Bloomberg reports that former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum , has come a long way from from being one of the poorer members of the U.S. Senate to earning $1.3 million between January 2010 and August 2011. How did he do it? Mostly by providing access, after he lost his Senate seat.
China angry at US sanctions on oil firm Zhuhai Zhenrong
China’s foreign ministry said imposing unilateral sanctions on Zhuhai Zhenrong based on US law was “unreasonable”.
The US said on Thursday Zhuhai Zhenrong was one of three international firms to be punished for dealing with Iran. (Read more)
Brazil’s Insidious New Pregnancy Registration Law Violates the Privacy of Women
On December 27, while most Brazilians prepared for the New Year by bleaching their whites and gathering flowers to toss into the Atlantic for the goddess Iemanjá, Dilma Rousseff, Brazil’s first female president, was gathering a group a conservative legislators to stealthily assist in drafting and enacting a CeauÅŸescu-like law requiring all pregnant women to register their pregnancies with the state.
At first glance, Provisional Measure 557 (PM 557) is not a bad law. It purports to address Brazil’s high maternal mortality ratio by ensuring better access to quality maternal health care, notably for pregnant women at a high risk for health complications. The problem is that it won’t reduce maternal mortality. Notwithstanding the fact that many of its provisions are legally and constitutionally questionable, its requirements are not based on sound public health policy.
So what is going on? Brazil, the most populous Catholic country in Latin America, finds its politics intrinsically tied to the hierarchy of the Catholic Church. Dilma, who won a last-minute reprieve from the church’s negative onslaught in the 2010 presidential elections once she disavowed any suggested support for abortion, is to a certain extent beholden to that base. Indeed, Dilma’s cabinet includes an unofficial church representative who was responsible for brokering an agreement between the Vatican and Brazil during President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s administration. For years Catholic and evangelical parliamentarians have been trying unsuccessfully to establish a registry for pregnant women, with Dilma’s support they’ve finally succeeded.
(Read more)
RamzPaul: Tampon Ad Called ‘Transphobic’
Doll ‘protesters’ present small problem for Russian police
Russian police don’t take kindly to opposition protesters – even if they’re 5cm high and made of plastic.
Police in the Siberian city of Barnaul have asked prosecutors to investigate the legality of a recent protest that saw dozens of small dolls – teddy bears, Lego men, South Park figurines – arranged to mimic a protest, complete with signs reading: “I’m for clean elections” and “A thief should sit in jail, not in the Kremlin”.
“Political opposition forces are using new technologies to carry out public events – using toys with placards at mini-protests,” Andrei Mulintsev, the city’s deputy police chief, said at a press conference this week, according to local media. “In our opinion, this is still an unsanctioned public event.” (Read more)
Russian paratroopers make Anti-Putin rock song
A video of a musical group of alleged former Russian paratroopers performing a song that is sharply critical of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has quickly become a YouTube sensation, The New York Times reports.
By Friday evening, the band had performed the song on a private television channel, TV Dozhd (Russian for ‘TV Rain’). At the time of writing, the YouTube video had more than half a million hits.
Sporting tattoes, berets, and military decorations, the two singers and three back-up musicians leave no stone unturned in letting Putin know exactly what they think of him: a “tyrant” who has “destroyed the military”, AFP reports.
Posted under the title “Putin and Paratroopers,” the song pits the Prime Minister — who claimed in December that he thought the white ribbon (the protest movement’s symbol) was a protest against HIV — against the common man.
Here’s some lyrics, translated by the NYT:
You’re no different from me.
A man and not God.
I’m no different from you.
A man, not some hick.We won’t let you keep lying, we won’t let you keep stealing
We’re liberated troops who defended the motherlandRibbons of freedom are positive for all, but for you…
there nothing – just condoms.
On Dozhd, the men said they had received messages of support from all over the country, and had already attended the mass rallies in Moscow last month. (Read more)
Russian caviar found stashed in St Petersburg morgue
ars were also found next to bodies lying in coffins for viewing by relatives the next day, police said.
A businessman and a morgue attendant have been arrested. The businessman was said to be renting part of the morgue for his funeral services firm.
They told police the caviar had been intended to personal use during the pending new year celebrations.
The red and black caviar, weighing 175kg (385lb), apparently comes from endangered species. The red caviar, which made up most of the haul, was stored in five containers marked “Aviation Security. Inspected”.
Police also found caviar in a fridge in a morgue workers’ rest area and among the businessman’s belongings.
It is unclear whether the men, aged 64 and 42, will face charges as possession of caviar is not illegal. Such a large amount would have cost a fortune on the open market and much of the trade in Russia is on the black market. (Read more)
True Finn Party Against Euro-Zone Bailout
When I had the honor of leading the True Finn Party to electoral victory in April, we made a solemn promise to oppose the bailouts of euro-zone member states. Europe is suffering from the economic gangrene of insolvency—both public and private. Unless we amputate that which cannot be saved, we risk poisoning the whole body.
To understand the real nature and purpose of the bailouts, we first have to understand who really benefits from them.
At the risk of being accused of populism, we’ll begin with the obvious: It is not the little guy who benefits. He is being milked and lied to in order to keep the insolvent system running. He is paid less and taxed more to provide the money needed to keep this Ponzi scheme going. Meanwhile, a symbiosis has developed between politicians and banks: Our political leaders borrow ever more money to pay off the banks, which return the favor by lending ever more money back to our governments.
In a true market economy, bad choices get penalized. Instead of accepting losses on unsound investments—which would have led to the probable collapse of some banks—it was decided to transfer the losses to taxpayers via loans, guarantees and opaque constructs such as the European Financial Stability Fund.
The money did not go to help indebted economies. It flowed through the European Central Bank and recipient states to the coffers of big banks and investment funds.
Further contrary to the official wisdom, the recipient states did not want such “help,” not this way. The natural option for them was to admit insolvency and let failed private lenders, wherever they were based, eat their losses.
That was not to be. Ireland was forced to take the money. The same happened to Portugal.
Enlarge Image
timo
timo
Getty Images
Why did the Brussels-Frankfurt extortion racket force these countries to accept the money along with “recovery” plans that would inevitably fail? Because they needed to please the tax-guzzling banks, which might otherwise refuse to turn up at the next Spanish, Belgian, Italian or even French bond auction.
Unfortunately for this financial and political cartel, their plan isn’t working. Already under this scheme, Greece, Ireland and Portugal are ruined. They will never be able to save and grow fast enough to pay back the debts with which Brussels has saddled them in the name of saving them.
Setting up the European Stability Mechanism is no solution. It would institutionalize the system of wealth transfers from private citizens to compromised politicians and failed bankers, creating a huge moral hazard and destroying what remains of Europe’s competitive banking landscape.
Fortunately, it is not too late to stop the rot. . . . (Read more)
Why the Scots want independence from the English
The more life in Scotland feels like life in England, the stronger the desire to assert a distinct identity.
In part, the disengagement of Scotland from the UK reflects the inexorable consequence of the establishment of the Scottish Parliament in 1999. It is in the nature of institutions and their members to seek to extend their powers. We see this in Brussels and we see it in Edinburgh. It may still be unlikely that a referendum in Scotland would produce a majority for outright independence, but there will probably be a majority for giving much greater powers to the Scottish Parliament – what is commonly called devo-max. The Union is being sliced up salami-style until the final step to independence is small.
The rise of Scottish nationalism puzzles many in England, especially those who believe that Scotland is subsidised by England (an arguable proposition) and also those millions south of the border who claim Scottish ancestry, often proudly. In truth, it puzzles some of us in Scotland, too, for many are still happy with a dual Scottish-British identity.
Undeniably, however, the sense of Britishness has weakened over the past half-century. There are some conventional, explanations: the distance from the Second World War, when Britain resisted Nazi Germany; the end of the British Empire, in which Scots had played a disproportionate role; and, perhaps, membership of the European Union. Certainly, the SNP fastened on this as a defence against the charge that independence would leave Scotland isolated.
With this weakening of a British identity goes a resurgent Scottishness. Take the kilt, for example. When I was young, it was worn by soldiers, stage comics and singers of Scots songs, public schoolboys on Sundays, and, somewhat unconvincingly, members of the Royal family and lairds attending the Braemar Gathering and other Highland games. It was also favoured by a few cultural nationalists like Compton Mackenzie and Hugh MacDiarmid. Now it is far more popular than it used to be: standard wear for weddings and dances, and international football and rugby matches. It has become an expression of difference, of our distinct identity. (Read more)
Cop Gets Kicked Out Of Coffee Shop because he’s a Cop
Of course, the coverage supports the cop. “[He] isn’t just a police man, he’s a human being.”
Photo shows pepper-sprayed prisoner
No doubt you’ve heard the adage: a picture is worth a thousand words. A picture of 62-year-old Nick Christie could be worth thousands of dollars when a jury sees it.
The photo shows the Ohio man restrained inside the Lee County Jail with his body covered in pepper spray.
“This photo is a picture of a man who is strapped to a chair naked inside a jail for hours with a hood over his face. That evokes thoughts of being tortured,” says Cleveland-based lawyer Nick DiCello who represents the Christie family.
The photo, which was obtained by FOX 13’s investigative unit, was taken in the final hours of Christie’s life.
The District 21 Medical Examiner ruled his death was a homicide because he had been restrained and sprayed with pepper sprayed by law enforcement officers. But to this day, nobody has ever been charged with a crime, and the Lee County State Attorney cleared the sheriff’s office of any wrong doing.
It’s been more than two and a half years and his wife still can’t accept what happened. (Read more)
China Gets Cheaper Iran Oil as U.S. Pays Tab for Hormuz Patrols
China stands to be the biggest beneficiary of U.S. and European plans for sanctions on Iran’s oil sales in an effort to pressure the regime to abandon its nuclear program.
As European Union members negotiate an Iranian oil embargo and the U.S. begins work on imposing sanctions to complicate global payments for Iranian oil, Chinese refiners already may be taking advantage of the mounting pressure. China is demanding discounts and better terms on Iranian crude, oil analysts and sanctions advocates said in interviews. (Read more)
Iran Set to Turn Off Oil Supply to Europe
It’s a move which has tit-for-tat written all over it, but one which could nonetheless have a serious impact: The Iranian government wants to present a bill to parliament this weekend calling for an immediate halt to oil deliveries to Europe. The move, with most reports citing the Iranian news agency Mehr, has come about in response to the EU agreement to impose sanctions against Iran, which were announced earlier this week.
The sanctions banned any new contracts for buying oil from Iran, but allowed existing deals to continue until July in order to give countries time to find other sources. But that process is now at risk after the latest move from Tehran, a step the Iranian government had already threatened.
“If this bill is passed, the government will be forced to stop selling oil to Europe before the actual implementation of their sanctions,” said Emad Hosseini, spokesman for the Iranian parliament’s energy commission, reportedly said. The bill is set to become law on Sunday.
The EU sanctions allow for oil deliveries from Iran until July 1. Any pre-empting of this timescale by Tehran could prove problematic for countries like Italy, Greece and Spain, who would need to urgently find new suppliers. (Read more)
US warships cross Hormuz despite Iranian threats
(dec 30, 2011)
TWO American warships have crossed through the Strait of Hormuz without incident, despite Iranian threats to close the strategic oil route, the US Navy says.
The aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis and the guided missile cruiser USS Mobile Bay “conducted a preplanned, routine transit through the Strait of Hormuz” on Tuesday, said Fifth Fleet spokeswoman Lt. Rebecca Rebarich.
The US military reported no friction with Iran’s naval forces after Iranian leaders warned of possibly shutting down the vital strait if the West went ahead with more punitive sanctions over Iran’s suspect nuclear program. (Read more)
For the first time in history, Arab farmers hatch official Israel egg license
Arab farmers will be granted egg production quotas for the first time in the history of the State of Israel. The cabinet decided to grant such quotas a year ago based on a recommendation from the Agriculture Ministry in a bid to prevent intervention from the High Court of Justice.
Six Arab farmers who met the ministry’s quality standards have now been chosen. However, other Arab farmers are complaining that the conditions set for receiving an egg quota make it financially not worthwhile.
Unofficially, milk and egg production have always been considered “Zionist agricultural branches” and have been chosen to provide a significant part of the livelihood for Jewish agricultural settlements – and Arabs and other minority group farmers have been consistently excluded from these sectors for years with various justifications. The production of milk and eggs and their sale in Israel requires licenses from the Agriculture Ministry or other statutory bodies under the ministry’s auspices.
The Knesset Economic Affairs Committee met on Tuesday to discuss and approve the Agriculture Ministry’s regulations for the production and sale of eggs for 2012. In 2011, 3,000 hen houses for egg production produced 1.9 billion eggs, and the plans for 2012 forecast similar numbers.
. . . .
Only Israeli citizens qualify for the quotas, say the farmers, and the quotas are available only in “national priority areas,” and the farmers must have land zoned for raising livestock and zoned for chicken coops. In addition, the growers must meet veterinary requirements and other restrictions. (Read more)