[LAAMN] Venezuela:PDVSA wins very big against Exxon in arbitration, to pay book value
In all reality the Venezuelan government should not have to pay anything really, since we all know EXXON made hand over fist in big bucks much more than $750 million over decades of exploitation of the people, oil and governments in Venezuela. Cort http://settysoutham.wordpress.com/2012/01/01/pdvsa-wins-very-big-against-exxon-in-arbitration-to-pay-book-value/ January 1, 2012 · 10:06 pm ↓ Jump to Commentshttp://settysoutham.wordpress.com/2012/01/01/pdvsa-wins-very-big-against-exxon-in-arbitration-to-pay-book-value/#comments PDVSA wins very big against Exxon in arbitration, to pay book value Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA has been ordered to pay $750 millionhttp://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-01-01/exxon-gets-disappointing-750-million-after-venezuela-assets-seizure.htmlto ExxonMobil in a four-year-old case before the International Court of Arbitration, Bloomberg reports. This is a shockingly low amount of money, since PDVSA says the claim was for $6.5 to $7 billion — down from an initialy demand for $12 billion. Venezuela had offered somewhere around $1 billion to settle the case, and now gets off with an even lower award. This means that Venezuela is going to pay only book value to Exxon Mobil. (The NY Timeshttp://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/02/business/global/venezuela-ordered-to-pay-900-million-to-exxon-mobil.html?_r=1src=twrand some other outlets are saying the decision was for a bit more than $900 million, but Bloomberg says that amount was reduced. We shall see.) This vindicates of Venezuela’s point throughout the proceedings that it should pay no more than book value for expropriated projects. It also serves as a warning for companies that want to take depreciation write-downs on foreign assets. Sure, it’s an easy way to get out of some taxes, but is it really worth it if you end up getting screwed on expropriation? There remains another case by ExxonMobil against the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, and that case has yet to be decided. It could be where the big bucks end up. Exxon and its shareholders must be hoping so. And ConocoPhillips and its shareholders, too, since ConocoPhillips’s claims against Venezuela started at $30.3 billion, and ConocoPhillips’s book values were less than $3 billion. Also: Devil’s Excrement apparently didn’t spend the day hula-hooping on the beach, and instead was hard at work on the blog. Here’s his take.http://devilsexcrement.com/2012/01/01/exxonmobil-awarded-us-750-million-for-cerro-negro-nationalization-by-venezuela/ A bit of background info after the jump. Here is what we know publicly about the Exxon claim against Venezuela at the International Court of Arbitration, from a PDVSA bond filing from a few months ago: On January 27, 2008, a subsidiary of ExxonMobil, Mobil Cerro Negro Ltd. (“Mobil Cerro Negro”) filed an arbitration request before the International Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce against PDVSA and PDVSA Cerro Negro, S.A. (“PDVSA Cerro Negro”), claiming an entitlement to indemnity from PDVSA Cerro Negro under the association agreement relating to the Cerro Negro Project (the “Cerro Negro Association Agreement”) and from PDVSA under the terms of a guaranty granted by PDVSA of PDVSA Cerro Negro’s obligations under the Cerro Negro Association Agreement. In December 2007, Mobil Cerro Negro had obtained from the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York an attachment order on funds of PDVSA Cerro Negro, deposited in accounts held in the Bank of New York Mellon. Pursuant to that order, approximately US$300 million of PDVSA Cerro Negro funds remain attached until the arbitration procedure is completed. Additionally, on January 24, 2008, Mobil Cerro Negro obtained ex parte a worldwide freezing order from the High Court of Justice in London, restricting PDVSA from disposing of certain assets and ordering it to maintain, on a global basis, assets having an aggregate value of at least US$12 billion. However, the High Court of Justice vacated the order on March 18, 2008, upon PDVSA’s application. Ex parte attachment orders were also obtained by Mobil Cerro Negro in The Netherlands, attaching the shares of a subsidiary, and The Netherlands Antilles and Aruba, which have not interfered with PDVSA’s ordinary course of business. Although the provisional measures proceedings in the national courts were based on an alleged indemnity claim of US$12 billion, Mobil Cerro Negro has reduced its claim in the arbitration to approximately US$6.5 billion to US$7 billion, plus interest and costs. The claim in the arbitration is for indemnification under Article XV of the Cerro Negro Association Agreement, which provided that PDVSA Cerro Negro would indemnify Mobil Cerro Negro, subject to certain limitations, for certain governmental actions defined as “Discriminatory Measures” having a “Material Adverse Impact” on Mobil Cerro Negro as defined in the Association Agreement. Mobil Cerro Negro claims that various
Re: [LAAMN] Please Read This! ~ Obama Signs the National Defense Authorization Act (H.R. 1540) ~ The NDAA Authorizes the Arbitrary Indefinite Military Detention of American Citizens ~ THE INAUG
And the Bastard signs it on New Years eve, being upset that he can't have more say so as to whether you and I are sent to a Civilian or Military prison. Is there any doubt that this man like his predecessor considers our Constitution just a god dammed piece of paper, and has no respect for the rule of law, so passes illegal laws to go after those who the law granted privileges and protected our rights? And the Choice the Two headed party is trying to give us will be even worse (as it always is after a lot of money was invested by them in the incumbent). Scott Obama Signs the National Defense Authorization Act (H.R. 1540) - Which Repeals the U.S. Constitution! The NDAA Authorizes the Arbitrary Indefinite Military Detention of American Citizens. THE INAUGURATION OF POLICE STATE USA 2012 Transcript of Signing Statement by President Barack Obama on H.R. 1540, December 31, 2011 follows article by Michel Chossudovsky. Obama Signs the National Defense Authorization Act (H.R. 1540) By Michel Chossudovsky, Montreal, Canada, January 1, 2012 URL of this article: www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=vaaid=28441 aid=28441 Global Research http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=o8b4necabet=1109030523234s=6889e=001sTpyew mH6oRQq_2sgjC0KP7oTBicumyCEyJbTsqL9EUNZvyM3slLMIsyaGVcDBxF390s0_5aSjuHQIepAA 5ZvcO_M6C3u8qFk7XJXpxbDfHhkFaX2wrZfw== , January 1, 2012 With minimal media debate, at a time when Americans were celebrating the New Year with their loved ones, the National Defense Authorization Act H.R. 1540 was signed into law by President Barack Obama. The actual signing took place in Hawaii on the 31st of December. According to Obama's signing statement, the threat of Al Qaeda to the Security of the Homeland constitutes a justification for repealing fundamental rights and freedoms, with a stroke of the pen. The controversial signing statement (see transcript below) is a smokescreen. Obama says he disagrees with the NDAA but he signs it into law. [I have] serious reservations with certain provisions that regulate the detention, interrogation, and prosecution of suspected terrorists. Obama implements Police State USA, while acknowledging that certain provisions of the NDAA are unacceptable. If such is the case, he could have either vetoed the NDAA (H.R. 1540) or sent it back to Congress with his objections. The National Defense Authorization Act (H.R. 1540) is Obama's New Year's Gift to the American People. He justifies the signing of the NDAA as a means to combating terrorism, as part of a counter-terrorism agenda. But in substance, any American opposed to the policies of the US government can --under the provisions of the NDAA-- be labelled a suspected terrorist and arrested under military detention. Moreover, I want to clarify that my Administration will not authorize the indefinite military detention without trial of American citizens. Indeed, I believe that doing so would break with our most important traditions and values as a Nation. My Administration will interpret section 1021 in a manner that ensures that any detention it authorizes complies with the Constitution, the laws of war, and all other applicable law. Barack Obama is a lawyer (a graduate from Harvard Law School). He knows fair well that his signing statement --which parrots his commitment to democracy-- is purely cosmetic. It has no force of law. The signing statement does not in any way invalidate or modify the actual signing by President Obama of NDAA (H.R. 1540) into law. Democratic Dictatorship in America The National Defense Authorization Act (H.R. 1540) repeals the US Constitution. While the facade of democracy prevails, supported by media propaganda, the American republic is fractured. The tendency is towards the establishment of a totalitarian State, a military government dressed in civilian clothes. The passage of NDAA is intimately related to Washington's global military agenda. The military pursuit of Worldwide hegemony also requires the Militarization of the Homeland, namely the demise of the American Republic. In substance, the signing statement is intended to mislead Americans and provide a democratic face to the President as well as to the unfolding post-911 Military Police State apparatus. The most important traditions and values in derogation of the US Constitution have indeed been repealed, effective on New Year's Day, January 1st 2012. The NDAA Authorizes the Arbitrary and Indefinite Military Detention of American Citizens. The Lessons of History This New Year's Eve December 31, 2011 signing of the NDAA will indelibly go down as a landmark in American history. If we are to put this in a comparative historical context, the relevant provisions of the NDAA HR 1540 are, in many regards, comparable to those contained in the
[LAAMN] Libertarian Koch Brothers web of influence
Libertarian Koch Brothers web of influence http://www.publicintegrity.org/articles/entry/3120/ Koch Inc. spends tens of millions of dollars to lobby Congress and federal agencies on issues ranging from dioxin and security at chemical plants to oil and gas and the estate tax. Koch spent $20 million on lobbying in Washington in 2008. Then the Kochs spent another $20.5 million over the next two years seeking to mold, gut or kill more than 100 prospective bills or regulations. Koch's lobbying activities extend far beyond petroleum. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] --- LAAMN: Los Angeles Alternative Media Network --- Unsubscribe: mailto:laamn-unsubscr...@egroups.com --- Subscribe: mailto:laamn-subscr...@egroups.com --- Digest: mailto:laamn-dig...@egroups.com --- Help: mailto:laamn-ow...@egroups.com?subject=laamn --- Post: mailto:la...@egroups.com --- Archive1: http://www.egroups.com/messages/laamn --- Archive2: http://www.mail-archive.com/laamn@egroups.com --- Yahoo! Groups Links * To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/laamn/ * Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional * To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/laamn/join (Yahoo! ID required) * To change settings via email: laamn-dig...@yahoogroups.com laamn-fullfeatu...@yahoogroups.com * To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: laamn-unsubscr...@yahoogroups.com * Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
[LAAMN] Ron Paul: Abolish Minimum Wage to Help Poor People
Ron Paul: Abolish Minimum Wage to Help Poor People http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/david/ron-paul-abolish-minimum-wage-help-poor-peop [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] --- LAAMN: Los Angeles Alternative Media Network --- Unsubscribe: mailto:laamn-unsubscr...@egroups.com --- Subscribe: mailto:laamn-subscr...@egroups.com --- Digest: mailto:laamn-dig...@egroups.com --- Help: mailto:laamn-ow...@egroups.com?subject=laamn --- Post: mailto:la...@egroups.com --- Archive1: http://www.egroups.com/messages/laamn --- Archive2: http://www.mail-archive.com/laamn@egroups.com --- Yahoo! Groups Links * To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/laamn/ * Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional * To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/laamn/join (Yahoo! ID required) * To change settings via email: laamn-dig...@yahoogroups.com laamn-fullfeatu...@yahoogroups.com * To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: laamn-unsubscr...@yahoogroups.com * Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
[LAAMN] Revolutionary Greetings for 2012 from the Freedom Socialist Party
2012: a year to deepen and extend the uprisings of 2011 Dear Friends, Finally, a year worth celebrating: 2011, the year the exploited, oppressed, and abandoned of the world achieved critical mass in fighting back. As we look forward to 2012, the Freedom Socialist Party (FSP) extends hopeful New Year's greetings to all the rebels who made history in 2011 and all the workers and dispossessed who cheered them on. One desperate and angry man in Tunisia lit the flame of revolution with his own body. But the conditions that led him to make this ultimate protest were not, at bottom, local or even regional. They were global. His personal sacrifice helped the world come awake to capitalism's constant and universal sacrifice of workers' dignity, health, and lives. Young people and workers rose up from the whole of North Africa to the Capitol building in Wisconsin, from the public squares of Greece to the streets of Russia, and from the high schools and colleges of Chileto the camps of los indignados - the outraged - in Spain. Women who had been silent found their own voices, and their own leadership. General strikes proliferated. One revolt inspired and strengthened the next, leading in the autumn to a radical mass movement in the heart of imperialism: Occupy Wall Street. The socialist feminist FSP experienced a dynamic year in the thick of things. We organized against nuclear power and corporate and government treachery in Japan. In Australia we spearheaded a grassroots campaign for equal pay and provided ongoing leadership to the struggle to end Aboriginal deaths in custody. We counter mobilised against the right wings anti-choice March for the babies and the Nazi Australian Defence League. And month in and month out, the FSP was on board supporting Radical Womens defence of the Fertility Control Clinic from the Helpers of Gods Precious infants and the defence of the right to protest from Melbourne City Council harassment. In the U.S., we initiated campaigns to fight FBI repression of anti-war and Palestinian rights activists, were in the forefront of organizing against Border Patrol persecution of immigrants in the Pacific Northwest, and actively supported the defense of Mumia Abu-Jamal, Lynne Stewart, Troy Davis, Bradley Manning, and other victims of the justice system. We joined with our sister organization, Radical Women, in its participation in Slutwalks around the country protesting violence against women and in its pioneering Sisters Organize for Survival campaign against budget cuts in Washington state. For three years, the party has been organizing against austerity budgets, pushing for bold union action and a united labor-community fightback. Now the militancy has exploded. FSP has been strongly involved in the Occupy movement, the defense of longshore workers in Longview, Wash., and the December port shutdown all along the West Coast. FSP also participated in force in the Save Our Schools mobilization that brought thousands to Washington., D.C., for a July national conference and rally against efforts to destroy public education. Our international travels included trips to Mexico and the Dominican Republic to discuss struggles and ideas with Latin American socialists and to New Zealand to work with the Occupy movement and meet with other socialist. Like other working people and working-class movement groups, we continued to feel the hard pinch of the Great Recession. The party was heartened and energized by the tremendous response to our fund drive for the Freedom Socialistnewspaper, which raised over $84,000, and to our other national and local fundraising. In Australia, this fundraising also supported the purchase of a new photocopier. when our Los Angeles branch was evicted in July, your generosity made it possible to locate a new headquarters, renovate it to make it disabled accessible, and to move, all in the space of six weeks. We want to warmly thank again everyone who made such generous contributions. These will stand us in good stead as we face the new year. 2012 will be a year of steep challenges as well as great opportunities. For every action, there is a reaction. This is apparent across the globe. In Egypt, for example, the military is revealing itself to be a new dictatorship in the making rather than a facilitator of popular democracy. In the U.S., liberal movement leaders are attempting to turn the Occupy movement into a Democratic Party campaign vehicle and some union leaders are resisting the stirrings of rank-and-file militancy. And in other parts of the world, the movement obsessed with process and claiming to be leaderless is, as a consequence, battling vicious state repression with one hand tied behind its back. The uprisings of 2011 and the reactions against them offer lessons for those who want to win justice, equality, and an end to the suffering caused by poverty. The year's events have exposed
[LAAMN] Omar Barghouti in Los Angeles on January 12 with Irvine 11 at 3:30, with Angela Davis at 7 pm
** *Omar Barghouti: West Coast Itinerary, January 2012* *LOS ANGELES:* *Thursday, January 12:* *3:30-5:30 pm: The Irvine 11:Freedom of Speech, Civil Disobedience and Selective Prosecution: Public Meeting with Irvine 11.* The Forum at the Ronald Tutor Center, University of Southern California. Free and open to the public. Disabled accessible. Sponsored by USC Students for Justice in Palestine. *7:00 pm: Omar Barghouti, Angela Davis and Fred Moten: Our South Africa Moment: Divestment From Apartheid In South Africa And Israel.* Room 101, Taper Hall of the Humanities, University of Southern California. Free and open to the public. Disabled accessible. Contact: David Lloyd colles2...@sbcglobal.net [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] --- LAAMN: Los Angeles Alternative Media Network --- Unsubscribe: mailto:laamn-unsubscr...@egroups.com --- Subscribe: mailto:laamn-subscr...@egroups.com --- Digest: mailto:laamn-dig...@egroups.com --- Help: mailto:laamn-ow...@egroups.com?subject=laamn --- Post: mailto:la...@egroups.com --- Archive1: http://www.egroups.com/messages/laamn --- Archive2: http://www.mail-archive.com/laamn@egroups.com --- Yahoo! Groups Links * To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/laamn/ * Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional * To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/laamn/join (Yahoo! ID required) * To change settings via email: laamn-dig...@yahoogroups.com laamn-fullfeatu...@yahoogroups.com * To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: laamn-unsubscr...@yahoogroups.com * Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
[LAAMN] Taibi - Abelsoni: A terrific message from America's top Sociopaths
From: Truly Blue [mailto:truebluenetw...@earthhome.us] Sent: Monday, January 02, 2012 12:22 AM Subject: Matt Taibi and Max Abelson: A terrific message from America's top Sociopaths A terrific* message from America's top http://earthhome.us/Sociopaths.html Sociopaths . Tho written as a Christmas message, these amazing stories let some of America's top Sociopaths http://earthhome.us/Sociopaths.html speak for themselves. This is a great predictor of what to expect more of in 2012, as the 1% continues to live lives in full Denial that they shall roast for Eternity in Hellfire from whence they came. . Because they know there's no salvation possible for them, no redemption of any kind, they continue to worship at the feet of their Master, as certified Agents of Satan. No one prays for Sociopaths, just as no one prays for redemption of Lucifer. Evil is an essential component of religion. . Get to know a few of America's finest. . http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/blogs/taibblog/a-christmas-message-from -americas-rich-20111222#ixzz1i7fD2wlI Matt Taibi Rolling Stone: 12/22/11 It seems Americas bankers are tired of all the abuse. Theyve decided to speak out. True, theyre doing it from behind the ropeline, in front of friendly crowds at industry conferences and country clubs, meaning they dont have to look the rest of America in the eye when they call us all imbeciles and complain that they shouldnt have to apologize for being so successful. But while they havent yet deigned to talk to protesting America face to face, they are willing to scribble out some complaints on notes and send them downstairs on silver trays. Courtesy of a http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-12-21/bankers-join-billionaires-to-de bunk-imbecile-attack-on-top-1-.html remarkable story by Max Abelson at Bloomberg, we now get to hear some of those choice comments. Home Depot co-founder Bernard Marcus, for instance, is not worried about OWS: Who gives a crap about some imbecile? Marcus said. Are you kidding me? Former New York gurbernatorial candidate Tom Golisano, the billionaire owner of the billing firm Paychex, offered his wisdom while his half-his-age tennis champion girlfriend hung on his arm: If I hear a politician use the term paying your fair share one more time, Im going to vomit, said Golisano, who turned 70 last month, celebrating the birthday with girlfriend Monica Seles, the former tennis star who won nine Grand Slam singles titles. Then theres Leon Cooperman, the former chief of Goldman Sachss money-management unit, who said he was urged to speak out by his fellow golfers. His message was a version of Wall Streets increasingly popular If-you-people-want-a-job, then-youll-shut-the-fuck-up rhetorical line: Cooperman, 68, said in an interview that he cant walk through the dining room of St. Andrews Country Club in Boca Raton, Florida, without being thanked for speaking up. At least four people expressed their gratitude on Dec. 5 while he was eating an egg-white omelet, he said. Youll get more out of me, the billionaire said, if you treat me with respect. Finally, there is this from Blackstone CEO Steven Schwartzman: Asked if he were willing to pay more taxes in a Nov. 30 interview with Bloomberg Television, Blackstone Group LP CEO Stephen Schwarzman spoke about lower-income U.S. families who pay no income tax. You have to have skin in the game, said Schwarzman, 64. Im not saying how much people should do. But we should all be part of the system. There are obviously a great many things that one could say about this remarkable collection of quotes. One could even, if one wanted, simply savor them alone, without commentary, like lumps of fresh caviar, or raw oysters. But out of Abelsons collection of doleful woe-is-us complaints from the offended rich, the one that deserves the most attention is Schwarzmans line about lower-income folks lacking skin in the game. This incredible statement gets right to the heart of why these people suck. Why? It's not because Schwarzman is factually wrong about lower-income people having no skin in the game, ignoring the fact that everyone pays sales taxes, and most everyone pays payroll taxes, and of course there are property taxes for even the lowliest subprime mortgage holders, and so on. Its not even because Schwarzman probably himself pays close to zero in income tax as a private equity chief, he doesnt pay income tax but tax on carried interest, which carries a maximum 15% tax rate, half the rate of a New York City firefighter. The real issue has to do with the context of Schwarzmans quote. The Blackstone billionaire, remember, is one of the more uniquely abhorrent, self-congratulating jerks in the entire world a man who famously symbolized the excesses of the crisis era when, just as the rest of America was heading into a recession, he
[LAAMN] one perspective on occupy the Rose Parade: a great day!
I hope many other people can report their own perspectives, especially if they
are different from mine, and especially if they can fill in the blanks of what
I didn't see.
There was pretty good coverage on KABC-7 at 5:00 pm, which even PRECEDED
coverage of the official parade itself! The only criticism I would make is that
they only showed two parade-goers: one hostile heckler, and one man who
disagreed with us but supported our right to free speech. As a person on the
scene, I can attest that there was much more diversity in the crowd than that,
including many parade-watchers who cheered us, waved at us, put on 99% stickers
and sometimes even joined us!
Can anyone else report about the quality of news coverage on other channels?
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Got to Singer Park before 6
AM*yawn*...and helped to hold our spot
beside the Rose Queen and Court. Man, am I glad it wasn't the day
after New Year's Eve. We only marched a little over a mile, up Orange
Grove to Colorado and then turned off on Marengo to rally at City Hall
- didn't get to the Playhouse district or East Pasadena. We had two
floats, a giant Constitution and a giant octopus (made out of recycled
plastic garbage bags). The cops were loaded for bear and were standing
at attention with their riot shields, but there was no trouble, no
violence, and I would be surprised if there were any arrests. Since we
were following the parade, people were leaving as we were starting,
but we attracted a lot of attention and even got some to join us. Of
course there was some hostility, from boneheads who sneered, Get a
job. Yeah, right, think of a new one. And at City Hall, we got to
hear Marcy Winograd, Cindy Sheehan, and assorted spontaneous poets and
speakers. For entertainment, we got to hear the Billionaires satirical
group (with a full brass band), rapping by Guido Corleone of the
Luminaries, and freakin' MICHELLE SHOCKED leading a singalong to the
tune of the NOFX occupy song! She was beautiful, reaching out to
include everyone, even shy people. I think this day should be a lesson
for the movement: not all protest has to be confrontational, in fact
confrontation should be a very last resort. We worked with the
authorities, and we DIDN'T get pepper sprayed! The official telecast
cut us off, but fortunately there is lots of alternative media these
days. OCCUPY 2012! STOP FORECLOSURES! OCCUPY THE ELECTIONS
One guy who attracted a lot of attention was Brian, a
soft-spoken
veteran of Grenada and the Gulf War who still has friends in
Afghanistan. He came in full battle dress and helmet, and had a spray-
painted banner that read Get $ out of politics on one side, and
Stop bank fees on the other. He's gotten a pretty raw deal from
civilian life, but he made the sacrifice to attend this event.
Andgotta love 'im for this...he's a Dropkick Murphys fan!!!
VETERANS OCCUPY!!!
I also met David and Susan and other cool people from
Occupy Long
Beach. Despite being totally nonviolent, they have been relentlessly
attacked and harassed by the Long Beach PD. In fact, Susan took some
photos of an officer choking an Occupier into unconsciousness -- the
injured man is George Diller, a veteran of course! These photos of the
officer with his knee on George's throat are iconic in a Kent State
kind of way, and they were on display along the parade route for the
duration of the parade. You can see them at
http://blogs.laweekly.com/informer/2011/12/george_diller_occupy_police_brutality.php,
http://occupylb.org/2011/12/21/lbpd-choke-protester-unconscious-for-smoking/,
http://occupylb.org/photos/police-brutality-against-occupy-lber-and-veteran-for-smoking/
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[LAAMN] After Mitt Romney Deal, Company Showed Profits Then Layoffs
After Mitt Romney Deal, Company Showed Profits Then Layoffs http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/13/us/politics/after-mitt-romney-deal-company-showed-profits-and-then-layoffs.html?ref=politics [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] --- LAAMN: Los Angeles Alternative Media Network --- Unsubscribe: mailto:laamn-unsubscr...@egroups.com --- Subscribe: mailto:laamn-subscr...@egroups.com --- Digest: mailto:laamn-dig...@egroups.com --- Help: mailto:laamn-ow...@egroups.com?subject=laamn --- Post: mailto:la...@egroups.com --- Archive1: http://www.egroups.com/messages/laamn --- Archive2: http://www.mail-archive.com/laamn@egroups.com --- Yahoo! Groups Links * To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/laamn/ * Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional * To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/laamn/join (Yahoo! ID required) * To change settings via email: laamn-dig...@yahoogroups.com laamn-fullfeatu...@yahoogroups.com * To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: laamn-unsubscr...@yahoogroups.com * Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
[LAAMN] Sin! Spin! SPIN!!!!
Round and round and round we go. Depends on what you definition of Spin is, eh? Bottom of page three has a rather nice summary. http://www.ironictimes.com/0590-p3.html --- LAAMN: Los Angeles Alternative Media Network --- Unsubscribe: mailto:laamn-unsubscr...@egroups.com --- Subscribe: mailto:laamn-subscr...@egroups.com --- Digest: mailto:laamn-dig...@egroups.com --- Help: mailto:laamn-ow...@egroups.com?subject=laamn --- Post: mailto:la...@egroups.com --- Archive1: http://www.egroups.com/messages/laamn --- Archive2: http://www.mail-archive.com/laamn@egroups.com --- Yahoo! Groups Links * To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/laamn/ * Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional * To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/laamn/join (Yahoo! ID required) * To change settings via email: laamn-dig...@yahoogroups.com laamn-fullfeatu...@yahoogroups.com * To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: laamn-unsubscr...@yahoogroups.com * Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
[LAAMN] Rose Parade
Thousands of us are waiting to see video coverage for the OWS at the end of the Rose Parade. There wasn't anything on the Main Stream 1% Corporate Media, (Duh) and I'm seeing editors all over the place asking for links and such, as they aren't finding anything. Anyone here who can send some links ASAP? Scott --- LAAMN: Los Angeles Alternative Media Network --- Unsubscribe: mailto:laamn-unsubscr...@egroups.com --- Subscribe: mailto:laamn-subscr...@egroups.com --- Digest: mailto:laamn-dig...@egroups.com --- Help: mailto:laamn-ow...@egroups.com?subject=laamn --- Post: mailto:la...@egroups.com --- Archive1: http://www.egroups.com/messages/laamn --- Archive2: http://www.mail-archive.com/laamn@egroups.com --- Yahoo! Groups Links * To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/laamn/ * Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional * To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/laamn/join (Yahoo! ID required) * To change settings via email: laamn-dig...@yahoogroups.com laamn-fullfeatu...@yahoogroups.com * To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: laamn-unsubscr...@yahoogroups.com * Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
[LAAMN] Inauguration of Police State USA 2012: Obama Signs the National Defense Authorization Act
INAUGURATION OF POLICE STATE USA 2012. Obama Signs the “National Defense Authorization Act by Michel Chossudovsky With minimal media debate, at a time when Americans were celebrating the New Year with their loved ones, the “National Defense Authorization Act H.R. 1540 was signed into law by President Barack Obama. The actual signing took place in Hawaii on the 31st of December. According to Obama's signing statement, the threat of Al Qaeda to the Security of the Homeland constitutes a justification for repealing fundamental rights and freedoms, with a stroke of the pen. The controversial signing statement (see transcript below) is a smokscreen. Obama says he disagrees with the NDAA but he signs it into law. [I have] serious reservations with certain provisions that regulate the detention, interrogation, and prosecution of suspected terrorists. Obama implements Police State USA, while acknowledging that certain provisions of the NDAA are unacceptable. If such is the case, he could have either vetoed the NDAA (H.R. 1540) or sent it back to Congress with his objections. He justifies the signing of the NDAA as a means to combating terrorism, as part of a counter-terrorism agenda. But in substance, any American opposed to the policies of the US government can --under the provisions of the NDAA-- be labelled a suspected terrorist and arrested under military detention. Already in 2004 Homeland Security defined several categories of potential conspirators or suspected terrorists including foreign [Islamic] terrorists , domestic radical groups, [antiwar and civil rights groups], disgruntled employees [labor and union activists] and state sponsored adversaries [rogue states, unstable nations]. The unspoken objective in an era of war and social crisis is to repress all forms of domestic protest and dissent. The “National Defense Authorization Act (H.R. 1540) is Obama's New Year's Gift to the American People. Moreover, I want to clarify that my Administration will not authorize the indefinite military detention without trial of American citizens. Indeed, I believe that doing so would break with our most important traditions and values as a Nation. My Administration will interpret section 1021 in a manner that ensures that any detention it authorizes complies with the Constitution, the laws of war, and all other applicable law. (emphasis added0 Barack Obama is a lawyer (a graduate from Harvard Law School). He knows fair well that his signing statement --which parrots his commitment to democracy-- is purely cosmetic. It has no force of law. His adminstrationwill not authorize what? The implementation of a Law endorsed by the Executive and signed by the President of the United States? Section 1021 is crystal clear. The Executive cannot refuse to implement it. The signing statement does not in any way invalidate or modify the actual signing by President Obama of NDAA (H.R. 1540) into law. It does not have any bearing on the implementation/ enforcement of the Law. Democratic Dictatorship in America The “National Defense Authorization Act (H.R. 1540) repeals the US Constitution. While the facade of democracy prevails, supported by media propaganda, the American republic is fractured. The tendency is towards the establishment of a totalitarian State, a military government dressed in civilian clothes. The passage of NDAA is intimately related to Washington's global military agenda. The military pursuit of Worldwide hegemony also requires the Militarization of the Homeland, namely the demise of the American Republic. In substance, the signing statement is intended to mislead Americans and provide a democratic face to the President as well as to the unfolding post-911 Military Police State apparatus. The most important traditions and values in derogation of The Bill of Rights and the US Constitution have indeed been repealed, effective on New Year's Day, January 1st 2012. The NDAA authorises the arbitrary and indefinite military detention of American citizens. The Lessons of History This New Year's Eve December 31, 2011 signing of the NDAA will indelibly go down as a landmark in American history. Barack Obama will down in history as the president who killed Constitutional democracy in the United States. . If we are to put this in a comparative historical context, the relevant provisions of the NDAA HR 1540 are, in many regards, comparable to those contained in the Decree of the Reich President for the Protection of People and State, commonly known as the Reichstag Fire Decree (Reichstagsbrandverordnung) enacted in Germany under the Weimar Republic on 27 February 1933 by President (Field Marshal) Paul von Hindenburg. Implemented in the immediate wake of the Reichstag Fire (which served as a pretext), this February 1933 decree was used to repeal civil liberties including the right of Habeas
[LAAMN] What the lamestream media is hiding: the sledgehammer of reality
http://www.brasschecktv.com/videos/war-is-a-racket/the-sledgehammer-of-reality.html [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] --- LAAMN: Los Angeles Alternative Media Network --- Unsubscribe: mailto:laamn-unsubscr...@egroups.com --- Subscribe: mailto:laamn-subscr...@egroups.com --- Digest: mailto:laamn-dig...@egroups.com --- Help: mailto:laamn-ow...@egroups.com?subject=laamn --- Post: mailto:la...@egroups.com --- Archive1: http://www.egroups.com/messages/laamn --- Archive2: http://www.mail-archive.com/laamn@egroups.com --- Yahoo! Groups Links * To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/laamn/ * Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional * To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/laamn/join (Yahoo! ID required) * To change settings via email: laamn-dig...@yahoogroups.com laamn-fullfeatu...@yahoogroups.com * To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: laamn-unsubscr...@yahoogroups.com * Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
[LAAMN] The Secret of Rocky Flats: The Never-Ending Story of a Cold War Plutonium Plant
The Secret of Rocky Flats: The Never-Ending Story of a Cold War Plutonium PlantBy Kari Lydersen A Rocky Flats plant worker holds a plutonium button in 1973. (Photo via Wikipedia) BOULDER, COLO.—When the Green Bay Packers score, fans pound thunderously on the corrugated metal wall of the patio at the Rocky Flats Lounge. Newcomers to the area would likely never guess that in decades past, the tavern between Denver and Boulder would be packed with workers involved in a secretive, controversial and dangerous industry…and that the expanse of wind-swept, weedy, rubble-strewn land across the highway from the tavern was where private contractors working for the U.S. government constructed atomic bombs out of tons of plutonium and other radioactive and toxic elements. Weapons production halted at the Rocky Flats plant in 1992, and most of the buildings have been dissembled and 80 percent of the area is officially designated a wildlife refuge. But as journalist and University of Colorado Professor Len Ackland told me recently, the Rocky Flats story is still going on. Much of the 10-square-mile grounds are still so contaminated that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which runs the wildlife refuge, refuses to take possession of it. Hundreds of former workers are still suffering from cancer, beryllium poisoning and other diseases likely caused by their work, and many workers and their survivors are still battling to obtain compensation from the government. In addition, the plutonium bombs manufactured at Rocky Flats exist within the thousands of nuclear weapons comprising today's U.S. arsenal. Ackland’s 2002 book Making a Real Killing: Rocky Flats and the Nuclear West tells the harrowing and gripping tale of Rocky Flats, those who worked there and those who fought to have the facility shut down. It describes how workers hired by Dow Chemical Corporation and then Rockwell International, the private companies contracted to run the facility, worked under intense time pressure to churn out nuclear weapons (euphemistically called triggers because they were used to set off even more powerful hydrogen bombs)…leading to rampant safety violations, accidents and fires. Exposure to radiation was a common occupational risk, with many workers accumulating a body burden of radiation by inhaling plutonium dust that would lodge in their system and continue to emit radiation from inside their bodies. The workers were originally represented by the United Mine Workers of America (UMW), until the union soured on the nuclear industry because they saw nuclear power as competing with their bread and butter—coal. Then the United Steelworkers of America took over, and activist union workers struggled to balance their demands for safer conditions with the desire to defend their mission and their jobs from the protests of environmentalists and anti-war activists. I spoke recently with Ackland about the labor legacy of Rocky Flats, a story which continues to unfold two decades after the last bombs were turned out. You’ve described the official narrative where the Rocky Flats workers are depicted as Cold War Heroes who played a key role in winning the Cold War. It sounds like this narrative is used to deflect criticism or re-examination of the whole nuclear industry and the harm done to workers. Do you see any current parallels with workers in the defense industry today? The difference is the Cold War is over and the war on terror is a perpetual war, so it would be hard to make the same connections. Maybe with workers building drones. You certainly have it with the military. The Cold War, since it was a global confrontation – since it was cold…you didn’t have the military playing the same role. So the workers for the Cold War were the ones who fought the war, who built the bombs that provided deterrence. It’s interesting to think about the workers themselves and their own thoughts and feelings about it -- how did they perceive the fact that they were building nuclear weapons of mass destruction? But they didn’t look at it that way – they knew it was happening but they created a whole language to deal with it. Many of the workers don’t like to talk about Rocky Flats as a bomb factory – they like to talk about it as building components. The most wonderful euphemism was that Rocky Flats built nuclear triggers. You get this image of a pistol and you pull the trigger, when what they built were successors to the Trinity test and Nagasaki plutonium bombs and that triggered hydrogen explosions (in H-bombs that became the standard in the mid-1950s). When you look at the media coverage of Rocky Flats, every time someone new came on the beat they would inevitably use the term nuclear triggers – I would call them and say, You don’t understand, this is what Rocky Flats did… How did the fact that private contractors with a profit motive were running things at Rocky Flats affect
[LAAMN] Nationalism, Occupy As Alternatives to Corporatism
Some Thoughts On Nationalism January 2nd, 2012 My buddy Jack called me and we got into a discussion on the nature of Nationalism and Liberalism. He called himself a classical liberal, i.e. he is making some money, and he declared nationalism to be neutral. I then argued with him over the nature of nationalism, that it was born in the 18th century out of French and German theory and the French Revolution, and to a lesser extent the American Revolution. A bastard child of the Enlightenment, itself a mutant descendant of the Reformation, Nationalism is certainly not neutral, being a root cause of most of the wars in the 20th century. Nationalism can be progressive as a form of liberation from the old rule of the aristocracy-church-kings in Europe, but in the modern era, hyper nationalism is only useful in separating the mass of humanity from their real interests. In a world of interconnected realities the only purpose of nationality is if it aids in resisting corporate globalism. But with international law trumping national law, there is little purpose for nationalism unless it is in creating islands of resistance to corporate rule. There are forms of tribal identity that might be called proto-nationalism, speaking a common tongue, having a common culture, the things that anthropologists consider when they look at what makes a people, these are what might be called natural nationalism, to the extent that any particular identity is permanent. Anthropology teaches us that humanity is infinitely flexible. The question comes, do we as the over culture have the right to destroy sub-cultures, languages, etc., simply because we are dominant? Nationalism could be seen as a resistance to dominance, but in the 18th century it was the dominance of the Kings, churches and aristocracy of warriors. Now it is the dominance of the multinational corporate mega state. International solidarity, based on the concept of a universal working class uniting to oppose the ruling classes, is one construct, but it does not seem to be as emotionally compelling as the feelings of loyalty to hearth and home. World War One seems to have proved that point when the international socialist movement fell apart and separated into nationalist parts. When the shit hits the fan, the fans go back to the tribe and the family. Perhaps the Romans were not all that far off building loyalties out of family connections and adoptions. But there still is a human solidarity that although not proscribed by the concept of working class, but does mean the interests of the vast majority, the 99% who do not control the wealth of the world, against the new aristocracy or perhaps oligarchy of the class of the few who have, and the many who have degrees of less. This is the solidarity of we want. But there must be more, there must be a - we dream, we desire, we love, something that was more evident in the spirit of the sixties. We are more than our demands, we are a growing sense of the human family as one, not as a series of warring tribes. If the 1% must be sacrificed for this unity to come, then let the scapegoating begin. If they will simply give up, dissolve, then we must be capable of filling the void with other than the multinational corporations; after all it is the product of the end of history, capitalism triumphant. The only future is to step into democratic socialism, we working together. The German philosopher Herder with his emphasis on the Volk, is to a great extent the father of modern nationalism in the sense of the culture of the people and developing the modern intellectual underpinnings of nationalism. But there could be an argument that the reformation is the root of nationalism. Although much of the thinking that emerged as nationalism started in French society conversations in the salons of Paris, what is less well known is what the thinking was among the intellectual poor of the time. Byron and the romantics presented nationalism as the next step in human liberation from the old empires. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johann_Gottfried_Herder This is an excerpt from article on Herder. Along with Wilhelm von Humboldt, Herder was one of the first to argue that language determines thought, a theme that two centuries later would be central to the SapirWhorf hypothesis. Herder's focus upon language and cultural traditions as the ties that create a nation[1] extended to include folklore, dance, music and art, and inspired Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm in their collection of German folk tales. Herder attached exceptional importance to the concept of nationality and of patriotism he that has lost his patriotic spirit has lost himself and the whole worlds about himself, whilst teaching that in a certain sense every human perfection is national. Herder carried folk theory to an extreme by maintaining that there is only one class in the state, the Volk, (not the rabble), and the king
[LAAMN] MUST READ; Urging Obama to Stop Rush to Iran War by Ray McGovern and Elizabeth Murray
Urging Obama to Stop Rush to Iran War December 30, 2011 Exclusive: A torrent of war propaganda against Iran is flooding the American political scene as U.S. neocons and Israeli hardliners see an opening for another war in the Middle East, a momentum that ex-CIA analysts Ray McGovern and Elizabeth Murray urge President Obama to stop. By Ray McGovern and Elizabeth Murray President Obama needs to put an abrupt halt to the game of Persian Roulette about to spin out of control in the Persian Gulf. If we were still on active duty at the CIA, this is what we would tell him: This informal memorandum addresses the escalating game of chicken playing out in the waters off Iran and the more general issue of what can be done to put the exaggerated threat from Iran in some kind of perspective. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meeting with President Barack Obama at the White House in 2009 In keeping with the informality of this memo and our ethos of speaking truth to power, we may at times be rather blunt. If we bring you up short, consider it a measure of the seriousness with which we view the unfolding of yet another tragic mistake. The stakes are quite high, and as former intelligence analysts with no axes to grind, we want to make sure you understand how fragile and volatile the situation in the Gulf has become. We know you are briefed regularly on the play by play, and we will not attempt to replicate that. Your repeated use of the bromide that “everything is on the table,” however, gives us pause and makes us wonder whether you and your advisers fully recognize the implications, if hostilities with Iran spin out of control. You have the power to stop the madness, and we give you some recommendations on how to lessen the likelihood of a war that would be to the advantage of no one but the arms merchants. If your advisers have persuaded you that hostilities with Iran would bring benefit to Israel, they are badly mistaken. In our view, war with Iran is just as likely in the longer term to bring the destruction of Israel, as well as vast areas of Iran — not even to mention the disastrous consequences for the world economy, of which you must be aware. Incendiary (but false) claims about how near Iran is to having a nuclear weapon are coming “fast and furious,” (and are as irresponsible as that ill-fated project of giving weapons to Mexican drug dealers). In our view, the endless string of such claims now threaten to migrate from rhetoric to armed clashes to attempted “regime change,” as was the case nine years ago on Iraq. You know, we hope, that influential — but myopic — forces abound who are willing to take great risk because they believe such events would redound to the benefit of Israel. We make reference, of course, to the reckless Likud government in Israel and its equally reckless single-issue supporters here at home. Inept Advisers Judging by recent performance, your foreign policy and military advisers, including the top generals now in place, appear unable to act as sensible counterweights to those who think that, by beginning hostilities with Iran, they will help Israel do away with a key regional rival. You are not stuck with such advisers. You’re the President; you deserve better. You need some people close to you who know a lot more about the outside world. You may wish to think also about how the recent remarks of Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Martin Dempsey, during an interview with the Washington Post’s Greg Jaffe, reflect on the chairman’s acumen in the strategic matters in which he has been immersed for decades. In the interview with Jaffe, Dempsey referred to his 20-year involvement with Iraq (where he made his mark) and, according to Jaffe, Dempsey acknowledged that “he and his Army did not fully understand the nature of the conflict they were fighting.” Jaffe quotes a particularly telling lament by Dempsey: “People say, ‘For God’s sakes, you were a two-star general. How could you say you didn’t understand?’ … I don’t know how I can say it, but I lived it. And I mean it.” Suffice it to say that there are serious questions as to how much Gen. Dempsey understands about Iran and whether his meteoric rise to Chairman of the JCS is due more to the crisp salute with which he greets any idea voiced by those above him. Discussing last week the possibility of military action against Iran, Dempsey said, “The options we are developing are evolving to a point that they would be executable, if necessary.” He added that his “biggest worry is that (Iranians) will miscalculate our resolve.” That’s not our biggest worry. Rather it is that Dempsey and you will miscalculate Iran’s resolve. We haven’t a clue as to what, if anything, the Chairman is telling you on that key issue. Our distinct impression, however, is that you cannot look to him for the kind of stand-up advice you got from his predecessor, Adm. Mike Mullen. The consummate military
