Checkered Lounge Pants

Winnipeg Free Press photo - Stones surprise fans

ERIC MARTIN AND SIMON TREMBLAY-PEPIN   At the beginning of May , the British newspaper  The Guardian  reported that the student struggle against tuition fee hikes in Québec represented “the most powerful challenge to neoliberalism on the continent.” Even  Paris Match , a French tabloid typically given to celebrity gossip, wondered whether “the first large-scale socio-ecological movement could be emerging in the Belle Province.” Just as we write this article,  La Presse , a major Québec daily, is predicting that a worldwide student strike is being planned for the fall, noting that the red felt square worn by protesting students has now become a “symbol of student struggle well beyond Québec’s borders.” Following in the footsteps of the Chilean student protests, the mobilization of Québec students has ignited the fuse of a growing powder keg of popular anger against neoliberalism in Québec, in Canada and in other parts of the world. We are witnessing an unprecedented mobilization

by   Michael Tomasky This   excellent piece   by Greg Palast from The Nation deserves some attention. Ann Romney's blind trust was invested with a hedge fund that took over (and took apart) Delphi, the GM parts maker, and closed down 29 unionized plants here in the US and moved almost all the jobs to China. Accoroding to Palast, the Romneys made millions from this process, partly courtesy the US taxpayer, and the fund managers, big Romney backers, made billions. The description of the Romneys' role comes toward the end. Singer is Paul Singer, the head of the hedge fund in question, which is Elliott below: In  their 2011 and 2012 Federal Financial Disclosure filing , Ann Romney’s trust lists “more than $1 million” invested with Elliott. This is the description for all of her big investments—the minimal disclosure required by law. (Had Romney kept the holding in his own name, he would have had to reveal if his investment with Singer had made more than $50 millio

Koch Employee Says Billionaire Kidnapped & Interrogated Him By IULIA FILIP       (CN) - Billionaire William Koch imprisoned and interrogated one of his executives at a secluded Aspen ranch, under a sheriff's guard, because the executive suspected Koch's companies of tax evasion, the employee claims in Federal Court.      Kirby Martensen, of Berkeley, Calif., says he was an executive for several companies owned and controlled by William Koch, including Oxbow Carbon & Minerals Inc. (OCM) and Oxbow Carbon & Minerals International (OCM International), until March, when he says he was suddenly fired.      OCM and OCM International are part of the Oxbow Group, an energy development holding company based in West Palm Beach, Fla. Koch founded the Oxbow Group in the 1980s after leaving his family's oil-refining conglomerate, Koch Industries.      Oxbow Carbon is the largest distributor of petroleum coke in the world, with annual shipments of nearly 11 million metr

Jack Welch, Rupert Murdoch & More Angry Old Rich Guys Who Hate Obama by   Daniel Gross Jack Welch, who accused Obama of manipulating the jobs report, is just one of the wealthy white dudes, mostly in their late 60s and 70s, who’ve been stalking the airwaves, print, and social media, attacking the president. Daniel Gross offers a guide to the aging moguls who loathe Obama.   They’re everywhere! In the past few weeks, it’s been hard not to notice a new species:  Maleus Americanus Crustius.  Sure, they’ve always been with us. But these days, the alpha-male specimens, white dudes mostly in their late 60s and 70s, have been stalking the airwaves, print, and social media. They’re full of rage and fury about politics, tax policy, and the resident of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. They share certain characteristics: north-south migration patterns, brittle egos, receding hairlines, and long records in business. While they respond well to obsequiousness and stroking, they exhibit a te

Tories spend millions on ad blitz as federal programs cut By:  Bruce Cheadle OTTAWA -- The Conservative government has approved tens of millions of dollars in "economic action plan" ads this year even as it cites fiscal restraint to cut programs such as scientific research and environmental monitoring. While Finance officials are refusing to disclose the budget for the current "action plan" media blitz blanketing airwaves, a Treasury Board document shows cabinet approved $16 million in "economic action plan" advertising in the first quarter of this year alone. That doesn't include $5 million approved for a "better jobs" ad campaign, $8 million to sell Canadians on cuts to old age security, and $5 million to promote "responsible resource development" -- the slogan given to an environmental assessment system that was cut back and restructured in the last budget. All the measures are promoted on the government's