World Politics

[redtreviso]

Patriot Act

Delayed-notice search warrants issued under the expanded powers of the Patriot Act, 2006–2009.

 

[cromagnon]

Our progress in degeneracy appears to me to be pretty rapid. As a nation, we began by declaring that "all men are created equal." We now practically read it "all men are created equal, except negroes" When the Know-Nothings get control, it will read "all men are created equal, except negroes, and foreigners, and Catholics." When it comes to this I should prefer emigrating to some country where they make no pretence of loving liberty.

Abraham Lincoln

 

[Bala Verde]

Pipeline Spills Put Safeguards Under Scrutiny

[...]

The little-known federal agency charged with monitoring the system and enforcing safety measures — the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration — is chronically short of inspectors and lacks the resources needed to hire more, leaving too much of the regulatory control in the hands of pipeline operators themselves, according to federal reports, an examination of agency data and interviews with safety experts.

They portray an agency that rarely levies fines and is not active enough in policing the aging labyrinth of pipelines, which has suffered thousands of significant hazardous liquid spills over the past two decades.

MAP

 

[Anonymous]

Anyone shocked by this?

FBI Raids Solar Firm That Got $535M US Loan

FBI agents executed search warrants Thursday at the headquarters of California solar panel manufacturer Solyndra, which received more than $500 million in federal loans before filing for bankruptcy last week.

The assumption was that the search was related to the loans, he said. Those loans — part of the $862 billion economic stimulus package that Congress passed in 2009 — have for months been the subject of a probe by the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

Obama visited Solyndra last year, saying the company represented the future of American renewable energy innovation and noting that it expected to hire 1,000 workers. Other state and federal officials such as former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Energy Secretary Steven Chu also visited the company's facilities.

Republican Rep. Cliff Stearns, chairman of a House subcommittee investigating Solyndra, recently called on the White House to release all communications between the White House and Solyndra and its investors. The House Energy and Commerce Committee issued a subpoena in July seeking documents from the White House Office of Management and Budget.

Democrats opposed those efforts, but on Thursday began to change their tack. Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., called on Stearns to invite Solyndra CEO Brian Harrison to a hearing on Sept. 14. Waxman said that Harrison met with committee members less than two months ago and assured lawmakers that the company was in a strong financial position.

"These assurances appear to contrasts starkly with the company's decision to file for bankruptcy," Waxman said.

http://www.moneynews.com/FinanceNews/SolarManufacturer-Investigation-solyndra/2011/09/08/id/410294


I'll go out on a limb here and suggest that but for the government guarantees this company would not have qualified for one half billion in loans.

I can't wait until the incompetent begin hearings to sort out who was more incompetent.

 

[Anonymous]

Anyone shocked by this?

FBI Raids Solar Firm That Got $535M US Loan

http://www.moneynews.com/FinanceNews/SolarManufacturer-Investigation-solyndra/2011/09/08/id/410294


I'll go out on a limb here and suggest that but for the government guarantees this company would not have qualified for one half billion in loans.

I can't wait until the incompetent begin hearings to sort out who was more incompetent.

Interestingly, China's governmental support (through billions of dollars in capital support) of their solar industry has allowed them to corner the market on solar panels. http://thinkprogress.org/romm/2011/09/09/315754/chinese-predatory-pricing-solar/

 

[redtreviso]

Interestingly, China's governmental support (through billions of dollars in capital support) of their solar industry has allowed them to corner the market on solar panels. http://thinkprogress.org/romm/2011/09/09/315754/chinese-predatory-pricing-solar/

Wonder if there is some "american" collusion with China going on here.

 

[rhubroma]

A recently passed supreme court law has made it constitutional for any private corporation to finance as much as it likes a political campaign.

 

[Anonymous]

Wonder if there is some "american" collusion with China going on here.

Only as much as Republicans won't support anything green because it is inherently "socialist" to them, and they wouldn't possibly consider something (no matter how beneficial) if the government is supporting it to boot.

They will point to this issue as being the problem with solar energy when in reality it is just an example of the fact that sometimes, people are greedy, unethical, and break the law in order to pursue "profit motive."

 

[redtreviso]

Only as much as Republicans won't support anything green because it is inherently "socialist" to them, and they wouldn't possibly consider something (no matter how beneficial) if the government is supporting it to boot.

They will point to this issue as being the problem with solar energy when in reality it is just an example of the fact that sometimes, people are greedy, unethical, and break the law in order to pursue "profit motive."

Yea but what better way to not support green than to collude with the chinese against americans.. Companies or government(R) enablers see american employees' pay as something they can keep for themselves if they can replace the american toil with Chinese..

 

[usedtobefast]

Yea but what better way to not support green than to collude with the chinese against americans.. Companies or government(R) enablers see american employees' pay as something they can keep for themselves if they can replace the american toil with Chinese..

and keep driving down wages here in the US with high unemployment.
shades of, Grapes of Wrath. welcome to Hooverville!

 

[Anonymous]

Only as much as Republicans won't support anything green because it is inherently "socialist" to them, and they wouldn't possibly consider something (no matter how beneficial) if the government is supporting it to boot.

They will point to this issue as being the problem with solar energy when in reality it is just an example of the fact that sometimes, people are greedy, unethical, and break the law in order to pursue "profit motive."

Yep. With any luck we will destroy not only the USA, but the world.

Don't be surprised, that's what we are all about.

The ultimate victory.

 

[redtreviso]

Yep. With any luck we will destroy not only the USA, but the world.

Don't be surprised, that's what we are all about.

The ultimate victory.

Your kind-------------------------

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOd9QYHNg3I

 

[redtreviso]

The exclusive voice of the Republican party..

http://youtu.be/S38VioxnBaI

 

[redtreviso]

""Republicans Insist on "Weigh-Ins" for Food Stamp Recipients...

In a bid to curtail waste and fraud within the welfare system, prominent Republicans have come forth with a plan to weigh members of households that receive food stamp benefits. Although details are sketchy as of this writing, the plan, according to an anonymous source, would require monthly "weigh ins" for all members of any household receiving food stamps, with the amount of the monthly benefit being tied to a combination of "ideal weights" and weight gain.

Households whose members gain weight in any given month would see their food stamp benefits reduced, as would households whose members consistently weigh an as yet to be determined percentage above their "ideal weight" as defined by the FDA, the source said.""

 

[Anonymous]

Yep. With any luck we will destroy not only the USA, but the world.

Don't be surprised, that's what we are all about.

The ultimate victory.

Well, at least you're honest...

 

[Alpe d'Huez]

I'll go out on a limb here and suggest that but for the government guarantees this company would not have qualified for one half billion in loans.

That's hardly a limb.

How well do you think the oil industry would do without assistance from the US government? Make sure you factor in the US military protecting oil interests overseas while you calculate.

These problems won't go away until there's total overhaul of campaign financing, and lobbying is made a crime.

 

[redtreviso]

That's hardly a limb.

How well do you think the oil industry would do without assistance from the US government? Make sure you factor in the US military protecting oil interests overseas while you calculate.

These problems won't go away until there's total overhaul of campaign financing, and lobbying is made a crime.

I wonder if scott has ever seen a Lockheed factory...Or a Northrup Grumman shipyard...."assistance"?? RRRRRROOOOOOFFFFFLLLLLLLL

 

[Alpe d'Huez]

That's not what I was getting at. What I was saying is that the problem with the solar factory isn't that we should give up solar because it's subsidized by government money, as the oil industry is subsidized by government money, and US military protection.

The issue is corruption. The fact that this solar contract stinks from bribery, in the same way the oil industry stinks from bribery. That's the root of the problem.

 

[redtreviso]

That's not what I was getting at. What I was saying is that the problem with the solar factory isn't that we should give up solar because it's subsidized by government money, as the oil industry is subsidized by government money, and US military protection.

The issue is corruption. The fact that this solar contract stinks from bribery, in the same way the oil industry stinks from bribery. That's the root of the problem.

It might just stink from a different end than you and scott think it does.

 

[Alpe d'Huez]

And "liberals" wonder why people hate unions.

Longshoreman (warning: very foul).

Idiot just did his best to set back the union 20 years. He also probably was so stupid he had no idea that the cameramen there are union workers as well.

 

[redtreviso]

and "liberals" wonder why people hate unions.

longshoreman (warning: Very foul).

idiot just did his best to set back the union 20 years. He also probably was so stupid he had no idea that the cameramen there are union workers as well.

video courtesy of the arizona teabagger party ......go jared go!!!

 

[rhubroma]

Yes it must be most representative of the working class struggle in America.

The problem is that when there were people of eloquence the robber barons, with the compliance of the state and law enforcement, had them thrown in jail. Such was the case with union leader Eugene Victor Debs and robber barron George Pullman, for example.

 

[rhubroma]

That's hardly a limb.

How well do you think the oil industry would do without assistance from the US government? Make sure you factor in the US military protecting oil interests overseas while you calculate.

These problems won't go away until there's total overhaul of campaign financing, and lobbying is made a crime.

He doesn't know history. It has been that way since Rockefeller and Standard Oil Company of Ohio. And then again after WW II with the Arabian American Oil Company.

Even before the war was over, the Roosevelt administration had already defined the guidelines of a new global economic order founded upon an alliance between government and big business.

This alliance has created the conflict of interests that has ruined the political party system through campaign financing and hence the democracy; and also has been the number one contributor to all the disasters ever since: be they military or terroristic. But is such a strong alliance that it can never be broken and is even made stronger by the benediction of the supreme court.

 

[patricknd]

Yes it must be most representative of the working class struggle in America.

The problem is that when there were people of eloquence the robber barons, with the compliance of the state and law enforcement, had them thrown them in jail. Such was the case with union leader Eugene Victor Debs and robber barron George Pullman, for example.

For some reason i doubt that the gentleman in the video has heard of Eugene V. Debs.

 

[rhubroma]

For some reason i doubt that the gentleman in the video has heard of Eugene V. Debs.

If I'm not mistaken that's radicchio di treviso in your avatar. Which is what I ate with my pasta tonight along with creamy goat cheese and walnuts. And a nice bottle of Chianti Classico.