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Sam Knight - page 70

Sam Knight has 859 articles published.

Leak Shows Sweeping Trade Deal Could Be Used to Privatize Healthcare

A leaked paper from trade negotiations being conducted by the US, EU member states, and almost two dozen other countries has raised concerns that the Trade in Services Agreement (TISA) could be used to privatize healthcare systems around the world. The document was published Wednesday by an international non-profit called the Associated Whistleblower Press, which claims that it came from the Turkish government and was discussed by EU officials last September in Geneva. A call to the press office of the Turkish embassy in Washington… Keep Reading

Founding Member of New Conservative Caucus Attacks GOP For Keystone XL Obsession, Foreign Policy

A founding member of a new conservative congressional caucus on Tuesday morning distanced the group from his party’s obsession with the Keystone XL Pipeline. “I think every member of the House Freedom Caucus believes that the Keystone Pipeline is a good idea,” Rep. Raul Labrador (R-Idaho) said on C-SPAN’s Washington Journal, in response to a question from a caller. “But it seems like it has become the energy policy of the Republican Party to do the Keystone Pipeline, and it’s just one component.” Labrador said that the… Keep Reading

Lamenting Slow Death by Technocracy

In a town known for being full of proud self-identified wonks, and think tank prophets who worship at the altar of the spreadsheet, there is, perhaps, no greater shrine than the House Committee on Ways and Means. The only body with tax-writing powers recognized by the Constitution, it is where lobbyists go to seek their version of nirvana–the maximization of marginal tax breaks for their clients. It’s also now, as of the start of the 114th Congress, run by a man who has staked a name for… Keep Reading

Freshman GOP Senator: I’m Okay With Not Forcing Restaurant Workers to Wash Up

He might have won the most expensive legislative campaign in US history, but that doesn’t mean he should manage your local Arby’s. Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) said Monday that he’s okay with the idea of service industry workers returning to work without washing their hands after touching their unmentionables, as long as customers are made aware of the situation. Tillis made the declaration at to the Bipartisan Policy Center, at the end of a question and answer with the audience. He was relaying a 2010… Keep Reading

Obama Admin Confirms Military Aid to Ukraine Being Considered, Refuses to Call It “Proxy War”

The State Department confirmed a New York Times report that the Obama administration is considering arming the Ukrainian government in its fight against separatists backed by Russia. Spokesperson Jen Psaki said Monday that the US is “constantly assessing our policies” in Washington’s bid to assist Kiev’s fight against militants seeking autonomy, but added that “the decision hasn’t been made.” She said that the administration is “particularly concerned about escalating separatist violence” beyond the September 2014 armistice line agreed to in Minsk The relative calm in eastern… Keep Reading

Majority of Obama “Middle Class Economics” Budget Increases Set to Pad National Security Spending

Despite talk of boosting the middle class, President Obama on Monday released a 2016 budget proposal with progressive policies that “apply more to how he would pay for the new appropriations–not the spending itself,” according to Politico. While the budget outlines a $74 billion spending increase, half would go to defense spending, and a significant chunk of the other half would fund expanded veterans and international affairs programs. Over all, Politico reported, two-thirds of the additional funding would go to programs decried as underfunded by the right-wing… Keep Reading

Senator Wants to Use Trade Policy to Undermine Palestinian Solidarity Movement in Europe

Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) said this week that he wants to use trade negotiations as a means of undermining nonviolent Palestinian solidarity movements in Europe. Cardin asked US Trade Representative Michael Froman on Tuesday whether the Obama administration is using negotiations over the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) as a cudgel against peaceful attempts, through the Boycott Divestment and Sanctions movement (BDS), to actively oppose the occupation of Palestine. “There’s a growing concern with our European partners that they are sympathetic to BDS legislation,”… Keep Reading

With Questions Over Publicly-Admitted Size of US Role, Commanders Suddenly Classify Info About Afghan Assistance

A key oversight watchdog keeping tabs on US activities in Afghanistan is suddenly being stonewalled by military officials in its attempts to inform the public about American assistance to Afghan forces–a military entity in which US troops are playing a bigger role than the White House routinely admits. The Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction said Thursday that it is now “unable” to publicly report on the $65 billion in aid that American taxpayers have given Afghan troops. “After six years of being publicly reported, Afghan National Security… Keep Reading

Obama Admin Uses Consumer Laws to Destroy Revenge Porn Collected by Notorious Website Operator

The Obama administration has used consumer protection laws to force a notorious revenge porn website operator to destroy videos and photographs of people he surreptitiously obtained and shared for profit. The Federal Trade Commission also forced Craig Brittain to agree to refrain from publicly sharing nude photographs and videos without the subjects’ “affirmative express consent” as part of the settlement announced Thursday. Additionally, it compelled him to agree to be forthright about how he plans on using personal information he collects online. The deal came… Keep Reading

Sequestration-Mandated “Sitting Around” a Threat to National Security, Military Brass Claim

National security officials have repeatedly warned that so-called sequestration cuts pose a threat to the United States, despite the austerity measures leaving the US as the clear dominant military power. On Wednesday, however, they approached their concerns from a different angle. Boys not being able to play with their toys, they said, leaves Americans less up for defending the Homeland. “You’re sitting around the classroom looking at your Strike Fighter Hornet, it looks really great but it’s on the tarmac. And that’s not why you joined,”… Keep Reading

Though Feds Allegedly Embarrassed by Wikileaks Case, Ongoing Probe Means Journalism Could Still Be Indicted

The federal government confirmed that it is still investigating Wikileaks and has asked the judicial branch to keep its probe secret because of fear over public opinion, according to The Washington Post. US officials have repeatedly sought to fight transparency over the matter because they were embarrassed after the existence of one of its first subpoenas in the case was revealed, the Post reported on Wednesday. Albert Gidari, a lawyer representing Google, told the paper that the tech giant wanted to inform Wikileaks-affiliate and data… Keep Reading

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