Insanity Defined: Why the Interminable GOP Primary Season is a Win for the Left

Insanity Defined: Why the Interminable GOP Primary Season is a Win for the Left The experience of the 2016 voter is already a battered one, abused by the rhetorical swill of 14 official candidates representing the GOP     Read more » shared from

The Scumbags Support Trump As Fan Calls Female Protester “Just A Piece of A$$” A man in line to see Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump talk called a female protester who was clearly not happy about Trump's hate speech "just a piece of ass."     Read more » Jeb Bush Beware: Trump’s Know Nothing Populism Is A Hit With Conservatives In Phoenix From a policy standpoint, its hard to take Donald Trump’s presidential campaign seriously. Trump’s ideas, like for example, building a wall and having Mexico pay for it, are clownishly naive and logistically impractical. Yet for all his ego-stroking, self-congratulatory rhetoric and his absurd policy prescriptions, Donald Trump is striking a chord with frustrated and anxious conservative […]     Read more » Donald Trump in Phoenix is All About Jingoism and Self Love In a stark contrast with Bernie Sanders' appearances, Trump was less interested in the issues than in convoluted stories and justifications for his behavior.     Read more » Insanity Defined: Why the Interminable GOP Primary Season is a Win for the Left The experience of the 2016 voter is already a battered one, abused by the rhetorical swill of 14 official candidates representing the GOP     Read more » Trump Gathers in the Haters for Bizarre Speech in Las Vegas Donald Trump revealed his conviction that the Mexican government is behind exporting to the US all the criminals from a country he loves     Read more » President Obama Designates Three More National Monuments, Brings His Total In Office To 19 On Friday, President Barack Obama designated three new National Monuments in the Western United States.     Read more » Ted Cruz’s Caught In A Lie As He Has No Proof That He Did Not Buy His Own Books After being accused of printing a false story by the Ted Cruz presidential campaign, PoliticusUSA asked Cruz to provide proof that he or one of his super PACs did not buy his own books. The result has been complete silence from the Cruz campaign.     Read more » Chants Of USA USA Echo Through South Carolina Capitol As Confederate Flag Comes Down High emotions and heavy security accompanied the event, as the flag which was flown above the state house before it was moved in 2000 to the grounds to fly next to a Confederate Soldier Monument, was taken down. As it came down, the crowd chanted U-S-A, U-S-A.     Read more » Don’t Believe GOP Criticism – Donald Trump Speaks For The Party And The Base Donald Trump's truly vicious remarks targeting Hispanic immigrants exposed conservative racism that permeates the Republican base     Read more » Adam Smith in 1776 Showed Rush Limbaugh, Not the Pope, to be the Real Clown Rush Limbaugh calls the Pope a clown for opposing unfettered capitalism, but even the father of capitalism, Adam Smith, warned of its evils     Read more »

The TRUTH will set you FREE.

Royal Dutch Shell plc Confirms Deal With Morgan Stanley: Shares Up 2%

Royal Dutch Shell plc Confirms Deal With Morgan Stanley: Shares Up 2%

Jul 11th, 2015 

by John Donovan. 

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By: MICHEAL KAUFMAN: Jul 11, 2015

Royal Dutch Shell plc (NYSE:RDS.A) plans to establish a strong footing in the natural gas sector. In April 2015, the company finalized its $70-billion deal with BG Group plc (OTCMKTS:BRGYY). If approved by the regulatory authorities, the merger will give Shell access to BG Group’s valuable assets in Brazil and several other countries.

According to Reuters, Shell has purchased the European gas and power trading book from Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS). The acquisition is expected to help the company achieve a strong footing in gas industry. In addition to the BG deal, the company is also colluding with Russia’s Gazprom OAO (OTCMKTS:OGZPY). Currently, Gazprom is considered the world’s top gas producer.

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Posted in: BG Group, Bidness Etc, Gas, Gazprom, Reuters, Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Russia.
Tagged: BG Group · Gas · Shell

The TRUTH will set you FREE.

This is why the TPP needs to be transparent.

Friend,
Mass graves. Sex trafficking. Forced labor. Our government should want nothing to do with forging economic ties with countries whose economies run off modern day slavery.

But thanks to an appalling move by President Obama, the US is now on our way to signing the super-secret Trans-Pacific Partnership with one of the worst human trafficking offenders, Malaysia.

Congress was on track to ban the US from signing trade deals with the worst of the worst, including Malaysia. Then two days ago, the Obama Administration suddenly announced that Malaysia’s status in the human trafficking report would be “upgraded” in an effort to sidestep Congressional regulation. Meanwhile, almost nothing has changed in Malaysia for people subjected to obscene working conditions.

This is why the TPP needs to be transparent. How can we trust the President that he’s got all of our best interests at heart in negotiating this trade deal, when he pulls shameless ploys like this?

You are one of 150,000 people who've signed our petition calling for the TPP and other trade deals to be made public. Can you help us spread the word?

1. Forward this email to a friend, and direct them to http://action.sumofus.org/a/trade-transparency/.
2. Share the campaign on Facebook.

The TPP is almost certainly a disaster waiting to happen, but we don’t know the truth because everything is done behind closed doors. If you’re a corporate lobbyist, you’re invited in, while the rest of us are left in the dark. All we have to go on are the leaked chapters that Wikileaks has shared, which let us know that everything -- from our laws to our food to our internet to our medicines -- may be put at risk to maximize corporate profits.

President Obama wants us to trust him that this trade deal will be “the most progressive trade deal of all time.” But how can we, when he uses cynical maneuvers to push the TPP forward at the expense of Malaysian people forced to work in slave-like conditions? If he’s willing to do something this offensive, what else is happening inside those closed doors?

Negotiators are signaling that they will almost certainly finalize the TPP when they gather in two weeks at a swanky resort in Hawaii. After that, there’s no more opportunity to change the deal -- because our representatives voted to ‘fast track’ the TPP through Congress, they only gave themselves an up or down vote with no option to amend the agreement.

With so little time, and in light of this latest maneuver, we need to massively ramp up our pressure on President Obama and other world leaders to make the deal public.

Share this petition to help stop this deal.

Thanks for all you do,

Kaytee and the rest of us

P.S. Campaigners in Malaysia have been standing against trafficking for years. There are some signs of progress. But if the US goes into a trade deal without demanding fast progress and investment in real support for trafficking survivors, then it’s all too easy for the Malaysian government to take their foot off the gas again. Share this petition to help shine light on the TPP and stop this deal.

 

SumOfUs is a worldwide movement of people like you, working together to hold corporations accountable for their actions and forge a new, sustainable path for our global economy. Please help keep SumOfUs strong by chipping in $3 .

The TRUTH will set you FREE.

Court Upholds Federal Ban on Pay-to-Play

Court Upholds Federal Ban on Pay-to-Play A federal appeals court unanimously upheld the ban on contractor campaign contributions. The court ruled that the ban is supported by the compelling interest of preventing corruption.Read more shared from

Editor's Choice Court Upholds Federal Ban on Pay-to-Play A federal appeals court unanimously upheld the ban on contractor campaign contributions. The court ruled that the ban is supported by the compelling interest of preventing corruption.Read more Katz Calls for Elimination of Dark Money from Corporations In her new book, The Influence Machine, Alyssa Katz reports on the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and its work to keep corporate political spending veiled from the public. Read more POGO Asks the House to Protect Oil and Gas Reform POGO urged the Members of the House of Representatives to vote against an amendment to HR 2822 that would prohibit the use of funds to increase oil and gas royalty rates, meaning that Americans could miss out on millions of dollars in revenue. Read more Bureau of Land Management Updating Drilling Royalty Rules For decades, the Bureau of Land Management in the Department of the Interior has regulated the use of public lands for oil and gas drilling by private companies. Read more Federal Small Business Contracting: Fact or Fiction? The Small Business Administration touted the federal government's small business contracting success last year, claiming $91.7 billion, or 25 percent of all contract dollars, was awarded to small businesses. Are the numbers too good to be true? Read more In Snowden’s Wake: New Book Examines Needed Intelligence Reforms Regardless of how you view Edward Snowden, Ronald Goldfarb’s new book shows that Snowden’s revelations have forever altered America’s political landscape. Read more From the World of POGO Next Thursday at 12pm: POGO Twitter Chat Mark your calendars! Tune in our Twitter (@POGOBlog) Thursday, July 16 at 12pm to help craft some solutions for a better, more accountable government. What are your experiences with or questions about government transparency and accountability? Tweet us! We're Hiring: Director of Communications Do you or someone you know have what it takes to get our message to the masses? We're hiring a new Director of Communications to oversee a strong communications team and perform a variety of functions, particularly in traditional and online outreach. More details

We rely on people like you to spread the word about our work. Tell a friend about POGO! POGO :: 1100 G Street, NW, Suite 500 :: Washington, DC 20005 :: (202) 347-1122

The TRUTH will set you FREE.

Shell’s vessel Fennica took short cut through shallow water?

Jul 11th, 2015 

by John Donovan. 

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Shell’s vessel Fennica took short cut through shallow water?

Damaged Arctic icebreaker’s route questioned

Posted on July 10, 2015 | ByJennifer A. Dlouhy

WASHINGTON — New marine tracking data shows a Shell-contracted icebreaker may have crossed through shallow waters that offered little clearance between the vessel’s bottom and the ocean floor before a 3-foot hole was discovered in its hull.

The Automatic Identification System data — location information captured every minute from the MSV Fennica — shows its July 3 route away from the Alaska Port of Dutch Harbor before a leak identified by a marine pilot and other crew onboard the icebreaker forced it to turn back.

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Posted in: Alaska, Arctic, Chukchi Sea, Climate Change, Environment, Houston Chronicle, Oil Spill, Pollution, Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Shell, United States.
Tagged: Alaska · Arctic Ocean · Chukchi Sea · Environment · Royal Dutch Shell Plc ·Shell

The TRUTH will set you FREE.

Doesn’t this establish that Uber is an employer?

Robert Reich via facebook.com

Yesterday at 3:44pm ·

In a lawsuit filed in California’s Northern District Court, Uber today said it doesn’t “employ” its drivers. So they’re not entitled to Social Security, unemployment insurance, workers’ compensation, minimum wage, pension protection, health insurance (under Obamacare), or any other protections accorded employees. Meanwhile, Uber has shifted onto its drivers all the costs of the business – owning and maintaining the cars, paying for gas, paying for car insurance. At the same time, Uber reserves the right to kick drivers off its platform, to set rates, to require drivers follow certain protocols, and demand 20 percent of drivers’ fares.

Doesn’t this establish that Uber is an employer? Similar lawsuits are pending against Lyft (Uber’s chief U.S. rival); Postmates (offering on-demand delivery); Homejoy (on-demand cleaning); and Instacart (on-demand grocery shopping). Even against Fed Ex – which says it’s not the employer of its pickup and delivery drivers. 

Meanwhile, company after company is laying off full-time employees and hiring them back as “independent contractors.” Unless the trend is stopped in court, all of us will soon become independent contractors.

The TRUTH will set you FREE.

“A handful of people own almost everything … and almost everybody owns nothing."

“Everybody knows what’s happening — who wants to know,” Bernie Sanders wrote in June 1972 in Movement, an irregular Liberty Union Party newsletter he edited. “A handful of people own almost everything … and almost everybody owns nothing. A handful of people make the decisions and the vast majority of people have virtually no control over their lives.” Dating all the way back to the 1960s and ‘70s in Vermont, a formative time for Sanders, the message of the surging socialist presidential candidate has been startling consistent. “The rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer, and the vast majority in the middle are having a harder and harder time,” he said — in 1974, and ever since. Above, 1963: Economic justice has been the central focus of Sanders’ 40-plus-year political career—as a young activist at the University of Chicago, though, Sanders agitated more for racial equality. In 1963 he was arrested during a demonstration protesting the city’s segregated schools. He also traveled to Washington—his first time in D.C.—to hear Martin Luther King speak at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. The Washington Post   READ MORE shared from

The TRUTH will set you FREE.