THE HEADLINES

THEY GIVE OSCARS, DO THEY NOT, FOR FISCAL CHARADES LIKE THE ONE NOW PLAYING IN WASHINGTON, D.C.?

If they did, Fix the Debt, the spectacular show produced by billionaire Pete Peterson, with a cast of dozens of fellow plutocrats, would be a shoo-in for an award. The lobby group that Peterson heads has already generated panic over the “fiscal cliff” that demanded immediate budget-cutting measures, and continues its grim work of advocating for austerity measures rather than recognizing the real source of the crisis, which lies in the collapse of the productive economy.

(Common Dreams)

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ANOTHER PRIEST KILLED BY U.S.-SUPPORTED DEATH SQUADS IN COLOMBIA. HO, HUM!

“Christian martyrs” who propagate a “liberation theology” of advocating for the poor of the country are the constant targets of para-military forces, many trained at the School of the Americas in the U.S., who serve the interests of the multi-national corporations bent on exploiting the fruits of U.S./Colombia free trade agreements by promoting the dispossession of natives from land and other resources of the country. These murders go almost unreported by the world press.

(Counterpunch)

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JP MORGAN’S BAD LOANS: WHAT DID THEY KNOW, AND WHEN DID THEY KNOW IT?

New disclosure of bank e-mails from around 2006 show that the company knew, quite well and early, that is was peddling faulty mortgages to its clients. A company audit concluded that 20-80% of its loans were flawed and yet these were “bundled” into securitized loans that cost one European bank to which they were sold some $16 billion in losses.

(Information Clearinghouse)

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WHEN DOES A BRINE TREATMENT OF STREETS BEFORE A BIG SNOWFALL HELP IN THE CLEARING OF SNOW; AND WHEN DOES IT MAKE MATTERS WORSE?

Questions of this sort are being raised in the Midwest U.S. cities like Omaha, now struggling under massive snowstorms. If air temperatures are relatively moderate, the pre-treatment makes snow clearance easier; if they are colder, the brine base tends to make a hazardous “skating rink” out of the thin layer of ice formed after the snow removal.

(Omaha World Herald)

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MILD-MANNERED CORPORATE LAWYER AND SOCCER MOM BY DAY: A ROCK EM-SOCK EM BLOCKER NAMED SPARTA-KISS FOR DUB CITY SKATE CLUB BY NIGHT AND WEEKEND.

Description of a typical participant in Palm Beach County FL’s fledgling women’s roller-skating team. Like other “side-line” activities for otherwise-employed people, this one tends to become an all-engrossing part of their lives.

(Palm Beach Post)

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Quote of the day…