Those Darn “Conspiracy Theorists”!

by Scott Creighton

Those darn “conspiracy theorists”! Used to be that everyone knew what to believe… it was those “Radical Muslims“, it was Bruce Ivins, and the crash of the economy was the fault of all those poor people trying to get loans for houses they couldn’t afford.

Then along come the damn “conspiracy theorists” saying things like Lucky Larry Silverstein (he and his children all just happened to be out of the office that morning… the office located in the Twin Towers)  demoed the World Trade Centers for money, Bruce Ivins was a patsy, and the economic crash was a carefully planned heist by the greediest bankers and hedge fund managers who have ever lived.

Thank God we have a legitimate press that can weed through the stories to find the real facts… like… these….

The “Radical” Muslim Group That Threatened South Park Creators Was Founded and Run by Joseph Cohen, a Former Israeli Radical Who Used to Live in a Settlement in the West Bank

by Scott Creighton

***UPDATE*** 9:15pm EST 4-24-2010 – New article with updated information… Revolution Muslim Looks Like a CIA Operation: A New Breed of Mockingbird  

————————————-

Jon Stewart, go fuck yourself. You’re a propaganda spewing puppet and you’re no better than Glenn Beck.  

2001 South Park Episode "Super Best Friends"

 South Park ran an unedited image of Muhammad in 2001 in an episode called “Super Best Friends“… and nothing happened.   

In fact, the episode had been on the South Park website for viewing at any time for the past few years (they just removed it)… and nothing happened.   

 For 4 seasons they had that image in their opening segment for every single show… and nothing happened.  

So for years on end no Muslim group, “radical” or otherwise, has threatened Matt and Trey or Comedy Central about the image of Muhammad that has been available for all to see every single day. 

All of a sudden last week a group called “Revolution Muslim” threatened violence against Comedy Central if they aired an image of Muhammad which forced Comedy Central to censor the show and now you have even liberals talking about those “radical Muslims” and their threats of violence.  Karl Rove couldn’t have done it any better.

Dodd Bill Would Allow Fed To Hide Its Spending

by Ryan Grim, The Financial Fix

The Wall Street reform bill headed for a test vote on the Senate floor Monday night will allow the Federal Reserve to continue to pump trillions of dollars into major banks largely in secrecy, the co-author of House language that would open the central bank to an audit charged in a memo to the Senate.

“The Senate has a provision in its reform bill that purports to audit the Fed. But, it really doesn’t do anything of the sort. I’m going to run down the details for you, and reprint the legislative language so you can read it yourself,” writes Rep. Alan Grayson (D-Fla.).

It would not allow the GAO to look into the Fed’s massive purchase of toxic assets, its hundreds of billions in foreign currency swaps with other central banks or its open market operations, among other restrictions.

[read the rest, here]

and as a bonus… I found this at Firedoglake… another lefty blog…. written by masaccio… does it say that ONLY the republicans are unhappy with this “banking reform” bill?… uh, you be the judge…

The common sense reforms the President supports are meaningless in the face of the depredations of Wall Street which have destroyed the lives and fortunes of millions of their fellow citizens.

1. A liquidation authority for institutions of a certain size, which will shut them down with the “… least amount of collateral damage to innocent people and businesses”. I’m sure you and your grandkids can afford that.

2. “Some limits” on the size of banks and the kinds of risks they can take, set by regulators who are appointed by the same people who did nothing last time.

3. Transparency in derivatives. These apply only to “standard” derivatives, an undefined term, to be defined by regulators appointed by the same people who watched Wall Street set fire to your money.

4. Consumer protection. The President thinks banks want to compete offering better products rather than selling confusing and expensive products. OK, that’s funny.

5. Shareholder “say on pay”, and more power to act in corporate elections if the SEC allows it. Mutual funds own most of the stock of these giants, and they have their hands in your pockets just like Wall Street does.

I’m having trouble believing my eyes. This pathetic set of reforms is the change we get to deal with the worst financial disaster in decades? The economy was crushed by an industry which functions on fraud, cheating consumers, wasting money on obviously fraudulent loans, paying itself gigantic bonuses, setting up transactions to screw their customers, raising interest and fees to the sky at the expense of a damaged group of workers, and this is what we get?

This is pathetic. No wonder the Republicans are willing to negotiate from this ludicrous starting point.

Ralph Nader:”Why aren’t corporate crimes prosecuted?”

Obama reassures Wall Street on bank regulation bill

by Barry Grey, WSWS

President Barack Obama went to lower Manhattan Thursday to deliver a message to Wall Street: Your profits and bonuses will not be disturbed by the regulatory overhaul making its way through Congress.

In a deferential speech pitched to top bankers in the Cooper Union audience, Obama urged what he called the “titans of industry” to call off their lobbyists and “join us” in passing his so-called reform. The subtext was that the White House and congressional Democrats had already removed most of the provisions to which the bankers objected, and were prepared to go even further in accommodating them.