5 Feb 2012

Hungary: “We Voted For Orbán, Not For Goldman Sachs”


‘We are the Hungarian people and we stand for Orbán's government!'. Photo by Redjade, used with permission.
Last Saturday, after several protests organized by citizen movements and opposition forces against the politics of the ruling Fidesz-KDNP government, Hungarians supporting those in power decided to express their opinion at a rally called Peace March.
According to the Hungarian Interior Ministry's report [hu], some 400,000 people expressed their support for the government at the peaceful - and cheerful - event.
Those who thought Fidesz-KDNP had lost the trust of the Hungarian citizens, drawing the consequence from the extensive foreign media coverage of the opposition protests in Budapest, were challenged this time by the fact that the government elected in 2010 with a two-thirds majority still enjoyed the support of many. Fidelitas, a youth group derived from Fidesz, shared some 360-degree panoramic photos of the march.

Hey Obama! Forcing Children to Stay in School Is a Confession of Epic Failure!

Repeat after me everyone - children are not to be used as hostages, children are not to be used as hostages... A review of the recent State of the Union address by Barack Obama, and some notes on the scandal emanating from everyone's favorite Pillsbury doughbag from hell, Newt Gingrich. Freedomain Radio is the largest and most popular philosophy show on the web - http://www.freedomainradio.com

Spying & World Bank - Double Standards

The boss of James bond the world's most famous spy admits that the British government uses to eavesdrop on the Russians. Who is recruiting agents to bomb Pakistan and Iran? Is it BBC Persian, The CIA, Mosaad? We talk to Ama Marston who worked with former World Bank chief economist Joseph Stiglitz about why you should never trust the World Bank. Source

Is Obama's Peace Prize About To Be Confiscated? Nobel Peace Prize Jury Under Investigation


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The announcement of Obama's recognition by the Nobel Peace Prize committee in 2009 seemed, to many, more like an 'Onion-worthy' headline than reality but now, as The Associated Press reports, it seems the officials face a formal inquiry over the selection criteria that could rescind the last three years' awards. The accusations at the root of the inquiry stem from persistent complaints by a Norwegian peace researcher that cites the original purpose of the prize was to diminish the role of military power in international relations, and if the Stockholm County Administrative Board, the overseer of such foundations, finds that the founder Alfred Noble's will is not being honored then (while unlikely) Obama (2009), Liu Xiaobo (2010), and last year's Liberians could face their awards suspended as 'champions of peace'. Fredrik Heffermehl, the inquiry's instigator, rhetorically asks when addressing the 2009 committee choice of Obama for "extraordinary efforts" to boost international diplomacy: "Do you see Obama as a promoter of abolishing the military as a tool of international affairs?"

US, Israel back army of terrorists in Syria

Russia and China have vetoed an anti-Syria resolution on Syria endorsed by the US and its Arab allies. Interview with Wael al-Imam, professor at Damascus University.

GM foods not served in Monsanto cafeteria

The fight to ban genetically modified foods has won more converts including some employees of Monsanto the company that is doing the most to promote GM products.
The Independent newspaper reports that there is a notice in the cafeteria of the Monsanto pharmaceutical factory is High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, advising customers “as far as practicable, GM soya and maize (has been removed) from all food products served in our restaurant. We have taken the steps to ensure that you, the customer, can feel confident in the food we serve.”
The notice was posted by the Sutcliffe Catering Group.
Monsanto confirms the authenticity of the notice, but company spokesman Tony Coombes says the only reason for the GM-free foods is because the company “believes in choice.” Coombes says in other Monsanto locations employees are happy to eat GM foods because they are “sprayed with fewer chemicals.”
Adrian Bebb with Friends of the Earth says the notice in the Buckinghamshire plant is hard to misinterpret. “The public has made its concerns about GM ingredients very clear – now it appears that even Monsanto’s own catering firm has no confidence in this new technology.” Source

US Politicians Display Gross Ignorance

The blunders of U.S. politicians have inspired jokes and parodies for decades. With the Presidential election campaign heating up, there's a whole new supply of ammunition. But as Marina Portnaya reports, some believe the comments are displays of ignorance and disregard for world affairs ... and no laughing matter.

The United States: First Country To Report More Male Rape Victims Than Female


Is it true that living in America has become riskier? In 2006, the political scientist Jacob Hacker published The Great Risk Shift, a progressive tract that appropriated the vocabulary of wealth management to show how thirty years of privatization and deregulation had abraded the security of the American family. Risks once borne by corporations and the government, Hacker noted, like unplanned health costs, are now the responsibility of Mom and Pop. Transferring risk from the collective to the individual, though, ends badly for everyone. Family affliction, like banker “contagion,” is tricky to sequester: if Larry and Terry get bankrupted by bad luck, their misfortune cascades, dragging down creditors, neighbors, and especially their children. The reason liberals like insurance is that it helps diffuse risk throughout society. Pooling risk, one might say, is the essence of the progressive social contract.

Hacker focuses on hazards like cancer and credit exposure, but these are not the only perils we face. Every time we leave the house—and more often, actually, if we remain within it—we run the risk of getting stabbed, shot, raped, or robbed.

Is Greece Still Viable? - Yanis Varoufakis


As Greece grapples with debts and deadlines, Yanis Varoufakis, writing for DW's Transatlantic Voices column, argues that the country has been on a road to ruin since its modern-day inception.Yanis Varoufakis is Director of Political Economy at the Department of Economic Sciences, Faculty of Law, Politics and Economics at the University of Athens.
"Perhaps it is historically true that no order of society ever perishes save by its own hand."
Most Greeks, deep down, know that John Maynard Keynes was right. Our current destitution and indignity are the natural repercussions of our own past errors of commission and fallacies of omission.
Modern Greece has been skirting the edge of a debt crisis since its inception. After its mini postwar industrial revolution unravelled during the 1970s, it kept pulling back from the abyss through frequent devaluations and bursts of austerity. Entry into the eurozone removed the main instrument of containment in exchange for the empty promise of some alternative shock absorbing mechanism.

Missiles & warships in London: UK gears up for Olympics or war?

Warships, ground-to-air missiles and drones - Britain is not gearing up for war, but for London's summer Olympics. The preparations are calling on all corners of the nation's defences. But as RT's Ivor Bennett reports, many of us fear the measures will pose serious risks to privacy. Source

'Europe coughing up cash for US military gamble in Iran'

Europeans should ask why they are to pay for an American-Israeli adventure in Iran during a time of unprecedented austerity, political analyst Chris Bambery told RT. Iran says it will definitely stop oil exports to "certain" European countries, while the decision to cut supplies to further EU states is still in discussion. This comes as Tehran's response to an EU oil embargo that was set to come into force on July 1. Source

Cops In Florida Beat Up 66-Year-Old Man With Dementia for no reason

"A Melbourne police officer reprimanded for deliberately disabling the dashboard camera in his patrol car, before confronting a 66-year-old man suffering from dementia, could face additional scrutiny as the city prepares for a potential lawsuit. Officer Derek Middendorf's actions — captured on video later salvaged by technicians — are at the center of calls for his dismissal as a lawyer for Albert Flowers says he plans to file suit against the city for false arrest, false imprisonment and malicious prosecution. "He should be fired. Anyone who's being pulled over by this officer should be terrified," said attorney Paul Bross

Angry Youths Attack House Of Greek President Papoulias; Hurl Rocks, Molotov Cocktails


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Instead of defaulting a long time ago (when we first suggested it should) when it could have pulled an Iceland, taken a bitter pill, hyperinflated the drachma and in the process delivered overnight, if at a big social cost of losing its welfare safety net (which it is about to lose anyway courtesy of the PSI and OSI), and not be held captive to bigger geopolitical interests, and hostage to the banker superclass, Greece very likely could have been on the road to recovery now, granted with a totally different political regime. Instead, the political regime is the same, Greece is more in debt than ever before, the economy is in shambles, the banks have seen two straight years of bank runs, and most importantly the people now are poorer and more disenchanted than ever, and as the following story indicates, about to get far angrier than any Syntagma square riot cam (which is about to come back with a PayPerView vengeance) has shown to date. According to Kathimerini, late on Saturday evening, "A group of between 30 and 50 youngsters attacked the house of President Karolos Papoulias."

Possibly Coldest Winter for Last 300 Years - Deaths in Europe and Asia

Could this be the "Little Ice Age"? Over 300 people have died from the cold & snow, with 286 people in Europe and 55 people in Asia. It's possibly the coldest winter within the last 300 years. Many homeless and elderly people are at high risk. Please wrap up warm and take care during the cold spell.