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Bill Cunningham Threatens A "Peasant Uprising" Against Ohio Governor John Kasich

enlarge Bill Cunningham and John Kasich attend a Ohio Tea Party rally in 2010. Right wing talk radio host, Bill Cunningham, is a well known name in Cincinnati and nationally. His show on 700 WLW is heard by an estimated 200,000 listeners daily. He also hosts a weekly, syndicated show, “Live on Sunday Night, it’s Bill Cunningham”, which is carried by 300 stations nationally and is a regular guest on Hannity. In 2008, Cunningham made big waves during a campaign rally for John McCain when he constantly referred to Barack Obama as “Barack Hussein Obama”. That eventually lead to John McCain having to apologize for what Cunningham was saying. Cunningham admits being a Republican, which made his endorsement of John Kasich, the Republican running for Ohio Governor against incumbent Ted Strickland, no surprise in 2010. Now Cunningham is having a serious case of buyer’s remorse and on his show yesterday, Cunningham said he would lead a “peasant uprising” against the Governor if he doesn’t start changing his politics. Click here to view this media Cunningham was discussing the delayed construction of the new casinos in Ohio. Him and his guest, Todd Portune, a Democratic Hamilton County Commissioner, highlighted the loss of revenue Ohio has seen by Kasich constantly delaying these casinos, despite Ohio voters approving the construction of four casinos in 2009. This has cost Ohio an estimated $100 million in revenue so far. Cunningham then started agreeing with Portune as Portune was highlighting the radical agenda Kasich has been undertaking, including the recently passed SB-5 anti-collective bargaining bill, which is much like the recent bill passed in Wisconsin. As matter of fact, Kasich and Wisconsin Governor, Scott Walker, are very well aligned politically, including their rock-bottom approval ratings . Later in the show, Cunningham went on to apologizes to his listeners for ever supporting John Kasich. You can listen to the entire hour here .

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Fox guest Neal Boortz: Re-electing Obama like strapping on a ‘suicide vest’

Click here to view this media A “Fox News alert” broke the shocking news Friday that Rush Limbaugh was criticizing President Barack Obama’s handling of the economy. “The President of the United States is winning his war against the private sector,” the network quoted Limbaugh as saying. “He is destroying it. That is his mission.” “I’m glad the godfather has been reading my program notes,” conservative radio host Neal Boortz told Fox News host Alisyn Camerota. “I’ve been saying that for quite a while. It is Barack Obama’s intention.” “If people vote for Barack Obama next year, it’s like strapping on an economic suicide vest and giving the detonator to your ex-wife,” he declared. “Neal, wow,” Camerota said chuckling. “I’m glad you’re not mincing any words this morning.” Boortz added that there was no way Obama would be re-elected unless Republicans did something “stupid” like nominating Sarah Palin.

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England v Switzerland – live! | Jacob Steinberg

• Press refresh or turn on our automatic tool for the latest • Email jacob.steinberg.casual@guardian.co.uk for a chat • Click here to find out the latest scores around Europe • Follow Jacob on Twitter, if that’s your thing 16 min: Leighton Baines is warming up. It seems Ashley Cole is injured and will have to come off. He was caught on the ankle by Behrami in that last move. 14 min: Parker takes advantage of slack play from his former West Ham midfield partner, Behrami, and the ball rebounds to Bent. He charges towards goal, but with no support, he’s crowded out by four Swiss defenders. Immediately Switzerland counter, Barnetta loping into space where Johnson is nominally supposed to be. He slides the ball to the edge of the area for Behrami, but with a very presentable shooting opportunity, his touch is woefully heavy and Cole block-tackles him. 11 min: Switzerland are having the best of it at the moment. Liechsteiner bombs up the right flank from the back, before Wilshere foolishly trips him to the right of the area. Shaqiri’s left-footed cross is headed away by Terry at the near post, a terrific honour for the ball, I’m sure you’ll agree, but it’s lifted straight back into the area by Switzerland. Derdiyok controls it on his chest and then goes for the spectacular, the overhead kick. No luck, it’s miles over the bar. But full marks for the ambition. “When I see John Terry with his socks rolled up over his knees, I am reminded of Jane Fonda in her aerobics phase (not her Hanoi Jane phase),” says Gary Naylor. “Should I get out more?” You know the answer to that one.b 8 min: The warning signs are there for England already. Under little pressure outside his own area, Terry lazily plays a loose pass to Wilshere, facing his own goal. Unaware of what’s going on behind him, Wilshere’s on his heels as he’s brushed off the ball by Inler, who strides forward again and pings a shot goalwards. It takes a nick off Ferdinand, which makes the save much more awkward for Hart. He can only spill it, but then does brilliantly to save the follow-up from Derdiyok, who was offside in any case. 6 min: This is too simple. Where’s England’s midfield gone? Inler strolls through a great, gaping hole through the middle, easy as you like, England already on the beach. Earth to Parker! Inler’s touch lets him down and he loses the ball, but it rebounds to Barnetta on the edge of the area. He can’t get it under control though and it pinballs through for Derdiyok, who scuffs his shot straight at Hart from 12 yards out. 5 min: Hart dawdles over a backpass in the great style of Tomas Kuszcack and nearly has the ball robbed off him by Derdiyok. 3 min: Switzerland are all over the place at the back. From the left, Lampard whips a deep, high corner to the far post. Johnson, totally unmarked, leaps highest to meet it but his header is blocked by the star-jumping Benaglio. The ball bounces down three yards from goal, but as Johnson tries to poke it into the empty net, the keeper denies him again, smothering the danger. 2 min: Terry lofts a clever pass over the top of the gawping Swiss defence for Bent, who’s played onside by Ziegler. From the left of the area, he tries to slide it across for Walcott, who’s only denied by a terrific sliding challenge by Senderos. 1 min: Switzerland get us going, attacking from right to left. There are plenty of empty seats inside Wembley. Johnson knocks a long pass down the line for Walcott, but it bounces out of play. And so it begins. “John Terry is endlessly entertaining,” says Linda Howard. “It’s even the little things – like his penchant for wearing his socks above the knee as if they were ~stockings~. Surely bringing up the imagery of hosiery and the garter belt that seems to be missing(?) is a key component to being deemed EBJT. Maybe this is what bonds him on a personal level with Hiddink?” Darren Bent didn’t sing the national anthem. Nor did Fabio Capello. P45 please! Did you know that he’s not English by the way? Bill Chilton’s noticed the polaroid farce too. I love the bit when the pre match segment with the Polaroid pictures introducing the team with the sub Mo’wax bed track comes on,” says he. “No sorry, got the wrong word there. Meant ‘stab myself in the face with a ecoli infected cucumber’ rather than ‘love’.” The teams stroll out, and a jaunty beat plays out across Wembley. England, of course, are lead out by John Terry, which speaks volumes of them. On Scott Parker, placidcasual asks “Could we start calling him Group Captain Scott Parker?” ITV have just shown a segment of England’s players getting their photos taken individually, before scrawling their name on the results. Some highlights: Jack Wilshere isn’t old enough to have a signature and just wrote his name out in full. How adorable. John Terry decided his was a bit “serious”. Not serious enough considering his role as head of state. Theo Walcott said his was “good”. Our first email of the day comes from Luke Stevenson. Well done, it speaks volumes of you. “Ahhh good,” he says. “A segment on Jack Wilshere, I don’t feel like the English media has of yet put enough unbearable pressure on him so that when he inevitably makes one little mistake he will never recover from the verbal battering that the turncoat media will then dish on him. I’m excited.” Wilshere hasn’t even won the World Cup. Overrated. Speaking of young players, by the way, why wasn’t Daniel Sturridge named in this squad? He couldn’t have done much more. Wayne Rooney has had a hair transplant . What must Bobby Charlton make of it all? The teams are in. And Capello has sprung a surprise by choosing James Milner and Theo Walcott instead of Ashley Young and Stewart Downing. That’s an odd choice. Milner has been decidedly average for Manchester City and has struggled playing in a front three, while Young has been very impressive for England in his last few outings. One 0-0 coming right up. England (4-3-2-1): Hart; Johnson, Ferdinand, Terry, Cole; Parker, Wilshere, Lampard; Walcott, Milner; Bent. Subs: Green, Jagielka, Baines, Barry, Young, Downing, Zamora. Switzerland (4-5-1): Benaglio; Lichtsteiner, Djourou, Senderos, Ziegler; Shaqiri, Inler, Behrami, Xhaka, Barnetta; Derdiyok. Subs: Wolfli, Von Bergen, Emeghara, Dzemaili, Fernandes,Mehmedi, Margairaz. Referee: Damir Skominam (Slovenia). England v Switzerland is a fixture that tends to have about as much bite as Bleeding Gums Murphy, but that’s not the case any more. Oh no, with the FA having returned from Fifa’s Zurich-based Temple of Doom after a week of Cuddly Uncle Sepp poking them in the chest and asking what they’re gonna do about it if they’re so tough, Fabio Capello and his side will be under strict instructions to search and destroy in order to preserve the honour of this glorious nation. They’re for it now, the Swiss: insult the English and you’re basically saying Pippa Middleton’s backside isn’t all that. Wrong move Switzerland: you have awoken a sleeping giant. In summary then: It’s on! In reality: Not really. A year, then, since England took their comedy act worldwide and jetted off to South Africa for the World Cup. And didn’t they do well. Plenty has changed since then. Although plenty of the tinpot generation remain in the squad, there’s a tentatively positive feel about England at the moment. Give it until 4.46pm and the first misplaced hoof from Glen Johnson for that frankly unsettling sensation to dissipate. Joe Hart, the man with the golden gloves, has impressed in goal, Scott Parker and Jack Wilshere have hinted at a fruitful partnership in midfield, Ashley Young is finally starting to look comfortable in an England shirt and Darren Bent has three goals in his last three games. Not that they are anything near the finished article yet, and this still has the potential to be a frustrating experience for England, especially with Wayne Rooney. Indeed they haven’t won at Wembley since September, and in that time they have been given a footballing lesson in a friendly by France and laboured to a 0-0 draw against Montenegro in their last qualifier here. The latter means there’s not much room to manoeuvre for England; they only lead Group G on goal difference and still have to go to Montenegro. Six points off the top, realistically there’s more chance of Roland Bunce actually being made the face of Next than there is of Ottmar Hitzfeld’s Switzerland reaching Euro 2012, so for them, this is more about pride and making a nuisance. Should they cause England some bother, they can then sit back with some satisfaction and watch the wailing and flailing that usually accompanies such events. Switzerland have a fairly terrible record against England and have never won at Wembley, although they did poop the party at Euro 96 when they drew with the hosts in a dire opening game. That game was on the ever-excellent ESPN Classics the other day and seemed to consist of 90 minutes of Stuart Pearce launching it long from left-back. Last Saturday, Barcelona made difficult football look so simple; England always make the simple stuff look so hard. It’s a special occasion today, by the way, graced as we are by the presence of John Terry, who’s been making an exhibition of himself again. Here is talking about Guus Hiddink: “I kept in contact on a personal level. That speaks volumes for him.” Euro 2012 qualifiers England Switzerland Jacob Steinberg guardian.co.uk

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England v Switzerland – live! | Jacob Steinberg

• Press refresh or turn on our automatic tool for the latest • Email jacob.steinberg.casual@guardian.co.uk for a chat • Click here to find out the latest scores around Europe • Follow Jacob on Twitter, if that’s your thing 16 min: Leighton Baines is warming up. It seems Ashley Cole is injured and will have to come off. He was caught on the ankle by Behrami in that last move. 14 min: Parker takes advantage of slack play from his former West Ham midfield partner, Behrami, and the ball rebounds to Bent. He charges towards goal, but with no support, he’s crowded out by four Swiss defenders. Immediately Switzerland counter, Barnetta loping into space where Johnson is nominally supposed to be. He slides the ball to the edge of the area for Behrami, but with a very presentable shooting opportunity, his touch is woefully heavy and Cole block-tackles him. 11 min: Switzerland are having the best of it at the moment. Liechsteiner bombs up the right flank from the back, before Wilshere foolishly trips him to the right of the area. Shaqiri’s left-footed cross is headed away by Terry at the near post, a terrific honour for the ball, I’m sure you’ll agree, but it’s lifted straight back into the area by Switzerland. Derdiyok controls it on his chest and then goes for the spectacular, the overhead kick. No luck, it’s miles over the bar. But full marks for the ambition. “When I see John Terry with his socks rolled up over his knees, I am reminded of Jane Fonda in her aerobics phase (not her Hanoi Jane phase),” says Gary Naylor. “Should I get out more?” You know the answer to that one.b 8 min: The warning signs are there for England already. Under little pressure outside his own area, Terry lazily plays a loose pass to Wilshere, facing his own goal. Unaware of what’s going on behind him, Wilshere’s on his heels as he’s brushed off the ball by Inler, who strides forward again and pings a shot goalwards. It takes a nick off Ferdinand, which makes the save much more awkward for Hart. He can only spill it, but then does brilliantly to save the follow-up from Derdiyok, who was offside in any case. 6 min: This is too simple. Where’s England’s midfield gone? Inler strolls through a great, gaping hole through the middle, easy as you like, England already on the beach. Earth to Parker! Inler’s touch lets him down and he loses the ball, but it rebounds to Barnetta on the edge of the area. He can’t get it under control though and it pinballs through for Derdiyok, who scuffs his shot straight at Hart from 12 yards out. 5 min: Hart dawdles over a backpass in the great style of Tomas Kuszcack and nearly has the ball robbed off him by Derdiyok. 3 min: Switzerland are all over the place at the back. From the left, Lampard whips a deep, high corner to the far post. Johnson, totally unmarked, leaps highest to meet it but his header is blocked by the star-jumping Benaglio. The ball bounces down three yards from goal, but as Johnson tries to poke it into the empty net, the keeper denies him again, smothering the danger. 2 min: Terry lofts a clever pass over the top of the gawping Swiss defence for Bent, who’s played onside by Ziegler. From the left of the area, he tries to slide it across for Walcott, who’s only denied by a terrific sliding challenge by Senderos. 1 min: Switzerland get us going, attacking from right to left. There are plenty of empty seats inside Wembley. Johnson knocks a long pass down the line for Walcott, but it bounces out of play. And so it begins. “John Terry is endlessly entertaining,” says Linda Howard. “It’s even the little things – like his penchant for wearing his socks above the knee as if they were ~stockings~. Surely bringing up the imagery of hosiery and the garter belt that seems to be missing(?) is a key component to being deemed EBJT. Maybe this is what bonds him on a personal level with Hiddink?” Darren Bent didn’t sing the national anthem. Nor did Fabio Capello. P45 please! Did you know that he’s not English by the way? Bill Chilton’s noticed the polaroid farce too. I love the bit when the pre match segment with the Polaroid pictures introducing the team with the sub Mo’wax bed track comes on,” says he. “No sorry, got the wrong word there. Meant ‘stab myself in the face with a ecoli infected cucumber’ rather than ‘love’.” The teams stroll out, and a jaunty beat plays out across Wembley. England, of course, are lead out by John Terry, which speaks volumes of them. On Scott Parker, placidcasual asks “Could we start calling him Group Captain Scott Parker?” ITV have just shown a segment of England’s players getting their photos taken individually, before scrawling their name on the results. Some highlights: Jack Wilshere isn’t old enough to have a signature and just wrote his name out in full. How adorable. John Terry decided his was a bit “serious”. Not serious enough considering his role as head of state. Theo Walcott said his was “good”. Our first email of the day comes from Luke Stevenson. Well done, it speaks volumes of you. “Ahhh good,” he says. “A segment on Jack Wilshere, I don’t feel like the English media has of yet put enough unbearable pressure on him so that when he inevitably makes one little mistake he will never recover from the verbal battering that the turncoat media will then dish on him. I’m excited.” Wilshere hasn’t even won the World Cup. Overrated. Speaking of young players, by the way, why wasn’t Daniel Sturridge named in this squad? He couldn’t have done much more. Wayne Rooney has had a hair transplant . What must Bobby Charlton make of it all? The teams are in. And Capello has sprung a surprise by choosing James Milner and Theo Walcott instead of Ashley Young and Stewart Downing. That’s an odd choice. Milner has been decidedly average for Manchester City and has struggled playing in a front three, while Young has been very impressive for England in his last few outings. One 0-0 coming right up. England (4-3-2-1): Hart; Johnson, Ferdinand, Terry, Cole; Parker, Wilshere, Lampard; Walcott, Milner; Bent. Subs: Green, Jagielka, Baines, Barry, Young, Downing, Zamora. Switzerland (4-5-1): Benaglio; Lichtsteiner, Djourou, Senderos, Ziegler; Shaqiri, Inler, Behrami, Xhaka, Barnetta; Derdiyok. Subs: Wolfli, Von Bergen, Emeghara, Dzemaili, Fernandes,Mehmedi, Margairaz. Referee: Damir Skominam (Slovenia). England v Switzerland is a fixture that tends to have about as much bite as Bleeding Gums Murphy, but that’s not the case any more. Oh no, with the FA having returned from Fifa’s Zurich-based Temple of Doom after a week of Cuddly Uncle Sepp poking them in the chest and asking what they’re gonna do about it if they’re so tough, Fabio Capello and his side will be under strict instructions to search and destroy in order to preserve the honour of this glorious nation. They’re for it now, the Swiss: insult the English and you’re basically saying Pippa Middleton’s backside isn’t all that. Wrong move Switzerland: you have awoken a sleeping giant. In summary then: It’s on! In reality: Not really. A year, then, since England took their comedy act worldwide and jetted off to South Africa for the World Cup. And didn’t they do well. Plenty has changed since then. Although plenty of the tinpot generation remain in the squad, there’s a tentatively positive feel about England at the moment. Give it until 4.46pm and the first misplaced hoof from Glen Johnson for that frankly unsettling sensation to dissipate. Joe Hart, the man with the golden gloves, has impressed in goal, Scott Parker and Jack Wilshere have hinted at a fruitful partnership in midfield, Ashley Young is finally starting to look comfortable in an England shirt and Darren Bent has three goals in his last three games. Not that they are anything near the finished article yet, and this still has the potential to be a frustrating experience for England, especially with Wayne Rooney. Indeed they haven’t won at Wembley since September, and in that time they have been given a footballing lesson in a friendly by France and laboured to a 0-0 draw against Montenegro in their last qualifier here. The latter means there’s not much room to manoeuvre for England; they only lead Group G on goal difference and still have to go to Montenegro. Six points off the top, realistically there’s more chance of Roland Bunce actually being made the face of Next than there is of Ottmar Hitzfeld’s Switzerland reaching Euro 2012, so for them, this is more about pride and making a nuisance. Should they cause England some bother, they can then sit back with some satisfaction and watch the wailing and flailing that usually accompanies such events. Switzerland have a fairly terrible record against England and have never won at Wembley, although they did poop the party at Euro 96 when they drew with the hosts in a dire opening game. That game was on the ever-excellent ESPN Classics the other day and seemed to consist of 90 minutes of Stuart Pearce launching it long from left-back. Last Saturday, Barcelona made difficult football look so simple; England always make the simple stuff look so hard. It’s a special occasion today, by the way, graced as we are by the presence of John Terry, who’s been making an exhibition of himself again. Here is talking about Guus Hiddink: “I kept in contact on a personal level. That speaks volumes for him.” Euro 2012 qualifiers England Switzerland Jacob Steinberg guardian.co.uk

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Greenpeace activists force Arctic oil rig to stop drilling

Work suspended at Leiv Eiriksson rig off Greenland after protesters demand to know how owner Cairn Energy would cope with leak on scale of Deepwater Horizon An Arctic oil rig was forced to stop drilling by environmental activists demanding to know how its owner would respond to an oil leak on the scale of last year’s Deepwater Horizon spill. Edinburgh-based Cairn Energy said drilling was suspended at its Leiv Eiriksson rig off the coast of Greenland after 18 Greenpeace protesters breached a restricted area. The activists launched from the Greenpeace ship Esperanza in five inflatable speedboats from outside a 500m exclusion zone set up by Danish authorities. Campaigner Ben Ayliffe said: “Cairn Energy is hiding its oil spill response plan, so we’re going to the one place where there must be a copy of it. It’s obvious why Cairn won’t tell the world how it would clean up a BP-style oil spill here in the Arctic, and that’s because it can’t be done. “Experts say the freezing temperatures and remote location mean a deep water blow-out in this stunning pristine environment would be an irreversible disaster. If they published the plan, the dangers of investing in such a high-risk venture would be laid bare. We have to draw a line in the ice and stop the Arctic oil rush.” Cairn announced this week that it had begun drilling in two wells in the region. The two wells are approximately 160km and 300km off Nuuk, the capital of Greenland. Each drilling operation is in water deeper than 900m. Last week, two Greenpeace protesters occupied the company’s 53,000-tonne drilling vessel.They hung from the underside of the rig in an Arctic survival pod and had enough supplies to keep them there for 10 days, but were removed by Danish police. Cairn has asked a court in the Netherlands to legally prevent Greenpeace from disrupting any future deep-sea drilling operations. In a statement, the company said: “Cairn confirms that members of Greenpeace have boarded the semi-submersible drilling vessel, the Leiv Eiriksson, owned by Ocean Rig. The protesters have breached the safety exclusion zone and entered a restricted area on the rig. In accordance with the strict health and safety practices employed in this drilling programme and in order to ensure safe operating conditions, drilling has been suspended. “Cairn respects the rights of individuals and organisations to express their views in a safe and peaceful manner, but would be concerned with any action that presents a risk to the safety of people and/or equipment.” The company added: “Wherever it is active, Cairn operates in a safe and prudent manner. The Greenland Bureau of Minerals and Petroleum has established some of the most stringent operating regulations anywhere globally, which mirror those applied in the Norwegian North Sea. Cairn takes its responsibilities such as oil spill contingency and response plans very seriously. “Cairn, working closely with the Greenland authorities, has developed an extensive emergency response and oil spill response plan. As stipulated by Greenland Authorities, the oil spill response documents are not publicly available.” Greenland Greenpeace Oil and gas companies Oil spills BP oil spill Oil Activism Protest Oil Commodities Energy Fossil fuels Cairn Energy guardian.co.uk

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Greenpeace activists force Arctic oil rig to stop drilling

Work suspended at Leiv Eiriksson rig off Greenland after protesters demand to know how owner Cairn Energy would cope with leak on scale of Deepwater Horizon An Arctic oil rig was forced to stop drilling by environmental activists demanding to know how its owner would respond to an oil leak on the scale of last year’s Deepwater Horizon spill. Edinburgh-based Cairn Energy said drilling was suspended at its Leiv Eiriksson rig off the coast of Greenland after 18 Greenpeace protesters breached a restricted area. The activists launched from the Greenpeace ship Esperanza in five inflatable speedboats from outside a 500m exclusion zone set up by Danish authorities. Campaigner Ben Ayliffe said: “Cairn Energy is hiding its oil spill response plan, so we’re going to the one place where there must be a copy of it. It’s obvious why Cairn won’t tell the world how it would clean up a BP-style oil spill here in the Arctic, and that’s because it can’t be done. “Experts say the freezing temperatures and remote location mean a deep water blow-out in this stunning pristine environment would be an irreversible disaster. If they published the plan, the dangers of investing in such a high-risk venture would be laid bare. We have to draw a line in the ice and stop the Arctic oil rush.” Cairn announced this week that it had begun drilling in two wells in the region. The two wells are approximately 160km and 300km off Nuuk, the capital of Greenland. Each drilling operation is in water deeper than 900m. Last week, two Greenpeace protesters occupied the company’s 53,000-tonne drilling vessel.They hung from the underside of the rig in an Arctic survival pod and had enough supplies to keep them there for 10 days, but were removed by Danish police. Cairn has asked a court in the Netherlands to legally prevent Greenpeace from disrupting any future deep-sea drilling operations. In a statement, the company said: “Cairn confirms that members of Greenpeace have boarded the semi-submersible drilling vessel, the Leiv Eiriksson, owned by Ocean Rig. The protesters have breached the safety exclusion zone and entered a restricted area on the rig. In accordance with the strict health and safety practices employed in this drilling programme and in order to ensure safe operating conditions, drilling has been suspended. “Cairn respects the rights of individuals and organisations to express their views in a safe and peaceful manner, but would be concerned with any action that presents a risk to the safety of people and/or equipment.” The company added: “Wherever it is active, Cairn operates in a safe and prudent manner. The Greenland Bureau of Minerals and Petroleum has established some of the most stringent operating regulations anywhere globally, which mirror those applied in the Norwegian North Sea. Cairn takes its responsibilities such as oil spill contingency and response plans very seriously. “Cairn, working closely with the Greenland authorities, has developed an extensive emergency response and oil spill response plan. As stipulated by Greenland Authorities, the oil spill response documents are not publicly available.” Greenland Greenpeace Oil and gas companies Oil spills BP oil spill Oil Activism Protest Oil Commodities Energy Fossil fuels Cairn Energy guardian.co.uk

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One of the saddest stories in American politics, which happens all too often, is when small and medium sized community-based businesses lobby against common-sense regulations that would help them compete against the big-business conglomerates that dominate their industry. Because of a knee-jerk fear of any regulation, a lot of times the big companies will convince their smaller brethren to be the lead lobbyists fighting something that would actually go a long ways in helping the small guys have a more level playing field with the big dogs. The classic example lately is on banking policy. The six biggest banks in America control assets equaling more than 64 percent of our national GDP, and because they are Too Big To Fail, they end up getting major market advantages over smaller financial institutions. These Wall Street behemoths’ economic clout is making it harder and harder for credit unions and smaller community banks to survive, which is a terrible shame because they are the ones who do most investing in small businesses at the local level. In the financial reform bill that was passed last year, most of the regulations that were passed were designed to create oversight of these biggest banks and leave the smaller ones alone, since the problems that caused the financial collapse were all centered in what the big banks were doing, yet the smaller banks and credit unions frequently sided with the big banks out of a mindless fear of any regulation at all. One important aspect of this is an issue I have been working on a lot with a coalition of retail businesses and consumer groups, swipe fee reform. If you live in D.C. or in a state or congressional district targeted by the bankers, it’s tough to miss the ubiquitous and alarming ads about how Congress wants to take away your debit card. These confusing advertisements — sponsored by the Electronic Payments Coalition (read: Bank of America, Capital One, Citi, JPMorgan Chase, MasterCard, Visa, et al.) — imply that banks will be so robbed by the swipe fee cap in the 2010 Wall Street reform law that their customers will have to do without things like free checking and debit cards. A debit card “swipe fee” is what Visa and MasterCard charge retailers, and in turn consumers, for every transaction made with a card. The fees generally cost businesses 1 to 2 percent of every transaction, and handed $16.2 billion to the big banks in 2009. ( Banks and credit unions themselves have admitted the per transaction fees far exceed the actual cost of service.) Sen. Durbin offered an amendment to the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act that required the Federal Reserve to provide some regulation of debit card swipe fees so that the big banks who thoroughly dominate this market (Visa and MasterCard, which are subsidiaries of the big banks, represent more than 80 percent of the debit card market) couldn’t just charge any outrageous swipe fees. When Durbin offered his amendment 63 Senators voted for it, including some Republicans. But the big banks have plenty of money, lobbyists, and influence — and they keep chipping away at this. The Senate is expected to vote on an amendment to delay any swipe fee reform when they return from recess June 6. Small banks and credit unions have been convinced to help out their big Wall Street competitors, even though the Durbin Amendment exempts small banks by only applying the fee cap to banks and credit unions with $10 billion or more in assets. In fact, it is clear that small banks and credit unions would actually benefit from the Durbin Amendment . In its suit challenging the swipe fee cap in the U.S. District Court in South Dakota, TCF Bank shed some real light on how well the small bank exemption will work and help small banks compete with the previously unchecked Wall Street giants: If TCF begins charging its customers a “swipe fee” or a monthly fee for services, customers will switch to one of the 99 percent of banks not affected by the Durbin Amendment, which can continue to offer free checking/debit account and recover all related costs as they do today. Each TCF branch is surrounded by branches of competitors who are exempt from the Durbin Amendment. Indeed, in Minnesota, for example, only seven banks that accept deposits will be subject to the forthcoming Durbin Amendment regulations, while over 400 exempt banks and savings institutions (not counting credit unions) compete with TCF branches in Minnesota. Readers of American Banker, an industry publication, also agreed that small banks win under the Durbin Amendment: (T)here’s a healthy dose of skepticism, at least among American Banker readers, that some of the doomsday scenarios bankers are predicting (such as merchants pitching big-bank cards at the point of sale) will come to pass, according to the recent online poll. Sixty percent of online voters took the side of industry consultant Andrew Kahr, who wrote in a recent Viewpoint that the Durbin amendment will actually help banks under $10 billion in assets because the regulation exempts them from a pending 12-cent cap on interchange fees. The problem here is that those who oppose the Durbin Amendment can’t even get their story straight. It’s unfortunate that some community bankers have gotten caught up on the wrong side of this battle, but the bottom line still couldn’t be clearer. This is a straightforward fight between Main Street retailers/community banks/consumers and the Wall Street/big bank set. The community bankers and credit unions should be smart and get on the correct side of the issue. And Democrats who are helping the big banks over small Main Street businesses should have their heads examined, because those kind of politics make no sense. One final point: with the bad news today on jobs, and the Republicans’ determination that no new jobs legislation should pass through Congress, it is very clear that the only chance we have for making big improvements in the economy in the short term is by taking on these big Wall Street banks that are hoarding so much money. Swipe fee regulation injects money straight into the economy through lower retail prices and more money for struggling small businesses, so that is one important thing we can do. And we need to force these banks to start writing down mortgages on underwater loans, which would help revive the housing market and inject a major amount of new money into the economy because of lowered monthly house payments. The big banks have way too much of our money, and they aren’t making the loans that would create more jobs, so let’s free up some of that money to help the economy.

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One of the saddest stories in American politics, which happens all too often, is when small and medium sized community-based businesses lobby against common-sense regulations that would help them compete against the big-business conglomerates that dominate their industry. Because of a knee-jerk fear of any regulation, a lot of times the big companies will convince their smaller brethren to be the lead lobbyists fighting something that would actually go a long ways in helping the small guys have a more level playing field with the big dogs. The classic example lately is on banking policy. The six biggest banks in America control assets equaling more than 64 percent of our national GDP, and because they are Too Big To Fail, they end up getting major market advantages over smaller financial institutions. These Wall Street behemoths’ economic clout is making it harder and harder for credit unions and smaller community banks to survive, which is a terrible shame because they are the ones who do most investing in small businesses at the local level. In the financial reform bill that was passed last year, most of the regulations that were passed were designed to create oversight of these biggest banks and leave the smaller ones alone, since the problems that caused the financial collapse were all centered in what the big banks were doing, yet the smaller banks and credit unions frequently sided with the big banks out of a mindless fear of any regulation at all. One important aspect of this is an issue I have been working on a lot with a coalition of retail businesses and consumer groups, swipe fee reform. If you live in D.C. or in a state or congressional district targeted by the bankers, it’s tough to miss the ubiquitous and alarming ads about how Congress wants to take away your debit card. These confusing advertisements — sponsored by the Electronic Payments Coalition (read: Bank of America, Capital One, Citi, JPMorgan Chase, MasterCard, Visa, et al.) — imply that banks will be so robbed by the swipe fee cap in the 2010 Wall Street reform law that their customers will have to do without things like free checking and debit cards. A debit card “swipe fee” is what Visa and MasterCard charge retailers, and in turn consumers, for every transaction made with a card. The fees generally cost businesses 1 to 2 percent of every transaction, and handed $16.2 billion to the big banks in 2009. ( Banks and credit unions themselves have admitted the per transaction fees far exceed the actual cost of service.) Sen. Durbin offered an amendment to the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act that required the Federal Reserve to provide some regulation of debit card swipe fees so that the big banks who thoroughly dominate this market (Visa and MasterCard, which are subsidiaries of the big banks, represent more than 80 percent of the debit card market) couldn’t just charge any outrageous swipe fees. When Durbin offered his amendment 63 Senators voted for it, including some Republicans. But the big banks have plenty of money, lobbyists, and influence — and they keep chipping away at this. The Senate is expected to vote on an amendment to delay any swipe fee reform when they return from recess June 6. Small banks and credit unions have been convinced to help out their big Wall Street competitors, even though the Durbin Amendment exempts small banks by only applying the fee cap to banks and credit unions with $10 billion or more in assets. In fact, it is clear that small banks and credit unions would actually benefit from the Durbin Amendment . In its suit challenging the swipe fee cap in the U.S. District Court in South Dakota, TCF Bank shed some real light on how well the small bank exemption will work and help small banks compete with the previously unchecked Wall Street giants: If TCF begins charging its customers a “swipe fee” or a monthly fee for services, customers will switch to one of the 99 percent of banks not affected by the Durbin Amendment, which can continue to offer free checking/debit account and recover all related costs as they do today. Each TCF branch is surrounded by branches of competitors who are exempt from the Durbin Amendment. Indeed, in Minnesota, for example, only seven banks that accept deposits will be subject to the forthcoming Durbin Amendment regulations, while over 400 exempt banks and savings institutions (not counting credit unions) compete with TCF branches in Minnesota. Readers of American Banker, an industry publication, also agreed that small banks win under the Durbin Amendment: (T)here’s a healthy dose of skepticism, at least among American Banker readers, that some of the doomsday scenarios bankers are predicting (such as merchants pitching big-bank cards at the point of sale) will come to pass, according to the recent online poll. Sixty percent of online voters took the side of industry consultant Andrew Kahr, who wrote in a recent Viewpoint that the Durbin amendment will actually help banks under $10 billion in assets because the regulation exempts them from a pending 12-cent cap on interchange fees. The problem here is that those who oppose the Durbin Amendment can’t even get their story straight. It’s unfortunate that some community bankers have gotten caught up on the wrong side of this battle, but the bottom line still couldn’t be clearer. This is a straightforward fight between Main Street retailers/community banks/consumers and the Wall Street/big bank set. The community bankers and credit unions should be smart and get on the correct side of the issue. And Democrats who are helping the big banks over small Main Street businesses should have their heads examined, because those kind of politics make no sense. One final point: with the bad news today on jobs, and the Republicans’ determination that no new jobs legislation should pass through Congress, it is very clear that the only chance we have for making big improvements in the economy in the short term is by taking on these big Wall Street banks that are hoarding so much money. Swipe fee regulation injects money straight into the economy through lower retail prices and more money for struggling small businesses, so that is one important thing we can do. And we need to force these banks to start writing down mortgages on underwater loans, which would help revive the housing market and inject a major amount of new money into the economy because of lowered monthly house payments. The big banks have way too much of our money, and they aren’t making the loans that would create more jobs, so let’s free up some of that money to help the economy.

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Bozell on ‘Fox & Friends’: Media Promoting Obama Talking Points on Economy

An hour before the disastrous June jobs report was released yesterday morning, NewsBusters publisher Brent Bozell chatted with “Fox & Friends” anchor Brian Kilmeade about the media's spin job on the Obama economy. [See video of the segment embedded below the page break]

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Senior al-Qaida operative ‘killed by US missile strike in Pakistan’

Muhammad Ilyas Kashmiri, considered possible successor to Osama bin Laden, believed to be dead after drone attack A senior al-Qaida operative, regarded as one of the most dangerous militants in the world, has been killed in a US missile strike in Pakistan, according to a local intelligence official. The death of Muhammad Ilyas Kashmiri – thought to be a possible successor to Osama bin Laden – was another intelligence coup for the US, after its special forces killed bin Laden in Abbottabad, close to Islamabad on 2 May. “We are sure that he was killed. Now we are trying to retrieve the bodies,” said the Pakistani intelligence official. “We want to get photographs of the bodies.” It is not the first time reports of Kashmiri’s death have surfaced. He was reported to have been killed in a September 2009 US drone strike. Pakistani media said Kashmiri had been killed this time, quoting Harkat-ul-Jihad al-Islami (HUJI), the al-Qaida-allied group he headed. “We confirm that our Amir (leader) and commander in chief, Muhammad Ilyas Kashmiri, along with other companions, was martyred in an American drone strike on 3 June 2011, at 11:15pm,” Abu Hanzla Kashir, who identified himself as an HUJI spokesman, said in a statement faxed to a Pakistani television station. “God willing … America will very soon see our full revenge. Our only target is America.” The authenticity of the statement could not be verified. HUJI was behind the March 2006 suicide bombing of the US consulate in Karachi, in which four people were killed and another 48 wounded, the US State Department said. Other intelligence officials said earlier that late on Friday night, a US drone aircraft had fired three missiles at a militant centre in the village of Shwkainary, in South Waziristan, killing a total of eight militants, including five of Kashmiri’s supporters. The Pakistani Taliban, which has strong ties to al-Qaida, said earlier that reports of Kashmiri’s death were false. The US Department of State had described Kashmiri as a “specially designated global terrorist”, adding him to a list of high-profile militants. In March 2010, the US attorney’s office quoted in a statement a Chicago taxi driver charged with sending money to Kashmiri as saying the Pakistani militant told him he “wanted to train operatives to conduct attacks in the United States”. The Pakistani media had speculated that Kashmiri was the mastermind of a militant siege of a naval base last month which humiliated the country’s military. al-Qaida Global terrorism Pakistan guardian.co.uk

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