Showing posts with label France. Show all posts
Showing posts with label France. Show all posts

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

CoOlDiGgY news (late edition)




The cost of defying Obamacare by withholding compliance on your income tax return will not be for the faint hearted – families will be forced to cough up $2,250 a month while being closely scrutinized by an army of new IRS agents with fresh “combat training,” armed to the teeth with 12 gauge pump action shotguns.

“The Internal Revenue Service will function as the government’s chief enforcer for health care reform, should President Obama sign the bill into law as expected, monitoring both businesses and individuals to certify whether they have the insurance coverage the government requires,” writes Matt Cover of CNS News.

The penalties associated with defying mandatory health care are staggering. From 2014 onwards, for every month that individuals or businesses with over 50 employees fail to carry a minimum level of health insurance, they will be hit with fines of up to $750 a month for individuals and $750 per uncovered employee for businesses. For a family of four, this could amount to a whopping $27,000 a year ($2250 a month for each household).

Read more...

*Democracy No Longer Free: First Corporate Campaign Ads Appear After Supreme Court's Citizens United Decision

*Netanyahu is Loud and Clear: We Will Continue To Build

*Lawmakers Eyeing National ID Card

*US Halts Poppy Eradication in Afghan Areas

*US may try Cindy Sheehan for anti-war campaign

*America's Most Underwater Housing Markets

*VIDEO: Michael Moore: Healthcare Bill “A Victory for Capitalism”


*Judge won't force Miss. district to hold prom

earlier:







Despite laws prohibiting their trade, tools used for torture are being exported by some European countries to regimes around the world, with little regard for human rights, Amnesty International claims.

EU law expressly prohibits the export or import of goods that have no practical use other than for the purpose of capital punishment or torture, but the lack of enforcement means countries like Germany, the Czech Republic, Spain and Italy are still selling torture instruments abroad – to countries where there is documented proof of the use of such equipment for torture.

“Pepper sprays can be used by police officers in the situations of extreme violence, but they can also be misused, and they widely are in many places for torture and ill treatment,” says Mike Lewis from Amnesty International. “But there is also another category of equipment that we see being marketed by European firms, and in some cases imported into the European Union. Devices that have no other use but for torture and ill treatment – devices like electric shock belts.”

The organization is talking about devices like fixed wall restraints, metal thumb cuffs, spiked batons and sleeves and cuffs that can deliver electric shocks to about 50,000 volts.

Amnesty also says that in the last four years, the Czech Republic issued export permits for foot and hand shackles, electric shock tools and chemical sprays to countries where police and security forces are known to use them for torture. It named the counties such as Senegal, Cameroon, Pakistan, Moldova and Georgia.

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*Supreme Court Battle Quietly Brews Over Possible Future Nominations

*Illegal US immigrant detention practices questioned. Part 1







*Airport device follows fliers' phones

*Unclean Water Claims More Lives Than War

*Norman Finkelstein Responds to Clinton, Netanyahu AIPAC Comments


*Walls come down on age for over-55 communities

*Jane Hamsher: The Sober Reality of Health Care Reform

*France tells Greece: Broke? Buy a few warships

Monday, March 22, 2010

CoOlDiGgY news (late edition)




Idaho has set the example for others states to follow in the continuing revolt against naked body scanners, by passing a law that limits the use of the x-ray scanning devices in airports and government buildings and also forces Homeland Security to disprove health concerns.

Athol Republican Rep. Phil Hart’s bill, which was passed 58-9 on Thursday by the Idaho state legislature, limits use of the scanners to people who have failed a prior security check, such as a metal detector.

The bill also enforces by law the option to take a manual pat-down as an alternative to the body scan, a choice that was never available in other countries that have introduced the scanners and one that the TSA has made clear it seeks to abolish, forcing everyone to use the scanners.

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*U.S. warns ships off Yemen of possible al Qaeda attack

*Underemployment At Record 20% According To Gallup

*Health Reform Bill Summary: The Top 18 Immediate Effects (editor's note: some points are up for debate)

*VIDEO: Profiting off Haiti's disaster?



*Health Care Mandate to Be Enforced by IRS ‘Bounty Hunters’

*New York Times Admits Right-Wing Duped Them on Now Defunct ACORN

*The Dodd Status Quo: Too big to fail is alive and well in the Senate's financial reform

*How the West poisoned Bangladesh

*The UK town printing its own currency

earlier:



WASHINGTON -- Thousands of protesters - many directing their anger squarely at President Barack Obama - marched through the nation's capital Saturday to urge immediate withdrawal of troops from Iraq and Afghanistan.

At least eight people, including activist Cindy Sheehan, were arrested by U.S. Park Police at the end of the march, after laying coffins at a fence outside the White House. Friday marked the seventh anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.

"Arrest that war criminal!" Sheehan shouted outside the White House before her arrest, referring to Obama.

At a rally before the march, Sheehan asked whether "the honeymoon was over with that war criminal in the White House" - an apparent reference to Obama

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*Census questions raise privacy, security fears

*Privately-owned Reserve wants to stay watchdog of small banks

*Obama Pays More Than Buffett as U.S. Risks AAA Rating

*Clinton Says U.S. Seeking Iran Sanctions That 'Bite'

*House approves huge changes to student loan program

*Cut off the cash and Israel might behave

*What Has MoveOn Moved On To?

*Chris Hedges: The Health Care Hindenburg Has Landed

*Do women have a place in the US army?



*34% more homeless people sleeping on New York City streets than last year

*Schwarzenegger Approval Rating Falls To Gray Davis Recall Level

*Socialist party crushes in French elections

Monday, March 15, 2010

CoOlDiGgY news (late edition)





VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Genetically modified food crops could be used as "weapons of infliction of hunger and poverty" if they are managed unjustly, said the new head of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace.

Cardinal Peter Turkson told Catholic News Service March 9 that he would urge an attitude of caution and further study of the possible negative effects of genetically engineered organisms.

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*Social Security to start cashing Uncle Sam's IOUs

*Welcome to the United States of Iceland

*Obama Brings Dennis Kucinich On Air Force One For Health Care Speech

*Dallas police seek blood tests for all DWI suspects

*George Soros Conspires with United Nations to Kill Second Amendment

*What Happens If Greece Really Defaults?

earlier:






Although African-Americans were overjoyed with the election of US President Barack Obama, black unemployment remains high. Is Obama neglecting the black community for fear of being seen as an angry black man?

A recent study found that the median wealth of single black women is $5 in their prime earning years. In comparison, the median wealth of single white women between 36 and 49 is $42,600. As the financial crisis drags on, unemployment rates are continuing to rise among minorities in the United States while rates of home ownership fall. Is this an indication that US President Barack Obama not doing enough to help African-Americans?

Read more...

*A Big Week for Health Care Reform: What Could Happen Next?

*Extortion or Activism? MoveOn Fundraising Against Anti-Health Care Dems

*Unemployment rate for young veterans hits 21.1 percent

*New Poll Shows Concerns of American Middle Class

*IRS visits Sacramento carwash in pursuit of 4 cents

*Does Meaningful Financial Reform Have Any Chance?

*Ties between Israel and US 'worst in 35 years'

*US Urges Israel to Cancel Settlement Plan

*2 Americans and a third victim are killed in Mexico shootings


*Sarkozy's party battered in French elections

*Thai Protesters Shut Down Parts of Bangkok

*German paradox: Berliners poorer than rest of country





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