September 14, 2015

Excellent Critique of Left/PseudoLeft Attacks of Sanders' Candidacy

http://www.filmsforaction.org/articles/why-does-the-radical-left-feel-threatened-by-the-bernie-sanders-campaign/


In other political fora that I participate in, this is a bigger issue than on DU, but some might find this line of reasoning helpful and clarifying

September 14, 2015

excellent critique of Left/pseudoLeft attacks on Sanders

http://www.filmsforaction.org/articles/why-does-the-radical-left-feel-threatened-by-the-bernie-sanders-campaign/

March 23, 2015

how would DUers go about stopping this site from allowing ULTRA-intrusive ads

If DU needs money and runs some ads, OK. But lately, both on DU and generally, I have seen an exponentially rising number and intrusiveness of ads -- eg "you have been selected for a free gift" with ONLY an accept button and impossible to turn off without disconnecting DU altogether and signing back in. This kind of ad that can't and won't be readily erased is becoming increasingly common. Both DU as a site should ban them and they should be banned in law, and if there is some protestation about free speech (somehow with all the crap that's tolerated, my own speech never seems to be protected) then it should at least be heavily taxed.
Indeed any ad that delays or blocks even part of your view, requiring an extra click to get rid of it, should be heavily taxed -- a good way to both raise revenue and to reduce crap on the internet

I AM FED UP WITH THIS

February 24, 2015

Eurozone Ministers Approve 4-Month Extension to Greek Bailout

Source: Huffington Post

BRUSSELS (AP) — Greece's creditors in the 19-country eurozone have approved a list of reforms Athens proposed to get a 4-month extension to its bailout, which would keep the country afloat.

An encouraging initial reaction from the so-called institutions — the European Commission, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund — was backed by the eurozone Tuesday. It now goes to some member nations for approval.

"We therefore agreed to proceed with the national procedures with a view to reaching the final decision on the extension by up to four months," a eurogroup statement said.

Greece's bailout program ends at the end of the month and without further support over the coming months, the country faces the possibility of going bankrupt, imposing capital controls and ditching the euro

Read more: http://naarpr.org/legislation-create-cpac/

August 22, 2013

Can ANYONE provide a link to a COMPLETE and WORKING video of Coombs' ENTIRE press conference today?

They stopped for a ten minute break after a while, and ideally, the full video would be a WORKING one (not like fdl at this point as far as I've been able to tell) from the beginning to the portion AFTER the break, when many msm left. And it should be archived

I KNOW that there are excerpts, even up to 12 minutes, like at Raw Story, I am looking for the FULL MONTE

November 12, 2012

A thread for updates about the vote count in the Arizona Senate Race

Please post up-to-the-minute articles, commentary etc on the ongoing count of votes in the statewide senatorial election in AZ

September 13, 2012

German Court Backs ESM Rescue Fund in Double-Edged Ruling

Source: The Telegraph (UK)

Germany's highest court has cleared the way for ratification of the eurozone bail-out fund but capped German contributions and fired a cannon shot across the bows of the European Central Bank.


By Ambrose Evans-Pritchard
8:34PM BST 12 Sep 2012

Markets breathed a sigh of relief across the world after the Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe ruled that the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) and the EU’s Fiscal Compact are compatible with the country’s Basic Law. The euro surged to a four-month high of €1.29 to the dollar.
...
Yet it was a double-edged ruling, with plenty of cheer for the 37,000 citizens who had filed complaints in an outpouring of civic protest, including the neo-Marxist Left Party, the More Democracy movement and a core of eurosceptic professors. In keeping with rulings on the Lisbon Treaty and earlier rescues, the eight judges issued a “Yes, but” verdict, imposing constraints that greatly reduce Berlin’s room for manoeuvre in the future.
...
The court capped Germany’s ESM share at €190bn and ordered the government to “express clearly that it cannot be bound by the Treaty” if the limit is breached. This stops the ESM increasing Germany’s share if Spain and Italy seek top-up funding. “The cap could prove a real obstacle,” said Raoul Ruparel from Open Europe


Read more: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financialcrisis/9539695/German-court-backs-ESM-rescue-fund-in-double-edged-ruling.html

---

This is a very important story -- it should have been reported on LBN yesterday

January 19, 2012

Who's up for reviving the "Democracy Corps" to combat PIPA and SOPA?

I went to a link on this issue (on which I confess ignorance, so people more knowledgeable would have to take up the leadership on this) and was AMAZED at the number of Democrats, including progressive-leaning ones, who are undecided or supportive of this legislation.

Here's a partial list in the Senate (from http://www.opencongress.org/wiki/Protect_IP_Act_Senate_whip_count) this may not be totally up to date today: Akaka (HI, D, undeclared); Max Baucus, (D,MT, undeclared); Michael Bennett (D, CO, yes, cosponsor); Jeff Bingaman (D, NM, Yes, cosponsor),
Barbara Boxer, (I donate to her monthly) (D, CA, YES -- COSPONSOR); Sherrod Brown (who I donated to and whose office calls me all the time)(D, OH, yes, CoSponsor); Thomas Carper, (D, Delaware, undeclared); Robert Casey, (D, PA, yes, Cosponsor); Conrad, (D, ND, undeclared); Chris Coons, (D, Delaware, Yes, Cosponsor); Durbin, (D, Ill, Yes, Cosponsor); Diane Feinstein, (D, CA, Yes, Cosponsor); Al Franken (D, MN, yes, COSPONSOR) (another one I donated to); Gillibrand, (D, NY, Yes, Cosponsor); Kay Hagan (D, NC, Yes, Cosponsor); Inouye (D, HI, undeclared); Tim Johnson, (D, SD, Yes, Cosponsor); Amy Klobuchar, (D, MN, Yes, Cosponsor); Herbert Kohl (D, WI, Yes, Cosponsor); Mary Landrieu, (D, LA, Yes, Cosponsor); Leahy (D, VT, Yes, Cosponsor); Carl Levin (D, MI, undeclared); Lieberman (I, CT, Yes, Cosponsor); Robert Mendendez (D, NJ, Yes, Cosponsor); Patty Murray (D, WA, undeclared); Bill Nelson (D, FL, Yes, Cosponsor); Harry Reid, (D, NV, Leaning Yes); Bernie Sanders, (D, VT, Undeclared); Chuck Schumer (D, NY, Yes, Cosponsor); Jeanne Shaheen, (D, NH, Yes, Cosponsor); Debbie Stabenow (D, MI, Undeclared); Tom Udall (D, NM, Yes, Cosponsor); James Webb (D, VA, Undeclared); Sheldon Whitehouse (D, RI, Yes, Cosponsor)

Thus, nearly 40 Democrats and independents have are supporting or undeclared on this issue. A handful of members of both Houses flipped Wed, and a concerted effort by DUers and their friends, including to DELAY the vote, should be able to make some headway

Some people need to step forward to organize this, also for members of the House -- not just relying on individual initiative (which rarely comes close to organized effort)

January 19, 2012

Is there a list of where all Congresspersons stand on SOPA/PIPA? Where?

It would seem that with all the attention focused here and elsewhere (like Wikipedia) on this matter, that somewhere there should be an updated list of which Congresspeople have committed one way or the other on these issues and whose positions remain unknown.

I would like to know where there are links or discussions, other than the NY Times, and the reports of the six members of Congress who have flipped against them

Which members of Congress are leading the charge against these bills, and has anyone drawn up a replacement bill to address privacy in a way that the EFF would support?

Plz pardon my ignorance about this issue -- I am not really adept on the web