January 17, 2015

Talk to your running buddies, Mittens... Call your GOP fans and stop this to prove you mean it:

House Rule Could Hurt Vulnerable Disability Beneficiaries

By Kathy Ruffing - January 6, 2015

...More specifically, here’s what people need to know:

* The last two reallocations have shortchanged DI, underfunding it compared with the retirement program. Congress redirected a big chunk of payroll taxes from DI to OASI in 1983 and only partly offset that in a 1994 law. (See graph.) If DI’s tax rate had remained at its pre-1983 level, we wouldn’t need to replenish the fund today. Yet nobody claims that the 1983 reallocation, which helped stave off OASI’s imminent depletion, “robbed” DI … nor could they reasonably claim that reallocating in the other direction would “rob” OASI.



* A reallocation would have only a tiny effect on the retirement program’s solvency. Reallocating taxes to put the two trust funds on an even footing would prolong the DI trust fund by 17 years (from 2016 to 2033), while advancing the OASI fund’s depletion by just one year (from 2034 to 2033). The reason is simple: OASI is much bigger than DI, so a modest reallocation barely dents OASI. And before then, policymakers will almost surely address Social Security solvency in a comprehensive fashion.

* Most DI recipients are older people, so helping DI helps seniors. The risk of disability rises with age, and most DI beneficiaries are older. Seventy percent of disabled workers are age 50 or older, 30 percent are 60 or older, and 20 percent are 62 or older and would actually qualify as early retirees under Social Security...

http://www.offthechartsblog.org/house-rule-could-hurt-vulnerable-disability-beneficiaries/

Most of the comments are very good and worth reading.

January 17, 2015

Obama: ‘Our Muslim Population Feels Themselves to Be Americans’

By Andrew Kirell - January 16th, 2015

During the Q&A portion of a joint press briefing with British Prime Minister David Cameron, President Barack Obama suggested that when it comes to fighting radical Islam, the United States has a security advantage over Europe because our Muslim population feels more assimilated than in other countries.

While that point will surely be lambasted by anti-immigration portions of the right, it is a great gesture to the many moderate Muslims currently living in the United States. And his point is backed up by facts:

The United States has one big advantage to this whole process. It is not that our law enforcement or our intelligence services, etc., are so much better. [...] It’s that our Muslim populations, they feel themselves to be Americans. There is this incredible process of immigration and assimilation that is part of our tradition. That is probably our greatest strength. That does not mean we are not subject to the kinds of kind of tragedy that we saw at the Boston Marathon.

As I’ve written in this space before, contrary to breathless proclamations from demagogic types, “the story of the Muslim-American is actually a success story...”

VIDEO at link, but I'm unable to access it, but I think this is it:



During the Q&A portion of a joint press briefing with British Prime Minister David Cameron, President Barack Obama suggested that when it comes to fighting radical Islam, the United... States...

Obama: ‘Our Muslim Population Feels Themselves to Be Americans’

That was rather garbled and the video is from Faux. (Surprised at the Faux crawl as it wasn't skewed, unless it's snarking...)

The full version, supposedly from the White House but carried on livestream:



Obama And British Prime Minister Cameron Full News Conference

Published on Jan 16, 2015

President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron talk about terrorism and answer questions from the press.

I tune out Cameron... Maybe someone will catch someone worthwhile that he had to say.

Oh, and BTW:

THIS IS THE BOG, IT IS A SAFE HAVEN GROUP CREATED BY THE ADMINISTRATORS OF DU. IT IS A PLACE FOR THOSE WHO SUPPORT DEMOCRATS TO CELEBRATE THE 44TH POTUS, BARACK OBAMA, ALONG WITH HIS FAMILY, ACHIEVEMENTS AND POLICIES.

IT EXISTS FOR THOSE WHO SUPPORT THIS PRESIDENT AND EACH OTHER. PLEASE CHECK THE PINNED THREAD FOR THE SOP (STATEMENT OF PURPOSE) OF THIS GROUP. THIS IS NOT A FORUM.

IF YOU CANNOT RESPECT OBAMA, DEMOCRATS, THE SPIRIT AND INTENT OF THIS GROUP, OR THE MEMBERS OF THIS GROUP, PLEASE DO NOT POST HERE.

THANKS IN ADVANCE.

January 16, 2015

UFOs manned by extra-terrestrials love Putin. They're changing the climate to suit them.

That's all you need to know.

January 14, 2015

VIDEO from youtube:

Thanks, JoethePleb, it's been a while since I've seen your posts. The Open Carry Crowd down there is really creepy.

January 14, 2015

Not stupid fucks. Dangerous ones: John Bolton and Cofer Black:

Mitt Romney's Neocon War Cabinet

Ari Berman - May 2, 2012



...In March the Rev. Richard Land of the Southern Baptist Convention told the Romney campaign it could win over “recalcitrant conservatives,” reported the Washington Post, by “previewing a few Cabinet selections: Santorum as attorney general, Gingrich as ambassador to the United Nations and John Bolton as secretary of state.” That suggestion, which might seem ludicrous, not to mention terrifying, is more plausible than one might think...

Few advisers personify the pugnacity of Romney’s foreign policy team better than Bolton. He has been a steadfast opponent of international organizations and treaties and seems never to have met a war he didn’t like. Shortly before the invasion of Iraq, he told Israeli officials that Syria, Iran and North Korea would be the next US targets. Over the past few years Bolton has been an outspoken proponent of an Israeli attack on Iran. “Mitt Romney will restore our military, repair relations with our closest allies and ensure that no adversary—including Iran—ever questions American resolve,” Bolton said when endorsing Romney. “John’s wisdom, clarity and courage are qualities that should typify our foreign policy,” Romney responded.

Bolton is one of eight Romney advisers who signed letters drafted by the Project for a New American Century, an influential neoconservative advocacy group founded in the 1990s, urging the Clinton and Bush administrations to attack Iraq. PNAC founding member Paula Dobriansky, leading advocate of Bush’s ill-fated “freedom agenda” as an official in the State Department, recently joined the Romney campaign full time. Another PNAC founder, Eliot Cohen, counselor to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice from 2007 to 2009, wrote the foreword to the Romney campaign’s foreign policy white paper, which was titled, perhaps not coincidentally, “An American Century.” Cohen was a tutor to Bush administration neocons. Following 9/11, he dubbed the war on terror “World War IV,” arguing that Iraq, being an “obvious candidate, having not only helped Al Qaeda, but…developed weapons of mass destruction,” should be its center. In 2009 Cohen urged the Obama administration to “actively seek the overthrow” of Iran’s government...

Romney hasn’t said what he’d do with a bigger military or how he’d pay for it. But it’s safe to assume the money will go toward preserving or enlarging the national security state. Romney’s counterterrorism adviser since 2007 has been former CIA operative Cofer Black, another controversial figure from the Bush era. The Daily Beast calls Black “Romney’s trusted envoy to the dark side” and “the campaign’s in-house intelligence officer.” In 2007 Romney sourced Black in refusing to classify waterboarding as torture (and also said he wanted to “double Guantánamo”). As head of the CIA’s Counterterrorism Center following 9/11, Black supervised the agency’s “extraordinary rendition” program, which illegally transported alleged terrorists to secret detention centers abroad, where they were tortured. “After 9/11 the gloves come off,” Black infamously testified before Congress. He joined the private security firm Blackwater in 2005, specializing in intelligence gathering for governments and business. More recently, the Daily Beast reported, Romney has relied on Black for security assessments of Afghanistan, Pakistan, Egypt and Iran, including Iran’s nuclear program...

http://www.thenation.com/article/167683/mitt-romneys-neocon-war-cabinet

About Cofer Black:



https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Cofer_Black&printable=yes

Well, just read about the guy...

January 14, 2015

I. Did. Not. Know. That...

January 14, 2015

Vladimir Putin's Long Shadow - the fifth estate

CBC News - Jan 9, 2015

He casts a long shadow over globe. Russian leader Vladimir Putin has outlasted three American presidents and is on track to stay in power until 2024. His incursions in Georgia, the Crimea and Ukraine have rattled the West, while his crackdowns inside Russia have riled his democratic opponents.



But a joint investigation by the fifth estate and PBS’ Frontline reveals an even darker side to one of the most powerful leaders in the world: Allegations of criminal activity dating as far back as his early days as a top official in St. Petersburg; ties to organized crime and money-laundering activities; and a secret personal fortune said to be in the billions.



“Putin’s Long Shadow” also raises disturbing questions about the role the Russian security services played in four apartment building bombings in Moscow and other cities in 1999 that killed nearly 300 people – a tragedy Putin blamed on terrorists and used to cement his power.



Host Gillian Findlay talks to a senior police officer who tried to arrest Putin on corruption charges; an investigator who was jailed for asking too many questions about the apartment bombings; and Russian businessmen who detail the levels of corruption and collusion.

Haven't had time to watch this video but googled after seeing a post on the PBS piece:

PBS, Frontline, Putin's Way.

to Volaris:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10026083269

January 14, 2015

Felonious malefactors are always pro-felon:

Besides, they intend to benefit:

Republicans serve The Beast.

From the dawn of mankind they are the regressive element that's been holding back and destroying our civilization. They nourish other-dimensional entities that feed on misery, pain, and chaos.

Republicans are their minions, and hope to share in these entities' power, or be spared the pain.

But The Beast never shares; The Beast never spares.

You never know, really. That's from an unusual DU2 sigline...

January 14, 2015

The clip wasn't long enough to get a full context, so I googled and got this:

Former Sunni started a thread:

[–]Yep_its_true 7 points8 points9 points 14 hours ago (7 children)

The Sunni community needs to admit that there is NO universally agreed upon code of conduct in their version of Islam, and they must admit that this is causing problems.

They can't confront the law breakers, when they haven't clearly defined what the laws actually are.

Sunni Muslims hang on to this idea of the 'perfection' of Sharia law, and then they won't admit that it's not even a real thing.

Admitting you have a problem is the first step to solving it. Sunni Muslim leaders haven't admitted that they have a problem, they just say things like 'foreign policy' and 'Wahabis are bad.'

(full disclosure: former Sunni Muslim. Love my friends and family, but I can say without a doubt that they are in denial...)

Replies, excuse me because I'm not signed in, don't see all of their format, and don't see it can't be posted elsewhere, so here goes:

[–]toastymow -1 points0 points1 point 10 hours ago (1 child)

And terrorism is just the most visible manifestation of what is wrong with the system.

I'd like to think the abject poverty and horrible corruption help too. But terrorism is certainly more "in the face" of the West.

[–]Yep_its_true 0 points1 point2 points 10 hours ago (0 children)

Exactly!!!

I live in the Middle East, in Muslim country.

The corruption and frankly, Un-Islamic distribution of wealth are causing horrid problems here, and I am sure that this part of the world will take 100 years to 'catch up' to the west.

As I have worked and lived here, I am shocked to see how often vague and nebulous 'Islamic' ideas are used by Muslims to oppress and harm other Muslims!

The non Muslim world can't really be expected to monitor or even be aware of these types of issues, though.

[–]frmmtl 1 point2 points3 points 5 hours ago (2 children)

I still think this is new for a lot of people. When people get upset at Islam or Muslims, they're more often then not aware that where they should be directing their legitimate anger is towards Salafism and Wahabism. There are still many people in the west who couldn't tell you the difference between Shia vs Sunni beliefs nor could they enunciate the complexities within these communities of interpretation. I think education has to be at the heart of it but the media is doing a horrible job at it and our schools simply don't engage in what is a really important and worthwhile education around the diversity of religious beliefs, and education necessary to good democracies...

http://www.reddit.com/r/religion/comments/2s90pz/reza_aslan_muslims_must_confront_wahhabism/

January 13, 2015

"QUICK! MORE DEMOCRACY EVERYWHERE TO COUNTER THE BARBARITY"

Tears in my eyes over the love being shown there.

Thanks Surya, for this thread!