Hissyspit
Hissyspit's JournalTropical Storm Isaac Could Hit Republican Convention
Source: AFP
Tropical Storm Isaac could hit Republican convention
(AFP) – 6 hours ago
MIAMI — A tropical storm swirling in the eastern Caribbean has raised the remote possibility that this year's Republican National Convention could be more blustery than usual.
Tropical Storm Isaac was east of Guadeloupe on Tuesday, and forecasters say it could become a hurricane on track to hit Florida next week, when Republicans gather in Tampa.
The US National Hurricane Center's five-day forecast shows the storm blowing over the Dominican Republic, Haiti and Cuba but does not extend to Monday, when the four-day convention kicks off.
"It is too early to determine what, if any, impacts might be experienced in the Tampa area next week during the RNC," said Dennis Feltgen of the US National Weather Service.
Read more: http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5j9u7wgOiiYT7wS_oWrveM1TBo14A
Tom Tomorrow: The Ghost of Ayn Rand
Daily Kos Link: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/08/20/1121624/-Haunted-by-his-muse
Support TMW -- join SPARKY'S LIST.
Howson Apologises Over (Christine) Assange Nazi Taunts
Source: Australian Broadcasting Company
Howson apologises over Assange Nazi taunts
Posted 49 minutes ago
A Melbourne radio host who taunted Julian Assange's mother with a Nazi slogan has apologised and been taken off-air for a month.
3AW host John-Michael Howson caused outrage on Sunday, attacking Christine Assange's decision to cancel a pre-planned phone interview due to his treatment of a previous guest.
"I won't be doing an interview with you because you're acting like a pig," said the mother of the WikiLeaks founder. Mr Howson responded by screaming on air, "Sieg Heil! Sieg Heil! Sieg Heil!" as Ms Assange hung up the phone.
- snip -
"I unreservedly apologise," Mr Howson, who co-hosts 3AW's Sunday morning program, said in the statement.
Read more: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-08-20/radio-host-apologises-for-nazi-taunts/4210858
Paul Ryan Defended Stimulus When George W. Bush Wanted It in 2002
Source: Ryan Grim / Huffington Post
Paul Ryan Defended Stimulus -- When George W. Bush Wanted It In 2002 (VIDEO)
Posted: 08/18/2012 11:16 pm Updated: 08/19/2012 8:20 am
WASHINGTON - When Congressman Paul Ryan has been asked the past few years about the value of stimulus to the sagging economy and the nation's jobless, the Wisconsin Republican has dismissed it as meaningless, and dubbed it "sugar-high economics."
But that's when President Obama is pushing for the spending. When it was President George W. Bush arguing for more stimulus to boost a slow economy in the early 2000s, Ryan's economic analysis was entirely different.
"What we're trying to accomplish today with the passage of this third stimulus package is to create jobs and help the unemployed," Ryan said, in comments unearthed by MSNBC's 'Up with Chris Hayes' and provided to HuffPost. "What we're trying to accomplish is to pass the kinds of legislation that when they've passed in the past have grown the economy and gotten people back to work."
- snip -
"It's more than just giving someone an unemployment check," he said then. "It's also helping those people with their health insurance while they've lost their jobs and more important than just that unemployment check, it's to do what we can to give people a paycheck."
Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/19/paul-ryan-bush-stimulus_n_1803761.html?utm_hp_ref=elections-2012
Julian Assange Calls on U.S. to 'End Its Witch Hunt' Against WikiLeaks Organization
Source: Associated Press
@AP BREAKING: Julian Assange calls on United States to 'end its witch hunt' against WikiLeaks organization.
19 August 2012 Last updated at 09:42 ET
Julian Assange makes statement from embassy balcony
Wikileaks founder Julian Assange has made his first public statement since entering the Ecuadorean embassy in London in June to seek asylum.
He called on US President Barack Obama to "do the right thing" and for his government to "renounce its witch hunt against Wikileaks."
Mr Assange spoke from a balcony at the embassy and thanked Ecuador's president, who has granted him asylum.
- snip -
Mr Assange said: "As Wikileaks stands under threat, so does the freedom of expression and the health of all our societies. We must use this moment to articulate the choice that is before the government of the United States of America. Will it return to and re-affirm the revolutionary values it was founded on? Or will it lurch off the precipice, dragging us all into a dangerous and oppressive world in which journalists fall silent under the fear of prosecution and citizens must whisper in the dark."
Read more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-19310335#TWEET200143
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/W/WIKILEAKS_ASSANGE?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2012-08-19-09-41-35
Aug 19, 9:41 AM EDT
ASSANGE MAKES 1ST PUBLIC APPEARANCE IN 2 MONTHS
BY DAVID STRINGER
ASSOCIATED PRESS
LONDON (AP) -- WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has called on President Barack Obama to end a "witch hunt" against his secret-spilling website, after appearing in public for the first time since he took refuge inside Ecuador's embassy in London two months ago.
The 41-year-old Australian was on Thursday granted asylum by Ecuador as he seeks to avoid extradition to Sweden, where he is wanted for questioning over sexual misconduct allegations.
"I ask President Obama to do the right thing, the United States must renounce its witch hunt against WikiLeaks," Assange said Sunday, speaking from a small balcony.
He also called on the U.S. to release Pfc. Bradley Manning, the U.S. soldier who has been charged with aiding the enemy by passing the secret files to WikiLeaks and is awaiting trial.Huffington Post: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/19/julian-assange-us-wikileaks_n_1806482.html?ncid=edlinkusaolp00000003
Julian Assange: U.S. Must End 'Witch Hunt' Against Wikileaks
The Huffington Post | By Alana Horowitz
Posted: 08/19/2012 9:31 am Updated: 08/19/2012 9:54 am
- snip -
Assange said the U.S. is it at a crossroads.
"Will it return to and re-affirm the revolutionary values it was founded on? Or will it lurch off the precipice, dragging us all into a dangerous and oppressive world in which journalists fall silent under the fear of prosecution and citizens must whisper in the dark."
He also addressed the recent incarceration of Russian punk rock group Pussy Riot.
"There is unity in the oppression, there must be absolute unity and determination in the response," he said.
Full comments: https://twitter.com/RTLondonBureau/status/237180703266205697/photo/1/large
https://twitter.com/RTLondonBureau/status/237180872229543936/photo/1/large
"The FBI must dissolve its investigation. The United States must vow that it will not prosecute our staff or its supporters. The United States must pledge before the world that it will not pursue journalists for shining a light on the secret crimes of the powerful."
Sunday's Doonesbury - Mark Tells Jim Crow: 'Not a Single Case of Impersonation Fraud'
Slate Link: http://doonesbury.slate.com
Kevin Gosztola: "Assange’s Fears About Extradition to the United States Affirmed"
Kevin Gosztola:
http://dissenter.firedoglake.com/2012/08/17/julian-assanges-fears-about-extradition-to-the-united-states-affirmed/
Julian Assange’s Fears About Extradition to the United States Affirmed
By: Kevin Gosztola Friday August 17, 2012 12:14 pm
- snip -
Another bigger question is why Assange continues to claim the US has plans or intentions to “persecute” or, to use a term that is more neutral, prosecute him. Snide commentators, sneering correspondents, and elite-minded former government officials discount any suggestion that the US might extradite Assange from Sweden. They do not even bother to take into account the existence of an empaneled grand jury in Alexandria, Virginia, in the Eastern District that is investigating anyone who can be connected to the WikiLeaks organization.
Now, The Saturday Age, based in Australia, has published a report that features some critical details on the United States government’s plans for Assange. It describes Australian Foreign Affairs Department documents that were obtained under freedom of information laws and show the Australian diplomatic service “takes seriously the likelihood that Assange will eventually be extradited to the US on charges arising from WikiLeaks obtaining leaked US military and diplomatic documents.” Australia’s ambassador to the US Kim Beazley sought “high-level US advice on ‘the direction and likely outcome of the investigation’ and “reiterated’ an Australian government request for “early advice of any decision to indict or seek extradition” of Assange.
The diplomatic cables identify “a wide range of criminal charges the US could bring against Assange, including espionage, conspiracy, unlawful access to classified information and computer fraud.” They indicate “Australian diplomats expect that any charges against Assange would be carefully drawn in an effort to avoid conflict with the First Amendment free speech provisions of the US constitution.”
- snip -
Center for Constitutional Rights attorney Michael Ratner, who is a member of the WikiLeaks legal team, considers the details to be “pretty extraordinary revelations.” It shows Australian government officials to be “hypocrites if not liars” because they have claimed “they don’t know anything about a US prosecution or extradition.”
MORE[p]
U.S. in Pursuit of Assange, Cables Reveal
Source: Sydney Morning Herald
US in pursuit of Assange, cables reveal
August 18, 2012
EXCLUSIVE
AUSTRALIAN diplomats have no doubt the United States is still gunning for Julian Assange, according to Foreign Affairs Department documents obtained by The Saturday Age.
The Australian embassy in Washington has been tracking a US espionage investigation targeting the WikiLeaks publisher for more than 18 months.
The declassified diplomatic cables, released under freedom of information laws, show Australia's diplomatic service takes seriously the likelihood that Assange will eventually be extradited to the US on charges arising from WikiLeaks obtaining leaked US military and diplomatic documents.
- snip -
The cables also show that the Australian government considers the prospect of extradition sufficiently likely that, on direction from Canberra, Mr Beazley sought high-level US advice on "the direction and likely outcome of the investigation" and "reiterated our request for early advice of any decision to indict or seek extradition of Mr Assange".
Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/national/us-in-pursuit-of-assange-cables-reveal-20120817-24e8u.html#ixzz23pUkDi00
From Kevin Gosztola:
http://dissenter.firedoglake.com/2012/08/17/julian-assanges-fears-about-extradition-to-the-united-states-affirmed/
Julian Assange’s Fears About Extradition to the United States Affirmed
By: Kevin Gosztola Friday August 17, 2012 12:14 pm
- snip -
Another bigger question is why Assange continues to claim the US has plans or intentions to “persecute” or, to use a term that is more neutral, prosecute him. Snide commentators, sneering correspondents, and elite-minded former government officials discount any suggestion that the US might extradite Assange from Sweden. They do not even bother to take into account the existence of an empaneled grand jury in Alexandria, Virginia, in the Eastern District that is investigating anyone who can be connected to the WikiLeaks organization.
Now, The Saturday Age, based in Australia, has published a report that features some critical details on the United States government’s plans for Assange. It describes Australian Foreign Affairs Department documents that were obtained under freedom of information laws and show the Australian diplomatic service “takes seriously the likelihood that Assange will eventually be extradited to the US on charges arising from WikiLeaks obtaining leaked US military and diplomatic documents.” Australia’s ambassador to the US Kim Beazley sought “high-level US advice on ‘the direction and likely outcome of the investigation’ and “reiterated’ an Australian government request for “early advice of any decision to indict or seek extradition” of Assange.
The diplomatic cables identify “a wide range of criminal charges the US could bring against Assange, including espionage, conspiracy, unlawful access to classified information and computer fraud.” They indicate “Australian diplomats expect that any charges against Assange would be carefully drawn in an effort to avoid conflict with the First Amendment free speech provisions of the US constitution.”
- snip -
Center for Constitutional Rights attorney Michael Ratner, who is a member of the WikiLeaks legal team, considers the details to be “pretty extraordinary revelations.” It shows Australian government officials to be “hypocrites if not liars” because they have claimed “they don’t know anything about a US prosecution or extradition.”
MORE[p]
In UK Threat to Ecuador, Experts See Mistake
http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory/uk-threat-ecuador-experts-mistake-17028638In UK Threat to Ecuador, Experts See Mistake
By RAPHAEL SATTER Associated Press
LONDON August 17, 2012 (AP)
- snip -
Experts and ex-diplomats say Britain's Foreign Office, which warned Ecuador of a little known law that would allow it to side-step usual diplomatic protocols, messed up by issuing a threat it couldn't back up.
"It was a big mistake," said former British ambassador Oliver Miles. "It puts the British government in the position of asking for something illegitimate."
- snip -
The Ecuadoreans were outraged by the notes, accusing Britain of threatening to assault their embassy and calling a crisis meeting of the Union of South American Nations. The ripples from the controversy continued to spread Friday, with Russia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs saying in a brief message posted to Twitter that the issue raised questions about diplomatic protections.
Britain's Foreign Office insists its missive was "not a threat," something that Miles dismissed with a laugh. "If I tell you, 'I'm not threatening you but I DO have a very large stick here,' it's a question of semantics," he said.
MORE AT LINK[p]
FT Poll: Obama Better for World Economy
Source: Reuters
Obama better for world economy: poll
Fri Aug 17, 2012 5:36am EDT
LONDON (Reuters) - Twice as many business executives around the world say the global economy will prosper better if incumbent U.S. president Barack Obama wins the next election than if his Republican challenger Mitt Romney does, a poll showed on Friday.
Democrat Obama was chosen by 42.7 percent in the 1,700 respondent poll, compared with 20.5 percent for Romney. The rest said "neither".
The result was different among respondents in the United States, where a slim majority thought Romney would be better for their businesses than Obama.
The FT poll was conducted before Romney picked Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan as his vice presidential running mate at the weekend, a move that could dramatically shift the election debate between two sharply contrasting views of government spending and debt.
Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSBRE87G07D20120817
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