Two articles this weekend caught my eye as a great study in contrasts, one by George Will called Burning Down the House , the other by Frank Rich, titled Obama’s Original Sin . They both discuss the 2008 financial collapse and policies surrounding it, and they are both critical of some people in the Democratic Party, but the resemblance pretty much ends there. Will’s column is a particularly remarkable example of how modern corporate conservatives are so worshipful of the free market über alles that when they read something critical of it, they are only capable of recognizing the nuggets of anti-government and anti-Democratic Party analysis in it. Will’s column recounted how he had just read the book “Reckless Endangerment” by New York Times reporter Gretchen Morgenson and financial wunderkind Joshua Rosner, and how it is full of analysis documenting the terribleness of government, liberal policies, and Democrats. According to Will, that is the single overwhelming message of the book, that progressive policies of all kinds were responsible for the housing crash — that the Community Reinvestment Act, efforts to stop racial discrimination, Bill Clinton, and an old Mondale campaign aide who had become head of Fannie Mae created an evil vortex that destroyed the poor, benighted free market which would have sorted everything out nicely for everyone if left to its own devices. Of course, Will believed this before he read “Reckless Endangerment,” and has been making the same points in a number of columns for three years running. And he will believe all of this until the day he dies, no matter what books he reads in the meantime that might contradict this view. You know how I know this? Because “Reckless Endangerment” is not all about how perfect the free market is in the banking sector. The authors, who are brilliant writers on the financial sector whose columns and blog posts I have avidly read for years, are not free market banking apologists. They do have a lot of negative things to say about Fannie Mae, as they certainly should; it evolved into an out-of-control corporate monster that beat back every attempt at even modest regulation. But they are also extremely critical of the banking industry, and argue for a far tougher regulatory cop on the beat throughout the financial sector. You wouldn’t know that from Will, though: apparently the only sentences he read in the book were the ones critical of Fannie Mae and its CEO Jim Johnson, who had once been an aide to Walter Mondale. Will is an emblematic modern conservative. Everything about the free market is glorious, to be worshipped at some fundamentalist altar no matter its contradictions, and everything about the government (except defense) is evil. Any nugget of information you find that reinforces that worldview, you shout it out over the hilltops. But if you run across some facts and analysis, such as those in “Reckless Endangerment” that run contrary to that point of view, you just ignore it or forget about it. Frank Rich’s column was a classic one for him as well. He pulled no punches, being very critical of President Obama and his administration for their handling of the Wall Street banks and the economy in the wake of the 2008 financial collapse. But Rich’s approach was very different from Will’s. Rather than being blindly convinced that government is good or bad, Rich wants to know the answer to a simple question: Which side are the people who run our government going to be on? To me, that question is the most critical one there is when it comes to government policy. I don’t believe that government is inherently good — having lived through Vietnam, Watergate, J. Edgar Hoover’s corruption at the FBI, the massive deficit producing tax-cuts-for-the-rich policies of Reagan and Bush, the S&L crisis, financial deregulation, media consolidation, the Iraq war, Katrina, and the utter economic incompetence of the President George W. Bush economic years. I have no illusions that government as a whole is always on the side of most people. But what I want and believe in is a government of, by, and for the people — most especially for the people. Given the size and power of the financial industry, and other huge multinational corporations, I want a government that is on our side in making sure these massive companies don’t destroy our economy (again), and then demand bailouts (again) because they are too big to fail. I want a government on our side so that big insurance companies don’t tell people they can’t have coverage anymore because they got sick. I want a government on the side of senior citizens who have worked hard their whole lives and now want to live with some modest measure of dignity and economic security through Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid coverage. I want a government on the side of working class families thrown out of their jobs and homes through no fault of their own. I want a government that is on the side of our kids and helps them get a good education. I want a government that is on the side of small business and start-up entrepreneurs as they work their butts off trying to compete with huge corporations. The Republican Party and conservatives like George Will seems to have been captured lock, stock, and barrel by the wealthiest and most powerful special interests. That is the only side they are on, and the policies they are proposing will only make things worse — a whole lot worse — for regular folks. People like Frank Rich — and Rosner and Morgenson for that matter — are critical of Democrats when they get too close to those wealthy special interests. Rich argues that it is only by standing up the powers that be on the economy, and standing up for the middle class, that Democrats will find their political way. I couldn’t agree more.
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Newly released letters by the Catcher in the Rye author indicate he continued to write after 1965 New indications that JD Salinger did indeed leave behind a collection of unpublished manuscripts are given in a freshly unearthed correspondence from the author. According to the New York Times, the author of The Catcher in the Rye – who published nothing between the 1965 appearance of his novella Hapworth 16, 1924 and his death in 2010 – referred to “my manuscripts” in a 1982 letter to his old friend E Michael Mitchell. A letter to Mitchell in 1994 saw Salinger mention again that he was continuing to write. “I work on,” he wrote. “Same old hours, pretty much.” The three newly discovered letters to the late Mitchell, who created the dust jacket for the first edition of The Catcher in the Rye, were found by his girlfriend, Ruth E Linke. She has now sold them to the Morgan Library and Museum where 11 other letters from Salinger to his friend also reside . Among other things, they see the author writing of how he had to try hard “not to gag” while attending a graduation ceremony. “I’ve been going to graduations, and there isn’t much that I find more pretentious or irksome than the sight of ‘faculty’ and graduates in their academic get-ups,” he wrote in June 1982. A trip to Europe in 1994 warranted a description of Kafka’s Prague house as “a tourist trap”, and a complaint about the impossibility of finding “a decent, huge green salad” in European cities. The letters, reported the New York Times, are full of “regular-guy” comments from Salinger: he refers to his friend as “Buddyroo” and himself as “moron that I am”. Finding it hard to hear, the author writes that he needs subtitles when watching television – unless he is watching The Thirty-Nine Steps, which “I probably know by heart”. “Would that captions went with people’s foreheads,” he muses. A 1995 postcard, meanwhile, “can be described as an ode to cats”, said the New York Times, with Salinger writing “sometimes I can’t remember what I saw in Dogs for so many years.” JD Salinger Fiction Alison Flood guardian.co.uk
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Sergei Magnitsky died in 2009 while awaiting trial on tax evasion charges which colleagues say were fabricated A lawyer whose gruesome prison death spooked investors and blackened Russia’s image was probably beaten to death in pre-trial detention, the Kremlin’s human rights council has said. Sergei Magnitsky, a lawyer for the equity fund Hermitage Capital, whose British-based chief fell foul of the government during Vladimir Putin’s presidency, died in November 2009 after nearly a year awaiting trial on a tax evasion charge . Colleagues allege that the case against Magnitsky was fabricated by police investigators whom he accused of stealing $230m from the state through fraudulent tax returns and say his death was the result of a conspiracy led by the same officers. Magnitsky’s death has turned into a test of the Russian president, Dmitry Medvedev, who has vowed to reform a justice system he says is badly flawed but is seen as having made little progress since he was steered into the Kremlin by Putin in 2008. The report, which Medvedev’s human rights council presented on Tuesday, added to claims that Magnitsky had been mistreated and denied adequate medical care in jail, particularly in the last days and hours of his life. Shortly before his death, a prison doctor who complained that Magnitsky was acting irrationally summoned a team of eight guards, who handcuffed Magnitsky and took him to a small room, where a first aid unit was denied access, the report said. “Before his death, Magnitsky was completely deprived of medical help. Additionally, there are grounds to suspect that Magnitsky’s death was the result of a beating,” it said. “His relatives afterward found that he had broken fingers and bruises on his body. Moreover, there is no medical record for the last hour of his life.” The council, an advisory body that includes human rights and judicial reform advocates, also accused a judge of committing Magnitsky to pre-trial detention without just cause and suggested the tax fraud charges against him were fabricated. The council said the case against Magnitsky was marred by an obvious conflict of interest, because it was conducted by the same investigators he testified against after Hermitage accused interior ministry officers of a multimillion-dollar fraud. “The case linked to Sergei Magnitsky was investigated by the very same employees of the interior ministry and of the investigative committee against whom he made accusations,” the report posted on the council’s website said. “This conflict of interest testifies either to negligence or to a particular interest on the part of those leading the investigation.” Medvedev, who had ordered an official investigation shortly after Magnitsky’s death, made no public comment but said the report would be handed to investigators. Medvedev ordered the sacking of several prison officials after Magnitsky’s death, but former colleagues, including the Hermitage founder William Browder, say justice will not be done until the officers they blame face criminal charges. Rights activists say the fact that nobody has been prosecuted demonstrates Medvedev’s inability to make major changes and emerge from the shadow of Putin, who may return to the presidency in elections next March. Hermitage was once Russia’s biggest equity fund but Browder, who had campaigned for better corporate governance, has pulled money out of the country after he was denied entry in 2005 and relations soured. Lawmakers in countries including the US and the Netherlands have introduced legislation that puts travel restrictions on dozens of investigators, prosecutors, judges and other officials whom Hermitage blames for Magnitsky’s death. Magnitsky’s death sent a warning to potential investors in Russia, which trades at a discount to other emerging markets because of risks associated with corporate governance and misuse of funds, and drew fierce criticism from foreign governments. Russia Dmitry Medvedev Human rights Vladimir Putin guardian.co.uk
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Eight former officers accused of conspiring to pervert course of justice after wrongful convictions The case against eight former police officers accused of conspiring to “mould, manipulate, influence and fabricate evidence” after the murder of a woman who was working as a prostitute has been opened. One of the former officers is also charged with lying under oath during the trials of five men who were accused of murdering Lynette White in Cardiff in 1988. Two civilians are also in the dock at Swansea crown court accused of lying during those trials. The case, which is believed to be the biggest trial of police officers in British legal history, could last six months. White, 20, was stabbed to death at a flat in the docks area of Cardiff in February 1988. Stephen Miller, Yusef Abdullahi and Tony Paris were convicted of her murder in 1990 but freed on appeal in 1992. Two other men, cousins Ronnie and John Actie, were acquitted. The former police officers, Graham Mouncher, Richard Powell, Thomas Page, Michael Daniels, Paul Jennings, Paul Stephen, Peter Greenwood and John Seaford, deny conspiring to pervert the course of justice. Mouncher, a former detective inspector, also denies two charges of perjury. The two civilians, Violet Perriam and Ian Massey, each deny two charges of perjury. According to the charge sheet read out to the jury, the eight former officers made up evidence “relevant to the investigation of the murder of Lynette White” and the “alleged culpability” of the five men arrested over the killing. Perriam is accused of falsely claiming that she saw John Actie and others at or near the scene of the murder. Massey is alleged to have falsely claimed that Tony Paris had confessed to involvement in White’s murder. Mouncher allegedly lied in court about offering to assist Massey with parole as an inducement. After the jury was sworn in, the judge, Mr Justice Sweeney, warned it not to take notice of media reporting of the current trial or historic ones. He also told them not to talk about the case with their family or with anyone else via Facebook or Twitter. Nick Dean QC, prosecuting, said aspects of the case were unusual and complex. He told the jury that a trial of four others accused of conspiring to pervert the course of justice was likely to follow this one. It had not been possible to try them at the same time for practical reasons. The trial continues. Crime Police Wales Cardiff Steven Morris guardian.co.uk
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News of the World publisher seeks to defuse row by claiming editor was in Italy at time teenager’s mobile phone was hacked News International is planning to relieve the pressure on its beleaguered chief executive, Rebekah Brooks, by claiming she was on holiday when a mobile phone belonging to Milly Dowler was hacked into in 2002 by the News of the World, the paper she edited at the time. The Guardian understands that the company has established that Brooks, News of the World editor from May 2000 until January 2003, was on holiday in Italy when the paper ran a story which referred to a message that had been left on the teenager’s phone. The article, which was about a message left by an employment agency on the murdered schoolgirl’s mobile, was published on 14 April 2002. News International also believes Brooks was away in the two weeks following the murder of Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman in Soham. It is thought that mobile phones belonging to the parents of the two girls were targeted in the days following their death. That is likely to focus attention on Andy Coulson, who was Brook’s deputy at the time, and would normally have edited the paper in her absence. Coulson replaced Brooks as editor in early 2003 and has always maintained that he was unaware of any phone-hacking activity by the News of the World. News International declined to comment. On Tuesday night it passed a file to Scotland Yard which is thought to contain evidence that Coulson sanctioned payments to police officers. Coulson resigned as News of the World editor in January 2007, after Goodman and private investigator Glenn Mulcaire were jailed for intercepting the voicemail messages of members of the royal household, saying he accepted responsibility for what had happened but knew nothing about it. He resigned again as Cameron’s director of communications in January this year, maintaining that he was unaware of phone hacking by the News of the World but saying continuing coverage of the scandal “has made it difficult for me to give the 110% needed in this role” . News International is also investigating whether any News of the World journalists took cash that was meant to be paid to police officers in exchange for tip-offs and stories, and pocketing some of it themselves. • To contact the MediaGuardian news desk email editor@mediaguardian.co.uk or phone 020 3353 3857. For all other inquiries please call the main Guardian switchboard on 020 3353 2000. If you are writing a comment for publication, please mark clearly “for publication”. • To get the latest media news to your desktop or mobile, follow MediaGuardian on Twitter and Facebook . Phone hacking Newspapers & magazines National newspapers Newspapers News International News of the World Andy Coulson Rebekah Brooks James Robinson guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Kathy Griffin to Michele Bachmann: Were You Born A Bigot Or Did You Grow Into It?
July 6, 2011 No CommentNow, Kathy Griffin’s telling a few different versions of this story, so we don’t know if it’s literal. But I think we can assume that something close to this did actually happen, and if it did, good for her! Kathy Griffin had the extreme pleasure of bumping into Michele Bachmann at a political event; the two ladies recognized one another and when they started to speak an assistant filmed the exchange, supposedly for Bachmann’s website. Kathy, always on top of her game, decided to ask the tea party princess if she’d attend a rally to repeal DADT — and when Bachmann said no, Griffin followed up with, “Were you born a bigot or did you grow into one?” Boom.
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Ministers say emissions have been cut by 14% in the past year, compared to the 10% reduction that had been promised The UK government has exceeded its own targets for greenhouse gas reductions, ministers announced on Wednesday. Central government emissions were cut by 14% in the past year, compared to the 10% reduction that had been promised . The prime minister, David Cameron, applauded the effort but said he wanted to go further, pledging a 25% reduction in carbon from central government by the end of this parliament. Officials said the reductions in the last year were the result of energy-saving measures, such as turning down air conditioning and turning off lights, rather than staff cuts, which had largely not taken effect when the reductions were calculated. The new 25% commitment will mean an end to many of the perks enjoyed by ministers and civil servants, because travel will be included in the carbon targets for the first time. This will force senior MPs and officials to reconsider carbon-intensive travel such as ministerial cars and business class flights. The move is likely to mean officials have to ensure more flights are taken in economy, and there will be a higher bar to justify business class tickets, though some flights will still be taken in the more expensive cabin. Business class passengers are allocated a greater share of a flight’s CO 2 output because they occupy more space. Cameron made the decision with the backing of climate secretary Chris Huhne, but against wishes of some on the Tory right. Liam Fox, secretary of state for defence, which owns one of the biggest government estates, was against it. However, Cameron’s efforts to restore his government’s claim to be “the greenest ever” were undermined by his own MEPs on Tuesday, who staged a rebellion against the party line by voting against tougher emissions targets for Europe . The votes by 16 of the 23 Tory MEPs helped to swing the European parliament’s decision against more ambitious climate change targets. Carbon emissions Climate change Energy Green politics Fiona Harvey guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Bernie Sanders: Americans Think it’s Insane to do Deficit Reduction on the Backs of the Working Class and Poor
July 6, 2011 No Comment
Click here to view this media I think Bernie Sanders is one of the last people in the United States Senate that I can stand to listen to these days with all of this kabuki theater going on over raising the debt ceiling and the demands for deficit reduction on the backs of the working class and the poor along with Republicans drawing a line in the sand with their public refusals to raise taxes. Ed Schultz asked Bernie about former President Bill Clinton tossing the idea about lowering the corporate tax rates in America in exchange for closing some loopholes, which Sanders shot down. We all know how that would turn out after watching how the Republicans are negotiating in bad faith on the budget right now. They’d get Democrats to agree that the tax rates should be lowered and then stomp off when they tried to get them to agree to which loopholes to close. That or the only ones they’d go after are those that affect the middle class and not the rich. Bernie’s still out there asking people to sign his petition, which now has well over 100,000 signatures. If you haven’t signed yet, you can do so here .
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Prime minister takes more cautious approach than White House, telling MPs that Britain needs to know there is an end point The UK will withdraw another 500 troops from Afghanistan next year, as armed forces begin to transfer combat duties to the Afghan security forces, the prime minister announced on Wednesday. The decision comes a fortnight after President Obama said he intended to withdraw 33,000 US troops from the country by the end of next autumn. This announcement was a controversial move that went against the advice of commanders on the ground. David Cameron had also been under pressure to consider a more radical drawdown from the areas in Helmand province where the British are currently stationed, but he has taken a more cautious approach than the White House. Following advice from the National Security Council and military officials, who have warned that the situation remains fragile, Downing Street has chosen to keep troop numbers high until the end of 2012. Explaining to MPs why 500 extra soldiers could be withdrawn next year, Cameron told MPs that Afghanistan was entering a “new phase” and that “the country needs to know that there is an end point … This is right for the UK and it’s right for Afghanistan too.” Cameron said there was evidence that al-Qaida’s strength had been diminished and there was tentative signs that the Taliban was weaker too. “Afghan forces now stand ready to take over security … there has been real progress over the last two years.” In his statement to the House of Commons, Cameron said he was committed to ending the UK’s combat role in Afghanistan by the end of 2014. “It has given the Afghans a clear deadline against which to plan and has injected a sense of urgency into their efforts,” he told MPs. It is thought only 2,000 UK troops will be in the country by 2014, meaning there will be a sharp acceleration of the withdrawal process in 2013. The UK currently has 9,500 troops in Afghanistan. Ministers have already announced 450 troops will come home this year – almost half of them have already left. Later this month, the UK will hand over responsibility for security in the districts where British troops are based to the Afghan army and police. Earlier this week during a trip to Afghanistan, Cameron indicated there would not be a significant reduction for the next two summers, which are traditionally the “fighting seasons” for the military. “You have the enduring number of 9,500. You’re not going to see a radical change for the fighting season of next year,” Cameron said. “That’s not what this is about. 2014 is a deadline – be in no doubt. This is a matter of judgment. It is my judgment that it is right. The British people and the British military deserve to have some certainty.” The prime minister’s visit coincided with the death of another British soldier, the 375th to have been killed in the country since 2001. Scott McLaren, 20, disappeared from the vehicle checkpoint where he was stationed, early on Monday. His body was found 4km away after an extensive search . He had gunshot wounds, including one to the back of the head. Reports from Afghanistan continued to suggest that McLaren, a rifleman from the 4th Battalion the Royal Regiment of Scotland had left his post, possibly to go for a swim. However, the MoD remains sceptical of the stories. It is understood that CCTV footage of the checkpoint, in the Nahr-e-Saraj district, shows McLaren leaving the base on his own. Military Afghanistan David Cameron House of Commons Nick Hopkins guardian.co.uk
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Prime minister says he is ‘appalled’ by revelations about behaviour at News of the World, but BSkyB deal can go ahead David Cameron has bowed to pressure to hold public inquiries into the “absolutely disgusting” allegations of phone hacking by journalists at News of the World, and into the original police investigation into the scandal. The prime minister responded to the outrage provoked by the phone-hacking crisis at the Sunday tabloid after it emerged that Scotland Yard has started to contact the relatives of victims of the 7 July 2005 attacks to warn them they were also targeted by the paper . Pressed by the Labour leader, Ed Miliband, to conduct a full public inquiry, the prime minister said he was “appalled” by the revelations and agreed that it was important that inquiries were conducted that were “public, independent, and have public confidence”. He also signalled that News Corporation’s takeover of BSkyB would be allowed to go ahead. He rejected Miliband’s call for the matter to be referred to the Competition Commission, which he suggested would be illegal. Miliband told Cameron he had made a “catastrophic error of judgment” when he hired Andy Coulson as his director of communications. In a dramatic prime minister’s question time dominated by the hacking scandal, Miliband also accused Cameron of being out of touch with public opinion on the issue of BSkyB. Cameron told the Commons that the inquiries could not be started immediately because of the major police investigation currently under way, though he conceded it “may be possible” to start some of the work earlier. “We do need to have an inquiry, possibly inquiries, into what has happened,” Cameron said. “We are no longer talking here about politicians and celebrities, we are talking about murder victims, potentially terrorist victims, having their phones hacked into. It is absolutely disgusting, what has taken place, and I think everyone in this House and indeed this country will be revolted by what they have heard and what they have seen on their television screens.” He said there were two “vital areas” that needed to be considered: why the original police inquiry failed to “get to the bottom of what happened”, as well as the behaviour, practices and ethics of journalists and media organisations. Cameron said it was important that lessons were learned from “what has become a disgraceful episode”. The Labour leader called on Cameron to appoint a senior figure, possibly a judge, to lead the inquiry, which should have the power to call witnesses under oath. Miliband said the investigation should cover “the culture and practices of the industry, the nature of regulation … and also the relationship between the police and the media”. Cameron said he did not think it would be possible to investigate the original police inquiry until the new one had concluded. “Clearly, we can’t start all that sort of inquiry immediately because you must not jeopardise the police investigation, but it may be possible to start some of that work earlier,” he said. He offered to hold talks on the matter with other party leaders, attorney general Dominic Grieve and the cabinet secretary, Sir Gus O’Donnell. But he resisted separate calls by Miliband that the bid by News International to take control of BskyB be referred to the competition commission, saying that to do so would be “illegal”. Miliband said the public would react “with disbelief” if the deal went ahead in the next few days when News International was the subject of a major criminal investigation. But Cameron said the government had followed the correct legal processes, with Jeremy Hunt, the secretary of state for media, culture and sport, handling the matter in a quasi-judicial role. Only yesterday Miliband himself said that plurality issues were separate from News International ethics. The prime minister also refused to be drawn on whether Rebekah Brooks, News International chief executive, should stand down. Confronted by claims by Miliband that he had made a “catastrophic error of judgment” by taking on Coulson, the former editor of the News of the World embroiled in the latest wave of revelations, the prime minister said he took “full responsibility” for everyone he employs and appoint to work for him. The ramifications of the scandal continued to be felt by the News of the World through other channels as Halifax bank and Virgin Holidays cancelled adverts due to run in this Sunday’s paper. They followed in the footsteps of Ford which said on Tuesday it was suspending its advertising in the paper. Other companies, including the UK’s biggest advertiser, Procter & Gamble, have said they are reviewing their positions amid an online campaign urging firms to withdraw their advertising. The Metropolitan police commissioner, Paul Stephenson, also revealed that members of his force face investigation after it was reported on Tuesday night that News International had handed over details of payments made by the News of the World to police officers. He said the documents appeared to “include information relating to alleged inappropriate payments to a small number of MPS officers”. Stephenson said the matter would be investigated by deputy commissioner Sue Akers in conjunction with the Met’s Directorate of Professional Standards. He added that no senior officer had been implicated. Given that the reports relate to police payments allegedly made between 2003 and 2007, when Andy Coulson was editor, many commentators have suggested they are an attempt to relieve the pressure on Brooks, also a former editor. One of those put on alert that his phone may have been hacked, Graham Foulkes, whose son David was killed in the 7 July 2005 bombings, expressed his horror at the alleged intrusion and said he wanted to meet Rupert Murdoch . He told BBC Radio 4′s Today programme: “I’d really like to meet him face to face and have a very in-depth conversation with him about responsibility and the power that he has and how it should be used appropriately.” Simon Greenberg, director of corporate affairs at News International, told the Today programme that a meeting between Foulkes and Murdoch was “certainly something we would consider”. Greenberg insisted that News International was being “highly co-operative” with the police. In an interview with BBC Radio 5 Live, he said the organisation was “very close” to discovering who commissioned the alleged hacking of Milly Dowler’s phone. Asked whether he was clear that the hacking was not commissioned by Brooks, who was News of the World editor at the time, he said: “We are clear.” Phone hacking Newspapers & magazines National newspapers News of the World News International Newspapers David Cameron PMQs House of Commons David Miliband Hélène Mulholland Haroon Siddique guardian.co.uk
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