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by WWRL Blog
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posted Jun 13 2011 8:10AM
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Live VIDEO Stream: WWRL Morning Show
Click here: mms://nick11a.surfernetwork.com/WWRL_V
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by WWRL Blog
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posted Jun 13 2011 8:08AM
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Who's still unemployed? Mainly those — women, young people, blacks — who lack the political clout to get government to spur job growth.
By Robert B. Reich
The complete article can be viewed at:
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-reich-unemployment-20110603,0,1851197.story
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by WWRL Blog
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posted Jun 13 2011 8:06AM
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Exposed: The US-Saudi Libya deal By Pepe Escobar
You invade Bahrain. We take out Muammar Gaddafi in Libya.
This, in short, is the essence of a deal struck between the Barack Obama
administration and the House of Saud. Two diplomatic sources at the United Nations
independently confirmed that Washington, via Secretary of State Hillary
Clinton, gave the go-ahead for Saudi Arabia to invade Bahrain and crush the
pro-democracy movement in their neighbor in exchange for a "yes"
Read more:
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/MD02Ak01.html
Listen to the interview with Mark Riley:
http://www.digitalpodcast.com/detail.php?id=12898
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by WWRL Blog
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posted Jun 13 2011 8:01AM
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How U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan murdered innocent civilians and mutilated their corpses – and how their officers failed to stop them. Plus: An exclusive look at the war crime photos censored by the Pentagon
Read More
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/the-kill-team-20110327
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by WWRL Blog
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posted Jun 13 2011 7:58AM
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Libya: Western Countries Advocating Intervention As Pretext For Oil Grab – Russian Envoy
As the international community continues to debate the role it should take in the Libyan unrest, Russia’s Envoy to NATO, Dmitry Rogozin expresses concern over NATO’s plans for military intervention in the country.
He tells RT that certain countries are pushing to get involved in Libya because they are reliant on its oil resources.
Full Story:
http://www.thetotalcollapse.com/libya-western-countries-advocating-intervention-as-pretext-for-oil-grab/
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by Scott Walker
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posted Jun 13 2011 7:51AM
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Good grief, how many stupid people do we have in this country? And how come we keep electing them as Republican governors?
In a had-to-be-seen-to-be-believed budget speech this afternoon, Wisconsin’s pet rock of a chief executive, Scott Walker, barely touched on the firestorm that has put his slightly cross-eyed, startled-looking mug on the national map. Absent were references to violating court orders to keep the Capitol open to protesters. No mention was made of unilateral decisions to bolt the Capitol windows shut. There wasn’t a word in there about the no-holds-barred campaign to demonize the Unions as if they were al-Qaeda. Only in passing – by referencing those Democrats who interrupted the knee-capping of collective bargaining rights – did Walker even come close to mentioning the issue that his lit up the night sky of America’s Dairyland.
In short, Walker’s speech sounded about as in-touch and pertinent as one of Hosni Mubarak’s. No; check that; Mubarak eventually got it. When it comes to tone-deaf speechifying (not, obviously, bloodshed), Walker is closer to Colonel Gadaffi. Read more »
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by WWRL Blog
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posted Jun 13 2011 7:47AM
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If you review the recent history of battles between unions and state or local governments, you’ll find similar stories. In New York, Rudolph Giuliani won big concessions. In Chicago, Richard Daley did, too. In Wisconsin — setting aside Gov. Scott Walker’s attempt to end collective bargaining — unions have already agreed to a significant cut in take-home pay.
It has become conventional wisdom to say that public sector unions are inherently problematic because they can use their political influence to win lavish pay from politicians. But that’s not quite right. The real problem with most union contracts for public workers is not the money — it’s almost everything else.
On money alone, many politicians are pretty tough negotiators. No wonder that academic papers spanning more than 30 years have found that government workers receive compensation that is similar — with somewhat lower salaries and somewhat better benefits on average — to that of private sector workers with similar qualifications. One study went so far as to include workers’ scores on an intelligence test, to ensure the comparison was apples to apples. Over all, government workers are modestly underpaid or overpaid, depending on which technical accounting assumptions are used to value their pensions.
Read more: When Ed Rendell became the mayor of Philadelphia in 1992, he started a fight with the city’s labor unions that will sound familiar to anyone who has been following the recent news from Wisconsin. In his inaugural address, Mr. Rendell, a Democrat, announced, “Philadelphia stands on the brink of total disaster.”
He told the city’s unions that they needed to accept less generous health benefits, fewer holidays and a pay freeze. The unions promised to strike. Mr. Rendell pointed out, frequently and publicly, that the city offered better benefits than private companies did. The public sided with the mayor, and on most issues, the unions eventually caved.
If you review the recent history of battles between unions and state or local governments, you’ll find similar stories. In New York, Rudolph Giuliani won big concessions. In Chicago, Richard Daley did, too. In Wisconsin — setting aside Gov. Scott Walker’s attempt to end collective bargaining — unions have already agreed to a significant cut in take-home pay.
It has become conventional wisdom to say that public sector unions are inherently problematic because they can use their political influence to win lavish pay from politicians. But that’s not quite right. The real problem with most union contracts for public workers is not the money — it’s almost everything else.
On money alone, many politicians are pretty tough negotiators. They have both the motive and the means. They want to spend their budget on projects that are sexier than government pensions. And, as Mr. Rendell says today, politicians can often win a fight with unions in “the court of public opinion.”
No wonder that academic papers spanning more than 30 years have found that government workers receive compensation that is similar — with somewhat lower salaries and somewhat better benefits on average — to that of private sector workers with similar qualifications. One study went so far as to include workers’ scores on an intelligence test, to ensure the comparison was apples to apples. Over all, government workers are modestly underpaid or overpaid, depending on which technical accounting assumptions are used to value their pensions.
Either way, modestly is the crucial word. There is no good case that government pay is a major cause of the budget problems now facing states.
Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/02/business/02leonhardt.html?_r=1&pagewanted=print
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