GOP: $1.6 billion for EPA bad but $4 billion for Big Oil is good

Only in their bizarro land does this make sense. It makes it easier to get away with though when the opposition party isn't willing or able to make an issue out of such ridiculous policies. TPM has the details. Read the rest of this post...

Fake political twitter accounts are all the rage

Several good ones here. Read the rest of this post...

Cenk on the coordinate attack against WikiLeaks, Assange and Greenwald

Corporatists of the world, unite. The overreach is chilling but again, they can get away with this behavior because Washington allows it. Nobody will stop it because there's too much money at stake and future careers on the line. Until someone decides to break that cycle we should not expect any different behavior. Read the rest of this post...

'Anonymous' exposed alleged Chamber of Commerce smear against progressives and unions

Now that a Democratic president is on speaking terms with the Chamber, we're probably OK though, right? Surely the Chamber only wants what is best for the country as opposed to destroying any opposition to their business-first agenda. More from ThinkProgress:

The security firms hoped to obtain $200,000 for initial background research, then charge up to $2 million for a larger disinformation campaign against progressives. We don’t know if the proposal was accepted after Phase 1 was completed.

The e-mails ThinkProgress acquired are available widely on the web. They were posted by members of “Anonymous,” the hactivist community responsible for taking down websites for oppressive regimes in Tunisia, Egypt, and American corporations that have censored WikiLeaks. Anonymous published the emails from HB Gary Federal because an executive at the firm, Aaron Barr, was trying to take Anonymous down. Barr claimed that he had penetrated Anonymous and was hoping to sell the data to Bank of America and to federal authorities in the United States. In response, members of Anonymous hacked into Barr’s email and published some 40,000 company e-mails.

It is widely believed that Wikileaks has sensitive information about Bank of America, and plans to expose it later this year. This revelation prompted Bank of America to hire the law/lobbying firm Hunton and Williams, which in turn, according to the e-mails posted online by Anonymous, hired HB Gary Federal and other firms to go after Anonymous and supporters of Wikileaks. For instance, one proposal from HB Gary Federal and its associates proposed targeting Salon reporter and Wikileaks-supporter Glenn Greenwald with “actions to sabotage or discredit” him.

AnonLeaks to release thousands of emails from HBGary, the firm hired by the Chamber of Commerce for the alleged smear campaign. Isn't it interesting to see the tables turned against these organizations? Read the rest of this post...

Palin punching down gives oxygen to Santorum's presidential run

Palin should know better than to get anywhere near Santorum. Read the rest of this post...

Report of dozens of killings in Egyptian jails

The news out of Egypt continues to be disturbing in many ways.

A leading human rights activist has called for an immediate investigation of reports that guards deliberately killed dozens of inmates at an Egyptian prison during the chaotic first days of Egypt's uprising.

At least 65 prisoners are believed to have been killed at al-Qatta Prison on the outskirts of Cairo, said human rights campaigner Hossam Bahgat, citing testimony by inmates and their relatives.

Thousands of prisoners across Egypt are believed to have escaped or been set free shortly after the revolt against longtime President Hosni Mubarak erupted Jan. 25. Bahgat said he and other activists are still trying to piece together what happened at the prisons.

Read the rest of this post...

Arizona Republican proposes bill to require proof of citizenship at hospitals

It's bad enough that US hospitals often require insurance details prior to being admitted (it happened twice to my father in his final months), but this is another loony move by the far right. They're barking mad.

What this means is that anyone who is admitted to or receives emergency care at a hospital will have to prove that they are lawfully present in the United States. This of course presents a whole hornet’s nest of problems-- the least of which is hospitals will most likely not appreciate being saddled with the added responsibility of immigration enforcement.

Of much greater importance is the likelihood that anyone who happens to be undocumented in this state (an estimated 460,000 people) may avoid hospitals for themselves or their family at all costs-- even if the price is death.

Of course a reasonable person would ask why someone would risk death to avoid deportation. The simple answer is that many who go to hospital emergency rooms really have no idea if their condition is life threatening.

Read the rest of this post...

Obama to propose cuts in heating aid for the poor in new budget

Why is it that the poor continue to get walloped by this administration? The richest of the rich caused this economic crisis but somehow everyone keeps paying the price. This GOP-Lite administration offers less and less to Democrats every day.

President Barack Obama wants to cut $2.5 billion from a $5 billion home heating aid program for the poor, two people familiar with his 2012 budget proposal said Wednesday, halving the popular fund as he looks for places to rein in federal spending.

The proposal would cut the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program to its 2008 level of about $2.5 billion.

The individuals, including a congressional aide who was briefed on the proposal, discussed the details on condition of anonymity because Obama's spending plan has not been issued. It was being released on Monday, and covers the budget year beginning Oct. 1.

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BREAKING Suleiman: Mubarak has stepped down – military council in charge

UPDATE 15:30 EST: Tamron Hall on MSNBC just argued the Suleiman case vs ElBaradei (yes) in an "expert" interview with Hillary Mann Leverett. That interruptive exchange was shocking in the day's context.

She could be speaking for herself (and if so, she did that vigorously). But the exchange also suggests she's not off the reservation, so to speak, relative to some aspects of the American policy-making establishment she's in touch with. This is clearly far from over, with a great many cards not on the table.

UPDATE 14:30 EST: From the military and from Wael Ghonim. (1) Via The Guardian:

A spokesman for Egypt's military has just appeared on television to read a new statement, "Communique Number Three".

Read aloud in a flat monotone, the statement said that the supreme council of the armed forces was "currently studying the situation to achieve the hopes of our great people" and will issue further statements to clarify its position:

The council will issue a statement outlining the steps and procedures and directives that will be taken, confirming at the same time that there is no alternative to the legitimacy acceptable to the people.

Note that the army's statement made no mention of vice president Suleiman – interesting in the context of the Ahram Online report mentioned below. Further analysis of what this all means when we get the full text.

(2) Also from The Guardian, Wael Ghonim's reaction to the current military posture:

Wael Ghonim seems to be reassured by the military statement[:]

The military statement is great. I trust our Egyptian Army #Jan25

UPDATE 12:15 EST: Here's the video of Suleiman's terse announcement:



From the BBC:

Former Egyptian army General Samah Seif El Yazal tells the BBC: "There are two directions the Higher Military Council can go. The first is to ask the existing government to run the country for a transitional period of perhaps a year. The other option is for the military to run the country by committee. We are very anxious to hear from them about what they intend to do."

What to watch for next.
_______________________________

Huffington Post (my emphasis):

Egypt's Hosni Mubarak resigned as president and handed control to the military on Friday, bowing down after a historic 18-day wave of pro-democracy demonstrations by hundreds of thousands. "The people ousted the president," chanted a crowd of tens of thousands outside his presidential palace in Cairo.

Several hundred thousand protesters massed in Cairo's central Tahrir Square exploded into joy, waving Egyptian flags, and car horns and celebratory shots in the air were heard around the city of 18 million in joy after Vice President Omar Suleiman made the announcement on national TV just after nightfall. ...

"In these grave circumstances that the country is passing through, President Hosni Mubarak has decided to leave his position as president of the republic," a grim-looking Suleiman said. "He has mandated the Armed Forces Supreme Council to run the state. God is our protector and succor."

Nobel Peace laureate Mohammed ElBaradei, whose young suporters were among the organizers of the protest movement, told The Associated Press, "This is the greatest day of my life."

Lots to absorb and lots to consider. Obviously there are wheels within wheels in this. More as it develops.

Al Jazeera's liveblog is here. (Our portrait of the Egyptian military is here.)

GP Read the rest of this post...

More on the move to prosecute Bush II for torture

We recently reported on the cancellation of a speaking engagement by G.W. Bush (Bush II as was) in Switzerland:

Former U.S. President George W. Bush has canceled a visit to Switzerland over fears he could have been arrested on torture charges. ... Criminal complaints against Mr Bush alleging torture have been lodged in Geneva, court officials said.

The New York-based Human Rights Watch and International Federation of Human Rights (FIDH) said the cancellation was linked to growing moves told him accountable for the use of torture, including waterboarding.

He had admitted in his memoirs and TV interviews to ordering the use of the interrogation technique which simulates drowning.

This is quite a serious effort; it looks like the man has a nemesis. Here's more from the Center for Constitutional Rights (my emphasis):

Today [Feb 7, 2011], two torture victims were to have filed criminal complaints, with more than 2,500-pages of supporting material, in Geneva against former U.S. President George W. Bush, who was due to speak at an event there on 12 February. Swiss law requires the presence of the torturer on Swiss soil before a preliminary investigation can be opened. When Bush cancelled his trip to avoid prosecution, the human rights groups who prepared the complaints made it public and announced that the Bush Torture Indictment would be waiting wherever he travels next. The Indictment serves as the basis on which to prepare country-specific, plaintiff-specific indictments, with additional evidence and updated information. According to international law experts at the New York-based Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) and the Berlin-based European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR), former presidents do not enjoy special immunity under the Convention Against Torture (CAT).

For a more complete (and encouraging) explanation, listen to Katherine Gallagher, senior attorney at the above-quoted Center for Constitutional Rights (and VP of the International Federation for Human Rights).

The interviewer is Sam Seder, in his Majority Report daily podcast. She also provides updates on the Spanish prosecutions of John Yoo and other (the "Bush six") starting at 11:18 in the clip.



Word to the wise: The way to get things done, is to do them. There are levers like these hanging out there just waiting to be pulled. But they aren't going to pull themselves.

Thanks to Ms. Gallagher for showing the way with these high-value opportunities (and feel free to go and do likewise).

GP Read the rest of this post...

Mubarak leaves Cairo... for good?

NYT:

The Egyptian military appeared to assert its leadership Friday amid growing indications that President Hosni Mubarak was yielding all power. A Western official said that Mr. Mubarak had left the capital, though that could not be independently confirmed.

The Associated Press, citing a local official, said that Mr. Mubarak had flown to the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheik, where he maintains a residence.

Read the rest of this post...

New child rape lawsuit against Catholic priests in Philadelphia

It's scary to think how more are probably out there. What is unique in this latest legal action against the Philadelphia archdiocese is that besides the alleged child rapists, the lawsuit also is targeting a church official who was one of the top aids for the former archbishop. This new twist should make Catholic church officials very nervous. Of course, there have been accusations against the current Pope for overlooking abuse during his time as an archbishop. There may be times when senior officials don't know about such details but it's highly unlikely that's the case every time. Philly.com:

Williams announced the grand-jury indictment of one of former Archbishop Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua's top aides for allegedly endangering children by shielding pedophile priests from detection and shuffling them into unsuspecting parishes where they could continue the perversions of which they are accused.

It's believed to be the first time a high-ranking Catholic official has been accused of being criminally accountable for covering up priest abuse.

Monsignor William Lynn, 60, was charged with two counts of endangering the welfare of a child. As Bevilacqua's secretary for clergy, he was the Archdiocese's personnel director and responsible for investigating reports of priest sexual abuse from 1992 until 2004.

Grand jurors had aimed even higher, saying that Bevilacqua may have been involved in the coverup.

Read the rest of this post...

Fox News Insider: 'Stuff is just made up'

MediaMatters has been publishing a lot of fantastic posts about Fox News and this is among the best of them. They are confirming what many have suspected, which is that Fox News is nothing more than a political mouthpiece for the GOP. Click through and read it all because there's a lot there. Here's a taste of what this Fox News insider had to say to MediaMatters:

"When you first get in they tell you we’re a bit of a counterpart to the screaming left wing lib media. So automatically you have to buy into the idea that the other media is howling left-wing. Don’t even start arguing that or you won’t even last your first day.

“For the first few years it was let’s take the conservative take on things. And then after a few years it evolved into, well it’s not just the conservative take on things, we’re going to take the Republican take on things which is not necessarily in lock step with the conservative point of view.

“And then two, three, five years into that it was, we’re taking the Bush line on things, which was different than the GOP. We were a Stalin-esque mouthpiece. It was just what Bush says goes on our channel. And by that point it was just totally dangerous. Hopefully most people understand how dangerous it is for a media outfit to be a straight, unfiltered mouthpiece for an unchecked president.”

Read the rest of this post...

Egypt braces for more mass protests following Mubarak's speech

Mubarak could not have made a worse speech if he tried last night. Without radical change soon, this situation is ripe for a more aggressive response. Maybe that's what Mubarak wants, so he can instruct the military to respond with violence. The Egyptian government called for action against a few former ministers who are now being accused of corruption. How convenient that they're no longer in the government. Al Jazeera:

Hundreds of thousands of pro-democracy protesters are expected to march on the streets of Cairo and other Egyptian cities on Friday, in what could become the largest - and some fear the most violent - protests thus far.

The demonstrators’ hopes for the resignation of the President were dashed on Thursday as Hosni Mubarak, in a 17-minute address on television, said he was determined to stay in power until September, when his current term ends.

Mubarak said he was handing "the functions of the president" to Vice-President Omar Suleiman and that he would oversee an "exit" from the current crisis, and "realise the demands voiced by the youth and citizens ... without undermining the constitution in a manner that ensures the stability of our society".

Before he finished his anticlimactic speech, protesters camped in Tahrir Square, the epicentre of Egypt’s revolution, shouted "donkey, leave!"

It was encouraging to see Obama comment with strong language and one would assume even stronger messages behind the scenes. Read the rest of this post...

UK Uncut activists to target banks

The organization is taking action against Conservative government cuts in the UK. Rather than doing standard protests, UK Uncut is pointing out the hypocrisy of the system where some receive tax breaks and others - generally not the "haves" - are asked to cut. Now that it's bonus season for the bankers, the group will be staging their unique style of protests in British banks, such as Barclays. The UK banks have received well over $200 billion during the crisis to stay afloat, and some people (crazy, I know) find it unfair that the bankers are bathing in bonus cash. Here are a few examples of how they might protest:

"If libraries are being closed in their area, people may decide to stage a read-in in the bank," said Garvin.

"The housing benefit cap means people are losing their homes, so some groups may opt for a sleep-in. Theatres are being shut, so others have talked about staging a play.

"Health provision is being cut, so what about setting up a walk-in clinic? Education funding is being savaged so how about holding a lecture series?"

Garvin said one local group concerned that a swimming pool was under threat was going to set up a paddling pool in a local bank.

Read the rest of this post...

Delta sending 11,000 employees to charm school

I often get stuck on Delta airlines because of the links with Air France. I detest Delta. It's one of the worst airlines in the business anywhere in the world and I've flown on quite a few of them. The problem has less to do with the customer facing team and more to do with the generally low standard of quality. The people at Delta are almost always as pleasant as I've ever met in the industry. Maybe not Singapore Airlines, but who is? If anything, they tend to be embarrassed with the low standards. Quit flying old planes with outdated equipment and sub-standard food. Even for the airline industry, I wouldn't feed it to the neighbors cat who rummages through the trash can. Quit kicking down and start looking at the corporate problems that start at the top.

The Atlanta-based airline hopes customer-service classes will help its staff lose the 'tude, and bring back service with a smile.

But Delta has a long way to go before passengers will forget its abysmal record in 2010. During the first nine months of last year, Delta recorded the highest rate of customer complaints with the Department of Transportation. It finished the year with the highest rate of canceled flights. And, as of November 2010, it was ranked second-to-last for on-time arrivals among major carriers. "Nobody here aspires to being what we were last summer," said Delta Executive Vice President Glen Hauenstein.

So, as part of a $2 billion improvement plan, the airline is sending its ground staff to finishing school. All employees who come face-to-face with travelers - that includes ticketing agents, gate agents and their supervisors - must attend a one-day session where they engage in role play scenarios with angry, confused and lost customers. Scenes involve late-arriving passengers who will likely miss their next flight and travelers with lost luggage that contains important medicines. Apparently some staff need to be taught that the goal is to assist customers, not to pass them on to someone else.

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