Daily Archives: 9. August 2015


09.08.2015 - 15:58 [ Protothema ]

Lafazanis: Formation of new party a possibility

Leader of SYRIZA’s Left Platform Panagiotis Lafazanis left the possibility of the dissenting leftist members breaking off and forming a new party open, in an interview to newspaper ‘Kefaleo’ to be published Saturday. Lafazanis repeated his conviction that the only way Greece can exit the economic crisis is by adopting a national currency.

09.08.2015 - 15:56 [ Guardian ]

Yanis Varoufakis is being pilloried for doing what had to be done

A century ago, the British empire used to administer China’s customs service, collecting taxes that helped to service the country’s foreign debts. This exploitative quasi-colonial arrangement, which only came to an end after the Chinese revolution in 1949, is a source of resentment even today.

Greece is in a similar situation. The general secretariat of public revenues within the finance ministry is “controlled fully and directly by the troika” – the institutions representing its creditors – according to Varoufakis. As in the Chinese case, the official justification is that foreigners can better ensure the efficient collection of tax revenues.

09.08.2015 - 15:53 [ Protothema ]

Romano Prodi: German ‘blitzkrieg’ should be stopped

The Former European Commission President and a staunch supporter of the European integration project, Roman Prodi was very critical of the German stance on the Greek crisis, in a long article entitled “Europe must halt the unacceptable German blitzkrieg” published in Italian Il Messaggero, Sunday. “We cannot take away the main foundations of the common policy with decisions that clearly lead to the dissolution of the Union”, writes Prodi

09.08.2015 - 15:50 [ RT ]

USA: Assad „die Wurzel des Bösens“ und schuld am Aufstieg des „Islamischen Staates“

Das US-Außenministerium attackiert die syrische Regierung und gibt ihr die Schuld am Aufstieg des „Islamischen Staates“. Die Kritik kommt infolge erster Bombardierungen von IS-Stellungen von der Türkei aus und einer US-Drohung an Damaskus, Regierungstruppen zu bombardieren, sollten sie US-ausgebildete syrische Milizen ins Visier nehmen.

09.08.2015 - 15:47 [ Zeit ]

CDU-Abweichler wehrt sich gegen Kauders Drohung

Der Vorsitzende der Unionsfraktion im Bundestag Volker Kauder hatte angekündigt, die 60 Abweichler bei der Griechenland-Hilfe nicht mehr in zentrale Gremien des Bundestages zu schicken. „Diejenigen, die mit Nein gestimmt haben, können nicht in Ausschüssen bleiben, in denen es darauf ankommt, die Mehrheit zu behalten: etwa im Haushalts- oder Europaausschuss“, sagte Kauder der Welt am Sonntag. Er verlangte „Korpsgeist“ von den Abgeordneten, den „eine gute Truppe haben sollte“.

09.08.2015 - 12:52 [ Reason.com ]

Did Rand Paul Get His Libertarian Groove Back?

It’s easier to imagine Paul standing out a bit more if he is ever able to field questions about criminal justice reform and general electability. No Republican candidate can promise to compete for young voters and minority voters as plausibly as Paul can.

09.08.2015 - 12:48 [ Washington Examiner ]

Donald Trump praises Carly Fiorina, calls Rand Paul a ‘better doctor’

Not surprisingly, Mr. Trump didn’t have glowing remarks about Mr. Paul after the two men verbally tussled at the 9 p.m. debate featuring the top 10 candidates based on polls.

Mr. Trump told “Fox & Friends” that he has donated to Mr. Paul’s medical work and called him “a better doctor than senator.”

09.08.2015 - 12:47 [ Daily Caller ]

‘Wake Up Republicans!’: Rand Paul Rails Against ‘Chameleon’ Donald Trump [VIDEO]

“My goodness,” Paul said in Goose Creek to the Berkeley County GOP. “He’s been on both sides of every issue. Where is our sense? Where is our common sense?”

Added the Kentucky senator: “This is a guy who has been pro-choice before he was pro-life. This is a guy who was liberal before he was conservative. This is a guy who was a Democrat before he was a Republican before he was a Democrat before he was an independent before he was back to being a Republican.”

09.08.2015 - 12:29 [ theNation.com ]

Rand Paul’s Eye-Roll Marked the End of the 9/11 Era

Paul’s smirking get-a-load-of-this-guy dismissal of Christie’s ghoulish grandstanding is a nice final line for an important political chapter—-it’s the moment we knew for sure September 11 lost its currency in Republican politics. Paul wasn’t immediately booed, nor shredded by the moderators, nor condemned as a terrorist sympathizer or worse, as certainly would have been the case during the Bush years. In fact, in the Drudge Report’s insta-reaction online poll, Paul finished fifth and Christie was dead last.

09.08.2015 - 12:24 [ Think Progress ]

Why Did Chris Christie Say He Was Appointed U.S. Attorney The Day Before 9/11 When He Wasn’t?

“I was appointed U.S. Attorney by President Bush on September 10th, 2001, and the world changed enormously the next day, and that happened in my state. This is not theoretical to me,” Christie said. In his closing remarks, Christie repeated the claim and date.

Reports from the time suggest that Christie’s nomination to the vacant U.S. Attorney slot in New Jersey was widely anticipated prior to the attacks. The New Jersey Star-Ledger reported that the White House had contacted Christie on September 10 to tell him they had begun the six-week vetting process that would precede his nomination. But Bush didn’t actually nominate him until December 7 of that year, and he did not assume office until early 2002. The “Meet Chris” section on Christie’s campaign website says that he “served as U.S. Attorney from 2002-2008.”

09.08.2015 - 12:18 [ Rand Paul 2016 / Youtube ]

Rand Paul Confronts Chris Christie on Spying on Americans

Senator Rand Paul confronts Chris Christie for defending the government spying on innocent Americans. Paul stood up for the Fourth Amendment, Right to Privacy, while Christie defended the illegal spying program of the NSA. Paul said he was going to be aggressive and „mix up“ and he did just that throughout the debate. The ten candidates in the debate are Donald Trump, Jeb Bush, Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, Chris Christie, John Kasaich, Scott Walker, Ben Carson, and Mike Huckabee.

09.08.2015 - 12:17 [ Rand Paul 2016 / Youtube ]

Rand Paul Stands up to Donald Trump – GOP Debate

Senator Rand Paul confronts Donald Trump for buying politicians and his scandal ridden history. Paul said he was going to be aggressive and „mix up“ and he did just that throughout the debate. The ten candidates in the debate are Donald Trump, Jeb Bush, Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, Chris Christie, John Kasaich, Scott Walker, Ben Carson, and Mike Huckabee.

09.08.2015 - 12:05 [ New York Times ]

The Megyn Kelly Moment

For those unfamiliar with the phenomenon, a Megyn moment, as I have taken to calling it, is when you, a Fox guest — maybe a regular guest or even an official contributor — are pursuing a line of argument that seems perfectly congruent with the Fox worldview, only to have Kelly seize on some part of it and call it out as nonsense, maybe even turn it back on you. You don’t always know when, how or even if the Megyn moment will happen; Kelly’s political sensibility and choice of subjects are generally in keeping with that of the network at large. But you always have to be ready for it, no matter who you are.

09.08.2015 - 12:01 [ Süddeutsche ]

Journalistin Megyn Kelly: Die Frau, die Donald Trump herausfordert

Es war Megyn Kelly, die das Interview mit Jeb Bush führte, in dem dieser nicht klar sagen konnte, ob er denn nun wie sein Bruder in den Irak-Krieg gezogen wäre oder nicht. Und dem ehemaligen US-Vizepräsidenten Dick Cheney sagte sie ins Gesicht: „Sir, Sie lagen so oft falsch, wenn es um den Irak-Krieg ging. Der Irak hatte keine Massenvernichtungswaffen, wir wurden nicht als Befreier begrüßt. So viele Menschen haben deswegen leiden müssen.“

09.08.2015 - 11:47 [ Reuters ]

Russia, Saudi foreign ministers to talk energy markets, Syria on Tuesday

Saudi and Russian foreign ministers, Adel al-Jubeir and Sergei Lavrov, will meet in Moscow on Tuesday to discuss global energy markets and the Middle East crisis, including the war in Syria and the threat of Islamic State, Russia‘s foreign ministry said.

Jubeir will visit Moscow just a week after the two met in Doha and held three-party talks with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry amid intensified high-level diplomatic contacts over Syria and Islamic State.

09.08.2015 - 09:57 [ Vera Bunse ]

Der alerte Herr Dr. Maaßen

Seine eigenwillige Auffassung von Schutz und Recht drückt sich 1998 in “Der Schutz politisch Verfolgter durch den demokratischen Rechtsstaat und die Gewährung von ‘Kirchenasyl’” aus. Maaßen schreibt,

der Zusammenschluss von Gemeindemitgliedern zur gemeinschaftlichen auf bestimmte Dauer ausgerichteten Gewährung von ‘Kirchenasyl’ könne als Bildung einer kriminellen Vereinigung zu werten sein.

Die zügige Karriere des jungen Juristen wird unter anderem von Innenminister Otto Schily gefördert.

09.08.2015 - 09:57 [ Zeit ]

Sie versuchen es immer wieder

Kürzlich nutzte die Bundesregierung ein neues Instrument. Das Bundesverteidigungsministerium klagte gegen die Funke-Mediengruppe, die geheime Protokolle aus der wöchentlichen Afghanistan-Unterrichtung des Verteidigungsausschusses veröffentlicht hat. Das Argument: Die Veröffentlichung verletze das Urheberrecht. Dem Ministerium ist vor wenigen Tagen in zweiter Instanz vom Oberlandesgericht Köln Recht gegeben worden.

09.08.2015 - 09:56 [ Verdi ]

Weitere Einschüchterungen befürchtet

Die Deutsche Journalistinnen- und Journalisten-Union (dju) in der Vereinten Dienstleistungsgewerkschaft (ver.di) hat die Ermittlungen des Generalbundesanwalts gegen Verantwortliche des Blogs www.netzpolitik.org wegen des Verdachts auf Landesverrat verurteilt und parallel dazu eine Kurzumfrage unter den dju-Mitgliedern gestartet.

Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass mehr als 90 Prozent der Beteiligten weitere Einschüchterungsversuche von Seiten staatlicher Institutionen gegen Journalistinnen und Journalisten befürchten. Fast genauso viele (86 Prozent) erwarten, dass der Druck auf Informanten in Behörden und Unternehmen steigen wird und die Arbeit der investigativ recherchierenden Kolleginnen und Kollegen damit schwerer.

09.08.2015 - 09:50 [ Mondo Weiss ]

Iran Deal Latest: AIPAC lies and, in a first, Schumer runs from the cameras

Oh boy, so much is happening on the Iran deal. The stakes in the political battle keep rising and reputations and careers are now at risk, maybe even regimes.

First, Senator Chuck Schumer runs from the cameras! He cancelled his media availability today. The White House may have blown his storyline by leaking the news of defection last night to foul him up.

Greg Sargent of the Washington Post says Schumer’s betrayal doesn’t likely affect the outcome one way or another.

09.08.2015 - 09:48 [ Guardian ]

Now that Jon Stewart has stepped down, does anyone have his edge?

The eulogies have been delivered, the set disassembled and the echo of Jon Stewart’s parting “bullshit-is-everywhere” monologue is fading.

What now? After 16 years as America’s leading comedy/political TV satirist, Stewart leaves no clear successor even as America enters a presidential election season overflowing with satirical promise.

09.08.2015 - 07:28 [ Comedy News / Youtube ]

‘The Daily Show’ Jon Stewart Kicks Off Final Week by Ripping Into Fox: ‘Adios, Motherf*ckers!’

On the first day of his final week at The Daily Show, Jon Stewart really went off on his most frequent foe: Fox News.

09.08.2015 - 07:13 [ Trend.az ]

Iran hopes Japan would regain share of Iranian energy projects

Daishiro Yamagiwa, vice-minister of Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, who leads the delegation, expressed hope that the nuclear agreement between Iran and world powers would pave the way for Iran and Japan to resume cooperation in the field of energy.

Japan has sent the first East Asian trade delegation to Iran after the nuclear deal between Iran and world powers on July 14.

Yamagiwa, accompanied by executives from the oil, gas and other industries, arrived in Iran on August 8.

09.08.2015 - 07:08 [ Wiener Zeitung ]

Japan: Aufstand gegen Abe

(16.Juli) Bisherige Regierungen hatten Artikel 9 der Verfassung immer so interpretiert, dass dies nicht zulässig sei. Dieser „Pazifismus-Artikel“ findet in der Bevölkerung breiten Anklang. Viele Japaner sind stolz auf ihre Friedenstradition, die seit fast 70 Jahren besteht. Das spiegelte sich auch an den Plakaten der Demonstranten wieder: „Zerstört nicht Artikel 9!“, stand auf diesen.

09.08.2015 - 07:08 [ wsws.org ]

Massenproteste gegen militaristische Gesetze in Japan

(18.Juli) Die Regierung von Premierminister Shinzo Abe peitschte am Donnerstag umfassende Gesetze durch das Unterhaus des japanischen Parlaments, die den Einsatz von japanischen Truppen auch im Ausland erlauben. Dabei stützen sie sich auf Bestimmungen über „kollektive Verteidigung“ an der Seite seiner militärischen Verbündeten, vor allem der Vereinigten Staaten.

Die Verabschiedung der Gesetze markiert eine Verschärfung der Kampagne der Abe-Regierung, die schon seit ihrer Amtsübernahme im Dezember 2013 den japanischen Militarismus wiederzubeleben versucht, indem sie die nominell pazifistische Nachkriegsverfassung „neu interpretiert“.