De Nederlandse politie heeft in Den Haag een 16-jarige jongen gearresteerd die betrokken was bij de aanval op de website van onder meer kredietkaartmaatschappij MasterCard. De website werd woensdag platgelegd door sympathisanten van WikiLeaks als reactie op de blokkering van donaties aan WikiLeaks door MasterCard.

Dutch Teen Arrested in WikiLeaks-Related Cyber Attacks
Politics Daily - ‎2 hours ago‎
A Dutch teenager is under arrest, suspected of helping to carry out cyber attacks against two major credit card companies that were allegedly masterminded …
Dutch Police Arrest Suspect in Pro-WikiLeaks Hacking Wall Street Journal
all 4,526 news articles »

Royal Dutch Shell says it is “absolutely untrue” that it has infiltrated every Nigerian ministry. The denial comes after a U.S. embassy cable was released by WikiLeaks alleging that Shell’s top manager in Nigeria claimed the company had sources inside of “all relevant ministries and that Shell had access to everything that was being done in those ministries.” Shell said it would not comment further on the cables.

by rainer hachfeld, neues deutschland, germany

by riber hansson, sweden

sarah palin overexposed?

Ik heb een lekke band met mijn fiets maar ik moet naar het ziekenhuis in de stad want mijn moeder ligt op sterven, kan ik een pomp en een pleistertje van u lenen?
“Neem een taxi, hier, heb je 50 euro…”

©©,®?

Be very careful what you say these days in the U.S.A. If you are considering saying happy holidays to anyone, think again:

This week, First Baptist Church of Dallas pastor Dr. Robert Jeffress joined the war effort. Jeffress announced on a local radio station this morning that his church is launching a website — the Grinch Alert — “dedicated to showcasing businesses that do not show outward signs of supporting Christmas.” The top of the site reads: “Help us keep Christmas everywhere!”

by wright, the detroit news

Nobelprizewinning American economist Paul Krugman (NYTimes) checks out the new tax cut deal that President Obama made with the Republicans and thinks it’s not as bad as it could have been, but it’s still disappointing.

So, was this worth it? I’d still say no, although it’s better than what I expected over the weekend. It still greatly increases the chances of the Bush tax cuts being made permanent — especially because the front-loading of the stimulative stuff actually worsens Obama’s 2012 electoral prospects. Overall, enough sweetener has been added to diminish, but not eliminate, the bitterness of the disappointment.

The progressive rebellion to the extension of the Bush tax cuts deal is spreading through America like wildfire. There is a petition out there which everyone opposed to taxcuts for millionaires and billionaires can sign: Petition in support of the rebels here.
Till now twenty one Democratic members of the House have already signed a letter, first circulated by Democratic Representative Peter Welch, stating opposition to the extending of the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest 2% of Americans. It is expected that also some real conservatives and new Tea Party members will stand up to the deal Obama made with the Republicans leadership. [read on] (more…)

The priorities of the Obama-administration and of the Republicans can be seen clearly in the new tax cut deal. The priorities of Obama will help 156 million Americans, the priorities of the Republicans (extending the Bush tax cuts for the rich and cutting the estate tax) will help 4,8 million Americans.

Yesterday, the White House agreed with Congressional Republicans on a “framework” for extending the soon-to-expire Bush tax cuts.
[read on] (more…)

Tea Party leader Republican representative Michele Bachmann told Fox News radio host Sean Hannity yesterday that Republicans may scuttle the tax deal if the extension of the Bush tax cuts is tied to helping unemployed Americans. Bachmann called jobless aid ‘massive spending’ and said ‘tying’ the tax cuts ‘to massive spending is something that would be very difficult for members to swallow’.

Het gaat weer wat beter met de trots van Nederland: de aardappel. Zou de politieke invloed van Geert Wilders nu al merkbaar zijn? Nadat jarenlang het areaal verbouwde aardappels afnam, steeg het in 2010 met 3.000 hectare. Cijfers over de produktie van couscous (tarwe) zijn niet bekend gemaakt. Het wachten is waarschijnlijk op WikiLeaks.

Anbaufläche für Kartoffeln in den Niederlanden

Fruchtportal - In 2010 wurden Kartoffeln in den Niederlanden auf 158.000 ha angebaut. Das waren fast 3.000 ha mehr als 2009. Das ergibt sich aus den vorläufigen Zahlen der landwirtschaftlichen Erhebung 2010.
In den vergangenen zehn Jahren hat vor allem der Anbau von Konsumkartoffeln abgenommen. Die Abnahme erfolgte insbesondere in dem Zeitraum 2000-2005. Die Kartoffelanbaufläche in den Niederlanden besteht zu knapp unter der Hälfte aus Konsumkartoffeln, ein Viertel aus Saatkartoffeln und rund 30% aus Stärkekartoffeln.

Dat lijkt me een goed plan. Een paar landen echt helpen en niet een heleboel een beetje. Het Nederlandse bedrijfsleven zal er overigens niet blij mee zijn want dat profiteert net zoveel van ontwikkelingshulp als de arme landen.
Verder moet Nederland bepalen waaraan het geld wordt besteed. Anders is het goeiendag. En tenslotte moet er een strakke controle komen op de bestedingen. Grote corruptie: ook goeiendag. Welke religie de bewoners van het land hebben, moet daarbij geen rol spelen. Wel of er een bepaalde mate van democratie is en of er uberhaupt controle mogelijk is.

Deputy foreign minister Knapen said, during a parliamentary debate on Monday, he woud like to reduce the number of development aid partner countries from 36 to 10. He believes a smaller group of partner countries would stimulate better choices, greater development of expertise and a better division of tasks.
He did not intend to follow the advice of Geert Wilders (PVV) who suggested to cut aid to Islamic countries such as Sudan, Yemen and Pakistan. The PVV also called to stop development aid to Suriname now that Desi Bouterse, sentenced by a Dutch court for drugs trafficking, has become president.

by frederick deligne, nice-matin, france

WikiLeaks is nog nooit van iets beschuldigd.
WikiLeaks-oprichter Julian Assange wel, van verkrachting en sexuele intimidatie in Zweden. Pas na de publicatie van de geheime documenten op zijn site WikiLeaks overigens.
Volgens Glenn Greenwald zal het heel moeilijk zijn om Julian Assange voor WikiLeaks te veroordelen. Misschien daarom dat hij zich vrijwillig gaat melden bij de politie in Groot-Brittannië om vragen te beantwoorden over de beschuldigingen van verkrachting. Assange zou zich ophouden in het Venrenigd Koninkrijk. Het eerste internationale opsporingsbevel van Interpol bevatte volgens de Britse politie te weinig informatie om in actie te komen tegen Assange. Vandaar dat Stockholm met een nieuw bevel kwam. Verder is vandaag bekend geworden dat de Zwitserse bankrekening van Assange is geblokkeerd.

Those wishing to donate to WikiLeaks can still do so here, via Options 2 (online credit card) or 3 (wire to bank in Iceland).

The lawless Wild West attacks WikiLeaks

WikiLeaks has never been charged with a crime, let alone indicted for one or convicted of one. A consensus of legal experts agree that prosecuting the organization or Julian Assange for any of its leaks would be difficult in the extreme. Despite those facts, look at just some of the punishment that has been doled out to them and what has been threatened:
[read on] (more…)

Nobelprize winning American economist Paul Krugman thinks they should in his NYTimes column:

Democrats have tried to push a compromise: let tax cuts for the wealthy expire, but extend tax cuts for the middle class. Republicans, however, are having none of it. They have been filibustering Democratic attempts to separate tax cuts that mainly benefit a tiny group of wealthy Americans from those that mainly help the middle class. It’s all or nothing, they say: all the Bush tax cuts must be extended. What should Democrats do?

The answer is that they should just say no. If G.O.P. intransigence means that taxes rise at the end of this month, so be it.

There’s a deal. People who lost their job because of the Great Recession thanks to President Bush policies and the greed of the wealthiest Americans, can keep their unemployment benefits. Great!
And the richest two percent op America can keep the taxcuts, introduced by George Bush, for another two years.
Quite a few Democrats already said that they won’t vote for this proposal.
DailyKos lines it up for you. Is it a good deal or is it just another example of the Obama adminstration being bullied into submission by rightwing Republicans who really don’t want President Obama to succeed?

taxcuts proposed by democrats and bush taxcuts

DailyKos - White House and Republican leaders appear close to a deal on extending all of the Bush tax cuts. In the deal, Democrats get an extension of unemployment benefits and various, economically stimulative tax cuts they have desired. The Huffington Post has more details.
As a deal looms, there is increasing chatter among progressives about scuttling any deal at all, allowing all of the tax cuts to expire, and kicking the fight into next year. Paul Krugman made the case in his column this morning, focusing on how keeping the tax cuts could threaten Social Security and Medicare, not to mention signal that Republicans can walk all over Democrats for the next two years. There is also a brewing rebellion to any deal among House liberals, who seemingly agree with Krugman.
[read on] (more…)

Kijk eens. Er komt niet alleen maar rottigheid uit de Verenigde Staten van Amerika…
Hebt u dat ook die kleine irritaties in het leven?
Een warenhuis waar je om een verdieping hoger te komen via de roltrap steeds de halve zaak door moet?
Dat je tegenwoordig honderd schroeven moet kopen als je er eentje nodig bent?
Dat de verschillende tv-omroepen gezamenlijk afspreken op welk tijdstip reclame wordt uitgezonden zodat wegzappen geen zin heeft?
En op nummer een! Reclame op tv die een stuk harder staat dan het normale programma zodat je bijkans de kamer uit wordt geblazen?

The American House of Representatives yesterday passed a bill forbidding television advertisers from jacking up the volume to gain viewers’ attention. The sponsor of the bill, Rep. Anna G. Eshoo (D-CA), said she introduced the measure after watching television with her parents, and such commercials “blew us out of the house.”

by paresh nath, the khaleej times, uae

The Spider-Man is finally captured. Surprise: he’s German.
Sven Koppler (37) sold tarantulas, black widows, brown recluse spiders tied up and packaged in small plastic tubes all over the world.

A German man who authorities said netted more than $300,000 by smuggling hundreds of tarantulas into the United States through the mail was expected to appear in court Friday in Los Angeles to face federal charges.
Officials said the web of “Operation Spiderman” caught Sven Koppler, 37, Thursday, shortly after he arrived in Los Angeles to meet with associates in the alleged scheme that included some endangered species of tarantula.
Koppler is charged with illegally importing wildlife into the United States, an offense that carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine. [read on] (more…)

President Reagan is responsible for the largest taxcut America has ever seen. Reagan cut the taxes for richest Americans from 70 pct to 50 percent. And it’s still the way to go for the Republican Party.

Rachel Maddow (MSNBC) dismantles the Republican talking points that Ronald Reagan’s trickle-down economics worked. She makes clear that Republicans who keep coming on the air claiming that tax cuts for the rich benefit the job creators are full of shit.
See video [read on] (more…)

by joep bertrams, the netherlands

The Obama administration really wants to do something about the deficit. So did they announce cuts in ‘defense’ spending, higher taxes taxes for the rich? No, they announced a pay freeze for federal workers. It made Nobelprice winner for economy Paul Krugman angry. America’s long-run deficit problem has nothing at all to do with overpaid federal workers. Firstly because they are not overpaid. And secondly, it doesn’t really help. It’s a token gesture for conservatives.

After the Democratic “shellacking” in the midterm elections, everyone wondered how President Obama would respond. Would he show what he was made of? Would he stand firm for the values he believes in, even in the face of political adversity?
On Monday, we got the answer: he announced a pay freeze for federal workers. This was an announcement that had it all. It was transparently cynical; it was trivial in scale, but misguided in direction; and by making the announcement, Mr. Obama effectively conceded the policy argument to the very people who are seeking — successfully, it seems — to destroy him.
So I guess we are, in fact, seeing what Mr. Obama is made of. (Paul Krugman, NYTimes)