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Buzz, perspectives, insight and news from AlterNet

Goldman Sachs Plays at Giving Back to the Little People
Posted by Joe Costello, Archein on November 17, 2009 at 11:50 PM.

Goldman Sachs announced it was giving the little folks $500 million spread over five years, because as CEO Lloyd Blankfein says, "We participated in things that were clearly wrong and have reason to regret,” and...wait for it.... “We apologize." If only all the boys sitting behind bars for sticking up a 7-11 knew all they had to do was apologize and give back a pittance of that they stole. All would be forgiven.

The Financial Times states the 500 million to be tithed to small businesses is "2.3 per cent of its estimated bonus and salary pool for 2009" and the yearly amount "is equivalent to a good trading day at Goldman. In the third quarter, the bank had 36 days in which traders made more than $100m." What would the small business person do without its Wall Street benefactors?

Last fall, Goldman was "gifted" $14 billion from the American taxpayer with the Fed and Treasury's fraudulent payment of AIG's worthless derivatives. I wonder if that's what Mr. Blankfein means by they "participated in things that were clearly wrong and have reason to regret," or maybe that's something else? But a tithe is supposed to be ten percent, so they're about billion short. Better, if they were made to payback the entire 14 billion and broke into a couple dozen pieces.

Do New Yorkers Want a Terror Trial in Their City? Depends on Who You Ask
Posted by BarbinMD, Daily Kos on November 17, 2009 at 4:44 PM.

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Sorry Monsanto, You're Wrong: More GE Crops Mean More Pesticides
Posted by Tara Lohan, AlterNet on November 17, 2009 at 3:25 PM.

More genetically engineered crops means less pesticides are needed, right? That's what the big agricultural biotech companies, like Monsanto, promised. But, a report proves they're wrong. Really wrong.

First, the report was funded by a coalition of non-governmental organizations including the Union of Concerned Scientists, the Center for Food Safety, the Cornerstone Campaign, Californians for GE-Free Agriculture, Greenpeace International and Rural Advancement Fund International USA.

They found that GE corn, soybean, and cotton crops have increased the use of weed-killing herbicides in the U.S. by 383 million pounds from 1996 to 2008. Why? Because the idea behind many of the big GE crops is to make them resistant to herbicides, for instance Roundup Ready Soybeans won't be killed if you spray the herbicide Roundup on them. Roundup instead is suppose to kill the weeds around the plant. But, crafty little nature has outsmarted biotech again and now we've got weeds that have become resistant as well. Woops.

So, maybe the biotech industry shouldn't be making farmers pay through the nose for these seeds, eh? Here's some more info from the report about the pickle farmers are in now, thanks to GE crops:

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Glenn Beck Defends the Right (For Terrorists) to Bear Arms
Posted by Byard Duncan, AlterNet on November 17, 2009 at 2:17 PM.

On Fox and Friends today, Glenn Beck was accidentally forced to confront a pretty devastating quandary -- one that plagues so many of his fear-mongering compadres on the Right: What’s more important, protecting U.S. citizens or reinforcing their ability to supposedly protect themselves? Gretchen Carlson, referring to Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, the Fort Hood shooter:

CARLSON: I agree with you completely on this whole PC that's invaded our culture and invaded, apparently, our own U.S. military. But here's one question about the gun situation. Apparently, even if you are on the terrorist watch list, you can still purchase a gun. Do you think that's okay?

BECK: I am not going to give these people any more laws, any more power until they fix the problems that they have created themselves. How much more are we going to give them?

It’s smart of him to steer the conversation into Dem-bashing territory as quickly as he does. But before getting all carried away with the partisan acrobatics, let’s be perfectly clear on Beck’s position here: he would rather see the United States endure more terrorist attacks than tighten gun control regulations. Period.

So while many in Beck’s shoes might simply marvel at the complexity of the issue (infringing on gun control rights is always a prickly political endeavor; yet how can the government not act on this loophole that left 12 dead and effectively devastated the country?), Beck prefers the WWCHD approach: What Would Charlton Heston Do?

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'Hit the Bitch': Domestic Violence PSA Goes Very, Very Wrong
Posted by Tana Ganeva, AlterNet on November 17, 2009 at 1:15 PM.

A Danish PSA has managed to trivialize domestic violence to a degree unrivaled by our fashion industry, mainstream media and most irritating comedians (and all those people try really hard). HitTheBitch.com gives you a big, meaty hand with which to slap around a scantily dressed model who jabbers at you accusingly in Danish while sad rap music plays in the background. 

With every slap, the model’s face becomes more bruised, and a graphic at the top of the screen marks your progress from Pussy to Gangsta. I’m a pretty big pussy, so I only made it one fourth of the way to Gangsta before I got weirded out and had to stop. But apparently, once you've beaten the crap out of the model, the site totally topples all of your assumptions about intimate partner violence -- you know, that it makes you an offensive stereotype of a black man -- and you are told instead that you are "100% Idiot!"

And teen boys everywhere lean back and thoughtfully consider the relationship between aggressive ideals of masculinity and violence against women.

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Priceless: Gay Rights Activists Take Over Christian Right Hate-Fest in DC
Posted by Joshua Holland, AlterNet on November 17, 2009 at 12:00 PM.

I guess Dana Milbank just worships power and delights in picking on the marginalized. So while I've grown to detest him for years of snarky columns cherry-picking little vignettes to make progressives -- environmentalists, anti-war activists, human rights experts -- look like hopeless geeks who should be ignored when the GOP was in power, now that the Democrats are riding high he seems to be focusing that admittedly sharp pen on tea-baggers and the religious right -- the GOP's immoderate base.

Today he tells an interesting story that could have been titled: Reverend Smith Goes to Washington ...

Conservative Christian ministers from across the land, determined to test the bounds of a new law punishing anti-gay hate crimes, assembled outside the Justice Department on Monday to denounce the sin of homosexuality and see whether they would be charged with lawbreaking.

Needless to say, no arrests were made.

No hands were cuffed. In fact, the few cops in attendance were paying no attention to the speakers, instead talking among themselves and checking their BlackBerrys.

The evangelical activists had been hoping to provoke arrest, because, as organizer Gary Cass of the Christian Anti-Defamation Commission put it, "we'd have standing to challenge the law." But their prayers were not answered. Nobody was arrested, which wasn't surprising: To run afoul of the new law, you need to "plan or prepare for an act of physical violence" or "incite an imminent act of physical violence."

But there was some drama ...

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Tea Party Protests Get Violent in Arizona (Video)
Posted by Dawn Teo, Huffington Post on November 17, 2009 at 11:43 AM.

Tea Partiers tussled with counter protesters during at least two of the nationwide anti-immigration Tea Party rallies on Saturday.

In Ft. Lauderdale, several Tea Partiers brawled in the street with counter protesters from the Florida Chapter of Act Now to Stop War and End Racism (ANSWER).

The video, which was shot by Americans for Legal Immigration PAC (ALIPAC), shows two Tea Partiers with their own video cameras making their way through the area designated by police for counter protesters from ANSWER. As the Tea Partiers reach the end of the ANSWER group, one of the Tea Partiers can be seen having an argument with one of the ANSWER counter-protesters when that counter-protester pummels him with his sign.

The brawl quickly spilled into the road, with some joining in and some trying to break up the fight. By the end of the incident, both Tea Partiers were on the ground, being battered by counter-protesters. 62 year-old Dave Caulkett of Floridians for Immigration Enforcement says he was kicked in the face just before being let up from the ground.

Police did not intervene on the video, but sirens can be heard in the background. It is unclear why no police were present to keep the peace between the two opposing groups.

Video of the incident was posted by ALIPAC, an immigration control organization. It includes captions depicting the Tea Party perspective of the incident:

Friday, the day before the Tea Party rally, ANSWER sent out a provocative email, which is now being cited and criticized extensively in conservative blogs. The email included the following statement:

Racism is like anything else in this world: in order to make it fall, you must smash it! That is why we are calling on all people to come out tomorrow, to organize a militant confrontation with the so-called 'tea baggers.' Beating back these forces will require us to organize together, take the streets, fight the racists wherever they show their faces and drive them out of every community.

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Dobbs on Palin: She Has "Left a Lot To Be Desired" (Video)
Posted by Andrea Nill, Think Progress on November 17, 2009 at 10:45 AM.

In an interview on NBC’s Today Show this morning, host Matt Lauer sought former CNN anchor Lou Dobbs’ opinion of Sarah Palin and her presidential prospects. Dobbs — whose rumored next step is said to be a run for political office — provided a critical assessment of Palin as a potential presidential candidate. Dobbs stated that Palin is certainly “staking out her territory,” but he refused to endorse her:

LAUER: Is she [Palin] staking out an early claim for the Republican nomination in 2012?

DOBBS: Well she’s certainly the front-runner in terms of her popularity in the Republican party and therefore, de facto, it seems to me Matt she’s staking out her territory.

LAUER: Is she someone if the election were held today Lou, would you consider voting for her?

DOBBS: Would I consider voting her? Frankly based on what I have seen, personally no. … I think the woman had a brilliant address at the Republican convention last year. I think uh, since then, she’s left a lot to be — uh, I’ll put it this way — desired as a person who’s seeking votes.

Watch it:

Ironically, Daily Show host Jon Stewart joked last week that Dobbs is “going Palin, going rogue” by abruptly leaving his job at CNN to supposedly “engage in constructive problem solving.”

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Free Market Vultures Are Snatching Away the Livelihoods of Minorities in the Inner City
Posted by Allison Kilkenny, True/Slant on November 17, 2009 at 9:31 AM.

You would think during a time of vast unemployment, wealth disparity, and economic instability that great minds would unite in order to imagine and build a new tomorrow in which the suffering of the masses could be lessened. Of course, that fantasy includes the provision that The Smartest Guys In The Room are also The Most Moral Guys In The Room, which is rarely the case.

Enter T.A. Frank, a New America Foundation think tank lackey, who believes the solution to horrific living conditions in the ghetto is to privatize Section 8 housing and ship black people out to the subprime suburbs.

This is a bad idea for obvious reasons laid out in The Exile by Yasha Levine. First, the area where Frank wants to ship poor black people isn’t that great, according to Levine.

My adopted home of Victorville, California, a McTractHome paradise on the edge of the Mojave Desert 100 miles east of LA, has a buttload of crime, non-existent employment options, racial isolation and a gestapo police presence—just like the real ghetto.

If men like Frank were truly acting in the spirit of altruism, wouldn’t they want to improve the preexisting communities of poor black people, say, by increasing police presence, creating job programs, fostering small businesses, and rebuilding public schools? Frank’s idea to “help” poor people is the same strategy negligent pet owners employ when they want to get rid of an unwanted dog. Drive to the city limits and dump the mutt in the woods. Then drive away as quickly as possible.

Second, unless the government is also willing to supply cars for this newly created diaspora, I have no idea how these people are supposed to get around. L.A. isn’t exactly known for its wonderful public transportation, so I doubt there is an efficient bus fleet. Of course, these are all minor details. The main goal is to get the black, poor people the hell out of the way so that Frank and Associates can get their fingers on that prime real estate. As for the black people, it’s like Levine says:

Outta sight, outta mind.

That’s the best kind of charity!

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Video: Health-care Abortion Controversy No Joke
Posted by AlterNet Staff, AlterNet on November 17, 2009 at 8:31 AM.

The Center for Reproductive rights is raising money to run this pro-choice ad, just as the Senate prepares to unveil its health-care reform bill.

How Far Right Must GOPers Lean to Please a Crazy Base?
Posted by Steve Benen, Washington Monthly on November 17, 2009 at 7:30 AM.

AN ODD WAY TO SHOW 'LEADERSHIP'.... It's almost tragic to see what a guy has to do to seek the Republican presidential nomination these days.

In the era of tea-party conservatives, [Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R)] is calculatedly veering to the right. Speaking to the Economist in St. Paul, he recently explained that the Earth might be warming but that it is unclear "to what extent that is the result of natural causes."

Pawlenty obviously knows better. We know he knows better because he has a lengthy, public record on environmental issues that bears no resemblance to his new positions. Lee Fang has a terrific timeline, which makes clear that "over the course of the last three years, Pawlenty has gone from an outspoken proponent of clean energy to a Glenn Beck pandering climate change denier." In late 2006, Pawlenty not only sought to reduce carbon emissions, he even promoted a regional cap-and-trade program. In late 2007, he declared climate change "one of the most important of our time."

That was then. Now Pawlenty opposes his own cap-and-trade plan and claims to question the basics of global warming.

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No Logo, Ten Years Later
Posted by Naomi Klein, Huffington Post on November 17, 2009 at 6:00 AM.

Almost ten years ago, on November 30, 1999, tens of thousands of protestors shut down a meeting of the World Trade Organization in Seattle. The activists were not against trade or globalization, despite the many misleading claims in the mainstream media. They were against a system of deregulated capitalism that was spreading around the world.

At the time of the Seattle protests, my first book, No Logo: Taking Aim at the Brand Bullies, was at the printer. The book looked at the war being waged on public space by a new breed of corporate "superbrands," as well as the first signs of a fight back against corporate power. It was good timing for an author-activist: I had the rare privilege of watching my book become useful to a movement I believed could change the world.

On the ten-year anniversary of the Seattle protests, with anger mounting at the open collusion between corporations and governments, I am re-releasing No Logo with an extended new introduction. Among other developments, the new essay looks at the unprecedented bailout of Wall Street, as well as the rise of the Obama Brand (the most powerful brand in the world) and examines the troubling gaps between its marketing and reality.

As the new edition comes out, it feels like a "movement moment" once again. A new wave of exciting climate justice activism is underway in the lead up to the UN climate summit in Copenhagen, one that builds on many of the networks born in Seattle. As I wrote in a recent article in Rolling Stone, now that a serious deal is off the table, many activists see Copenhagen as "a chance to seize the political terrain back from business-friendly half-measures, such as carbon offsets and emissions trading, and introduce some effective, common-sense proposals -- ideas that have less to do with creating complex new markets for pollution and more to do with keeping coal and oil in the ground."

One of our movement's challenges back in 1999 was that, in the midst of the euphoria of the dot-com boom, few were interested in hearing about the downside of capitalism. Ten years later, perhaps our movement's time has come.

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California Dems to Obama: Get Out of Afghanistan
Posted by John Nichols, TheNation.com on November 17, 2009 at 5:00 AM.

The California Democratic Party speaks with an loud voice in national politics.

It is, by any reasonable measure, the biggest party in the biggest state in the nation.

And it is a well-organized, forward-looking organization that since the 1950s has had a tradition of delivering vital messages from the base to national Democratic leaders. Indeed, in the 1960s, California Democrats were among the first and loudest critics of President Lyndon Johnson's decision to expand the war in Vietnam. They were not merely opposed to the war; they were worried, wisely, that committing resources, governing energy and political capital to an unwise and unnecessary war would undermine the ability of an otherwise popular Democratic president to deliver on his ambitious domestic agenda.

With their history and their heft in mind, it is reasonable to say that when California Democrats take a strong stand on a contentious issues, it matters -- both as a signal with regard to popular sentiment within the party and as an indicator of the issues that could cause political headaches for a Democratic president.

So what does the California Democratic Party have to say about the global conflict that many believe could be for Barack Obama's presidency what Vietnam was for Lyndon Johnson's?

"End the U.S. Occupation and Air War in Afghanistan."

That's the title of a resolution endorsed over the weekend by the 300-member executive board of the California party.

The resolution calls for establishing "a timetable for withdrawal of our military personnel" and seeks "an end to the use of mercenary contractors as well as an end to air strikes that cause heavy civilian casualties."

In place of a continuing U.S. military presence, the California Democrats are urging Obama "to oversee a redirection of our funding and resources to include an increase in humanitarian and developmental aid."

That's sound advice for a president who is wrestling with the issue of how to respond to a request from some military commanders for a surge of more troops into what looks to a many savvy observers like a quagmire.

Among those speaking for the resolution was former Marine Corporal Rick Reyes, who described how his experience in Afghanistan led him to the conclusion that the U.S. occupation was illegitimate. "There is no military solution in Afghanistan," said Reyes, a Los Angeles native. "The problems in Afghanistan are social problems that a military cannot fix."

An Afghanistan and Iraq veteran, Reyes was particularly blunt in his criticism of the corrupt regime of Afghan President Hamid Karzai.

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