Our nation’s oligarchs believe at their core that they are entitled, by all notions of what they believe to be basic fairness, to be exempt from the rules they impose on everyone else

glenn calls out dianne feinstein, the epitome of corrupt, super-rich, elite arrogance and hypocrisy, for her crusade against leakers and whistleblowers when she herself is one of washington's biggest leakers...

Dianne Feinstein’s “espionage”

The California Democrat is both the prime enemy of leaks and "one of the biggest leakers in Congress"

[...]

That the powerful Senator who has devoted herself to criminally punishing low-level leakers and increasing the wall of secrecy is herself “one of the biggest leakers in Congress” is about as perfect an expression as it gets of how the rule of law and secrecy powers are sleazily exploited in Washington . . . Dianne Feinstein should be criminally prosecuted for espionage and threatened with decades in prison (indeed, as an American citizen and government employee, she certainly has greater legal duties not to leak than does, say, private Australian citizen Julian Assange, whose espionage prosecution she is demanding).

But as Democrats are very fond of pointing out these days — as they did, very fairly, when Mitt and Ann Romney recently took angry offense at the notion that they should disclose more than two years of their tax returns (“Dear me, it appears that Lady Romney has lost her patience with the riff raff and their unseemly questioning about money”) – our nation’s oligarchs believe at their core that they are entitled, by all notions of what they believe to be basic fairness, to be exempt from the rules they impose on everyone else. That is Dianne Feinstein at her core. It’s how she can be both Prime Enemy of leaks and “one of the biggest leakers in Congress” without having her brain even recognize, let alone recoil from and revolt against, this most grotesque of aristocratic privileges.

glenn makes note not only of the senator's hypocrisy but also her corruption...

[T]he senior Democratic Senator from California and Intelligence Committee Chairwoman, Dianne Feinstein, who also serves as the National Security State’s most faithful servant (a National Security State which, just by the way, has greatly enriched her extremely rich military contractor husband, Richard Blum; Feinstein herself reported a net worth of $80 million back in 2006).

it's the same arrogant, corrupt, hypocritical mindset that lets the u.s. preach human rights to the rest of the world while maintaining the practice of indefinite detention without either charges or trial and killing innocents via remote control while decrying the horror of "terrorist" attacks...

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After Goldman, another whistleblower steps forth

this one from jpmorgan chase...

Comment for Public Information Collection 77 FR 8817

From: Z A N
Organization(s):
JPMorgan Chase

Comment No: 57019
Date: 3/14/2012

Comment Text:

Dear CFTC Staff,

Hello, I am a current JPMorgan Chase employee. This is an open letter to all commissioners and regulators. I am emailing you today b/c I know of insider information that will be damning at best for JPMorgan Chase. I have decided to play the role of whistleblower b/c I no longer have faith and belief that what we are doing for society is bringing value to people. I am now under the opinion that we are actually putting hard working Americans unaware of what lays ahead at extreme market risk. This risk is unnecessary and will lead to wide-scale market collapse if not handled properly. With the release of Mr. Smith’s open letter to Goldman, I too would like to set the record straight for JPM as well. I have seen the disruptive behavior of superiors and no longer can say that I look up to employees at the ED/MD level here at JPM. Their smug exuberance and arrogance permeates the air just as pungently as rotting vegetables. They all know too well of the backdoor crony connections they share intimately with elected officials and with other institutions. It is apparent in everything they do, from the meager attempts to manipulate LIBOR, therefore controlling how almost all derivatives are priced to the inherit and fraudulent commodities manipulation. They too may have one day stood for something in the past in the client-employee relationship. Does anyone in today’s market really care about the protection of their client? From the ruthless and scandalous treatment of MF Global client asset funds to the excessive bonuses paid by companies with burgeoning liabilities. Yes, we at JPMorgan that are in the know are fearful of a cascading credit event being triggered in Greece as they have hidden derivatives in excess of $1 Trillion USD. We at JPMorgan own enough of these through counterparty risk and outright prop trading that our entire IB EDG space could be annihilated within a few short days.

[...]

It is rather surprising that what should be well known liabilities on our balance sheet have not erupted into wider scale scrutinization. I call all honest and courageous JPMorgan employees to step up and fight the cronyism and wide-scale manipulation by reporting the truth. We are only helping reality come to light therefore allowing a real valuation of our banking industry which will give investors a chance to properly adjust without being totally wiped out. I will be contacting a lawyer shortly about this matter, as I believe no other whistleblower at JPMorgan has come forward yet. Our deepest secrets lie within the hands of honest employees and can be revealed through honest regulators that are willing to take a look inside one of America's best kept secrets. Please do not allow this to turn into another Enron.

keep 'em coming...

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Privacy or health concerns about airport body scanners...? The UK says tough shit...

the uk has always been one step ahead of the u.s. in the police state department...

Britain Says No Opt Out Of Body Scans

Passengers flying to and from the United Kingdom will not be able to opt out of having a body security scan, the country's transport secretary said on Monday.

Instead of a 'pat down' search, passengers will have to pass through a security scanner, a procedure which could be rolled out across the United Kingdom in the future, Transport Secretary Justine Greening said in a statement.

Proposals recently agreed by the European parliament include the right to request an opt-out from scanning.

"I do not believe that a pat down search is equivalent in security terms to a security scan," Greening said.

"The purpose of introducing security scanners in the first place was to protect the traveling public better against sophisticated terrorist threats: these threats still exist and the required level of security is not achieved by permitting passengers to choose a less effective alternative," she added.

so, lemme see if i got this straight... the eu allows opting out but the uk, an eu member state, says nope, you gotta do it, and that's despite this...

The European Commission has called for further expert reviews of the potential health risks from security scanners and has asked the European Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks to review any new evidence.

i guess i hafta refer back to my post from last wednesday and add the uk to the mix...

Our F— You System of Government

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Our F— You System of Government

this says it all...

Sick? Too bad.

Can’t find a job? Tough.

Broke? Can’t afford rent? We don’t give a crap.

Forget “e pluribus unum.” We need a more accurate motto.

We live under a f— you system.

Got a problem? The U.S. government has an all-purpose response to whatever ails you: f— you.

[...]

When mentally disabled people seek help from their government, they get the usual answer: f— you.

When people addicted to drugs—drugs imported into the U.S. under the watchful eyes of corrupt border enforcement officers—ask their government for help, they are turned away. F— you again.

When people who lost their homes because their government said “f— you” to them rather than help turn to the same government to look for safe shelter, again they are told: “f— you.”

And then, after days and years and decades of shirking their responsibility to provide us with such staples of human survival as places to urinate and defecate and sleep, and food, and medical care, our “f— you” government has the amazing audacity to blame us, victims of their negligence and corruption and violence, for messing things up.

Which is why we are finally, at long last, starting to say “f— you” to them.

let's keep saying it...

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Bankers on NY Senators supporting Occupy Wall Street: They need to understand who their constituency is

if you ever wanted a pure distillation of the mindset of the super-rich elites, the quote in the post title leaves no doubt... the elites see themselves as not just A constituency but THE constituency of the elected officials they bought and paid for... how could they dare not to toe the line that was drawn for them...?

a really revealing article in the nyt... (emphases added are mine...)

“Most people view it as a ragtag group looking for sex, drugs and rock ’n’ roll,” said one top hedge fund manager.

“It’s not a middle-class uprising,” adds another veteran bank executive. “It’s fringe groups. It’s people who have the time to do this.”

As the Occupy Wall Street demonstrations have grown and spread to other cities, an open question is: Do the bankers get it? Their different worldview speaks volumes about the wide chasms that have opened over who is to blame for the continuing economic malaise and what is best for the country.

Some on Wall Street viewed the protesters with disdain, and a degree of caution, as hundreds marched through the financial district on Friday. Others say they feel their pain, but are befuddled about what they are supposed to do to ease it. A few even feel personally attacked, and say the Occupy Wall Street protesters who have been in Zuccotti Park for weeks are just bitter about their own economic fate and looking for an easy target. If anything, they say, people should show some gratitude.

“Who do you think pays the taxes?” said one longtime money manager. “Financial services are one of the last things we do in this country and do it well. Let’s embrace it. If you want to keep having jobs outsourced, keep attacking financial services. This is just disgruntled people.”

He added that he was disappointed that members of Congress from New York, especially Senator Charles E. Schumer and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, had not come out swinging for an industry that donates heavily to their campaigns. “They need to understand who their constituency is,” he said.

and there ya have it... disconnected, arrogant and condescending... i'd like them try to pigeon-hole ME quite so easily...

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Mubarak is "fed up"...?? Boo-freaking-hoo

pardon my crudity, but what fucking arrogance...

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has said he would like to resign immediately but fears the country would descend into chaos if he did so.

In his first interview since anti-government protests began, he told ABC News he was "fed up" with power.

Journalist Christiane Amanpour told the BBC's Rupert Wingfield-Hayes that President Mubarak warned that the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood party would fill any power vacuum if he stepped down.

does the term "douche-bag" fit here...?

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Using pharmacies as basic health care resources

i just love the way this article treats the using of pharmacies as basic health care outlets as some brand-new innovation that will revolutionize health care access while completely failing to point out that the rest of the world has been using pharmacies in that capacity for freakin' ever...

in my travels, i have had several occasions to drop by pharmacies in other countries to ask for a consult on some minor health problem and have always been treated to fast, accurate and free advice... not only that, but many medicines available only through a prescription in the u.s. are available over the counter in most pharmacies around the world, often at surprisingly low prices...

As the debate over health-care reform reveals extensive unmet needs for better basic medical services in the United States, an unexpected player with the power to drive significant change may be as close as the corner drugstore. With new incentives and business strategies coming into play to repair and improve the health-care system, local pharmacies are positioned to help meet the top two goals of reform: providing convenient, expanded access to medical care and controlling costs.

Pharmacies — many of them operated by large publicly traded companies such as Walgreens, CVS, and Walmart — have already begun to reach beyond their traditional role as pill dispensers to meet new demand from patients. Consumers, who have become more responsible for their own medical care in recent years, are turning to retail pharmacies for help in managing medical conditions and their out-of-pocket health-care spending. Walmart’s US$4 generic drugs program, for example, which offers a wide range of prescription medication and 1,000 over-the-counter medications at $4 for a 30-day supply, has had a major impact on making medication more affordable — especially because other pharmacies have quickly followed suit.

The innovation does not stop at pricing. Drugstores are experimenting with in-store clinics, wellness programs, health screenings, and disease management services. In one notable program, the city of Asheville, N.C., has been using local pharmacists to provide free counseling and coaching to diabetes patients, generating substantial savings and health improvement. More recently, the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration launched a similar experiment dubbed the “Patient Safety and Clinical Pharmacy Services Collaborative” in an attempt to integrate evidence-based clinical pharmacy services into the management of high-risk and high-cost patients.

it makes me crazy when i see publications and authors either deliberately or blindly ignoring reality and treating the u.s. as an island of all there is to be known... people in the u.s. have no idea just how backward we are in so many areas... the media should live up to its responsibility to present information in context and not to foster the kind of smug arrogance for which we americans have become famous around the globe...

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WTF...?!?! Rich Germans want to pay MORE taxes...?

how cool is this...? when i first read the headline, i had to go back and read it again...

Rich Germans want to pay higher taxes to help with recovery

A group of rich Germans has launched a petition calling for the government to make wealthy people pay higher taxes. The group says they have more money than they need, and the extra revenue could fund economic and social programmes to aid Germany’s economic recovery.

[...]

The group says the financial crisis is leading to an increase in unemployment, poverty and social inequality. Simply donating money to deal with the problems is not enough, they want a change in the whole approach.

"The path out of the crisis must be paved with massive investment in ecology, education and social justice," they say in the petition.

Those who had "made a fortune through inheritance, hard work, hard-working, successful entrepreneurship, or investment" should contribute by paying more to alleviate the crisis.

this is precisely the spirit our arrogant, self-centered, obscenely self-pleasuring super-rich elites need to start adopting... when billions of people around the world are going hungry and dying, for them to continue their insane quest to acquire more, more, more is a sad and pathetic display...

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Speaking of unparalleled arrogance...

but whaddaya expect from a guy like pickens...?

Oil tycoon T. Boone Pickens told Congress on Wednesday that U.S. energy companies are "entitled" to some of Iraq's crude because of the large number of American troops that lost their lives fighting in the country and the U.S. taxpayer money spent in Iraq.

Boone, speaking to the newly formed Congressional Natural Gas Caucus, complained that the Iraqi government has awarded contracts to foreign companies, particularly Chinese firms, to develop Iraq's vast reserves while American companies have mostly been shut out.

"They're opening them (oil fields) up to other companies all over the world ... We're entitled to it," Pickens said of Iraq's oil. "Heck, we even lost 5,000 of our people, 65,000 injured and a trillion, five hundred billion dollars."

yeah, he's a corporate raider, takeover artist, and the 117th richest man in the world, like that gives him any right to be a world-class asshole... bite me, t. boone...

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My god, there's simply no accountability to be had anywhere

if you google up the stories on w.r. grace and libby, montana, you'll get over 29,000 hits and find a horrifying history of corporate arrogance and outright malfeasance... it's stunning to me that, given the trail of destruction wreaked on the workers at grace and the residents of libby, it would come to this...

A federal jury on Friday acquitted W.R. Grace & Co. and three of its former officials of charges that they knowingly exposed residents of Libby, Mont., to asbestos poisoning associated with a mining operation and conspired to hide it.

The verdict brings to an ignominious end one of the most significant criminal prosecutions the government had ever filed against a corporate polluter. The acquittals raise new questions about prosecutorial failings in the Justice Department, which already was reeling from the dismissal of its corruption case against former Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska).

In Libby, where an estimated 1,200 residents have died or developed cancer or lung disease, the judgment dashed hopes that someone would be held accountable for decades of suffering.

"We never expected restitution on this," said Libby resident Gayla Benefield, who has seen dozens of family members become sick from asbestos exposure. "How can you give someone restitution when you've taken their life? This was about closure, to finally say, 'Yes, this company did this to us, and we can finally get on with our lives.' But that didn't happen, did it?"

toss this right in there with the lack of accountability and the failure of the rule of law in bringing to justice those public officials who provided the bogus legal justification and those top elected officials who authorized the use of torture... but, we know, don't we, that if you or i stepped just an inch or two over the line, the full force of the law would be all over us like flies on shit...

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Watch the Senate shrug off and laugh at those who came to the hearing to support a single-payer health plan

it's pathetic how casually our leaders can totally ignore the people to whom they are supposedly answerable...

from the real news network...

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How would you like it if Argentina announced the possibility of future "economic instability" in the US?

even if it's true...?

it's stunning to me how the u.s. can make sweeping pronouncements about other countries but won't bother to look in the mirror...

from al jazeera...

The Argentinian government has angrily criticised Leon Panetta, the new director of the CIA, for warning of a potential economic crisis in the country.


Leon Panetta, CIA Director

The country's foreign ministry summoned the US ambassador to Buenos Aires "to explain the lamentable statements" made by Panetta earlier this week, describing them as "unacceptable interference" in its affairs.

Panetta told reporters on Wednesday he had been informed that the US would have to pay more attention to Latin America because of "some serious problems … that involve economic instability".

The CIA chief later said the concerns "particularly involved Argentina, Ecuador, and Venezuela".

But Jorge Taiana, the Argentinian foreign minister, said at a news conference on Thursday that such remarks were "irresponsible, unfounded and do not show respect".


Jorge Taiana, the Argentinian foreign minister

"It is an unacceptable interference in our internal affairs," he said.

"This isn't the view of the country expressed in our dialogues with representatives of the [US] State Department and numerous members of the two main parties in the House of Representatives and the Senate."

He said Earl Wayne, the US ambassador, would be asked to explain Panetta's statements on Friday.

what such a pronouncement does once more is to reinforce the all-too-prevalent image of argentina in the minds of most u.s. citizens as some sort of third-world backwater... since i live there part-time, i can definitely attest to the fact that it's not...

is there a possibility of economic unrest in argentina...? hell, yes... given its history and current state of affairs, there's ALWAYS a possibility of economic unrest in argentina but, fercryinoutloud, do we have to get up on our bloody pulpit, shake our paternalistic, condescending finger as though we were somehow pure as the driven snow, and rub their face in it, particularly when they obviously weren't consulted...? does ANYONE in our government have the ability to see things from another country's perspective...? can you imagine the uproar in the u.s. if ANY other country made a pronouncement like this about the u.s...?

i had much higher - but obviously misplaced - hopes for the obama administration...

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Read this quote from today's NYT column by Tom Friedman very carefully

ready...? here goes...

The main reason we are losing in Afghanistan is not because there are too few American soldiers, but because there are not enough Afghans ready to fight and die for the kind of government we want.

absolutely stunning, isn't it...? the kind of government "WE" want...? WE...?? i had to stop and read that twice and then even a third time... the unmitigated gall of someone who could write something like that for one of the world's major newspapers simply bowls me over...

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Certain things you can ALWAYS rely on with George Bush

contemptuousness, arrogance and condescension...

froomkin in the wapo...

President Bush's contempt for those who question him or doubt his accomplishments has been on full display lately.

That two thirds of Americans are now in that category apparently hasn't made him any more receptive to their concerns-- quite the opposite.

When British Sky News reporter Adam Boulton today challenged Bush on his dedication to freedom, suggesting that Guantanamo Bay and Abu Ghraib represented "the complete opposite of freedom," Bush accused Boulton of "slander[ing] America."

Evidently still smarting about the Supreme Court's rejection of his detainee policies last week, Bush noted defensively that the lower courts had agreed with him -- as if that mattered.

While Americans increasingly blame him for record-high gas prices and the toll on their pocketbooks, Bush dismissively referred to domestic concerns about those high prices as "squawking."

And in an interview on Friday with Ned Temko of Britain's Observer, Bush actually joked that he was "still looking" for the Iraqi weapons of mass destruction that were the main reason he gave to the public for going to war.

it's bizarrely comforting to know you can count on some things not to change...

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