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Politicisation of Asylum Seekers

The way this issue of AS has been politicised is abhorrent .

Asylum seekers eventually become immigrants once processed-it is just the arrival and treatment while waiting for acceptance that is the cause for concern.

Just a few thoughts that are coloured by the fact that I, like many others, was born in a country that was occupied during WW2 and my father(in the resistance) was desperate to take us as far from Europe as possible.. With 4 children he only just scraped in by lying about his occupation as there was no demand for his skills. Once in NZ , the reality overwhelmed him at times but he could never return -lack of money, pride, children settled . While safe with a house and income , there was nevertheless huge grief at loss of family, language, culture, etc. hidden under pride and bravado. So even at the best of times, migration has a real downside.

At the time, Australian immigrants were sent direct into migrant camps whereas NZ allowed farmers to sponsor families directly, so there seems to be a history here of ‘grouping’, which, while supportive in many ways ,can also backfire when there are ill-feelings . By living separately in the community, we adopted the new country and language as our own much faster than my relatives who came here to Oz.

Have watched immigrants overseas in particular where they face discrimination and many spend much time looking over their shoulders, struggling with language often for a pittance not to mention the problems their children often face especially if their appearance is different. And resentment if they do too well. For every success there are many failures.

Criminals do slip through normal immigration channels anyway (Cosa Nostra, Chinese Triads, etc.) and the ‘political terrorist’ branding often depends on hue of government in power at the time (Habib now visiting Egypt is case in point) So I can’t understand why it takes so long to process residency applications other than it being used as a deterrent . ( Applies to UK, EU,etc. applicants as well .)

Unfortunately for Australia, too many want to come HERE- not anywhere else- and not just for refuge. Often those who really need to escape, can’t. Those on boats have paid agents often the last of their money ,as Jewish people did in the ’40s, and are not aware of the standard of boats they will be travelling on. I think children are often sent ahead as footholds, the same way the Chinese sent their kids here as students and then were able to immigrate under the family reunion scheme. I can’t blame people for wanting to improve their lives.

Immigration from Europe stopped once safety was re-established, living conditions improved and those who were unhappy in their new country spread the word of disappointment back home.

Now all these years later, while I can understand my father’s desperation and fear, I often wonder if he would have done it again, given a second chance. And he didn’t even risk life and limb on a leaky boat.

It would be interesting to know if any follow up has been done of those refugees who arrived in leaky boats and were eventually settled during the Howard years? Those women and children who were stuck behind razor wire, how are they now?

Legacy of a sad difficult problem, dangerously inflamed by one J.W. Howard.

1,520 replies on “Politicisation of Asylum Seekers”

How do we take control of the agenda from the GOP?
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Going a bit too far? Well perhaps. The GOP has abandoned the center ground of US politics and, like Tony Blair before him, Obama has apparently decided that all he needs to do is raise his colors on the center-right, and the Democratic Party can expect to hold office for a decade or more until the GOP finally comes to their senses.

As a political strategy for an office-seeker it is pretty much unbeatable. For those of us who care about policy outcomes rather than political outcomes, and who care about what is achieved rather than who gets to be driven around in the big car with a flag in front, it sucks.

In the midst of a recession with interest rates at zero the Washington policy debate is centered on the question of the long term deficit. At this point in the business cycle the sane economic approach for a government is to print and spend money until demand has caught up with capacity. Instead we are discussing the long term issue of the deficit because that is what the GOP wants to discuss.

More here…
http://www.americablog.com/2011/08/how-do-we-take-control-of-agenda-from.html

Does it ring a bell?

Customer: Hi. How much is your paint?

Clerk: Well, sir, that all depends on quite a lot of things.

Customer: Can you give me a guess? Is there an average price?

Clerk: Our lowest price is $12 a gallon, and we have 60 different prices up to $200 a gallon.

Customer: What’s the difference in the paint?

Clerk: Oh, there isn’t any difference; it’s all the same paint.

Customer: Well, then I’d like some of that $12 paint.

Clerk: When do you intend to use the paint?

Customer: I want to paint tomorrow. It’s my day off.

Clerk: Sir, the paint for tomorrow is the $200 paint.

Customer: When would I have to paint to get the $12 paint?

Clerk: You would have to start very late at night in about 3 weeks. But you will have to agree to start painting before Friday of that week and continue painting until at least Sunday.

Customer: You’ve got to be *&%^#@* kidding!

Clerk: I’ll check and see if we have any paint available.

Customer: You have shelves FULL of paint! I can see it!

Clerk: But it doesn’t mean that we have paint available. We sell only a certain number of gallons on any given weekend. Oh, and by the way, the price per gallon just went to $16. We don’t have any more $12 paint.

Customer: The price went up as we were talking?

Clerk: Yes, sir. We change the prices and rules hundreds of times a day and since you haven’t actually walked out of the store with your paint yet, we just decided to change. I suggest you purchase your paint as soon as possible. How many gallons do you want?

Customer: Well, maybe five gallons. Make that six, so I’ll have enough.

Clerk: Oh no, sir, you can’t do that. If you buy paint and don’t use it, there are penalties and possible confiscation of the paint you already have.

Customer: WHAT?

Clerk: We can sell enough paint to do your kitchen, bathroom, hall and north bedroom, but if you stop painting before you do the bedroom, you will lose your remaining gallons of paint.

Customer: What does it matter whether I use all the paint? I already paid you for it!

Clerk: We make plans based upon the idea that all our paint is used, every drop. If you don’t, it causes us all sorts of problems.

Customer: This is crazy!! I suppose something terrible happens if I don’t keep painting until after Saturday night!

Clerk: Oh yes! Every gallon you bought automatically becomes the $200 paint.

Customer: But what are all these, “Paint on sale from $10 a gallon” signs?

Clerk: Well that’s for our budget paint. It only comes in half-gallons.
One $5 half-gallon will do half a room. The second half-gallon to complete the room is $20. None of the cans have labels, some are empty and there are no refunds, even on the empty cans.

Customer: To hell with this! I’ll buy what I need somewhere else!

Clerk: I don’t think so, sir. You may be able to buy paint for your bathroom and bedrooms, and your kitchen and dining room from someone else, but you won’t be able to paint your connecting hall and stairway from anyone but us. And I should point out, sir, that if you paint in only one direction, it will be $300 a gallon.

Customer: I thought your most expensive paint was $200!

Clerk: That’s if you paint around the room to the point at which you started. A hallway is different.

Customer: And if I buy $200 paint for the hall, but only paint in one direction, you’ll confiscate the remaining paint.

Clerk: No, we’ll charge you an extra use fee plus the difference on your next gallon of paint. But I believe you’re getting it now, sir.

Customer: You’re insane!

Clerk: Thanks for painting with Qaintarse.

gaffhook,

The Library do not officially keep such information, as it is considered too political. However, unofficially, they do have tables of how the independents vote in the House of Representatives. I am not sure if these will help you or not. But if you want them I can email them through (can you email me on david.gould@aph.gov.au or davidchegould@bigpond.com so I can be sure I have your correct email address).

Daviv, don’t worry about it mate i just thought there may have been a part of hansard like the US houses where you can easily find out how a rep voted.

Excellent piece from Bernard Keane in today’s Crikey.
An Australian bill allowing foreign govts to demand user data on a vast scale from telcos is at a crucial stage
http://t.co/nvmchWG

Possible big breakthrough for the NBN. Killer application. Other than faster porn.

Demetriou hints at AFL TV.
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ANDREW Demetriou has floated the possibility the AFL’s latest television rights deal, which will provide $1.12 billion over the next five years, could be its last.

The league’s chief executive has provocatively suggested that instead of allowing television networks to broadcast matches, and then keep the resulting advertising and subscription proceeds, the AFL could stream matches directly to customers of the national broadband network.

The plan would be in keeping with an AFL strategy to increase its profit margins, which has included creating an in-house media division to offset the profit-diminishing influence of middlemen.

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/demetriou-hints-at-afl-tv-20110815-1ius3.html#ixzz1VAo0DsZF

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Chris

That sort of thing will be the norm in 3-5 years time.
Murdoch will be selling fresh air as far as sports goes.
It will be dirt cheap to buy a direct telecast from the sporing body and cut out mordor. I can’t wait to see it happen.

Stand by for more breaking news on the phone hacking front via @Bynickdavies on twitter.
Should be on the Guardian website by aprox 10 pm AEST 16/8/11

Phone-hacking scandal: live
Key developments in the phone-hacking scandal as they happen, as James Murdoch’s evidence to MPs is questioned and Tom Watson MP says new evidence will be ‘dynamite’

http://www.guardian.co.uk/

Oops! 😆

Rupert Murdoch, James Murdoch and their former editor Andy Coulson all face embarrassing new allegations of dishonesty and cover-up after the publication of an explosive letter written by the News of the World’s disgraced royal correspondent, Clive Goodman.

In the letter, which was written four years ago but published only on Tuesday, Goodman claims that phone hacking was “widely discussed” at editorial meetings at the paper until Coulson himself banned further references to it; that Coulson offered to let him keep his job if he agreed not to implicate the paper in hacking when he came to court; and that his own hacking was carried out with “the full knowledge and support” of other senior journalists, whom he named………

http://t.co/wEprBmd

115
gaffy, they’re not worms…They’re fucking great big snakes!! 😆
Oh this is going to be a fun time for Rupert and the clan 👿

Paddy

Commonly known as your chickens coming home to roost, trouble is they are the size of emus and they are about to kick the fucken house down. 😆

A former News of the World reporter has alleged that there was a massive cover-up of phone hacking at the paper.
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Clive Goodman, the former royal reporter jailed for his role in phone hacking, wrote a letter in 2007 claiming that phone hacking was “widely discussed” at editorial meetings, and that former editor Andy Coulson offered to let him keep his job if he agreed to say in court that he was a rogue element within the paper.

The claims are deeply damaging to Coulson, who has always maintained that he did not know about the hacking going on at his paper. They are also politically perilous for Cameron, who took Coulson on even as evidence mounted against him. Moreover, they raise fresh danger for James and Rupert Murdoch, both of whom claimed to know nothing about hacking. Before the documents were released, the select committee for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport announced that it is “likely” to recall James Murdoch when Parliament resumes in September.

The letter was one of several documents published by a parliamentary committee on Tuesday afternoon. The Guardian’s Nick Davies saw the letters before they were published.

No credibility whatsoever. Awesome news!!!!!!

More guys…
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/16/phone-hacking-cover-up-news-of-the-world-clive-goodman_n_927939.html

James Murdoch Could Be Recalled As ‘Devastating’ Papers Cast Doubt Over His Evidence.
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James Murdoch may be recalled to parliament to give evidence on phone hacking, an MP has indicated, after new evidence was released by a select committee that revealed inconsistencies in several key witnesses’ testimonies.

Described by MP Tom Watson as “devastating evidence”, the documents released on Tuesday include a letter by Clive Goodman to his former employer News International in which he claims phone hacking was widespread and known about by senior figures in the company.

Former News of the World Editor Andy Coulson has come under fresh criticism as a result of the new evidence.

The law firm Harbottle & Lewis, whom Rupert Murdoch said made “major mistakes” in an investigation of emails relating to phone hacking, also released evidence to the committee. It attacked Murdoch’s “self-serving” version of events, and said that its investigation had been very limited by the design of News International.

More here…
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2011/08/16/phone-hacking-select-comm_n_927925.html

Both of the Democratic Wisconsin state senators up for recall elections have survived.
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The Democrats targeted in Tuesday’s election were among the 14 senators who fled the state in February in opposition to Republican Gov. Scott Walker’s proposal curbing public employee collective bargaining rights.

Both won in recalls against Republican challengers.

Democrats picked up two seats through the nine recalls but were unable to wrest majority Senate control away from the GOP, which now holds a narrow 17-16 majority. Before the recalls, Republicans had a 19-14 edge in the chamber.

Democratic Sen. Bob Wirch of Pleasant Prairie defeated Kenosha attorney Jonathan Steitz, and Sen. Jim Holperin of Conover beat tea party Republican Kim Simac of Eagle River.

A third Democrat won a recall election last month. Two Republicans were defeated in six recall elections last week.

Even though they remain in the minority, Democrats were savoring Tuesday’s victories.

More here…
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/16/wisconsin-recall-election-results_n_928846.html

I wonder if mr Cameron is about to deliver his profound apology and then followed by his resignation speech.

The letter that suddenly popped up mysteriously in the middle of the August holidays is further proof, if any is needed, that the hacking scandal is starting to unravel at increasing speed and moving closer and closer to the centre of power in News Corporation.

Anyone who has been involved at any stage must be feeling like a looter whose face was caught on CCTV and picture published in the newspapers. It is only a matter of time before the police get around to calling if they haven’t already.

The Select Committee has wisely left the biggest fish of all – James Murdoch – for now, to allow some more of the evidence to simmer.

Instead they have called a number of senior people who will all have a grievance about how they have been badly treated or taken for scapegoats: Crone – the former legal manager, Colin Myler – the former NotW editor, Daniel Cloke – the former NI human resources director and Jon Chapman – former NI legal affairs director.

http://mediatel.co.uk/newsline/2011/08/17/at-last-the-smoking-gun-that-has-been-missing-from-the-hacking-affair/

Just when you thuoght the Americans couldn’t go much lower than electing George W as president……

If Rick Perry and George W. Bush had been born in the same family, W would have become known to friends as “the smart one.” ……….

…….Perry thinks of W as a country club Republican, a politician too willing to work out deals. Bush doesn’t think of Perry much at all. The people who want Jesus as a screensaver on every computer in public schools, call women who have had abortions “baby killers,” think that being a homosexual is a “lifestyle choice,” and are convinced that humans once saddled up and rode west on dinosaurs; these people all made Bush uncomfortable. But Perry loves them. He shares many of their beliefs. They helped elect him governor.

And they might just make him president.

http://edition.cnn.com/2011/OPINION/08/17/moore.perry.bush/index.html?hpt=hp_c2

Murdoch USA. The smoking gun!
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By 2006 Emmel said he was increasingly concerned about what he alleged were improper practices on the part of his employers. He alleged that News America was engaging in “criminal conduct against competitors” and using “deceptive and illegal business practices” to defraud its retailer customers out of money owed. He claimed he had “substantial oral and documentary evidence” to support his allegation that the company had defrauded its own customers, used anti-competitive techniques against rival companies, and fraudulently inflated its reported earnings unbeknown to its shareholders.

More juicy bits here….
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/aug/17/whistleblower-murdoch-empire

Riot sentence rift opens between Liberal Democrats and Conservatives.
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Two of the most significant figures in the British legal establishment have made urgent warnings about tough sentencing for riot-related offences as the split in the coalition over the response to last week’s violence dramatically widened.

Lord Macdonald, who led the prosecution service in England and Wales for five years, warned that the courts risked being swept up in a “collective loss of proportion”, passing jail terms that lack “humanity or justice”.

Meanwhile his fellow Liberal Democrat peer Lord Carlile, the barrister who was until this year the government’s independent adviser on terrorism strategy, warned against ministerial interference in the judicial process, arguing that “just filling up prisons” would not prevent future problems.

David Cameron, who last week promised severe punishments for rioters, saying he hoped courts would use “exemplary” sentences to deter future riots, praised the sentencing decisions, which have included two jailed for four years each for inciting riots on Facebook – riots that never took place – and one person sent to prison for six months for stealing £3.50 worth of water.

Asked about the Facebook case, the prime minister said: “They decided in that court to send a tough message and I think it’s very good that courts are able to do that.”

But Carlile suggested the sacrosanct separation of powers between the government and the judiciary was being put at risk by comments from some ministers. He told the Guardian: “I don’t think it’s helpful for ministers to appear to be giving a steer to judges. The judges in criminal courts are mostly extremely experienced and well capable of making the decisions themselves. Ministers should focus on securing the safety of the public.”

How the worm turns.

More here…
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/aug/17/riots-sentence-liberal-democrats-conservatives

Another greenbottle accidentally falls. :mrgreen:

His move to the US makes his arrest, the 13th made by Operation Weeting, particularly significant. If Desborough was involved in hacking while in Britain, as police appear to believe he was, it raises the question of whether he practised those techniques in the US – and if so, whether he was the first and only News of the World journalist in the US to do so………………

Desborough continued to win plaudits after his move to America. Ian Halperin, a Hollywood author, described him as someone who “never gets his facts wrong. He’s a rock solid reporter.” Hollyscope, an online site, also praised Desborough for “seem[ing] to have information that not even close family members … know.”

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/aug/18/phone-hacking-news-of-the-world?CMP=twt_gu

How charming if he never gets his facts wrong in hollywood because they find out he is getting these never wrong facts simply by hacking phones.

Looks like they’re all ganging up on poor little Syria.
Via twitter.
BREAKING — In a joint statement, French President Sarkozy, German Chancellor Merkel and UK PM Cameron have called on Assad to resign.

Jen,

I am seriously worried about Rick Perry getting the nomination at this point. Obama’s numbers are going through the floor and the economy is crashing, with no good news in sight for the US.

This means that even a lunatic like Perry has a chance of beating Obama at this point – indeed, some polls show that in a head-to-head match up he is only five points behind.

We always need pessimists like me to remind us that the US voted Bush in twice, the second time with a bigger margin than the first time. If they can vote in Bush then there is a chance that they might just vote someone less benign and less intelligent.

As such, I am seriously starting to consider that for the good of the world we want Romney to win the nomination even if that makes it more likely that Obama will lose the election. I would rather a 40 per cent chance of a Romney presidency than a 25 per cent chance (or even a 10 per cent chance) of a Perry presidency.

Romney is, after all, pretty much as liberal as you would expect from someone from Massachusetts – pro-choice, believes in global warming, believes in universal health care (although not a national system) and so on. He might even be pro gay marriage if you strapped him to a lie detector …

I share your worry David. I don’t think I’m quite as pessimistic as you, but I do feel there is a real, if small chance, they could elect Perry as President. Worse than Bush? – it’s really hard to wrap my mind around what the US might do under a Perry presidency.

Still, whenever there are polls measuring Obama against individual candidates, he’s winning so far. A long way to go.

And I’m feeling so sad about the loss of the three incredible ABC staff, Paul Lockyer, Gary Ticehurst and John Bean. I’ve been tearing up all morning listening to the ABC even though I don’t know them personally. Just so tragic.

The twitterverse does come up with some amusing stuff:

MightyChewbacca Ross McGregor
Meanwhile in LNP Policy Unit… Sophie Mirabella sprays mace into the eyes of kittens… #auspol

Kasich Opponents: Repeal Your Anti-Union Law — Then We’ll Talk.
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The Ohio labor and progressive-backed political group that is behind the referendum to repeal Gov. John Kasich’s new law, which would weaken collective bargaining rights for public unions, has a response to his offer on Wednesday for compromise: We’ll sit down and talk — after you repeal the bill in its entirety.

“We are asking you for a fresh start, and that fresh start must begin with a full repeal of Senate Bill 5,” the group declared in a letter released Thursday, with emphasis in the original.

“A complete repeal of Senate Bill 5 would go a long way toward creating an environment for compromise, restoring trust in government by the electorate and setting the table for meaningful negotiations about creating jobs, rebuilding Ohio’s economy and moving the state forward.”

More here…
http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/08/kasich-opponents-repeal-your-anti-union-law—-then-well-talk.php?ref=fpa

David “We always need pessimists like me to remind us that the US voted Bush in twice, the second time with a bigger margin than the first time. You left out one very important fact.” Following the events of 911. Otherwise polls prioir to 911 indicated he would not be returned.

Obamas low numbers concern me too David. At the moment he is still higher than the alternative. Note: At the moment.

Also worth noting. Obama has just swung into campaign mode and is touring some states by bus.

Polls against generic opponents show Obama doing better. Mind you if the Republicans could find a good candidate Obama would be in trouble.

The huge financial mess the world is in just happens to coincide with the world being dominated by conservative governments.

Obama’s Economic Numbers: Down, Down, and Up.
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A New York Times/CBS poll conducted directly after the debt deal was announced showed that despite all the pessimism, respondents still trusted President Obama more to make decisions on the economy (47 percent) than Republicans in Congress (33 percent). Perry is certainly not in that group, nor is former Mass. Gov. Mitt Romney. But for either to make headway in the polls and take advantage of Americans’ economic gloom, they will have to show it.

More here…

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/08/obamas-economic-numbers-down-down-and-up.php?ref=fpb

Perry’s War With the Bushies.
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Karl Rove and his operatives appear to have launched a campaign to derail Rick Perry’s 2012 bid, beginning with criticisms that he is ‘unpresidential.’ Matt Latimer on a decade-old feud over power and money.
Just because Karl Rove is behind a plot doesn’t necessarily mean it won’t work. That we’re still talking about the former Bush aide at all is a testament to his singular tenacity.
ow has he done it? The man helped elect the Pelosi Congress—it was Rove who in 2006 was in charge of holding on to GOP majorities in the House and Senate. He helped elect Barack Obama—insisting that John McCain was the only “electable” Republican in 2008 and bad-mouthing most of the others running. His indispensable support of his boss’ overspending and government bailouts even helped create the Tea Party, which has bedeviled Rove and other GOP establishment figures ever since.

More here…
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2011/08/17/rick-perry-s-war-with-the-bushies-why-karl-rove-is-fighting-his-2012-bid.html

Tea Party: The Christian Right in Disguise?
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New research confirms that the Tea Party firmly unites right-wing politics and evangelical Christianity, a fact so problematic that it can make even Christine O’Donnell speechless.
On Wednesday night, former Tea Party candidate Christine O’Donnell walked off the set of Piers Morgan Tonight after refusing to answer a question about gay marriage. She said she hadn’t come on the show to deal with “a rude talk- show host, but to talk about my book and talk about the issues I address in my book.” Meanwhile, Michele Bachmann, once an outspoken social conservative, has reduced her comments on gay marriage to vague statements like “I’m not judging anyone” and “I think my views are clear.”
Tea Party candidates like O’Donnell and Bachmann have campaigned on libertarian economic platforms, leading some commentators to dig into old Ayn Rand novels for the source of this new economic populism. But what they’ve missed is that the Tea Party’s obsession with the size of government has been part of Christian conservatives’ platform for decades. The Tea Party was just a new name coined by clever activists and the media—a rebranding that has made it much easier for Christian-right candidates to run for office without having to air their views on social issues, which are increasingly viewed in a negative light by the general public.

More here…

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2011/08/18/tea-party-is-it-the-christian-right-in-disguise.html

Is the SEC Covering Up Wall Street Crimes?
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A whistle-blower claims that over the past two decades, the agency has destroyed records of thousands of investigations, whitewashing the files of some of the nation’s worst financial criminals.

Imagine a world in which a man who is repeatedly investigated for a string of serious crimes, but never prosecuted, has his slate wiped clean every time the cops fail to make a case. No more Lifetime channel specials where the murderer is unveiled after police stumble upon past intrigues in some old file – “Hey, chief, didja know this guy had two wives die falling down the stairs?” No more burglary sprees cracked when some sharp cop sees the same name pop up in one too many witness statements. This is a different world, one far friendlier to lawbreakers, where even the suspicion of wrongdoing gets wiped from the record.

That, it now appears, is exactly how the Securities and Exchange Commission has been treating the Wall Street criminals who cratered the global economy a few years back. For the past two decades, according to a whistle-blower at the SEC who recently came forward to Congress, the agency has been systematically destroying records of its preliminary investigations once they are closed. By whitewashing the files of some of the nation’s worst financial criminals, the SEC has kept an entire generation of federal investigators in the dark about past inquiries into insider trading, fraud and market manipulation against companies like Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank and AIG. With a few strokes of the keyboard, the evidence gathered during thousands of investigations – “18,000 … including Madoff,” as one high-ranking SEC official put it during a panicked meeting about the destruction – has apparently disappeared forever into the wormhole of history.

More here…

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/is-the-sec-covering-up-wall-street-crimes-20110817

Russ Feingold Not Running In 2012
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Dashing the hopes of many Wisconsin progressives, former Democratic senator Russ Feingold announced on Friday that he will not be running for the state’s open U.S. Senate seat or governorship in 2012.

The news went out in an email message sent to Wisconsin supporters of Progressives United, his political action committee (PAC), and was first reported by Craig Gilbert of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

“While I may seek elective office again someday, I have decided not to run for public office during 2012,” said Feingold.

“This was a difficult decision, as I thoroughly enjoyed my tenure in both the State Senate and the U.S. Senate, and I know that progressives are eager to reverse some of the outrageous policies being pursued by corporate interests at both the state and federal levels. I am also well aware that I have a very strong standing in the polls should I choose to run again for the U.S. Senate or in a recall election for governor. After twenty-eight continuous years as an elected official, however, I have found the past eight months to be an opportunity to look at things from a different perspective.”

Feingold’s announcement paves the way for Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) to become the frontrunner in the race for retiring Democratic Sen. Herb Kohl’s seat in 2012. She is expected to announce her candidacy soon.

More here…
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/19/russ-feingold-not-running-for-senate_n_931138.html

Tammy Baldwin. Openly gay progressive candidate. Like a red rag to a bull.
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Democrats considering a run are U.S. Reps. Tammy Baldwin of Madison and Ron Kind of La Crosse and former U.S. Rep. Steve Kagen of Appleton. Baldwin has all but said she’s in, but as a progressive liberal from Madison and openly gay, moderates in her party fret privately that she may not be able to win a statewide election.

More here…

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-ap-wi-wisconsinsenate,0,7093251.story

and here…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tammy_Baldwin

Please let it be so.

Executives at Rupert Murdoch’s UK-based News International are concerned that emails discussing questionable payments made to police by the News of the World may prove more problematic than those that discuss phone hacking, sources familiar with investigations into the shuttered tabloid’s reporting practices said.

There are growing concerns inside the company that evidence of questionable payments to police — or other British public officials — could fuel investigations by U.S. authorities into possible breaches of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), an American law that prohibits corrupt payments to foreign government officials. News International is owned by New York-based News Corp (NWSA.O).

“We’re more frightened by the (U.S. Justice Department) than we are of Scotland Yard,” a source close to News Corp who was briefed about the content of the emails told Reuters. “All Scotland Yard can go after is News International but the Justice Department can go after all of News Corporation.”

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/08/19/us-murdoch-emails-police-idUSTRE77I58B20110819

Chris B,

9/11 occurred three years prior to the election in November 2004. You cannot draw any conclusions from polls prior to that: polls that far out have limited predictive ability.

If Rupert gets hold of this we’ll all be rooned.

In fact – EES uses a molecular force known as “van der Waals interactions” to create adhesion between the patch and human skin on the molecular level. Scientists have spent six years developing this technolgy and they believe that EES might find future medical uses in patients with sleep apnea, babies who need neonatal care and for making electronic bandages to help skin heal from wounds and burns.

On the other hand, it could also be the ultimate spy tool.

Imagine somebody comes up to you and touches your neck and, unbeknownst to you, you are now carrying a device that can transmit to somebody else everything from your blood pressure – are you under stress or lying? – to the words you’re speaking.

http://www.opednews.com/articles/Geeky-Science-The-Ultimat-by-Thom-Hartmann-110819-558.html

Karl Rove Created Rick Perry — Now Can He Stop Him?
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Karl Rove won’t say it aloud, but he is afraid of Rick Perry: afraid that the smack-talking Texas governor will wreck the GOP’s chances of winning the White House and the Senate in 2012.

The Perry-Rove story is shaping up as the ultimate tale of dangerously unintended consequences, with Rove in the role of Dr. Frankenstein and Perry as his living, rampaging political creation.

Insiders know that Rove helped launch Perry’s career by advising Perry’s successful run for agriculture commissioner in 1990.

But the larger, deeper point is that Rove designed and built the Texas Republican machine that has now allowed Perry to go national — even after Rove and company tried (and failed) to stop him by running Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas) against him for re-election.

Rove and much of the rest of the GOP Texas establishment was and is embarrassed by Perry: his rootin’-tootin’ style; his naked plays for the votes of the prayerful; his sometimes, almost-violent accusatory language and his preference for sound bites so pronounced he makes George W. Bush seem like Pericles.

Before Perry announced his bid, Rove was cautious in his comments. “I think he can be a formidable candidate,” Rove told The Huffington Post. “He is the governor of Texas, and he can be a force.”

But Rove has since taken to the Fox airwaves to warn Perry to pipe down, especially after the governor warned Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke that he would be “treated ugly” in Texas and regarded as a “traitor” if he expanded the money supply to fight recession.

More here..
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/19/karl-rove-rick-perry_n_931945.html

Can anyone explain to me how troglodytes like the right wing nut bags are able to be leaders on the Internet in using technolgy and setting up blogs eg The Drudge Report and thinkers like the liberal/progressives were slow in taking it up? They have caught up and passed them since. It is illogical.

Howard ‘called in US favour’ to charge Hicks
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AS HE sought re-election in 2007, John Howard called in a political ”favour” from the US government to get any charge possible laid against David Hicks, a former Guantanamo Bay chief military prosecutor has claimed.

Colonel Morris Davis’s accusation against the former prime minister adds weight to an American journalist’s report that quotes leaked US government documents.

Jason Leopold, of the internet publication Truthout, says he has material, including documents from the office of the former vice-president Dick Cheney, stating that Mr Howard met Mr Cheney in Sydney on February 24, 2007, and told him the Hicks case had become a ”political threat” to his re-election campaign.

Whoah!

More here…
Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/national/howard-called-in-us-favour-to-charge-hicks-20110820-1j3po.html#ixzz1VfOje1RE

House’s Most Vulnerable Redistricted Members
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For redistricting wonks, The Hill has a run down of the five most vulnerable House Democrats and Republicans in 2012 after the redistricting process.

Democrats: Reps. Russ Carnahan (D-MO), Heath Shuler (D-NC), Mark Critz (D-PA), Gary Peters (D-MI), and Larry Kissell (D-NC).

Republicans: Reps. Robert Dold (R-IL), Ed Royce (R-CA), Judy Biggert (R-IL), David Dreier (R-CA), and Jeff Landry (R-LA).

All five Democrats are from swing states that President Obama will have to fight hard to win, while four of the five Republicans are in solid blue states.

Interesting.

http://politicalwire.com

Watching question time. The government is in total control! Very impressed. Especially on climate control. Simon Crean is dishing it out at the moment.

Unfortunately Mr Mulcare has been ordered to reveal names and the stew may prevented whereby he wins his court case against NoW to keep paying his legals.

Part of Mulcaire’s problem is money. A month ago, James Murdoch, under questioning from members of Parliament, confirmed that his company had been paying for Mulcaire’s lawyers and, duly embarrassed, promised to halt that flow of cash. Since Mulcaire is not privately wealthy and British justice is very expensive, that in principle strips the investigator of his ability to defend his own interests in the dozens of civil lawsuits against News International.

In what British tabloids might call a “bizarre twist,” Mulcaire, a convicted criminal, is now suing his former employers in an apparent effort to force them to resume paying his legal bills.

What looks like a rift may, however, be something different, because it remains the case that Mulcaire’s legal interests and those of News International overlap considerably. Mulcaire’s reticence, after all, has always suited News International, whose principal tactic in the civil courts has been to avoid disclosure. So, if Muclaire were to win his case against them and get back the flow of money for his lawyers’ bills, News International would probably not be very upset.

By then, however, it may be too late

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2011/08/22/glenn-mulcaire-lawsuit-pushes-rupert-murdoch-s-shadow-man-into-spotlight.html

Coulson got hundreds of thousands of pounds from News Int.
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Andy Coulson, the former editor of the News of the World who has been arrested on suspicion of involvement in phone hacking and bribing the police, received several hundred thousand pounds from News International after starting work as the Conservative Party’s Director of Communications in July 2007.

These payments were part of his severance package, under what is known as a “compromise agreement”.

According to sources, Mr Coulson’s contractual leaving pay was given to him in instalments until the end of 2007 – which means he continued to be financially linked to News International for several months of his tenure as David Cameron’s main media adviser.

The disclosure that Mr Coulson maintained a financial relationship with News International after moving into a sensitive role in the Tory Party will be controversial.

According to a senior member of the government, Tory Party managers at the time say they were not aware Mr Coulson was receiving these payments from News International while employed by the Conservative Party.

More here..
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-14624167

Murdoch asked to have subject followed: Buttrose.
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RUPERT Murdoch suggested having the subject of an investigation by Sydney tabloid The Daily Telegraph ”followed” because the results of more traditional reporting weren’t compelling enough.

That claim was made last night on the ABC’s Australian Story by Ita Buttrose, who was editor-in-chief of the Sunday Telegraph and Daily Telegraph in the early 1980s.

Ms Buttrose said the request came while working on a story at Mr Murdoch’s request. ”I assigned a reporter to do it but he wasn’t happy with the result and said, ‘No, that wasn’t good enough. Have you followed this person?”’
Advertisement: Story continues below

Ms Buttrose told Australian Story that she reported the conversation to Ken Cowley, then chief executive of News Limited. ”I can’t give this instruction,” she said she told Mr Cowley. ”I’m not having anybody that works for me, for whom I’m responsible, follow anybody. I don’t want to be a part of it.”

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/national/murdoch-asked-to-have-subject-followed-buttrose-20110822-1j71i.html#ixzz1VoJeZSPC

Ok where’d that “Advertisement: Story continues below” come from. Its certainly not in the story. Weird!

David. An excellent piece on How PPP Became The ‘It’ Democratic Pollster.
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Just a few short years ago, Public Policy Polling was an obscure Democratic outfit, mostly focused on local polling in Raleigh, North Carolina. Now, ten years after its founding, PPP is driving national coverage with an unmatched supply of polls on everything from the Republican primaries to God’s approval rating. Since their automated polls are so cheap to conduct, they’ve been able to flood the zone in early polling on federal races, and they’ve notched up an impressive record on special elections, which are notoriously hard to predict. So where did they come from?

Well, according to founder Dean Debnam, the whole operation began largely out of spite. In the 1990s, conservative nonprofits backed by a wealthy retail executive, Art Pope, dubbed a “one man Republican equalizer” in the press, dominated polling in the Raleigh area. Debnam, a proud Democrat whose wife was active in education advocacy and ran for mayor of Raleigh in 1999, fretted that the questions were slanted to produce more right-leaning results. “They were putting out polls to push their agenda,” he said. “I was fed up with reading basically BS in the local paper as if it was fact.”

More here…

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/08/just-a-few-short-years.php?ref=fpc

Romney Ties Obama in National Poll.
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A new Public Policy Polling survey shows President Obama and Mitt Romney tied among voters surveyed nationally, 45% to 45%.

In other match ups, Obama leads Rick Perry, 49% to 43%, tops Michele Bachmann, 50% to 42%, beats Sarah Palin, 53% to 40% and leads Herman Cain, 49% to 39%.

Key finding: “One big reason Obama’s doing pretty well in these match ups is the Hispanic vote. Exit polls in 2008 showed him winning it by a 36 point margin over McCain but he builds on that in all of these match ups… This is a good example of what Republican strategist Mike Murphy has described as the economics vs. demographics tension for next year’s election. The economy could sink Obama but at the same time an ever growing expanding Hispanic vote that he wins by a huge margin could be enough to let him eek out a second term. It’s certainly propping him up on this poll.”

http://politicalwire.com

Perry Grabs Lead in Iowa
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A new Public Policy Polling survey in Iowa finds Rick Perry leading the GOP field with 22%, followed by Mitt Romney at 19%, Michele Bachmann at 18%, Ron Paul at 16%. Further back are Herman Cain at 7%, Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum at 5%, and Jon Huntsman at 3%.

If you add Sarah Palin to the race the numbers are similar with Perry at 21%, Romney at 18%, Bachmann at 15%, Paul at 12%, and Palin getting just 10%.

Meanwhile, Political Wire has learned that a PPP national poll out tomorrow shows Perry with a double-digit lead over the rest of the field.

http://politicalwire.com

Conservative Elites Still Looking for a Candidate.
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Politico notes “conservative intellectuals” are still very unhappy with the Republican presidential field.

“From the Weekly Standard to the Wall Street Journal, on the pages of policy periodicals and opinion sections, the egghead right’s longing for a presidential candidate of ideas — first Mitch Daniels, then Paul Ryan — has been endless, intense, and unrequited.”

“Profoundly dissatisfied with the current field, that dull ache may only grow more acute after Ryan’s decision Monday to take himself out of the running. The problem, in shorthand: To many conservative elites, Rick Perry is a dope, Michele Bachmann is a joke, and Mitt Romney is a fraud.”

Conservative interlectual? Now there is an oxymoron.
http://politicalwire.com

Just a heads up ticsters. Tonight is the premier appearance of Grog’s Gamut AKA Greg Jerico on The Drum. @ 6.pm AEST ABC24

If Craig Thomson is forced out of the current situation. The result is not necessarily a forgon conclusion. He hold the seat by 11% TPP. But I would rather not fight an election under the current circumstances. News Limited would throw its full weight behind the Liberal candidate at any cost.

been off air thanks to telstra for 4 days …
feel utterly depondent with Obama constantly undermined by the TeaPartyand the Convoy of Morons represented by Abbott running the agenda in Australia …
all thanks to Rupert’s unrelenting spreading of misinformation and nonsense so that the general populace is kept ignorant .
what hope.
🙁

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