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Sam Knight - page 37

Sam Knight has 859 articles published.

Obama Cites Panama Papers Hours Before Massive Leak Sheds Light on CIA “Gun-Runners”

President Obama on Tuesday made the case for tax reform by citing the Panama Papers. Obama mentioned the massive leak of documents detailing the offshoring of assets by wealthy and powerful people from around the world, when touting a new Treasury Department enforcement policy. The initiative is aimed at preventing future corporate inversions–moves by US-based multinationals to shift operations on paper overseas specifically to reduce tax burdens. “In the news over the last couple of days, we’ve had another reminder, in this data dump coming out… Keep Reading

Pentagon Unable to Properly Oversee Revolving Door Ethics Guidance

A database used by the Pentagon to keep tabs on the revolving door has been declared “unreliable” by the Department of Defense Inspector General (OIG). The depository holds records on post-government employment counseling that are only about 80 percent accurate, according to an OIG investigation. Guidance for most Pentagon officials and former officials seeking defense contracting work was required by Congress in 2008. In Aug. 2011, the Pentagon mandated “DOD-wide use” of the “After Government Employment Advice Repository” (AGEAR) by the new year. But on… Keep Reading

GAO to Bernie: Generosity of Social Security, Plight of the Poor Obscured by Average Life Expectancy

Proponents of cuts to Social Security have argued that longer lifespans in the US make the program unsustainable over the long-run. President Obama, for example, argued in 2010 that Social Security “has to be tweaked because the population is getting older.” In 2013, he proposed cuts to retirement benefits through a payment calculation called “chained CPI” (he dropped the push in 2014). But a study published on Monday shows that the good health isn’t trickling down. The amount of Social Security benefits actually received by… Keep Reading

Two Losses for Bosses–SCOTUS Rules Against Walmart, Wells Fargo in Class Action Suits

The Supreme Court made more decisions unfavorable to corporate executives in the wake of Antonin Scalia’s death. Justices declined on Monday to hear appeals by Walmart and Wells Fargo in moves that upheld two nine-figure class action judgments that went against the multinational giants. Walmart had been ordered to pay $150 million to 187,000 Pennsylvania workers for wage theft that occurred between 1998-2006. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court had sided with the employees in 2014, ruling that they were forced to work off-the-clock and denied breaks.… Keep Reading

FCC Chair Takes Aim at Hoax Rule

Federal Communications Commission Chair Tom Wheeler announced early Friday morning that he would work to repeal the agency’s hoax rule. Wheeler hinted that he thought the rule was outdated and irrelevant. He made the announcement from Dan’s Cafe, in the Adams Morgan neighborhood of Washington, DC, while drinking a squeeze bottle full of Odessa Vodka. “Fuck it,” Wheeler said. “You’ve seen what people can get away with saying on TV. There’s Trump for one. And Ted Cruz basically says the same shit, wrapped up for… Keep Reading

Wall Street Execs May Have Broken Law In Dishonest Comment Letters, Warren Says

As has been made abundantly clear by the ongoing Republican presidential primary, lying about policy is not against the law. But it could be illegal to spin a tale in ongoing national debates, if those fibs mislead people with capital to spend. Sen. Elizabeth Warren is now asking the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to launch an investigation along those lines, after four corporate executives protested a draft Department of Labor (DOL) rule on conflicts of interest for investment advisers. Warren wrote SEC Chair Mary… Keep Reading

Bush-Appointed Judge Throws Out Key Dodd-Frank Ruling for Insurance Giant MetLife

The US government’s labeling of a major insurance corporation as “too big to fail” was ruled invalid by a federal court in Washington. District Judge Rosemary Collyer said Wednesday that MetLife, the largest insurer in the US, should not be considered a “systemically important financial institution” (SIFI). The designation–given to the insurance giant in December 2014 by a cross-agency body called the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC)–meant MetLife was subject to additional supervision and reserve requirements by federal regulators. It isn’t clear if the US government… Keep Reading

D.E.A., Pentagon Team Up to Waste almost $90 million on “Un-Flyable” Plane for Failed Afghan Drug War

The Drug Enforcement Agency and Department of Defense spent $86 million on a spy plane to use in Afghanistan, but haven’t and will never fly it on a single mission there. Part of a program called “Global Discovery,” the aircraft cost the agencies four times what they initially projected. It was described by the Justice Department inspector general (OIG) as being “currently in an un-flyable state.” “The aircraft has never flown in Afghanistan as originally intended and, because the DEA removed all aviation operations from… Keep Reading

Labor Unions Dodge Supreme Court Bullet–Probably for a Generation

A short-handed Supreme Court threw the labor movement a lifeline, dismissing a challenge to rules on public sector collective bargaining fees. “The judgment is affirmed by an equally divided Court,” the Justices announced in a one sentence ruling. The move upheld a decision by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to dismiss the case, Friedrichs v. California’s Teachers Association. Just months ago, such an outcome seemed impossible, as this and other publications noted. That changed on Feb. 13, when Justice Antonin Scalia suddenly died. “When the… Keep Reading

“Crisis Levels” of Medical Staff at More than 1 in 10 Federal Prisons, According to DOJ Watchdog

The Department of Justice inspector general (OIG) warned on Monday that medical staffing is at “crisis levels” at more than ten percent of federal prisons. The comptroller cited an assessment made by a former Bureau of Prison (BOP) executive, noting that 12 out of 97 of the bureau’s correctional facilities have been “medically staffed at only 71 percent or below,” since September 2014. It also reported that in the same time frame, seventy-three BOP jails were understaffed against department policy, which dictates “the vacancy rate shall… Keep Reading

Obama Pays Tribute, But Doesn’t Say “Sorry” to Argentine Victims of Kissinger’s Allies

President Obama on Thursday recognized the role of the US government in Argentina’s Dirty War, a campaign of violence waged for seven years against tens of thousands of Argentine leftists after a 1976 coup d’etat. During a visit to Buenos Aires, Obama paid tribute victims killed and disappeared by the junta alongside Argentine President Mauricio Macri, at a monument alongside the River Plata. “Democracies have to have the courage to acknowledge when we don’t live up to the ideals that we stand for,” he said.… Keep Reading

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