News of the Week
Election 2012 *************** Michelle: Send Barack Father’s Day Wishes, Cash This weekend is Father’s Day. That means it’s time to give President Obama a hug – and a check, at least according to Michelle Obama. *************** Growing threats to our First Amendment rights: An address by Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell *************** MSNBC splices bus explosions into segment on Romney bus tour *************** Wanggaard requests recount GOP state Sen. Van Wanggaard today requested a recount in his 834-vote loss to Dem John Lehman, raising questions about the integrity of last week's results and arguing a second count is needed to help move the state past the "schisms caused by the recalls." *************** Obama makes election-year change in deportation policy The Obama administration announced Friday it will stop deporting illegal immigrants who come to the country at a young age. *************** Angus King Strolls to the Senate He’s not that independent. *************** DNC Communications Director: "The Bush Tax Cuts Did Some Good Things For The Middle Class" *************** Obama Celebrates Anti-Police Riot Started at Mafia-Owned Bar for Transvestites At a White House reception held Friday evening in honor of Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender Pride month, President Barack Obama celebrated a 1969 anti-police riot that started in what the New York Times reports was an illegal Mafia-owned bar for transvestites. *************** The Academic Scandal Elizabeth Warren and Harvard Don't Want You to Know About In 1990, Rutgers Professor Philip Shuchman charged Elizabeth Warren, along with Teresa A. Sullivan (above), the President of University of Virginia who resigned unexpectedly yesterday, and Jay Westbrook, her two co-authors of the 1989 book, As We Forgive Our Debtors: Bankruptcy and Consumer Credit in America, with “scientific misconduct.” Within a few months, Warren’s friends and former colleagues at the University of Texas quickly completed an error-filled investigation. *************** Disillusioned young voters dropping out "Hide The Decline" *************** Keystone Fallout: As Promised, Canada Building Pipelines to Sell Oil to China In April, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper revealed disheartening consequences for America's energy policy at a think-tank event in Washington. Asked about President Obama's decision to put off a decision on the construction of the cross-border Keystone XL pipeline, Harper explained that it would permanently alter Canadian energy policy. *************** UCLA Professor fired for blowing whistle on junk science *************** More DOE green-energy “investments” on the way Tuesday, the Department of Energy announced that it is instituting yet another round of clean-energy “investments” that they believe will help to spur the economy to new and amazing competitive heights. *************** Antarctic Temperature Drops Below The Freezing Point Of CO2 War & Terror *************** Russian Fighters Preparing for War in the Caucasus? The New York Times reports that Russian fighters stationed in Armenia have stepped up the number of training flights this year by about 20 percent, “sending a clear warning that Russia could intervene at any moment should violence escalate further in the territorial dispute between Armenia and Azerbaijan.” At least eight soldiers were killed in border clashes last week. *************** Sen. Paul says no to domestic drones Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) is supporting a bill to ban the use of domestic drones to monitor citizens in the U.S. He spoke with CNN's Carol Costello a day after a U.S. Navy drone crashed in Salisbury, Maryland. *************** Australia Turning Toward China? The Obama Administration’s “pivot” to Asia has so far met with a warm welcome from China’s neighbors, who have been unnerved by Beijing’s more assertive posture in recent years. Still, Washington should be mindful of shifting public opinion among its allies in the Asia-Pacific region. National *************** Rodney King: Dead at 47 *************** The European Atrocity You Never Heard About The screams that rang throughout the darkened cattle car crammed with deportees, as it jolted across the icy Polish countryside five nights before Christmas, were Dr. Loch's only means of locating his patient. The doctor, formerly chief medical officer of a large urban hospital, now found himself clambering over piles of baggage, fellow passengers, and buckets used as toilets, only to find his path blocked by an old woman who ignored his request to move aside. On closer examination, he discovered that she had frozen to death. *************** Incendiary Image of the Day: This Is What Gun Control Looks Like Edition *************** DREAM Details A mole inside the government raises some important questions about the president’s illegal DREAM decree. For instance, how would USCIS process all the applications if it can’t charge any processing fees? *************** Ten-year-old girl gets vein grown from her stem cells A 10-year-old girl has had a major blood vessel in her body replaced with one grown with her own stem cells, Swedish doctors report. *************** New Mexico Assaults Religious Liberty A wedding photographer sued for refusing same-sex couples isn’t the only example. *************** The Kids Aren’t All Right: New Family Structures and the “No Differences” Claim Two new peer-reviewed studies show that family structure matters and children do best when reared by their married biological mother and father. *************** Another Study on Same-Sex Couple Parenting Though it is likely to get lost in the attention paid to the more ambitious studies that have generated so much discussion this week, a recent study in the Journal of Marriage and Family also reports on child outcomes for children raised by same-sex couples. *************** Perjury charge against Shellie Zimmerman raises more questions of prosecutorial overreaching Prosecution misleadingly edited transcript *************** Why the Education Bubble Will Be Worse Than the Housing Bubble *************** NYC Health panel talks about wider food ban The board hand-picked by Mayor Michael Bloomberg that must approve his ban of selling large sugar-filled drinks at restaurants might be looking at other targets. *************** Study: Liberal Anti-Mormonism On The Rise The left have turned against the faith since 2008, according to a new study, spurred by Romney and same-sex marriage. *************** Indiana First State to Allow Citizens to Shoot Law Enforcement Officers Police officers in Indiana are upset over a new law allowing residents to use deadly force against public servants, including law enforcement officers, who unlawfully enter their homes. It was signed by Republican Governor Mitch Daniels in March. *************** House committee schedules contempt vote against Holder The House Oversight Committee will vote next week on whether to hold Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt of Congress. It's the fourth time in 30 years that Congress has launched a contempt action against an executive branch member. *************** Eugenics, Past and Future THE current issue of the Yale Alumni Magazine includes a portrait of Irving Fisher, a Yale economics professor in the 1920s and ’30s and a giant of his field. The author, Richard Conniff, takes note of Fisher’s prodigious professional accomplishments and his private decency in order to foreground the real subject of his article: the economist’s role as one of his era’s highest-wattage proponents of eugenics. *************** Commerce Secretary John Bryson accused in hit-and-run crashes Authorities are investigating a series of traffic collisions in the San Gabriel Valley involving U.S. Secretary of Commerce John Bryson, authorities said Saturday. *************** Officials: US commerce secretary suffered seizure Medical records could determine whether U.S. Commerce Secretary John Bryson will be charged in two weekend fender-benders that led to his hospitalization after police found him slumped behind the wheel of his vehicle in the Los Angeles suburbs. *************** White Student Returns $1,000 Scholarship Intended For Black Students A 17-year-old student at King High School in Riverside has returned a $1,000 scholarship intended for black students because he is white. Economy
& Taxes *************** Euro 'Is A Bloody Doomsday Machine,' Economics Professor Says The unthinkable suddenly looks possible. Bankers, governments and investors are preparing for Greece to stop using the euro as its currency, a move that could spread turmoil throughout the global financial system. *************** 12 Signs of the Europocalypse From the Chinese buying spree to the rise of extremism, here's what to watch for as the continent teeters on the brink of disaster. *************** America's Byzantine Tax Code *************** Slovenia Is Spain: Is Another European Country's Bank Bailout On The Way? Has the Spanish bank bailout set a precedent for all other insolvent EMU member countries to follow? Of course. *************** Tax dollars paying for ‘marketing of livestock semen’ *************** Greek Bank Run Update: Up To $1 Billion A Day Now Yesterday, we did an update of the Greek bank jog, when noting that between €100-€500 million per day was being withdrawn from Greek banks based on Kathimerini reports. 24 hours later the jog has become a trot with the most recent estimate from Reuters now estimated at nearly double *************** The Genius of Mutual Indebtedness - Nigel Farage *************** California: America’s Welfare Queen Disregard for federal standards has inflated the state’s program. *************** Americans’ wealth dropped 40 percent The net worth of the American family has fallen to its lowest level in two decades, according to government data released Monday, driven by a more than 40 percent drop in their stakes in their homes. *************** North Dakota Considers Eliminating Property Tax *************** Credit - NO LEVIES - PAYMENTS OF BNI for account holders BNI depositors unable to make withdrawals / payments, payments of utility bills, mortgage payments, taxes Peter Giordano, Adiconsum: "Grave of the Bank of Italy's attitude that takes action without considering the impact on depositors, and especially on single-income families and pensioners" *************** International *************** French Socialists Win An Absolute Majority In Parliament FRENCH SOCIALISTS WIN ABSOLUTE MAJORITY IN PARLIAMENT, CSA SAYS FRENCH SOCIALISTS WON 320 SEATS, CSA SAYS; MAJORITY IS 289 FRENCH SOCIALISTS WON'T NEED TO RELY ON LEFT FRONT, GREENS: CSA *************** Le Pen loses race for French parliament seat Far-right leader Marine Le Pen has lost her race for a parliamentary seat, but her anti-immigrant National Front party will have its first seats in parliament in years. *************** Pasok Throws A Monkey Wrench Into Coalition Discussions As reported in the previous post, the Greek PASOK party of former PM G-Pap may have thrown a grenade into coalition discussion, following an announcement by Katerina Diamantopoulou that Pasok will not join into a coalition government with ND unless Syriza also joins said coalition. Which Syriza stated moments ago it would not do. *************** Greek election: Live Official exit poll shows New Democracy ahead of anti-austerity Syriza with 29.5pc of votes, while German foreign minister suggests Greece could be given more time on reforms. *************** With polls closed, Egypt waits for president Egyptians began an anxious wait for their first freely elected president on Sunday after two days of voting that was to be the culmination of their Arab Spring revolution but which many fear may now only compound political and economic uncertainty. *************** Greece Could Finally Collapse, But Don't Bet On It The point of inflection is near. On Sunday, Greece will hold general elections, where the vote is being seen as a choice for the Greek people between embracing structural reforms to remain within the European Union, or to reject “barbarous” austerity and reinstate the drachma. The risks of the latter are “incalculable” and “potentially enormous,” according to Barclays, which suggests contagion could wreck true havoc throughout the EU and beyond. *************** China confirms forced abortion case after uproar Chinese authorities confirmed Thursday that a woman was forced to abort seven months into her pregnancy, several days after her plight came to light when images of her baby's corpse were posted online. *************** Egypt's highest court declares parliament invalid Egypt's highest court declared the parliament invalid Thursday, and the country's interim military rulers promptly declared full legislative authority, triggering a new level of chaos and confusion in the country's leadership. *************** Iraqi restaurants are trying to satisfy Western tastes BAGHDAD – Saysaban restaurant never closed for business, even when U.S. tanks rolled into Baghdad in 2003 or later when the city spiraled toward civil war. *************** Egypt’s Liberals: “We Were Duped” Yesterday Egypt’s Supreme Constitutional Court handed down rulings that dismissed the Muslim Brotherhood-dominated parliament, in what has been called a coup by military leaders apparently dissatisfied with “transitional authority” status. Egypt is now the newest example of an old trend in Middle Eastern politics in which Islamist gains inspire pushback from secular authoritarian elements in the government. *************** Saudi Crown Prince Nayef, heir to throne, dies Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Nayef, a hawkish interior minister who crushed al Qaeda in the world's top oil exporter, died on Saturday eight months after becoming heir to the throne, paving the way for a more reform-minded successor. *************** Australia Awards Infanticide Guru Highest Civic Award *************** NOW 80% DEMAND VOTE TO QUIT EU DEMANDS for the British people to have a say on our role in Europe got a huge boost yesterday. *************** EU: movement of money, people can be limited The European Commission has been providing legal advice to others who are considering possible scenarios should Greece leave the euro, a European Union spokesman said. *************** EU Floats Worst-Case Plans for Greek Euro European finance officials have discussed as a worst-case scenario limiting the size of withdrawals from ATM machines, imposing border checks and introducing capital controls in at least Greece should Athens decide to leave the euro. *************** Capriles rallies Venezuelans to challenge Chavez Hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans flooded downtown Caracas on Sunday to support opposition candidate Henrique Capriles in the biggest rally to date of his campaign to unseat cancer-stricken socialist President Hugo Chavez. *************** Opinion *************** Socialist or Fascist? It bothers me a little when conservatives call Barack Obama a "socialist." He certainly is an enemy of the free market, and wants politicians and bureaucrats to make the fundamental decisions about the economy. But that does not mean that he wants government ownership of the means of production, which has long been a standard definition of socialism. *************** Hiroshima and Detroit – 65 Years Later Be sure to view all the way to the end! What happened to the radiation that’s supposed to last thousands of years?? *************** Is Perestroika Coming In California? When Jerry Brown was elected governor for a third time in 2010, there was widespread hope that he would repair the state’s crumbling and dysfunctional political edifice. *************** |
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