Workers and Wage Slaves, Maximum Age, Minimum Wage, On the Job; Banks and Wall Street, Taxes, Class Warfare, Antiestablishmentarianism, Homeless; Chinese Exodus; Tau Day; Science Under Siege; Earth and Moon, Space Travel; Universe

Workers and Wages Slaves

• Meet 204 Republicans Who Don't Want to Punish Companies That Steal Workers' Wages
• Days After Decrying Flat Wages, McConnell Proposes Lowering Wages by $13 Billion
• How Walmart's Low Wages Cost All Americans, Not Just Its Workers
• Canada: Walmart wrong to fire unionized workers, high court says—"Supreme Court rules 5-2 in favour of 190 Quebec who lost jobs after first unionized Walmart shut its doors."
• Unions Fear This SCOTUS Case Could Bring Their 'Final Destruction'
• American Workers Need Overtime Protections
• Qatar police respond to fight at Sheraton Doha hotel

Maximum Age

• Tech industry job ads: Older workers need not apply
• Faygo accused of age discrimination - by founder's grandson
• Miss Delaware, 24, loses crown for being too old
• Singer sued for being too old and ugly for Pink cover band

Minimum Wage

• Zillow's Rich Barton on the $15 minimum wage, Uber regulations, and why the U.S. is filled with entrepreneurial 'freedom fighters'
• Ikea to raise its average minimum hourly wage to $10.76 LA Times
• Massachusetts: Minimum wage increase doesn't add up to a living wage—"The state's new $11 minimum wage –the highest in the nation -- will make low-wage workers' lives a little more stable, and less stressful. But not necessarily comfortable."
• A Minimum Wage That Makes More Sense—"Accounting for regional price differences is sound strategy when setting state or local minimum wages." NYT

On the Job

• Your Lifestyle Has Already Been Designed (The Real Reason For The Forty-Hour Workweek)
• Taking a Vacation May Actually Save Your Career—"Workaholism is hurting the American economy."
• Unblinking Eyes Track Employees: Workplace Surveillance Sees Good and Bad—"Abundant data, smart software and cheap sensors are beginning to make it possible to measure and monitor employees as never before." NYT
• An Employee Dies, and the Company Collects the Insurance—"Many companies insure their employees’ lives with themselves as beneficiaries, a practice some deride as immoral. But companies say the policies, for which they get tax breaks, help them bolster pensions and health care." NYT
• Obama Says US Should Offer Paid Maternity Leave—Right-wingers say no [Salon]
• North Dakota coffee shop has no employees, runs entirely on the honor system…and it's working
• Job interviews reward narcissists, punish applicants from modest cultures

Banks and Wall Street

• Ex-Goldman Trader Calls $8.25 Million Bonus Unfair, Told Mom He'd Get More—They really are too big to jail.
• New York attorney general accuses Barclays of 'dark pool' fraud
• Grassley's Hunt For An Obama Insider Trading Scandal Backfires On GOP
• House GOP Staffer Allegedly Changed His Story In Insider Trading Probe
• House Passes Bill To Aid Koch Brothers, Deregulate Wall Street
• China's commodity-lending fraud just got $15 billion bigger

Taxes

• Krugman: Sympathy for the Trustafarians NYT
• Higher taxes do not kill jobs—"County-level BLS data tell the true story about job growth."
• Tax cuts in Kansas have cost the state money — and job creation's been terrible WaPo
  

Class Warfare

• Robert Reich on America's Koch Problem
• In US, over 75 per cent of conservatives say the poor 'have it easy'
• Elizabeth Warren says the U.S. economy is rigged. Many conservatives agree. WaPo
• Conspiracy of the plutocrats: Secrets of the wealth-inequality explosion revealed Salon
• Detroit's Water War: a tap shut-off that could impact 300,000 people—"A right-wing state and corporate push to cut off water is economic shock therapy at its most ruthless and racist, but resistance is growing."
• Debtors Prisons Are Taking the US Back to the 19th Century—"In recent years, more and more cells have been filled with poor individuals who are caught in a vile trap, unable to pay court fines."
• What wealth gap? Danish welfare narrows disparity WaPo

Antiestablishmentarianism

• The open source revolution is coming and it will conquer the 1% - ex CIA spy—"The man who trained more than 66 countries in open source methods calls for re-invention of intelligence to re-engineer Earth."
• Nick Hanauer: The Pitchforks Are Coming… For Us Plutocrats Politico
• The United States Of Cruelty—"We are cheap. We are suspicious. We will shoot first. It does not have to be this way. Like Lincoln before us, it is time to do something about it."

Homeless

• 73-year-old veteran loses his job for allegedly giving a muffin to a homeless man
• Chinese tycoon's free lunch for homeless New Yorkers backfires—"Controversial businessman Chen Guangbiao angered homeless people in New York after promising them $300 each and failing to deliver."
• Flipside: Woman launches mobile showers for the homeless—"A San Francisco woman creates a "shower bus" to help accommodate the city's 3,500 homeless people. Vanessa Johnston reports."

Chinese Exodus

• Disappointed Immigration Applicants Sue Canada—"More than 1,400 Chinese plaintiffs have filed a lawsuit against the Canadian immigration authorities after Canada announced it was canceling its immigrant investor program along with tens of thousands of outstanding applications." NYT
• Mainland Chinese line up for Australia's 'millionaire visa'
• Cashed-up Chinese students turn to Australia
• China targets officials who sent families abroad—"China's anti-graft campaign is now targeting officials who have sent their spouses and children abroad, where they can create channels to potentially funnel illicit gains and establish footholds for eventual escape from the mainland."

Tau Day

• The brain injury that made me a math genius—"Twelve years ago, Jason Padgett had never made it past pre-algebra. And then a violent mugging changed everything." Salon
• Notation, notation, notation: a brief history of mathematical symbols—The symbols we use every day have fascinating and surprisingly recent origins, explains author Joseph Mazur in his new book."
• The secret history of numbers: How math shapes our lives in amazing, unpredictable ways—"The relationship between people and numbers is so much more fascinating than simple dollars and cents." Salon

Science Under Siege

• Universities 'get poor value' from academic journal-publishing firms—"Research finds secrecy over contracts has stopped some institutions realising they are paying too much for journals."
• The U.S. Should Invest In Science, Not War
• Neil DeGrasse Tyson: US need not lose its edge in science—"The famed astrophysicist says there's a reason some chemical elements are named for places in the US -- and that we don't have to leave those glory days in the past."
• Asia's Cult of Intelligence—"With its 'cult of ignorance and anti-intellectualism' the U.S. risks falling behind rivals in Asia."
• xkcd: People are stupid

Earth and Moon

• Largest Active Volcano on Earth Rumbles Back to Life—"Recent quake swarms signal that magma is squeezing into Mauna Loa's magma storage chambers in the same spots below where the 1984 eruption occurred."
• Earth and Moon Are 60 Million Years Older Than Previously Believed
• Traces of another world found on the Moon—"Researchers have found evidence of the world that crashed into the Earth billions of years ago to form the Moon."
• The Moon is Now a Wi-Fi Hotspot
• Strange New World Discovered: The 'Mega Earth'

Space Travel

• A Klingon is currently commander of the International Space Station
• Astronaut Sally Ride and the Burden of Being The First
• The Curiosity rover has been on Mars for one Martian year. It celebrated by taking a selfie. WaPo

Universe

• Big Bang blunder bursts the multiverse bubble—"Premature hype over gravitational waves highlights gaping holes in models for the origins and evolution of the Universe, argues Paul Steinhardt."
• Light from huge explosion 12 billion years ago reaches Earth
• NASA detects mysterious signal ​240 million light years away from Earth
• The Timey Wimey Spacey Wacey Explanation of Relativity
• Avoiding "Sagan Syndrome." Why Astronomers and Journalists should pay heed to Biologists about ET.
• Star Within a Star: Weird Stellar 'Hybrid' Discovered—Red supergiant replaced its core with a neutron star.workers
• Collection of three supermassive black holes detected
• Mystery object in lake on Saturn's moon Titan intrigues scientists—"Nasa's Cassini probe took image last year as it passed by planet's largest moon – nothing seen when other images taken."
• Titan's Atmosphere May be Older than Saturn, a New Study Suggests

Workers and Wages Slaves, IT Crowd, Minimum Wage; Banks and Wall Street, Class Warfare, Corporatocracy; Tea Party, Obamanation, Politics and Partisanship, Vote Machinations, Campaign Finance Deform, Christie, Hillary; IRS; Redskins

Workers and Wage Slaves

• The Economy May Be Improving. Worker Pay Isn't. NYT
• The Downward Ramp—"The jobs crisis has begun to affect even highly skilled college graduates, who are taking jobs that once went to people with fewer skills." NYT
• I got my Master's, couldn't find a job and lived on food stamps. Now stop calling me a 'welfare queen'
• 5 reasons US workers hate their jobs more than they used to
• Young workers hate their jobs WaPo
• It's Official: The Boomerang Kids Won't Leave—"One in five young adults lives with his or her parents. It might be a recessionary blip — or the dawn of a whole new economic age." NYT
• Elizabeth Warren on creating jobs: 'This isn't magic, we actually know how to do this'

IT Crowd

• This IT worker had to train an H-1B replacement—"U.S. workers protested job losses to foreign workers by displaying American flags in their cubicles."
• Should tech workers settle "no-poach" case for $324M? Judge has real doubts—"One plaintiff says the deal isn't fair to workers, and the judge is listening."
• Robot doctors, online lawyers and automated architects: the future of the professions?—"Advances in technology have long been recognised as a threat to manual labour. Now highly skilled, knowledge-based jobs that were once regarded as safe could be at risk. How will they adapt to the digital age?"

Minimum Wage

• IMF urges U.S. to raise minimum wage
• Massachusetts approves $11 minimum wage
• Obamas Want Daughters To Get Taste Of Life On Minimum Wage
• 'Subminimum wage' for disabled workers called exploitative—"Critics of program that pays disabled workers 'subminimum wage' say it should be abolished. Others say it's an important tool to provide training and employment."

Banks and Wall Street

• Wikileaks: Secret Trade in Services Agreement (TISA) - Financial Services Annex—"Despite the failures in financial regulation evident during the 2007-2008 Global Financial Crisis and calls for improvement of relevant regulatory structures, proponents of TISA aim to further deregulate global financial services markets."
• City of Miami sues JPMorgan, claims mortgage discrimination
• Ex-Goldman director goes to prison, still owes $13.9 million fine
• Senate hearing examines flaws in stock markets
• Why a guy making $100,000 a year can't get a bank account WaPo
• Greenpeace suffers $5.2-million loss after rogue employee's currency investment flops
• Master Currency Counterfeiter Prints Millions, Says 'Screw You' to US

Class Warfare

• Class in America: The Fault Lines
• Reich: Real Business Leaders Want to Save Capitalism
• Arizona GOPer Went Birther, Compared Poor To 'Lazy Pigs' In Anonymous Blog Comments
• No, The Poor Aren't Poor Because They Refuse To Work
• America's Dying Factories Are Widening Income Inequality
• Justice Sotomayor: Inequality Could Trigger 'Unrest' In U.S.
• U.S. appeals court overturns L.A. ban on homeless living in vehicles
• British public wrongly believe rich face highest tax burden, new research shows—"Study shows poorest 10% pay eight percentage points more of their income, prompting calls for more progressive system."
• Australia's richest 1% own as much as bottom 60%, says Oxfam—"Income inequality has risen since mid-1990s and nine richest people now have greater net worth than poorest 4.54 million."

Corporatocracy

• How America became uncompetitive and unequal—"How corporate mergers contribute to economic inequality." WaPo
• The Corporate Daddy: Walmart, Starbucks, and the Fight Against Inequality—"Walmart, the world's largest public corporation, is a big part of the income-gap problem. It could be a big part of the solution." NYT
• The True Cost of Hidden Money—"A Piketty Protégé's Theory on Tax Havens." NYT
• Medtronic Is Biggest Yet to Renounce U.S. Tax Citizenship
• Legislation Introduced to Stop American Corporations from Pretending to Be Foreign Companies
• EU launches attack against corporate tax avoidance—"The EU has taken steps to curb tax avoidance by global corporations. In recent months, criticism in the budget-strapped bloc has mounted over tax loopholes exploited by companies such as Apple, Google and others."
• Thrown Out of Court—"How corporations became people you can't sue."
• Halliburton Ruling Could Be A Big Win For Big Pharma, Wall Street

Tea Party

• Eugene Robinson: Overdosing on tea—"The Republican Party's reliance on tea party support is like an addict's dependence on a dangerous drug: It may feel good at first, but eventually it eats you alive." WaPo
• Teatopia—"What would actually happen if Tea Partiers controlled Congress and Rand Paul was president?"
• Unwitting tea party folk do the bidding of big business LA Times
• David Brat's Success Due to 19,000 new primary voters
• Reince Priebus After Eric Cantor Loss: I Don't Think GOP Is Divided
• Muslim reporter describes being ridiculed at the Texas GOP convention—"Republican chairman: 'Would the state party ever condone that? Absolutely not.'

Obamanation

• Krugman: Yes He Could—"Health Care and Climate: President Obama's Big Deals" NYT
• GOP Rep: Obama Impeachment 'Probably Could' Pass The House
• Conservatives Uncover Obama Plot to Destroy Phil Mickelson—"According to the latest conspiracy theory, Obama sent the FBI and SEC to investigate the pro golfer because he once complained about high tax rates."
• Here's every presidential executive order going back to George Washington

Politics and Partisanship

• Poll: Congress historic midterm low Politico
• America prepares to reelect the Congress it loathes WaPo
• Congress is making a lot of history! (By being so unpopular) WaPo
• The shocking numbers: Americans are dangerously ignorant on politics—"The scary thing about the man who upset Eric Cantor last week is how familiar his brand of ignorance is." Salon
• Time to Stand Up and Fight for a More Perfect Union—"The irony of American politics is that the right is far weaker than it appears and the left far stronger than it asserts."

Vote Machinations

• End Polarization. Make Everyone Vote.
• Middle Class Squeeze: As incomes slide, voters check out
• AZ Candidate Who Changed His Name To 'Cesar Chavez' Thrown Off Ballot
• Fox News paid Scott Brown $136,000
• Alaska's Don Young violated US House ethics—"The House Ethics Committee has found that U.S. Rep. Don Young of Alaska violated House rules by using campaign funds for personal trips and accepting improper gifts."
• Shadowy Obama Megadonor Indicted On Fraud And Manslaughter Charges
• SCOTUS Rules For Anti-Abortion Group In Case About Campaign Lies

Campaign Finance Deform

• Prosecutors: Walker's Campaign 'Tacitly Admitted' Breaking The Law
• Gov. Scott Walker's Campaign Violations—"There clearly is plenty to fear from independent spending groups that raise unlimited dollars." NYT
• The Koch brothers may spend $290 million on this election. That's how much 5,270 American households make in a year. WaPo
• Campaign-Finance Reform Has to Be Cross-Partisan—"Democrats love to talk about cutting the influence of money in politics, but are they actually any more eager to fix it than Republicans?"
• After Lindsey Graham met billionaire, supportive super PAC secured donation an hour later
• Cronies, corruption and cash: Lawrence Lessig on why we need a super PAC to end all super PACs Salon

Christie

• Despite budget gap, Christie holding firm that business tax cuts are off-limits
• Chris Christie to GOP donors on bridge scandal: 'You'll get over it' LA Times
• Prosecutor Is Closing In on Gov. Christie—"Indictments against four cronies are near certain, sources say. Only question is if David Samson, Christie's longtime mentor, will flip."

Hillary

• The GOP's weapon against Hillary? A giant squirrel
• Clinton: Matt Drudge, Karl Rove Planting 'False Information'
• Man who beat NSA in T-shirt parody case wins against Ready for Hillary

IRS

• Lawmakers fume over lost emails in IRS probe
• Congressman asks NSA to provide metadata for "lost" IRS e-mails
• Attkisson On Missing IRS Documents: If The Emails Really Are Lost, 'That's Quite A Story In Itself'
• IRS Commissioner To Testify About Lois Lerner's Lost Emails
• Republicans, at Hearing on Lost Emails, Accuse I.R.S. Chief of Lying NYT
• Drum: Yet Another IRS Scandal That Isn't

Redskins

• Federal agency cancels Redskins trademark registration, says name is disparaging WaPo
• Retired Native American Chief Would Be Offended If Redskins Did Change Name
• What About the Celtics?
• The Onion: Redskins' Name Only Offensive If You Think About What It Means
• The Onion: Redskins' Kike Owner Refuses To Change Team's Offensive Name
• The Onion: Washington Redskins Change Their Name To The D.C. Redskins
• The Onion: Washington Redskins Ease Tensions With Native Americans By Adding Bottle Of Booze To Logo
• Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: The Washington Redskins
• The Daily Show: Thursday Night Law

Flag Day; Iraq'd; Politics, Cantor; Vote Machinations, Campaign Finance Deform; Immigration, Race and Racism; Economy; Workers and Wage Slaves, Occupational Hazards, Minimum Wage, On the Job; Homeless; Banks and Wall Street

Flag Day

• Why Are Flags So Cheap? -- Red White and Screwed: How Wal-Mart is Killing the American Flag Business—"The American flag-making business is dying. But those cheap, Chinese-made stars and stripes? They're not to blame."
• Pennsylvania Flag Desecration Case Heads to Court
• 'The Star-Spangled Banner' in a Minor Key Is More Dramatic Than Ever

Iraq'd

• Obama says no combat troops to Iraq; U.S. weighs airstrikes
• Wait, McCain was wrong on Iraq? Yup.
• Fareed Zakaria: Who lost Iraq? The Iraqis did, with an assist from George W. Bush WaPo
• Shep Smith: The Same People Who Were Wrong About Iraq Now Want Us To Go Back
• Opinion: Bush's toxic legacy in Iraq
• Jon Stewart Wonders 'What The F*ck Is Going On' In Iraq?

Politics

• We Hate Each Other, We Really Hate Each Other—This is why you can't have nice things [WaPo], America
• The 3 Things Republicans and Democrats Agree On—"Voters are more split along partisan lines than ever—but there's something like consensus on immigration, national security, and gay rights."
• Conservatives Are So Conservative They Think the Congressional GOP Are Moderate Squishes
• Rand Paul: Moderates aren't GOP's future Politico
• Tea party candidates have lost five times as much as they've won WaPo
• For tea party Republicans, House leadership hopes turn into disappointment—Democrats say, GOP leadership can't get worse. WaPo
• The tea party in Congress: Talking loud, doing nothing WaPo
• Seriously Out of Touch: GOP Uses Live Elephants As Party Props In Downtown Dallas

Cantor

• Eric Cantor's Legacy Is One Of Economic Destruction—"From day one — literally, the night of President Obama's first inauguration — Cantor was leading the charge to not just oppose Obama, but to delegitimize him — denying him the conciliatory, bipartisan policy style he campaigned on, and turning even policy successes into the kind of grueling partisan battles that voters dislike."
• Real lesson in Eric Cantor's loss: Beware conventional wisdom
  
• Krugman: The Fix Isn't In—"The surprise primary defeat of Eric Cantor is the unraveling of an ideological movement."
• The New Nihilism Threatens GOP's Growth—"Cantor's defeat signals deep problems for a party being pushed further to the right by the antigovernment wing."
• Eric Cantor's Loss Was a Fluke, But It Still Reshapes 2014
• Everybody Hates Eric Cantor: A Roundup
• Blast from the Past: Bullet That Hit Eric Cantor's Office From Random Gunfire —He allegedly lied about being shot at, probably to garner sympathy and instill fear.

Vote Machinations

• Alabama GOP struggles to find voter fraud despite $1,000 reward
• A federal judge reminds Ohio Republicans that fettering the right to vote violates the Constitution
• Bill Clinton stresses voter turnout at annual Ohio Democrats' dinner

Campaign Finance Deform

• Krugman: The Koch Cycle of Endless Cash—"The wealthiest Americans are using their fortunes to lobby Congress against any limits on their ability to buy elections." NYT
• Unlimited Dark Campaign Money Is 'The American Way,' Says Terri Lynn Land
• Billionaire's Campaign Contribution Among Biggest In Recent History—Griffin, well known for saying the very wealthy have an 'insufficient influence' in politics, is the richest man in Illinois...."
• The Dark Money Machine That Beat Eric Cantor
• Cuomo Has Raised Millions Through Loophole He Pledged to Close—"The governor has called for closing a gap in the state's campaign finance laws, but he's taken far more through the loophole than his predecessors, much of it from real estate developers."

Immigration

• Cantor Loss Hurts 2016 Republicans Seeking Hispanic Votes
• Immigration Does Matter in GOP Primaries, But It's Not Clear Why
• Influx of minors across Texas border driven by belief that they will be allowed to stay in U.S. WaPo
• Palin: Immigration Debate 'Just About Driving Me To Renounce My Republican Ties'

Race and Racism

• White People Think One Black Person's Success Proves Racism Is Over
• Inside The KKK's Plan For Expansion—"A group of Ku Klux Klan members says it is planning military style combat training for the first time in KKK history."
• A Library of White-Supremacist Hand Gestures—"The Anti-Defamation League has published an online catalog of the symbols, flags, and slogans used by hate groups. Is this an educational tool or a portal for perverse curiosity?"
• Ku Klux Klan hood-wearer to get $215,000 from Los Angeles—"Black resident wore KKK hood and T-shirt emblazoned with racial slur to protest city during 2011 parks commission meeting."
• Ditch 'Old Hickory' and Put Martin Luther King on the $20 Bill—"The civil-rights leader helped America to realize its founding ideals as surely as any president, and ending the run of exclusively white faces on bank notes is long overdue."

Economy

• Recession 'led to 10,000 suicides'
• House GOP approves more tax breaks without paying for them
• America's middle class: Poorer than you think
• Then and now photos of Detroit reveal the real frontline of the Global Financial Crisis
• Rich got 14.6% richer in 2013—"Number of Chinese millionaires jumps as Asia-Pacific region leads growth."

Workers and Wage Slaves

• Why Newport restaurant has 'no tipping' policy—"Packhouse servers earn $10 per hour or 20 percent of their individual food sales per shift, whichever is larger – almost always the 20 percent. And servers have to meet certain goals – sales and service targets, for example – to get their 20 percent."
• Waffle House denies NC waitress a $1,000 tip from 'angel'
• La Porchetta owner who paid young workers in pizza fined $335k

Occupational Hazards

• US: NY firm made workers pray, say 'I love you'—"A federal agency says a New York healthcare firm forced employees to join prayer circles, thank God for having jobs and say 'I love you' to co-workers and managers."
• The Dangers for Women Who Negotiate—"Contrary to the advice of “Lean In,” for women, asserting a strong position in negotiations can backfire."
• Noncompete Clauses Increasingly Pop Up in Array of Jobs—"Once largely limited to the technology and sales sectors, the agreements are entering a range of fields; even camp counselors and hairstylists are being required to sign." NYT
• Facing massive strikes, mining corporations may soon use weaponized drones to control workers
• Amazon warehouses under scrutiny after worker deaths
• Revealed: Asian slave labour producing prawns for supermarkets in US, UK
• India steel plant gas leak kills six in Bhilai

Minimum Wage

• Obama Moves On Minimum Wage Without Congress
• Vermont To Raise Minimum Wage To $10.50
• Seattle: Business adds 'living wage surcharge' after minimum wage hike—"A locally-owned parking business is adding an unusual charge that customers are just starting to notice."
• Industry Group Files Lawsuit Seeking To Kill Seattle's Minimum Wage, Claiming It Violates Their Free Speech
• Why Are Rhode Island Democrats Blocking Minimum-Wage Increases?—"With friends like this, who needs Republicans."

On the Job

• Why You Hate Work—"Excessive demands are leading to burnout everywhere." NYT
• Google Has Started Hiring More People Who Didn't Go To College—Shades of Silicon Valley?
• European court: Death doesn't end holiday benefits—"Dying for a holiday, but can't fit one in? Not to worry — a new European court ruling says vacation benefits are still valid after death." WaPo
• The Onion: More Office Workers Switching To Fetal Position Desks
• PVP Online: Workaholics

Homeless

• Boris Johnson calls for removal of anti-homeless spikes
• More US Cities Are Cracking Down on Feeding the Homeless
• Sarasota leaders help homeless veterans

Banks and Wall Street

• NYC Settles With 14 Occupy Protesters for $583K
• Cop who punched Occupy Wall Street protester gets tax-free disability pension—"Deputy Inspector Johnny Cardona has been granted three-quarters tax free disability pension of roughly $120,000 a year for injuries suffered during his violent encounter with Felix Rivera-Pitre n the Financial District in October 2011."
• How House Democrats Are Caving On Key Mortgage Rules
• U.S. to Sue Citigroup Over Faulty Mortgage Bonds: Sources—"The U.S. Department of Justice is preparing to sue Citigroup Inc on charges that the bank defrauded investors on billions of dollars worth of mortgage securities in the run-up to the financial crisis, after talks to resolve the probe broke down, people familiar with the matter said on Friday." NYT
• Judge considers dismissing U.S. fraud case against Bank of America—"DOJ may not have the evidence to try this as a fraud case."
• Senator to SEC: Stop granting waivers to law-breaking companies
• Australia: Government grabs $360 million from idle household bank accounts

Workers and Wage Slaves, Minimum Wage; Accountability, Class Warfare, Taxing, Vote Machinations, Race and Racism; Marriage Equality, Politics, LGBT; Abortion and Birth Control, Rape and Sexual Assault, Sex Abuse Scandal; The Francis Effect, Religion

Workers and Wage Slaves

• Where Does the USA Place in the World's Worst Places to Work Rankings?—"The United States is deemed one of the worst countries to be a worker."
• Americans Are Getting Less And Less Of Their Money From Their Jobs
• Temp Nation: How Corporations Are Evading Accountability, at Workers' Expense
• Philippines: Businessman locked up 8 employees who died in Pasay warehouse fire—Murderous intent.
• Flipside: How great would Sweden's proposed six-hour workday be? This great. WaPo

Minimum Wage

• Seattle raises minimum wage to $15 an hour—What's the implication?
• Reich: Seattle is Right
• CEO: McDonald's would 'manage' minimum wage hike—"Don Thompson told local college students what the company isn't likely to publicize: It could manage a hike in the minimum wage to $10.10."

Accountability

• U.S. appeals court voids judge's rejection of SEC-Citigroup accord—"A federal appeals court on Wednesday handed the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission a big victory by voiding a judge's pathbreaking decision to reject the regulator's $285 million fraud settlement with Citigroup Inc."
• US stock exchanges face lawsuit over high-frequency trading—"It is alleged HFT enables professionals to make quick profits at the expense of savers and pension fund investors."
• Judge lets U.S. pursue $5-billion fraud lawsuit against S&P
• Payday lenders sue US regulators over 'Operation Choke Point'
• Wall Street Traders Are About To Be In A World Of Pain—"A traders skills don't always translate well off Wall Street."

Class Warfare

• Savage capitalism is back – and it will not tame itself
• The Last Time Fatcats Tanked the Economy, the Backlash Was Huge. Why Didn't That Happen This Time?—"Explaining the power of 21st century plutocracy."
• One percent's twisted new heist: What's really behind privatization—"Outsourcing government not only leads to poor services -- it's killing the middle class...." Salon
• USDA To Georgia: You Can't Drug-Test Food Stamp Recipients

Taxing

• Florida Governor Rick Scott to Attend Fundraiser at the Home of a Tax Cheat
• Bundy owes the government more than all other ranchers combined
• What America Could Buy With Offshore Tax Money—"If the government closed loopholes that allow companies to stash profits in tax havens, we could collect $65 billion in taxes each year. Here's what that money could do for our country."
• 77,000 Foreign Banks to Share Tax Info With IRS
• Australia's rich come forward to declare their offshore tax structures

Vote Machinations

• Sheriff investigates McDaniel staffer—"An official investigation has been opened into three people who were found locked in the Hinds County Courthouse hours after it was closed by election officials Tuesday after returns had been counted in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate." Nothing reportedly happened.
• GOPer Bosworth Turns Herself In For Perjury Warrant—"[S]he had been charged with 'six counts of perjury and six counts of offering a false or forged instrument for filing.'"
• 'Year Of The Republican Establishment' Narrative Loses Even More Credibility
• One easy way to end gerrymandering: Stop letting politicians draw their own districts WaPo
• "Citizen Koch": The movie about our sick democracy PBS tried to kill—"Dumped by public TV, this long-brewing documentary explores the Koch brothers, Wisconsin and the death of the GOP." Salon
• Our New SuperPAC Is Going to Change American Politics for $12 Million

Race and Racism

• Owner of cotton warehouse responds to racist comments
• No charges will be filed against woman over racist rant—"Public's reactions to video prompt police to remove her children for their safety."
• Morgan Freeman, Don Lemon, and race: The actor doesn’t understand the link between inequality and race.

Marriage Equality

• Supreme Court won't put equal marriage ruling on hold in Oregon—"The high court refused to halt a federal judge's order declaring Oregon's equal marriage ban unconstitutional." Salon
• Judge strikes down Wisconsin same-sex marriage ban—And licenses are being issued.
• Texas' Gay Marriage Battle Heats Up As Attitudes Change
• How the National Organization for Marriage Doomed Itself to Collapse
• Opinion: Marriage equality is unstoppable
• For GOP Senate Candidates, Banning Same-Sex Marriage In The Constitution Has Lost Its Appeal
• Bakery Will Stop Making Wedding Cakes After Losing Discrimination Case
• Family Research Council Spokesman Links Isla Vista Shooting Spree To Gay Marriage
• Date set: same-sex couples can use British laws to marry in Australia—"Same-sex couples in which one partner has British citizenship will be able to marry from June 27 in British consulates in Sydney and Perth, with Melbourne, Brisbane and Canberra to follow soon after."

Politics

• Waco, Texas extends anti-bias policy to LGBT employees
• U.S. Armed Forces color guard to march in gay pride parade in D.C.; called a first nationwide WaPo
• LGBT Republican Group GOProud Going Out of Business—"The gay conservative group officially closes up shop, though organizers say it will reemerge with a new name, format, and mission."
• Ted Cruz Addresses Rally Organized By Doctor Who Says Gays Recruit Children
• Texas GOP Platform Embraces 'Reparative Therapy' to 'Escape Homosexual Lifestyle'—They still want to criminalize homosexuality.

LGBT

• Cat On a Hot Tin Roof Production Canceled After Homophobic Fracas
• Wash. Times Editorial Spreads Slurs, Lies, on Medicare's Trans Coverage
• Louisville school OKs transgender bathroom policy
• How our genes could make us gay or straight WaPo

Abortion and Birth Control

• When Courts Consider Evidence, Abortion Supporters Win NYT
• Arizona Drug-Induced Abortion Limits Blocked by Court—"Arizona's law limiting drug-induced abortions was blocked by a federal appeals court, handing a victory to Planned Parenthood as it seeks to roll back a restriction it calls among the most stringent in the nation."
• Ohio Republicans Want to Make It Harder for Women to Get Long-Term Birth Control
• A Fantastic Quote From the Ohio Republican Who Wants to Ban Insurance Coverage of IUDs
• Alaska Senate Candidate Joe Miller Says Abortion Is Bankrupting Social Security
• Bodies of 800 babies, long-dead, found in septic tank at former Irish home for unwed mothers WaPo
• Shocking movie portrayal: Why "Obvious Child" is a revolutionary fairy tale—"In this striking new film, a woman has sex, gets pregnant and has an abortion. And she isn't punished for it!" Salon

Rape and Sexual Assault

• India state minister on rape: 'Sometimes it's right, sometimes it's wrong'—"Home minister in BJP-run Madhya Pradesh state describes rape as a 'social crime' in comments playing down rapes."
• Sexual harassment made a crime in Egypt—"Outgoing president issues decree criminalising sexual harassment, making it punishable by up to five years in jail."
• Flier arrested for alleged threat: 'I kill white people'
• The Montana Judge Who Blamed a 14-Year-Old for Her Own Rape Will be Censured

Sex Abuse Scandals

• Roman Catholic Church Sexual Abuse Scandal: 19 Accuse Mexican Priest, Activist Estimates as Many as '100 Victims'
• After US sex abuse scandals, an accused priest rises again in Paraguay
• Ex-megachurch pastor blames underage victim, wants out of prison

Francis Effect

• Pope Francis Sacks Entire Board of Vatican's Financial Watchdog—"The pontiff has replaced the all-Italian board of the Financial Information Authority with an international group of new members — including Juan C. Zarate, a Harvard professor and former Bush Administration official."
• Pope Francis Says 'Door Is Always Open' to Rethink Priestly Celibacy
• Pope Francis defends Gypsies in Vatican address—"Pontiff urges Italians to stem their suspicion and calls on authorities to help those at the margins of society."
• Pope criticises couples who choose having pets over children for an 'easy' life—"Pope Francis says couples who substitute pets for children so that they can have a "care-free life" will face a 'lonely' old age."

Religion

• Racism Lives On Under the Cover of 'Religious Freedom'—"A small portion of the population believes people should have the right not to serve black people—and even more believe the same thing about Jews, atheists, gays, and lesbians."
• Virginia atheist couple: Court-appointed officiant told us we had no right to get married
• Bill Maher Battles Ralph Reed: People Pull Faith 'Right Out of Their Ass'
• Alabama chief justice cites Pledge of Allegiance to show courts need God to function
• A litany of 'thou shalt nots': Catholic teachers challenge morality clause

World No Tobacco Day; Workers and Wage Slaves; Banks and Wall Street, Accountability; US Politics, Vote Machinations, Gerrymandering in Florida; Native American, Racism; NSA Spying, Surveillance and Privacy, Your Rights Online, TrueCrypt, Haxx0red, Facebook and Your Data

World No Tobacco Day

• Child Workers Are Getting Nicotine Poisoning on US Tobacco Farms
• New York raises minimum age to buy cigarettes to 21
• World No Tobacco Day: To tax or not to tax
• UK: NHS could start prescribing e-cigarettes as study finds them 60% more effective than gum or patches
• Top scientists warn WHO not to stub out e-cigarettes

Workers and Wage Slaves

• House GOP Votes Down Measure Aimed At Curbing Wage Theft
• Using Jailed Migrants as a Pool of Cheap Labor —"As the federal government cracks down on immigrants in the country illegally and forbids businesses to hire them, it is relying on tens of thousands of those immigrants each year to provide essential labor." NYT
• Bond set at $250,000 for Wayne Miller, president of Cathedral Bible College with Myrtle Beach campus—Allegation: "Miller threatened to cancel foreign students' visas if they did not work long hours for little pay."
• Michigan Set to Raise Minimum Wage to $9.25 Hour
• America's middle-class defeat: How Canada shamed the wealthiest nation on earth—"Want to understand what's causing the decay of the American dream? Take some lessons from our friends to the north." Salon
• 40% of EU citizens can't afford a vacation
• Japan creates new national holiday for 'overworked' population
• Robots will replace fast-food workers

Banks and Wall Street

• IMF chief says banks haven't changed since financial crisis—"Christine Lagarde tells London conference banking sector is still resisting reform and taking excessive risks."
• Bank of England governor: capitalism doomed if ethics vanish—"Mark Carney issues strong critique of City behaviour and warns of growing sense that basic social contract is breaking down."
• Obama Administration Spent a Fortune Monitoring Occupy Protests, including Flash Mobs and Yoga Classes—"The documents show monitoring in 2011 and 2012 by law enforcement agencies around the country [NYT], reporting on religious meetings, Christmas caroling and other events."
• Blast from the Past: What Actually Happens At The End Of 'Trading Places'?

Accountability

• Explosive claims on JP Morgan conduct—"A technical support person who worked for JP Morgan in Australia claims the bank regularly misled its New York parent and the US Federal Reserve by failing to report losing trades." SMH
• Goldman, JPMorgan sued over zinc price manipulation
• Los Angeles sues JPMorgan Chase over foreclosures WaPo
• The guy who tried to rig gold prices and cost his bank $44 million
• Icahn, Mickelson are investigated in U.S. insider trading probe: source
• Iran hangs billionaire over $2.6b bank fraud—"Largest fraud case since 1979 Islamic Revolution sends four scammers to the gallows, including tycoon Mahafarid Amir Khosravi."

US Politics

• Conservatism is losing ground in the US—"Number of Americans describing themselves as social, economic conservatives shrinks, according to new poll."
• Conservatives are losing their edge — quickly WaPo
• Dear GOP: "Duck Dynasty's" Phil Robertson may not help your outreach problem—"Party chair Reince Priebus wants the GOP to be seen as the party of equality. Meet their future leaders." Salon
• Republican Leadership Conference: The GOP’s speakers lineup is a problem—"Why the Republican Party attracts provocateurs, faux martyrs, and grifters in droves."
• America Is Becoming a Bit More Liberal. That's Pretty Unusual Six Years Into a Democratic Presidency.

Vote Machinations

• Americans overwhelmingly side with Hillary Clinton over Karl Rove in brain flap—"Republican strategist Karl Rove may need a different strategy to slow Hillary Clinton's 2016 candidacy." WaPo
• Conservative groups push for voter photo ID requirement in Ohio
• Democrats, stop fighting voter ID laws—"It's a tough concession that could actually work to get more minority voters to the polls." WaPo

Gerrymandering in Florida

• Redistricting Expert: Florida's Gerrymandered Maps Give An 8 Point Advantage To Republicans
• Surprise witness emerges in redistricting trial—"An FSU student who allegedly submitted a map to the Legislature with proposed new districts said he never drew any maps and his name was used without permission."
• Florida may be forced to redraw political districts before midterms WaPo

Native American

• Supreme Court says Mich. can't block Indian casino
• Courts challenge Native American land rights—"Recent cases have undermined tribal sovereignty and economic development, Native Americans say."
• Lawsuit: Casino Built on Native American Burial Ground

Racism

• Unsurprisingly, the Redskins #RedskinsPride Hashtag Backfired Quite Horribly—But that's not stopping them.
• Reports: Donald Sterling To Sue The NBA For $1 Billion
• White Police Lieutenant Awarded $1.35 Million In Racial Discrimination Lawsuit

NSA Spying

• Edward Snowden responds to release of e-mail by U.S. officials WaPo
• Daniel Ellsberg: Snowden would not get a fair trial – and Kerry is wrong—"Edward Snowden is the greatest patriot whistleblower of our time, and he knows what I learned more than four decades ago: until the Espionage Act gets reformed, he can never come home safe and receive justice."
• John Kerry Should 'Man Up' And Admit He's Wrong About Snowden
• Courier Services Deny Participation in NSA Interception Program

Surveillance and Privacy

• Privacy call for internet browsing in the wake of Edward Snowden leaks—"Survey reveals that more than eight out of 10 internet users believe their search history should be kept private."
• German spies want $400M to play catch-up with the NSA—"Confidential documents from the BND, Germany's answer to the NSA and GCHQ, suggest the agency could soon get major funding to improve its online surveillance and hacking capabilities."
• Former Head Of 'NSA North' Says Canadians Are 'Stupid'

Your Rights Online

• User gets prison sentence for using 'Allah CC' nickname on Twitter
• Turkey highest court: YouTube ban violates rights WaPo
• Google sets up 'right to be forgotten' form after EU ruling

TrueCrypt

• "TrueCrypt is not secure," official SourceForge page abruptly warns—"Support for decade-old crypto program pulled, touching off Internet firestorm."
• True Goodbye: 'Using TrueCrypt Is Not Secure'
• Bombshell TrueCrypt advisory: Backdoor? Hack? Hoax? None of the above?—LavaBit 2: Electric Bugaloo?
• TrueCrypt security audit presses on, despite developers jumping ship

Haxx0red

• The eBay hack, the loss of 140 million records, and the PR fiasco—If you still haven't done so, change your eBay password right now.
• Your iPhone has been taken hostage. Pay $100 ransom to get it back—If you still haven't done so, change your iCloud password right now.
• After seven months and no Microsoft patch, Internet Explorer 8 vulnerability is revealed
• Will Everyone Please Quit Bitching About Passwords?

Facebook and Your Data

• Passive listening will soon be a feature for Facebook app during status updates
• Facebook Stops Irresponsibly Defaulting Privacy Of New Users' Posts To "Public", Changes To "Friends"
• Facebook Reaps Billions from Your Data: It's Time to Unplug
• Facebook gives up on automatically posting everything you do online

Memorial Day, Military, Family Matters, Housing, Citizenship, Religion, VA Scandal, Collateral Damage, Suicide Squad, Fake

Memorial Day

• "Band of Brothers" WWII Vet Bill Guarnere Dies at 90
• Japanese-American soldier kept quiet about World War II heroics
• Walter R. Walsh Dies at 106; Terrorized Gangsters and Targets—"Mr. Walsh, an F.B.I. legend in the 1930s who joined the Marines during World War II, was still winning handgun awards and coaching Olympic marksmen at 90." NYT
• Man Known As Kissing Sailor From One Of History's Most Iconic Pictures Has Died
• One of last Native American code talkers dies
• Jeremiah Denton, Vietnam War POW and U.S. senator, dies

Military

• Blast from the Past: Americans and Their Military, Drifting Apart NYT
• Two Chief Petty Officers Walk Into a Bar...—"America used to love laughing at the military. When did it become so taboo?" FP
• Amazing Military Infographics: An appreciation

Family Matters

• A US soldier searches for his Vietnamese son
• The Philippines' forgotten generation—"The United States military is set to return to the Philippines 22 years after being evicted. The imminent arrival of US forces has renewed focus on the thousands of 'Amerasians' fathered by US military personnel. Aya Lowe went in search of this forgotten generation."
• Soldier's family torn apart by White Australia policy

Housing

• Whitehouse Introduces Bill to Protect Servicemembers from Foreclosure—Will it prevent history from repeating itself?
• Meth contamination turns Indiana veteran's dream home to nightmare
• Soldier in battle to rid home of squatters, Florida sheriff's office says it can't do anything—The squatters who packed up and left have been arrested.

Citizenship

• I Served My Country. Then It Kicked Me Out.—"I was a veteran, a father and husband and a small-business owner. Then I was deported." Politico
• After Forming Deep Roots in U.S., Man Discovers He Isn't a Citizen—"Mario Hernandez's discovery, after nearly 50 years in the United States, shows how federal bureaucracies can stumble when it comes to immigration status." NYT
• House Republicans prevent vote on Enlist immigration bill—Is Boehner looking to politicize this [Politico]?

Religion

• The War Being Waged On Religious Freedom In The Military—"We are witnessing a sickening trend. There are religious groups actively seeking to 'convert' people in the US military, and they are making a full-court press, especially in the US Air Force."
• Two U.S. soldiers lose bid to dress according to religious custom
• God won't save us: Memorial Day, honest history and our new military-industrial complex—"Americans believe we are guided by divine providence. Obama's strange presidency shows the work of something else." Salon

VA Scandal

• VA falsified records, inquiry finds—"A VA investigation of one of its outpatient clinics in Colorado reveals how ingrained the delays in medical care may be for an agency struggling to rapidly treat nearly 9 million veterans a year amid allegations that dozens have died because of delays."
• 'Gaming the System': Email reveals how Wyo. VA workers were taught to manipulate records
• Growing evidence points to systemic troubles in VA healthcare system
• Top U.S. veterans' healthcare official resigns amid scandal
• VA Whistleblower Says He's Been Demoted, Bullied
• VA Scandal Hits New Hospital—"Veterans with serious heart conditions, gangrene, and even brain tumors waited months for care at the Albuquerque VA hospital, a whistleblowing doctor tells The Daily Beast."
• VA investigating Florida hospital wait lists
• This Is Why Bernie Sanders Is Pissed
• Newsmakers with Senator Bernie Sanders—"Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee Chair Bernie Sanders (I-VT) talked about delays in health care for veterans at VA hospitals and allegations that some VA hospitals kept secret, separate sets of books to cover up wait times."
• The Bubble Finally Cares About the Veterans Affairs Story
• Obama Administration Will Let Veterans Seek Care At Private Hospitals—Just don't privatize veterans' care.
• Stewart Gets Heated Over VA Scandal: 'Fix This F*cking Thing

Collateral Damage

• Republicans War-Monger, Then Complain When We're Overwhelmed By Sick Vets
• States that refuse Medicaid are leaving over 250,000 poor veterans uninsured
• "I'm PTSD — Paid Till Suicide or Death"
• Grief camps to combat suicides among US military veterans—Numbers aren't good.

Suicide Squad

• Soldier Had Black Eye, Broken Nose, and Burned Genιtalia: Army Ruled it a Suicide
• 26 Stab Wounds a Suicide?: The Unbelievable Case of Captain Gordon Hess
• Death of LaVena Johnson—"LaVena Johnson...was a Private First Class in the United States Army whose death, officially ruled a suicide, has attracted international attention amid allegations that her death was actually the result of rape and murder."
• Blast from the Past: Army investigators: No foul play suspected in captain's death

Fake

• Marine Poser Meets a Real Marine
• Phony Navy SEAL of the Week
• Exposing a Navy SEAL Imposter: How A.J. Dicken Was Found to be a Fake
• When Two Vets Confront a Man in 'Fake' Military Gear, It's On: 'I Am a U.S. F***in' Ranger & This Guy Is Not!'