As Protesters Rally Nationwide to Support Wisconsin Workers CNN Features the Two Year Anniversary of the Tea Party
February 27, 2011 No Comment
Click here to view this media While protesters gather on their state capitals across the country to show their support for the workers in Wisconsin, CNN thought they’d take some time out letting us all know that their astroturf tea party Republican re-branding effort just turned two. Here’s some of what CNN managed to ignore today from TPM — Workers Of America Unite: Pro-Union Rallies Cropping Up Nationwide . And from D-Day at FDL — VIDEO: 100,000-Plus in Madison for Rally for Workers’ Rights . CNN transcript below the fold. TRAVIS (voice-over): Meet the woman who is considered, by many activists, to be the godmother of the Tea Party movement. MARY RAKOVICH, TEA PARTY ACTIVIST: You should know what you believe in and stand up for it. TRAVIS: She’s an anti-abortion rights, pro-environment vegetarian, with two bad hips, cared for Medicare. She may have been the first to publicly protest the stimulus in early February, 2009. It was outside an event in Fort Myers, Florida, where President Barack Obama was promoting his plan. (on camera): Critics might actually blame you, say, hey, this woman, Mary Rakovich, is responsible for the Tea Party movement. RAKOVICH: Well, I think they should look at Rick Santelli instead. TRAVIS (voice-over): He’s the CNBC host who, days after Rakovich, ranted on the president’s plan to help struggling homeowners. RICK SANTELLI, CNBC: How many of you people want to pay for your neighbor’s mortgage that has an extra bathroom and can’t pay their bills? Raise their hand. We’re thinking of having a Chicago Tea Party in July. TRAVIS: That went viral. Then Tea Party groups formed and the protests spread. The movement has seen political success, like helping Republicans take back the House, and setbacks, like being accused of tolerating racism and losing key elections. As we look toward the presidential election and the Tea Party’s impact, Sarah Palin may greatly benefit from her Tea Party ties if she runs. She’s even warned Republicans. (on camera): Governor, what if the Tea Party movement winds up splitting the Republican Party in two? Who will you stand with? SARAH PALIN (R), FMR. ALASKA GOVERNOR: You know, I don’t think that it will, because I think more of the machine within the GOP is going to understand that this “We, the people” message is rising because it’s just so full of common sense and time-tested truths that can put the economy on the right track, that heaven forbid that the GOP machine strays from this message. If so, the GOP is through.
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Commentary By Ron Beasley® It was almost an Egypt moment when over 100,000 showed up in Madison Wisconsin to protest Gov Scott Walker’s attempt to eliminate the freedom of government workers to organize. It became an Egypt moment when they were joined by the Wisconsin State Police. “Hundreds of cops have just marched into the Wisconsin state capitol building to… Broadcasting platform : YouTube Source : Newshoggers Discovery Date : 27/02/2011 04:55 Number of articles : 4
Continue reading …Chris Brown Blonde : Chris Brown Blonde Hair Singer, Chris Brown, has gone blonde! He recently tweeted this pictures of himself sporting a lighter hair color. The singer will see if blondes have more fun, or if blondes sell more records, the hair change comes at a time when Brown is set to release his latest album : FAME, due in stores March 22. ( Read Chris Brown Blonde more… ) THE LOOK: Chris Brown Goes Blonde Chris Brown recently made a personal change and revealed it to fans on Twitter. Breezy is definitely making a bold statement with his new blonde hair. This should definitely take some of the heat off his back after someone brought back the past by releasing more photos of Rihanna. Do we like? ( Read Chris Brown Blonde more… ) Chris Brown Blonde – Do You Like His New Look? This morning on Twitter, Chris Brown decided to tell his million plus fans that he’s now a blonde! The singer tweeted #LookAtMeNow and attached the picture that you see here. The new ‘do seems to be getting mixed reactions from his fans. After seeing the tweet, fans replied “Chris brown went amber rose on us? Whatever floats your boat homie,” and “What is Christopher Beige doing??” ( Read Chris Brown Blonde more… ) Chris Brown Debuts New Blonde Hair [Photo] While Chris Brown continues to promote his F.A.M.E. album due in stores March 22, the R&B singer has decided to debut a new colorful do’ and on Saturday the “Look At Me Now” singer took to his Twittter page to give fans a glimpse of his latest look, platinum blonde hair. Speaking to his 1 million plus followers he tweeted, “#LookAtMeNow” and added in a picture of his new look. ( Read Chris Brown Blonde more… ) Keri Hilson Eyeing ‘One Night Stand’ with Chris Brown as Next Single Keri Hilson already taught fans how to do the “Pretty Girl Rock” and unleashed her inner freak on “The Way You Love Me,” but she’s ready to show a softer side. The sexy songstress has revealed that the next single off her sophomore album No Boys Allowed will most likely be “One Night Stand” featuring Chris Brown, chosen after an outpouring of fan support. “My fans are really liking ‘One Night Stand’ with Chris Brown,” Miss Keri told Rap-Up.com. “I have a lot of favorites, but the fans are wanting ‘One Night Stand.’ It’s going to be my urban single. Not going to be, but if we go with it, we’ll go with that.” ( Read Chris Brown Blonde more… ) Chris Brown Goes Blonde How do you like him now? Singer Chris Brown tweeted a photo of himself early Sunday morning — but you might have a hard time recognizing him at first glance. Chris has apparently dyed his hair blonde, making a bold change to his look. He captioned his first blonde photo, “Look at me now.” ( Read Chris Brown Blonde more… ) Gratuitous Pop Pic: Chris Brown Unveils New Blonde Hair On Twitter Look at Chris Brown now. He’s a blonde! The r&b/pop superstar unveiled a brand new, much lighter hairdo on Twitter this morning (February 27) and it’s receiving mixed reactions from fans. “Chris brown went amber rose on us? Whatever floats your boat homie,” one fan tweeted. “What is Christopher Beige doing??,” said another. Whatever you think of the new hair color, you have to admit: Chris Brown dares to be different. We’ll be seeing a lot more of the new hair when Chris starts heavy promotion for his new album, F.A.M.E., due in stores March 22. ( Read Chris Brown Blonde more… ) Related Searches : chris brown blonde hair, chris brown twitter, bbc bitesize, chris brown with you, jordin sparks Courtesy : Long Island Press , Singers Room , Babble , Hip Hop Wired , Rap Up , Celeb Twitter News & Neon Limelight
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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On this day in history: Persian Gulf war ends; Elizabeth Taylor born; Mr. Rogers dies. (Feb. 27)
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Large numbers of police – and new tactics like shrill whistles and street cleaning trucks – squelched overt protests in China for a second Sunday after more calls for peaceful gatherings modelled on recent movements in the Middle East. (Feb. 27)
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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 …You Have More Money In Your Wallet Than Bank of America Pays In Federal Taxes
February 27, 2011 No CommentThink Progress features this piece on USUncut , the U.S. version of the United Kingdom grassroots movement that dares to ask the impertinent question, “Why should our public services be slashed when we have huge corporations who don’t even pay any taxes?” I think this movement has real potential — its success in Great Britain is grounded in its broadbased appeal. After all, not many people agree corporations should pay less in taxes than they do. Anyway, I hope you’ll check them out. The website has some good tips for organizing an action: In an interview with In These Times, Carl Gibson, the founder of US Uncut , which is organizing some of today’s UK-inspired massive demonstrations against tax dodgers, explains that while ordinary Americans are being asked to sacrifice, major corporations continue to use the rigged tax code to avoid paying any federal taxes at all. As he says, if you have “one dollar” in your wallet, you’re paying more than the “combined income tax liability of GE, ExxonMobil, Citibank, and the Bank of America “: [Gibson] explains, “ I have one dollar in my wallet. That’s more than the combined income tax liability of GE, ExxonMobil, Citibank, and the Bank of America. That means somebody is gaming the system .” Indeed, as politicians are asking ordinary Americans to sacrifice their education, their health, their labor rights, and their wellbeing to tackle budget deficits, some of the world’s richest multinational corporations are getting away with shirking their responsibility and paying nothing . ThinkProgress has assembled a short but far from comprehensive list of these tax dodgers — corporations which have rigged the tax system to their advantage so they can reap huge profits and avoid paying taxes: – BANK OF AMERICA : In 2009, Bank of America didn’t pay a single penny in federal income taxes , exploiting the tax code so as to avoid paying its fair share. “Oh, yeah, this happens all the time ,” said Robert Willens, a tax accounting expert interviewed by McClatchy. “If you go out and try to make money and you don’t do it, why should the government pay you for your losses ?” asked Bob McIntyre of Citizens for Tax Justice. The same year, the mega-bank’s top executives received pay “ranging from $6 million to nearly $30 million .” – BOEING : Despite receiving billions of dollars from the federal government every single year in taxpayer subsidies from the U.S. government, Boeing didn’t “ pay a dime of U.S. federal corporate income taxes” between 2008 and 2010. – CITIGROUP : Citigroup’s deferred income taxes for the third quarter of 2010 amounted to a grand total of $0.00 . At the same time, Citigroup has continued to pay its staff lavishly. “John Havens, the head of Citigroup’s investment bank, is expected to be the bank’s highest paid executive for the second year in a row , with a compensation package worth $9.5 million .” – EXXON-MOBIL : The oil giant uses offshore subsidiaries in the Caribbean to avoid paying taxes in the United States. Although Exxon-Mobil paid $15 billion in taxes in 2009, not a penny of those taxes went to the American Treasury . This was the same year that the company overtook Wal-Mart in the Fortune 500. Meanwhile the total compensation of Exxon-Mobil’s CEO the same year was over $29,000,000 . – GENERAL ELECTRIC : In 2009, General Electric — the world’s largest corporation — filed more than 7,000 tax returns and still paid nothing to U.S. government. They managed to do this by a tax code that essentially subsidizes companies for losing profits and allows them to set up tax havens overseas. That same year GE CEO Jeffery Immelt — who recently scored a spot on a White House economic advisory board — “earned total compensation of $9.89 million .” In 2002, Immelt displayed his lack of economic patriotism, saying, “When I am talking to GE managers, I talk China, China, China, China, China ….I am a nut on China. Outsourcing from China is going to grow to 5 billion.” – WELLS FARGO : Despite being the fourth largest bank in the country, Wells Fargo was able to escape paying federal taxes by writing all of its losses off after its acquisition of Wachovia. Yet in 2009 the chief executive of Wells Fargo also saw his compensation “more than double” as he earned “a salary of $5.6 million paid in cash and stock and stock awards of more than $13 million.” In the coming months, politicians across the country are going to tell Americans that the only way to stave off huge deficit and balance the budgets is by gutting programs for the poor, eviscerating support for the middle class, eliminating labor rights, and decimating the government’s ability to serve the public interest. This is a lie. The United States is the richest country in the history of the world, and income inequality is higher now than it has been at any time since the 1920′s , with the top “top 1 percentile of households [taking] home 23.5 percent of income in 2007. ”It is simply unfair for Main Street Americans who’ve already been battered by one of the worst economic crises in our history to have to continue to sacrifice while the rich and well-connected continue to rip off taxpayers and avoid paying their fair share. That’s why a Main Street Movement consisting of Americans who are fed up with the status quo is rocking the nation, and one of its first targets should be tax dodgers like Bank of America and Boeing.”
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GENEVA: The UN refugee agency today said that “close to 100,000 people”, mainly foreign migrants, have fled Libya to neighbouring countries during the past week of turmoil in the North African nation. “UNHCR emergency teams are working with Tunisian and Egyptian authorities and NGOs (non governmental organisations) to support close to 100,000 people that have fled the violence in Libya in the past week,” the office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees…
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