Amazing, after 17 days a woman was rescued alive from beneath the rubble of the collapsed garment factory in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Friday. However, the death toll has officially risen from 15 to 1,034 -- making the accident the worst the garment industry has ever seen. The collapse, and the fire that took place at a sweater factory in Dhaka earlier this week, highlight the increasing concerns about the dangerous conditions for garment workers, an industry that brings in $20 billion for the small South Asian nation by providing clothing at a low cost to retailers worldwide.

“Exxon Hates Your Children” ad hits the airwaves: Hard hitting ad targeting subsidies to air in multiple markets this weekend.

Countering a multi-million dollar onslaught of advertising by the oil industry in defense of its subsidies, three progressive organizations re-launched ExxonHatesYourChildren.com today. The provocative campaign consists of a web site and a TV ad that will is crowd funded by supporters online.

Having now surpassed $12,500 in funds raised in mostly small donations from individuals around the country and 118,000 views on YouTube, the hard-hitting ad - called “Genius” by Grist.org - will begin hitting the airwaves in key markets this weekend.

The campaign targets $10 billion in fossil fuel subsidies provided annually by Congress. Not a single fossil fuel subsidy was eliminated in the deal that was ultimately struck in the fiscal cliff negotiations; in fact, tens of millions of dollars in subsidies to coal and oil companies were extended, on top of the billions in ongoing subsidies that continue.

Meanwhile, the American Petroleum Institute presented their latest “State of American Energy” report on Tuesday, which pushes for less regulation, more oil and gas production, and continuing subsidies.

“The American Petroleum Institute, Exxon’s mouthpiece, laid out a vision that spells disaster for the climate and our future,” said Steve Kretzmann, Executive Director of Oil Change International. “It’s time to stop subsidizing an industry that is hell-bent on using our tax money to destroy the planet for future generations.”

The ad will air in Washington, DC, New York City and Denver in the initial round starting Friday, January 11th. Denver was included by the campaign to ensure the ad is seen by some of the same viewers who were subjected in late 2012 to ads from the American Petroleum Institute defending the subsidies the “Exxon Hates Your Children” ad is targeting.

“The fact remains that Exxon and its counterparts in the fossil fuel industry are spending every day imperiling our futures just so they can make a profit,” said John Sellers, Executive Director of The Other 98%. “And what’s more, they’re making their profits on the backs of American taxpayers. It’s time for that to end.”

“The climate isn’t waiting for us to act. Every day we subsidize this dirty industry is a day we are moving in the wrong direction and giving our kids a scarier future,” said Drew Hudson, Executive Director of Environmental Action.

Details on the initial advertisement airings are as follows:

Denver - 6949, COMCAST, Denver DMA Interconnect

MSNBC

Friday, January 11th, 7p-8p The Rachel Maddow Show
Saturday, January 12th, 6a-8a UP With Chris Hayes

[Via priceofoil.org]
Washington, DC - 6030, COMCAST, Washington Interconnect

MSNBC

Friday, January 11th, 8p-9p The Rachel Maddow Show
Saturday, January 12th, 7a-9a UP with Chris Hayes
Sunday, January 13th, 7a-9a UP with Chris Hayes

New York City - 0201, VIAMEDIA, INC., Viamedia/NYC Roll-Up Zone, NY

MSNBC

Friday, January 11th, 9p-10p The Rachel Maddow Show
Saturday, January 12th, 8a-10a UP with Chris Hayes

Since the 1970s, the coal industry has been deploying deceptive advertising campaigns to scrub its image and delay important clean air standards. They use the same arguments year after year -- environmental protections will cripple the economy, the science behind pollution problems is inadequate, and that coal is already clean.

President Obama accepted the Democratic presidential nomination Thursday night with an appeal for another four years to continue with the platform of "change" he was elected on in 2008. "If you reject the notion that this nation’s promise is reserved for the few, your voice must be heard in this election," Obama said.

“On every issue, the choice you face won’t be just between two candidates or two parties."

“It will be a choice between two different paths for America."

“A choice between two fundamentally different visions for the future."

“I won’t pretend the path I’m offering is quick or easy. I never have. You didn’t elect me to tell you what you wanted to hear. You elected me to tell you the truth. And the truth is, it will take more than a few years for us to solve challenges that have built up over decades. It will require common effort, shared responsibility, and the kind of bold, persistent experimentation that Franklin Roosevelt pursued during the only crisis worse than this one. And by the way – those of us who carry on his party’s legacy should remember that not every problem can be remedied with another government program or dictate from Washington."

“But know this, America: Our problems can be solved. Our challenges can be met. The path we offer may be harder, but it leads to a better place. And I’m asking you to choose that future. I’m asking you to rally around a set of goals for your country – goals in manufacturing, energy, education, national security, and the deficit; a real, achievable plan that will lead to new jobs, more opportunity, and rebuild this economy on a stronger foundation. That’s what we can do in the next four years, and that’s why I’m running for a second term as President of the United States.”

Obama presented a clear set of achievable goals on manufacturing, energy, education, national security, and the deficit – an achievable plan that will create jobs, expand opportunity, and ensure an economy built to last.

Obama's speech may not have been the "best" speech of the convention this week, but I think there is a message there for every one of us, and the message is that he has heard our voices. If you think he hasn't heard the cries of Occupy Wall Street, listen to this speech. Goals centered around jobs, education, college tuition, and energy. The message of "Hope" and "Change" are still there, but they've been tempered by four years of the reality of money and politics in Washington, just as all of our dreams have been.

The President himself has acknowledged that there is much more to be done, and has accepted the nomination again, and stands ready to help us face our challenges.

Personally, I'd rather not hand it all over to Mitt Romney in mid-struggle and wait to see what's left of our nation when he's finished with it.

A full transcript of Obama's speech follows below the fold.

Continue reading »

Key Senate Staffer on Military Issues Got Big Payout From Lockheed Martin

by Justin Elliott ProPublica, July 26, 2012, 5 p.m.

Lockheed Martin has big business in Washington, with Defense Department contracts representing more than half of the company's $46.5 billion in net sales last year. And now, Lockheed has a former top lobbyist in a key position on Capitol Hill overseeing the company.

Former Lockheed vice president Ann Elise Sauer was hired by Sen. John McCain in February as the top Republican staffer on the Senate Armed Services Committee.

The revolving door swings regularly in Washington, but the size of the compensation package Sauer received from Lockheed when she left the company is notable. A financial disclosure form shows the defense giant gave Sauer $1.6 million in compensation around the time she took a buyout in January 2011.

At the moment, the stakes for Lockheed in Washington are even higher than usual, with the company leading the military contracting industry's charge to convince Congress to avoid a $492 billion, 9-year cut in military spending set to be triggered in January.

Lockheed CEO Robert Stevens was on the Hill this month warning that the company would have to lay off 10,000 employees if Congress does not make a deal. "Most tragically, we feel we will be unable to provide the equipment and support needed by our military forces," Stevens told the House.

As staff director for the minority on the Senate committee, Sauer has an important role in the battle over the possible military budget cuts. The committee regularly makes decisions that determine the fate of Lockheed's business.

There is no law barring lobbyists from entering public service on Capitol Hill. But Ben Freeman, national security investigator at the Project on Government Oversight who wrote about Sauer Thursday, says that the presence of a former Lockheed executive in a key position overseeing the company is cause for concern.

"Some of the biggest issues in front of the Senate Armed Services Committee right now deal directly with Lockheed Martin programs," Freeman says. "These are big-dollar programs that are going through some troubles and need some oversight."

One example is Lockheed's F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, which has been plagued by cost overruns and other problems.

Brian Rogers, a spokesman for McCain, said in a statement that the senator made an "unsolicited offer of employment" to Sauer and that she accepted the offer "on a stop-gap, temporary one-year basis."

"When Ms. Sauer accepted Senator McCain's offer to lead his Armed Services Committee staff, she did so at her own financial detriment, as she was required to liquidate all remaining Lockheed stock and options in compliance with Senate Ethics Committee guidelines," Rogers said. (See the full statement.)

Sauer, who has spent much of her career on Capitol Hill in various capacities, is a specialist on the federal budget. She spent 23 years as a Senate staffer, including 14 years with the armed services committee, and a stint as McCain's legislative director. She left Capitol Hill to join Lockheed in 2000. (Sauer did not respond to a request for comment.)

Sauer spent a decade at the company, rising to be Lockheed's Washington-based vice president for acquisition policy, logistics, and budget. For most of the time, she was a registered lobbyist who lobbied in the Senate and elsewhere, according to disclosure filings.

"She was the corporation's federal budget expert," according to her bio posted on the site of the group Women in Defense, "responsible for tracking and analyzing the federal budget, both defense and non-defense. At various times, she was responsible for managing the corporation's senior-level interfaces with senior Executive and Legislative Branch officials on a wide array of programs and policy issues."

She briefly started a military consulting firm specializing in "federal budget and fiscal policy information and insights." Sauer's financial disclosure, which is required of senior congressional staffers, lists $55,000 in consulting fees paid by another defense giant, BAE Systems.

Her financial disclosure forms show her final payments from Lockheed included $660,000 in salary and bonus, $769,000 in deferred compensation, and $232,000 in "retired pay."

Rogers, the McCain spokesman, said that Sauer's compensation was made up of pay from the buyout program, "normal annual incentive compensation" and "significant deferred compensation."

Lockheed declined to comment.

Sauer's case has a precedent. Last year, the House Armed Services Committee hired Thomas MacKenzie, a Northrop Grumman lobbyist who received a large bonus from the company before starting his job on the Hill.

Via:

More than 1,000 email credentials from five multinational oil industry companies, including Shell and Exxon and BP, has been dumped online by hackers associated with the Anonymous movement.

The hackers targeted the three giants alongside Russian oil firms Gazprom and Rosneft, each of which is accused of melting the Arctic ice caps. The data dump includes 317 emails and their MD5 hashed passwords from a hack in June, and a further 724 emails and hashed passwords and 26 emails with clear text passwords which were added yesterday, as NovaSecInfo.com explains.

Although most of the information is encrypted, it has been posted online in the hope that volunteers and hobbyists will help crack the details and provide passwords for the email addresses.

There has been no known malicious use of the data thus far, but some very ironic signatures have turned up on Greenpeace's "Save the Arctic" petition...

H/T @timcast

The lobbying firm Strategic Health Care is hosting a Capitol Hill event titled, "White Trash Reception." Here's a flyer for the um, "event":

"Hey y'all - get gussied up in your Sunday jorts, mullets, and fullets and come on down to the White Trash Reception," the invitation reads:

White Trash Reception
July 19, 2012 5:30 - 9:30 pm
230 2nd Street SE
Washington, DC 20003

Grab some suds and grub with Strategic Health Care! Please RSVP to info@shcare.net

Peggy Tighe, Beth Swickard, Jason Gromley, and Kyah Flickinger

Here's how the lobbying firm describes itself: "Strategic Health Care’s vision is to become the leading health care consulting firm focused all matters where government and health care meet. In order to achieve this (and distinguish ourselves from other firms), we will continue to capitalize on our knowledge of the health care system, our understanding of our clients’ businesses, our ability to anticipate and influence legislative and regulatory issues, and our dedication to efficient and cost-effective client service."

The National Journal contacted Strategic Healthcare's director of government relations to find out if the invitation was legitimate, and the response? It is.

She said the party at the firm's Capitol Hill townhouse gathers lobbyists, Hill staffers and health industry types for some happy hour fun. The firm throws themed parties every couple of months, though past themes have included the decidedly less edgy pirate and cherry blossom varieties.

This reminds me of the foreclosure attorneys office staff that held a party where they dressed in mock "homeless" attire, and even created scenery to depict vacant, foreclosed homes.

If this invitation hadn't been become public knowledge, I imagine the lobbyists would have dressed as stereotypes of the people who won't ever be able to afford healthcare as their states are opting out of medicare expansion.

And as ThinkProgress notes the event particularly stings because health care lobbyists at Strategic Health Care profit from pharmaceutical companies that make their money on expensive drugs that low income Americans of all races frequently have to turn their pockets inside out to pay for.

[Via]

"The mob learned from Wall Street," comments Eliot Spitzer on the "cartel-style corruption" behind the Libor scam.

On Current TV's "Viewpoint" recently, host Eliot Spitzer, Matt Taibbi, Rolling Stone contributing editor, and Dennis Kelleher, president and CEO of Better Markets, analyze the Libor interest rate--rigging scandal engulfing the banking industry.

Barclays CEO Bob Diamond recently resigned after the bank was fined $453 million for its part in the scandal, which involved manipulating the London Interbank Offered Rate (Libor), a key global benchmark for interest rates, by essentially "faking their credit scores," according to Taibbi. And as Taibbi explains, Barclays couldn't have acted alone.
...

Kelleher argues that the Libor scandal is proof that the financial industry "is corrupt and rotten to its core." "The same executives [using] the same business model that crashed the entire financial system in '08 are still running these banks," he says.
...

"It can't just be Barclays and the Royal Bank of Scotland. In fact, it can't even be four banks or even five banks," Taibbi says. "Really, in the end it's probably going to come out that it's going to be all of them ... involved in this. And that's what's critical for people to understand: that this is a cartel-style corruption."

For much more on this, start with Matt Taibbi here.

To The Last Drop, Part One:

Communities prepare to rise up, but they can't do it alone.

For every barrel of bitumen that comes out of the ground in Northern Alberta, Canada, another 1.5 barrels of toxic waste is created and dumped into tailings ponds that are carved out of the once pristine wilderness. That waste may now be leaking into the Athabasca river Delta, poisoning indigenous communities for hundreds of kilometers downstream and causing rare cancers once unheard of. The Alberta government and its industry-funded studies say every thing is okay with the water. Independent observers say otherwise. Watch as Al Jazeera uncovers how industry and government are working to silence dissent and how communities are beginning to fight back.

To The Last Drop, Part Two:

The Arctic ice we all depend on is disappearing. Fast. Soon it could be ice free for the first time since humans walked the Earth. This would be not only devastating for the people, polar bears, narwhals, walruses and other species that live there - but for the rest of us too.

Oil companies are using melting sea ice to drill for more of the oil that is causing global warming in the first place. In fact, Shell’s Arctic fleet will be arriving any day now to begin exploratory drilling off the coast of Alaska this summer. That's just madness. It's time for us to take back sanity from those who have lost the plot.

Our leaders won't listen to her, but they'll listen to you. What do you have to say to those who want to destroy the Arctic?

Greenpeace, Jude Law, Radiohead and hundreds of thousands of people around the world are coming together to demand we save the Arctic from oil drilling, industrial fishing and militarization. Join us at http://www.savethearctic.org