Thousands Rally Ahead of G-20

clipped from online.wsj.com Thousands of people marched through European cities Saturday to demand jobs, economic justice and environmental accountability, kicking off six days of protest and action planned in the run-up to the G-20 summit next week in London. In London, more than 150 groups threw their backing behind the ``Put People First" march. Police said around 35,000 attended the demonstration, snaking their way across the city toward Speaker's Corner in Hyde Park. Protest organizers said they wanted leaders from the world's top 20 economies to adopt a more transparent and democratic economic recovery plan. If we can generate fabulous wealth, as we can, then surely we can learn how to distribute that wealth more fairly. If we can unleash a technological revolution then surely we can ensure that everyone on this planet gets the food, the shelter and the health care that they need There's a really good opportunity for governments to get together and invest in a sustainable future

It seems the free enterprise system is working too well for the ‘haves’ and the ‘have nots’ are upset about it. What they’re really upset about is that those capitalist pigs are not sharing their wealth. Why should they? They worked hard for it therefore they are entitled to it, right?

Ah, but the true problem is that these same pigs take unfair advantage of their wealth to skirt tax laws while no one else can. That does present a distinct disadvantage to the rest of us. And who is in control of this system? The rich, of course.

The only way this system is going to change is if compassion towards the ‘have nots’ somehow miraculously takes hold and the rich stop using loopholes built into the system. Not likely to happen. The very idea of sharing wealth with those who did nothing do build it is completely foreign to those in power. This is why this system will never change.

And, as it always has, our protestations will fall on deaf ears once again.

States relent, take stimulus money

Dangle that carrot long enough and it will be taken.

I think it was disingenuous for states to refuse financial assistance citing good reason not to take it and then take it anyway. It undermines any remaining principles state leadership was trying to exhibit against federal influence over state matters.

I also think it is wrong for the federal government to force state policy changes as a condition for receiving so called assistance.

But such is the state of politics in America. The federal government exerts more and more control over states rights and money talks louder than principle.

clipped from money.cnn.com It's not that easy to turn down federal funds. Several governors who initially voiced concerns about expanding state unemployment benefits to qualify for federal stimulus funds have decided to accept the money Some were feeling the heat from jobless constituents, while others took comfort in learning recently from the federal Department of Labor that they could curtail eligibility later on. The benefits expansion is among the most controversial components of the stimulus package, and it comes at a time when millions of people across the nation are losing their jobs. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act requires state legislatures to broaden the unemployment guidelines to allow more women, part-timers and low-wage workers to qualify. "This isn't about not being compassionate," said Adam Hasner, House Majority Leader in Florida, where unemployment is at 9.4%. "It's about not making a problem worse."

Parents fight child porn threats against 'sexting' teens

clipped from arstechnica.com As teen flirtation and sexual experimentation enter the digital age, dog-bites-man stories about adolescent exhibitionists being charged as kiddie pornographers may soon seem no more newsworthy than reports of cops breaking up a kegger But one group of Pennsylvania parents is pretty sure their daughters aren't sex offenders—and with the help of the American Civil Liberties Union, they're suing to force a zealous county district attorney to back off. In what's becoming a familiar pattern, Tunkhannock School District officials confiscated a student's cell phone late last year, and discovered an array of photographs of local girls in various states of undress—photos that male students had apparently been trading and collecting more avidly than Pokémon cards. Duly horrified, Wyoming County District Attorney George Skumanick decided he had to protect these young women... by threatening to prosecute them for "sexual abuse of children."

This is going to lead to a more concise definition of pornography as opposed to 'risque' photography.

Is it right to label a thirteen year old a kiddie pornographer based on a photograph in which no sex act is involved?

Would you care more if your own child was involved?

Instead of Fighting Traffic Cameras, Start Driving Safely

clipped from online.wsj.com The village of Schaumburg, Ill., installed a camera at Woodfield Mall last November to film cars that were running red lights, then used the footage to issue citations. Results were astonishing. The town issued $1 million in fines in just three months. But drivers caught by the unforgiving enforcement -- which mainly snared those who didn't come to a full stop before turning right on red -- exploded in anger. Many vowed to stop shopping at the mall unless the camera was turned off. The village stopped monitoring right turns at the intersection in January. Once a rarity, traffic cameras are filming away across the country. And they're not just focusing their sights on red-light runners. The latest technology includes cameras that keep tabs on highways to catch speeders in the act and infrared license-plate readers that nab ticket and tax scofflaws.

People don’t like these cameras because they catch them breaking the law and present enforceable proof of it, and few people like to pay for breaking the law. Instead of fighting these cameras how about we all drive the speed limit and actually stop at red lights. Wow, what a concept. Thinking about safety on the road and not endangering everyone else.

Yes people, safety IS why these cameras are being installed. Because the general population cannot seem to control themselves, tax payer dollars have to be spent on these damn cameras.

The other reason for these cameras is because too many people think it is acceptable to drive their vehicles without paying for the privilege. License fees and property taxes are inevitable if you want to drive. We all have to pay. No one gets to drive for free.

Time to find corporate billions kept offshore

clipped from crooksandliars.com According to the Government Accountability Office, nearly all of America's top 100 corporations maintain subsidiaries in countries identified as tax havens. As the GAO notes, there could be reasons other than avoiding the IRS to set up branches in places such as Singapore, Luxembourg and Switzerland, where taxes are light or nonexistent and keeping clients' illicit secrets is considered a matter of national pride. Goldman Sachs Group Countrywide Financial Wachovia Lehman Brothers Citigroup Morgan Stanley When the cost of these shenanigans was last estimated two years ago, the U.S. government's annual loss in revenue due to tax avoidance by major corporations and super-rich individuals was pegged at about $100 billion -- considerably more than a rounding error, even today. But of course that is only a rough assessment, as is the estimate of $12 trillion in untaxed assets hidden around the world. Nobody will know for certain until the books are opened and transparency is established.

Tax evasion is basically theft and can be secondarily considered treason.

The tax system is set up to benefit the general population through maintenance of infrastructure, paying the military, paying our politicians, etc.

American corporations making a profit from doing business in the U.S. and conducting their business through overseas subsidiaries to avoid U.S. tax laws are in effect stealing from the American public.

This leaves the bill for these government supported services to be footed by honest tax payers.

This is also an issue of morality and ethics. Corporations take and use all the benefits of living and working in America but don’t pay for the privilege.

These corporations need to step up and pay their fair share of being allowed to do business in America. Politicians will never force the issue because they are benefiting from these corporations doing business here.

We all need to raise our voices high and boycott those corporations that are stealing from