U.S. President Barack Obama has asked Democrat and Republican lawmakers to put politics aside to reach a compromise on the nation's debt crisis, warning that failure to do so "could cost us jobs and do serious damage to our economy."
In a televised address to the nation Monday night, Obama told the American people that the bickering between lawmakers on both sides of the political spectrum has left the country "with a stalemate." The president said the impasse could prevent him from moving forward with efforts to...
Tuesday, 26 July 2011
Durbin: GOP 'irresponsible' on debt ceiling debate
The No. 2 Democrat in the U.S. Senate, Illinois’ Dick Durbin, today called Republicans "irresponsible" and "hypocritical" for their role in the impasse over raising the nation’s debt ceiling.
Durbin's comments came at a Chicago news conference to announce federal funding for CTA improvements. He said he hoped a plan being floated by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, could appease House Republicans and pass before an Aug. 2 deadline that carries potentially severe economic risks. He repeatedly warned that...
Tuesday, 26 July 2011
Six Possible Paths in the Debt-Ceiling Debate
According to President Obama, Congress has become mired in negotiations to raise the debt ceiling and trim federal deficits. The way ahead is unclear — every path has hurdles, if not roadblocks, obstructing the way. As Congress rapidly approaches the Aug. 2 deadline to raise the debt ceiling and avoid a government default on its credit obligations, there are six possible paths forward:
1. The House bill passes: House Speaker John Boehner declared on Monday that there is “no stalemate in Congress.” His way forward...
Saturday, 23 July 2011
Facebook Hacks Put California Stalker In Jail For 4 Years
A man in California who was caught not only hacking into women’s Facebook accounts, but storing and sharing folders with nude or semi-nude images of the women was sentenced to four years in jail on Friday by a state judge.
George Bronk was able to use clues on Facebook to guess the security questions to user’s profiles. Once he got into an account he would search for nude pictures or videos women sent their husbands or boyfriends, and then distribute the images to all those women’s friends.
(Warning: It doesn’t matter...
Saturday, 23 July 2011
Murdoch Papers Could Lose Special Access to 2012 Athletes
Rupert Murdoch’s British newspapers could lose exclusive access to the country’s athletes as they prepare for next year’s Summer Games in London because of the phone-hacking scandal that led to the closing of the tabloid The News of the World and testimony before Parliament by Murdoch and his son James.
“The shuttering of The News of the World means that the terms of the contract could no longer be fulfilled,” said Andrew Owen, a spokesman for Team 2012, which raises money for British Olympians.
He said that the...
Saturday, 23 July 2011
Phone hacking: how NoW scandal has changed UK's image in the world
United States
Britain's image as the land of Harry Potter and royal weddings has taken a hammering as the US media have lapped up every detail of the phone-hacking scandal. The home of chivalry emerged as a country of amoral hacks, craven politicians, corrupt cops and evil private eyes. A country where journalists are prepared to hack into the phone of a murdered child in the hope of selling a few more copies and the people in charge of those hackers are bosom buddies with the prime minister. So bad has the scandal...
Saturday, 23 July 2011
Congressman Mo Brooks reacts to debt ceiling debate
Debt ceiling talks broke down Friday in Washington, D.C. as House Speaker John Boehner backed out of negotiations. President Obama called for lawmakers to meet at the White House Saturday morning.
"I've been left at the altar now a couple of times, and I think that one of the questions that the Republican Party is going to have to ask itself is, can they say yes to anything?" said President Obama.
Alabama Congressman Mo Brooks said the question isn't whether his side of the aisle can say yes, but what...
Thursday, 21 July 2011
'Never again' legislation meant to prevent future government shutdowns
A group of GOP senators outlined a plan Thursday that they say will prevent Minnesota’s government from ever undergoing a disastrous shutdown again, but it could hamper budget negotiations in the future.
Their proposal is based on failed 2006 legislation that former Sen. Yvonne Prettner Solon (now the lieutenant governor) proposed after Minnesota’s eight-day partial shutdown in 2005. In order to avert a shutdown, the measure would allow current appropriations to continue into a new biennium if agreement between the...
Thursday, 21 July 2011
Barack Obama the BIg Winner in GOP Twitter Debate
Here at Thomas Jefferson Street, we watch presidential candidates debate on Twitter so you don’t have to! Yesterday we watched the launch of a new idea, created by TheTeaParty.net. The organization invited all the GOP presidential candidates to a 90-minute debate in which they’d have to answer questions from the moderators and the public, all in 140 character tweets.
Just because it was a new idea doesn’t mean it was a good idea.
The big winner wasn’t among the participants—Michele Bachmann, Herman Cain, Rick Santorum,...
Tuesday, 19 July 2011
Will Lee Enterprises Go Bankrupt?
It’s safe to say that traditional newspaper publishers are having a rough time these days. Revenues have collapsed as subscribers switch to online content and advertisers are spending less. Once great publishing giants like The Chicago Tribune, The Philadelphia Inquirer and The Journal Register Company have filed for bankruptcy in the last few years. With most newspaper publishers swamped in debt and burdened by heavy fixed costs, there will likely be many more victims in the future.
The Rundown
One of those once...
Tuesday, 19 July 2011
What 'Arrest' Means for Legal Cases in Britain
Rebekah Brooks's arrest on Sunday thrust a former top newspaper official at News Corp. into the heart of a criminal investigation into dubious reporting tactics and alleged police corruption. But any charges she might face are likely weeks or months away—if charges are ever filed at all.
That is because the English legal system can use an arrest as an early step in a criminal investigation. That's a contrast to the U.S., where charges often follow closely on the heels of an arrest, experts say.
In Britain, an arrest...
Tuesday, 19 July 2011
All of Murdoch's Men: Control of society by the Media
With the arrest of the former editor of the News of the World, Rebekah Brooks, on Sunday - later released on bail - the Murdoch group of eight journalists have passed through prison time in London. All are charged with crimes of corruption and interception of communications, a broad universe of more than 4,000 people, including celebrities, politicians and ordinary citizens.
On Sunday, nothing less than the head of the Metropolitan Police (Scotland Yard), Paul Stephenson, resigned after admitting he hired the former...
Tuesday, 19 July 2011
News Corp faces global investigation into bribery
News Corporation faces a global investigation of all its businesses to ascertain whether they engaged in the same acts of bribery revealed to have taken place in the UK between News of the World reporters and police.
With pressure mounting in the US for the launch of a full-blooded inquiry into News Corporation under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), the daunting consequences of such a move are becoming evident. Mike Koehler, a law professor at Butler University who is an expert in the act, said a costly and...
Tuesday, 19 July 2011
Obama Should Marginalize GOP Over Debt Ceiling Debate
Your 50th birthday is nearly upon you this summer, falling on August 4, roughly when the full faith and credit of the U.S. Treasury may collapse in the global economy.
What an awful present to a forever-young president. Sorry, but right now, the sunny glow of youth is not a good look for you. Age and gravitas would become you better than the grace of a gazelle, as you move. And the candles at the court—well, they're not burning very bright these mid-summer nights. Something has got to give. Mind if I offer more free...
Tuesday, 19 July 2011
NBC and Facebook to be partners in GOP debate
President Obama embraced social media as a candidate and he won the presidency. So naturally the Republican candidates in this election will use Facebook in in their quests for the big job.
According to Reuters, NBC’s “Meet the Press” and Facebook are teaming up to simulcast a Republican Presidential primary debate on the Sunday before next year’s New Hampshire primary. The establishment love fest will be moderated by "Meet the Press" host David Gregory; the debate will be aired on NBC, MSNBC, Facebook and the New...
Monday, 18 July 2011
The real deal on the debt debate
The debt ceiling debate rages on, with President Barack Obama daring the GOP to call his bluff and Sen. Mitch McConnell declaring a deal impossible with this White House. These days, it’s hard for most Americans to sort through the red-hot mess that is Washington.
In a gerrymandered America, extremism sells at the polls and in the world of political talk. Fact blurs with fiction and simple math becomes fuzzy.
Here are 10 truths about the debt crisis you won’t hear over the next month from the halls of Congress or...
Monday, 18 July 2011
Justice Department trying to shield officials in guns scandal, ATF chief says
The Justice Department is trying to protect its political appointees from the Fast and Furious scandal by concealing an internal "smoking gun" report and other documents that acknowledge the role top officials played in the program that allowed firearms to flow illegally into Mexico, according to the head of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Kenneth E. Melson, the ATF's acting director, also told congressional investigators this month that the affidavits prepared to obtain wiretaps used in the...
Monday, 18 July 2011
Zaid: Keep eye on 'blockbuster' defence scandals
Parti Kita chief Zaid Ibrahim is sparing nobody in raising new allegations on unchecked military spending, putting the spotlight on the controversial multi-billion ringgit contract to build offshore patrol vessels (OPV).
He slammed the government, saying it allowed the project to incur massive cost overruns, and at the same time, reprimanded the opposition for paying too much attention to street rallies while such "scandalous contracts" continued to flourish.
Zaid claimed that the cost of the OPV contract had ballooned...
Monday, 18 July 2011
Bridal store goes bankrupt, leaves brides without dresses
Most brides-to-be dream about that perfect wedding day, wearing that perfect wedding dress. But for nearly 50 women, getting the dress of their dreams may not happen.
They recently found out the dress they ordered at Schaffer's Ultimate Bride in Aurora may not be showing up.
Owner Angie Vasquez said the slow economy has really taken its toll and she is being forced to file for bankruptcy, but she still has about 50 clients with active dress orders. Wedding dress vendors have cut off all deliveries to the store, and...
Sunday, 17 July 2011
Is the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statisics "Lying" About Unemployment Claims?
The U.S. Department of Labor is headed by a political appointee, Hilda Solis. It is natural that she would want the President who appointed her to look good. Not that she would order the employment data to be doctored in any way.
However, she could ask the Bureau of Labor Statistics to present the data in a way that emphasizes “good” news, if possible. Whether or not any such request was made by the Secretary, the fact is that employment data that was released last week tends to emphasize the data most favorable...
Sunday, 17 July 2011
Norwegian-born Eva Joly to run for French presidency
Norwegian-born Eva Joly, a formidable former judge who came to France as an au pair in the 1960's, will run for French president in 2012 as the Greens' candidate after winning her party's nomination on Tuesday.
Results of a ballot of 23,000 Greens showed the 67-year-old, who has dual French and Norwegian nationality, took 58.16 percent of the second-round vote, beating former television host Nicolas Hulot who took 41.34 percent.
Read more......
Sunday, 17 July 2011
Former Murdoch lieutenant Brooks arrested over hacking scandal
FORMER Murdoch chief executive Rebekah Brooks was last night arrested by police on charges of conspiring to intercept communications and corruption allegations, thought to be payments to police.
Police questioned the former News International boss at a London police station where she was arrested and detained. She was questioned by police from two separation investigations, the one into hacking, Operation Weeting, and Operation Elvedon, which is looking into bribery of police.
Read more.................
Sunday, 17 July 2011
The Georgia Cheating Scandal – Defeating a “Culture of Corruption”
Details of the Georgia cheating scandal have surfaced upon release of a special investigation of the Atlanta Public School System (APS) by the Office of the Governor of Georgia. Parents are reacting to the report.
Atlanta residents are shocked to learn evidence of cheating on the Criterion-Referenced Competency Test (CRCT) was uncovered in 44 of the 56 schools studied. The investigation also uncovered "organized and systematic misconduct within the district as far back as 2001."Read more...........
Sunday, 17 July 2011
Greece 'will not go bankrupt', vows Papandreou
Greece's prime minister has vowed that his country will not go bankrupt, but warned that European leaders will have to take decisive action if its worst ever debt crisis is to be contained.
Before an emergency summit of eurozone heads convened to stop debt-stricken Athens slipping into default and threatening Europe's financial stability, George Papandreou denounced the climate of fear being created by those "banking on" Greece's inability to stave off economic collapse.
Read more........
Friday, 15 July 2011
Jonathan: Nigeria is Not a Failed State
Nigeria is not a failed state, President Goodluck Jonathan said Thursday, adding that his administration would work assiduously to make the country a pride for all.
Speaking while inaugurating seven of the eight ministers confirmed by the Senate in the last one week at the Aso Rock Villa, Abuja, Jonathan said: “Our nation has been described by certain persons as a failed state. But we are definitely not a failed state. We are a country of talented people, who have the capacity to address whatever challenges our country...
Thursday, 14 July 2011
Libyan rebels fall back after failed advance
Rebels in Libya's east say they have fallen back after a failed advance on the oil town of Brega that left one fighter dead..
Fighter Abdel-Hamid Badein said Friday that rebels advanced on the town only to be pushed back by Moammar Gadhafi's troops. After the Thursday clash, rebels returned to their positions farther east.
Rebel military spokesman Ahmed Bani said one rebel was killed and eight injured.
The Libyan government Thursday described the rebel advance as "a full-scale attack" and said it was repelled.Read...
Thursday, 14 July 2011
The truth about the deficit and Social Security
This morning the Washington Post reported that the White House is offering to cut Social Security as part of a broader budget deal with the Republicans. At last we have the answer to the question everyone has been asking about the Democrats: How far can they go?
The financial collapse of 2008 has taught us to be skeptical of economic forecasts that simply spin trends out into an indefinite future. Most central bankers, economists and business leaders failed not only to foresee, but even to imagine, the colossal dimensions...
Wednesday, 13 July 2011
Smaller Government = Fewer Jobs
It has taken about half a year for bankrupt conservative economic policies to reaffirm themselves. Conservatives took control of Congress and several state and local governments following last fall's elections. Since then, the employment situation in the United States has changed from showing signs of improvement (unemployment receded to a recent low of 8.8% in March) to showing signs of serious weakness (unemployment increased to 9.2% last week). The cause of the recent decline is simple: government downsizing eliminates...
Tuesday, 12 July 2011
Ben Bernanke: High unemployment rate to persist, even as economy revives
Ben Bernanke said on Capitol Hill Wednesday, the pace of the US economy 'will pick up in coming quarters.' But the unemployment rate will decline slowly, he said, citing 'headwinds.
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke testifies before the House Financial Services Committee hearing on 'Monetary Policy and the State of the Economy' on Capitol Hill in Washington on July 13.
See More........
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