Even as the Apple Corporation is being roundly criticized for using its Irish affiliates -- some of which have no actual employees -- to avoid paying billions in US taxes, elected US officials continue to call for LOWER corporate taxes to make the United States more "competitive." The cause of this seeming disconnect: a worldwide "race to the bottom" in which nations compete to attract capital investment, typically by cutting corporate tax rates, dismantling regulations and driving down wages. As a result, the power of transnational corporations continues to grow while individual nations lose their capacity to control their own markets.
There is a solution, however. In this video Robert Reich (Professor of Public Policy at UC Berkeley, and former Labor Secretary) explains how large economic entities, such as the United States and the European Union, can leverage one important bargaining chip -- access to their consumer markets -- to curb the power of corporations and serve their citizens, rather than the profit-at-all-costs interests of global capital.
UPDATE:Six deaths have been confirmed, and a 61-year-old woman was recovered alive late last night.
A building collapsed in downtown Philadelphia, and authorities say as many as 10 people may be buried in the rubble. At least a dozen people have been rescued so far, eyewitnesses tell NBC, with at least two being taken away in stretchers. Rescue teams are frantically searching through debris. The neighboring four-story building was under demolition, according to fire officials. Market Street is closed from 20th to 23rd while paramedics and fire crews search the area.
A building in downtown Philadelphia has collapsed and authorities have rescued twelve people and believe at least two remain trapped beneath the rubble and a frantic search continues to locate them.
“I was parked on 21st just heading to Market Street, next thing you know it felt like an earthquake," said Bernie Ditomo, a truck driver with Belfi Brothers. "I said, 'What the hell is going on?' My truck is totaled. I am a little dusty and dirty, but I’m alright. I am one of the lucky ones.”
The collapse at 2140 Market Street happened around 10:40 a.m., and early reports from Philadelphia Police indicate that it may be the results of an industrial accident as construction crews were working on nearby structures.
A neighborhood message board reports that one of the victims was a young woman who got engaged last week. It was her first day of work at the Salvation Army.
A Reddit reader reported that he'd made a complaint to the city's 311 call center on Tuesday to report unsafe conditions at the demo site, but the city didn't check into it because he didn't know the property's exact address. He contacted the center again after the collapse, saying they didn't stop that tragedy but that similar conditions existed at another nearby demolition site.
The intake worker's response? They needed the exact address.
The video below shows demolition work on the building Sunday afternoon:
"Struggling with the bad publicity and loss of federal funds, ACORN dissolved in early 2010. Just to be sure, however, Rep. John Culberson (R-Texas) included this language in a government funding bill introduced on May 28 of this year: "None of the funds made available in this Act may be distributed to the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) or its subsidiaries or successors." Section 545 of a bill put forward the next day by Rep. John Carter (R-Texas) delves still deeper into faux certainty, extending the funding ban to "any prior appropriations Act." In fact, ACORN has no subsidiaries, because it has not existed for three years. Neither bill defines "successors," but the broad language of the original 2009 funding ban left little room for leeway, extending to "Any State chapter of ACORN registered with the Secretary of State's office in that State," "any organization that shares directors, employees, or independent contractors with ACORN," and any organization that "employs" someone "indicted" for violations that ACORN was initially charged with."
Section 545 of a bill put forward the next day by Rep. John Carter (R-Texas) delves still deeper into faux certainty, extending the funding ban to "any prior appropriations Act."
President Obama delivered remarks to open the National Conference on Mental Health at the White House on Monday, part of the Administration’s effort to launch a national conversation to increase understanding and awareness about mental health.
More than 60 percent of Americans with mental illness do not receive treatment, many of them because they are embarrassed or afraid of being ostracized, Obama said, speaking at a White House conference on mental health.
"We wouldn't accept it if only 40 percent of Americans with cancers got treatment," Obama said. "So why should we accept it when it comes to mental health?"
Obama promised to start a "national conversation" on mental health after the shooting deaths of 20 children and six adults at a Connecticut school last year, although he did not mention the tragedy in his remarks on Monday.
Health insurers will no longer be able to use mental illness, just like any other pre-existing condition, to deny coverage to any individual. Easier access to insurance should provide some benefit to people suffering with mental illness, however the stigma attached to mental illness could still prevent sufferers from seeking treatment. To see for yourself that the stigma is still rampant, all you need to do is read the response to Obama's efforts on a conservative blog. Sadly, there are still people who insist that even depression isn't a "real" illness.
That attitude must be overcome for adults, children, and veterans who shy away from seeking treatment due to the stigma. As the President noted, there are now 22 veterans each and every day lost to suicide. Doing your part to end the stigma could help bring that rate down...or even save them all.
Some examples of these commitments are as follows: The National Association of Broadcasters, made up of local television and radio stations across the country and the broadcast networks, is developing a national public awareness campaign to reduce negative attitudes and perceptions about mental illness through television and radio ads, and social media. A number of organizations that work with young people are making new commitments—from secondary school principals across the country holding assemblies on mental health awareness to the YMCA teaching its staff and summer camp counselors to recognize the signs of depression and other mental health issues in kids. A diverse group of communities of faith have committed to launch new conversations about mental health in our houses of worship. This is just the tip of the iceberg. Medical professionals, foundations, technology companies and many others are launching new efforts that will make a difference.
Let's see where all those conservatives who after Newtown said the answer to gun violence is more mental health treatment are at now.
At least seven people were injured Tuesday after an explosion on a college campus north of New York City.
Rockland Fire and Emergency Services coordinator Gordon Wren Jr. tells Fox News the explosion blew out windows and doors in a two-story building at Nyack College.
Wren says seven people were injured in the blast, including one woman who fell from a window and was taken to the hospital. None of the injuries appeared to be life-threatening. Some people were trapped after the explosion, but have since been freed.
The explosion at Nyack College happened just before noon. A spokesman for the Rockland County executive's office says county fire departments are responding.
"There's a lot of people hurt," South Nyack Mayor Bonnie Christian said after arriving at the scene. "There's a lot of people injured. We got ambulances up here galore."
The college sent out a tweet saying that "Everyone is doing ok."
Authorities say there's a gas leak at the building, but it's unclear if it caused the explosion or if the explosion caused the leak. The explosion sparked a fire in the building, which was surpressed by the sprinkler system.
Nyack College is a Christian college about 25 miles north of New York City. The explosion appears to have occurred inside the two-story Sky Island Lodge building at 177 South Hyland Ave.
Sky Island Lodge was built as a 30 room mansion in the 1930s, according to the Nyack Villager. From 1939 to 1945, the mansion was used for people displaced by the war in Germany.
Good morning, and happy Tuesday. During his recent speech on national security and counterterrorism, Obama introduced The Re-Obamulator, the latest in presidential technology. See what's new in executive power!
In Appalachia, children are 42 percent more likely to have birth defects if they live near a mountaintop removal coal mine. Citizens are 50 percent more likely to suffer from cancer. This video from Appalachian Voices features children giving the basic lesson that blowing up mountains and dumping the waste in nearby rivers is harming their communities. Share the video and join the campaign to tell President Obama: No more excuses. End Mountaintop Removal. Now.
Anti-capitalist demonstrators from the Blockupy movement paralysed Germany's financial center on Friday, cutting off access to the European Central Bank and Deutsche Bank's headquarters.
Police estimated 1,500 protesters (Blockupy says there were 3,000) against Europe's austerity policies arrived in Frankfurt's financial district on Friday to disrupt business at banking institutions they say are to blame for the deep recession in euro zone countries, such as Spain and Greece.
"Riot police, showered with stones and paint bombs, used pepper spray to prevent the protesters breaking into the ECB. Several protesters were injured and police made some arrests, though they gave no numbers.
"The aim of this blockade is to prevent normal operations at the ECB," said Blockupy spokesman Martin Sommer, adding that some people who had tried to come to work had been sent home by the protesters.
