Murdoch She Wrote

Rupert Murdoch has positioned himself and his companies in a key nexus of power. Information is essential for democracy to function, and Murdoch firms have come to act as gatekeepers for news & commentary. Extreme concentration of money & power can seem efficient, but it's dangerous, intimidating and deadening.

Some reporting lacks civility, but a titillated public buys the output.

They are faulted for developing too-cozy relationships with those in power.

They're also criticized for bending the rules and for breaking the law.

As with the implosion of Robert Maxwell's media empire, we might hope any changes result in more and diverse voices among a wider concerned community.

Going to Hell - Community Despair

Community is undermined by the incidents described below. It's painful to examine the assorted legal & ethical problems of Mrs. Gina Marie Clark (age 40, Marstons Mills, MA, USA).

(In brief:) Gina Clark ran the charity Touched by Angels, raising money for local accident victims & the critically ill. The organization was effective with fundraising: working with regional groups and businesses, soliciting funds from private donors in the community with true stories of local need and hardship.

A problem emerged: numerous people claimed to not have received their expected funds (link). Perhaps simple ingratitude, but many loud voices shouted scam. Ultimately, Gina Clark was arrested and charged dozens of crimes, including larceny by embezzlement, fraud, and more. Outside her arraignment, her lawyer Seth Roman (of Wilkins and Deyoung, Hyannis) stated "This is a witch hunt!" The charity is no longer operating.

Last week, Gina Clark was arrested (link) for shoplifting. She is accused of hiding assorted items worth $1093.89 down at the base of her shopping cart, paying $190.09 for merchandise on the top layer, and leaving a Kohl's department store with stolen goods. She reportedly claimed to the arresting policeman "That was not my cart, and I didn’t know how the items got in there." Such a defense might have been believable, although fingerprints or CCTV video might show if she'd handled the items. At a subsequent court appearance, her lawyer reportedly claimed something different, the shoplifting was a mere "misunderstanding" - Gina simply forgot about some items in her cart.

The public is left to wonder. Is it at all believable that someone selects nearly $1300 of goods, pays less than $200, and notices nothing? Is this lawyer's job simply to say whatever might potentially defend his client? One is left feeling the community system is hopelessly dirty & corrupt.

2011-05-05 fraud arraignment (link to YouTube video)

BackupBankroll® Joe DebtDupe

Private bankers lend money & collect interest. They get more interest from weaker borrowers. When a borrower can't pay on time, the public instead must pay those debts.

Sound crazy?
Not for a lender bank. Look carefully at this "can't lose" excellent business plan - - politicians dispense taxpayer funds to private banks (or to weak borrower nations) and make you pay-in involuntarily.

The stronger of the world are already well-served with good banking relationships. So what can a hungry bank do? Push the marginal borrowers into high-priced debt. Any problem and Joe Public will bailout the bank for the note.

This happened in the USA with the housing bubble, and earlier with savings & loan companies; now the public shoulders sovereign debt of Greece. Banks have played the politicians and ultimately the taxpayers to backup bankroll their lending.

Banks have not "accidentally" found themselves in this situation. As financial brokers it is fundamental to their business plan. Buying-selling selling-buying, they collect whatever happens.

Lord Murdoch of Mordor

When media baron Rupert Murdoch and son James Murdoch were invited to appear before the British House of Commons (Culture, Media and Sport Committee) they initially declined as being "unavailable." When then more formally summoned to appear, they claimed to be too busy (James Murdoch offered an alternate schedule 22 days after the assigned day). As public outrage grew, they finally agreed to appear as demanded.

Press & public interest are high. But who should be responsible for illegal spying by media that happened years ago? These cases involve national politics, huge funds and great power. They highlight incestuous relationships between media, politicians, and law enforcement. We're likely to hear of similar crimes in other countries -- by Murdoch-related reporters and also by others. Can we ever know what truly happened? What lessons can be learned?

We might feel sympathy for the Murdochs as they're being grilled; they claim to know little or nothing of procedures at their businesses. But wait - - these are the bosses of Bill O'Reilly, Sean Hannity, & other Foxholes, so better we recognize the Murdochs as cynically manipulative, super wealthy weasels.

The New Obama?

 
Obama criticizing Alito: "...he consistently sides on behalf of the powerful against the powerless; on behalf of a strong government or corporation against upholding American's individual rights."
-- Barack Obama's U.S. Senate statement opposing appointment of Samuel Alito Jr. to U.S. Supreme Court (26 Jan. 2006)

Has President Obama morphed to serving the same Monster?

Wall Street Under Siege

Corporate control of US politics is now threatened by a planned Wall Street invasion. Adbusters (link) invites activists to build a tent city on Wall Street, New York, from 17 September 2011. By awakening participatory democracy, they hope to separate money from politics.

Corporate-directed militarism is a gloomy nightmare that's led to national & worldwide misery -- though Wall Street wizards have thus far been immune. Brokers profiting from chicanery may yet see Nightmare on Elm Street become nightmare on Wall Street, The pigs will be out in force, busting heads & worse...

Do (while you can)

Don't be a passive consumer, inhaling the smoke of corporate media & government spin while not yourself communicating. Passivity is for schmucks. In today's world, seek solutions or you're screwed. Too many business plans, big & small, distill to one word: Exploitation. Your home, bank accounts, health, job, etc. are under threat - escapism is not an option. Clam up and you're served on the half shell to the greedy.

But what to do?

Speak out. Talk to others about your worries & fears. Extract understanding & share with others. Starting a blog is easy and free. Build a web presence. Develop your brand. Your voice is important --- use it or lose it.

US Debt Default Strategy

The US national debt is in the daily news. Elite government officials reportedly spend many hours, day after day, discussing options for cutting spending, raising taxes & revenues, or increasing the debt ceiling. The rating agencies Moody's and Standard & Poor's are prepared to downgrade US sovereign debt, which will make assorted borrowing more expensive.

The people of the USA may be better served by default. US rogue regimes led by Bush & Obama squandered our money on overseas military adventures, against majority opinion (repeat polls show strong majorities for removing US troops from Iraq & Afghanistan). Future generations shouldn't be saddled with costly errors made by elitist fools & their wealthy promoters wasting public funds.

This 'rogue government' argument has been used by other nations when a prior regime has looted their national treasury for indefensible activities (sometimes assisted by the USA). Now it's our turn to be lectured that we should've thrown the bums out.

Sovereign credit ratings, United States of America:

Moody's Investors Service
USA long-term = Aaa
on review for possible downgrade 13 July 2011 (link)

Standard & Poor's Ratings Services
USA long-term = AAA
USA short-term = A-1+
put on CreditWatch w/ negative implications 14 July 2011 (link)

Fitch Ratings
USA long-term = AAA
USA short-term = F1+
stable since 21 Sept 2000 (link)

Insane Spending: US Bombs

Friday, 8 July, the US House of Representatives passed a new Defense Spending Bill. Support was strong & bipartisan, the bill passed 336-87. US wars in Iraq & Afghanistan are budgeted $119 billion, a figure only part of expected spending for brutal & wasteful US operations so far away.

Every three days the USA sinks $1+ billion making war on those two distant regions. Overall defense spending is five times as much. Insane.

Time to cut off USA adventurism overseas. Most operations have little to do with defense of the USA; they're counterproductive & antagonize local people. Neither should American taxpayers be paying Israeli bills; those billions of dollars are needed at home.

Rant !

A key lie:
      America = independence     but elsewhere, no

I love independence. And I'm independent -- more than most people. I've lived decades in America, and decades outside. Around the world are plenty of independent thinkers & independent people, often happy, settled in nice places; Americans believing otherwise are wrong.

That's not to say independence is everywhere -- it ain't. And independence is not everywhere in America. Far too many folk are unemployed, homeless or bedraggled. Lots of Americans must kiss ass for job & health insurance.

Of course where taxpaying citizens view public servants as parasites, chronic bad attitude is a real problem (especially in cops). Most workers have insufficient vacation time. Stress is everywhere. Too many Americans are deeply in debt, living under threat of losing their home. Nearly 25 million US households might have their Homeowners Association dictating the color of their door or the frequency they must cut their grass - is that independence?

The US Government's run amok with surveillance, defense spending and overseas adventurism. Major growth industries are creepy "Homeland Security" and prisons. There's too little justice.

US politicians are a sorry lot. Americans electing hope & change got shafted.     (to be continued)...

Hell for Free-Market Economists

Bottom line of US government "economic downturn" policies:

  government bailout   =   government subsidy

Unfair elsewhere.
- - - OK if USA... ?

Libya's new Minister of Oil

 
What slowed the Libyan anti-Gaddafi advance?

--- Each rebel realized the foreign promise he'd be next Oil Minister was shared by many...

Wax Poetica

Vignettes of life and experience
seldom distill into verse
a few fragments
or better nothing?

Yet even glimpses on paper
cheer the unknown poet
when instances
resonate again

Japan's 3/11

The 3/11 disasters (earthquake, tsunami, nuclear accident of March 11th this year) have been - and will continue to be - pivotal for Japan.

In Japan more is gone than America lost on their 9/11... Lives, property and complacency are shattered. The nation is plagued with a poisoned seascape and a huge irradiated exclusion zone. Government & corporate "best spin efforts" gradually dissolve, as the nation and the world share horror & anger.

Awaken to the Power

We're bred to ignore power, as if it weren't there. But by understanding power, we're empowered. So beware of fraud & deception; work at understanding the world, and make it better.

Glowing Wave Fukushima

On the Nuclear Shoreline...     sealife suffers.

Greece & the Eurozone

The Greek economy is in trouble; the population is agitating, trying to avoid financial pain, but their system allowed much unpaid excess - it's likely they'll default.

Too bad for them.

But this will not cause the euro to collapse. Once the Greeks are slapped with the worst their creditors can dish out, the euro will stabilize -- strong as ever.

The Wall Street Journal and other American propaganda rags denigrate the euro, and have done so throughout its history. But they would - the euro is top competitor to the almighty US dollar, and by talking down the euro, they build up their own currency.

War Profits? -- Who Pays?

Oversight

The U.S. Federal Government is responsible for oversight in key areas such as nuclear power generation and regulating financial sectors.

But "oversight" is a weasely and flawed word.

First, the government didn't protect citizen interests in the recent financial meltdown. How could such 'overheating' happen? (Top salespeople and 'oversight' officials regularly switch jobs). Home mortgage-holders have been held to account, but banking & other big industries were bailed out. Risk-taking decisionmakers continue to be obscenely rewarded in those industries. Please note Wall Street's political donations.

Second, what does oversight mean? Squat. Nothing.

Oversight means to regulate or supervise, but oversight is also defined as inadvertent error to notice or failure to do anything.

Confidence you can bank on! A confidence game where you're the hustled mark.

Another example: Nuclear meltdown has yet to occur in US, but the USA has twenty-three GE Mark 1 nuclear reactors like the Fukushima disaster nuclear plant. Oversight?

Nuclear New England

Nuclear accident? You must act fast. All will be up to you - suddenly you'll need to protect health & save life. The early problem is avoiding contamination. Get away !  The authorities later will determine exclusion zones and dangerously contaminated areas. Shown here on a local New England map are 15 & 50 mile dirty zones (24 & 80 kms; click for detail). The Fukushima nuclear meltdown (same design as Plymouth Pilgrim plant, with less spent fuel stored on site) resulted in 20 km radius full & continuing evacuation -- residents forced suddenly to wholly abandon their homes, towns & businesses. The property remaining there is irradiated and unsafe. Polluted sea life, spitting distance from the accident, is further poisoning the oceanic food chain, causing unknown troubles...

Alternative power sources were labeled 'too expensive' -- yet the true cost of nuclear power was ignored; monstrous risks were overlooked.

Designers said it couldn't happen. Their failure in Japan has had heavy consequences...

Pilgrim Nuclear Power Plant, Plymouth MA USA
photo source: US Nuclear Regulatory Commission

In a Bad State - America

America wages three wars in distant lands. Many other US servant governments are in trouble with their people. Meanwhile at home, basic infrastructure & education are underfunded. Government ignores the law, clever businesses go their own way, and there's no accountability. Deception (when discovered) is labeled "regrettable ignorance" - and we're thus deceived again.

High unemployment will jump higher when the bubble bursts on militarism, and that gravy train slows down.

Where will new jobs come from? What are America's promising growth industries other than military, "security" and prisons?

Hot Summer, Underwater Loans

Thanks for Helping !           ...not !

We the Sheeple

The conquered delight in reflected greatness
And know nothing of being oppressed.

We learn to shun political debate
Nervous to glimpse shackles & muzzles.

Dwelling on inanities
We huddle in shadows of peace.

Rich fertile Commonwealth stripped,
Great Leaders lecture the desperate & homeless.

We're weaned on austerity
As Banks & Military cop our affluence.

Herded to overvalued housing
Our assets were stripped, our futures held ransom.

Yet misled Fools
Still heel to the same advisers.

Mired in negative worth
We're lauded & fleeced repeatedly.

Hawaii Remembered

Hawaii:   Still an American Colony, still in great distress ...

Permanent War -- Military Industries

America created huge permanent war systems: beggaring U.S. communities, slaughtering & traumatizing military volunteers, destroying people around the earth.

The war systems are unsustainable. U.S. national political leaders fail to dismantle or curtail the wastefulness. Everyone suffers except the military industries.

Private Profits - Public Pays for Mistakes

Large corporate powers suck out private profits when possible -- but when their speculation goes very poorly, they coerce politicians to use public funds and pay for their mistakes.

The nuclear industry in Japan is in need of bailout. Thousands of people cannot return home due to radiation. More nuclear accidents will occur. Where in the world is next? "Nuclear is safe & economical" was bullshit; the costs of nuclear waste & accidents are huge. The public will be forced to pay huge costs.

Here is a great article (link) from the Japan Times:

U.S. court victories show how to get rid of nuclear plants
By STEPHEN HESSE

Lawyer Tom Twomey knows far more than most of us about the importance of citizen participation in making energy policy. That's because Twomey has spent four decades keeping a watchful eye on electric power suppliers in New York — and he's learned that what we don't know can hurt us.

Certainly, what he's learned about the hubris and underhand dealings of the U.S. nuclear power industry offers some valuable lessons for Japan. But the most important thing he says he's come to realize is that the participation of public-interest lawyers and the media is critical to ensure that energy providers prioritize safety. And that applies just as much to Japan as the United States, he insists, even though Japan is a far less litigious society in which citizens shy away from challenging government and big business.

In the following recent interview with The Japan Times, Twomey shares some insights and experiences from his years helping farmers to challenge the U.S. nuclear power industry — and win.

What was the situation you faced in 1974?

In the 1970s, the local utility on Long Island decided that, rather than simply supplying electricity to homeowners and businesses in the area, they would get into the wholesale production of electricity and produce enough power for the entire northeast region of the United States.

Unlike the other coastal areas from Boston to Washington D.C., which are heavily populated, the east end of Long Island is a rural farming area with a relatively small population. It also has easy access to the cooling waters of the Atlantic, since a nuclear plant requires massive amounts of water to keep its reactors from overheating.

The local utility decided to build 19 nuclear reactors there in Jamesport, and it planned to turn our rural area into "A Nuclear Power Park."

As a lawyer, how did you get involved?

I was retained by farmers in the area to find out what the utility was planning. We didn't realize it at the time, but we were beginning the only successful trial of the nuclear industry in America. Prior to these proceedings, virtually all applications in America were given rubberstamp approvals. Thanks to New York State regulations, we were able to intervene in the legal proceedings and — once we were a party to the proceedings — we were able to force the industry to answer questions under oath about the need for and the safety of nuclear power.

In short, what happened?

When the farmers began their battle, local elected officials were initially bemused. But as the legal fight intensified, these officials took more and more interest in the issue. With thorough reporting in three newspapers, the public began to realize that if even a small accident occurred at the reactor, they might have to evacuate their homes permanently. They might forever lose their businesses. They might suffer untold numbers of cancers.

All of a sudden, the truthfulness of the utility executives become a critical issue. And those utility experts had to repeatedly admit under oath that they were exaggerating the safety of the reactor.

After 80 full days of trial over the course of several years, we finally succeeded in securing a denial of the application, but only after extraordinary efforts by dozens of scientific and engineering witnesses whom my clients retained to testify against the proposal, and only after direct intervention by our governor who, at the request of all the local elected officials, stood up to the powerful nuclear industry.

What did the utility experts reveal in court?

With straight faces, the utility scientists testified that there would never be an accident that would exceed the radiation limits in the regulations. On cross-examination, they were forced to admit that during an accident, maximum radiation safety limits are suspended. In other words, during an accident, an unlimited amount of radiation could spew from a plant but the utility could accurately assure the public the emissions did not exceed safety limits.

The utility scientists also testified that no released radiation would be immediately harmful to the residents living in the vicinity of a nuclear plant. On cross-examination, they were forced to admit that few people die immediately from cancer and leukemia; it takes a period of time for these "health effects," as they euphemistically called them, to occur. In other words, the utility could accurately say, as they are doing now in Japan, that there would be no immediate danger to the residents of the area.

The utility scientists further testified that the Jamesport plants would not kill any fish — even though 10 percent of the waters of Long Island Sound would be sucked through an 8-foot (240-cm) diameter pipe each year to cool the nuclear core.

On cross-examination, they were forced to admit that the water would be heated to 32 degrees, thereby killing billions of fish eggs each year, decimating the number of fish that would spawn in the Sound from then on. They defended their statement that no fish would be killed by sheepishly admitting that there would end up being no fish to be killed.

With these shocking revelations, it became clear that the nuclear industry was built upon an elaborate deception of the public and of public officials who were making energy decisions. The nuclear industry simply could not be trusted.

What were the most convincing arguments you made against the plants?

We concentrated on three arguments: Compared to existing alternatives, the reactors were not needed, they were unsafe, and they were too expensive.

First, we had plenty of natural gas available to boil water to turn the turbines to make the electricity. Second, the pumps and piping supplying water to cool the reactor were so huge that metal fatigue would eventually occur and cause a release of radioactivity into an area that could not be safely evacuated since we are on an island. Third, the industry admitted that massive taxpayer subsidies would be needed to operate the plants.

You are also familiar with the decommissioning of another reactor, at Shoreham, New York. How did the decommissioning come about?

Through civil disobedience and political action, residents convinced the governor of New York to initiate a takeover of the utility company, which had brazenly ignored the wishes of elected officials in the region by starting up the reactor. In the end, the utility was put out of business. A state agency took over the reactor, shut it down, and began tearing it down and decommissioning the radioactive parts.

You also worked as a trustee to the Long Island Power Authority during the decommissioning. What did you learn from that experience?

I was appointed to that $1-a-year job by Gov. Mario Cuomo (father of the current governor) to represent the residents of the area. I volunteered over six years to help oversee the dismantling of the Shoreham reactor and install gas turbines at the site. I learned that after 40 years of talk and study by the nuclear industry about how to safely dispose of nuclear waste from these reactors, there is no way of doing it. That is why the nuclear rods are still stored on the roof of reactor buildings.

From what I learned, I believe there never will be a safe way of storing this waste. Just as there will never be a way to prevent a tsunami.

Do you have any thoughts on what citizens in Japan should be doing?

Citizens in the areas around nuclear plants should form a coalition. They should engage law firms to participate in all administrative proceedings that are scheduled to license or extend the life spans of nuclear plants in the country. The lawyers should cross-examine all utility experts under oath. Highly qualified experts should be engaged to testify on behalf of the residents. Local residents and elected officials should be informed every step of the way through the media. Email addresses should be collected. Databases should be created to quickly disseminate information collected at the hearings.

Eventually, with a lot of hard work, the citizens will prevail.

---------------------------------
Stephen Hesse teaches in the Chuo University Law Faculty and is Director of the Chuo International Center. He can be reached at stevehesse@hotmail.com
The Japan Times, 22 May 2011

Sunny & Warm

The systems of our world progress
Or maybe stop. We vaguely guess.
We know just bits of all around.
And quibble over scraps we've found.

Discovery! We boldly claim.
While nature winks at human fame
By doing what created now.

We know not why, and guess at how.

Our prayers miss wonders, vision faint
We honor angels in bright paint.
Please choose instead of bickering
Rejoicing in an outdoor spring.

Meddler State

Globalism offers a world of opportunity. But as decrepit nation-states lose primacy, they meddle into indefensible areas. If your government is doing monkeybusiness in distant lands when they should be helping you & your community --   Shout 'em out !

Real change requires we stop meddling. Stop costly adventurism overseas. My community needs healing.

Dictating Libya's Future

NATO and Sweden wage war in Libya under the mandate of 10 votes in the United Nation's Security Council. Supposedly protecting civilians by imposing a no-fly zone, they've instead cruelly fought as executioners for regime change.

USA & NATO forces have flown 6000+ air sorties and bombing missions, destroying hundreds of Libyan government installations and killing an unknown number of Libyan military, Libyan government employees, and Libyan civilians (including three baby grandchildren of the leader).

UNSC Resolution 1973 (2011) is a flawed & deceptive mandate. French-led schemers inserted the word "humanitarian" a full dozen times in the short document, while the five abstaining nations warned armed intervention would bring bad consequences.

While a major part of Resolution 1973 (link) addressed the arms embargo, Allied arms dealers / Allied governments now trample the mandate by funneling weapons into Libya for elements fighting their government. Our news media portray the NATO (and Swedish) governments as smugly satisfied with the situation.

I think it is terrible. I believe this is an illegal war, built on deception. We had no proper justification to intervene in Libya's civil strife. We should not be spending our monies and resources in these activities. The warring powers have made our world less safe. By targeting the Libyan government as "enemy" we ourselves become enemy targets.

The program was marketed by warring powers as a "no-fly zone" and it's now clear more explanation should have been demanded. NATO is widely destroying Libyan government buildings, essentially executing anyone in or near them. What do the warring powers want? Do they seek cheaper access to Libyan resources? Is their purpose to divert attention from heavy-handed repression elsewhere? The Allied weaponry on display is mostly available for sale, and destruction fuels their arms bazaar. "Civilian protection" and humanitarianism is a smokescreen. By our not demanding transparency and a legal basis for warmaking, people & governments anywhere can now be threatened with summary destruction. Not good.

Nuclear? Not to Worry...

We keep your house. You go back... later.
500 years -- maybe.

This child needs treatment.
Return in 2030.
For compensation, window 9

Look carefully at the nuclear meltdown tragedy in Japan. The power company (TEPCO) has insufficient resources to clean-up & compensate. The public is forced to pay, although claw-back of past TEPCO dividends would help.

Nuclear disaster is hugely expensive. Worst-case cost figures are hidden by the industry. Proper long-term nuclear waste disposal must be foolproof (so sorry - it isn't). Failure means huge regions may not survive or reproduce.

The nuclear industry should be off-limits to flim-flam marketers, due to hidden horrible threats to health & property. Your local power company assures you all is safe. Sure.