Paris: Beleaguered French foreign minister Michele Alliot-Marie announced her resignation Sunday after weeks of criticism over her contacts with the former Tunisian regime, stressing she had committed no wrongdoing. “While I do not feel that I have committed any wrongdoing, I have… decided to leave my job as foreign minister,” Alliot-Marie wrote in her resignation letter to President Nicolas Sarkozy. “I ask you to accept my resignation,” she wrote in the letter which begins with a handwritten “Dear Nicolas.” “Since several weeks, I have been the target of political attacks and then in the media, using, to create suspicion, counter-truths and generalisations,” wrote Alliot-Marie, who was…
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Click here to view this media Anyone else going to be shocked if this is not caused by the massive amount of oil and dispersants these poor animals have been exposed to? There has been almost a media blackout in any coverage of what’s going on in the Gulf nationally. More Dead Dolphin Babies Found along Gulf Coast : NEW ORLEANS (AP) – The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says the number of dead dolphins found since Jan. 1 in the area affected by last year’s oil spill is now 67, with 35 of them premature or newborn calves. NOAA regional spokeswoman Kim Amendola says five dead calves were reported Friday in Mississippi or Alabama. Scientists are looking into whether any unusual deaths in the Gulf of Mexico oil spill area may be related to toxins from oil or dispersants. However, they’re also investigating whether it could be related to the cold weather or a disease.
Continue reading …Chris Matthews Asks Who’s More Likely To Win In A Government Shutdown, But Are They Thinking About Who’s Going To Lose?
February 27, 2011 No Comment
Click here to view this media (h/t Heather at VideoCafe) It must be so nice to live in the rarified, privileged airs inside the Beltway, where you are untouched by those little things like unemployment, dependence on government assistance, Social Security, the Veteran’s Administration or anything else. Because as a member of the Villager Cocktail Circuit, it’s possible to talk about the possible government shutdown not as the impact it will have on very real people, but as who wins the political propaganda spin wars. Chris Matthews questions whether the four letter word to appeal to voters is “cuts” rather than “jobs”. In a word, Tweety: no. In a country where some states have double digit unemployment, the last thing voters want is to have those social safety nets cut. And the sad thing is that they are always the budget items on the chopping block. I suspect voters would be much, much happier if the cuts considered were to the bloated defense budget or even *gasp* to tax breaks for the wealthy and corporations. As Jon Perr points out, all these state budget cuts (the “winning” meme, according to the panel) do is endanger the economy even more : As all eyes remained focused on the union-busting face-off in Wisconsin, the Commerce Department on Friday released a revised estimate of U.S. economic growth for the last quarter of 2010. And that downward GDP revision not only shatters prevailing myths about supposedly bloated government spending and payrolls. The numbers confirm once again that budget cutters in states and cities across the country are indeed the ” anti-stimulus ” putting the pace of American economic recovery at risk. This week, the government restated its estimate of Q4 growth, lowering its forecast from 3.2% to 2.8%. The disappointing news from the Bureau of Economic Analysis can be attributed in large part to the very bad news from state and local governments. As the AP explained : Deeper spending cuts by state and local governments slowed U.S. economic growth in the final three months of last year. The government’s revised estimate for the October-December quarter illustrates how growing state budget crises could hold back the economic recovery… State and local governments, wrestling with budget shortfalls, cut spending at a 2.4 percent pace. That was much deeper than the 0.9 percent annualized cut first estimated and was the most since the start of 2010… The government revised fourth-quarter growth to reflect a steeper contraction in government spending than previously estimated. Government spending declined at a 1.5 percent rate rather than 0.6 percent, due to weak state and local government outlays. As the National Governors Association meets this weekend, “the financial emergencies — and what to do about them — will be issue No. 1.” Even with state and local tax revenues finally on the upswing, the worst may still be to come. What sickens me is the guileless way all of the panel act as if these Republican governors are saying what they mean. We need only listen to the Walker/”Koch” call to know that this union busting has NOTHING to do with “saving” the middle class. Hell, these public unions ARE the middle class: teachers, bus drivers, cops, firefighters. So where are these Americans getting the idea that they should support the Republican governors (that’s assuming that many do–the arguable “fact” implying that tea baggers are a greater percentage of the population that they are)? Because the media (I’m looking at you, panel) never, EVER connects the dots and points out the real world implications of the governors’ actions: How it will INCREASE unemployment and dependence of government services, how it will kill the middle class, how it will drive income ever upwards to the elite (who donate their money to which party?). No, the media will never talk about the real reason that the governors want to bust unions: so that there will be no entity that could possibly vie with conservative astroturf groups on the donation level, thus ensuring a permanent Republican majority . Let’s be clear: if the Republicans are successful in busting the unions, the only winners will be the uber-wealthy. The 99.99% of the rest of the country (literally) will all lose.
Continue reading …BJ Penn Vs Jon Fitch Fight Video Has Questionable Finish The BJ Penn vs Jon Fitch fight video is a tale of two bouts. The first half of the BJ Penn vs Jon Fitch fight video shows the two relatively even. However, Penn has the slight advantage heading into the final round, as Fitch starts a bit slowly. Yet he managed to get back in form and then some by the third round, as he utterly dominated the final few minutes. But despite the BJ Penn vs Jon Fitch fight video having such a lopsided ending, the fighters ended up dead even for the entire bout. ( Read BJ Penn vs Jon Fitch Fight Video more… ) WATCH: Dad BJ Penn vs Jon Fitch Fight Video: Fitch Should Have Won? Did BJs Daughter Watch? The much anticipated match up UFC 127 between B.J. Penn and Jon Fitch came to a pretty anti-climatic conclusion. There was no winner. There was no loser. The match ended in a tie with a majority draw. The seasoned champ B.J. Penn – and dad to two year old Aeva Lili’u – had a very tough match up with Jon Fitch. Many thought Fitch should have been declared the winner, including Fitch himself who said, “I thought [I deserved the win],” Fitch said. “I gave some positioning in the first two rounds, but I came back and did enough to at least win a split decision.” But two of the three judges thought it was a draw, the third gave it to Fitch with one point to spare. ( Read BJ Penn vs Jon Fitch Fight Video more… ) ฺฺฺ๋BJ Penn vs Jon Fitch Fight Video BJ Penn met Jon Fitch at UFC 127, where the bout declared draw. The event was held at Acre Arena in Sydney, Australia.The main headlined bout took place between BJ Penn and Jon Fitch. The match was settled with draw. In the Round 1: With the starting of the bout, Penn comes and tried for a takedown. But Fitch protects against the ring and they exchange knees. Penn pushing Fitch beside the cage but Fitch rotated. Fitch goes for a takedown. Fitch stopped and threw a mixture prior to dropping low for a takedown once more. In this way the bout continued. After that Penn shoves Fitch. Fitch pushing Penn against the cage once more and the round ended. The round ends 10-9 for Penn. ( Read BJ Penn vs Jon Fitch Fight Video more… ) Watch UFC 127 BJ Penn Vs Jon Fitch (full fight video) results: Fight settled to draw. Jon Fitch Vs BJ PennYesterday the Former UFC lightweight champion BJ Penn met Jon Fitch at UFC 127, where the bout declared draw. The event was held at Acre Arena in Sydney, Australia.The main headlined bout took place between BJ Penn and Jon Fitch. The match was settled with draw. ( Read BJ Penn vs Jon Fitch Fight Video more… ) BJ Penn vs. Jon Fitch Fight Video Ends With Fans Confused The BJ Penn vs. Jon Fitch UFC 127 fight video stunned viewers as the event ended with the main match in a majority draw. While Fitch was ahead on one card 29-28, the other judges saw the three round MMA bout as 28-28. (Media-Newswire.com) – The BJ Penn vs. Jon Fitch UFC 127 fight video stunned viewers as the event ended with the main match in a majority draw. While Fitch was ahead on one card 29-28, the other judges saw the three round MMA bout as 28-28. Fitch was trying to work his way back to a welterweight title fight with a win over Penn who also was trying to make a run at the title. But the match went south for Penn in the last round as he was continually pummeled by Fitch. ( Read BJ Penn vs Jon Fitch Fight Video more… ) WATCH: Dad BJ Penn vs Jon Fitch Fight Video: Fitch Should Have Won? Did BJs Daughter Watch? UFC 127 between B.J. Penn and Jon Fitch came to a pretty anti-climatic conclusion. There was no winner. There was no loser. The match ended in a tie with a majority draw. The seasoned champ B.J. Penn – and dad to two year old Aeva Lili’u – had a very tough match up with Jon Fitch. Many thought Fitch should have been declared the winner, including Fitch himself who said, “I thought [I deserved the win],” Fitch said. “I gave some positioning in the first two rounds, but I came back and did enough to at least win a split decision.” But two of the three judges thought it was a draw, the third gave it to Fitch with one point to spare. ( Read BJ Penn vs Jon Fitch Fight Video more… ) Sell out crowd for Fitch V BJ Penn UFC fans are gathering at Sydney’s Acer Arena for what promises to be a sellout day of fighting with the highlight Jon Fitch versus BJ Penn. The main action is set to start in a little over an hour. If you’re wondering about Jon Fitch’s intesnity for this afternoon’s fight, try telling him about the whisper gaining momentum in UFC circles and the bearded vegan can only chuckle. “Smartest fighter? Dunno about that,” he says, rubbing his chin. “I’ve been around plenty of people who intimidate me with their intelligence, so I can’t be that smart.” And yet he is. ( Read BJ Penn vs Jon Fitch Fight Video more… ) B.J. Penn vs. Diego Sanchez 2: Is This Inevitable? I received an interesting email from a reader wondering about the future of the welterweight division. The essential question was this: if B.J. Penn defeats Jon Fitch tonight at UFC 127 and Diego Sanchez defeats Martin Kampmann at UFC on Versus 3 next week, will they rematch? And if they do, will it look different than anything in this video (a clip from their first meeting at lightweight)? ( Read BJ Penn vs Jon Fitch Fight Video more… ) Watching UFC 127 – BJ PENN VS JON FITCH Full Fight – Youtube Online Video Related Searches : bj penn vs jon fitch, bj penn vs jon fitch video, bj penn, ufc 127 results, ufc 127 Courtesy : Associated Content , Babble , Hots Live , Freaky Gossip , Media Newswire & Herald Sun
Continue reading …BAC-167 Strikemaster Crashes into Hudson River A BAC-167 Strikemaster plane crashed into Hudson River on Saturday. The plane, a British-made military training jet – a BAC-167 Strikemaster plane – was owned by Dragon Aviation, Inc. of Wilmington, DE. ( Read BAC 167 Strikemaster more… ) BAC 167 Strikemaster Crashes Into Hudson River A BAC 167 Strikemaster plane crashed into the Hudson River near Kingston, NY at approximately 1:30pm EST on February 26, 2011. The vintage military jet was headed to Kingston-Ulster Airport from an airfield at Johnstown, Pa., when it went down. The aircraft made a low pass over the airstrip before hitting the river. According to MSNBC, the pilot, identified as Michael Faraldi, 38, of Germantown, was suspended late in the evening. ( Read BAC 167 Strikemaster more… ) NYSP Captain P J Regan – Youtube Video Courtesy : Salaswild Thoughts & Daily Postal
Continue reading …UFC 127 Results: Jon Fitch Beat B.J. Penn Says FightMetric FightMetric data shows in the main event of B.J. Penn vs. Jon Fitch at UFC 127, Jon Fitch may have actually done enough to win the fight. Feb 27, 2011 – There’s a handy rubric in mixed martial arts (MMA) that fortunately provides numerical, data-driven clarity in the days after major fights as controversy swells about judges’ decision: FightMetric. After last night’s UFC 127 main event between Jon Fitch and B.J. Penn – officially scored a majority draw – I was curious to see how FightMetric tallied the data. The conclusion? Jon Fitch didn’t draw B.J. Penn, he outright defeated. ( Read UFC 127 Results more… ) UFC 127 Results: Michael Bisping’s Actions, Words Inexcusable I’ve had enough of Michael Bisping. For a long time, Bisping just rubbed me, and a lot of people, the wrong way. Now, after his antics before, during and after his UFC 127 fight with Jorge Rivera, I simply abhor him. This could just be me, but Bisping is everything I despise in a human being all wrapped up in one package. He repeatedly throws around homophobic slurs like a high schooler, he cheats and he apparently lacks any traits to be the bigger and better man. ( Read UFC 127 Results more… ) UFC 127 Results: Next Moves for Chris Lytle, George Sotiropoulos, Other Losers For an event that featured no title fights, no especially compelling matchups and only one participant who even vaguely qualifies as a household name, UFC 127 sure left plenty to talk about. A couple of serious upsets and a couple of controversies ensure that the losers from Sydney will receive their share of those column inches. Here’s a quick look at the what the future may hold for those who came up short down under: ( Read UFC 127 Results more… ) UFC 127 Results: Dennis Siver Scores Huge Upset over Sotiropoulos UFC 127 results included a shocking result in the lightweight division. George Sotiropoulos had won seven of his last eight fights and appeared on the cusp of a title shot, but that will have to wait, after Dennis Siver won a unanimous decision over the promising lightweight on Saturday night in Sydney, Australia. Judges scored the fight 29-28, 30-28 and 30-27 for Siver. ( Read UFC 127 Results more… ) UFC 127 Results: B.J. Penn and Jon Fitch Fight to Draw B.J. Penn and Jon Fitch headed to likely rematch after fighting to a draw Jon Fitch must feel hellafied frustrated. B.J. Penn just feels lucky. All in all, UFC 127 was one of those cards that makes you think it is time for Dana White to start examining some free TV. 50 bucks was a stretch for this one. ( Read UFC 127 Results more… ) UFC 127 results: Michael Bisping finishes Jorge Rivera by knockout in round two The co-main event of UFC 127: “Penn vs. Fitch” from Sydney, Australia featured a heavily hyped match-up pitting Michael Bisping vs. Jorge Rivera. And it certainly came through with the necessary fireworks, as Michael Bisping exacted the revenge he wanted so badly with a second round technical knockout win over Jorge Rivera. Directly after, he walked up to a rocked “El Conquistador” and told him he needed to apologize for all the shit he talked in the lead-up to the fight. He even spit at Rivera’s corner. ( Read UFC 127 Results more… ) UFC 127 Results: B.J. Penn Vs. Jon Fitch Round 1 The main event for tonight’s UFC 127: Penn vs. Fitch is, naturally, B.J. Penn vs. Jon Fitch. UFC President Dana White said the winner of this bout was in line for a title shot. Would that be against Jake Shields? Or would it be against someone new? We won’t know until UFC 129, but tonight would answer who one-half of the equation would be. The referee in charge of the action is Herb Dean. ( Read UFC 127 Results more… ) UFC 127 Results: B.J. Penn Vs Jon Fitch UFC 127 made a trip down under to Sydney, Australia and by the time the night was over, the Aussie crowd was certainly given an excellent night of MMA Action. In the main event, B.J. Penn and Jon Fitch fought an outstanding battle in the octagon which seen the fight ruled a draw. The other pay per view matches on the card saw Michael Bisping beat Jorge Rivera by second round TKO; Dennis Silver defeat George Soitropolous by unanimous decision; Brian Ebersole win by unanimous decison over Chris Lytle; and Kyle Noke choke out Chris Camozzi for a submission victory. ( Read UFC 127 Results more… ) UFC 127 Results: Penn vs. Fitch Post-Fight Recap and Analysis The eyes of B.J. Penn told the story tonight. Holding back tears, Penn told Joe Rogan and the crowd in the Acer Arena that he wasn’t sure what he would do with his career if he had lost. He said that he would give Jon Fitch another fight if that’s what Fitch and the UFC wanted, but his eyes told a different story. B.J. Penn realized his limitations tonight. He’s had to come face-to-face with the notion that the rest of the sport has caught up to him. He may have escaped Australia with a draw, but Penn knows in his heart that Jon Fitch got the best of him tonight. ( Read UFC 127 Results more… ) UFC 127 Results: Penn Ties With Fitch After all the hype leading up to the UFC 127 main event featuring Jon Fitch and B.J. Penn a majority draw is not what people were hoping for. The fight was a back and forth affair for sure with Penn coming out of the gate like a truck trying to end Fitch’s night early. ( Read UFC 127 Results more… ) UFC 127 Results: Jorge Rivera’s Management Responds to Michael Bisping Fight UFC 127 results continue and Alchemist MMA, the team that manages UFC 127 fighter Jorge Rivera, offer a statement regarding their take on the fight with Michael Bisping. Feb 27, 2011 – Tonight’s fight between Jorge Rivera and Michael Bisping at UFC 127: Penn vs. Fitch was incredibly controversial. It wasn’t just the illegal knee in the first round. It was also the pre-fight smack talk and the post-fight antics from Bisping. Namely, spitting on Rivera’s corner and telling Rivera, “Loser, go home”. Alchemist MMA, who managers Rivera, sent this messge to SB Nation MMA along with other media outlets: ( Read UFC 127 Results more… ) UFC 127 results: B.J. Penn vs. Jon Fitch, Jorge Rivera vs. Michael Bisping, George Sotiropoulos vs. Dennis Siver, Chris Lytle vs. Brian Ebersole The following are the results of the UFC 127 undercard broadcast and pay-per-view, which took place on Saturday in Sydney, Australia. -Nick Ring defeated Riki Fukuda by unanimous decision. -Alexander Gustafsson defeated James Te Huna by first round submission. -Ross Pearson beat Spencer Fisher via unanimous decision. -Kyle Noke beat Chris Camozzi via first round submission in the first pay-per-view fight. -Brian Ebersole beat Chris Lytle by unanimous decision. ( Read UFC 127 Results more… ) UFC 127 Results: Michael Bisping Makes Jorge Rivera Pay UFC 127 results saw Michael Bisping deliver some punishment to Jorge Rivera. Heading into their middleweight showdown on Saturday night, Rivera got under Bisping’s skin with plenty of trash talking, but that only resulted in a beatdown, as Bisping forced a second-round stoppage in the UFC 127 co-main event. ( Read UFC 127 Results more… ) UFC 127 Results: Entertaining Night, but More Questions Than Answers (UFC 127: Penn v. Fitch; image courtesy of Getty Images) Recent highly successful televised StrikeForce events have like “Submissions Night” (aka ShoMMA 14) and “Knockout Night” (Strikeforce: St. Louis) have finally given the UFC matchmakers reason to pause — something that hasn’t happened since the days of PRIDE Fighting Championships. UFC 127, which went down Saturday night, was a bit mystery in terms of what viewers would get. On the one hand you had top-tier fighters like TUF 3 champion Michael “The Count” Bisping and former welterweight/lightweight champion, welterweight juggernaut Jo BJ Penn fighting on the card. On the other hand, two of those three (Penn and Bisping) haven’t exactly been at the top of their game of late. And much of the card was filled with names less recognizable to casual fans (many of whom were submissions-geared like George Sotiropolous. And there was no title fight. ( Read UFC 127 Results more… ) UFC 127 Results: Brian Ebersole Upsets Chris Lytle In UFC Debut The second fight on the pay-per-view main card of UFC 127: Penn vs. Fitch was Chris Lytle vs. Brian Ebersole. Lytle, originally slated to face Carlos Condit, was forced to fight Ebersole on late notice. Strangely, Ebersole walks into the cage with a Kimbo Slice-inspired chest hair shaving design. ROUND 1 – Lytle lands a nice body shot and follows to the head. Ebersole mostly pawing from the outside. The shots from Lytle seem more audible. Left hook from Lytle misses and Ebersole uses it to land a single leg takedown. Lytle transitions to a guillotine, but is reversed and now Lytle is on his back. Now the guillotine is without an arm, so Ebersole goes back down to the mat. He tries to stand, but Lytle hits a cradle and keeps him in place. Ebersole is sitting on his hip, but Lytle goes again for the guillotine this time from full guard. Lytle lets it go and stands. In a scramble, Lyle rolls for a kneebar, but nothing doing. Ebersole on top lands big elbows and shoulder strikes. ( Read UFC 127 Results more… ) UFC 127 Results: Brian Ebersole Shocks Chris Lytle for Cinderella Upset Brian Ebersole waited ten years to make his UFC debut but only took three rounds to shock UFC regular Chris Lytle at UFC 127. Ebersole, a huge underdog took all three judges cards, 29-28 (x 2) and 30-27. Ebersole opened the fight with a very unconventional and awkward carosel kick attempt that Lytle largely blocked. Lytle countered with a hard right hand. Ebersole shot in but Lytle easily stuffed it. Then he clinched and Lytle worked over Ebersole’s body. Ebersole shot in again and Lytle went for a guillotine but Ebersole reversed. Lytle then got top position as Ebersole worked his own choke attempt. Ebersole then got top position as a bleeding Lytle went after his neck. Lytle then went for a knee bar. Ebersole then landed some vicious ground and pound to end the round. Just before the round ended, Ebersole stood and spun his finger in the air in a dismissive gesture. ( Read UFC 127 Results more… ) UFC 127 Results: Noke vs Camozzi, Lytle vs Ebersole Kyle Noke vs. Chris Camozzi Round 1 : John Sharp is the referee for the first fight of the main card. The middleweights exchange leg kicks and both miss when they go to the head. Camozzi rushes Noke into the fence and scores with a combination, but eats a flurry in return from Noke and then gets tripped to the mat. Noke hops straight into mount and punches away, then rides all over the twisting Camozzi. The Australian takes Camozzi’s back and flattens him out with hooks, slipping in the rear-naked choke for the tap at 1:35 of the first frame. Chris Lytle vs. Brian Ebersole Round 1 : Steve Perceval is the referee for this clash of American welterweights. For his UFC debut, the Sydney-based Ebersole has shaved his chest hair into a large arrow, which points to his face. There is no touch of gloves as both men crouch low and stalk. Ebersole cartwheels forward and tries to plant his heels on Lytle’s face, but it’s blocked. Ebersole takes a right hand from Lytle and feigns shock as he walks it off around the perimeter. ( Read UFC 127 Results more… ) UFC 127 Results: Dennis Siver Derails George Sotiropoulos Dennis Siver scored a massive upset against top UFC contender George Sotiropoulos, winning by unanimous decision at UFC 127 in Sydney, Australia. The loss derails a Sotiropoulos title run, eliminating Australia’s best hope for a title shot. Siver will need another few wins to emerge as a contender. After some initial trading, Sotiropoulos shot in early and got stuffed. Then Sotiropoulos began to land standing. Sotiropoulos grabbed a kick and went for a take down, taking punches as Siver hopped on one foot. Siver escaped. Sotiropoulos shot and got tossed aside. Siver missed a flashly spinning head kick and Sotiropoulos answered with some punches. Siver began to score vicious punches to the head. Siver landed a huge left hook to the jaw. Sotiropoulos fell and Siver followed up to hurt him. Sotiropoulos shot in sloppily. Siver missed a spinning back kick to the body. Sotiropoulos was lucky to survive the first round. ( Read UFC 127 Results more… ) Related Searches : ufc 127, ufc 127 fight card, ufc 127 live stream, bj penn, bj penn vs jon fitch Courtesy : SB Nation, Bloody Elbow , Bleacher Report , The Faster Times , MMA Mania , E Canada Now , Chatter Shmatter , Pro Wrestling , Around The Octagon & E TidBits
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Click here to view this media From CNN’s Your Money , apparently we’re all supposed to think that there’s nothing that can be done to get rid of the income inequality in the United States that we’re seeing now because… hey, the rich just always figure out how to game the system. That’s just the way it goes. Our political dialog in this country has moved so far to the right that it’s taboo to even suggest that the fat cats on Wall Street and the have-mores should do more than throw the rest of us some crumbs to fight over or that heaven forbid these markets should be regulated. The rich win! Get over it suckers! If what’s going on in Wisconsin and around the country is any indication, the peons look like they’re not ready to settle for serfdom quite yet. VELSHI: Over the last decade, the income of 90 percent of the American public has remained stagnant. Take a look at this. The story changes dramatically for the other 10 percent. That bottom red line is 90 percent. That yellow line is the wealthiest 10 percent. The folks, the super wealthy, they’ve gotten richer; a whole lot richer while everybody else has stayed the same. Those superrich, by the way, account for one-half of America’s wealth. Top 10 percent, half of the American wealth. This does not sound like the America we knew. Christine, how do the rich become the superrich? ROMANS: The rich always come out on top when there’s an economic debacle. We’ve had the biggest economic debacle since the great depression. I never count out the rich for being able to figure out how to become richer. I think you can talk about how business has done, technology has allowed out sourcing — VELSHI: And mostly, working stiffs, Richard depend on their paycheck. Other people, the rich make money in other ways. They can invest in the stock market, they can invest in property like we’re talking about, and they buy the services of other people. QUEST: Look, look, it’s fundamental. If you are one of those people who was making money when you are asleep because some business is making it on your behalf, or you are one of those people who makes money because their money makes money, you’re going to be all right. But if you’re like most of us, which literally, and I challenge you, Christina, and myself, how many paychecks would it take before you are in trouble if you suddenly started losing them? Then, inevitably, it’s going to be that way. The rich have always sailed majestically on the good ship dollar big bucks. ROMANS: And you know, the rich take risks. And not all of us are big risk takers. And this has been a good world to take risks in, big risks, because you get bailed out if you fail, and if you win you win big, right? VELSHI: That’s exactly right. All right, guys, we’ll leave it at that. Great to talk to you all. Richard a pleasure to see you as always, Christine Romans.
Continue reading …From PoliticusUSA, a reminder that the massive media corporations just aren’t all that interested in covering anything that might give people (or politicians) ideas. After all, they’d rather pay out money in dividends than in salaries and benefits, right? Over 100,000 people in Madison, Wisconsin were joined by thousands of other Americans around the country in protest of Gov. Scott Walker’s attempt to strip collective bargaining rights from the state’s unionized workers, but you would not have known any of this if you watched cable news on Saturday as the coverage of the protests ranged from disappointing (MSNBC) to scant (CNN) to non-existent (Fox News). AFL-CIO spokesman Eddie Vale estimated that the crowd was over 100,000 people before the rally began at 3 PM. According to the Wisconsin State Journal, police estimated the crowd size at around 70,000 three hours before the rally began, “Madison police spokesman Joel DeSpain said the number of protesters around the Capitol is on the scale of last Saturday’s peak crowd of an estimated 68,000 and could swell even more for a 3 p.m. Hundreds of thousands of Americans around the country march on their governments in an event that would be a perfect fit for the 24 hour cable news cycle. Even better, the protests were occurring during the news cycle dead zone of Saturday afternoon. The coverage should have been everywhere in the media, but if you turned on your television in hopes of watching the rally from Wisconsin live, you were disappointed. As the official state run television of the Republican Party, Fox News has been openly and loudly supporting Gov. Walker. It is no surprise that the right wing network would ignore the events in Madison and around the country today. A propaganda outlet never spends much time relaying information that is detrimental to their message. CNN, which is supposed to be moderate network in the cable news ideological spectrum, sort of thought they should cover the story, so they did a few minute and half live cut ins here and there. No wall to wall coverage of course, but they at least managed to pull themselves away from celebrating the Tea Party long enough to take a quick glance at Madison. Yes, CNN wished a happy birthday to the Tea Party . No, I’m not making this up. You can read here about turnout in Los Angeles , Atlanta , Harrisburg PA , San Francisco , Charleston WV , Lansing MI , Salt Lake City UT , D.C., Annapolis MD and Richmond VA , St. Paul MN , NYC and Albany NY , Frankfort KY , Columbia SC , Boston MA , Albuquerque NM , Juneau AL , and Philadelphia PA. Were you there?
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Sally Kirkland Friends QA with Kurt Evans.mp4 2011 Oscar Predictions Oscars Red Carpet Exclusive Sneak Peak Academy Awards : Oscars Adapting to New Media? | NYConvergence.com With the constant update of technology and social media outlets, this year’s Academy Awards has been molded to fit both old and new media and to appeal to the relevancy of both. For example, the event will have live-streaming backstage … Watch The 83rd Annual Academy Awards Live Streaming | TRIP to View 83rd Academy Awards 2011 Go on Sunday, February 27, 2011 on the Kodak Theater, Hollywood in Usually are, California. This year annual ceremony to honor the very best films of 2011 can be hosted by actor Billy Franco and actress … Betting on the 2011 Academy Awards | Gambling911.com For those of you betting on the 2011 Academy Awards this weekend, look no further than Bookmaker.com, which features the widest selection on the Net. In Flex We Trust » (Photo) Lindsay Lohan Looking Nice at Academy … (Photo) Lindsay Lohan Looking Nice at Academy Awards Style Lounge. 02.26.11 | No Comments. Lindsay Lohan was spotted out at Kari Feinstein’s Academy Awards Style Lounge at Montage Beverly Hills yesterday. … Academy Awards Boost Los Angeles Economy – The Beverly Hills … Reuters Academy Awards Boost Los Angeles Economy The Beverly Hills Courier The Academy Awards are expected to create jobs for about 7000 people and genera… obiokere says: #jobs Academy Awards Special: Working the Oscars – The time is upon us once again: Hollywood's biggest night is just… http://ow.ly/1bwFSf
Continue reading …We must never again reduce foreign policy to the pursuit of profit | Ed Miliband
February 27, 2011 No CommentThe uprisings in North Africa have shown that Britain needs a more ethical approach to the wider world British citizens facing great danger in Libya have a right to expect more than David Cameron’s shambolic, incompetent government gave them last week. All of us have the right to expect a more coherent and principled foreign policy than the one on show: trying to pretend a trade mission for defence manufacturers and other businesses is a “democracy tour” really doesn’t cut it. But the wider truth is that all western governments are profoundly challenged by the chain of events that began, 10 weeks ago, with a young Tunisian man setting himself on fire in anger and desperation. The central assumption of the durability of long-standing and unpleasant regimes has been swept away. This change in circumstance has left many of the old orthodoxies seeming out of date and on the wrong side of history. All western governments have been taught a lesson: democracy has been shown to be valued by ordinary people in the Arab world as much as it was in eastern Europe in 1989 or in the western world before. Where this popular will exists, it is clear that stability based on the suppression of these demands is no genuine stability at all and serves neither the interests of the people of these countries nor those of the wider international community. We need to celebrate and embrace this new reality. Our true interests lie in supporting the development of democratic principles, strong civil society and entrenched individual rights in the Middle East and beyond. The extraordinary events of the past few weeks have served to underline that our alliances should be defined by our values, rather than our values defined by our alliances. Our approach must combine hard-headed internationalism and practical support for democratic values with better co-ordination to help achieve functioning self-determination in the region. So what should the new rules of the road be? First, we should be led by the people of these countries. Where there are clearly demonstrated demands for democracy, we should avoid the appearance of ambivalence. That is why we must say very clearly that Libya’s future after Colonel Gaddafi is as a country which upholds basic rights and freedom. Second, we must recognise that we should never reduce foreign policy to a narrow pursuit of commercial gain for Britain. Those who would claim ideological purity risk looking naive, but those who suggest our approach can be reduced simply to the demands of commerce risk our wider national interest if it leaves us bound tighter to regimes whose legitimacy is – at best – questionable. That is why we should also examine our arms sales to ensure that UK weaponry is not used for the repression of people in those countries. Third, the honest truth is that part of the support western governments offered the likes of President Mubarak was because he appeared to be a guarantor of stability in the region, including his welcome recognition of the need for the security of Israel. Above all, these events must spur us on to seek a solution to the Israeli/Palestinian conflict which matters to young Arabs in a way that would be foolish to ignore. This is seen as a litmus test of our sincerity. So I support the government’s efforts to get the peace process moving again and I regret the US administration’s decision to veto a United Nations resolution calling for a freeze on Israeli settlement building. The basis of a deal is clear: watertight security guarantees for Israel and a democratic Palestinian state. Fourth, the neocons were wrong to think we could impose democracy at the point of a gun. In this new era, soft power will often be a better way to achieve hard results. That is why support for civil society, the promotion of national assets such as the British Council and the BBC World Service, is so important. Our template should be the EU’s response to the democratic revolutions of 1989 which helped make change in eastern Europe irreversible, with economic aid, technical assistance and institution building. Against the odds, people are bringing about extraordinary change. Ripples of hope have spread out across a region and touched a new generation in many Arab states. That should give us all a sense of optimism about human progress and the power of people to change our world. We must be on the right side of their struggles. Arab and Middle East protests Foreign policy Tunisia Egypt Libya Bahrain Ed Miliband guardian.co.uk
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