An FDA task force is recommending that no notice be given to consumers about the use of nanotechnology in their food and drugs. Big surprise, Bush toadie and FDA commissioner Dr. Andrew von Eschenbach said he endorsed the report and its recommendations.
The AG department has done the same thing with genetically modified organisms, and forbidden testing for Mad Cow in the US.
These organizations should be about protecting the consumer first, but nut in a Republithug administration.
Well, once again Orwell is spinning in his grave. Perhaps the Brits should try generating power from this.
It appears that Bush has nominated a bigot and sexual harasser to the EEOC. He has been accused of supporting religious discrimination, and firing a woman with whom he had had an affair.
Typical. Just like trying to make mobbed up guy Bernie Kerick head of DHS.
It appears that three “journalists”, “Robert Bazell and Nancy Snyderman of NBC News and Susan Dentzer of PBS’ NewsHour“, all had speaking gigs with the America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) Speakers network.
Considering the fact that they get speaker fees in the 5 figures (I’m in the wrong line of work), I have to say there is a real conflict of interest.
I really miss the old horse (Media Whores Online).
It turns out that there areallegations of forced labor in the construction of the huge US embassy compound in Iraq.
This is no surprise. Slavery, or peonage, is what the Bush admin wants for the workforce. That’s what the guest worker program is all about.
I came across a term that I had never heard before, Dark liquidity pools.
These pools are basically a private and unregulated system of equity and bond trading.
It allows people to execute large purchases and sales without any public knowledge.
An activist hedge fund, for instance, may not want to reveal that it is buying up large blocks of stock in a company it is about to attack, or a mutual fund might want to sell a large amount of stock without causing a downdraft that would hurt any shares it still holds.
In a less enlightened era, this might be called fraud or insider trading, but those quaint notions originating from the FDR era reforms have been set by the wayside as a result of “reforms” beginning in the late 1970s (Thanks Jimmy Carter), accelerating in the 1990s (thanks Bill Clinton), and regulations have been largely ignored in the 2009s.
What’s more, the uses of these instruments are exploding.
The hunger for anonymous block trading has caused the field to explode. There are about 40 active pools, double the number just last year. New pools and services to aggregate them are announced almost every month.
We should be concerned because it is yet another way for the insiders to make money off the information asymmetries in the market, and to further leverage their investments.
Much Like in 1929, theese will come back to haunt us. Without transparency, when reverses will set off a cascade of collapse, much in the way that they did on Black Tuesday, because the public prices will no longer accurately reflect asset values, and people will be trading blind.
While it has been clear for some time that Pat Tillman’s death resulted in an orgy of military ass covering, it now appears that there are uninvestigated evidence of foul play, so the friendly fire might not be so friendly.
It’s already clear that Tillman, who was killed in Afghanistan, did not like Bush, and thought that Iraq was an illegal war, but here are the quick points of the article:
The above General is being demoted, BTW.
This comes down to despising government and what it can do. As a result, the only reason to govern is for money and power, because you believe that no actual good can be done.
Thus we have Karl Rove and his bully boys arm twisting to get the State Department to engage in actions benefiting their political allies.
White House aides have conducted at least half a dozen political briefings for the Bush administration’s top diplomats, including a PowerPoint presentation for ambassadors with senior adviser Karl Rove that named Democratic incumbents targeted for defeat in 2008 and a “general political briefing” at the Peace Corps headquarters after the 2002 midterm elections.
The briefings, mostly run by Rove’s deputies at the White House political affairs office, began in early 2001 and included detailed analyses for senior officials of the political landscape surrounding critical congressional and gubernatorial races, according to documents obtained by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
The documents show for the first time how the White House sought to ensure that even its appointees involved in foreign policy were kept attuned to the administration’s election goals. Such briefings occurred semi-regularly over the past six years for staffers dealing with domestic policy, White House officials have previously acknowledged.
The point is not that Republicans are universally corrupt, though these days it certainly seems so.
Rather it is that when one comes from a position that sees government as the source of problems, and never solutions, then corruption is closer, since there is no good that comes through government service.
Well, former US Representative John “Drunken Wife Beater” Sweeney is in the news again.
Sweeney says he lied about domestic spat
Ex-congressman claims he wanted to shield wife from blameBy KATE GURNETT, Staff writer
Click byline for more stories by writer.
First published: Tuesday, July 24, 2007JOHNSTOWN — Former U.S. Rep. John Sweeney admitted to a gaggle of TV cameras Monday that he lied last year in a news conference when he said “there was no domestic violence” at his home.
He’s claiming that she hit him.
Yeah….sure.
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On Monday, Sweeney turned to a former wife to defend him publicly. Betty Sweeney went on camera to admonish Gayle Sweeney for allegedly assaulting her ex-husband, saying “I am appalled.”
Hiding behind a former ex-wife? Classy dude, huh?
Last November, with her husband’s congressional seat on the line, Gayle Sweeney, 36, made an 11th-hour campaign commercial accusing Gillibrand of leaking the report in a bid to win office. Mrs. Sweeney told the Times Union last week she was “coerced” by her husband’s political advisers into making certain statements defending him on the eve of the election.
Once again proving that the only thing lower than a Republican politician is a Republican political consultant.
Aviation week has an article, USAF Needs A Year to Assess Jassm’s Progress(subscription Required), in which the USAF says that the JASSM needs more time.
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The Pentagaon will wait until at least spring 2008—a rare yearlong pause—to certify that its newest cruise missile is ready to move forward following myriad technical problems and a 42% failure rate this year.
The Lockheed Martin Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff (Jassm) missile fell under scrutiny again this year after the Air Force informed Congress it had breached cost expectations by more than 25%. USAF and company officials are still trying to assess how high the amount will soar above the current $5.8-billion mark. The program’s goal in the mid-1990s included a $400,000-per-unit charge.
Senior Pentagon officials had been considering terminating Jassm because of the escalating price. The technical problems, including a GPS dropout issue brought on by an interface with the Selective Availability Anti-Spoofing Module (Saasm) in the missile, have only increased the level of scrutiny facing the effort. In recent tests, the GPS problem contributed to three missiles missing targets by nearly 200 ft.
Because of the 25% cost increase, the Nunn-McCurdy law dictates that the Defense Dept. must certify to Congress the program is sound on several points before proceeding. These include: the program is deemed critical for national security; no alternatives providing equal or greater capability exist for equal or lesser cost; new program estimates are reasonable, and management for the program is adequate to control cost.
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Meanwhile, Taurus Systems GmbH. is working with its new U.S. partner, Textron, on how to market its KEPD-350 missile to the Pentagon. So far, Germany, Spain, Sweden and South Korea are either purchasing the missile or in discussions. The Taurus pitch for a niche in the U.S. market—offering the German/Swedish KEPD-350 for the hard and deeply buried target set—is already underway. Taurus can penetrate through concrete more than twice as far as Jassm. Some officials in the combatant commands have begun to show an interest in Taurus as a Jassm alternative, according to industry sources.
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This is not about making the missile work. This is about Air Force Generals who want to work at Lockheed after they retire.
The system does not work. It’s over budget. There is an alternative. This is throwing a defense contractor a lifeline so that the defense contractor can throw some lucrative consulting or executive gigs to the people supervising the program.
Republicans protest pensions for Filipinos
By Rick Maze – Staff writer
Posted : Tuesday Jul 24, 2007 15:46:17 EDTRepublicans on the House Veterans Affairs Committee are trying to scuttle a committee-passed plan to provide pensions for World War II-era Filipino Scouts by getting a major veterans’ service organization to question whether this is the highest priority for improved benefits.
In a letter, the 13 Republicans on the committee complain about being blocked on July 17 from offering amendments that would have redirected the $875 million being spent on disability pay and pensions for Filipino veterans, including those who are not American citizens and who don’t even live in the U.S.
…….
Filner said during the July 17 session in which the bill was passed that he was trying to fulfill a promise made at the end of World War II to provide benefits to people who fought on behalf of U.S. interests but were not part of the U.S. military.
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It should also be noted that they were citizens of the US when the fought. The Philippines were a US colony at the time.
This is all about another phony way to cast Democrats as N***** lovers.
This is an interesting artic pm Republican obstructionism. This picture is worth 1000 words.
The Republicans will have filibustered almost three times as much as any senate in history.
Perhaps we should go back to having people actually give 24 hour long speeches again.
While they are doing that, they are not campaigning back home.
Lovely. This is certainly bringing back honor and dignity to the government.
FEMA knew of formaldehyde in trailers:
July 20, 2007By David Goldstein McClatchy Newspapers
WASHINGTON — Federal officials knew that hurricane evacuees housed in temporary trailers were worried about dangerous levels of formaldehyde but took little action, government documents show.
Their primary concern was the legal fallout if the temporary housing presented a health hazard, according to records obtained by the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.
“Do not initiate any testing until we give the OK,” a lawyer for the Federal Emergency Management Agency wrote. “Once you get the results … the clock is running on our duty to respond to them.”
….
It’s about bloody time.
Democrats move to rein in use of private contractors in Iraq
Mideast edition, Friday, July 20, 2007
The Senate’s nine freshman Democrats announced a new effort Wednesday to rein in the use of private contractors to rebuild Iraq and to do an array of war-related jobs normally assigned to the military, The Virginian-Pilot reported Thursday.
According to the report, the group will ask Congress to create a “Commission on Wartime Contracting” that would assign auditors already employed by the federal government to ferret out waste and mismanagement in the more than $300 billion Iraq reconstruction effort.
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This has been an ongoing scandal. Whether it’s the dangerously unaccountable mercenaries from groups like Blackwater, or KBR serving substandard food provided by slave laborers, this war profiteering has been a national disgrace.
Bush has now forbidden the Justice Department from pursuing contempt charges initiated by Congress against White House officials if executive privilege has been invoked.
Under federal law, a statutory contempt citation by the House or Senate must be submitted to the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, “whose duty it shall be to bring the matter before the grand jury for its action.”
But administration officials argued yesterday that Congress has no power to force a U.S. attorney to pursue contempt charges in cases, such as the prosecutor firings, in which the president has declared that testimony or documents are protected from release by executive privilege. Officials pointed to a Justice Department legal opinion during the Reagan administration, which made the same argument in a case that was never resolved by the courts.
…
Mark J. Rozell, a professor of public policy at George Mason University who has written a book on executive-privilege issues, called the administration’s stance “astonishing.”
“That’s a breathtakingly broad view of the president’s role in this system of separation of powers,” Rozell said. “What this statement is saying is the president’s claim of executive privilege trumps all.”
Impeachment investigations trump executive privilege. This is why proceeding should start against both Bush and Cheney tomorrow.
The legislation has been stalled because the Republicans have refused to appoint Republican members to the conference committee. The Democratic majority leaders have now decided to use a little used parlimentary maneuver to short circuit the foot dragging.
Basically, it comes down to the House and Senate Democrats working out the minor differences between the bills on their own, and then passing identical bills through both houses.
Identical bills mean no conference committee.
The first place that I noticed the net making a difference in real life was when I moved to Baltimore, and I found out how much easier Mapquest made it for me to find a home where I wanted, because I knew were each address was instantly.
It’s now entering politics, where you have someone setting up a searchable database of Debra Jean Palfrey’s (aka the DC Madame) phone records.
You have also found this in the turnaround of massive document dumps by the Bush administration on the US Attorney scandal, frequently in a matter of hours.
The ability to being hundreds, if not thousands, of people together to do the scut work of investigative journalism has the real possibility being a major game changer for journalists, particularly those who don’t have the resources of the NY times behind them.
Yep, this guy was one of Ken Starr’s bully boys. I bet they got a REALLY fair hearing from him.
Valerie Plame’s lawsuit dismissed
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U.S. District Judge John D. Bates dismissed the case on jurisdictional grounds and said he would not express an opinion on the constitutional arguments.
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Scum.
Remember those stories about Microsoft gaining on Google in the search business?
Microsoft has successfully rigged its search traffic. The company recently introduced several online games than shamelessly bribe people to query its moribund Live Search Engine, and according to web research firm comScore, these games gave the engine a significant traffic boost last month.
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When users play games like Chicktionary, Dingbats, and Seekadoo, they automatically generate Live Search results. The more results they generate, the more points they win. And if they win enough points, they win prizes. Like a Microsoft Zune player. OK, it’s not much of a bribe. But it’s still a bribe.
Love that bit of snark at the end.
This defines Rev. Smiler, and history will be most unkind to him.
How Murdoch had a hotline to the PM in the run-up to Iraq war
By Andrew Grice, Political Editor
Published: 19 July 2007Tony Blair had three conversations with the media magnate Rupert Murdoch in the nine days before the start of the Iraq war, the Government has disclosed.
Details of the former prime minister’s contacts with Mr Murdoch have been released under the Freedom of Information Act. After trying to block disclosure for four years, the Government backed down in a surprise change of heart the day after Mr Blair resigned last month.
Sounds like Gordon Brown threw his dear friend Tony under the Bloody bus.
……
In Alastair Campbell’s diaries, published last week, the former spin doctor described a Downing Street dinner for Mr Murdoch and his sons, James and Lachlan, in 2002. “Murdoch pointed out that his were the only papers that gave us support when the going got tough. ‘I’ve noticed,’ said TB,” Mr Campbell wrote. Lance Price, Mr Campbell’s deputy, called Mr Murdoch “the 24th member of the [Blair] Cabinet“. He added: “His presence was always felt. No big decision could ever be made inside No10 without taking account of the likely reaction of three men, Gordon Brown, John Prescott and Rupert Murdoch. On all the really big decisions, anybody else could safely be ignored.”
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Well, there’s always hoping that he’ll share a cell with Bush and Rumsfeld.
This time, it’s the so called “War on Drugs”.
Rep. Henry A. Waxman (Calif.), chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, said documents obtained by his panel suggest that the appearances by the drug control officials were part of a larger White House effort to politicize the work of federal agencies that “may be more widespread than previously known.”
This is a direct consequence of conservative philosophy. If one sees government, even when it works as a source of weakness and moral hazard, then the only reason to govern is to accumulate wealth and power for you and yours.
The Bush administration is not an aberration, rather it is the logical consequence of the hard right wing philosophy that they all hold.
There is no policy, because government is evil. It’s just a gravy train.
I saw this first hand when I went to college with, and served in the student Senate with, Tony Rudy, who has copped a plea in the entire Abramoff/Delay thing for taking bribes.
He was personally nice, but once in government, there was nothing for him to do but to be corrupt.