Friday Open Thread 01-30-15

Gorbachev: US Pulled Russia Into New Cold War That Could Turn 'Hot'
"Where will that lead all of us?" asks former Soviet leader.

Mikhail Gorbachev stated that the United States has pulled Russia into a new Cold War that faces the risk of further escalation.

The 83-year-old former Soviet leader made the comments on Thursday in an interview with Russian news agency Interfax.

"The U.S. has already dragged us into a new Cold War, trying to openly implement its idea of triumphalism," he is quoted as saying.

"Where will that lead all of us?" he said.

"I can no longer say that this Cold War will not lead to a ‘Hot War.’ I fear that they could risk it," Gorbachev said, referring to the United States. "All you hear is about sanctions towards Russia from America and the European Union. Have they totally lost their heads? The U.S. has been totally 'lost in the jungle' and is dragging us there as well."

Just 4 purchases enough to ID you, despite anonymized credit card data

Anonymized credit card data – only locations and times of purchases made – are enough to identify a person, a new MIT study shows. Shopping habits are so unique, that knowledge of only four transactions help tell who the buyer is.

Three months of credit card transactions carried out by 1.1 million people in 10,000 shops in one country were studied by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology team, which made the results public in a January 30 issue of Science journal.

The name of the country is not specified, it’s only designated as an Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) country. The source of the data is only mentioned as a “majorbank.”

The scientists dealt with anonymized data, which did not contain neither names nor account numbers. Only metadata was left available – the time and place of a purchase.

Russia might bailout Greece – finance minister

Greece hasn’t outright asked Russia for a loan, but Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said Moscow wouldn't rule it out. His statement comes days after Greece openly opposed further economic sanctions against Russia.

"Well, we can imagine any situation, so if such [a] petition is submitted to the Russian government, we will definitely consider it, but we will take into account all the factors of our bilateral relationships between Russia and Greece, so that is all I can say. If it is submitted we will consider it," Siluanov told CNBC in an interview in Moscow on Thursday.

The new left-wing Syriza government in Greece won a majority at last Sunday’s election on the promise to renegotiate the country’s €317 billion debt and end austerity.

Greece needs to negotiate with EU policymakers by February 28 in order to receive the next tranche of bailout funds. If Athens doesn’t get the money it will have difficulty servicing its debt. Two bailouts were paid in 2010 and 2014 totaling €240 billion.

Our dangerous new McCarthyism: Russia, Noam Chomsky and what the media’s not telling you about the new Cold War
Perverse, diabolical obsession: Policy cliques in D.C. have no intention of desisting in this war until they win it

It is time to attempt that hardest of things—to see ourselves for who we are, to see what it is we are doing and what is being done to us.

Two things prompt the thought. We have the latest news on Washington’s confrontation with Russia, and we have a newly precipitous decline in the national conversation on this crisis. In my estimation, we reach dangerous new lows in both respects.

It is always difficult for the living to see themselves as suspended in history. Being up against the rock face of events, being the stuff of which events are made, allows no distance, and achieving perspective without any takes an arduous effort.

But we have to make an attempt at this field of vision now. Every moment counts as history, but some passages are bigger than others. And this, ours, is very big as of the last 10 days, maybe two weeks.

David Bromberg - Statesboro Blues / Church Bell Blues

David Bromberg - The New Lee Highway Blues

David Bromberg - Send me to the 'Lectric Chair

David Bromberg - Summer Wages

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it was brought to my attention that the newly enabled "Save as Draft" button wasn't working correctly. Upon further research it was learned that a security hole would have to be opened in the site's permissions configuration for the feature to work. Because of that the "Save as Draft" feature will be put on hold until another option can be found. I am working on it. Thanks.

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kharma's picture

for all the work you put into this. It looks great.

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There is nothing which I dread so much as a division of the republic into two great parties.. This...is to be dreaded as the greatest political evil under our Constitution.--John Adams

kharma, glad you're enjoying it, and thank you for participating and contributing.

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AoT's picture

IS there anyway to have http://caucus99percent.com/ direct us to the new site instead of the old one? It's kind of awkward as it is right now getting to the site. I feel like it will reduce the umber of people using the site.

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now that this site is getting the bulk of the traffic, I'm going to contact our web host and have the two sites switched. As it stands right now the forum is the primary site on our domain and this site is a sub-domain, only because the forum was built first. I'm going to have that reversed in the very near future. Here's the direct url for this site, if that will help you any until I get it switched.

http://caucus99percent.com/blog/drupal/

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AoT's picture

Thanks for the work on the site, I really appreciate it.

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AoT, and thank you for joining up.

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gulfgal98's picture

You always add so much to any conversation. I hope to see you post your perspective here often. Smile

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Do I hear the sound of guillotines being constructed?

“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable." ~ President John F. Kennedy

Big Al's picture

"Have they totally lost their heads?"
and
"I fear that they could risk it".

That's what we were discussing in another diary, is WWIII coming? It's a possibility, would they really do it?
I agree with Gorby, anything could happen now.

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shit going down everywhere, but that's still the flashpoint.

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Unabashed Liberal's picture

This is just a quick comment--I'm working on a regular "report" on HRC.

Anyhoo, it also appears that the corporatists PtB succeeded in forcing Romney out (who was much more a threat to HRC than Jeb Bush could ever be)--just heard it on Tim Farley's Midday Briefing.

I'd say that the true intentions of several possible primary challenges will become evident within the next couple of months. Frankly, with this news, I doubt that there will be even a faux challenge.

The Midday reporters who quoted the Politico Pro piece below, mostly believe that HRC will wait until 1 July to announce.

This move should help the Clinton Camp look even more formidable when it comes to their prolific fundraising (due to the reporting cycle).

2016, Exclusive: Hillary Clinton may delay campaign

http://www.politico.com/story/2015/01/exclusive-hillary-clinton-may-dela...

I was immediately suspicious when I saw the all out frontal attack on Romney by the corporate media. Romney, of course, is not a 'relative' of the Clintons as is Brother Jeb--both literally and figuratively--nor has he co-founded a political organization with them.

Romney has no such allegiance.

So I figured that the attacks would eventually succeed. (Romney is actually popular with the Tea Party Faction, whereas Jeb is pretty much intensely disliked and dismissed by them.) Romney was vying pretty much for the same donors, as Jeb would be relying upon--another reason that he was axed.

(The Clinton Camp is already touting figures of between 1/1-2 to 2-1/2 Billion Dollars, as was reported here last week.)

And, there is one angle that a few Repub shills/consultants/analysts have begun to tout--"a New Generation" meme.

IOW, there is the faction that wants one of the younger Repubs--Scott Walker is an Establishment (Business) Repub favorite, for instance--to run. And Romney is too 'long in the tooth' to qualify.

So, I assume that these consultants want to frame their candidate as one of the up-and-coming conservative leaders, versus the tired old Dem Party retreads.

Of course, not only do I like Warren--she looks years younger than the other Dem candidates.

Unfortunately, I don't believe that she will run. I imagine that she's been told that it's 'not her time.' Sigh . . .

Optics shouldn't matter that much, but as we learned in 2008, they clearly do.

(Admin, I will be experimenting with posting photos, but will remove them after my "test." I wouldn't think of cluttering up this pretty new blog!)

Wink

Mollie

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Everyone thinks they have the best dog, and none of them are wrong.

Unabashed Liberal's picture

of projects--if he gets the funding.

Next week I'll have time to elaborate--this was what Gene Sperling's speech to Brookings, was about.

PBO is going to negotiate a 'stimulus package,' (some of which is in his budget, and laid out in his speech earlier today), in exchange for eviscerating so-called 'entitlements.'

I found a piece last week, about this same topic, from last year. Apparently, somewhere along the line, this Administration has decided to go with the revenue neutral "revamp" of our entire federal tax code, and instead use 'the Sequester" as a bargaining tool for a "Grand Bargain."

So, now, the PtB will be slashing corporate and individual tax rates--in exchange for nothing.

What am I thinking?

Entitlements will be slashed in exchange for the neoliberal agenda--fiscal austerity, for the sake of fiscal austerity!

Whew!

Soooooooooo, now they've decided to negotiate reallocating monies from the 'sequester' bill, in exchange for slashing Social Security and Medicare.

I don't have my notes in front of me from Sperling's speech right now, but I'm thinking that he said the split will be 50/50--nondiscretionary and discretionary spending.

IOW, one half of the "entitlement cuts" will pay for funding of more military adverturism, and the other half will pay for infrastructure, research and (privatizing) education.

And the American People will pay for this with cuts up to 41% (as the Social Security Works table posted last summer, showed).

Hey, what's not to love?

I also hope to get something together on the proposed destruction of all military retirement, pay and medical benefits, in the next week or so.

(The only cut announced on C-span Wednesday was doing away with a decent retirement, and substituting a 401K plan!)

My question is: Who the heck would consider getting blown up for a lousy 401K?

Are these people for real?

I'll be curious to see if they exclude current retirees/current active duty members, etc.

(Please bear in mind, sometimes federal military and civilian cuts are a "dress rehearsal" for broader cuts--as in cuts to Social Security, etc.)

Either way, they could only mean to scale down military manpower (which I'm for).

OTOH, I don't want to see 'promises' to members broken--and I expect that these recommendations will be riddled with them.

Military commission recommends cuts to pension, private health insurance

Truthfully, with company here, I haven't had a chance to read the piece above-- maybe it's not as bad as I'm speculating. I hope that is the case. I heard "15" recommendations--read cuts--on C-Span.

Mollie

P.S. I'm certainly not against funding infrastructure, etc., but the funding should be paid for by taxing the wealthy and corporations (which is the opposite of what is getting ready to happen)--not by slashing entitlements!

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Everyone thinks they have the best dog, and none of them are wrong.

Tammany Tiger's picture

Whoever the next president is, he or she will say that the Affordable Care Act exchanges are functioning so well that it's time to extend them to Medicare. Instead of a Medicare card, older Americans will be given a voucher* to spend on private insurance, which they will buy on the exchange. The quality of their care will decline because insurance companies will boost co-pays and deductibles and narrow their provider networks, just as they do with plans bought on the existing exchanges.

* If there were any justice in the world, these vouchers would be called "Medicare Groupons" and have a picture of Paul Ryan on the front.

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Unabashed Liberal's picture

But I would add two other photos, and there could be additional Repub photos--but I don't keep up with them, since they are obviously hopeless:

Paul Ryan-Ron Wyden: Bipartisan Medicare reform

Two Cheers for Rivlin-Ryan

I would love to see every Democrat and Republican who runs for any national office in 2016, be forced to 'own these proposals' until they are willing to denounce them.

It is time to play hardball.

Personally, I am sick and tired of being punk'd.

Wink

Mollie

Postscript: We'll see in days if the President still has Medicare cuts in his Budget. I bet he will.

IMO, at least SOME of these cuts will be included in the Sequester/Grand Bargain "deal" which is coming down the pike in a couple of months.

Especially, means testing (Medicare premiums), MAYBE raising the age to 67, the Medigap policy "surtax," and the home health care/aide co-pays.

I'll check it out, and report back what I find.

Mollie

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Unabashed Liberal's picture

N/T

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joe shikspack's picture

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Unabashed Liberal's picture

I know, some folks aren't that concerned about this new 'nonpartisan' replacement for the DLC--but I am.

Just this past Sunday, one of their (No Labels) own--radio talk show host Michael Smerconish--was allowed to audition for Candy Crowley's former 'host' slot.

This dude is one of the biggest corporatist 'centrist' shills that I've ever listened to (I hear his radio program on XM, from time to time, when I can stomach it for a few minutes).

He was Master of Ceremonies at the 2010 NYC kickoff of "No Labels." IOW, he's one of them.

Oh, and he had "No Labels" national co-chair, and a Dem Party sidekick [and US Representative] on "State Of The Nation" as guests, this past week.

H*ll, Smerconish is even comtemplating a run for President!

(What are we coming to?)

Mollie

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Cordelia Lear's picture

If I remember correctly, Smerconish was a right wing talk radio host in Philadelphia years ago. Tweet Bird used to have him on all the time as a GOP voice. Then "he saw the light" and claimed they had gotten to radical for him.

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"Never separate the life you live from the words you speak." --Paul Wellstone

Unabashed Liberal's picture

as the talk show host who has interviewed the President (counting the Black Radio Community) the most times.

Smerconish pushes this Administration's agenda--relentlessly. He is adept at propaganda, especially considering the fact that his audience does not appear to be very well informed, and lean to the right on many issues.

IOW, he's the epitomy of a "New Dem," in his rhetoric.

He even plays "Stuck In The Middle With You" (may not be the name of the song) as a lead-in to his radio show.

Wink

(You know--he openly voted for the President, when he "switched" parties, or whatever he called it.)

Every day, he pushes an ultra fiscal and foreign policy/war hawkish agenda.

He is one of the main front men for the Clinton/Bush (No Labels) cabal. Until very recently, his (at one time--3 hour) daily show played and replayed continuously on the POTUS Channel of XM Radio.

Now, they've recruited additional "No Labels" supported/agenda shows.

Oh, almost forgot, Chuck Todd is on board with this crew, in that he conducts very friendly interviews with No Labelers regularly on his MSNBC TV Show, his Suinday NBC Sunday Talk Show (MTP), AND his XM, POTUS Channel radio program.

Next week, I'm going to post on the "new" corporatist radio programs (including No Labeler Mayor Bloomberg's show) that have taken over XM radio this past year or two.

They are leaving absolutely no stone unturned, and Romney's bowing out today just further demonstrates the power of these two families (IMO).

Mollie

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Everyone thinks they have the best dog, and none of them are wrong.

Unabashed Liberal's picture

NT

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Everyone thinks they have the best dog, and none of them are wrong.

NCTim's picture

I am still on Tuesday.

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The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe. If you try it, you will be lonely often, and sometimes frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself. - Friedrich Nietzsche -

How you doing, man, good to see you! I just woke up from a nap, is it really Tuesday already?

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Big Al's picture

At least it should be.

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