As a platoon of Oakland Police Department officers began clearing out Occupy Oakland’s encampment for a second time at Frank Ogawa Plaza downtown, one of Mayor Jean Quan’s advisers resigned in protest. Quan’s legal adviser Dan Siegel announced his decision via Twitter early this morning. Siegel tweeted: No longer Mayor Quan’s legal advisor. Resigned at…
Category: News & Opinion
Warner Bros: we issued takedowns for files we never saw, didn’t own copyright to
In a Monday court filing, Warner Brothers admitted that it has issued takedown notices for files without looking at them first. The studio also acknowledged that it issued takedown notices for a number of URLs that its adversary, the locker site Hotfile, says were obviously not Warner Brothers’ content. Hotfile has been locked in a…
Senate Halts GOP Bid To Repeal ‘Net Neutrality’ Rules
Senate Democrats on Thursday turned back a Republican attempt to repeal federal rules designed to prevent Internet service providers from discriminating against those who send content and other services over their networks. Republicans argued that “net neutrality” rules announced by the Federal Communications Commission last December were another example of federal regulatory overreach that would…
VIDEO: Debunking The Right-Wing Meme That The Obama Administration Is Anti-Business
From GOP presidential contender Mitt Romney and Tea Party Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) to Sean Hannity and Bill O’Reilly, a general consensus has emerged that the Obama administration is “anti-business.” Yet any actual evidence of an effect from this putative bias has failed to materialize. ThinkProgress has compiled a video report. Watch it: via VIDEO:…
Man Outed As Undercover Cop At Occupy Oakland Condemns Police Brutality, Supports The Movement
Across the country, police have used undercover and/or plainsclothed police officers to monitor occupations and protests that are a part of the 99 Percent Movement. Earlier today, the Tennessean published excerpts from emails sent by the Tennessee Highway Patrol that confirmed not only that police were infiltrating Occupy Nashville but that they were hoping for…
Fox Still Doesn’t Know Public Sector Jobs Hit Harder In Recession
Fox again attacked Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) for noting that “it’s very clear that private-sector jobs have been doing just fine. It’s the public-sector jobs where we’ve lost huge numbers.” But Reid is right: Since the Recovery Act took effect, the private sector has gained more than 1.5 million jobs, while…
Stimulus-Hating GOP Rep. Frank Guinta Cuts Ribbon For Stimulus Project
With Recovery Act funding running out, that old TPM favorite — the anti-stimulus Republican who takes credit for stimulus funding in their district — is becoming somewhat of a rarity. But Rep. Frank Guinta (R-NH) kicked it old school on Thursday by cutting the ribbon on a new road that received millions from…
Paramilitary Policing From Seattle to Occupy Wall Street
My support for a militaristic solution caused all hell to break loose. Rocks, bottles and newspaper racks went flying. Windows were smashed, stores were looted, fires lighted; and more gas filled the streets, with some cops clearly overreacting, escalating and prolonging the conflict. The “Battle in Seattle,” as the WTO protests and their…
Obama Delays Keystone XL Pipeline
In a statement Thursday, Obama stressed the importance of “strengthening our nation’s energy security” while addressing both the environmental and procedural concerns raised by critics. “Because this permit decision could affect the health and safety of the American people as well as the environment, and because a number of concerns have been raised…
When do we hit the point of no return for climate change?
Based on everything we know about climate science, the basic game plan is that if we want to limit global warming below 2 degrees Celsius (or 35.6 Fahrenheit and avoid the most dangerous and unpredictable impacts), we’ll need to prevent the amount of carbon-dioxide in the atmosphere from rising above 450 parts per million. Currently,…
Unemployment Claims Drop; Trade Gap Narrows
The number of people who applied for unemployment benefits last week fell by 10,000 to a seasonally adjusted 390,000, the Labor Department said Thursday. That’s the fewest since April. The U.S. trade deficit narrowed to $43.1 billion in September, its lowest point of the year, the Commerce Department said. Foreign sales of American-made autos, airplanes…
Viacom so devastated by piracy that CEO gets $50 million raise
Last year, Viacom, whose Paramount subsidiary is an MPAA member, told the Wall Street Journal that “a new wave of digital piracy could threaten the US media business” if it lost its copyright infringement case against YouTube. Similarly, the MPAA has argued that “when profits are reduced, the studios have fewer dollars to invest in…
Fox News successfully creates climate confusion, but only among conservatives
A while back, a memo surfaced that reportedly came from a Fox News executive, in which he directed his staff to always present opposing views on something we can essentially regard as a fact: our planet has been getting warmer. There has been plenty of anecdotal indications that this strategy has been carried…
Apple Crops In Washington At Risk Because Of Other States Extreme Immigration Laws
Washington apple growers could have had one of the best apple harvests in the state’s history — if not for the lack of workers. Orchard owners say a federal immigration crackdown and extreme anti-immigrant laws in states like Alabama and Arizona have scared off many of their workers. Some farmers have tried to…
Election Roundup – Pearce Loses, Personhood Defeated
— Arizona recall election: Republican state Senate President Russell Pearce faced a recall election on Tuesday, and results with all precincts reporting show that he is losing to Republican challenger Jerry Lewis by 1128 votes. Pearce was a key architect of SB 1070, the state’s controversial immigration measure signed into law last year. The Arizona…
American Citizen Racially Profiled At School In Alabama Because She Looked Foreign
In the wake of HB 56, Alabama’s extreme immigration law, students have been bullied by their peers simply for looking Hispanic, and now even one teacher has singled out a student because she looked foreign — even though she is an American citizen. The ACLU reports that a teacher gave Cineo Gonzales’ young…
U.S. Employers Post Most Job Openings In 3 Years
U.S. employers advertised more jobs in September than at any other point in the past three years. The increase suggests hiring could pick up in the next few months. Competition for jobs is fierce. And many employers aren’t rushing to fill some because they are worried about the strength of the economy. Still, most economists…
Reports: Sarkozy Heard Telling Obama That Netanyahu Is A Liar
French President Nicolas Sarkozy was overheard last week telling President Obama that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is “a liar,” according to reports from Reuters, The Associated Press and other news outlets. Sarkozy also said of Netanyahu that “I cant stand him,” the stories say. Obama, the AP says, was heard saying in…
Poll: Ohio Set To Vote Big Against Kasich’s Anti-Union Law
A new survey from Public Policy Polling (D) shows Ohio Democrats and public employee unions likely to win a big victory on Tuesday in the referendum on Republican Gov. John Kasich’s anti-public union bill, SB-5. The poll shows only 36% of Ohioans will vote to support the law, while a decisive 59% oppose…
Architect of Arizonas Anti-Immigration Law May Lose His Seat
Pearce has a considerable financial advantage. According to the ABC affiliate, Pearce “raised an eye-popping $230,000—including donations from more than 40 states—compared to Lewis’ $69,000.” Yet despite that advantage, and the fact that his campaign managed to get a sham candidate, Olivia Cortes, on the ballot, Pearce may still lose. Pearces opponents challenged…