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Hundreds Will Rally As Oil Spill Fouls Santa Barbara ‘Marine Protected Areas’

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By Dan Bacher / Indy Bay

As the Santa Barbara Oil Spill fouls the controversial “marine protected areas” created under the privately-funded Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) Initiative, Californians Against Fracking announced they will march with local residents at the site of the tragic spill to call on Governor Jerry Brown to stop fracking and “move California off dirty fossil fuels.”

Following a disastrous 105,000-gallon oil spill that devastated fish and wildlife populations and closed down beaches, the group “Stand in the Sand” will gather in De La Guerra Plaza in Santa Barbara on Sunday, May 31 at 1 p.m. to show solidarity with local residents and organizations working on the front lines in response to the spill, according to a news release from Californians Against Fracking.   [Read more…]

Making Mountains Out of Molehills at KPBS/inewsource

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I have yet to be convinced that San Diego’s hoteliers and their doppelgangers in the management of America’s Finest Tourism Plantation have the best interests of the citizenry at heart.

For just about a year or so, the non-profit inewsource has been investigating San Diego attorney Cory Briggs. This week their latest report claims the organizations serving as plaintiffs in the environmental lawyer’s many lawsuits “flout state, federal laws.”

These inewsource stories are given much play at KPBS and follow a now predictable format: seeming contradictions, omissions and/or errors found in documents associated with Briggs are presented to various persons with impressive sounding titles and deemed to be something just short, maybe, of something illegal.   [Read more…]

Bad Omens for Democrats Dave Roberts and Scott Peters

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Things are looking iffy for two of San Diego’s elected Democratic officials.

San Diego County Supervisor Dave Roberts has gone on the offensive, responding to allegations about inappropriate behavior and misuse of public resources made by former employees.

Congressman Scott Peters may well be about to incur the wrath of organizations that worked hard to elected him in a close contest last year. Although he says he remains undecided about his vote on an upcoming trade bill, there are serious concerns from environmental and labor groups.   [Read more…]

The Perfect Primer on FIFA Corruption for the Non-sports Fan

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By Adam Johnson / Alternet

On Wednesday, the US Department of Justice, in concert with the US Internal Revenue Service, issued a blistering 47-count indictment against fourteen FIFA officials including nine high-ranking vice presidents. Charges included money laundering, fraud, and international racketeering that date back decades and, according to the DOJ, implicates dozens more.   [Read more…]

Stop Calling the TPP A Trade Agreement – It Isn’t

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By Dave Johnson / Campaign for America’s Future

This is a message to activists trying to fight the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). Stop calling the TPP a “trade” agreement. TPP is a corporate/investor rights agreement, not a “trade” agreement. “Trade” is a good thing; TPP is not. Every time you use the word “trade” in association with the TPP, you are helping the other side.

“Trade” is a propaganda word. It short-circuits thinking. People hear “trade” and the brain stops working. People think, “Of course, trade is good.” And that ends the discussion.   [Read more…]

What’s Next for San Diego’s Union-Tribune?

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Today is the day when the reality of the Tribune Company’s acquisition of San Diego’s daily newspaper will become apparent for many who work there. The rest of us are going to have to wait for a while to see how things shake out.

According to Don Bauder at the Reader, people working in the printing and business divisions of the Union-Tribune will learn about the parent company’s plans for layoffs. Much of the work–including printing– currently performed at the company’s Mission Valley location will be folded into Los Angeles Times facilities.   [Read more…]

Greece’s Solvency Problem: More Dire Now Than Ever

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By Frank Thomas

The Western world is moving out of a public debt-deflation crisis of the worst sort … and Greece is still in the middle of it as the worst example of a dire fiscal crisis in a weaker member country that can destabilize the entire euro zone.

Greece is simply de facto insolvent …as was Lehman Brothers in the recent Great Recession and the U.S. at the start of the Great Depression. The Troika (ECB [European Central Bank], IMF [International Monetary Fund], EU Commission) has been mistakenly treating the Greek bailout debt problem as a liquidity issue – optimistically hoping this in combination with tough reform measures would enable Greece to achieve debt sustainability and economically grow out of its debt problem. That’s failed … so far.   [Read more…]

The Greek Tragedy: A Labyrinth of Debt

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By John Lawrence

How to figure out the ongoing crisis that is Greece? What exactly is going on there? As per usual it’s another chapter in the strange saga that involves Wall Street’s stranglehold over the world economy.

What happened to Greece is similar to what happened to American mortgage holders after they were encouraged to go in over their collective heads borrowing more money than they could reasonably expect to be in a position to pay back. Greece did the same.   [Read more…]

‘We Will Win’: McDonald’s Worker Protests Stretch Into Second Day

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By Deidre Fulton / Common Dreams

Less than 24 hours after 5,000 workers marched on McDonald’s corporate headquarters in Oak Brook, Illinois, the fast food giant’s cooks and cashiers returned on Thursday morning to bring their call for $15 an hour and union rights directly to the company’s shareholders at their annual meeting.   [Read more…]

A Disastrous Oil Pipeline Break in Santa Barbara

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While clean up crews in protective suits are removing oil from a nine mile stretch of coastline in Santa Barbara County, investigators are assessing the impact and causes of a ruptured pipeline owned by Plains Pipeline. The company failed to shut down the flow of oil for more than three hours after local beach-goers reported the leak, according to a spokesperson with the National Resources Defense Council.

Current estimates say 105,000 gallons may have leaked out, with 21,000 gallons reaching the sea. Gov. Jerry Brown has declared a state of emergency in Santa Barbara County. Federal, state and local officials are looking at both civil liabilities and criminal infractions.   [Read more…]

ACLU Challenges Escondido Racism

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The American Civil Liberties Union has filed suit against the city of Escondido, claiming racial discrimination and anti-immigrant sentiment were responsible for its refusal to allow a temporary residential facility for undocumented children operate in various parts of the city.

Southwest Key Programs, the nonprofit that sought permits for the facilities is asking the court to overturn the city’s rejection, and to award for unspecified damages. The case has the potential to highlight the racism permeating government and the white community in the North County city.

After all, it’s not like hating on brown people is anything new to Escondido, no matter what kind of rhetorical gymnastics are used for justification.   [Read more…]

Reactions to the Chargers Stadium Deal

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Little green men from Mars could have seized city hall yesterday and I doubt anybody would have noticed.

The Mayor’s stadium advisory group presented its vision for building a facility worthy of consideration by the National Football League and its San Diego Chargers franchise. And that was the talk of the town.

However, there was other news… …and I’ll get to that first.   [Read more…]

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