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marmar
marmar's Journal
marmar's Journal
October 31, 2013
Forgive me if I'm glossing over some of the fine points here, but let's try to recall a basic timeline of Anthony Weiner's life in the past few years.
Weiner used to be a Congressman from New York, but he sent some ladies some pictures of his junk over social media. After a fashion, he resigned in what we colloquially call "disgrace." At the time of his undoing, Weiner was thought of as a guy who had the aspiration to run for mayor in New York City -- but with his record marred by scandal, those dreams were presumed to be dead.
But a while later, he decided to run for mayor of New York City anyway. To begin that process, Weiner gave a supposedly soul-baring interview with The New York Times' Jonathan Van Meter. Only we come to find out, he didn't really bare his soul -- those sexting shenanigans had actually continued apace, after the period of time he'd claimed to have been a changed man. What amounted to a brief bubble of interest in Weiner's long-shot candidacy got popped, seemingly overnight. Now, New York City is (probably!) getting Bill De Blasio for mayor, and the rest of us are stuck with the memory of Sydney Leathers.
All failing electoral campaigns try to implicate the media in some way. That's just life. But I've never seen a losing candidate get angry at the media for not being more ruthless. And now that Anthony Weiner has done so, I have to imagine that I'll never see this happen again. In the meantime, let us cherish this precious, outlier angel while we have it. ..............(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/30/anthony-weiner-jonathan-van-meter_n_4179503.html?ncid=txtlnkushpmg00000037
More Weiner wackiness
Forgive me if I'm glossing over some of the fine points here, but let's try to recall a basic timeline of Anthony Weiner's life in the past few years.
Weiner used to be a Congressman from New York, but he sent some ladies some pictures of his junk over social media. After a fashion, he resigned in what we colloquially call "disgrace." At the time of his undoing, Weiner was thought of as a guy who had the aspiration to run for mayor in New York City -- but with his record marred by scandal, those dreams were presumed to be dead.
But a while later, he decided to run for mayor of New York City anyway. To begin that process, Weiner gave a supposedly soul-baring interview with The New York Times' Jonathan Van Meter. Only we come to find out, he didn't really bare his soul -- those sexting shenanigans had actually continued apace, after the period of time he'd claimed to have been a changed man. What amounted to a brief bubble of interest in Weiner's long-shot candidacy got popped, seemingly overnight. Now, New York City is (probably!) getting Bill De Blasio for mayor, and the rest of us are stuck with the memory of Sydney Leathers.
All failing electoral campaigns try to implicate the media in some way. That's just life. But I've never seen a losing candidate get angry at the media for not being more ruthless. And now that Anthony Weiner has done so, I have to imagine that I'll never see this happen again. In the meantime, let us cherish this precious, outlier angel while we have it. ..............(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/30/anthony-weiner-jonathan-van-meter_n_4179503.html?ncid=txtlnkushpmg00000037
October 31, 2013
http://vimeo.com/78197007
Preview: The Top Secret Trade Deal You Need to Know About
October 30, 2013
A cornerstone of President Obama’s plan to create more American jobs is a new agreement called the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), referred to by some as “NAFTA on steroids.” The TPP is a coalition of North and South American and Asian trading partners that many believe could give multinational corporations even greater freedom to ignore borders and run roughshod over individual countries and the rule of law. At least that’s what it may be about. While negotiations are being carried out in secret and very little about the terms has been leaked, enough is known to worry about its possible effect on trade unions and our copyright and patent laws, not to mention environmental, health and safety regulations.
This week on Moyers & Company, Bill discusses the TPP with two perceptive observers of the global economy. Yves Smith is an expert on investment banking who runs the Naked Capitalism blog, a go-to site for information and insight on the business and ethics of finance. Dean Baker is co-director of the progressive Center for Economic and Policy Research in Washington, D.C.
http://billmoyers.com/segment/preview-the-top-secret-trade-deal-you-need-to-know-about/
Bill Moyers' Preview: The Top Secret Trade Deal You Need to Know About
http://vimeo.com/78197007
Preview: The Top Secret Trade Deal You Need to Know About
October 30, 2013
A cornerstone of President Obama’s plan to create more American jobs is a new agreement called the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), referred to by some as “NAFTA on steroids.” The TPP is a coalition of North and South American and Asian trading partners that many believe could give multinational corporations even greater freedom to ignore borders and run roughshod over individual countries and the rule of law. At least that’s what it may be about. While negotiations are being carried out in secret and very little about the terms has been leaked, enough is known to worry about its possible effect on trade unions and our copyright and patent laws, not to mention environmental, health and safety regulations.
This week on Moyers & Company, Bill discusses the TPP with two perceptive observers of the global economy. Yves Smith is an expert on investment banking who runs the Naked Capitalism blog, a go-to site for information and insight on the business and ethics of finance. Dean Baker is co-director of the progressive Center for Economic and Policy Research in Washington, D.C.
http://billmoyers.com/segment/preview-the-top-secret-trade-deal-you-need-to-know-about/
October 31, 2013
(Truthout) Coca-Cola, Nestle and Pepsi are among the more than 30 food manufacturing companies that have spent millions of dollars alongside biotech firms such as Monsanto to oppose the labeling of genetically engineered groceries in the state of Washington.
On October 18, 2013, the Grocery Manufacturers of America revealed that some of its most powerful members quietly funneled large donations through the trade group to oppose Initiative 522, a Washington ballot measure that would require groceries containing genetically engineered ingredients to be labeled as such. The group voluntarily reported the names and contribution amounts of the donors it had kept secret to state election officials after state Attorney General Bob Ferguson filed a lawsuit earlier in the month.
Members of the Grocery Manufacturers of America, which was forced to create a political committee to comply with state law, have contributed more than $11 million to No on 522, the campaign opposed to the labeling initiative. .............(more)
The complete piece is at: http://truth-out.org/news/item/19698-revealed-big-processed-food-companies-spend-millions-to-defeat-washington-gmo-labeling-initiative
Food Companies and Monsanto Spend Millions to Defeat Washington GMO Labeling Initiative
(Truthout) Coca-Cola, Nestle and Pepsi are among the more than 30 food manufacturing companies that have spent millions of dollars alongside biotech firms such as Monsanto to oppose the labeling of genetically engineered groceries in the state of Washington.
On October 18, 2013, the Grocery Manufacturers of America revealed that some of its most powerful members quietly funneled large donations through the trade group to oppose Initiative 522, a Washington ballot measure that would require groceries containing genetically engineered ingredients to be labeled as such. The group voluntarily reported the names and contribution amounts of the donors it had kept secret to state election officials after state Attorney General Bob Ferguson filed a lawsuit earlier in the month.
Members of the Grocery Manufacturers of America, which was forced to create a political committee to comply with state law, have contributed more than $11 million to No on 522, the campaign opposed to the labeling initiative. .............(more)
The complete piece is at: http://truth-out.org/news/item/19698-revealed-big-processed-food-companies-spend-millions-to-defeat-washington-gmo-labeling-initiative
October 31, 2013
http://www.truthdig.com/cartoon/item/protecting_life_20131030
The "Pro-Life" Right (cartoon)
http://www.truthdig.com/cartoon/item/protecting_life_20131030
October 31, 2013
After Lavabit and Silent Mail abruptly shut down this August, many security experts saw the one-two punch as a deathknell for secure email — particularly as Lavabit sank into a protracted legal battle over protecting a user rumored to be Edward Snowden. But today, the two services have returned with a new protocol dubbed Dark Mail, a collaborative project that promises to succeed where the previous projects failed, keeping messages out of the hands of snooping governments without falling prey to court orders.
Announced today at an email conference in California, the new system would provide sophisticated encryption combined with a red-light / green-light interface to show whether an email is being sent over unencrypted channels. The developers think this simple design will make the underlying security principles more accessible to the common user, making it obvious which messages are encrypted and which are not. And rather than simply replacing Lavabit and Silent Mail, the team is establishing the new setup as an open protocol, hoping other email services will sign on to incorporate Dark Mail protections into their product. There are no official partners yet, but Silent Circle executives say they know of six companies who will incorporate Dark Mail as soon as the protocol launches. As Silent Circle CEO Mike Janke put it, "We want to proliferate the world with this architecture."
The protocol is based on the same ephemeral-key encryption that powers many of Silent Circle's other products. The main technical change is a rejection of SSL, the widely used encryption scheme that has played a central part in Lavabit's legal troubles. Now that the developers know SSL can be passively decrypted, they no longer trust it, so they're wrapping all the SSL-encrypted data in an extra layer of protection, running of Silent Circle's own SCIMP algorithm. .........................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.theverge.com/2013/10/30/5046870/embattled-snowden-email-provider-returns-with-new-dark-mail
Embattled Snowden email provider returns with new Dark Mail encryption service
After Lavabit and Silent Mail abruptly shut down this August, many security experts saw the one-two punch as a deathknell for secure email — particularly as Lavabit sank into a protracted legal battle over protecting a user rumored to be Edward Snowden. But today, the two services have returned with a new protocol dubbed Dark Mail, a collaborative project that promises to succeed where the previous projects failed, keeping messages out of the hands of snooping governments without falling prey to court orders.
Announced today at an email conference in California, the new system would provide sophisticated encryption combined with a red-light / green-light interface to show whether an email is being sent over unencrypted channels. The developers think this simple design will make the underlying security principles more accessible to the common user, making it obvious which messages are encrypted and which are not. And rather than simply replacing Lavabit and Silent Mail, the team is establishing the new setup as an open protocol, hoping other email services will sign on to incorporate Dark Mail protections into their product. There are no official partners yet, but Silent Circle executives say they know of six companies who will incorporate Dark Mail as soon as the protocol launches. As Silent Circle CEO Mike Janke put it, "We want to proliferate the world with this architecture."
The protocol is based on the same ephemeral-key encryption that powers many of Silent Circle's other products. The main technical change is a rejection of SSL, the widely used encryption scheme that has played a central part in Lavabit's legal troubles. Now that the developers know SSL can be passively decrypted, they no longer trust it, so they're wrapping all the SSL-encrypted data in an extra layer of protection, running of Silent Circle's own SCIMP algorithm. .........................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.theverge.com/2013/10/30/5046870/embattled-snowden-email-provider-returns-with-new-dark-mail
October 31, 2013
http://vimeo.com/78197007
Preview: The Top Secret Trade Deal You Need to Know About
October 30, 2013
A cornerstone of President Obama’s plan to create more American jobs is a new agreement called the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), referred to by some as “NAFTA on steroids.” The TPP is a coalition of North and South American and Asian trading partners that many believe could give multinational corporations even greater freedom to ignore borders and run roughshod over individual countries and the rule of law. At least that’s what it may be about. While negotiations are being carried out in secret and very little about the terms has been leaked, enough is known to worry about its possible effect on trade unions and our copyright and patent laws, not to mention environmental, health and safety regulations.
This week on Moyers & Company, Bill discusses the TPP with two perceptive observers of the global economy. Yves Smith is an expert on investment banking who runs the Naked Capitalism blog, a go-to site for information and insight on the business and ethics of finance. Dean Baker is co-director of the progressive Center for Economic and Policy Research in Washington, D.C.
http://billmoyers.com/segment/preview-the-top-secret-trade-deal-you-need-to-know-about/
Bill Moyers' Preview: The Top Secret Trade Deal You Need to Know About
http://vimeo.com/78197007
Preview: The Top Secret Trade Deal You Need to Know About
October 30, 2013
A cornerstone of President Obama’s plan to create more American jobs is a new agreement called the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), referred to by some as “NAFTA on steroids.” The TPP is a coalition of North and South American and Asian trading partners that many believe could give multinational corporations even greater freedom to ignore borders and run roughshod over individual countries and the rule of law. At least that’s what it may be about. While negotiations are being carried out in secret and very little about the terms has been leaked, enough is known to worry about its possible effect on trade unions and our copyright and patent laws, not to mention environmental, health and safety regulations.
This week on Moyers & Company, Bill discusses the TPP with two perceptive observers of the global economy. Yves Smith is an expert on investment banking who runs the Naked Capitalism blog, a go-to site for information and insight on the business and ethics of finance. Dean Baker is co-director of the progressive Center for Economic and Policy Research in Washington, D.C.
http://billmoyers.com/segment/preview-the-top-secret-trade-deal-you-need-to-know-about/
October 30, 2013
Less than a quarter of Republicans believe that electing more women to Congress would be a good thing, according to an ABC News/Fusion poll released on Wednesday.
About 60 percent of Democrats and 43 percent of Americans overall said that it would be a good thing if more women were elected to Congress, the poll found. Only 23 percent of Republicans said it would be a good thing, while more than two-thirds of Republicans said it makes no difference to them.
Currently, women make up slightly more than half of the U.S. population, but just 18 percent of Congress. Earlier this month, male Senators on both sides of the aisle acknowledged that that their female colleagues deserved most of the credit for driving the compromise that ended the government shutdown.
Leaders in the Democratic Party have made a big push lately to engage more women in politics and to push for policies that help women in the workplace. Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz (D-Fla.) last week launched the Democratic Women’s Alliance, a new program at the Democratic National Committee designed to engage, mobilize and train women in politics. And House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is leading a major new push for legislation that ensures equal pay, affordable childcare and paid sick and family leave for working women. .................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/30/republicans-women-congress_n_4178678.html?ncid=txtlnkushpmg00000037
Republicans aren't too keen on more of the wimmens making it to Congress
Less than a quarter of Republicans believe that electing more women to Congress would be a good thing, according to an ABC News/Fusion poll released on Wednesday.
About 60 percent of Democrats and 43 percent of Americans overall said that it would be a good thing if more women were elected to Congress, the poll found. Only 23 percent of Republicans said it would be a good thing, while more than two-thirds of Republicans said it makes no difference to them.
Currently, women make up slightly more than half of the U.S. population, but just 18 percent of Congress. Earlier this month, male Senators on both sides of the aisle acknowledged that that their female colleagues deserved most of the credit for driving the compromise that ended the government shutdown.
Leaders in the Democratic Party have made a big push lately to engage more women in politics and to push for policies that help women in the workplace. Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz (D-Fla.) last week launched the Democratic Women’s Alliance, a new program at the Democratic National Committee designed to engage, mobilize and train women in politics. And House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is leading a major new push for legislation that ensures equal pay, affordable childcare and paid sick and family leave for working women. .................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/30/republicans-women-congress_n_4178678.html?ncid=txtlnkushpmg00000037
October 30, 2013
Published on Oct 26, 2013
The federal government reopened Thursday, as the country narrowly avoided defaulting on its debts, which could have led to a global financial meltdown. Yet, instead of focusing on the financial and global consequences of congressional inaction, politicians in Washington seemed more concerned with furthering their political agendas. Earlier in the week, President Barack Obama said he hoped that Congress wouldn't take a crisis-driven approach in the future, such as when the continuing resolution and the debt ceiling deals run out in early 2014. RT's Ameera David talks to Richard Wolff, professor of economics emeritus at UMass-Amherst, about how governing by crisis and brinkmanship is having a negative effect on the US economy
Professor Richard Wolff: Corporate rule hurts the US more than shutdown
Published on Oct 26, 2013
The federal government reopened Thursday, as the country narrowly avoided defaulting on its debts, which could have led to a global financial meltdown. Yet, instead of focusing on the financial and global consequences of congressional inaction, politicians in Washington seemed more concerned with furthering their political agendas. Earlier in the week, President Barack Obama said he hoped that Congress wouldn't take a crisis-driven approach in the future, such as when the continuing resolution and the debt ceiling deals run out in early 2014. RT's Ameera David talks to Richard Wolff, professor of economics emeritus at UMass-Amherst, about how governing by crisis and brinkmanship is having a negative effect on the US economy
October 30, 2013
Et tu, Jelly Belly?
The chairman of America's lovable jelly bean brand apparently has helped fund efforts to repeal trans-friendly legal protections in California.
In September, Herman G. Rowland Sr., the chairman of the board of Jelly Belly Candy Company, Inc., donated $5,000 to Privacy for All Students, a coalition fighting for a referendum effort to repeal transgender rights legislation California Assembly Bill 1266.
The bill, signed into law by California Gov. Jerry Brown in August, requires the state's transgender students to be allowed to "participate in sex-segregated school programs and activities, including athletic teams and competitions, and use facilities consistent with his or her gender identity, irrespective of the gender listed on the pupil’s records." ............(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/30/jelly-belly-anti-transgender-herman-rowland_n_4176093.html?ncid=txtlnkushpmg00000037&ir=Politics
No more Jelly Bellies for me........
.......and I LOVE those things. But continuing to buy them is a tacit endorsement of discrimination.Et tu, Jelly Belly?
The chairman of America's lovable jelly bean brand apparently has helped fund efforts to repeal trans-friendly legal protections in California.
In September, Herman G. Rowland Sr., the chairman of the board of Jelly Belly Candy Company, Inc., donated $5,000 to Privacy for All Students, a coalition fighting for a referendum effort to repeal transgender rights legislation California Assembly Bill 1266.
The bill, signed into law by California Gov. Jerry Brown in August, requires the state's transgender students to be allowed to "participate in sex-segregated school programs and activities, including athletic teams and competitions, and use facilities consistent with his or her gender identity, irrespective of the gender listed on the pupil’s records." ............(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/30/jelly-belly-anti-transgender-herman-rowland_n_4176093.html?ncid=txtlnkushpmg00000037&ir=Politics
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Gender: MaleHometown: Detroit, MI
Member since: Fri Oct 29, 2004, 12:18 AM
Number of posts: 77,067