The American Trial Lawyers Association

A British diplomat has come forward and made it clear that the British government has a paper trail that proves that both the US and the British government were fully aware that Saddam Hussein posed no threat to the world. Carne Ross, who was a first secretary at the United Nations in New York for the Foreign Office until 2004, told MPs: "A lot of facts about the run-up to this war have yet to come to light which should come to light and which the public deserves to know." He told the inquiry that the intelligence made it "very clear" that Saddam Hussein did not pose a significant threat to the UK, as was being claimed at the time by ministers, and that tougher enforcement of sanctions could have brought his regime down. Ross believes that his revelations could call the very legality of the invasion into question. When prodded about why he didn't come out sooner, or try harder to prevent the invasion, Ross said that he was aware that speaking out too often or too openly - even in internal debates - about his concerns about the government's policy direction would damage his career by winning him a reputation as a "naive troublemaker".


In environmental news today, a poll released recently by Gallup says that, while a majority of Americans still believe the seriousness of global warming is “either correctly portrayed in the news or underestimated,” an all-time high of 41 percent of those polled say it is exaggerated. One of the main reasons for this drop in concern can be attributed to the success of climate change deniers in disseminating their message. While they are no more credible now than they were a few years ago, the difference today is that they have more friendly media outlets that are willing to broadcast their message. Since Gallup began tracking domestic sentiment on global warming in 1997, American views that climate change was being underestimated were at their highest in 2001 and 2006 (the year An Inconvenient Truth came out). The poll also saw declines from last year in the number of people who believe the effects of global warming are occurring now, and in the number that believe global warming will pose a “serious threat” in their lifetimes. By age group, the biggest jump (13 percent) from last March in those who now believe global warming claims are exaggerated was in the 65-and-older demographic. While other age groups also saw an increase, the 18-29 segment had no change at all in the number of those who believe claims are exaggerated.


And finally, it just wouldn't be a news day if there weren't something to say about AIG. Admittedly, I'm getting pretty sick of these stories, and would prefer to no longer write about them. But people seem to enjoy it, so I'll play along one last time. But rest assured, after today, I'm done covering anything to do with AIG, unless aliens come down, beam up their building, and probe each and every executive. Now THAT would be a news story. Despite the protestations of a few congressmen, the House voted overwhelmingly to pass bonus tax legislation Thursday afternoon. Roll Call reports the vote was 328-93 to impose a 90 percent tax on employee bonuses at companies that received federal bailout funds, which includes AIG. CNN notes that the measure, which now heads to the Senate for consideration, would tax individuals on any bonuses received in 2009 from companies getting $5 billion or more in money from the Troubled Asset Relief Program. Those with incomes more than $250,000 would see their bonuses taxed at the 90 percent rate.

Labels: AIG, Bailout, Bonuses, Britain, Climate Change, Environment, Farron Cousins, Global Warming, Intelligence, Iraq War, Ron Paul, Saddam Hussein

In the midst of all the hullabaloo over AIG's decision to award $165 million dollars worth of bonuses to executives, New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo has decided to take action. Cuomo has issued a subpoena to AIG seeking a list with the names of executives receiving bonuses, which he had requested in the past. Cuomo said that he was disturbed by the company's decision to award these bonuses, in light of the fact that the company is failing, and over 79% of it is now owned by the government. Congressman Barney Frank is also speaking out against the bonuses, saying that if they can't be stopped, the government should consider firing some of these executives. Unfortunately, had the Obama administration acted, they could have easily prevented these bonuses from even going out, according to congressman Brad Sherman. Sherman told Talking Points Memo that the Treasury had a mechanism in place to stop this excess, but the administration missed their opportunity. Sherman actually predicted events like this, which is why he said he voted against the bailout – He knew that the Treasury would not enforce the rules that it had been given the authority to do. On top of this, experts are now warning us that it will be almost impossible for AIG to repay all of their bailout money to the government. The only logical step from here is criminal indictments and prosecutions. But, given the track record of the government for prosecuting those who screw over America, that's unlikely to ever happen.


In other news, a federal judge has ruled that it is ok for the Navy to spray recruits with a chemical that is known to cause death, and has been banned from international warfare. The decision is in response to a case brought by naval officers, who argued that the practice of subjecting trainees to a direct shot of pepper spray was dangerous and deprived them of their constitutional rights to due process and equal protection. They said the Navy could rely on less intense training methods, such as smearing a small amount of the spray on the skin beneath the eyes, or forcing trainees to walk through a room that had previously been sprayed. But Judge Richard Leon of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia said he wasn't in a position to overrule the Navy's decision to continue the practice. Inhalation of high doses of some of the chemicals found in pepper spray can produce adverse cardiac, respiratory, and neurological effects, including arrhythmias and sudden death. Our soldiers have enough to worry about these days – we don't need to be shooting them in the face with pepper spray to toughen them up.


And speaking of the US court system, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas finally got something right. During a speech at Virginia college yesterday, Thomas told listeners that Americans today are too self-indulgent and don't make the sacrifices that their parents and grandparents did, and the nation's leaders don't ask people to act for the higher good. He added that our country and our principles are more important than our individual wants. He quoted President Kennedy's famous, "Ask not what your country can do for you" speech, but said Americans today are more likely to say, "Ask not what you can do for yourselves or your country but what your country can do for you." Ironically, Thomas is considered one of the more conservative judges on the bench today, but these ideals that he's talking about our almost uniquely liberal. Conservative philosophy teaches that each man or woman is responsible for themselves, and the goal is to ultimately be completely autonomous. On the other hand, liberals believe in the common good, stressing the importance of the group, rather than the individual. Maybe Justice Thomas is rethinking his outdated political positions, or perhaps he just forgot what his party actually stands for.

Labels: AIG, Andrew Cuomo, Barney Frank, Bonus, Brad Sherman, Clarence Thomas, Death, Farron Cousins, Lawsuit, Navy, Pepper Spray, Supreme Court

In case you've been wondering where all of that bank bailout money has gone, AIG finally decided to disclose their activities. Rather than investing in new hires, or providing affordable loans to new borrowers, the company instead shipped billions of taxpayer dollars to foreign banks. The documents AIG released account for some of the more than $180 billion in aid that AIG has received, and they detailed for the first time which financial firms are benefitting from the federal handout.
In all, AIG disclosed payments of $105.3 billion between September and December 2008, and some of the biggest recipients were European banks. Political pressure is now building on AIG, as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Sunday called on AIG executives to “renounce” their bonuses and refuse retention pay, and said that House Financial Services Chairman Barney Frank would “examine options that are legally available to recover taxpayer funds of companies that abuse the privilege of taxpayer assistance.” Edward Liddy, the government-installed CEO of AIG, has been called to testify before Frank's committee on Wednesday.


In other financial news, a new report has been released showing that those who have had the loudest voices in denouncing the bailout and stimulus packages – mostly republicans – are also the ones that have been hit the hardest by the recession. According to the Center for Responsible Lending, who recently issued the new report, nine of the top ten districts with the most foreclosures are Republican and most likely to receive the bulk of any homeowner bailout, and thus, at least according to one On Air editor of a major cable network, fit the definition of "losers". I'm sure we all recall the protests from rank and file members of the GOP, where they would hold signs saying things like “your mortgage is not my problem,” but now it looks like it might be. Only one of these top ten districts leans democratic, which is a location in Michigan. The ones held onto by Republicans include districts in Oklahoma, Florida, Arizona, Delaware, and Georgia. According to Republican Rick Santelli, all of these republicans are irresponsible losers. Those are his words, not mine. You see, not long ago, Santelli appeared on cable news and said that any homeowner bailout would just go to irresponsible people who were losers. Of course, this was probably before he realized that those same losers are the ones who make up his base.


And finally today, according to a new study, a predicted slowdown in Atlantic Ocean currents will cause sea levels along the US northeast coast to rise twice as fast as the global average, exposing New York and other big cities to violent and frequent storm surges. For example, Manhattan's Wall Street, which is barely a three feet above sea level, will find itself underwater more often as the 21st century unfolds. The UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change concluded in early 2007 that expanding ocean water driven by climate change will drive up sea levels, on average, anywhere from seven to 23 inches by 2100, depending on how successful we are at slashing greenhouse gas emissions. This rising water mark will erase several island nations from the map, and is likely to cause devastation in Asian and African deltas home to tens of millions of people. The weakened currents account for nearly half of a predicted sea rise -- from thermal expansion alone. Rapid sea level increases would put cities such as New York, Boston, Baltimore and Washington D.C. at significantly greater risk of coastal hazards such as hurricanes and intense winter storm surges. Of course, given the fact that a large portion of American citizens still don't believe that global warming is real, it would probably take flooding of this nature just to convince them.

Labels: AIG, Bailout, Bank, Climate Change, Farron Cousins, Foreclosure, Fraud, Global Warming, Manhattan, Protest, Republican, Rick Santelli, Wall Street