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A lucrative provision in CEO contracts encourages corporate chieftains to sidle up to their competitors

Jim Hightower
Common Dreams
Sun, 18 May 2014 17:40 UTC
The Cable Show
© Flickr/The Cable Show
Psssst, Wanna Buy My Corporation?

Where's Charles Dickens when we need him? The novelist, who laid bare the shame of gross income inequality in 19th century England, came up with some perfect names for his more despicable characters, including Scrooge, Mr. Tulkinghorn, and Miss Havisham.

So I'm wondering what moniker Dickens would've given to Robert Marcus.

Who? He's the CEO of Time Warner Cable who already won gold in the 2014 Greed Olympics for grabbing the most cash with the least effort in the shortest time.

Marcus became chief of the cable company on New Year's Day. He immediately reached out to his corporation's biggest rival, Comcast, offering to sell Time Warner Cable to the giant. Only six weeks later, the deal was done.

Why would a CEO rush to eliminate both his corporation and his own job? Perhaps because of a lucrative little provision in the contract he signed to become Time Warner's honcho. It's a CCC - a "change of control clause."
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Attention

Fracking tangled web of corporate and government agendas

Richard Sawyer
Sott.net
Sat, 17 May 2014 06:30 UTC
Protestors hold signs against fracking
© AFP Photo / Justin Sullivan
Protestors hold signs against fracking during a demonstration.
How the fracking companies benefit from Western-lead destabalisation of Ukraine and other conflicts of interest

Citing a 'new study', The BBC, Independent and a multitude of copy & paste MSM outlets, have alarmingly reported that the UK is set to run out of its oil, coal, and gas supplies in a little over five years time.

The reality below the ground however is that the UK is not actually going to run out of energy supplies any time soon. Facts can't be allowed to get in the way of profits, and the study was (apparently deliberately) distorted for use in a PR campaign on behalf of the widely criticized Fracking Industry. The story also reveals a tangled web of connections between academia, government officials, energy company lobbyists accentuated by a Fracking company director who actually holds a ministerial position for the UK Government. Why am I not surprised?
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Bad Guys

Dollar on the brink of disaster-John Williams

Greg Hunter
USAWatchdog.com
Sun, 18 May 2014 00:00 UTC
Image
© Unknown
John Williams of Shadowstats
Economist John Williams has a dire prediction for the U.S. dollar. Williams says, "I don't see what will save it at this point. . . . Now we are to the point that the dollar has been ignored for years. The federal deficit has been ignored for years. . . . That's what we are on the brink of disaster with, and that is what has to be addressed now, and that's not happening." Williams also contends, "The way I see it, the dollar could go to zero in terms of its purchasing power. You don't want to have your assets in U.S. dollars." How are we going to get there? Look no further that the dismal first quarter gross domestic product (GDP) numbers that officially only eked out .1% growth. This is one of the reasons why Williams thinks a "renewed broad economic downturn continues to unfold." Williams goes on to say, "We're turning down a new. The first quarter should be revised to negative territory, and I believe the second quarter will be reported negative as well. That will happen by July 30 when you have the annual revisions to the GDP. In reality, the economy is much weaker than that . . . . Generally, when you adjust for inflation and you use too low of a rate for inflation, that overstates the economic growth."

Comment: More and more economic analysts are saying the same thing - the US Dollar is doomed to collapse and everyone should be preparing for this certain end.

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Pirates

Chantix, anti-smoking drug, blamed for murder

Michael Doyle
McClatchy DC
Sun, 04 May 2014 14:32 UTC
Image
© Handout/MCT
Army Pfc. George D.B. MacDonald says the smoking-cessation drug Chantix affected his mental health leading to his killing recruit Rick Bulmer. While the drug maker has denied the claims, others have blamed it for suicides, suicidal thoughts and other psychiatric problems.
Before Pfizer paid at least $299 million to settle claims that its anti-smoking drug Chantix caused harm, the pharmaceutical giant played hardball with Army Pfc. George D.B. MacDonald.

Charged with murdering fellow soldier and Fresno, Calif., native Rick Bulmer in May 2008, MacDonald claimed his mind snapped after using the medication to stop smoking. Chantix, MacDonald wrote, caused him to "go crazy for a while" before the assault in their Fort Benning, Ga., barracks.

During his court-martial, Pfizer resisted turning over certain documents to the defense team, including clinical trial studies that were conducted on Chantix.

"I mean, it is the United States and Pfizer versus Pfc. MacDonald here," MacDonald's attorney, Lt. Col. Jan Aldykiewicz, fumed at a pretrial hearing June 1, 2009, a transcript shows.

The trial judge disagreed and refused to compel the company, which wasn't a party to the case, to comply with a subpoena for the material. The military jury subsequently convicted MacDonald of murdering Bulmer, a 23-year-old private, and sentenced him to life without the possibility of parole.

Comment: 'Tis better to smoke tobacco. Let's All Light Up!

Anti-Smoking Drug Chantix May Pose Psychiatric Risks
Antismoking Pill May Ease Depression ... Or Cause Suicidal Thoughts
Lawsuits Claim Harm From Pfizer Quit-Smoking Drug
Suicide Warnings Required for Anti-Smoking Drugs
Smoking-Pill Suicides Overlooked in Missing Reports
Mind over matter: Anti-smoking drug linked to suicide
"Quit Smoking" drug Champix side effects prompt 818 complaints

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Stock Up

Portugal bucks the system and leaves IMF 'bailout' program


RT
Sat, 17 May 2014 11:34 UTC
Image

Protest in Portugal against IMF policies
Portugal exited its international bailout program on Saturday, regaining its economic sovereignty, which it lost after the European debt crisis. However, the country's GDP is four percent lower than in 2010, a year before it asked for financial help.

The country will become the second eurozone country to leave the bailout after Ireland. Portugal underwent three years of painful austerity, in order to receive a 78-billion euro loan (106 billion US dollars), to help a nation that was on the verge of bankruptcy.

However, not everything has gone smoothly for Portugal, with the end of the bailout coming at a time when data has shown the country's economy contracted by 0.7 percent in the first quarter of 2014. Overall, the country's GDP is four percent lower than in 2010, a year before they asked the International Monetary Fund for financial help.

Comment: While the IMF tries to spin Portugal's exit from the bailout as a success story, it is clear from past examples that complete independence from the IMF's predatory loans and policies and getting one's financial house in order is wisest way to go. The unelected Ukrainian government has recently fallen under the influence of the IMF and will soon learn the hard way that it is not in their best interest to go that route.

See also:
IMF: International Monetary Fraudsters! Considered Ireland Ripe for Pillaging
EU/IMF Revolt: Greece, Iceland, Latvia May Lead the Way
Bankers unmasked: Lessons From Iceland
SOTT Talk Radio - Confessions of an Economic Hitman: Interview with John Perkins

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Colosseum

Behind the Headlines: Lessons from collapse of USSR for USA: Interview with Dmitry Orlov

Sott Editors
Sott.net
Sun, 18 May 2014 18:00 UTC
Sott Talk Radio logo
This week on SOTT Talk Radio we spoke with Dmitry Orlov, a Russian-American engineer and a writer on the subject of societal collapse.

Born in Saint Petersburg, Orlov moved to the U.S. at the age of 12. Visiting his homeland between the late 1980s and mid-1990s, he was an eyewitness to the collapse of the U.S.S.R.

Orlov has written extensively on the stages leading up to collapse, and how different groups of people adapt to 'the new normal'. Orlov argues that the U.S. is heading the same way, and that the U.S.S.R. had it easy compared to what's in store for the Atlantic Empire.

Orlov is the author of two books Reinventing Collapse: The Soviet Example and American Prospects, and The Five Stages of Collapse: Survivors' Toolkit, and regularly publishes essays at his Club Orlov blog.

Running Time: 01:38:00

Download: MP3

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Star of David

Shh, it got serious! RT accused of anti-Semitism for satire Rap News episode


RT
Sun, 18 May 2014 12:50 UTC
juice news
Media views that deviate from the mainstream are more often than not condemned and it seems RT has not been able to escape this trend. A Jewish rights group has branded RT "anti-Semite" over a satirical sketch lampooning Israel's policy on Palestine.

US President Barack Obama's former speechwriter Jon Lovett coined the phrase "the culture of shut up" where views that do not conform are silenced by often misplaced moral outrage. To name but a few recent cases, former CEO of Mozilla Brendan Eich was silenced and forced to resign after it hit headlines he had supported California's Proposition 8 which sought to ban same sex marriages. While Somali activist Ayaan Hirsi Ali fell afoul of the mainstream for her criticism of Islam, which sparked outrage among religious groups.


Comment: There's a technical term for misplaced moral outrage: paramoralism (from Andrew Lobaczewski's seminal Political Ponerology). Usually, the people who spread these ideas are perfectly aware that they're twisting morality -- manipulating the moral feelings of the people they wish to control. Don't be deceived: the ADL, Wiesenthal Center, et al., are perfectly aware that 'anti-Semitism' has nothing to do with religious, ethnic, or cultural bigotry. They use the term to silence legitimate criticism of Israel's immoral actions and policies. By calling it 'anti-Semitism', they hoodwink uncritical thinkers into feeling that such critics must themselves be somehow morally wrong. And feelings trump reason more often than not!


RT has fallen into the same trap and been branded as anti-Semite by a Jewish rights organization. The Wiesenthal Center has demanded a public apology over a satirical show broadcast on RT they say expressed "raw Jew hatred."

Comment: Kudos to RT for sticking up to the Wiesenthal bullies! Here's the video in question. See for yourselves. Any anti-Semitism?



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Dollar

Manuel Valls promises to remove income tax burden from 650,000 of France's poorest


The Connexion
Mon, 12 May 2014 11:30 UTC
Image
Prime Minister Manuel Valls has promised to remove the income tax burden from 650,000 of France's poorest families.

"That's enough tax increases," he said, adding that the government will work to provide significant tax cuts in 2015.

The plan to remove 650,000 households from income tax is part of a supplementary budget due to be voted through Parliament in June, and is set to help households whose key breadwinners were earning up to 1.3 times the minimum wage.

The number of people liable to pay tax has risen after the threshold was frozen under former President Nicolas Sarkozy and maintained, with adjustments by Francois Hollande.
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Stormtrooper

Ukrainian ultranationalist leader calls for guerilla war against pro-federalists and targeted assassinations of their leaders!


RT
Sun, 18 May 2014 10:03 UTC
Right sector protest
© AFP Photo/Genya Savilov
Right Sector protest in front of Ukrainian parliament in Kiev on March 27, 2014.
Television debates with three nationalist presidential candidates ended up in calls to pursue a guerilla war against pro-federalist Ukrainian citizens and conduct targeted assassinations of their leaders.

The leader of the radical Right Sector movement, Dmitry Yarosh, and his no less nationalist opponents, former chief of foreign intelligence service, Nikolay Malomuzh, and chairman of People's Rukh nationalist party, Vasily Skubiyda, presented their vision of Ukraine on Saturday after the presidential election set for May 25.

Because their positions are really close, they represent the far-right body of electors. The extremist views of Dmitry Yarosh stood out against a background of total antagonism towards everything non-Ukrainian, in the first place the Russian-speaking citizens of the country's southeast who are demanding federalization.

The leader of the militants, who now make up the backbone of the newly created National Guards, currently conducting military operations against federalization activists in eastern Ukraine, has called for "extensive guerilla war" against the protesting federalist forces in Donetsk and Lugansk.

The Right Sector, which last month formed a special detachment, Donbass-1, for waging war against the federalists in eastern Ukraine, is now busy forming the Donbass-2 unit and plans to recruit militants for a third one, said Yarosh.
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Quenelle - Golden

Goodbye America? Split emerges in German government as Foreign Minister, elder statesmen and industry leaders say 'HALT!' to sanctions on Russia


RT
Sun, 18 May 2014 09:48 UTC
Image

The German people are against Nazism in Ukraine
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier has called for restraint in imposing new sanctions on Russia, as politicians, businesses and the general public in Germany grow ever more skeptical of putting more pressure on Moscow.

Steinmeier defended the already imposed sanctions against Russia, but said that he still preferred "cooperation instead of confrontation" with Moscow, according to a Saturday interview with Thüringische Landeszeitung.

"We must avoid falling into an automatic [sanctions] mode, which leads only to a dead end and leaves no more policy options," Steinmeier said.

The comment was made the same day Ukraine's acting Foreign Minister Andriy Deshchytsia appealed for toughening sanctions, including imposing "preventive" ones, against Russia in an interview to another German newspaper, Die Welt.

The idea of slapping Moscow with any further restrictions appears to be lacking popular support in Germany. That was felt earlier this week in Berlin when Chancellor Angela Merkel, attending her party's campaign event, was booed by a rally of protesters holding signs, which read 'Europe is strong only with Russia' or 'Stop the Nazis in Ukraine.'


Comment: But what exactly IS the ideological clash between the EU and Russia? Communism's dead and we all live in the post-modern world where liberal democracy and free markets won, right?

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