Read a little. Learn a lot. • Tightly-written news, views and stuff • Follow us on Twitter • Be a Facebook Fan • Tumble us!

02 Nov 2011 19:09

tags

World: Syrian state television announces deal with Arab League

  • Some steps to end the violence? As we mentioned yesterday, the Assad government in Syria had announced an agreement with the Arab League to (hopefully) bring about a resolution to the chaotic violence that’s been perpetrated upon protesters and opponents. At the time, we had scant few specifics, but now we know a bit more; the deal would require Assad to withdraw security forces from cities, allow open media coverage into Syria, and release detained political prisoners. Some Syrians are skeptical that this deal is a feint by Assad to buy time, however, perhaps in advance of another brutal crackdown — this is a story that deserves your long-term attention. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

02 Nov 2011 18:42

tags

U.S.: Four elderly men charged with plotting murder of federal employees

  • 68 average age of four attempted terrorists from Georgia source
  • » Don’t forget about domestic terrorism: The four men in question have been described as belonging to a fringe militia group, and the virulent anti-government rhetoric attributed to them seems in line with that: “There is no way for us, as militiamen, to save this country, to save Georgia, without doing something that’s highly, highly illegal. Murder. That’s f**king illegal, but it’s got to be done,” said Frederick Thomas, 73. Also, from the “young buck” of the group, the 65-year-old Ray Adams: “The first ones that need to die is the ones in the government buildings.” The quartet appeared in court today, and had trouble hearing what the judge was saying despite her use of a microphone. We smell an action-packed reboot to Grumpy Old Men for some reason.
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

02 Nov 2011 18:14

tags

Politics: Rand Paul says you can’t joke with women anymore

  • There are people now who hesitate to tell a joke to a woman in the workplace, any kind of joke, because it could be interpreted incorrectly. I don’t. I’m very cautious.
  • Senator Rand Paul • Giving his two cents on the accusations of sexual harassment made against Herman Cain (another woman joined the chorus today). Obviously Paul is stating a personal opinion about political correctness in the workplace, and he’s entitled to that. The trouble with relating his opinion to Herman Cain’s predicament, though, is that Cain’s accusers have hitherto been bound by non-disclosure agreements, essentially leaving Cain himself as the lone storyteller. So, unless Rand Paul trusts Herman Cain’s word implicitly (which perhaps he does, though trusting politicians about sex often seems like a dubious bet), the implication that Cain’s offenses were merely jokes gone awry is pure speculation at this point. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

02 Nov 2011 17:44

tags

Politics: A third woman accuses Herman Cain of sexual harassment

  • It’s been a rough week or so for GOP presidential candidate Herman Cain: He’s been hit with two different accusations of sexual harassment dating back to his time as the head of the National Restaurant Association, as well as reports his campaign accepted $40,000 worth of illegal contributions. Now, another woman has accused of sexual harassment, though she remains anonymous, saying she fears retaliation. In the meantime, the lawyer for one of Cain’s two early accusers is lobbying the NRA to waive the non-disclosure agreement the woman signed, arguing it’s unfair to allow Cain to spread his side of the story. Suffice to say, things are probably getting tense on the Cain Train. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

01 Nov 2011 15:09

tags

Politics: Herman Cain’s campaign finances come under fire

  • Trouble mounts for Cain campaign: The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel released a report yesterday that Herman Cain’s presidential campaign, while in its nascent phase earlier this year, accepted $40,000 in good and services from a tax-exempt charity, a violation of campaign finance law. Making matters look even worse, the charity in question was Prosperity USA, founded by none other than Cain’s chief-of-staff (and now America’s most visible smoker) Mark Block. Said Cain, when confronted with this report on Fox News yesterday: “I didn’t even know about the report until you brought it up on the show.” For a candidate being broadly accused of poor preparation and of “winging it,” this probably wasn’t the best admission to make. (Photo by Gage Skidmore) source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

01 Nov 2011 14:30

tags

Biz: Bank of America terminates their debit card fee plan

  • $5 Bank of America debit fee to end over consumer outrage source
  • » Nickel and diming: You may remember that last month, Bank of America indicated they were going to start charging a $5/month fee for all their banking customers with debit cards. The ostensible justification for this was new regulation imposed by the Dodd/Frank financial reform bill, which some banks warned would result in hidden fees moving out into the open. This upset a great deal of people, though (the massive profits BofA continues to reap in a bad economy does make it seem questionable whether these are fees of necessity), and now the fee plan has been eliminated. Other banks considered following suit, then backed down, leaving BofA out in the cold.
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

01 Nov 2011 14:13

tags

World: Syria says they’ve agreed to Arab League plan to end upheaval

  • Peace can’t come fast enough: Syrian state media have claimed that Bashar al-Assad, still at the helm of a great deal of violence and death committed against the citizens of his nation, has agreed to a plan with the Arab League to quell the calamity. Specifics on the plan weren’t given, and are expected tomorrow. Syrian state media can’t really be taken at face value, however, so it’ll be very instructive to see what if anything comes from this agreement; the United Nations estimates over 3,000 people have been killed by the Assad government’s crackdown on protest and dissent. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

27 Oct 2011 15:36

tags

Politics: Occupy Oakland calls for general strike

  • We mean nobody goes to work, nobody goes to school, we shut the city down. The only thing they seem to care about is money and they don’t understand that it’s our money they need. We don’t need them, they need us.
  • Occupy Oakland organizer Carl Brooks • Very much obeying the will of the Occupy Oakland protesters, as reports indicate the general assembly last night voted 96.9% in favor of the idea. What effect this will have is yet unclear — it depends on a lot of things, such as how many protesters there actually are, what percentage of them are employed, and whether non-participants will get on board with the idea. That said, this was the primary issue on the tongues of nearly everyone we heard from last night (Editor’s note: The author of this piece, Chris Tognotti, was at Frank Ogawa Plaza to see the protests in action), even moreso than any reflection on the brutal police crackdown the night before. For those who criticize the Occupy movement for lacking coherent plans or goals, this is pretty demonstrative action. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

27 Oct 2011 15:24

tags

Politics: Wide gap between Democrats, Republicans on deficit cuts

  • $2.2 trillion in cuts offered by super committee GOP source
  • » Cut spending, or do a little of everything? The above figure is, in fact, about $800 billion less than the deficit reduction the Democratic plan would have achieved, which relied on a nearly even mixture of spending cuts and tax increases (including some politically tough cuts to Medicare). The GOP plan, conversely, offers no such tax increases, instead relying on heavier spending cuts to Medicare, Social Security, and low-income welfare programs such as food stamps, along with lowering tax rates which they’re claiming will stoke hundreds of billions of extra economic activity. So, basically, the same argument is playing out exactly like it does every time, though now there’s only twelve people instead of a full Congress.
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

27 Oct 2011 14:54

tags

World: UN Security Council votes to end Libyan no-fly zone

  • This marks a really important milestone in the transition in Libya. It marks the way from the military phase towards the formation of an inclusive government, the full participation of all sectors of society, and for the Libyan people to choose their own future.
  • British ambassador to the UN, Mark Lyall Grant • Speaking on the UN Security Council unanimously voting to end the no-fly zone that they had previously approved in Libyan skies. The no-fly zone will be lifted on October 31st, marking the official drawing down of NATO’s military involvement in the country. The Security Council also implored the new Libyan government “to refrain from reprisals” against foreign nationals and African immigrants who were targeted by the rebels as being supporters of former dictator Muammar Gaddafi. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
<< newer 
top tags
older >>