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Since 2008 – Progress Through Politics

All The News Fit To Share: Mid-Week Edition

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Warm sunny photo, Arches National Park, October 2012.  Every photo I took of my kids, okay 95%, they had the sun in their eyes.  

Welcome to your nearly-nightly news diary that we leave open throughout the weekend! JanF and I are combining forces for an open news thread we hope will please all of you.  

Please comment on any of the stories in the diary or comments, or share any news stories you like from anywhere!  

News stories may be added throughout the day and night, so please stop back if you are inclined.  

This will serve as the open news thread until Thursday or Friday overnight.    

Muslim rant goes global

New Zealand Herald; Adam Bennett

Richard Prosser’s “stupid” comments that young Muslim men from “Wogistan” should be banned from air travel have created headlines overseas – and Ethnic Affairs Minister Judith Collins says they could cause New Zealand “international embarrassment”.

The New Zealand First MP is facing pressure to resign after yesterday sparking outrage over comments made in his regular magazine column where he also spoke out against the “twin evils of diversity and multiculturalism”.

The Minister has apologized, however, the apology may not get the same viral treatment . . .

Consensus on caretaker govt soon: Zardari

Dawn

President Asif Ali Zardari says consensus will be achieved on the caretaker government and date for elections.

In an interview to BBC Urdu‚ he said the interim government would comprise non-controversial people and no-one would be able to question their sincerity.

He said polls would be held on time and the caretaker government would have complete authority as envisaged in the Constitution to hold free and transparent polls.

I am not sure of there is a transcript or video of this interview available, will look after I get this posted.  

The Italian Patient: Resisting Berlusconi’s Charms

Der Spiegel; Fiona Ehlers and Alexander Smoltczyk

Berlusconi upped the ante a day later, promising an amnesty for tax evaders, of which there are many in Italy. The amount of tax revenue lost to tax evasion — some €120 billion ($160 billion) — is the equivalent of 6 percent of Italy’s sovereign debt.

Berlusconi’s return to the political arena is a shock. It would be his sixth candidacy, his “last great political battle,” as he calls it. He will be 77 this year and is currently defending himself in two court cases. It’s been hardly a year since the rating agencies downgraded Italy’s credit rating because of its unstable political situation, and Berlusconi submitted his resignation on Nov. 12, 2011.

But now the mummy has returned, and has rapidly become the most important personality in the pending general election. A remark by Berlusconi, like the one he made on Sunday, is enough to cause the markets to plunge and the risk premiums for Italian sovereign bonds to rise. It is enough to trigger the return of worry about the Italian patient, the fear of contagion, the euro crisis and political self-paralysis — in short, the fear of the former Italy.

Manila stores to pull Chinese-made globes showing claims to islands

South China Morning Post; Raissa Robles

Bookshops selling Chinese-made globes in the Philippines have agreed to withdraw them from sale after being told by the government that they depict “misinformation” by reflecting Beijing’s claim to almost the entire South China Sea.

The globes show the so-called “nine-dash line”, long used by Beijing to depict the extent of its claim to sovereignty over waters and islands that are also claimed by other Asian nations, including the Philippines.

Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) spokesman Raul Hernandez said yesterday: “The DFA has been able to validate that educational globes which reflect China’s nine-dash lines encompassing the South China Sea are being retailed locally by establishments that are totally unaware about the maritime disputes between the Philippines and China.”



Pope to say Ash Wednesday mass as resignation shockwaves ripple outward

Guardian; Lizzy Davies

Pope Benedict XVI will lead an emotional Ash Wednesday mass in St Peter’s Basilica amid lingering doubts over his reasons for announcing the first papal resignation for almost six centuries.

In a scheduling change prompted by the surprise declaration, which sent shockwaves throughout the Catholic world, the Vatican said the location of the annual service, usually held in a smaller church, would be changed in order to allow more worshippers to bid farewell to the outgoing pontiff.

The Vatican was forced to deny once again that the 85-year-old’s decision to step down after an eight-year reign had been prompted by a specific health problem as it emerged he underwent secret surgery to replace the batteries in his pacemaker three months ago.

I wonder, will the new Pope be in time for the Holy Week?  

21 Coolest Things Ever Made Out of Lego

Jack Shepherd, Buzzfeed Staff

And by “coolest,” I mean “nerdiest.”

  TPM Livewire     ThinkProgress.org     The Onion  
  the guardian     Salon     The American Prospect  
  Newseum News     Newseum Front Pages     The Daily Beast  
  Mother Jones     Discovery News     BBC  
  McClatchy     Reuters     NPR News  

JanF is going to teach me prettier dividers next 😉


Categories: Uncategorized.

/ 37 Comments

37 comments

  1. jlms qkw

    sometimes i am not sure of the political motivations of my news sources.  

    also, i desperately need to take and upload new photos.  

    427270_526547127368579_793035515_n

  3. Chris Blask

    The Minister has apologized, however, the apology may not get the same viral treatment . . .

    You wrote it in your fucking magazine column, lunkhead. It wasn’t like it was a ‘slip of the tongue’ (bless your heart).

    Boob.

  6. princesspat

    Washington’s minimum wage applies to workers in both agriculture and non-agricultural jobs, although 14- and 15-year-olds may be paid 85% of the minimum wage ($7.81).

    http://www.lni.wa.gov/workplac…

    It’s difficult for me to understand why paying a living wage isn’t just a reality in this country. $9.19 per hr barely pays the rent….

  7. JanF

    The Nine Most Insane Quotes From The NRA’s New Apocalyptic Op-Ed

    Wednesday afternoon, National Rifle Association Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre published a bizarre, paranoid screed on the Daily Caller outlining a series of wildly implausible scenarios in which (among other things) the police will cease to exist because of the deficit and al-Qaeda will provoke the government into stealing your guns.

    My favorite:

    “Hurricanes. Tornadoes. Riots. Terrorists. Gangs. Lone criminals. These are perils we are sure to face-not just maybe. It’s not paranoia to buy a gun. It’s survival. It’s responsible behavior, and it’s time we encourage law-abiding Americans to do just that.”

    I am going to shoot my way out of that tornado … because the wind will fear my gunz.

  8. JanF

    Justice Details ‘History Of Abusive Behavior’ At Wisconsin Supreme Court

    She’s been publicly silent since the incident on June 13, 2011, in which fellow Justice David Prosser allegedly put his hands around her neck during a heated exchange in the presence of other justices in her judicial chambers. The justices were ostensibly arguing about the court’s decision upholding Gov. Scott Walker’s anti-public employee union legislation.

    But in a document filed Wednesday, in which she recused herself from the judicial misconduct case brought against Prosser as a result of the altercation, Bradley offered details about what she called “a history of abusive behavior in our workplace that has escalated from tantrums and rages, to threats, and now to physical contact.”

    This Tuesday there is a primary to select someone to run against Republican Supreme Court Justice Pat Roggensack in April. The supposedly non-partisan supreme court includes 4 Republicans who do not hide their partisanship and 3 Democrats. The Republican Roggensack will advance easily and one of the remaining candidates will face her. I am surprised that this race did not pull in more candidates; in my opinion the field is not very strong. I suspect it is because the last Supreme Court race cost $5 million and brought in huge amounts of out-of-state money. That would be a real disincentive to leaping into the fray.

  10. princesspat

    An interesting perspective re “tedious Senate obstruction”

    In other words, we may have reached unprecedented heights of senatorial preening about a cabinet nominee. But unless and until President Obama’s forced to withdraw Hagel or someone else because of a filibuster, we’re not too far beyond the sort of dilatory obstruction other presidents’ nominees have faced in the past.

    Now I think it’s completely appropriate for Reid to sweat Republicans, force them to make good on their filibuster threat, make noise about their obstruction. Because this is obstruction. The crusade against Hagel has been unusually nasty. And we are only a couple weeks out from a Senate rules reform agreement which was supposed to avoid dilatory tactics just like these. But it’s too soon to say we’ve crossed into uncharted territory where Senate minorities will routinely deny the President the cabinet of his choosing.

  11. princesspat

    This may be good news…..

    Brian Schweitzer, a Democrat who recently stepped down after two terms as Montana governor, scoffs at the idea that Northwest coal export terminals will be a boon to coal production in his state.

    “I think Cherry Point is dead,” Schweitzer said in one portion of a lengthy interview with SNL, an online energy news service.

    http://blogs.bellinghamherald….

    His remarks at the end of the interview are certainly cynical however.

  12. JanF

    VIDEO: After Tragedies, Coloradans Unite Around Universal Background Checks


    After the Columbine massacre, Colorado residents pushed to close the gun show loophole, whereby anyone can buy a weapon from a private dealer at a gun show without having to undergo a background check first. When the legislature wouldn’t even pass the bill in committee, residents took matters into their own hands, organizing a drive to put the issue up to a statewide referendum in the 2000 election. Over 70 percent of Coloradans voted to close the loophole.

    Still, another glaring loophole exists: private sales outside of gun shows.

    … just like after Columbine, the Aurora shooting has galvanized Colorado residents to close the private seller loophole once and for all by requiring universal background checks on all gun sales.

  13. JanF


    Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback has put the state on what he calls a “glide path to zero” income tax.

    [Republican state Rep. Barbara ] Bollier lives in Mission Hills, Kan. She’s pro-business but can’t swallow the size of last year’s tax cuts, which will cost the state more than $850 million annually – with the bulk of it going to higher-income earners.

    She fears a race to the bottom, which could possibly limit new jobs and bring too little new money for Kansas to avoid painful consequences.

    “I have a hard time looking at the schoolchildren in my neighborhood and saying, ‘I’m going to do an experiment on you, and if we lose, your schools are going down the tubes,’ ” Bollier says.

    Brownback will raise any “necessary funds” by raising the sales tax, one of most regressive taxes as it hits poor people, who spend 100% of their income, harder than the wealthy whose spending is highly discretionary.

    Kansas is in a unique position to pull this off because their biggest hub of commerce is right over the state line from Kansas City Missouri. So businesses can move over the state line … serve the same customers and have the same employees … just pay less in income taxes. But if the only way that Kansans can avoid destroying their future by defunding education is to raise the sales tax, how long will people from the Missouri-side continue to shop there or do business there?

  14. JanF

    Senate, House Dems Introduce Sequester Replacement Bills

    Senate Democrats are officially proposing to pay down about a year of the sequester with new legislation called the American Family Economic Protection Act.

    The plan would raise $55 billion in new revenue, largely by imposing the so-called Buffett rule, which would phase in a minimum effective tax rate requirement for taxpayers who earn more than $1 million a year.

    The bill would pair those revenues with $55 billion in spending cuts, divided equally between defense and farm subsidies. The defense cuts would be phased in through the beginning of next decade, corresponding to an expected troop drawdown in Afghanistan.

    Senate Republicans are expected to unanimously oppose the legislation, demanding that the sequester be paid down with domestic spending cuts alone.

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