SunSeeker
SunSeeker's JournalMaddowblog: France's spying complaints suddenly appear 'somewhat hollow'
The timing could certainly be better. French President Francois Hollande has complained bitterly in recent days about U.S. international surveillance programs, concerns that were echoed as recently as yesterday by France's Interior Minister at a Fourth of July event hosted by the U.S. ambassador in Paris.
And yet, here we are.
Le Monde reported that the General Directorate for External Security does the same kind of data collection as the American National Security Agency and the British GCHQ, but does so without clear legal authority.
The French government records data, stores it for an indeterminate period of time, all for the purposes of helping government officials trace who talks to whom using French telecommunications systems. The French surveillance programs include collection from American systems such as Google and Facebook.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/05/world/europe/france-too-is-collecting-data-newspaper-reveals.html
The New York Times report added that the revelations "appeared to make some of the French outrage about the revelations [about NSA spying] appear somewhat hollow."
You think?
http://maddowblog.msnbc.com/_news/2013/07/05/19303626-frances-spying-complaints-suddenly-appear-somewhat-hollow?lite
U.S. says Chinese wind turbine firm stole trade secrets
Source: cnn.com
The U.S. Department of Justice has charged a Chinese wind turbine firm and two of its employees, alleging the group stole trade secrets from an American supplier in an act of "attempted corporate homicide."
The Chinese company -- Sinovel -- is one of the country's largest producers of wind turbines. It is accused of encouraging an employee of U.S.-based AMSC to steal copyrighted source code from a computer in Wisconsin for use in its turbines.
"The fact that Sinovel has exported stolen American intellectual property from China back into the United States -- less than 40 miles from our global headquarters -- shows not only a blatant disrespect for intellectual property but a disregard for international trade law," AMSC CEO Daniel McGahn said in a statement.
PM3000, the software in question, helps regulate the flow of electricity from turbines to electrical grids. The theft resulted in a loss of $800 million for AMSC, according to the indictment handed up by a federal grand jury in Wisconsin. Some 500 AMSC employees have lost their jobs following Sinovel's "egregious and unlawful behavior," McGahn said.
Read more: http://money.cnn.com/2013/06/28/news/companies/china-wind-sinovel/index.html
President Obama delivers speech on climate change 6/25/2013.
10-minute version:
Here is the link to the Georgetown University web page with the full 36-minute video:
http://www.georgetown.edu/news/obama-old-north-2013.html
Bill to raise CA minimum wage to $9.25 clears Assembly
A bill to raise California's minimum wage to $9.25 over the next three years won approval Thursday in the state Assembly. Assembly Bill 10 by Assemblyman Luis Alejo, D-Salinas, passed 45-25 mostly along party lines. It would be the first bump in minimum wage since 2008, when it was raised by 50 cents to $8. "The last time the minimum wage was increased, gas was $3.25 a gallon in California," Alejo said. "I don't know about you, but I haven't seen gas prices at that level in a long time."
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The California Chamber of Commerce listed Alejo's bill on its annual list of "job killers," saying it unfairly raises employers' costs of doing business in the state.
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Alejo disagreed that his bill would slow the economic recovery. "When minimum wage workers have more money, they spend it," he said. The bill now heads to the Senate for consideration.
Read more here: http://blogs.sacbee.com/capitolalertlatest/2013/05/bill-to-increase-states-minimum-wage-passes-assembly-floor.html#storylink=cpy
LA Times lies that average effective corporate tax rate is 27%
In a particularly creepy article by Jim Puzzanghera, entitled "Quiz: Do U.S. corporations pay too little in taxes?" Puzzanghera invites readers to take a "quiz" that could have been written be a Koch brother.
http://www.latimes.com/business/money/la-fi-mo-quiz-corporate-tax-quiz-20130528,0,3937955.story
It is basically designed to tell you that U.S. corporations are the most taxed in the developed world (that is the 1st question!). Then, to prove it, they lie. Question #4 asks "What is the average effective tax rate for U.S. corporations?" The choices are: 17%, 22%, 27%, or 32%. As any Google search would tell you ALL of those choices are wrong. It is 13.4% at best. The U. S. corporate tax burden is smaller than average for developed countries. http://www.cbpp.org/cms/?fa=view&id=784. But the LA Times says you'd be wrong if you picked anything other than 27%.
Looks like Rupert Murdoch already bought the paper...
The "black widows" of Dagestan
The Russian terror defense lawyer interviewed asserts that female suicide bombers "are not a criminal problem, it's a social problem." He explains that "when a woman's husband is dead, she has no rights: she can't make decisions, or have a lover or boyfriend." That is why "if a woman is religious, she becomes an easy target for suicide recruiters."
Obama: 'Planned Parenthood Is Not Going Anywhere'
President Barack Obama became the first sitting president Friday to address Planned Parenthood's national conference, where he reassured the organization and its supporters that he will continue to fight on their behalf.
"When politicians try to turn Planned Parenthood into a punching bag, they're not just talking about you," he told the crowd of 1,200. "They're talking about the millions of women you serve. When they talk about cutting off your funding, let's be clear: They’re talking about telling many of those women, 'You're on your own.' They're talking about shutting those women out at a time when women need it most, shutting off communities that need more health care options for women, not less."
Obama was originally scheduled to address Planned Parenthood's annual gala Thursday night, but he rescheduled the speech in order to attend a memorial service in West, Texas. The scheduling change fueled some speculation that Obama was distancing himself from the family planning provider, but he dispelled those rumors Friday.
"I'm sorry I could not be at the party yesterday," he said during his speech at a Marriott in Washington, D.C. "I understand it was a little wild. But as all of you know, obviously, we've gone through a pretty tough week and a half. I was down in Texas letting the people of West, Texas, know that we love them and care about them in their time of grieving."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/26/obama-planned-parenthood-_n_3163522.html
Turn to Religion Split Bomb Suspects Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's Home
Law-enforcement officials trying to understand what happened in Boston are looking into whether Tamerlan Tsarnaev had taken a turn toward radical Islam. Among the things they are examining: a six-month trip he took last year to Dagestan, a republic in Russia's south, bordering Chechnya.
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Once known as a quiet teenager who aspired to be a boxer, Tamerlan Tsarnaev delved deeply into religion in recent years at the urging of his mother, who feared he was slipping into a life of marijuana, girls and alcohol. Tamerlan quit drinking and smoking, gave up boxing because he thought it was in opposition to his religion, and began pushing the rest of his family to pursue stricter ways, his mother recalled.
"You know how Islam has changed me," his mother, in an interview with The Wall Street Journal in Makhachkala, Dagestan, says he told her.
The changes drove a wedge through the Tsarnaev home at 410 Norfolk St., in Cambridge, Mass. Tamerlan persuaded his mother to cover herself up, which she says at one point distressed her husband, Anzor. "He said, 'You are being crazy, covering yourselves,'" she recalled her husband saying. She said that she told him, "This is what Islamic men should want. This is what I am supposed to do."
Read more: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324235304578437131250259170.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_LEFTTopStories
Boston Marathon Bombings: Turn to Religion Split Bomb Suspects Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's Home
Source: The Wall Street Journal
Law-enforcement officials trying to understand what happened in Boston are looking into whether Tamerlan Tsarnaev had taken a turn toward radical Islam. Among the things they are examining: a six-month trip he took last year to Dagestan, a republic in Russia's south, bordering Chechnya.
...
Once known as a quiet teenager who aspired to be a boxer, Tamerlan Tsarnaev delved deeply into religion in recent years at the urging of his mother, who feared he was slipping into a life of marijuana, girls and alcohol. Tamerlan quit drinking and smoking, gave up boxing because he thought it was in opposition to his religion, and began pushing the rest of his family to pursue stricter ways, his mother recalled.
"You know how Islam has changed me," his mother, in an interview with The Wall Street Journal in Makhachkala, Dagestan, says he told her.
The changes drove a wedge through the Tsarnaev home at 410 Norfolk St., in Cambridge, Mass. Tamerlan persuaded his mother to cover herself up, which she says at one point distressed her husband, Anzor. "He said, 'You are being crazy, covering yourselves,'" she recalled her husband saying. She said that she told him, "This is what Islamic men should want. This is what I am supposed to do."
Read more: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324235304578437131250259170.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_LEFTTopStories
So he thought boxing was bad but bombing innocent, defenseless people was ok.
Just goes to show that drugs, sex and rock n' roll is not the worst thing your kid could get into. Reminds me of the old Cheech and Chong line, "I used to be messed up on drugs, now I am messed up on the Lord."
Official: Boston bombing suspect 'sedated'
Source: CNN.com
The surviving suspect in the Boston Marathon bombings suffered an injury to his throat and may not be able to talk, a federal official told CNN on Saturday, possibly hindering attempts by authorities to question him about a motive in the attack.
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The official, who was briefed on Tsarnaev's condition, spoke on condition of anonymity.
Tsarnaev was in "serious but stable condition" and "not yet able to communicate yet," Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick told reporters during an impromptu briefing on Saturday.
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Authorities have not publicly detailed the injuries sustained by the teen, but an official who has been briefed said Tsarnaev has been "intubated and sedated." The official also spoke on condition of anonymity.
Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/20/us/boston-attack/index.html?hpt=hp_t1
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