SearchUser loginNavigationCreate new accountTeam AgonistEditor in Chief: Steve Hynd ThoughtfulGlobalTimelyMixed Bag of Candy: Corner: Brian Downing's Picks: Numerian's Numbers: Progressive Legal Directory: www.washingtondccriminallawyer.net www.criminallawyervirginia.net Who's onlineThere are currently 1 user and 786 guests online.
Online users:Syndicate |
Not All That Glitters...ProPublica's Cora Currier explains that because government-owned Freddie and fannie won't get on board, millions will miss out on the big mortgage settlement announced today. emptywheel says the deal should be seen for what it is, a bank bailout. Borrowers are releasing the banks from liability for "a $1,800-$2,000 check if they sign up for it, the equivalent of saying to them 'sorry we stole your home, here’s two months rent.'" Robert Kuttner describes the deal as "pretty thin gruel", writing that the plan will have little impact if authorities refuse to prosecute banks. Steve Hynd February 9, 2012 - 7:11pm
( categories: USA )
"Ellen represents the values of our company"Via Raw Story, here's my happy thought for the day.
I need to find an excuse to go shopping at J.C. Penny. That stance is worth a few bucks in support. Steve Hynd February 9, 2012 - 3:36pm
( categories: Miscellany )
The New York Times: So Close And Yet, So WrongEnclosed within this article is a hint that the Times of New York could get their hands on the real story, if they wanted to:
Actor 212 February 9, 2012 - 3:17pm
Israel and the MeKMy read on the current fever pitch of "bomb, bomb, bomb Iran" rhetoric coming from Israel, its supporters and general intervention-loving warmongers in the U.S. is that it is mostly a "coercive public diplomacy campaign", part of a strategy of strategic ambiguity designed to bring Iran humbly to the negotiating table. But I know that there are many in the foreign policy community who are now convinced that Israel will launch a strike by July at the latest unless the U.S. can dissuade it or Iran's intractability unexpectedly crumbles. I'd really hate to be wrong on this but the word from some "in the know" is that the Obama administration is trying to head the Israelis off from taking unilateral action that would be disasterous for the U.S. Thus Panetta and Clapper's recent warnings about the danger of an Israeli strike, the leak of Dempsey's warning to Israel that it would be on its own - and thus leaks like this one:
Steve Hynd February 9, 2012 - 2:36pm
( categories: Iran )
The Partisan Dynamics Of PrincipleHere are the grafs from the WaPo report on its latest polling that have today drawn comment from Glenn Greenwald, David Dayen and many others, including on the right. All are crying "hypocrisy".
Steve Hynd February 9, 2012 - 12:55pm
( categories: USA: Presidency )
A Case Study In AusterityGreece and her debt is back in the news, ahead of a possible default on bonds valued at 14.5 billion euros next month. Greece is asking for 130 billion euros to give it some stability going forward. The bone of contention is apparently pension reform. 300 million euros stand between Greece and 130 billion euros. Go fig. This is not the first time Greece has been in imminent danger of collapse. Just two years ago, you may recall, in the face of violent opposition from her people, Greece agreed to an austerity program to avoid default (and forcible ejection from the EU). Actor 212 February 9, 2012 - 10:35am
Libya In Chaos, Syria NextThere's a "must read" piece from Anthony Shadid in the NY Times today, "Libya Struggles to Curb Militias as Chaos Grows". It describes the interim Libyan government as paralyzed by its lack of power to control competing militias with local grievances and an abundance of arms. "This is destruction! We're destroying Libya with our bare hands," says one militia commander trying to restore calm after a firefight with another militia in Tripoli. Steve Hynd February 9, 2012 - 5:57am
( categories: Africa: North )
They're baaackAn Obama supporter joins a progressive web forum. Predictable results follow. h/t lambert Tina February 9, 2012 - 12:43am
( categories: Humor & Satire | USA: Campaign 2012 )
Scaremongers: Heritage On Missile DefenseShorter version of the neocon think-tank's latest fearmongering: "Russia is still the real enemy! EMP! Iran missiles in New York! Chavez With Nukes! Aargh! Obama Bad! Brilliant Pebbles!!!!" It always comes back to Reaganesque "Star Wars" weapons in space for Heritage. The wingnuts don't want missile defense systems to protect against rogue states. They want them so that the U.S. can attack Russia or China with a better chance of success than Russia or China could attack America. I looked hard at their wish for a U.S. first strike capability as part of their dreams of American hegemony back in 2008 and nothing about their position has changed since then. Steve Hynd February 8, 2012 - 6:19pm
( categories: Global Arms Control )
The Carbon BubbleRead the whole of Bill McKibben's excellent post at MoJo but this really jumped out at me.
Thus the carbon bubble: "the business models at the center of our economy are in the deepest possible conflict with physics and chemistry". Steve Hynd February 8, 2012 - 5:07pm
( categories: Global Warming )
The Arab Spring Protest You Don't Hear AboutThere's remarkably little coverage in U.S. news of ongoing protests in Bahrain, so I'm indebted to AE Worldview for this footage and interview with Nabeel Rajab, the president of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights. How Police Attacked the Manama March and Beat Me.
Steve Hynd February 8, 2012 - 4:32pm
( categories: Arabia )
Real Men Go To Tehran Via DamascusThe CSMonitor's Nicholas Blanford today writes that "diplomats and analysts say Western and Arab officials are mulling an option of military support for the rebel Free Syrian Army," the Sunni main opposition to Assad's Shiite regime. Despite the continued shelling of the Sunni stronghold city of Homs by Syrian government forces, now into its fifth day, the UNSC vetoes of China and Russia as well as military appreciation that Syria is not like Libya seems to have taken a "colaition of the willing" direct intervention off the table. Blanford quotes Andrew Exum of the CNAS think-tank in Washington, a group acknowledged as a primary driver of the Obama administration's foreign and military thinking. Steve Hynd February 8, 2012 - 2:51pm
( categories: Arabia )
Delicious IroniesJust the day after the Appelate court in California took down Proposition 8 in a slam-fest against the legislature, one of the couples that started the whole ball rolling announced they are divorcing It's finally come to pass: gay divorces are making news. Actor 212 February 8, 2012 - 2:48pm
( categories: Human Rights | USA: Domestic Issues )
A TrainwreckThat's sort of the take-away I get from the 9th Circuit decision on the case against Proposition 8 in California. The relevant paragraph:
Actor 212 February 8, 2012 - 12:34pm
Arab SprungThis is probably not the way a junta should operate, at least internationally:
Actor 212 February 8, 2012 - 10:10am
( categories: Africa: North )
42,000 year old Neanderthal art found
In 2010, archaeologist João Zilhão at the University of Bristol found 50,000-year-old jewelry at two caves in southeastern Spain, art dating back 10,000 years before the fossil record reveals evidence of modern humans entering Europe. The oldest art by homo sapiens is some 75,000 years old and was found in South Africa in 2002. This new find shifts back the earliest known hominid painted art by 10,000 years, and away from being exclusively a creation of homo sapiens. That's mind-blowing. Still, the thought that our neanderthal cousins had the kind of complex mental states and rich culture needed for art is just a warm fuzzy on a day when I've read so much depressing news. Steve Hynd February 7, 2012 - 11:35pm
( categories: Miscellany )
Romney's Minimum Wage Comments Draw Rightwing AngerPoor Mitt Romney. (No, not really.) Having been lambasted for being richer than God - and paying a lower tax rate than the Deity too - he has tried to get some "compassionate conservative" chops back by advocating linking the minimum wage to inflation. Oops.
Steve Hynd February 7, 2012 - 6:33pm
( categories: USA: Campaign 2012 )
The Renminbi StandardVia the WSJ, a new Brookings study (PDF) says the Chinese currency will become an international reserve currency within the next decade, "eroding but not displacing the dollar’s dominance." Steve Hynd February 7, 2012 - 3:04pm
( categories: Economics )
This Is Not Syria's "Benghazi Moment"I'm a little leery of citing the UK Independent's Robert Fisk for various reasons, but this seems right to me.
Steve Hynd February 7, 2012 - 2:16pm
( categories: Arabia )
Obama Embraces Super-PACThe Obama campaign press release punts the move as one of practical necessity.
Steve Hynd February 7, 2012 - 1:49pm
( categories: USA: Campaign 2012 )
Uncertain? Or Confused?The Fatah and Hamas factions of the Palestinian people have come to an understanding on a pact to unify the factions. Mahmoud Abbas will continue to be the chief executive for the interim, supported by an independently elected cabinet until full elections can be organized. This surprising move brings the Gaza Palestinians and the West Bank Palestinians together. Understandably, the Arab street as reflected by its press, is uncertain. Note in particular the Israeli reactions. I suppose there's good reason. When they aren't squaring off against Israeli forces, the two factions have been at each other's throats. This is not conducive to settling the larger issues at hand. Actor 212 February 7, 2012 - 10:35am
( categories: Israel and Palestine )
Rumors of your death ...
...may not be exaggerated. But the acknowledgement may be delayed. "Abandoned homes have become an increasingly common sight amidst a national foreclosure crisis. Yet what may lurk forgotten behind closed doors may be much worse than nothing at all. "A Milwaukee real estate agent entered one such house last month after it was repossessed due to tax foreclosure -- the government can foreclose on a home if taxes and subsequent fees are not paid off within a designated time period -- to find a sight he's not likely to forget soon. The body of the owner David Carter was found on the stairs in a "nearly skeletonized" state after being left there undiscovered for what investigators believe to be up to four years, The Daily Mail reports." Bradford ties in another story and, in doing so, he creates a new genre, theater of the absurd vérité: "A Florida woman is currently suing her lender, JPMorgan Chase, after the bank mistakenly declared her deceased in 2010, which she claimed ruined her credit score." Seriously, why should there even be a law suit? What is so wrong with JPMorgan that they would not settle this right away. Never mind justice and common decency, this makes them look even worse than they already look. Michael Collins February 7, 2012 - 3:14am
( categories: Ruminations )
Tuesday Muse (formerly A Poem for Tuesday)Welcome to Tuesday Muse, the successor to A Poem for Tuesday. Think of it as "A (Poem + Painting + Spoken Word + Music + Performance Art + Sculpture + Noise + Mash + Animation + Story + Photography + Public Art + Multimedia + Theater Performance + Anything Art) for Tuesday." Today: Playing for Change, whose muse builds a song by having a crew travel the world to record one stellar musician after another, sometimes in remote outdoor locations, in such a way that each musician can hear and play to what the others have done while adding his or her own piece. It's like building a choir a person at a time while leapfrogging assumed barriers of geography, genre, and culture. It's also grown to be about more than songs: PFC is now building music schools in impoverished locales and is sponsoring social-change concerts. Founder Mark Johnson explains here how PFC's recording process works. And here is their version of Gimme Shelter: Bruce A Jacobs February 7, 2012 - 2:00am
|
![]() Agonist Page on FaceBookAgonist Facebook Activity |