oldParasiteSingle's Prognostications

forwardstl:

Over the past four years many conservatives have claimed that the media is “in the tank” for President Obama due to their “liberal media” bias. However, a new study from the Pew Research Center shows…

anonymissexpress:

This past month, there was much outrage over the fact that General Electric, despite making $14.2 billion in profits, paid zero U.S. taxes in 2010. General Electric actually received tax credits of $3.2 billion from American taxpayers.

At the same time that General Electric was not paying taxes, many undocumented immigrants, who are typically accused of taking advantage of the system while not contributing to it by many on the right, paid $11.2 billion in taxes. A new study by the Institute for Taxation and Economic Policy shows that undocumented immigrants paid $8.4 billion in sales taxes, $1.6 billion in property taxes, and $1.2 billion in personal income taxes last year. The study also estimates that nearly half of all undocumented immigrants pay income taxes.

ThinkProgress: Undocumented Immigrants Paid $11.2 Billion In Taxes While GE Paid Nothing

forwardstl:

The National Rifle Association (NRAILA) is the lobbying arm of the firearms industry.

                  

It uses fear, racism, and focus-group tested catchwords like “freedom,” and “self-defence” to pimp sales for the over 300 firearms manufacturers in the United States.

anonymissexpress:

via @Blonde_Phantom

Right now, the US Congress is sneaking in a new law that gives them big brother spy powers over the entire web — and they’re hoping the world won’t notice. We helped stop their Net attack last time, let’s do it again.

Over 100 Members of Congress are backing a bill (CISPA) that would give private companies and the US government the right to spy on any of us at any time for as long as they want without a warrant. This is the third time the US Congress has tried to attack our Internet freedom. But we helped beat SOPA, and PIPA — and now we can beat this new Big Brother law.

Our global outcry has played a leading role in protecting the Internet from governments eager to monitor and control what we do online. Let’s stand together once again — and beat this law for good. Sign the petition then forward to everyone who uses the Internet!

anonymissexpress:

An Internet advocacy coalition launched Stop Cyber Spying Week, urging us to protest CISPA cybersecurity legislation which the House is set to vote on next week and has a decent shot of being passed. There’s no time to delay adding your voice to the opposition if you care about privacy and civil liberties. OR you can stay silent and thereby endorse the government wiretapping and vaccuming up all your online communications.

By Ms. Smith, 04/18/12, via @TyphonMind

We are half way through Stop Cyber Spying Week and there’s no time to dawdle if you care about privacy and civil liberties, since the House is set to vote on the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA) [PDF] next week. Perhaps in part due to the rumble of growing protests about the “disturbing privacy dangers of CISPA,” such as seen with the hashtags #CongressTMI and #CISPA, the Obama administration “blasted” CISPA by opposing any cybersecurity bill that violates citizens’ privacy and civil liberties. Without explicitly saying “CISPA,” the White House issued this statement:

While information sharing legislation is an essential component of comprehensive legislation to address critical infrastructure risks, information sharing provisions must include robust safeguards to preserve the privacy and civil liberties of our citizens. Legislation without new authorities to address our nation’s critical infrastructure vulnerabilities, or legislation that would sacrifice the privacy of our citizens in the name of security, will not meet our nation’s urgent needs.

CISPA “would create a loophole in all existing privacy laws that would allow companies like Google and Facebook” to “pass your online communications to the military, just by claiming they were motivated by ‘cybersecurity purposes.’ Once the government has the information, the bill allows them to use it for any legal purpose other than regulation, not just for stopping cybersecurity threats,” explained the ACLU.

We all can see the need for some cybersecurity legislation, but we “cannot support overly broad legislation with no restrictions on government abuse.” CDT President Leslie Harris said, “We need cybersecurity legislation, not surveillance legislation.” A cybersecurity bill can make the Internet a safer place without jeopardizing Internet freedom and our civil liberties. Some of the CDT’s do’s and don’ts include great wisdom such as Don’t Turn Cybersecurity Into a Backdoor Wiretapping Program; and Don’t Give the Keys To the Castle to the NSA.

[…]

Privacy and Security Fanatic: Stop Cyber Spying: Stop CISPA the New Enemy of the Internet

anonymissexpress:

The Obama administration didn’t threaten a veto. But it did say information-sharing bills must preserve “privacy and civil liberties” — something that critics say CISPA does not do.

by Declan McCullagh, April 17, 2012

The White House today expressed concerns about a controversial cybersecurity bill that would authorize Internet companies to divulge confidential customer records and communications.

Opposition from the Obama administration — which stopped short of a veto threat — could imperil the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act, which is scheduled for a House of Representatives floor vote next week. CISPA is intended to improve computer security by allowing companies and government agencies to share sensitive information.

In a statement provided to The Hill newspaper, National Security Council spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden said:

While information sharing legislation is an essential component of comprehensive legislation to address critical infrastructure risks, information sharing provisions must include robust safeguards to preserve the privacy and civil liberties of our citizens. Legislation without new authorities to address our nation’s critical infrastructure vulnerabilities, or legislation that would sacrifice the privacy of our citizens in the name of security, will not meet our nation’s urgent needs.

Three months ago, the Stop Online Piracy Act, or SOPA, was defeated by a broad alliance of companies and civil liberties groups. But no such coalition exists here: the House Intelligence committee proudly lists letters of support from Facebook, Microsoft, Oracle, Symantec, Verizon, AT&T, and Intel (which today called CISPA an “important step forward”). And over two dozen trade associations sent a letter to Congress today (PDF) applauding “greater sharing of information.”

Civil liberties groups, on the other hand, remain steadfastly opposed to legal authorization for such broad information-sharing. The American Library Association, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the libertarian-leaning TechFreedom, and other groups launched a “Stop Cyber Spying” campaign yesterday — complete with a write-your-congresscritter-via-Twitter app — and over 670,000 people have signed an anti-CISPA Web petition.

CNet: White House questions CISPA cybersecurity bill

anonymissexpress:

[…]

The Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA) allows companies to collect information about people and give it to the US government in the name of cyber security. The main problem with the bill is that it is so broad it can even lead to companies and the government monitoring and censoring what people say.

According to the digital right website Electronic Frontier Foundation, what this means is that “a company like Google, Facebook or Twitter could intercept your emails and text messages, send copies to one another and to the government, and modify those communications or prevent them from reaching their destination if it fits into their plan to stop cybersecurity threats.”

[…]

Firstpost

Brian Lamb interviews rarely disappoint. I can only recall a few Heritage wonks and Fox News spin doctors who had little of substance to discuss with Lamb. Douglas Wissing has been doing the brainy media circuit for his new book about American taxpayer money diverted into subsidizing the Taliban. I came to the same conclusions through my own analysis years ago. I blogged on my Facebook about it in 2009. The #USKleptocracy war machine has to pay for both sides to keep the wars going. Otherwise we would’ve had bin Laden in hand and peace with the Taliban before Bush could invade Iraq.

Communications director Deans was diplomatic about all of his answers to callers Saturday. His message was for responsible energy development but with strong US regulations. Deans only went off-message at one time. In response to a caller inquiring about how strong NRDC interest group is getting, Dean mentioned that rural “small town Americans are terrified about fracking.”

   Since middle America was purposely hollowed out by criminals and neoliberals, they now have less US government & financial representation (same thing) than they once did. Already 85% of rich US GDP is estimated to come from cities. That trend is due to continue, the Neoliberals are planning Supercities. Therefore the oil kleptocrats have been swooping in to execute a lot of careless and haphazard drilling & fracking operations on them. If a rural watershed is poisoned, then its no bother to a fly-by-night operation since no one will hold them accountable. The ability of local zoning laws and state financial restrictions to control this eco-criminal activity is limited at best. Cash-strapped States are hardly in a position to fight eco-crooks since they are already selling off assets and closing rural services. Government is closing up shop in these dying places on the outskirts of the future Supercities. I live near one such area, Harrisburg, IL. Government denied them aid after the Leap Day tornadoes and now they face local challenges from fracking speculators. Characteristic of a US oil & natural gas Kleptocracy

kwikset:

(Photo courtesy of: montrealgazette)

“MONTREAL - Tens of thousands (over 100,000) of people marched through downtown Montreal Sunday afternoon in what was the most-attended Earth Day celebrations in the city’s history, organizers said.

Sunday’s march, along with the massive demonstration in mid-March against tuition hikes and the almost-daily student protests across province, make it increasingly difficult to deny the contention among student leaders that the province is undergoing a “Quebec Spring.”

The “Quebec Spring” idea references the popular revolts over the past two years in countries in the Middle East and North Africa” Read More: cnews

“Despite a significant police presence, the atmosphere was jovial and festive - a clear distinction from the student protests in the city on Friday and Saturday when more than 100 people were arrested. Police said that as of 5 p.m. Sunday, there were no reports of major disturbances during the march.”~Cnews

Here’s the video of what happened in Montreal during the less than “jovial and festive” student protests on Friday 4/20: youtube

More info: CBCNews