Markos and Olbermann on Herman Cain hiding behind his lawyer

Never a good sign when a GOP presidential candidate has to bring his lawyer to a press conference. Read the rest of this post...

Ohio voters repeal GOP’s anti-union law

Honey, the unions shrunk the Republicans.  In fact, they lost 2-1.  Is this a harbinger for good things to come?  Perhaps.  But it's clear the GOP is having an awfully bad week.

Ohioans overturned a divisive anti-union law on Tuesday, delivering a significant defeat to Republican Gov. John Kasich and a victory to labor unions.

Ohio voters rejected Issue 2, a ballot referendum on Senate Bill 5, a measure that restricts collective bargaining rights for more than 360,000 public employees, among other provisions. Opposition to the legislation inspired large protests from residents around the state this year.

More from the Washington Post. Read the rest of this post...

Supreme Court considers whether cops can put a GPS on your car and track you without a warrant

This sounds like it should be a clear violation of your rights. The cops would probably argue that it's little different than following you with a helicopter or a squad car - they don't need warrants to do that. And it's an interesting point. This isn't the same as bugging your car, that would need a warrant. Still, this feels different to me than simply following someone with a car. In this case they need to put something on my person, or on my car which is akin to my person, I would argue. It's a fascinating case. More from HuffPost:

The justices appear poised to go big or go home when it comes to protecting privacy rights against digital intrusion.

Antoine Jones, a nightclub owner in Washington, D.C., is challenging his conviction for drug trafficking, asserting that the police violated his Fourth Amendment rights when, without a valid warrant or his consent, officers placed a GPS device on his car to track his movements on public streets. In taking United States v. Jones, the Supreme Court signaled its interest in seriously revisiting -- and , after almost three decades -- the question of whether advances in technology alter an individual's reasonable expectation of privacy.

Any thoughts? Is this creepy, or is it just like following someone with a squad car or a helicopter? Read the rest of this post...

Cain holds press conference, claims he never met accuser Bialek. Second accuser wants to go public.

"I saw Ms. Allred and her client yesterday in that news conference for the very first time."

Well, now he's in trouble.  Cain said today that he categorically never met his one public accuser, Sharon Bialek  All we need is one photo, one witness, to claim that he saw the two of them together, and it's over.  It's really over for Cain anyway.  I don't know how you face this man accusations from this many women and run an effective presidential campaign.  How does Cain get the media to focus on anything else.

Wait a minute.  Now, later on in the press conference, Cain is saying that there's a possibility he met the accuser, but he doesn't remember.  That's not what he said earlier.  Earlier in the same presser he said he never met her.

And now a second woman wants to hold a press conference.  From the Washington Post:

One of the women who accused GOP presidential contender Herman Cain of sexual harassment in the 1990s said she wants to go public -- now that her name has been revealed -- and hold a joint news conference with all of the women making similar allegations.

She's another blonde.  HuffPost has more on the press conference.  Matt Ortega, over at AMERICAblog Elections, notes that Cain said he's willing to take a lie detector test.  Matt also said that this is starting to become serious fodder for an SNL skit, and he had a great one from when SNL spoofed Ross Perot. Read the rest of this post...

Does fracking cause earthquakes?

I've been tempted to write about this for a while, but haven't found sufficient support to warrant it. But the following merits serious consideration.

First, Reuters (my emphasis):

UK firm says shale fracking caused earthquakes

Shale gas exploration triggered small earthquakes near Blackpool in northwest England earlier this year, UK firm Cuadrilla Resources said, adding to concerns about the safety of a technology that is transforming U.S. energy markets.

A spokesman said on Wednesday tremors were triggered by pumping vast quantities of water at high pressure 3 kilometres underground through drill holes in a process known as hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, which is designed to prop open shale rocks and release trapped gas.

"It is highly probable that the hydraulic fracturing of Cuadrilla's Preese Hall-1 well did trigger a number of minor seismic events," a report commissioned by the company said.

Who is Cuadrilla Resources? They're the ones who found the shale gas and started drilling. I suggest we believe them — if this is a novel, they're the perp.

Then the U.S. Geological Survey piles on. Via Treehugger:

In a surprising turn of events, Cuadrilla Resources, a British energy company, recently admitted that its hydraulic fracturing operations "likely" caused an earthquake in England. Predictably, this news quickly sent a shockwave through the U.K., the oil and natural gas industries, and the environmental activist community. And it certainly feeds plenty of speculation that the same phenomenon could be occurring elsewhere.

Speculation that would be well-founded, evidently. Right on the heels of Cuadrilla's announcement, news is spreading that the United States Geological Survey has released a report (pdf) that links a series of earthquakes in Oklahoma last January to a fracking operation underway there. Evidently, a resident reported feeling some minor earthquakes, spurring the USGS to investigate. They found that some 50 small earthquakes had indeed been registered, ranging in magnitude from 1.0 to 2.8. The bulk of these occurred within 2.1 miles of Eola Field, a fracking operation in southern Garvin County.

From that report (see link above):

Our analysis showed that shortly after hydraulic fracturing began small earthquakes started occurring, and more than 50 were identified, of which 43 were large enough to be located. Most of these earthquakes occurred within a 24 hour period after hydraulic fracturing operations had ceased.

There were suspicions after an earthquake shut down the North Anna nuclear plant in Virginia that fracking might have been involved in the quake, but nothing emerged that looked like evidence.

Do we know enough to say fracking is the perp? No. Do we know enough to credibly investigate? Absolutely, if the above is true.

Look again at that North Anna story (or consider Fukushima) to understand what's at risk.

It's stunning what chances the failing-empire dead-enders want us to take — just to sweeten their bottom line.

Will we let them? Your call. Maybe it's time to re-Occupy the Earth.

GP Read the rest of this post...

UK cops using fake "mobile phone tower" suitcases to intercept calls & shut off phones

The Global War On Rebellion (GWOR) is a high tech war as well as a ground game.

Wired (my emphasis):

Britain’s largest police force has been using covert surveillance technology that can masquerade as a mobile phone network to intercept communications and unique IDs from phones or even transmit a signal to shut off phones remotely, according to the Guardian.

The system, made by Datong in the United Kingdom, was purchased by the London Metropolitan police, which paid $230,000 to Datong for “ICT hardware” in 2008 and 2009.

The portable device, which is the size of a suitcase, pretends to be a legitimate cell phone tower that emits a signal to dupe thousands of mobile phones in a targeted area. Authorities can then intercept SMS messages, phone calls and phone data, such as unique IMSI and IMEI identity codes that allow authorities to track phone users’ movements in real-time, without having to request location data from a mobile phone carrier.

Which leads to some questions.

■ Has it been deployed?

Met police would not provide details to the Guardian about where or when its technology had been used.

■ Is it used in the U.S.?

Between 2004 and 2009, Datong won over $1.6 million in contracts with the U.S. Secret Service, Special Operations Command, the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other agencies.

■ Is this legal? Who knows? If the cops can shoot a camera man for filming them, they can do whatever they please.

The article goes on to detail other, similar devices in use by FBI and also privateers. A good informative read.

I've been saying for a while that, like the Borg, these guys will always adapt. And they have billions in funding (your tax dollars) behind them.

The way to win is to anticipate — part of any planning should include planning for the adaptation and having a response. Just makes sense, don't you think?

GP Read the rest of this post...

Reuters confirms Sarkozy called Netanyahu "liar," Obama seemed to sympathize

And some of you doubted me when I reported this last night.  Ha.  Here's Sky News' take.  And here is Reuters' take:

"I cannot bear Netanyahu, he's a liar," Sarkozy told Obama, unaware that the microphones in their meeting room had been switched on, enabling reporters in a separate location to listen in to a simultaneous translation.

"You're fed up with him, but I have to deal with him even more often than you," Obama replied, according to the French interpreter.

But the comments have since emerged on French websites and can be confirmed by Reuters.

Can be? That sounds like a bad to-English translation of "has been confirmed." Read the rest of this post...

Wall Street bonuses expected to decline this year

Before anyone sheds a tear, let's remember that the pampered bunch on Wall Street already make considerably more than any other sector out there. Even with reduced annual compensation, the Wall Street crowd will still continue to live a comfortable life, which is what their obstruction to reform has been all about. There has been no interest at all by Wall Street to show any interest in protecting the American system, except of course when they were all failing and screaming for government handouts to stay alive.

The recent Dodd-Frank reform was weak and failed to go far enough but even following its implementation, Wall Street is already seeing fewer profits. Republicans and Wall Street may view this as socialism holding down business, but this is nothing more than a convenient memory of recent history. Wall Street somehow envisions itself as a buch of entrepreneurs, thus the high rewards but that couldn't be any farther from the truth. The only risk involved so far has been risking taxpayer money, knowing that there would be a bailout without claw backs for bad business.

This is a start, but Wall Street still needs to come down to planet earth. Until we get serious reform that ends the excessive payouts for excessive risk, we will never be too far away from the next costly crash.

“Wall Street is in the process of re-evaluating what each seat is worth and having been in one of those seats it’s tough,” said Mr. Driscoll, now a professor at Adelphi University’s business school. “Right or not, compensation is how you measure yourself and your value. You may still be making a lot, but it is a lot less than what you were making and that is what matters.”

While overall compensation may be down, it is still out of sight compared with what most Americans make. Wall Street workers make a base salary of $100,000 to $1 million for top executives, but most of their pay comes at the end of the year in a big one-time bonus.

Read the rest of this post...

Video: Creepy Japanese robot now hops on one foot, runs, pours a drink

It's exciting, and at the same time I worry that I've watched far too much sci-fi to not to be concerned about what this thing might do some day when it gets tired of Japanese men ordering it around like a servant. Read the rest of this post...

China orders dissident Ai Weiwei to pay $2.4m

The artist and human rights dissident was released this past summer and has not been given a week to hand over the money for alleged tax evasion. Somehow this sounds like China being China with anyone who dares to criticize. What is amazing is how many people have contributed online to help fund the tax bill. Reuters:

Chinese dissident artist Ai Weiwei said he is still agonizing over whether to pay a 15 million yuan ($2.4 million) bill for alleged tax evasion due next week and tacitly admit guilt, or to fight the charge and possibly risk detention again.

Supporters of Ai, whose 81-day secret detention earlier this year sparked an international outcry, have said the tax case is part of Beijing's efforts to muzzle China's most famous social critic, and many have chipped in contributions.

In four days, more than 20,000 people have donated about 6 million yuan ($945,000) over the Internet, by post and even by folding bills into "airplanes" and flying them over the walls of his home in northeastern Beijing, Ai said on Tuesday. But he said he has not decided whether to pay the tax bill.

Read the rest of this post...

This just in... US Court of Appeals in DC upholds health care reform law

This is big news as this is a key court. Here is a copy of the entire decision.
11-5047-1340594

 Key parts of the decision (I'm going through the case now):

we affirm the district court’s conclusion that the Act is constitutional.

This suit, like others, involves a challenge to the “minimum essential coverage provision,” which requires all “applicable individual[s]” to purchase and maintain “minimum essential coverage”–i.e., required essential health benefits in an insurance plan–for each month beginning in January 2014. This requirement is commonly called the “individual mandate.” Any “taxpayer” who “fails to meet the requirement” must pay a “shared responsibility payment,” labeled a “penalty,” which will be calculated by using the lesser of either a percentage of the taxpayer’s income or the national average premium for the lowest-level plan providing “minimum essential coverage.”1

Appellants, four United States citizens and federal taxpayers, seek declaratory and injunctive relief to prevent various U.S. Government officials and agencies from enforcing the minimum essential coverage provisions. They argue that the mandate exceeds Congress’s authority under the Commerce Clause and substantially burdens appellants Susan Seven-Sky’s and Charles Edward Lee’s religious exercise, in violation of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.3

It's a terribly wonky decision, debating the definition of a "tax," among other things. I'm going to wait until some analysis comes out from some health care lawyers. Read the rest of this post...

"Mitt Romney is the Harriet Miers of 2012"

A devastating piece on why the GOP is going to lose the election if Mitt Romney becomes the nominee. What's interesting about this piece is that it comes from a lead conservative blogger who is also as a pundit on CNN. In other words, this is a window into what conservatives think of Mitt Romney and the coming election, and neither is optimistic.

Mitt Romney is not the George W. Bush of 2012 — he is the Harriet Miers of 2012, only conservative because a few conservative grand pooh-bahs tell us Mitt Romney is conservative and for no other reason.

Mitt Romney is going to be the Republican nominee. And his general election campaign will be an utter disaster for conservatives as he takes the GOP down with him and burns up what it means to be a conservative in the process.

Mitt Romney, on the other hand, is a man devoid of any principles other than getting himself elected. As much as the American public does not like Barack Obama, they loath a man so fueled with ambition that he will say or do anything to get himself elected. Mitt Romney is that man.

I’ve been reading the 200 pages of single spaced opposition research from the John McCain campaign on Mitt Romney. There is no issue I can find on which Mitt Romney has not taken both sides. He is neither liberal nor conservative. He is simply unprincipled. The man has no core beliefs other than in himself. You want him to be tough? He’ll be tough. You want him to be sensitive? He’ll be sensitive. You want him to be for killing the unborn? He’ll go all in on abortion rights until he wants to run for an office where it is not in his advantage.

Along the way, he’ll drop lots of coin to grease the skids for himself. Mitt Romney is the silly putty of politicians — press on him real hard and he’ll take on whatever image you press into him until the next group starts pressing.

Read the rest of this post...

Most unemployed no longer receiving benefits

If anyone is looking for any more reasons why OWS is so popular, here you go. Despite plenty of screams and whines from the right, the US welfare state is really small and nothing close to what exists in the rest of the industrialized world. On the other hand, corporate giveaways including bank bailouts add up to a lot more money and it's not even close. Here's what happens to the 99%:

Early last year, 75 percent were receiving checks. The figure is now 48 percent — a shift that points to a growing crisis of long-term unemployment. Nearly one-third of America's 14 million unemployed have had no job for a year or more.

Congress is expected to decide by year's end whether to continue providing emergency unemployment benefits for up to 99 weeks in the hardest-hit states. If the emergency benefits expire, the proportion of the unemployed receiving aid would fall further.

The ranks of the poor would also rise. The Census Bureau says unemployment benefits kept 3.2 million people from slipping into poverty last year. It defines poverty as annual income below $22,314 for a family of four.

Read the rest of this post...

Herman Cain was married with two kids at the time of the alleged sexual assault

A reader pointed out that Herman Cain was already married, with kids, at the time he was alleged to have inappropriately touched (to put it mildly) Sharon Bialek, back in 1999.  I haven't seen anyone mention that fact yet.  In all fairness, if we're going to talk about the hypocrisy of Newt Gingrich having multiple adulterous relationships while running to the right of his party, then Herman Cain should get the same scrutiny.  And he very likely may get that scrutiny from religious right primary voters he's been wooing, and who are already sketchy on him because of his apparent pro-choice views on abortion and his shifting views on gay rights.

Apropos of nothing, this is interesting from about a month ago. Cain's then female communications director, and her female assistant, suddenly quit under vague circumstances.

Carmichael explained her decision is a personal one and that she's pursuing other professional opportunities. She also said that her assistant, Francis Boustany, is also leaving out of allegiance to Carmichael.

Out of allegiance? It would be interesting to ask them again why they left. Read the rest of this post...

Australia approves carbon tax

This is big news for a lot of reasons. The Gillard government had been having its share of difficulties lately so this is a big win for her. Australia has been feeding the rapid growth in China with its raw material exports, so this was not an easy vote. Australia will join the European Union and New Zealand, with California joining soon after. China and South Korea are also expected to begin. The Guardian:

The vote is a major victory for embattled Prime Minister Julia Gillard, who staked her government's future on what will be the most comprehensive carbon price scheme outside of Europe despite deep hostility from voters and the political opposition.

The scheme is a central plank in the government's fight against climate change and aims to halt the growth of the country's growing greenhouse gas emissions from a resources-led boom and age-old reliance on coal-fired power stations.

It sets a fixed carbon tax of A$23 ($23.78) a tonne on the top 500 polluters from July 2012, then moves to an emissions trading scheme from July 2015. Companies involved will need a permit for every tonne of carbon they emit.

Read the rest of this post...

HSBC analyst says global depression possible

For those following the daily markets in the US and Europe, you're probably feeling a bit nauseous from the daily roller coaster ride. It's not the kind of market that any non-professional can handle and even the professionals are struggling. (That's not to say a select few have not profited during this cycle.) Though Greece has been at the center of the headlines for a while, Greece is really not the central problem.

While Greece doesn't help the situation in Europe, the much larger problem is now coming into focus and it's Italy. According to this HSBC analyst, the problems in both Greece and Italy need to be fixed quickly or else we're looking at a global depression.

“The recent events in the euro zone have caused the risk on – risk off paradigm to strengthen even further. Over the last week it has almost become a caricature of itself: we saw extreme euphoria on the back of a purported bailout package followed days later by intense despair induced by the prospect of a Greek referendum," said David Bloom, Global Head of FX Strategy at HSBC in a research note.

“These dramatic shifts in sentiment led to rollercoaster moves in risk asset prices," Bloom said.

With cross-asset correlations at an all-time high according to HSBC, Bloom says market participants are comparing the current Greek crisis to Lehman Brothers and has this warning for investors: “Market stresses are currently far worse than after Lehman and the event which people are worried about has not even happened yet!"

Greece is still finalizing its unity government though they still have to address the future of the euro moving forward. Italy is also struggling to figure out its future, so lots of unanswered questions are out there. The roller coaster ride isn't over yet. Read the rest of this post...