NBC’s Williams: ‘Astounding’ Food Stamp ‘Numbers Would Come As a Huge Disappointment to’ LBJ
August 4, 2011 No Comment
On Wednesday's NBC Nightly News, anchor Brian Williams reported on another development in the Great Obama Recovery: “We saw some astounding new numbers that came out today. They showed the number of Americans relying on food stamps has hit another all-time record. These numbers would come as a huge disappointment to President Lyndon Johnson, who launched his War on Poverty back in 1964. Nearly 46 million of your fellow citizens are receiving food stamp assistance. That represents 21 million American households. Numbers went up in 49 out of 50 states.” Certainly discouraging numbers, but not astounding.
Continue reading …NBC’s Williams: ‘Astounding’ Food Stamp ‘Numbers Would Come As a Huge Disappointment to’ LBJ
August 4, 2011 No CommentOn Wednesday's NBC Nightly News, anchor Brian Williams reported on another development in the Great Obama Recovery: “We saw some astounding new numbers that came out today. They showed the number of Americans relying on food stamps has hit another all-time record. These numbers would come as a huge disappointment to President Lyndon Johnson, who launched his War on Poverty back in 1964. Nearly 46 million of your fellow citizens are receiving food stamp assistance. That represents 21 million American households. Numbers went up in 49 out of 50 states.” Certainly discouraging numbers, but not astounding.
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Enter the American psyche. A 60 Minutes/Vanity Fair poll sheds light on how Americans think and feel about eleven topics that range from Osama bin Laden to James Bond. Turns out, 24% of Americans polled have doubts that the al-Qaeda leader is actually dead, while 31% (the highest) chose the fictitious Brit as their adventure-seeking
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Merseyside dismisses Matrix squad constables over picture of them fooling around during raid on suspect’s home Five police officers from a force’s elite gun crime unit have been sacked after a photograph emerged of them “behaving inappropriately” inside a house they were supposed to be searching. Merseyside police said the five constables had been dismissed from the force, without notice, having been found guilty of gross misconduct after the picture came to light during a professional standards investigation earlier in the year. All five worked within the Matrix team – which tackles gun and gang violence in the Liverpool area – and played a major role in targeting those linked to the murder in 2007 of the 11-year-old Rhys Jones. The photograph shows the constables fooling around during a raid on a suspect’s home and posing for a picture on a mobile phone. It was discovered during an inquiry by the force’s professional standards department while it was investigating separate allegations that some Matrix officers had been taking items from raided homes and selling them on eBay. The inquiry has already led to the sacking of one sergeant from the team and the investigation into claims items were sold on eBay is continuing. Deputy Chief Constable Bernard Lawson said: “We expect the highest standards from our officers and these officers fell far short of that expectation. “Our residents and communities have the right to expect our officers to act professionally and with integrity at all times so that they can have confidence in the work that we do.” In May Sergeant Charles Tennant, 43, of the Matrix unit appeared before a fast-track disciplinary panel and was sacked for gross misconduct over the photo. Tennant and two constables remain on police bail in relation to the eBay probe. Lawson said: “As a force we believe it is important to take swift and decisive action when officers are found to have fallen short of the standards we expect and in this case we have done just that. “We are proud that over the past three years we have seen such significant falls in crime within Merseyside, particularly the 26% drop in gun crime. “That is in no small part down to the good work of the Matrix team. They do a difficult and demanding job but we are quite clear: high standards are non-negotiable.” Lawson said the overwhelming majority of Matrix officers were a credit to the force. “We are very proud to have them work for us,” he said. “I am disappointed that the actions of this small minority of officers has had a disproportionate impact on public confidence and our community relations. “I hope, by taking the action we have, that our communities can be confident in our commitment to high standards of conduct and our continuing determination to fight crime in Merseyside.” Matrix leads Merseyside police’s fight against drug-related gun and gang crime, which has blighted the Liverpool region. Police Liverpool Gun crime Sandra Laville guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …This mash-up is about right-wing violence and media figures who enable it. Set to a remix of three different versions of “The Outsider” by A Perfect Circle, this project has been greatly aided by David Neiwert’s spectacular blogging on the subject here. I also used several clips downloaded from this site, so it was literally impossible to make this without everyone here. Thanks to all of my fellow C & L’ers, and I hope they enjoy Maynard Keenan’s singing as much as I do.
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Conviction of Jaggu Pehelwan could be hindered by lack of willing witnesses, says arresting officer An alleged contract killer believed to be responsible for the deaths of more than 150 people has been arrested in India following a manhunt lasting more than a decade. Jaggu Pehelwan was detained by armed police in the city of Ghaziabad, in the poor and lawless northern state of Uttar Pradesh, on Monday night. Five shots were fired during his arrest but no one was hurt. Pehelwan, the leader of one of the most notorious criminal gangs in the city, has been formally charged with 30 murders over a 15-year criminal career and police believe he is responsible for around 130 more. Victims have included his own gang members suspected of disloyalty, rival criminals and scores of others, whom Pehelwan is accused of killing for cash. “Though he is officially wanted for 100 murder cases, he is suspected of killing nearly 165 people,” Anil Kaparwan, the police officer who arrested the fugitive, told local reporters. The case has revealed the deep problems of India’s law enforcement and justice system, where criminals routinely intimidate or bribe witnesses and judges. Kaparwan said that obtaining a conviction and getting his detainee imprisoned could be difficult. “There are hardly any witnesses [prepared to testify] against him,” he told the Mail Today newspaper. Pehelwan charged between £12,500 and £32,500 to kill, officials said, and had recently done a deal for two dozen murders for £200,000. Targets included a telecoms operator, a building contractor and a local party activist. He comes from a village near Ghaziabad and is believed to be in his mid-30s. He reportedly committed his first contract killing in 1998. The victim was a businessman in Delhi. Pehelwan is accused of murdering a hotel owner in 2003 and two property developers and a transport contractor in 2008. Last month he is alleged to have killed a local councillor in his neighbourhood. Officials said those who had commissioned the killings would now be tracked down and brought to justice. Pehelwan ranged over hundreds of miles in the north-west, but his base remained Ghaziabad. Like many wealthy criminals in India, he apparently hoped to use his riches to move into politics, a favoured means of laundering earnings, bolstering power and accessing lucrative contracts. His wife was elected – unopposed – as head of his local council. Pehelwan himself was reported to have hoped to stand in local state elections next year. India Organised crime Jason Burke guardian.co.uk
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Report shows 56 universities expect to be teaching fewer undergraduates once tuition fees rise More than half of England’s universities expect to be teaching fewer undergraduates next year when tuition fees rise to up to £9,000 per year, a report has revealed. The Higher Education Funding Council for England, which distributes money to universities on behalf of the government, requested institutions’ financial forecasts for the next three years. Its analysis shows 56 universities are anticipating a drop in the number of full-time undergraduates they take from the UK or the European Union next year. On average, universities expect a 2% fall, but one institution predicts a 20% drop and five others foresee decreases of more than 10%. Just under a quarter – 24% – expect an increase and a fifth anticipate no change. MPs voted in December to raise tuition fees for full-time undergraduates from £3,350 a year to up to £9,000 from the autumn of 2012. More than a third of English universities will charge £9,000 as their standard fee. The estimated average fee is £8,393, far higher than the government predicted, but this drops to £8,161 when fee waivers for less well-off students are included. The report reveals that universities expect the number of students from outside the UK and the EU to rise between 3% and 6%. A dozen universities expect their income from overseas students’ fees to go up by more than 100% in real terms between 2009-10 and 2013-14. Of these, three anticipate a more than 200% rise. But the funding council warns that the sector continues to operate on “very fine margins” which make insitutions vulnerable to “small changes”. It says universities will be in a “financially sustainable position” in the medium term, but some “will need to generate better financial results in the longer term”. No universities are close to risk of insolvency, it says. It warns universities not to rely too heavily on predictions of student demand and says that the main financial strength of the sector “remains in a small number of institutions”. “There is no certainty over the likely level of student numbers in the future,” it says. “We are aware that institutions have developed contingency plans to deal with changes in income.” Nigel Seaton, senior deputy vice-chancellor of the University of Surrey, said his institution and others were concerned that the government should fund higher education sufficiently, particularly at a time of change. He said that while English universities were good at recruiting overseas students, they would have to do something “very special” to achieve a rise in their income of 100% or more. He said universities were increasingly operating abroad. “Our model is a joint venture in China. That is another way to increase overseas income,” he said. Students Higher education Tuition fees Jessica Shepherd guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Is it something in the Potomac water? Why are so many politicians so blind to the economic suffering of Americans, and so consumed with austerity fever? Dan Froomkin with an excellent piece: For the weeks leading up to the agreement, Democratic and Republican leaders were essentially trying to out-austere each other. It’s that bipartisan enthusiasm for reducing the government’s budget — and the speed with which both parties abandoned a job-creating agenda — that left-leaning analysts say demonstrate how beholden elected officials from both parties have become to the rich, and how out of touch they are with the problems of the poor and the middle class. “If these people were rational policymakers, they would not focus on deficit reduction right now,” said Neera Tanden, chief operating officer at the Center for American Progress. “They would focus on stimulus right now.” “What’s crazy about Washington is that the only thing we talk about is deficit reduction; that nobody talks about jobs,” Tanden said. “It’s borderline insane.” To liberal economists like University of Texas professor James Galbraith, the explanation lies in what he calls the Washington elite’s “deficit hysteria.” From this perspective, the spending cuts signed into law Tuesday were the culmination of the investment of hundreds of millions of dollars by moneyed interests into the development and inculcation of a specific Washington consensus that anyone who doesn’t believe the government is dangerously overextended — and who doesn’t consider the danger of deficits as very, very serious — is a wild-eyed radical. “The rich have drawn a political box around what can be done here,” said Damon Silvers, policy director for the big umbrella union AFL-CIO. “They are gutting the modern state in order to avoid a real conversation about taxes.” Davig, the investment banker, said economic growth is not the most significant issue for Wall Street. “Everyone can live with a little bit of fiscal drag if there’s a little bit more stable macro landscape,” he said. “They’re happy to live with a little bit of fiscal drag.” And Galbraith said he thinks some of the super-rich out there, sitting on all that cash, are actually hoping for the economy to crash and burn. “The strategy of pursuing a deflationary strategy is a strategy that greatly benefits people with cash,” said Galbraith. “If you’re interested in deflating asset values, and you have cash with which to buy assets when things hit rock bottom, then you have a powerful interest in a deep depression.” “That’s certainly consistent with the banks holding 1.4 trillion [dollars] of reserves, which is absolutely unprecedented,” said Pollin, who backs a tax on excess reserves. ” That’s 10 percent of GDP .”
Continue reading …ABC’s Jon Karl Blames House GOP for FAA Shutdown, Skips Democratic Obstruction
August 4, 2011 No Comment
Good Morning America's Jon Karl on Thursday placed the blame for a partial shutdown of the Federal Aviation Administration on House Republicans, ignoring the role Senate Democrats have played. 4000 thousand FAA workers have been furloughed, construction projects have been stopped, but Karl complained, ” What's the hold up? Republicans are insisting on cuts to a program that subsidizes flights to small rural airports .” He then played a clip of Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer attacking, “It's the issue of hostage taking. It's as if someone puts a gun to your head and says 'give me your money' and you say, 'Why won't you give them their money?'” Democrats weren't mentioned once. The House has passed a short-term FAA funding bill through the September recess. As The Hill reported, “But Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) put a stop to those plans when he insisted on a 'clean' bill from the House, which will not return to Washington until Sept. 7.” Instead of explaining this, Karl focused on the Republican-controlled House. He narrated, “I caught up with the Republican House Transportation Secretary John Mica on the phone as he was leaving town. How can you leave town without it being resolved?” GMA viewers might be perplexed by Mica's response. He explained, “Well, last time I checked I didn't have a vote in the U.S. Senate.” This was the only time the word “Senate” was uttered in the whole segment. In a House letter that offered more information than a confusing four second clip, Mica informed: After 4 1/2 years and 20 previous extensions – 17 of which were passed by a Democrat-controlled Senate and House – Senate and House Democrats are now arguing that they don't like the process, but it's doubtful that complaining about the process is comforting to the families of those 4,000 furloughed FAA employees. As Redstate.com explained, there is a component of the standoff that relates to funding of little-used airports: The House bill cut a subsidy program to three rural airports, where the cost of subsidized flights was hopelessly uneconomical.
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University urges students and employees to stay inside and secure doors after sighting near scene of 2007 massacre Virginia Tech, the site of the 2007 mass shooting that killed 33 people, is in lockdown after reports of a man armed with a handgun on campus. The university issued an alert on its website at 9.37am telling students and employees to stay inside and secure doors. The alert said the gunman was reported near Dietrick Hall, a three-storey refectory building yards from the dorm where the first shootings took place in the 2007 attack by Seung-Hui Cho. Virgina Tech said that at 9.09am three young people attending a camp at the university reported seeing a white man with “what may have been a handgun”. The man was described as 6ft, with light brown hair, a blue and white vertically striped shirt, grey shorts and brown sandals. The report said he had no facial hair or glasses. The reported weapon was covered by a cloth or covering of some sort. The man was reported near New Residence Hall East, walking quickly in the direction of volleyball courts. Staff and agencies responded immediately but found no one matching the description. United States Virginia Tech shooting guardian.co.uk
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