How can we take it back?

[ImaginaryBloke]

It Wasn't Just The NSA: Germany Spied On The White House For Years

by Tyler Durden
Jun 22, 2017 9:04 AM

One of the profound revelations from the data released by NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden was that in addition to spying on its own citizens, the NSA engaged in aggressive espionage on some of America's closest allies, most notably Angela Merkel and her Blackberry. It now turns out that Germany had been returning the favor.

According to Germany's Spiegel, Germany's foreign intelligence service had long spied on numerous official and business targets in the United States, including the White House. The magazine said it had seen documents showing that the intelligence service, the BND, had a list of some 4,000 so-called selector keywords for surveillance between 1998 and 2006. These included telephone or fax numbers, as well as email addresses at the White House as well as the US finance and foreign ministries.

Other monitoring targets ranged from military institutions including the US Air Force or the Marine Corps, space agency NASA to civic group Human Rights Watch. Additionally, hundreds of foreign embassies as well as international organisation like the International Monetary Fund were not spared, Spiegel said.

Germany reacted with outrage when information leaked Snowden revealed in 2013 that US agents were carrying out widespread tapping worldwide, including of Chancellor Angela Merkel's mobile phone. Ironically, Merkel, who grew up in communist East Germany where state spying on citizens was rampant, declared repeatedly that "spying among friends is not on" while acknowledging Germany's reliance on the US in security matters.

But to the great embarrassment of Germany, it later emerged that the BND helped the NSA spy on European allies. Berlin last June approved new measures, including greater oversight, to rein in the BND following the scandal.

In other words, spying was, is and will remain business as usual in a world where information is commoditized, and espionage is more valuable than ever. Of course, with the US relationship with Europe in general, and Germany in particular in a very sensitive position, we doubt this report will get much airplay in the popular US press.

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-06-22/it-wasnt-just-nsa-germany-spied-white-house-years

Mario, stop spying and can you please go back to the TV box where you belong?

 

[ImaginaryBloke]

Senior Barclays bankers charged with fraud over credit crunch fundraising
Bank, ex-chief executive and three others accused, marking first time any top bankers have faced charges over financial crisis



Accused former Barclays bosses, from left: Tom Kalaris, Roger Jenkins, Richard Boath, and John Varley. Composite: Alamy/Felix Clay/Bloomberg/Getty

Jill Treanor

Tuesday 20 June 2017 12.08 BST First published on Tuesday 20 June 2017 07.48 BST

Four former Barclays executives could face lengthy jail sentences after the Serious Fraud Office charged them and the bank with fraud over the way Barclays raised billions of pounds from Qatar at the height of the financial crisis.

The SFO charged former Barclays chief executive John Varley and three former colleagues – Roger Jenkins, Tom Kalaris and Richard Boath – with offences after a five-year investigation into the events surrounding the £11.8bn emergency fundraising conducted by the bankin 2008.

This is the first time criminal action has been taken against any senior bankers for events dating to the 2008 financial crisis. At the time, Barclays raised billions of pounds from Qatar in a move that allowed the bank to avoid taking a taxpayer bailout.

The SFO said the charges related to the two fundraisings the bank embarked on in June and October 2008 with two investment vehicles related to Qatar, including one used by the prime minister at the time, Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber al-Thani, and a US$3 bn (£2.3bn) loan advanced to Qatar in November 2008.

[...]

https://www.theguardian.com/busines...ys-bank-executives-ceo-2008-qatar-fundraising


It is always the same pattern. Some people - bosses, traders or programmers - are suspect, arrested and put on trial. These people are only scapegoats. The system must change or else it will only repeat. It is nice to see something happen in the UK though, because there it seldom does.

 

[Skarekrow]

California To Add Monsanto's RoundUp To List Of "Cancer-Causing" Herbicides

by Tyler Durden
Jun 27, 2017 3:25 PM

Back in March, we highlighted official evidence divulged in unsealed court documents which seemingly revealed collusion between senior executives at the $60 billion ag-chemicals powerhouse, Monsanto, and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to kill "inconvenient" research which suggested that Monsanto's key herbicidal product, RoundUp, might be literally killing people.

We've shared the entire sordid tale below but here is one of the key emails from Jess Rowland, the EPA's Deputy Division Director for the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention, to a Monsanto executive regarding a piece of damaging research that was pending release:

" "If I can kill this I should get a medal." "

Apparently those rather unsettling court documents were all that California needed for the state's Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) to add RoundUp's key ingredient, Glyphosate, to a list of chemicals known to cause cancer. Per Reuters:

" Glyphosate, an herbicide and the active ingredient in Monsanto Co's (MON.N) popular Roundup weed killer, will be added to California's list of chemicals known to cause cancer effective July 7, the state's Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) said on Monday. "

" Environmental groups cheered OEHHA's move to list the chemical. "

" "California's decision makes it the national leader in protecting people from cancer-causing pesticides," said Nathan Donley, a senior scientist at the Center for Biological Diversity. "

And while agriculture may not be the first thing to come to mind when you think of California, many would be shocked to learn that over half of the United States' vegetables, fruits and nuts are grown in the Golden State.

Of course, California's decision doesn't mean that Monsanto has to stop selling their carcinogenic products, they just have to add a tiny label to the bottom of canisters letting consumers know that the product they're holding could kill them.

" Listing glyphosate as a known carcinogen under California's Proposition 65 would require companies selling the chemical in the state to add warning labels to packaging. Warnings would also be required if glyphosate is being sprayed at levels deemed unsafe by regulators. "

" Users of the chemical include landscapers, golf courses, orchards, vineyards and farms. "

" Monsanto and other glyphosate producers would have roughly a year from the listing date to re-label products or remove them from store shelves if further legal challenges are lost. "

Meanwhile, Monsanto has vowed to fight on...because colluding with the EPA to corrupt/kill 'independent' studies simply wasn't a strong enough effort.

" Monsanto's appeal of the trial court's ruling is pending. "

" "This is not the final step in the process, and it has no bearing on the merits of the case. We will continue to aggressively challenge this improper decision," Scott Partridge, Monsanto's vice president of global strategy, said. "

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-06-27/california-list-monsantos-roundup-cancer-causing-herbicide


California is the biggest state in the US. This will have a direct effect, and bigger effects down the road.

Yeah....this is our new BS EPA that is out to protect the business interests of the US, not keep our water, land, and air clean...or our food.
Sad.

 

[Skarekrow]

Who is going to take it back? Nobody in this thread.

Your powers of perception are amazing.

I should really pay extra close attention to everything you say.
Thanks for the encouragement....totally necessary.


Not with that attitude you won't young man.

​

 

[ImaginaryBloke]

How do you feel about Al Franken, Stephen Colbert, or George Clooney running for president? Is it now a necessity for future American presidents to be like Ronald Reagan or Donald Trump and have a background in entertainment? I don't think a Hillary type can ever become president in this country in the future. Politicians are now multimedia celebrities. If you are boring, people tune you out, regardless of what you have to say. I have a theory I'll share with you later. I think this is a crucial subject with regard to winning elections. @Skarekrow, what do you think?

Al looks like AI = Artificial Intelligence. And Franken is Frankenstein. People will get scared.

Colbert? Naaah, It sounds too much like ...

What about George "Looney"? People realize that he is just a joke.

None of them will win any election.

 

[ImaginaryBloke]

Yeah....this is our new BS EPA that is out to protect the business interests of the US, not keep our water, land, and air clean...or our food.
Sad.

Published on
Friday, June 16, 2017
Common Dreams
New Docs Bolster Claims of EPA Head Scott Pruitt Being Fossil Fuel Puppet
Multiple meetings between EPA Administrator Pruitt and industry execs, as well as emails from his time as Oklahoma AG, affirm his close relationship with fossil fuel sector
Andrea Germanos, staff writer

16 Comments

A rally opposing Scott Pruitt for EPA head. (Photo: Lorie Shaull/flickr/cc)

Environmental Protection Agency chief Scott Pruitt has been described as an "ally," "puppet," and "tool and minion" of the fossil fuel industry.

Newly obtained documents reinforce that portrayal.

Exhibit A: emails newly obtained by the Associated Press that show "dozens of meetings between Pruitt, members of his staff, and executives and lobbyists from the coal, oil, and gas industries" during his time as Oklahoma's state attorney general—a position from which he sued the EPA over a dozen times.

A June 2016 email, for example, shows a push for a meeting "regarding a pending federal tax issue that is related to the state's position on the Clean Power Plan." That request came from a board member of the Domestic Energy Producers Alliance, an oil and gas industry group headed by fracking tycoon Harold Hamm, a Pruitt and Trump ally.

The new document dump, which is thousands of pages long, follows a separate batch of emails brought to the public eye in February which showed that Pruitt, during his time as Oklahoma AG, had "a close and friendly relationship" with the fossil fuel sector. Those emails were released after the Oklahoma County Court found that Pruitt withheld the records in violation of the state's Open Records Act.

Exhibit B is Pruitt's calendar from Feb. 21 to March 31, 2017—a time period in which he was heading the EPA. It shows numerous meetings between Pruitt and fossil fuel industry heads.

[...]

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2...a-head-scott-pruitt-being-fossil-fuel-puppet#


Yeah, you are right. There are two pieces of evidence showing that.

 

[ImaginaryBloke]

For Immediate Release

Wednesday, June 21, 2017 - 4:00pm

Organization Profile:
Council of Canadians

Contact:
Dylan Penner, Media Officer, Council of Canadians, 613-795-8685, dpenner@canadians.org

Trudeau Breaks Another Election Promise Leaving 99% of Lakes and Rivers Unprotected in Canada, says Council of Canadians

OTTAWA -

The Council of Canadians is condemning the Trudeau government’s response to the review on the Navigation Protection Act and its announcement that it will leave 99% of waterways unprotected in Canada. This move breaks the Liberal promise to restore protections lost when the Navigable Waters Protection Act was eliminated by the Harper government.

“We are deeply disappointed in the Trudeau government’s response to protecting the right to navigation and freshwater in Canada,” says Maude Barlow, chairperson of the Council of Canadians. “The key failing in the Trudeau government’s response is that it will leave 99 per cent of lakes and rivers unprotected from mega-dam, mining, fish farm and other industrial projects. There is also no clear commitment from the federal government to include pipeline reviews back under this legislation.”

Yesterday, Transport Canada issued a response accepting the Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities recommendations, the first of which recommends leaving only a scant list of 99 rivers, 64 lakes and three oceans protected under the Navigation Protection Act, formerly the Navigable Waters Protection Act.

“Only 1 per cent of the 31,000 lakes and 2.25 million rivers in Canada will be protected under the Navigation Protection Act,” says Emma Lui, water campaigner for the Council of Canadians. “The federal government is abandoning its responsibility and its promise to protect people’s right to navigation and safeguard freshwater in Canada. This is also a clear violation of the government’s obligation to obtain free, prior and informed consent under the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.”

[...]

https://www.commondreams.org/newswi...omise-leaving-99-lakes-and-rivers-unprotected

Sweden, Finland and Norway are similar to Canada. We have huge areas of forests, lakes and mountains. You cannot leave 1 percent of lakes and rivers protected like that. Scandinavian countries have no equivalent of the Athabasca tar sands and we intend to keep it that way.

Trudeau is a pseudo-liberal who had no intention of keeping his promises to voters.

 

[ImaginaryBloke]

Wednesday, June 28, 2017
Common Dreams
'Victory': Irish Lawmakers Ban Fracking
It's "a day for #ClimatePride," says Friends of the Earth Ireland after historic vote
Andrea Germanos, staff writer

Both houses of the Irish parliament have now passed legislation calling for a ban on onshore fracking, making a full ban days away. (Photo: @Love_Leitrim)

This story may be updated.

Ireland is poised to ban onshore fracking after its Senate on Wednesday passed a bill outlawing the oil and gas extraction method.

Anti-fracking campaigning group Love Leitrim celebrated the development as a "victory for people power."

Victory for people power today as bill passes through the irish Seanad. Now just needs our presidents signature. #irelandbansfracking pic.twitter.com/VB2K3DOR9S

— Love Leitrim (@love_leitrim) June 28, 2017

It now awaits the president's signature to become law, as it already passed the lower house of parliament in May. The Irish Independent writes: "President Michael D Higgins is expected to sign it into law in the coming days with a date to be confirmed for the commencement of the ban."

[...]

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/06/28/victory-irish-lawmakers-ban-fracking


This is absolutely great news for Ireland. Now, American tourists will not feel like at home.

The oil companies have been trying to introduce fracking in the UK and in Poland. There is weak public support for that and fracking is not going to happen.

 

[ImaginaryBloke]

For Immediate Release
Wednesday, June 28, 2017 - 1:30pm

Organization Profile:
US PIRG

Contact:
Phone: (202) 546-9707

U.S. PIRG Applauds Introduction of Bill to End Anonymous Shell Companies

WASHINGTON - This Wednesday, Representatives Peter King (R-NY) and Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) introduced the Corporate Transparency Act. Senators Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) also introduced their companion bill, the True Incorporation Transparency for Law Enforcement (TITLE) Act. U.S. PIRG applauds the introduction of these bills, which would put an end to anonymous shell companies in the U.S.

If enacted, these bills would give law enforcement an important tool for investigating a number of crimes that are facilitated by money laundering through anonymous shell companies. The U.S. is the second easiest country in which to incorporate a business without listing the real owners and beneficiaries of the company’s operations. In some states, getting a library card requires more identifying information than incorporating a company.

“Consumer scams, defrauding taxpayers, tax evasion, secretive campaign spending, corruption, sanctions evasion, drug trafficking, and human trafficking are all facilitated by anonymous shell companies,” said Allie Robins, U.S. PIRG Tax and Budget Associate. “The solution is to simply strike ‘anonymous’ out of the equation. When criminals can disappear behind a shroud of anonymity to launder their ill-earned money, law enforcement loses the trail and the American people are worse off for it.”

U.S. PIRG has worked in conjunction with the Financial Accountability and Corporate Transparency (FACT) Coalition to advocate for the establishment of a law that would require the government to collect information about the identities of the real, “beneficial” owners of companies operating in the U.S. If enacted, the Corporate Transparency Act would:

• Establish minimum beneficial ownership disclosure requirements that would mandate that a company must provide beneficial owners’ names, current addresses, and legal identification upon incorporation.
• Require the Treasury Department to collect beneficial ownership information if a state opts to not enact its own procedures.
• Provide civil penalties for persons who submit false or fraudulent beneficial ownership information, or who fail to provide complete or updated beneficial ownership information.

This solution is supported across the aisle and by small businesses, banks, law enforcement, faith groups, and a number of other organizations and individuals invested deeply in protecting the public from bad actors.

“There is no legitimate business reason for a company to operate anonymously,” said Robins. “Enacting the Corporate Transparency Act or the TITLE Act would address a far reaching problem with a simple solution, making Americans safer and sending criminals packing.”

U.S. PIRG urges Congress to support this legislation and empower law enforcement to root out some of the shadiest characters operating in the U.S. today.

Click here to read more about crimes and wrongdoing facilitated by anonymous shell companies.

###
U.S. PIRG, the federation of state Public Interest Research Groups (PIRGs), stands up to powerful special interests on behalf of the American public, working to win concrete results for our health and our well-being. With a strong network of researchers, advocates, organizers and students in state capitols across the country, we take on the special interests on issues, such as product safety,political corruption, prescription drugs and voting rights,where these interests stand in the way of reform and progress.

https://www.commondreams.org/newswi...troduction-bill-end-anonymous-shell-companies

This is terrific news. This bill would imply no more hiding for these companies. They are afraid of having their corruption exposed.

 

[ImaginaryBloke]

Wednesday, June 21, 2017
Common Dreams
'The Sky Didn't Fall': Study on Seattle $15 Minimum Wage Proves Critics Wrong
"These findings are consistent with the lion's share of rigorous academic minimum wage research studies"
Jake Johnson, staff writer

"Seattle's minimum wage hike up to $15 didn't affect employment. The sky never fell," wrote reporter Mike Rosenberg. (Photo: Shannon Kringen/Flickr)

In an analysis bolstering the arguments of those fighting for minimum wage hikes nationwide, a group of University of California, Berkeley economists has found that Seattle's decision to gradually raise its minimum wage to $15 an hour has not hampered job growth, despite the frequent warnings of doom-and-gloom critics.

"We cannot rest until every worker in America has the right to make at least $15 an hour."
—Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.)

The study (pdf), released on Tuesday, examined the effects of the incremental wage increases in 2015 and 2016. After analyzing Seattle job data prior to the wage hikes—which were signed into law by Seattle Mayor Ed Murray in 2015—and after they began to take effect, researchers found "no evidence of job loss in the city's restaurant industry, even as pay reached $13 for workers in large companies."

Professor Michael Reich, lead author of the analysis, said the Seattle wage hikes are "working as intended, raising pay for low-wage workers, without negatively affecting jobs."

"These findings are consistent with the lion's share of rigorous academic minimum wage research studies," Reich concluded.

[...]

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2...-seattle-15-minimum-wage-proves-critics-wrong


This is your turf, Skare.

 

[ImaginaryBloke]

The Most And Least Popular U.S. Senators


by Tyler Durden
Jul 11, 2017 11:55 PM

According to a new poll by Morning Consult, the most popular senator in the U.S. is independent and once presidential candidate Bernie Sanders.

As Statista's Martin Armstrong points out, voters in his state of Vermont have given him a net approval rating of 54 percent - 75 percent saying they approve of the job he is doing, 21 percent saying they disapprove.



You will find more statistics at Statista

At the other end of the scale is Republican Jeff Flake, who with 37 percent approval and 45 percent disapproval is sitting on a minus 8 percent net rate in Arizona.

The Grand Canyon State is generally unhappy with its Senators - John McCain has a net rating of minus 4 percent.

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-07-11/most-and-least-popular-us-senators


Bernie comes out on top of the rest. Why is that?

Hint: There is no competition, really. There is just the need to connect with your voters.

 

[ImaginaryBloke]

Wednesday, July 12, 2017
Common Dreams
'People Power Defeating Corporate Power': Atlantic City Says People Have Say Over Their Water
"A ringing endorsement of the work done by community members to save their water system from a corporate takeover."
Andrea Germanos, staff writer

Atlantic City, NJ passed an ordinance banning the corporate takeover of public water Wednesday. (Photo: Jeff Turner/Flickr/cc)

Atlantic City, New Jersey's city council on Tuesday easily passed an ordinance that requires a public vote before any sale of the municipal water system by the state.

The 8-0 vote, according to Lena Smith of Food and Water Watch, "is about people power defeating corporate power. It is a ringing endorsement of the work done by community members to save their water system from a corporate takeover."

BREAKING NEWS: Atlantic City council passes ordinance to protect public water system from corporate takeover.
People power wins! pic.twitter.com/0TwM6F12Df

— Food & Water Watch (@foodandwater) July 11, 2017
According to the advocacy group, the new city ordinance should be seen as "a direct challenge to the state takeover of Atlantic City engineered by [New Jersey Gov. Chris] Christie." That takeover was enacted last November.

The takeover legislation is the Municipal Stabilization and Recovery Act, the group explained, and was designed to give "the state broad powers, including the ability to sell off the prized water system to private water corporations with deep connections to leaders in both major political parties."

Residents saw what was at stake, however, and the AC Citizens United Against the State Takeover campaign led a petition drive delivering over 2,400 signatures to the City Clerk's office saying they wanted a say in a potential takeover of their water.

For some residents, a fear of the water crisis playing out in Flint, Michigan helped fuel their support for the ordinance. In fact, then-NAACP president Cornell William Brooks, who called the state takeover a "profound injustice," said in April that Flint was "a moral parable about the peril of giving up control of your water."

[...]

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2...atlantic-city-says-people-have-say-over-their

I push the button "Repeat Flint" but my computer is not responding. 'Gotta' get an engineer to take a look at it.

 

[ImaginaryBloke]

Published on
Tuesday, July 11, 2017
by
Common Dreams
National Day of Action Aims to 'Save the Internet From Trump and His Cronies'
"The existing net neutrality protections put Internet users in the driver's seat and keep big cable and phone companies from controlling what you see and do online."

by
Jake Johnson, staff writer


4 Comments

The struggle to preserve net neutrality is the "free speech fight of our generation," argues Evan Greer, campaign director of Fight for the Future. (Photo: Free Press/Flickr/cc)

In the face of attempts by the Trump administration to roll back recent net neutrality gains and hand the web over to large telecommunications companies, Open Internet advocates, civil rights groups, and thousands of websites are joining forces on Wednesday to participate in a national day of action to highlight the importance of preserving net neutrality.

A Twitter List by commondreams
The efforts of activists—highlighted on the Battle for the Net Campaign's official website, which outlines the various ways in which organizations plan to participate—have already drawn significant attention to an issue that too often remains on the outskirts of public debate.

"The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) docket for public comments on the existing net neutrality rules has already surpassed all records, with more than 5.6 million comments from individuals, organizations, companies and other interested parties—and many more to come as a result of Wednesday's day of action," noted Free Press, an Open Internet advocacy group, in a statement on Tuesday.

The Battle for the Net Campaign, Free Press notes, is just one part of a long-term effort to "save the internet from Trump and his cronies."

[...]

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2...tion-aims-save-internet-trump-and-his-cronies


The big IT companies are not at all interested in their consumers. They should not be acting implicit censors of the Internet.

 

[ImaginaryBloke]

Hackers Steal Swedish Security Company CEO's Identity, Declare Him "Bankrupt"

by Tyler Durden
Jul 13, 2017 2:45 AM

The 59-year old CEO of Swedish Security Firm Securitas was declared bankrupt this week after hackers stole his identity, took out a loan in his name, then filed for bankruptcy. As Bloomberg noted, “the sub-optimal branding implications were hard to miss.”

Securitas AB hopes to have put the whole awkward incident behind it by the end of the day. According to Bloomberg, the appointed bankruptcy trustee has been informed and will support the appeal of the bankruptcy decision, which is expected to be removed, Securitas said. Securitas CEO Alf Goransson is appealing the July 10 bankruptcy decision by the Stockholm District Court, which acted on false information, the company said on Wednesday. The appointed bankruptcy trustee has been informed and will support the appeal of the bankruptcy decision, which is expected to be removed, Securitas said.



[...]

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-07-12/hackers-steal-identity-swedish-security-company-ceo


Hehehe ... funny story.

We have less surveillance of public areas than the US and the UK. But this company is big corporate provider of surveillance of private and public buildings in Sweden. Basically every building has a Securitas tag informing the public about which company is protecting it. Have you seen Securitas in the US, Skare?

 

[Skarekrow]

 

[Pin]

American politicians are beholden to their largest donors (industries and special interests) because those are their keys to power.

If you want them to do exactly as you say, you've got to put your money where your mouth is.

Don't spend money at companies who fund your political opponents.

Work hard, become a leader in a lucrative industry to control exactly where the money is spent.


As anything worthwhile, easier said than done.

 

[Skarekrow]

American politicians are beholden to their largest donors (industries and special interests) because those are their keys to power.

If you want them to do exactly as you say, you've got to put your money where your mouth is.

Don't spend money at companies who fund your political opponents.

Work hard, become a leader in a lucrative industry to control exactly where the money is spent.


As anything worthwhile, easier said than done.

Yes, you are correct.
People should be cognizant of where they shop, what they buy, and who/what (person or legislation) it supports monetarily.
This is one part of a whole regarding things a person can do on a day to day basis.
We had Citizen’s United and the Mccutcheon decision allowed unlimited monies to pour into our politics...and look at the state of it now.
I would say that’s a pretty good argument in favor of the saying that “money corrupts”.
There is certainly no swamp being drained....lol.

 

[ImaginaryBloke]

Will we ever have world peace?​

 

[Milktoast Bandit]

Who is going to take it back? Nobody in this thread.

I never should've given it up in the first place...

 

[Skarekrow]

I never should've given it up in the first place...

I blame you and you alone.