Workers face loss of more than 100,000 jobs as Obama joins attack on postal service. [WSWS] – President Barack Obama’s budget for the 2013 fiscal year calls for the destruction of tens of thousands of postal positions, as well as the elimination of Saturday mail delivery as early as January 2013.
Curated Links
Occupy Gearing Up
6 months in, Occupy Wall Street activists take stock of successes, gear up for spring protests. [The Washington Post] – As spring approaches, Occupy Wall Street protesters who mostly hibernated all winter are beginning to stir with plans for renewed demonstrations six months after the movement was born.
What Greece Needs: Default and Move On
What Greece Needs: Default, Democracy and an Exit from the Euro. [World | AlterNet] – The only solution for Greece remains a debtor-led default and exit from the euro-zone under the leadership of a radical democrat political movement.
Bring Back the 40-Hour Week
Want to Increase Profits & Productivity? Bring Back the 40-Hour Week. [Visions | AlterNet] – One hundred fifty years of research proves that shorter work hours actually raise productivity and profits, and overtime destroys them. So why do we still do this?
Atmospheric CO2 levels hit 800,000-year high
Atmospheric CO2 levels hit 800,000-year high: CSIRO. [Australian Broadcasting Corporation] – Carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere are now higher than at any time in the last 800,000 years, while the last decade in Australia was the warmest on record, CSIRO scientists say.
Big Brother’s Secret Legal Theory
I wish I could tell you more about the government’s “secret legal theory” that allows them to spy on you, but it’s – you know – a secret.
Democratic Senators Warn About Use of Patriot Act. [NYTimes.com] – WASHINGTON — For more than two years, a handful of Democrats on the Senate intelligence committee have warned that the government is secretly interpreting its surveillance powers under the Patriot Act in a way that would be alarming if the public — or even others in Congress — knew about it.
On Thursday, two of those senators — Ron Wyden of Oregon and Mark Udall of Colorado — went further. They said a top-secret intelligence operation that is based on that secret legal theory is not as crucial to national security as executive branch officials have maintained.
10 Ways to Future-Proof Your Child
10 Ways to Future-Proof Your Child. [GeekDad | Wired.com] – You can’t predict what your children will find of interest as they grow up, but there are things I can do now – today – that may be somewhat beneficial to them in the next 5 to 10 years.
New Study: Synergistic Toxicity and GMOs
Enjoy your frankenfood Bt Sweet Corn this Summer.
From a Study Conducted at the University of Caen:
…we argue that modified Bt toxins are not inert on nontarget human cells, and that they can present combined side-effects with other residues of pesticides specific to GM plants.
Read More: Bt toxin and glyphosate residues in genetically modified plants likely exhibit synergistic toxicity. [GreenMedInfo]
More BofA Fraud Alleged
Whistleblower says BofA defrauded HAMP. [Reuters] – Bank of America NA prevented homeowners from receiving mortgage-loan modifications under a federal program in order to avoid millions of dollars in losses while benefitting from financial incentives for participating in the program, according to a complaint unsealed in federal court Wednesday.
Inside HR 347
Though many believe that HR347 was enacted specifically to quell the growing tide of protest, some think it simply gives legal weight to policies long in practice.
Inside that new anti-Occupy bill. [Salon.com] – HR 347 makes it a prosecutable offense to knowingly, and without lawful authority, enter “(1) the White House or its grounds or the Vice President’s official residence or its grounds, (2) a building or grounds where the President or other person protected by the Secret Service is or will be temporarily visiting, or (3) a building or grounds so restricted due to a special event of national significance.”