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Greece’s Big Fat No

by Lucile2956 Posted on July 5, 2015

Mother Jones

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It appears that the Greek referendum is headed toward a landslide No vote. With about half of the votes counted as I write this, the No vote is very strongly in the lead and Greece’s interior ministry has released an official projection showing the No side winning 61 percent of the vote.

There are a couple of takeaways from this. First, I obviously don’t know squat about the Greek temperament. Let’s see now. What exactly is it that I said a few days ago? Oh yes, here it is:

In the end, the Greek public will be unwilling to back Tsipras in Sunday’s referendum and will vote to accept the European deal as is. The potential catastrophe of default and leaving the euro is just too scary for most of them to contemplate….So that’s my prediction. Unless Tsipras caves completely beforehand, the referendum will be held on Sunday and Greeks will vote to stay in the euro and accept Germany’s terms. It will basically be an unconditional surrender.

In technical terms, that was totally fucking wrong. Instead of caving in, the Greeks told Europe to take a hike. They refused to accept the austerity plan put in front of them and instead voted to support prime minister Alexis Tsipris’s effort to demand better terms. In general, that means they want Europe to (a) offer debt relief, (b) permit the Greek government to pass a higher budget supported by higher taxes; and (c) go a little easier on pension cuts.

The second takeaway is….oh forget it. Why listen to me anymore after this predictive debacle? Anyway, I don’t think anyone even knows what’s next now. Tsipris obviously has a vote of confidence and will stay in power. Angela Merkel and the rest of the Troika will have to decide whether to make a few concessions or simply refuse and let Greece twist in the wind. I honestly have no idea what they’ll choose. And the ECB will have to decide whether to keep Greece’s banks on life support for a while longer.

Stay tuned. It’s going to be a fascinating few weeks for those of us who don’t actually live in Greece and have to personally face the possibility of economic catastrophe.

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Greece’s Big Fat No

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On Independence Day, Pentagon Shows Off Some Real Fireworks

by NedHMTKiuufr Posted on July 4, 2015

Mother Jones

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From W.J. Hennigan on the front page of this morning’s LA Times:

As diplomats rush to reach an agreement to curb Iran’s nuclear program, the U.S. military is stockpiling conventional bombs so powerful that strategists say they could cripple Tehran’s most heavily fortified nuclear complexes, including one deep underground….U.S. officials say the huge bombs, which have never been used in combat, are a crucial element in the White House deterrent strategy and contingency planning should diplomacy go awry and Iran seek to develop a nuclear bomb.

….U.S. officials have publicized the new bomb partly to rattle the Iranians. Some Pentagon officials warned not to underestimate U.S. military capabilities even if the bunker-busters can’t eliminate Iran’s nuclear program. Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, suggested at the same Pentagon news conference Thursday that airstrikes might be ordered multiple times if Iran tries to build a bomb.

The usual questions present themselves. (1) This is obviously a piece spoon fed to the press. Why now? (2) Who is it targeted at? Iran, or our allies? Or Israel? (3) Is it credible? Does anyone truly believe that Obama will bomb Iran if talks fail? (4) Credible or not, does this kind of saber rattling do more harm than good? Discuss.

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On Independence Day, Pentagon Shows Off Some Real Fireworks

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Greek Media Really, Really Wants Yes Vote On Euro-Bailout

by MerrillTerrell Posted on July 3, 2015

Mother Jones

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Henry Chu of the LA Times reports on how the Greek media is presenting Sunday’s upcoming vote on the bailout:

Strong emotions are in abundant supply. But impartial reporting is not.

Along with Skai TV, nearly all the mainstream press and television stations in Greece have skewed their coverage or are openly in favor of the “yes” campaign, throwing in doubt just how fair Sunday’s election will be. The snap referendum has already come under criticism for being called with too little notice by the left-wing Greek government — which is urging a “no” vote — to allow for proper campaigning and educating of voters.

….In a widely circulated examination of how the six biggest TV networks treated the rival referendum rallies Monday and Tuesday, freelance journalist Markos Petropoulos found that the pro-government “no” demonstration got about 81/2 minutes of coverage, whereas the “yes” protest received more than five times that much.

In another newscast, one network devoted 18 minutes to warnings and statements from European leaders about the breakdown of bailout negotiations with Athens and the surprise referendum announcement that had precipitated it. The Greek government’s position got two minutes.

The bias toward the “yes” side reflects the fact that many of Greece’s biggest news outlets are owned by corporate titans and other “oligarchs” whose business interests would be directly threatened by a “no” victory and the potential abandonment of the euro in favor of the drachma, Nikolas Leontopoulos said.

I suppose it’s no surprise that Greece’s corporate class is deeply unthrilled by Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras’s leftist government, and would be happy to see him humiliated and tossed out of office. I assume that they also prefer the devil they know—grinding European-imposed austerity for years—to the devil they don’t—exiting the euro amid chaos and eventually rebuilding their economy with a devalued drachma. After all, they’ll stay rich either way, and sticking with their fellow European moguls probably seems the better bet by far.

Less than 48 hours to go now.

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Greek Media Really, Really Wants Yes Vote On Euro-Bailout

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My $500 Pill Revealed

by Jarred2039 Posted on July 2, 2015

Mother Jones

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Have you ever wondered what a $500 pill looks like? Well, here’s your answer: it looks like pretty much any other pill.

Anyway, I’m supposed to take this for 21 days, then a week off, then another 21 days, etc. This will last a few months before we know if it’s working. If it does work, then I’ll be taking it forever (I think). So that’s $126,000 per year to keep Kevin alive. Of course, I pay only a fraction of that thanks to having excellent health insurance, and I’m sure that even Kaiser pays nowhere near that list price. Maybe half that, or a third. Still, pretty expensive!

Luckily I’m not on Obamacare. From what I hear, my case would have gone straight to a death panel, which almost certainly would have decided that my societal worth didn’t measure up to the cost of the treatment. And who could argue? I mean, blogging? Seriously?

POSTSCRIPT: I forgot to mention something in my previous health update: I feel great. Not 100 percent, mind you, but pretty good. My stomach is in fine fettle (in fact, I’m overeating these days), I’m sleeping well, and my energy level has recovered almost to normal. The long-term prognosis for the multiple myeloma is obviously still uncertain, and that’s an unhappy thing, but in the meantime at least I feel good for the first time in eight months!

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My $500 Pill Revealed

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Santorum Holding Onto Debate Stage By His Fingernails in Latest CNN Poll

by LatriceHarrhy Posted on July 1, 2015

Mother Jones

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Fox News will be sponsoring the first Republican debate on August 6, and they have decided to limit the stage to the top ten candidates. The lucky winners will be the ones who “place in the top 10 in an average of the five most recent, recognized national polls leading up to Aug. 4.”

So how is everyone doing so far? CNN is certainly a recognized national poll, so they’ll be part of the eventual winnowing. And their most recent poll shows Jeb! at the top followed by Trump, Huckabee, Carson, and Rand Paul. The bottom three candidates—Christie, Cruz, and Santorum—could easily lose a point or two just due to statistical churn, to be replaced by Jindal, Kasich, and Fiorina.

I’m looking forward to the Trump-Christie showdown for the Annoying Loudmouth Award, and to the Carson-Cruz showdown for the Looneybin Award—though both men have been disappointingly circumspect lately, hedging their beliefs as if they really wanted to win this thing.

But there’s still a chance of Rick Perry melting down in amusing fashion. That should make the whole thing worth watching.

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Santorum Holding Onto Debate Stage By His Fingernails in Latest CNN Poll

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What if we banned street harassment? Buenos Aires might

by IvanTribolet Posted on June 11, 2015

What if we banned street harassment? Buenos Aires might

By on 11 Jun 2015commentsShare

Perhaps you have thought to yourself, after the eighth time in one week that a rando on the street loudly shared how he felt about your ass: It would be nice if there were a way to remedy this situation — even better if it does not involve me losing my mind and shoving this man into oncoming traffic! Here’s some good news: There are two proposed bills in Buenos Aires that would make catcalling illegal.

As a former resident of Buenos Aires, I can confirm that street harassment in the city is relentless and inescapable. The Spanish word for catcalls — piropos — sounds really fun and cute! But in practice, piropo culture victimizes women on the streets of their own city, and its effects are very, very real. I do not exaggerate when I say that I did not once walk outside of my apartment without having a stranger let me know, in no uncertain terms, exactly what he thought of my body. On the plus side, I got a crash course in Spanish dirty talk — ask me what quiero romperte la concha means (or don’t)! — but on the downside, I felt angry and helpless pretty much all the time!

From CityLab:

If passed, the new city laws would create a framework for women’s complaints about sexual harassment in public places to be taken seriously, according to lawmakers. They would apply a wide-ranging definition of verbal sexual harassment; one of the proposals targets lascivious looks, whistles, kisses, honking car horns, panting, indirect sexual comments, and photographing intimate body parts without consent.

Including all these possible piropos is critical to understanding such behavior and allowing women to legally fight back, said city lawmaker Gabriel Fuks, who co-presented one of the bills. He emphasized the importance of creating a protocol for the city’s police to process such reports, which will obligate officers to respond less skeptically than they do now, he said.

There’s been some discussion of outlawing street harassment in some cities in the United States (Kansas City, Mo. passed an ordinance against it last fall), against which there are essentially two arguments: 1) Outlawing catcalling infringes upon the right to free speech; and 2) Criminalizing catcalling doesn’t actually do anything to address a culture that condones the objectification of women. To which I say: 1) Fuck you (that’s my right to free speech!); and 2) That’s true, but it’s a step in the right direction to punish something that has a detrimental effect on a community.

For the Spanish-speakers out there (¡hola!), this is a fantastic bit on street harassment from the Argentine sketch comedy group Cualca:

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Buenos Aires Wants to Outlaw Street Harassment of Women

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What if we banned street harassment? Buenos Aires might

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Note to Politicians: Stop Being So Self-Centered About Medical Research Funding

by AmosBuiezwtwn Posted on May 27, 2015

Mother Jones

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Steve Benen mentions one of my pet peeves today: politicians who want to cut spending on everything except for research on one particular disease that happens to affect them personally. A couple of years ago, for example, Sen. Mark Kirk suddenly became interested in Medicaid’s approach to treating strokes after he himself suffered a stroke. The latest example is Jeb Bush, whose mother-in-law has Alzheimer’s. I suppose you can guess what’s coming next. Here’s Jeb in a letter he sent to Maria Shriver:

I have gotten lots of emails based on my comments regarding Alzheimer’s and dementia at a town hall meeting in New Hampshire. It is not the first time I have spoken about this disease. I have done so regularly.

Here is what I believe:

We need to increase funding to find a cure. We need to reform FDA regulations to accelerate the approval process for drug and device approval at a much lower cost. We need to find more community based solutions for care.

As Benen points out, Bush vetoed a bunch of bills that would have assisted Alzheimer’s patients when he was governor of Florida. I guess that’s changed now that he actually knows someone with the disease. However, it doesn’t seem to have affected his attitude toward any other kind of medical research spending.

I’m not even sure what to call this syndrome, but it’s mighty common. It’s also wildly inappropriate. If Jeb wants to personally start a charity that helps fund Alzheimer’s research, that’s great. But if he’s running for president, he should be concerned with medical research for everyone. I mean, where’s the billion dollars that I’d like to see invested in multiple myeloma research? Huh?

Presidents and members of Congress represent the country, not their own families. They should get straight on the fact that if their pet disease is being underfunded, then maybe a lot of other diseases are being underfunded too. It shouldn’t take a family member getting sick to get them to figure that out.

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Note to Politicians: Stop Being So Self-Centered About Medical Research Funding

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Don’t Panic: Health Insurance Rates Aren’t About to Rise by 50 Percent

by EstellaMassie Posted on May 22, 2015

Mother Jones

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Here’s the latest Fox News bait from the Wall Street Journal:

Major insurers in some states are proposing hefty rate boosts for plans sold under the federal health law, setting the stage for an intense debate this summer over the law’s impact.

In New Mexico, market leader Health Care Service Corp. is asking for an average jump of 51.6% in premiums for 2016. The biggest insurer in Tennessee, BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee, has requested an average 36.3% increase. In Maryland, market leader CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield wants to raise rates 30.4% across its products. Moda Health, the largest insurer on the Oregon health exchange, seeks an average boost of around 25%.

All of them cite high medical costs incurred by people newly enrolled under the Affordable Care Act.

Well, of course they do. It’s a handy excuse, so why not use it?

In any case, we’ve all seen this movie before. Republicans will latch onto it as evidence of how Obamacare is destroying American health care and it will enjoy a nice little run for them. Then, a few months from now, the real rate increases—the ones approved by state and federal authorities—will begin to trickle out. They’ll mostly be in single digits, with a few in the low teens. The average for the entire country will end up being something like 4-8 percent.

So don’t panic. Sure, it’s possible that the Obamacare shit has finally hit the fan, but probably not. Check back in October before you worry too much about stories like this.

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Don’t Panic: Health Insurance Rates Aren’t About to Rise by 50 Percent

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This Is the Perfect Response to Fox’s Racist Theory About Michelle Obama’s Time at Princeton

by SterlinH09 Posted on May 13, 2015

Mother Jones

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Over the weekend, Michelle Obama delivered a passionate, candid commencement speech to the graduating class at Tuskegee University, Alabama, in which she addressed the daily slights of racism she has endured throughout her life. From Saturday’s ceremony:

We’ve both felt the sting of those daily slights throughout our entire lives. The folks who crossed the street in fear of their safety, the clerks who kept a close eye on us in all those department stores. The people at formal events who assumed we were the help. And those who have questioned our intelligence, our honesty, even our love of this country, and I know that these little indignities are obviously nothing compared to what folks across the country are dealing with every single day.

It was a powerful speech, and naturally, the folks at Fox News were not happy. Fox News contributor Angela McGlowan on Tuesday suggested the speech was yet another example of the White House dividing the country on issues of race, asking, “Why didn’t the first lady share the reason why she got into Princeton was probably because of Affirmative Action?”

“The reason why she became an associate at a law firm was probably because of diversity, they needed a woman—not saying that she wasn’t qualified—but they needed a woman, and a woman of color,” she said.

Comedy Central’s Larry Wilmore was not having it. In a segment on the Nightly Show, he fired back: “When a coke-snorting, alcohol-guzzling son of a CIA director DUI’s his way into Yale and ultimately into the Oval Office because his daddy’s was in both places, that’s affirmative action.”

George W., we hope you’re watching.

Watch the full segment below:

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This Is the Perfect Response to Fox’s Racist Theory About Michelle Obama’s Time at Princeton

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These Photos of the Vegas Fight and the Baltimore Protests Perfectly Sum Up Inequality in America

by MohammedNHYS Posted on May 3, 2015

Mother Jones

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On Saturday night, the biggest news story in America was the welterweight championship fight between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao, in Las Vegas (Mayweather won). The second biggest was probably the continuing demonstrations across the nation over the death of Freddie Gray: Police in Baltimore deployed pepper spray and arrested protesters defying a 10 p.m. curfew.

The two events are completely unrelated, of course, unfolding on opposite sides of the continent. But it’s hard to resist making some simple comparisons, especially when you see a photo like this one posted on Twitter by Los Angeles sports reporter Liz Habib. Just look at McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas:

So much expensive hardware was heading into Las Vegas this weekend that the airport itself urged private plane pilots to consider alternative places to land.

In attendance at the match on Saturday night was a heady mix of the superwealthy, like the CEO of CBS, Leslie Moonves—whose compensation package was worth $57.2 million in 2014, according to the Wall Street Journal—along with the usual actors and models. The match-up itself, at Las Vegas’s MGM Grand Garden, was expected to bring in more revenue than the GDP of 29 countries.

Meanwhile, protesters across the country were taking on what President Obama himself has described as decades of income inequality, lack of opportunity, and conflicts with police. Saturday night, there were more scenes of tension as demonstrators refused to comply with the city-imposed curfew:

A man was arrested and hit with pepper spray as police enforced a 10 p.m. curfew. David Goldman/AP

A woman is loaded into the back of a van after being arrested in Baltimore, Saturday night. David Goldman/AP

The timing is coincidental. But the two unfolding events starkly illustrated what could be a major theme of the 2016 elections.

“We have to be honest about gaps that exists across out country, the inequality that stalks our streets,” Hillary Clinton said on Wednesday, in a wide-ranging speech about policing, race and class. And in January, Senator Ted Cruz told Fox News that “we’re facing right now a divided America when it comes to the economy.” (He blamed President Obama.)

With images like these flashing across our screens, it’s hard to imagine this topic going away anytime soon.

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These Photos of the Vegas Fight and the Baltimore Protests Perfectly Sum Up Inequality in America

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