Password. Banks Opt to Scan Fingers and Faces Instead. New York Times (furxy). Now the surveillance state has found its excuse for collecting biometrics on everyone. This is what you get for the “convenience” of banking by smartphone. If they extend this to non-apps users, I am dumping my bank. Raise hell with your bank and your Congresscritter.
Democrats’ War on Due Process and Terrorist Fearmongering Long Predate Orlando Glenn Greenwald, Intercept (resilc)
Senate Republicans want to expand surveillance powers after Orlando shooting The Verge (guurst)
PayPal Dumped Cloud Company After It Refused To Monitor Customers’ Files Fortune (Dan K). The EU is tough on privacy. There may be official action.
Imperial Collapse Watch
Berta Cáceres’s name was on Honduran military hitlist, says former soldier Guardian (guurst). Nasty.
Seeking a Debate on ‘Regime Change’ Wars Consortiumnews (Chuck L)
The Diplomats’ Revolt on Syria Nation. Reslic: “Try outs for the SecState Nuland warmonger team.”
US alliance support tumbles MacroBusiness
WPost’s ‘Agit-Prop’ for the New Cold War Consortiumnews (Chuck L)
Clinton/DNC Hacks
Clinton Foundation said to be breached by Russian hackers Bloomberg
We Spoke to DNC Hacker ‘Guccifer 2.0’ Motherboard (Bill B)
2016
A Big Idea for Hillary Robert Reich (furzy). Another not credible idea, given that the Dems are in hock to big moneyed interests, and that’s before you get to all the flagrant cheating in Dem primaries.
The Insidious Power of the Media Disinformation Campaign for Hillary Clinton | American Thinker (Selva)
Why Clinton Lost So Many Democrats American Conservative. Resilc: “Because REAL Democrats don’t want a warmonger, grifter, GOP lite candidate. How about that?”
Van Jones tells Cenk Uygur: ‘Don’t vote for Hillary Clinton — vote for Black Lives Matter’ Raw Story
Slavoj Zizek’s take on Donald Trump is very Zizek-y. New Republic (resilc) Send this to Clinton fans and watch them explode.
Maybe Money Is Speech After All: How Donald Trump’s Finances Measure His Legitimacy as a Candidate Corey Robin (martha r)
US workforce dropouts explain Donald Trump’s rise Financial Times. True only up to a point. Ignores that small businessmen and a decent swathe of wealth Republicans also support him.
Donald Trump Calls for Israeli-Style Racial Profiling— But Profiling Is a Disaster Intercept. They also harass white Americans. On my one visit to Tel Aviv (for business, I flew in from London and you could see from my passport stamps that I had been to 11 countries on 5 continents in the last four weeks in an insane order, something a tourist or a terrorist would be very unlikely to do), I was interrogated for 50 minutes and told to produce my meeting schedule. They called a person on it to verify who I was and why I was there. I was told this is typical. What if this had been in the evening when no one was in the office?
‘Dump Trump’ Is Doomed, But We Can’t Take Our Eyes Off It FiveThirtyEight (resilc)
Donald Trump’s May fundraising totals are disastrously bad Washington Post. Has he even been fundraising in any kind of organized manner? His whole campaign has been improvised to a fault.
Where is Donald Trump’s campaign money going? To Donald Trump. Vox (furzy)
Hillary Clinton Says America Can’t Let Trump Get His (Tiny) ‘Hands on Our Economy’ New York Magazine
Trump would bankrupt US, says Clinton Financial Times. Lordie. A fiat currency issuer cannot go bankrupt in its own currency.
Apple pulls out, decides it doesn’t want to have anything to do with this Republican convention Daily Kos (furzy)
Judge won’t let GOP into Cleveland convention protest suit Politico
The Trump Files: Watch Donald Sing the “Green Acres” Theme Song in Overalls Mother Jones
House Republicans to Unveil Health-Insurance Proposal Wall Street Journal
Now we know what happens to teens when you make pot legal Washington Post (resilc)
I’m a bit loath to take up this much Links real estate with this e-mail message forwarded from steve b, but I didn’t want to make it an entire post either. I think you’ll see why I felt compelled to show it to you:
Orlando
The Orlando Transcript and a Renewed Terrorist Threat – Global Guerrillas (resilc)
Michael Tomasky, from June to December Corey Robin (martha r). So much for tolerance
Gunz
Making a Killing New Yorker (furzy)
Donald Trump Is Dead Wrong About the “Good Guy With A Gun” Theory – A Ballistics and Firearms Expert Explains Why Medium. I’ve made this argument at other times…but the gun enthusiasts refuse to believe the evidence. They’ve seen too many Westerns and action movies.
There Is One Management Strategy Everyone Is Using, But Is It Worth It? Forbes. From last month.
Hedge Fund Manager Charged With Insider Trading Is Found Dead New York Times
Classic cars get top marques for returns Financial Times
NY Fed Warns about Booming Subprime Mortgages, now Insured by the Government Wolf Richter
SEC Readies Case Against Merrill Lynch Over Notes That Lost 95% Wall Street Journal. The SEC decides to get out of bedc But this deal produced ~ $140 million of losses. The crisis produced much bigger fish that the agency never bothered to fry.
Retail Sector Adds 253,000 Jobs in 10 Months but Aggregate Hours Worked Unchanged: Why? Michael Shedlock (EM)
Class Warfare
Hey Recent Grads, Don’t Let the Real World Kill Your Dreams Vice. I hate to sound jaded but one of the things about being an adult is that your find out goals are often not well formulated or will produce what you think they will give you. And it’s better to learn that sooner rather than later
Barbarism, Civilization and Modern Politics: PTSD as a Political Football in a Hobbesian Age Counterpunch
Antidote du jour. Because this is from Richard Smith (from @leftoutside), it verges on being an anti-antidote. But IMHO, the jaunty parasol rescues it.
See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.
237 comments
Comments are closed.
I hope he put on sunscreen.
+++
You win the internets for today.
The horror…
TMI………
* Mea Culpa: I see now that this abomination is all my fault for posting a message from Herr Trump a couple of days ago…
June 20, 2016 at 8:36 pm
“I love Naked Capitalism. I mean, what’s not to love? I love naked. And I love capitalism. It’s just great. It’s been very good to me. They’ve got these great little pictures of animals. Naked animals. You gotta to see them. Beautiful animals. And they’re great people. Tremendous people. And we’re going to be great together. Tremendous. Huge.”
Donald J. Trump
Isn’t it illegal to distribute Kitty Porn?
I think he should change his name to “Olympia”.
No tan lines!
RE: We Spoke to DNC Hacker ‘Guccifer 2.0’ Motherboard (Bill B)
I am interested to hear what Lambert an the provenance discussion has to say about this. To me, if it is even truly the “hacker”, it sounds the like kind of nonsense a person would make up when being paid $10/hr to pretend to be a hacker. Especially the Illuminati bit.
Roger Smith: Agreed. The article in Motherboard has a whiff of a scam. The bad Romanian, the embedded Russian in the files? The “woman lover”? Is this Borat Hacker?
I’d still place the source in the U S of A.
Borat also speaks English weller than his native tongue.
He is at least the front man for the hackers, if not the actual hacker. He has the docs.
We are being asked to believe simultaneously that (a) the hack was so sophisticated that it had to be a major government effort and (2) that the hackers were so unsophisticated that they left fingerprints all over the place to identify themselves. Really? If a Russian bubble gum wrapper was found at a political assassination, would that implicate the KGB/FSB? I would think the opposite. On top of that, we’re expected to believe that, having been caught out, the Russians have to scramble to find someone to cover for them, and they can’t even find a native Romanian speaker to take the call? Unbelievable.
I think the best explanation is either that Motherboard got pwned or that Guccifer 2.0 is playing some kind of game trying to appear dumber and flightier than he is.
I’ll also point out that computer geeks can be kinda weird, sometimes.
It is a possibility.
I saw the Illuminati reference on the first release and thought it was odd. I didn’t draw any conclusions from it, though.
Hey, if anyone is interested, today is the 75th anniversary of Untermehnen Barbarossa (Operation Barbarossa).Three million Wehrmacht and SS soldiers stepped across a 1,500 mile border with Russia, led by hundreds of tanks and armored vehicles. Their goal was to remove Russia as a nation from the face of the earth.
Behind the frontline troops came the Einsatzgruppen, special execution squads who were there to depopulate the Russian steppes so German farmers could move right in. The common practice was to round every civilian up into the church or a barn and burn them. A really efficient squad could take care of five or six villages a day this way.
Three years from invasion day, Russia had lost perhaps as many as 40 million civilians and soldiers, but had taken back every bit of land, and were fighting on German territory, driving relentlessly toward Berlin. A complete waste of human beings and industrial materiel by the Germans.
Hitler felt driven to invade mostly because Germany regularly needed to go loot its neighbors to get the oil, iron, grains, coal, and raw materials the Reich needed to keep going. If Germany had stayed at peace with Russia, the German economy would have collapsed within two years anyway.
And the relevance to the Illuminati would be?
So I guess the idea is that we can register Muslims but we can’t register guns?
+1
+1
“Openly” register Muslims, there’s probably already a hidden register (and possibly a register of home urls for anyone surfing NC, much less commenting on the site. The NSA’s bots should be polite and say hello while sniffing the traffic).
The problem for anyone trying to do real security is sifting the data, just getting more of it isn’t going to help, but rather hinder. That is unless and until the target becomes every Muslim, ala Bosnian genocide.
Once you ‘register’ the Muslims, what next? Will they be forced to wear yellow Star and Crescent patches on their clothing? Something similar has been tried before, and ended up very badly.
Not for IBM…
I have a copy of that book too. A chilling look inside the world of international business.
4 parenthesis around their name on their drivers license.
Only call them “crescents”…
The problem with this is that religion is both an ethnicity and an idea. It’s an ethnicity because the idea isn’t good enough to spread very well…. but it does spread. (Religion as a meme.)
To truly register all people of one religion, you’d need thought police.
Forgive me if I took your comment to be sarcastic. Is it really that hard to understand that the bottom line is that honest people believe that NEITHER should be registered for the same fundamental reasons?
There are probably realistically too many guns to register unless it was on a going forward future sales basis (and never mind all the guns already out there). Meanwhile registering Muslims is just wrong.
Seems like a lot of perverse umkehren today. Naked cat balls antitidote, pro blockchain, buddhist robots, corporate wellness, the acrid astringency of ‘rooting for you’ crushed dreams…
Is the opposite of bullshit truth and light, or is it bearshit?
Sorry, should’ve been (((bereshit))).
“Thus bereshit bara Elohim (usually ‘in the beginning God created’) is interpreted mystically to refer to the first three Sefirot: through the medium (the prefix be) of Hokhmah (called reshit), the first Sefirah – the force hidden within the third person singular of the word bara – produced by an act of emananation the third Sefirah (Binah), which is also called Elohim.” -Scholem
The Point being, perhaps my third person reference was simply my first person perspective on a rainy morning.
“life’s a beach”
After endorsing Donald Trump for President, Florida Governor Rick Scott urges people not to let terror affect life, and calls for calm. FBI now monitors cats with no ties to any terror group.
Beached cats are left humiliated and defenseless. PETA doesn’t rule out FBI ‘tamparing’ with balls.
As this is an inconvenient truth, global warming is made all the more real. Florida residents react by throwing massive ice bucket challenge party.
Brava!
“If Donald Trump was a cat.”
Why, cause Donald Trump has balls? I have balls too, you know.
All with teh Balls, say “BALLS UP!”
Haha – no, not because he has balls, but because I keep getting the feeling he’d really, really like to show them to us, wax poetic about them, regale us with his fondness for them, tell us how so many people have told him how yuge and wonderful they are.
HRC has already… A monumental Fail
This song is appropriate for both Trump and the anti-antidote.
Cat: I used to be an orange tabby. But the comb over became such a pain in the ass.
Re: Berta Carceres in the Guardian.
When that article first went up, there was a brief comment section, which was quickly frozen, with an apology from the moderator ‘comments opened in error’. Almost all articles like that are usually open for comments in the Guardian.
No doubt it was pointed out to someone that the Guardians favourite US presidential candidate has her hands red with the blood of Hondurans, including Carceres, and open commentators would have a field day pointing this out.
I’ve often thought if I was a Trump advisor I’d have protestors with banners showing Berta Carceres photo following Clinton everywhere as a reminded of just how shallow her claim to be a liberal and feminist really are.
Well… there’s probably a Trump Golf Course, or Trump Tower in the Honduras; and you could guess who his local partner would be in such a case.
Asking Americans to care about the US crushing of a democratic nation right in our backyard is a bridge too far. Those people are brown, they don’t even speak English, and you can’t even find the place on a map. Someone I know was travelling down there and afterwards they were stuck on the can for like a week. Do they even have a football team?
Tell’m the murder will make gasoline cheaper ¢5 a gallon and many will consider it a sublime act. There’s more than just willful ignorance at play, it’s a numbing down of morality. Mine first.
I was reading the NYT article about the hedge frund manager found dead, apparent suicide after being charged with insider trading. The lawyer was saying he hears clients say “I can’t go on like this” etc etc… and as I was reading this it just screamed inside my head… WTF do these fund managers think they put us mopes through, every single fuckin day as a matter of course????? for years on end…….
They don’t think about you. They think only about themselves which is why they commit suicide. No empathy. No sympathy. It’s always all about them.
+ …now if only my mother and her blue-haired friends would take PAUSE
Well, geez, if it’s that easy to be rid of them, why aren’t we mobbing and harassing them 24/7?
Secure Scheduling is the new Fight for $15:
Seattle’s latest labor movement is about scheduling — and power [Seattle Times]
Think of erratic scheduling as a nudge. If you’re an employer wanting to prevent workers from even thinking about organizing, a great way to do it is to continuously jerk around their schedules so that they’re exhausted, the equivalent of jet-lagged and unable to plan on attending labor events (or any other kind). Cass Sunstein would be proud.
Current Retail Scheduling where workers get different days and different hours every week and have little visibility of upcoming new schedules, is tantamount to torture. It prevents any ability to plan. It engenders complete ownership of individuals by the corporation.
I have been subject to this process for 4 months. It is inhumane.
I guess I’m the minority on this because I see workers as part of the problem. Many of them go into a work space with open availability and then are surprised when the company takes advantage of that.
Mind you, I do understand it is hard to tell an employer “no” when you need income but people should go into employment saying “these are the hours I am willing to work and only these hours.” If you don’t want to “clopen” then pick an availability of mornings or evenings, not both, and smack an employer down when they don’t stick to what your availability is(and yes I’ve had two kids that had to admonish their employers for not following the availability that was given to them prior to employment, so YES, I do understand that employers and poor management that fail to see that exhausted employees are not productive employees are part of the problem too.) However, a worker should understand their own worth to business and be able to argue effectively that things like a day off in the week allows for the employee to not encroach on impacting business when they need to make appointments for things like dental(you schedule that for your off day) and allows for them to do the mundane things like shop for groceries, do laundry, etc, etc.
Workers seem to have forgotten that they also have a responsibility to broker the terms for employment honestly. If you don’t want to work mornings, afternoons, and evenings every day then tell them that from the get go instead of pretending that you are willing to work morning, noon, and night any time because you are desperate for the job and then stick to it because the actuality is they need you as much as you need them or they wouldn’t have hired you to begin with.
This sounds like the “zero hours” contracts in the UK, where workers are bound to an employee but have no real idea when they will be working.
I can only imagine how difficult this makes things and how frustrating. Many people of course have to juggle multiple part time jobs to survive and not having proper or fair schedules must make things absolute hell.
But hey, don’t worry — Hillary Clinton is on their side! She can empathise with them, it’s very difficult and frustrating for her when the Gulfstream 450 (not 350, please!) is delayed at the airport or the presidential suite is a bit too small, or the $225,000 cheque for an hour’s speech gets delayed in the mail.
She probably gets wired direct deposit before the speech
Exactly, she doesn’t leave until the transaction is confirmed.
Darn right, Pavel. She’s fighting for us. And one of these days, she will win one. For herself.
Oh come on people! The $225,000 is just for show; the rest comes in a small attache case. What do you think those “advance aides” are for ? A quick stop over in Panama for the Gulfstream … sorted.
Its stuff like that which makes me think its long past time for nationwide general strikes. Sadly, IMHO things will have to get *much* worse before we get to that point. Labor really needs to start asserting itself through direct means in the USA
+
“Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will. Find out just what any people will quietly submit to and you have found out the exact measure of injustice and wrong which will be imposed upon them, and these will continue till they are resisted with either words or blows, or with both.”
(1857) Frederick Douglass,
LOL. Please change that cat picture or put a giant NSFW??? sign up or something. Or maybe blur out the uhm…bits.
I KNOW it’s just a cat but if a coworker walked by with that on the screen I’d likely get a visit from HR before lunch time. At the very least there would be rumors about the “weird things” I’m into.
Hah! Especially with the recent Michael Jackson gossip!
“Sir… I am afraid Panzer…. he had provocative images of animals on his screen. I was reading yesterday about these people, like Michael Jackson….”
I still fail to reason the stigma of sexual organs in our society. We all have them, we know what they look like… let’s just cool down about it shall we society? They are fine.
It’s not only a problem in human circles. Animals are now neutered and spayed almost one hundred percent of the time. You used to see testicles on dogs (and whatever that thing is in that picture…), not so much anymore. Pets have become sexless consumer items. This is opposed to antiquated notions of animals as working for you.
Overpopulation of cats and dogs is a tragic problem. Shelters are overflowing.
Spaying is far more humane.
Neutering and spaying should be mandatory.
Actually, I think that the problem is too many feral humans. Let’s spay and neuter a lot of them and leave the other species alone.
A cat’s body belongs to it only.
Unless it consents, do we humans have any right to…er, alter it?
And shouldn’t abortion be an option for a female cat?
This is so true, and odd – odd and true. An other modern world mindf*ck. In the future surreal will loose all meaning. I remember a cartoon, maybe from Playboy, showing one dog talking to an other saying matter-of-factly, “They love me. They cut my balls off.”
But they must be neutered. They domesticate themselves you know, not the other way around. Bill’s come due for those winter booties and plaid doggy coats.
So… your cow-orkers are all furries, and they’re calling you weird?
Antidote du jour. Because this is from Richard Smith (from @leftoutside), it verges on being an anti-antidote. But IMHO, the jaunty parasol rescues it.
“Ladies, what you see is what you get….”
BTW, I hope somebody applied sunscreen to that cat….especially to the sensitive, naughty parts….
I can’t even tell if the cat the legal age or not. We got laws about that in this country.
Seems odd that airbrushed out his cigarette and martini…
I wonder what the other members of the (figurative) and (literal) rat pack thought of him?
Only humans fantasize over naked pictures of members of their own species.
Is that a mental disorder special to us exceptional humans?
Not even apes are afflicted with that.
Perhaps only humans fantasize.
Just be glad it’s not a similar picture of Dr. Evil.
Its just another Fat Cat showing off his “fingers” (h/t D. Trump).
Proof that Concealed Carry permit holders live in a dream world, Part One
One of the few good pieces by ABC in recent years, showing how easy it is to shoot everyone but the bad guy. Thanks to the NRA we don’t have any data on how many of the people shot in gang land violence are “innocent” bystanders instead of the intended target, when the shooters had time to plan and a clear target in mind.
Has there been any report on whether any of the Orlando victims were killed in the rescue attempt? Even the professionals sometimes kill innocent bystanders, but as often as possible it is swept under the rug.
I can’t pin down where but I heard that only 20 of the victims were actually shot with the shooter’s bullets. Ricochets from the cops killed the rest. :(
We also need free government-issued Kevlar helmets and jackets for people who ask for them.
“PayPal Dumped Cloud Company After It Refused To Monitor Customers” PayPal knows what car I drive. I learned this when I spoke to them regarding a password issue or something. They said it was “public information.”
Unfortunately, it is. Several online services offer VIN lookups that “display all relevant information associated to that VIN number including the owner’s name, phone number, email address and more.”
Ostensibly this is for checking vehicle histories — all insurance-paid repairs are recorded in a database. But VIN lookups make life easy for stalkers and such. License plate numbers are not publicly posted. But read the VIN number through the windshield and you’ve got all the data needed to harass someone or steal their identity.
Better living through databasing!
Re: Michael Tomasky (Corey Robin)
Its a pity, when he worked for the Guardian he was one of the few writers who would engage below the line and his comments were often friendly and thoughtful. I think its less the individuals but the system in the US media (not just the US of course), which has brought out the worst in so many political writers. You really just have to get on board with the narrative, or good luck with paying your mortgage.
Had a bit of a koan this AM (And if you have read my posts here and elsewhere you will appreciate the brevity)
My feelings on Hillary.
She is an elite corportist who will say or do anything to be elected and then will follow the wishes, whims, and desires of her benefactors without question while lying that she is not doing so.
That’s as brief as I get.
That is also her brief.
greenwald article
So now, in the lexicon of the leading liberal lights of the Democratic Party, someone deemed by the U.S. government to be suspicious — placed in secret on a list, with no evidence presented and no court process — is the equivalent of “ISIS.” And to demand due process be accorded — says this Harvard Law Professor — is to arm ISIS.
the harvard law professor being elizabeth warren.
Warren is a neo. Neo-conservative or alternatively a neo-liberal, she’s right of center in most issues, and very much a believer in the fictional beast of a “fair market”, that private retirement funding, etc. will work if it’s done fairly, when the idea of financial education is a farce, a tax on the non-existent “spare” time of the less well off. In general she’s pro-NSA, pro-War, and her civil rights are mostly focused on a very narrow band of women’s rights. She’s said more about the need for sex-ed in schools than she has about the need for more equitable public schooling and equitable public commons. I get the feeling that she’s got very little exposure to real life outside her own narrow interests.
I’m glad she wants to stick it to the bankers, but frankly she doesn’t come near to understanding that it’s the whole system which is broken, and not a few regulations. She’s almost a Hillary Clinton with integrity.
I think your last line sums it up very well. She is undoubtedly a fantastic voice against the bankers, but there is nothing in her record to think she is anything but a classic liberal centrist. It seems a long time ago, but there was a time when the most powerful voices against banking corruption were from the sensible right wing who saw them as interfering with an efficient market and a risk to the core business interest of building things. She is a throwback to that extent.
I also suspect that you are right in thinking that she is quite a ‘narrow’ person intellectually – she seems to have little knowledge or interest of the world outside her particular set of interests (a hedgehog rather than a fox). This can make her very effective in the Senate, but not someone you could rely on to articulate a wider set of concerns.
Typical educated Oklahoman — a Bob Dole Republican with enlightened views on the one subject she studied in earnest. She would be an absolute Godsend as head of the CFPB.
If only she went and got post docs in Foreign Affairs, Military History, Econ from UMKC, Mining, & Engineering . . .
When do we get candidates and policies for the actual people of this country? I mean Bernie was absolutely excoriated for a platform Eisenhower would not have objected to.
When I hear “Warren is a centrist” I lament just how far to the right we’ve allowed the “center” to drift.
Warren was a Republican until the mid-90s. So pre-1990 Rep ideology is probably a good estimation of what she believes. Which of course makes her left of the 2016 Dems. She is ideologically and otherwise a conservative, but she is intelligent enough to understand GOP is a collection of crazy people.
I remember listening to a lecture of hers around 2012 about medical bankrutcies and her research on those caused her to leave GOP.
It’s easy to forget, with the turn in US politics post Nixon and especially post Reagan, that being a conservative does not make you a terrible person. She’s a (gag) social liberal, fiscal conservative, but with integrity and empathy enough to think the bottom rung of the ladder shouldn’t be under water and having money shouldn’t absolve you of crimes (or alternately, that it should be possible to make money without committing any).
especially post reagan? i would say because of reagan. she also didn’t seem to have any problem with his foreign policy or his anti environment and anti labor policies. it only goes so far to fight for integrity in a game that is rigged to start with.
Sanders disappointed as well when he said “potential terrorists” should be denied a permit in a tweet. And he voted for it I believe.
Re: Donald Trump and Israeli-style profiling:
The Israeli system had all sorts of odd and unpleasant impacts, I know many people who swore they’d never visit the country again after airport hassle. I used to work with a South African woman who lived in Tel Aviv for a few years – her husband was Israeli. She said she loved the lifestyle living there, but she insisted they leave simply because she found the vetting process on every trip abroad unbearable. She is white SA, but brown eyed and fairly dark complexion and christian background. But because she was indicated as ‘non-jewish’, but also had residency through her husband, the default assumption by security was that she must be Palestinian, despite her distinct SA accent, etc. After one particularly harrowing ‘stay’ overnight in a security cell, she simply told her husband that she was leaving the country and it was his choice if he wanted to follow.
And, let me guess, the husband stayed in Israel.
Actually, he left! But then again, he was London born (and very much a liberal) and his wife was drop dead gorgeous.
why he left. lol
Please tell me this was during the Apartheid-era, because that would make it funnier!
Israeli security: too much hassle even for those who are already comfortable with crushing freedom. :)
It was a few years after! Yeah, they were liberal-ish South Africans, so she was aware of the irony. But its one thing to know about these things, quite another to experience them personally.
It was a few years after! Yeah, they were liberal-ish South Africans, so she was aware of the irony. But its one thing to know about these things, quite another to experience them personally.
PlutoniumKun
June 22, 2016 at 9:04 am
I edited my below post because I read more material – long story short, we don’t profile to the same extent that we don’t torture – we use “enhanced interrogation” – – so we don’t “profile” – we use “categorization”
fresno dan
June 20, 2016 at 10:37 am
Donald Trump calls profiling Muslims ‘common sense’ Washington Post. Note what he said was more nuanced, but Trump never gets credit for nuance when he attempts it:
From an Intercept article (JULY 23, 2014)
https://theintercept.com/2014/07/23/blacklisted/
“The Obama administration has quietly approved a substantial expansion of the terrorist watchlist system, authorizing a secret process that requires neither “concrete facts” nor “irrefutable evidence” to designate an American or foreigner as a terrorist, according to a key government document obtained by The Intercept.
The “March 2013 Watchlisting Guidance,” a 166-page document issued last year by the National Counterterrorism Center, spells out the government’s secret rules for putting individuals on its main terrorist database, as well as the no fly list and the selectee list, which triggers enhanced screening at airports and border crossings. The new guidelines allow individuals to be designated as representatives of terror organizations without any evidence they are actually connected to such organizations, and it gives a single White House official the unilateral authority to place entire “CATEGORIES” of people the government is tracking onto the no fly and selectee lists.
…..
Over the years, the Obama and Bush Administrations have fiercely resisted disclosing the criteria for placing names on the databases—though the guidelines are officially labeled as UNCLASSIFIED. In May, Attorney General Eric Holder even invoked the STATE SECRETS privilege to prevent watchlisting guidelines from being disclosed in litigation launched by an American who was on the no fly list. In an affidavit, Holder called them a “clear roadmap” to the government’s terrorist-tracking apparatus, adding: “The Watchlisting Guidance, although unclassified, contains national security information that, if disclosed … could cause significant harm to national security.”
….
This combination—a broad definition of what constitutes terrorism and a low threshold for designating someone a terrorist—opens the way to ensnaring innocent people in secret government dragnets. It can also be counterproductive. When resources are devoted to tracking people who are not genuine risks to national security, the ACTUAL threats get fewer resources—and might go unnoticed.
The fallout is personal too. There are severe consequences for people unfairly labeled a terrorist by the U.S. government, which shares its watchlist data with local law enforcement, foreign governments, and “private entities.” Once the U.S. government secretly labels you a terrorist or terrorist suspect, other institutions tend to treat you as one. It can become difficult to get a job (or simply to stay out of jail). It can become burdensome—or impossible—to travel. And routine encounters with law enforcement can turn into ordeals.
……
While the nomination process appears methodical on paper, in practice there is a shortcut around the entire system. Known as a “threat-based expedited upgrade,” it gives a single White House official the unilateral authority to elevate entire “categories of people” whose names appear in the larger databases onto the no fly or selectee lists. This can occur, the guidelines state, when there is a “particular threat stream” indicating that a certain type of individual may commit a terrorist act.
This extraordinary power for “CATEGORICAL watchlisting”—otherwise known as PROFILING—is vested in the assistant to the president for homeland security and counterterrorism, a position formerly held by CIA Director John Brennan that does not require Senate confirmation.
The rulebook does not indicate what “categories of people” have been subjected to threat-based upgrades. It is not clear, for example, whether a category might be as broad as military-age males from Yemen. The guidelines do make clear that American citizens and green card holders are subject to such upgrades, though government officials are required to review their status in an “expedited” procedure.
===========================================
The above provides much amusement to me when I hear that:
A. Obama is much better on civil liberties than Bush
B. Bush was much tougher on watching terrorists
(Branding, i.e., parties – a great example of why I hate them. It would go against the repub brand to even hint that repubs are better at civil liberties because repubs equate that as soft on crime/terrorism – – and of course, repubs can NEVER EVER acknowledge that a dem is just as willing to shred the constitution as they are)
And the “CATEGORIES” versus “PROFILING” is also amusing when I hear people go on and on about profiling.
Like calling torture “enhanced interrogation” the use of “newspeak” has rendered the English language another mechanism of oppression.
But the best press money can buy will yammer about how bad Trump is on profiling, and ignore how bad the government is NOW…
If you think of “categorical watchlisting” as a data structure, it’s basically the same as identity politics.
Crowdstrike stands by their furious handwaving. Bullshit.
Compare crowdstrike’s attribution with kaspersky. Kaspersky will compare timestamps with country timezones, show specific liguistic or cultural cruft, and trace malware development in gory detail. Crowdstrike’s argument is (a) they’re good, they must be Russian; and (b) of course Russians care about the election, everybody cares about the election.
But but but look how very, very good they are! This group is known for the diabolical secret weapon of… typosquatting, which is so advanced that it just got the notorious mastermind Nikolai Philipp Tschacher an A on his undergrad thesis *sad trombone*. They have a wide range of implants! Because nobody else in the whole wide world can download Kali from the Internets and spin it. They *Gasp!* test for VM containment! They use encrypted configuration files!! Whoop de frickin do. That’s so routine that open-source countermeasures sit up on Github and any laptop owner with half a brain runs the yara rules daily.
Crowdstrike is telling the client what they want to hear, which is good consulting but spectacularly lame attribution. Any pubescent 4chan wanker can get into Hillary’s cyberpanties or the DNC. It’s less embarrassing to get humiliated by our official strategic Hitler enemy.
I almost spit water all over my monitor, thank you, that made me laugh out loud!
Re: ‘Hey recent grads….’ Vice
Its a pretty weak article, I can’t help thinking the writer doesn’t really believe in it. Like Yves, as I’ve grown older I’ve realised that a lot of what I wanted when I was younger was wishful thinking or just plain wrong. Most of the ‘right’ steps I’ve made in my life were as much due to luck as anything else, and on at least one occasion in my life, if I’d ‘followed my dreams’, it would probably have led to a personal disaster.
I’m kinda fond of the Helsinki Bus Station Theory of Minkennen. In short, it implies that if you’ve taken the wrong direction in life, sometimes it actually is better to see where it takes you, and take detours rather than trying to go all the way back. Mind you, that does clash a little with the economists favourite, the Sunk Cost Fallacy. But hey, thats economists for you, always getting it wrong.
Where you are, you are there.
Or Tathagata – one who has thus arrived…you are already where you want to go.
Is it quite like what the Warring States philosopher Huizi said, I went off for Yue today and came there yesterday?
Can we say, there is never a wrong turn?
This of similar merit:
http://www.lionsroar.com/life-is-tough-six-ways-to-deal-with-it-march-2013/
There are no wrong directions in life’s journey, only wrong mind-sets and wrongheaded expectations. Find joy in small things and try to learn and take something positive from every experience life throws at you. “Making mistakes” is integral to any true learning process. Repeating past mistakes over an over, on the other hand, indicates refusal to learn. In other words, it’s not about the direction, it’s about the “wherever you go, there you are” – as Beef notes above – aspect. (And now I think abused enough bromides for one day.)
Does anyone else hear bleating?….Oh, never mind, that’s just Bob (the Fourth) Reich.
Uh…the politician who throws fundraisers with $2000 tickets is going to get “big-money” out of politics….HAHAHAHA!
Don’t we already have this, or something very similar? And no one uses the funding because, of course, big private money is way more lucrative.
“Hilary Clinton” and “full disclosure” are antonyms…just sayin’
Slow the revolving door? Slow?…because two years off will totes fix everything!
In case any of you thought RR was anything other than a status quo shill….remember this the next time he supports a candidate you like and you start to think maybe he’s seen the error of his ways and ceased his apologetics for the elites.
Have they finished counting the “democratic” primary votes in California yet? It doesn’t matter, everyone knows hillary won.
So goes clinton’s “commitment” to “democracy.” She’s for it as long as she wins.
About that; I’m coming around to the idea that we should not focus exclusively on H Clintons’ shortcomings. She has done so “well” with the help of a large and ‘loyal’ cohort of fellow politicos. They all need to go. Sanders supporters can start now by lining up primary challengers for all of H Clintons’ ‘fellow travelers’ in the 2018 election cycle. At this point, we here in the Deep South would rather vote for a ‘real’ monarchist than H Clintons’ ersatz aristocracy.
Already happening, ambrit. Brand New Congress is working on the 2018 cycle.
Can Hillary claim the ‘Money Inoculation’ Defense?
Given regular, small doses of $200,000, you develop immunity to larger sums…like trillions.
“I have been inoculated. You can trust me with a lot of money.”
You made me laugh! I thought that I was the Uber Cynic. I have a lot to learn.
By the way, that Snark Tag should be; Bob (Die Kleines) Reich.
“The little” Reich, if I’m remembering my Deutsch correctly….I like it!
she should, she could, wouldn’t it be great if…Hillary supporters are constitutionally incapable of saying what she will do…a tacit acknowledment that she won’t do it, but she should, she could then claim to represent dems and inspire them (not just the rich ones) to vote for her….but you should vote for her because she should represent you…..I’ve been hearing this lame construction for the entirety of obamas eleventy dimensional reign.
Reich is trying. Very, very hard. But I’d add she should do something about election fraud too. Then slow the revolving door at the White House as well. Maybe 16 years for Economic President Bill is still too fast? Even tho he did demonstrate such uncanny personal acumen in wealth creation in those 16 years?
yeah, i loathe these kinds of brainless articles. a politician who all her life has stood against all of these things should do them because it would make people who will support her unconditionally anyway feel better about their decision.
Poor Bob is shoulding all over himself.
I just saw a short stub about Teachers and Mexican police clashing in Oaxaca. It mentioned the teachers were protesting standardized testing and union troubles. Does anyone have more insight on this?
Democracy Now has been covering Oaxaca and the teachers strikes and governments suppression for years. They had a story yesterday.
http://www.democracynow.org/2016/6/21/the_battle_has_just_started_activists
Essentially neo liberalism in step with a racist, oligarchical elite choking the life from the 99%.
Thanks for the link!
Laura Carlson interviewed on The Real News Network gives background and analysis.
Great link with exactly the kind of stage setting I was looking for.
Haven’t had time to check yet, but I’d also suggest the sidebars (front page is a bit Trump-heavy at the moment) at the excellent Narco News Bulletin: http://narconews.com/
Every time there is an attack on Americans, we end up losing more of our civil liberties. Every time.
The latest ruse is the Collins bill, which promises to take away guns from anyone on the “no fly list”. There is no due process, no court oversight, nada on that list. Who knows what process leads to someone getting put on it. And once you’re on it … forget about getting off it. There is no appeal process.
Stalin would be proud.
The Spectre of Stalin is haunting America.
http://www.theverge.com/2016/6/21/11986710/fbi-surveillance-orlando-shooting-senate-republicans-national-security-letters
The guy in Orlando, according to the media, was revealed to the FBI by a fellow Muslim worshiper 2 years ago. A number of other concerned people apparently reported on him as well. He was in fact surveiled by the FBI.
All that accomplished was ……….. nothing. So….the solution is MORE surveillance.
The one thing…the ONE thing that MAY have prevented or reduced the carnage is some limitation on access to guns, but that is off the table.
How many disaffected, mentally unstable people, will find meaning in a “cause?” – i.e., war against America???
Perversely, our media, ourselves (we watch, we reward) will play up every future attack, no matter how minor or unsuccessful, thereby encouraging the very behavior we ostensibly so abhor.
How long would it take that murder by terrorist is no more newsworthy than the daily murder of approximately 33 people becomes?
If you are an environmental activist, labor activist, anti-globalization activist, anti-capitalist activist, anti-fracking activist, human rights activist the FBI (govt) automatically pigeon holes you as a “potential terrorist” and on a watchlist you go.
If you are pro-globalization, pro-“free trade”, pro-corporate, pro-Wall St you are A-OK.
If you are poor, you have nothing to lose and, well, you are dangerous.
Luckily, we are all too pre-occupied with our FICO scores and know to behave.
Things I’d like to hear the WaPo editors debate in public:
1. All public officials should be allowed to have private email servers. Discuss as a general principle of government.
2. All legislative committee chairs at all levels of government should be awarded to the legislator who raises the most money in campaign contributions for his affiliated party. Discuss as a general principle of government.
I COULD GO ON BUT MY CAPS LOCK INSISTS ON SCREAMING.
Isn’t it a bit late for the WaPo editors to be asking us for input?
Six months ago we could have suggested that they cover Bernie Sanders.
The request was from the Post editorial board. The lordly editors of the news section don’t want our kibitzing. After all chief editor Marty Baron was the hero of a movee (Spotlight), not to mention Woodward, who has been coasting on Watergate for decades. They view internet people as, in the words of now deposed Brian Williams, “sitting in their basement eating Cheetohs.”
Or maybe not. That’s my theory.
BTW since the Post editorial board is asking for comments perhaps someone should ask them about this.
https://consortiumnews.com/2016/06/21/wposts-agit-prop-for-the-new-cold-war/
Excellent suggestions. Why not submit?
To no surprise, this is standard Amazon corporate procedure. They know what they’re going to do, and no one is going to stop them, but every so often they toss out a “survey” (Win a $50 Amazon gift card!) that asks whether you’re familiar with what they’re doing, followed by generic questions regarding whether it’s working for you. They may toss in an option to comment, but I’ve always assumed that one just never made it past the data collation.
And these “surveys” are never about the real issues people have with, say, the Kindle ebook returns policy that lets people use it as a way to get free reading material.
@Zi$ek: the Al Czervik of Continental Postmodernism…
I suppose he figures that keeping on Melania’s good side is probably the best way to avoid finding himself (and his little Stalin picture) on the business end of a predator drone.
Per Judge Smails: “The man’s a menace!”
Re: Brexit
I notice that bookmakers are holding very steady that they think it is around 80% likely to be a ‘remain’ vote. But I think their insights can be over-rated – they got the Scottish referendum right, but they were just as wrong in anticipating the result of the last general election in the UK. There is an assumption that undecideds will go with ‘status quo’, but that isn’t always the case, not because ‘undecideds’ tend to go with the flow, but because they will often have a very different idea on what a ‘default’ vote might be. The resentment by so many working class and lower middle class voters against what they perceive to be the ‘establishment’ is very strong, they just might see the ‘default, safe position’ as being outside Europe.
That said, I think it seems probable now that the vote will be to Remain. But I think this may be one of the hardest referendums of any type I’ve observed to call – there are so many hidden underlying issues popping up. But the one key thing that would probably swing it to Remain I think is that for ever noxious establishment figure telling people whats good for them to do (Remain), there is an even more noxious egotist calling for a Brexit.
Surely the most difficult thing about tomorrow’s vote is whether to stick it to Cameron, or to Boris. Tough choices indeed!
psychology tells us that when the decision is a difficult one, we tend to choose the default option. in the brexit case, that default option is remaining. the tories were similarly the default option in the last election which is why they, and most incumbents, end up winning (unless they’re as bad as hollande in france).
i’d feel pretty comfortable betting my money on remain, though 5:4 odds don’t give a good enough risk-adjusted return for my liking.
Look at all the voices yelling for Bremain: Goldman, Citi, IMF, BoE, and that wonderful carpetbagger Soros.
That list tells you *everything* you need to know about how to vote.
Well it might be thought to by some (but not me) if you did not look at those calling for Brexit: Johnson, Gove, Duncan Smith, Farage, Murdoch. This is the right wing of British politics. Do you think they are planning to look after the little guy?
They can be gotten rid of. The EC, not so much.
Do they worry about election fraud over in Great Britain?
Re: China’s capital outflow. Micro business
This is important, as so much commentary on China assumes a very strong balance of payments surplus. Those days have gone. The amount of cash leaving China is staggering and you’d wonder how long that sort of flow is sustainable. I think there has always been an assumption that of the monetary ‘impossible trinity‘ China would have to choose, capital restrictions would be the most obvious choice for the government. However, there must be a huge amount of internal pressure to turn a blind eye to it, not least because so many establishment insiders (maybe all of them) are busy hedging their personal fortunes by getting it to the west. It seems to me that the CCP are being increasingly boxed in on all sides – every sensible economic option is blocked by a powerful element of the elite for one reason or another.
This is one reason I think why the chimera of ‘supply side solutions’ seems to be gaining ground as an option (for all sorts of reasons I don’t think it is). Its also why Xi is busy focusing on internal dissent. If China is to avoid a very hard landing some very tough decisions will have to be made, and some very powerful people will not be happy.
. . . The amount of cash leaving China is staggering and you’d wonder how long that sort of flow is sustainable. . .
Their digital printing press is infinite, and relatively speaking the exchange rate with the USD dollar is fairly steady.
The CCP are the powerful elite so peasants be damned, there and here.
The amount of cash leaving China is staggering Vancouver, otherwise known as Tear-down Town:
My much-loved Edwardian-era Vancouver home latest to fall under the wrecker’s ball
TINA, because the free flow of capital.
Don’t you mean free capital flow?
No price is too high when paying with loot. Where can the peasant in Vancouver swindle tens of millions to compete with Chinese buyers?
Are they buying real estate or buying a ticket on the residency-lifeboat?
The equation comparing foreigner workers and American workers here:
(foreign worker pay + green card) = (American worker pay).
If the value of a green card is a lot, the ‘foreign worker pay’ can be very little.
Should Sanders propose making American worker pay = Foreign worker pay?
Is the value of a green care = zero?
Re Vancouver
Life is too short, Best move and let it fully scale into the ethnic getto that stupid money has turned it into.
There is an inflection point where places like Vancouver morph into something other than what onnce made it a desireable place to live
I stopped liking Vancouver a looooooong time ago.
Ostensibly, China is not caught in the “impossible trinity” because it has capital controls. But the author contends that:
If capital controls are not effective, then the weak link that has to give is the exchange rate. The U.S. continues issuing dire warnings to China that it had better maintain its currency peg to the dollar, OR ELSE. Yet most other major currencies float freely.
China has its own reasons for not wanting to break the peg. But if push comes to shove, it won’t be a matter of choice.
“enterprising Chinese are moving capital via the current account.”
Or more conveniently, “enterprising Chinese are NOT moving capital via the current account.”
Look for the price of Grand Caymen PO Boxes to go to the moon! Think we’ll get a GCPO ETF we can invest in???
“China has its own reasons for not wanting to break the peg. But if push comes to shove, it won’t be a matter of choice.”
Paging George Soros …
They can issue false invoices at any exchange rate.
and how long has the US run a gob smaking trade deficit? China’s got big problems, but this isn’t near the top of the list.
It’s the new globalist economic rule – Horizontal Money Theory: What flows in will flow out.
Look for the Davos talk on it.
Blame It on Rio:
That Jaguar… Bad Omen.
Last time I had a feeling like this, it was watching Roberts & Obama flub the Oath… remember that? It seems a thousand centuries ago…
But perhaps, after Borges, that poor animal found “its precise place in the scheme of the universe.”
https://thefloatinglibrary.com/2008/07/28/inferno-i-32/
I’ve “boycotted” all coverage of the last few Olympics for various humanitarian and animal rights issues. Looks like I’ll be boycotting these as well.
The GOP has been a de facto white supremacist party for 50 years now. Somehow Trump is where it crosses the line for corporate America? I don’t see it.
On the other hand, they now get everything they want from the Democrats, so maybe it’s an opportunity to shed some bad habits.
Trump’s sin is speaking plainly instead of using the approved dog whistles and code words.
The delusion on tap in that Van Jones interview with Unger is nauseating. There is some world class sheep herding going on there. But if you really want to throw up go read the comments.
Both he and Reich appear to be in deep denial about what this loss has meant.. It is hard to admit you have been a chump. OR they are sheep herding and hoping to be allowed to take a seat back at the table (fat chance, boys).
‘booster seats’
Sanders supporters jeer as Cuomo picked to lead DNC delegation
Go figure! “We didn’t hear anything…”
Now I jeer whenever Cuomo’s name is mentioned for anything except as a future prison inmate, but yeah the Clintonites once again make it clear that almost a quarter of their voters are meaningless to them.
I particularly like this:
It is beyond cynical and stupid because actions like this are guaranteed to douse that energy and enthusiasm.
Exactly. That statement (and those like it) doesn’t agree with itself. It is completely worthless. That “energy and enthusiasm” isn’t being generated because people want to beat Trump nor is it for Democrat solidarity. Helllooooooo, is thing on? Oh wait, it’s not, they turned it off.
Maybe Cuomo & Malloy helped w/ the fix. Reward?
America Was Never Class-Free
On Foundational Myths and Deep-Rooted Inequality
So now we know what happens to our colonial history. It is whitewashed. Though New World settlers were supposed to represent the promise of social mobility, and the Pilgrims generated our hallowed faith in liberty, nineteenth-century Americans paradoxically created a larger-than-life cast of “democratic” royalty.
Statues are the companions of elite societies in celebrating paternal lineage and a new aristocracy. They tell us that some families (and some classes) have a greater claim as heirs of the founding promise. Municipal and state leaders have supported the national hagiography in bold form by constructing grand monuments to our colonial city fathers. In British law, ownership was measured by standing one’s ground—that is, holding and occupying the land. Land itself was a source of civic identity. This principle explains as well the totem value of “Plymouth Rock,” the large stone discovered long after the last Pilgrim breathed New England air, christened in the eighteenth century as the first piece of land on which the Mayflower settlers stood.
Commemoration of this kind begs the following questions: Who were the winners and losers in the great game of colonial conquest? Beyond parceling the land, how were estates bounded, fortunes made, and labor secured? What social structures, what manner of social relationships did the first European Americans really set in motion? Finding answers to these questions will enable us to fully appreciate how long-ago-established identities of haves and have-nots left a permanent imprint on the collective American mind.
Americans’ sketchy understanding of the nation’s colonial beginnings reflects the larger cultural impulse to forget—or at least gloss over—centuries of dodgy decisions, dubious measures, and outright failures.
During the 1600s, far from being ranked as valued British subjects, the great majority of early colonists were classified as surplus population and expendable “rubbish,” a rude rather than robust population. The English subscribed to the idea that the poor dregs would be weeded out of English society in four ways. Either nature would reduce the burden of the poor through food shortages, starvation, and disease, or, drawn into crime, they might end up on the gallows. Finally, some would be impressed by force or lured by bounties to fight and die in foreign wars, or else be shipped off to the colonies. Such worthless drones as these could be removed to colonial outposts that were in short supply of able-bodied laborers and, lest we forget, young “fruitful” females. Once there, it was hoped, the drones would be energized as worker bees. The bee was the favorite insect of the English, a creature seen as chaste but, more important, highly productive.
To put class back into the story where it belongs, we have to imagine a very different kind of landscape. Not a land of equal opportunity, but a much less appealing terrain where death and harsh labor conditions awaited most migrants. A firmly entrenched British ideology justified rigid class stations with no promise of social mobility. Certainly, Puritan religious faith did not displace class hierarchy either; the early generations of New Englanders did nothing to diminish, let alone condemn, the routine reliance on servants or slaves. Land was the principal source of wealth, and those without any had little chance to escape servitude. It was the stigma of landlessness that would leave its mark on white trash from this day forward.
So, welcome to America as it was. The year 1776 is a false starting point for any consideration of American conditions. Independence did not magically erase the British class system, nor did it root out long-entrenched beliefs about poverty and the willful exploitation of human labor. An unfavored population, widely thought of as waste or “rubbish,” remained disposable indeed well into modern times.
http://lithub.com/america-was-never-class-free/
round trips or we never left the gate?
So Trump will bankrupt us? Well, if I were Trump, I’d respond by saying that “You have put us $20 trillion in debt. You obviously know nothing about money or how the economy works. I’ll save the economy from insiders like you.”
“Lordie. A fiat currency issuer cannot go bankrupt in its own currency.”
And Donald Trump is the only one to have mentioned that.
Unfortunately, the rest of us still can.
Can anyone spare $12.57 for a cup of coffee?
The USG doesn’t have to worry about a fixed income with at best a COLA manipulated so there is no real adjustment.
The sovereign not going bankrupt becomes an interesting economic curiosity, at least for those with first use. But as the currency is debased, at best, everyone stuck in it is victimized, particularly those w/ essentially no future earning power.
The US is like the ranch home w/a the big cedar roof in the neighborhood that is on fire.
For the moment we can focus our angst on the flooding basement and the degrading curb appeal -while sitting in the SUV at the curb w/ the AC on and the tires going soft.
Thank goodness the pallet of bullets in the basement are in shrink wrap!
And what’s funny about that fiat money is that it is ALWAYS used to fund the Iraq war and such, but not single payer health care and such – ever.
Problem with double entry bookkeeping, methinks.
And Trump was completely correct, so why he’s been pushing a balanced budget and retiring the national debt is baffling. The man seems to constantly walk around with a verbal eraser, saying something cogent one minute then the exact opposite the next. I guess if you find duplicity cute it works for you, much as insiders love the way Clinton seems to say things but creates subtle distinctions through which she can do something else and maintain plausible deniability. Interesting how people who want to grab the reins of systemic power only further the process of delegitimizing that power.
Just assume Trump doesn’t believe his own Tea Party dog whistles. You’ll get less upset, and that’s better for your health anyway.
Plus, I have a hard time remembering a campaigning Prez that didn’t have “cutting taxes” in his platform.
Bernie is the first I can remember that actually has increasing taxes in his platform (progressive ones). But it looks like they won’t let us vote on that.
If you’d like to meet Donald Trump as he is, may I recommend a short list of tweets by a commercial real estate attorney writing under the pseudonym Thomas Crown.
Thanks so much for posting this. I had it on my list to do, but the clock ran out. I still remember the sinking feeling I had when I heard that Geraldine Ferraro’s husband was in New York real estate. Can anybody who understands real estate better than I do (ha) comment?
And is Trump really in the real estate business anymore? Or is he in the personal brand business? Or both?
Berta Honduras assassination…
so the guardian wants to write a follow up human interest story on the tragic murder of the whistle-blowers family ??…way too many useless details about his background almost pointing an arrow at “cruz”…hopefully they are non factual & designed to mislead…but, why no mention of the imf involvement in all these projects…
(makes me also wonder about the greek political clowns in charge who could point to imf in honduras and say no way…)
imf gave tiny 185 million dollar…and looks as though just some guarantees, does not seem any real money flowed, and economic warmonger odette and her imf (implausible mission force) have dictated the wholesale firing of unionized work forces and the privatisation of the commonweal, including the taking of indigenous lands to help foster “development”…
And no one interviews prof. dario euraque up at trinity college in hartford, who was part of the govt that was removed by “el golpe”, the june 28, 2009 coup…he has self published (& now gives away via pdf) a book on “el golpe” that you can find on his site, a nice insider view of the events…he was basically in charge of patrimony and archeology in honduras…IMNSHO he is a little too much in love with big city museums and protecting the unesco duopoly of Christies and Sotheby, but he certainly loves his country and hates what it is devolving into…
RE: Hillary Clinton Says America Can’t Let Trump Get His (Tiny) ‘Hands on Our Economy’ New York Magazine
She highlighted a report from Moody’s Analytics — written by a former adviser to John McCain — that argued that Trump’s policies would result in a “lengthy recession.”
The report’s lead author is Mark Zandi who, according to the nyt “is a registered Democrat who has donated to Mrs. Clinton.” He is also a tenured cheerleader / apologist who regularly appears on cnbc to “comment” on the monthly obama “jobs” reports. In this capacity, he is an unfailingly glass-half-full kinda guy.
Mr. Zandi is chief economist at Moody’s Analytics.
That would be the same Moody’s Analytics that, in its capacity as a “ratings agency,” found gold in them thar subprime RMBS hills, thus facilitating their peddling.
Also the same Moody’s in which Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway has an 11.5% stake.
That would be the same Warren Buffett who, according to Bloomberg Politics, “gave the maximum donation allowed to Ready for Hillary….. his first-ever check to the sort of independent political groups that he’s scorned in the past,” and is an “esteemed” member of the clinton global initiative.
And the same Warren Buffett who owns Clayton Homes.
That would be the same Clayton Homes that was purportedly awarded a “competitively bid” contract to provide temporary housing and school buildings in Haiti after the earthquake by the clinton foundation. The UN later denied that any bidding had occurred.
That would be the same earthquake that occurred during hillary’s tenure as secretary of state, and the same Clayton Homes trailers that, according to Democracy Now!, “are plagued by mold, shoddy construction. In at least one case, an air quality test revealed worrying levels of formaldehyde. The trailers were built by the same company that is being sued in the United States for providing formaldehyde-laced trailers to displaced residents after Hurricane Katrina.”
I could, obviously, go on. The dots are just BEGGIN’ to be connected.
This whole thing reminds me of the run-up to the Iraq war, when Dick Cheney fed Judith Miller info which he then cited as authoritative “proof” of his claims.
I’m sure I could find a couple of analysts who would point out that electing Clinton will coincide with a lengthy recession. But then I’m one of the people who is sure we have another crash coming and coming soon.
Fact: a huge portion of this country never saw a recovery, they are essentially still in recession and have been for almost a decade.
Fact: we are already flirting with the technical requirements to be in officially in recession again.
Fact: Clinton’s economic policies are not going to differ greatly than the current administration’s. Particularly in regard to making sure that our spending is on domestic items and not weapons and war where little or nothing ‘trickles’ down.
I don’t care about who supports her or why. Anyone who isn’t advocating for a massive change in our financial and economic policies is not interested in a healthy American economy and is thus not a credible commenter.
But, but…..Hillary wants to give us all a hug.
Great catch.
Coincidently, Charlie Munger put a “buy” rating on Hillary too.
This is gold and worthy of its own post.
The John Kay article is hilarious. Nominally intelligent people can spout the most amazing nonsense with utter conviction.
This link, from the articles comments, is considerably more interesting, and perceptive:
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-06-22/something-strange-emerges-when-looking-behind-brexit-bookie-odds
The zerohedge article refers to: http://www.cnbc.com/2016/06/22/bookies-see-the-big-bets-going-for-the-uk-to-stay-in-eu.html
If we take the bet averages to also be the median, it means that number of Leave bets exceeds Remain bets roughly 2 to 1.
Looks like they’re gearing up for the expected riots at the conventions. Expected riots.
Even more amusing is how Philadelphia and Cleveland expect protesters to adhere to their rules.
I still think bernie supporters should ignore the coronation, turn your back on the democrat party. If they’re there protesting then hillary will say “I should do something about these peoples concerns”, which the media will then regurgitate as plans to address these problems. Also they will be tossing people in jail, zip tying your hands together for who knows how many hours or days, and registering each person as rebellious. Flash mob somewhere far away, let the vacuousness of her policies speak for themselves as she crows out her own goals and exposes them as the empty service of the plutocracy and global control that she truly represents. Don’t be hillary’s crowd, let her see if she can make her own. Don’t get yourself in trouble for that useless eater. What if they had a riot and nobody came?
The silence would be deafening, especially without all the chair rattling. Good idea tho. The only downside being that the DNC and media would probably spin it as “Solidarity….Finally!”.
The problem for the R convention is still if someone flies in a big Mexican motorcycle gang from CA to beat the crap out of Trump supporters. But we have freedom of speech and right to assemble in this country.
Watch what happens across the river in New Jersey. And in Philadelphia’s western suburbs.
That’s the best idea yet. Bernie No-show. Let the Clintonistas just try and pretend to make it look like a Democratic process.
Trumps “Crooked Hillary” Speech has started.
Watching it…”Hillary’s open borders and trade policy is pushing your wages down…” (paraphrased). He also did a decent job linking Hillary’s corrupt use of her State Dept position to benefit Clinton Foundation no matter how unsavory the actors.
He talked on immigration that mostly did not offend me, by mostly linking it to Hillary supporting cheap foreign labor so as to drive down American wages.
If he makes this his stump speech (like Lambert suggested he imitate Sanders stump speech approach) the corporate media is going to have to start ignoring him like they did Sanders. We can’t have people catching on to just how rigged the system is.
Here’s your problem: confirmation bias. Many at NC are going to love the speech because they loathe Clinton. But many people I heard (including my wife) loved Clinton’s speech yesterday “destroying” Trump.
Our bigger problem is that there is not much objective ground left on which to discuss any of this. People are dug in like crazy and simply hate anyone who disagrees with them. And you can’t manage a Republic wherein the people are so polarized that they can no longer hear or tolerate one another. Eventually, one side or the other grabs power and shuts up/down the other side. And both the Republicans and Democrats are headed in that direction.
Personally, my problem is that I cannot see anyone voting for either of these candidates, so all the partisans can agree on my being an asshole.
I didn’t love the speech because it didn’t distill the essence of my loathing for Clinton enough, and included material for which I loathe Trump. Using a metaphor from a recent Archdruid post, it wasn’t a simple and beautiful martini with gin, vermouth, and an olive, but gin and a whole bunch of random flavors: “Crème de cacao, crème de menthe, grenadine syrup, maple syrup, clam juice, carrot juice, butterscotch ice cream, sriracha-flavored mayonnaise, or what have you.” Bad tasting, and then too much of it.
On the other hand, we have Clinton invoking Weimar and Zimbabwe on government spending. It’s really not an easy choice.
Can any person, who does not like Hillary, like his speech, while doubting whether he can deliver what he has said (or while r noticing the usual offending stuff is absent), without confirmation bias?
In theory, yes. But that person would also have to acknowledge the barbed points that Clinton made about Trump.
What worries me is that we have two major party candidates who are both utterly unsuited for the responsibilities on offer (after at least 16, and perhaps 35 years of dubious to awful Executive rule) and incredibly divisive. When I see the issues before us (climate change, terrorism, peak oil, environmental degradation, health care and education costs skyrocketing while services for millions are poor to non-functioning, etc.) and think of a Clinton or Trump presidency, I see disaster ahead. And this is not intellectual parlor game disaster. This is mega-death and vast suffering disaster. Being glib in one’s support for either candidate, or seeing either candidate’s partisans make this a 3rd grade game of “no you are” really upsets me and leaves me with dread in the center of my being.
A recession is coming in the next 4 years as well and it will likely be bad. For most of the 99s the economy is already bad (who can imagine how bad worse is going to be when homeless already flood our cities?). And the basic problems behind 2008 were not fixed either. So I ask myself who is likely to offer even the slightest help to the recession victims at that point and I mostly think … well Sanders probably ….
I confirm I’m biased but I see this more as Lessor Evilism – Live by “We Suck Less, die by We Suck Less.” After 40 or whatever years running on we suck less than Republicans, the always possible miscalculation and overshoot has finally happened – Republicans suck less.!
Didn’t you get the memo? Ari Berman at the Nation wrote: “The Democratic Primary wasn’t Rigged”.
Well, that was interesting. MSNBC in full freakout mode. If he sticks to her weaknesses and jobs, he may have a shot.
Also too, stop the Middle East muddling.
Buddhist scriptures on selflessness and kindness are integral to Taniguchi’s business philosophy
Because what could be kinder or more selfless than self-driving cars or cleaning robots. My practice is huge for making my life better, but I’m always careful to recognize that it’s ethics-neutral at best. (At its worst, any faith with a baseline of “acceptance” enables monstrosity.)
This vs HRC mememe glass ceiling my turn look at my resume, just not too close, or at least just the parts I will release….blah blah blah
Trump speech live feed “Hillary’s laundry list of corruption”. Devastating.
He’s fascinating. … And this is his “Opener” … I wonder what’s coming.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xUW2-MUonbo
Here is speech, other link won’t play. Starts at 35:20
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2016/president/us/general_election_trump_vs_clinton_vs_johnson_vs_stein-5952.html
Anyone watching the polls with all 4 candidates? The highest Clinton reaches is 44%. Some are as low as 39%. Even when you just do a straight Trump-vs-Clinton, she only gets over 50% in one poll.
She’s had a good couple of weeks and she’s still on track for one of the weakest mandates we’ve seen in quite some time (assuming she wins). But, I’m sure that won’t hold her back from letting the missiles fly in Syria.
Well, because of Perot, Clintoon’s hubby didn’t get a majority (both times) – another plurality president. Will the press know that any yammering about a mandate is total bullsh*t?
About 10 minutes into Trumps speech. So far he does a good job of linking Hillary’s corruption at State Dept via Clinton Foundation and why she destroyed emails.
Now listening to Trump on immigration. So far he’s avoided racializing it or making outrageous statements and instead linking immigration to low wage immigrant workers putting U.S. workers out of work.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-06-22/donald-trumps-fix-reigged-system-crooked-hillary-rebuttal-speech-live-feed
Yves, I realize that it’s difficult to tell a New Yorker anything about guns, but, from the Medium article:
— “Police, who are highly trained and also experts in firearms ….” Har har har. Remember Deputy Barney Fife? That’s the reality of the police. Very few cops are good shots. They do a minimum amount of practice to qualify and that’s it. Your average hillbilly is a much better marksman — hitting a squirrel is hard, hitting the standard police target is easy.
— “Joe Shmoe, with his little-to-no training, is going to fare much worse …” That is indeed true of many Joe Shmoes. But having grown up with guns, and having lived through several life threatening situations, I am not Joe Shmoe.
— “America would be the safest country in the world.” Actually, America *is* one of the safest countries in the world, especially if you are white. It’s even safer if you are affluent. The only safer countries are whiter countries (or Asian or Pacific Islander countries). The murder rate for white Americans is similar to Canada and Europe. Even America’s homicide capital, Chicago, has a modest murder rate for whites.
— “40% of guns are sold, legally, without a background check” FALSE. To begin with, no one knows how many guns are sold in private transactions (legal or black market). In my personal experience non-dealer sales represent less than 10% of transactions. We know that nearly all guns used in mass shootings were purchased legally after passing a background check. Contrary to what the media likes to say, background checks are required for gun show sales by a licensed dealer — and almost all gun show sales are made by licensed dealers. Private gun sales are banned on Craig’s List, Ebay, FB, etc.. It’s actually very difficult to buy a particular model gun without going through a dealer, which is why most of us go through dealers whether we like it or not.
— meanwhile in highly regulated France, terrorists seem to have no trouble obtaining semi-autos and making bombs.
— the article’s recommendations would not have prevented the Sandy Hook shooting, or the Orlando shooting, or most other mass murders. The article does not acknowledge, let alone address, the social and economic problems that correlate to violence — the black market for drugs, economic inequality, unemployment, the cultural legacy of slavery and genocide, lead poisoning, etc..
Offer payday loans as an employee benefit, this start-up says
Such a bargain.
Innovative? Check.
Disruptive? Check.
Regulatory arbitrage? Check.
“I owe my soul to the company store …”
re: The Diplomats’ Revolt on Syria
Leaving aside the fact that the author accepts completely the mainstream narrative about Assad as a brutal tyrant, this article, by someone who appears to be a liberal interventionist, concentrates on the likely effects of an attack on the Syrian government and its armed forces and concludes the costs probably outweigh the benefits. But this kind of analysis plays into the narrative of the war mongers since one can always argue costs and benefits.
What is appalling about this kind of discourse at a ‘liberal’ venue is that international law is not mentioned – once. An American attack on Syria, as mentioned in this letter at consortium news, would be completely against international law.
Here are a couple points from that letter:
How is it that US diplomats believe that removing Assad is important enough to risk war with Russia? This strikes me as criminally insane.
What is the motivation?
The motivation, as always, is two-fold. First, do whatever Israel wants and Israel wants Assad gone. Second, neoliberalism. Get a US-Israel puppet installed who will “open up the market” (i.e., hand all Syrian natural resource wealth to Western corporations).
As an add-on, kick Russia out of their LONG time military bases so the US troops can move in.
Or shorter – It’s what they do.
“Assad as a brutal tyrant”
He’s not?
But yeah, that ship sailed when the Russians moved in.
How many brutal tyrants has the US supported in Latin America? The only problem with Assad (and Gaddafi and Saddam) is that he’s not the US’ brutal tyrant.
he absolutely is a brutal tyrant but it’s the clinton state department that made him into such. prior to the “civil” war, he was less bad than clinton friend of the family mubarak.
All the usual suspects are still beating the war drums about Syria. I got this link from my mother today. Why is it so many people (sorry, Mom) think “not Assad” must be good?
http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/06/27/syrias-war-on-doctors
It’s kind of sad, I don’t even read articles like that because I can’t figure out how much is true and how much is just “Assad is bad, he must go” propaganda. Are the numbers they throw out even remotely correct? I don’t have a clue.
I’ve seen some of the crap they’ve pulled with the Venezuela hit-pieces over the years.
http://www.counterpunch.org/2016/06/22/the-left-and-the-eu-why-cling-to-this-reactionary-institution/
I liked this article. tldr: The EU is a neoliberal, warmongering institution, and it’s stated accomplishments of peace and democracy had nothing to do with the EU, but rather the changes in international power relations. It is ruled by an unelected, unaccountable elite which pushes austerity and prevents the functioning of national democracy. Thus, Brexit should be considered.
“Pink Pussy” gets a new gender identity.
http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2016/06/21/omar-mateen-gay-lover/
The alleged male lover of Orlando nightclub gunman Omar Mateen claims he did the shooting as “revenge” against Latino men.
The man, who spoke to Univision on the condition of anonymity, said Mateen held a grudge against Latino men he met at the gay nightclub Pulse because he felt used by them.
“I’ve cried like you have no idea. But the thing that makes me want to tell the truth is that he didn’t do it for terrorism. In my opinion he did it for revenge,” the man who said he was Mateen’s lover for two months told Univision.
The man told Univision that the FBI has interviewed him three times about Mateen. Univision reported that FBI said they have met with the man.
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For what its worth. Why humans do what they do is sometimes not even known by themselves…
Yeah. Sometimes I hate white people.
What about pink people?
Clinton and Trump are equally qualified for the MBA title: Morally Bankrupt Administration.
Shaun King on Trump the pervert, NY Daily News
I’m sickened and horrified that this person is being considered for office in the US, let alone for President. I don’t follow the fashion/rich people wannabe TV shows and so on, so I didn’t know anything about Trump, but a person who admits to fantasizing about his daughters (even the baby when she was a baby), and other pre-teens.. and then the rape allegations…… I don’t see how anyone could vote for him. A person with that twisted judgment, that willingness to admit it, would be dangerous in lots of other ways.
The-Anti Hillary needs not to be this one.
There is no mention in the article about Bill flying around on the Lolita Express. All the perverted things he did that Hillary tried to cover up. Pervert in Arkansas, always a pervert. But Hill was quick to slut shame Monica. The pervert stuff won’t work, both camps are equally dirty.
I was watching the movie, ‘Welcome to New York,’ about an ex-World Bank guy, and over lunch over his daughter and her boy friend, he said something similar about he would marry her or something like that.
Don’t know if that was the fictionalized part or not.
Wonder if they all were inspired by Lott from the Bible…
I should say ‘if he was,’ referring to the movie character.
Like you are given a real choice in your Anti-Hillary.
There are three choices if you don’t want to stay home or write in, pick one. Otherwise just admit you are going to be herded into the veal pen.
The Washington Post wants you.
“Remember you are pitching a topic and not a point of view.”
As long as we are in human form, (and perhaps long after; who can say,) everything is subjective. Either you appreciate the plurality, or: “We will pick the most promising suggestions and ask readers to vote.”
Resist!
They also harass white Americans. On my one visit to Tel Aviv (for business, I flew in from London and you could see from my passport stamps that I had been to 11 countries on 5 continents in the last four weeks in an insane order, something a tourist or a terrorist would be very unlikely to do), I was interrogated for 50 minutes and told to produce my meeting schedule. They called a person on it to verify who I was and why I was there. I was told this is typical. What if this had been in the evening when no one was in the office?
I can’t quite figure out what their selection algorithm is. When Dr. Mrs. Propertius and I went to Israel a couple of years ago, our “interrogation” lasted all of 30 seconds – which we found surprising since Dr. Mrs. P. is a Franco-Arab Canadian with classically Arab features. Maybe it was the glow of her innate Canadian niceness that lulled them, because they didn’t seem at all troubled either by her appearance or by the rather prominent Turkish visa stamp on her passport. I got (much) worse treatment entering the EU at Frankfurt. I’ve had friends who were absolutely grilled by them, though.
I have never been to Israel but certainly expect a nice cocktail upon arrival and limo service. After all, I have been supporting them for years! I suspect I will be disappointed. And probably beaten.
But hey, they learned democracy from Americans and Germans…so not their fault really!
p.s. If you think this comment is antisemitic you obviously know nothing about politics or human rights.
I love the comments on the gun control article.
Everyone has an Uncle of neighbor’s friend who stopped certain death, rape, or parking violation with his handy gun!
I love how all of a sudden the entire blog starts insulting cops! And claiming that they and other normal citizens are much more highly trained!
Can we please give every American a free gun…one with the barrel pointing backwards? Planet Earth would be ever so grateful.
o Re. SEC Readies Case Against Merrill Lynch Over Notes That Lost 95% | Wall Street Journal — What do these folks think they are peddling, a leveraged inverse ETF? (Exemplar gratia: TVIX down how much YoY and since-inception? But up 40% in the past week, woohoo! Just hold on for a few more weeks and ride the upward wave…only to realize you’re once again upside-down and that wave that looks like a rising one is actually crashing into the surf.)
A sociologists perspective on :
https://contexts.org/articles/the-roots-of-american-decline/
The roots of american decline
The “Good Guy with a Gun” article is sloppy and inaccurate from beginning to end. 1.” 40,000 pounds of pressure” it says. But pounds are not pressure. Pressure is pounds per unit area. So much for trying to sound smart. And for what type of ammunition? Even a .22? This is meaningless techno babble, the ignorant author trying to sound smart. 2. “marks on a bullet casing”. I don’t think so. I think the marks are on the bullet. And who would believe that this identification is accurate from police labs that have already been busted lying about everything. TOTAL BS. 3. It says the no fly list is a great idea.
Why don’t liberals get worked up about the vastly greater numbers of people dying from dangerous working conditions and lack of health care? Hold Shillary accountable for that!?!
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-06-22/spanish-minister-under-pressure-as-leak-suggests-smear-campaign
a series of leaked recordings showed him asking a top anti-fraud official for information to discredit political rivals in Catalonia…
The audio files published by Publico news site as Spaniards gear up for a general election on Sunday