A REAL SNAKE CHARMER

This is not for the snake lovers out there. Still, it's obvious this guy's been doing this for a while ...

- Mark 

READING FOR THE WEEKEND (3-14-15)

Cal State is tightening admissions criteria to control demand (Los Angeles Times).

Best state for businesss? Yes, it's California (Bloombert).

At Citigroup, it's the same as it ever was (Shah Gilani / Money Morning).

Simpsons co-creator, Cheers writer, dies at age 59 after giving most of his fortune to charity (The Guardian).


EUROPE
What Europe's hopeful left can learn from Latin America (The Conversation).

Eastern Europe's auto powerhouse (Ozy).

French: Lingua Franca (Ozy).


LOW WAGES AREN'T AN ACCIDENT
Walmart's wages are so low that you - i.e. the American taxpayer - are actually paying Walmart's employees through the welfare programs they have to subscribe to in order to survive (Mic).

IMF: Weaker unions = higher CEO pay (Inequality / IMF).

According to Forbes, $2.1 trillion is just about what U.S. corporations have stashed abroad (Forbes.)


BANKING TROUBLES
The biggest bank fines, to date (Reuters).

BNP joins growing list of foreign banks paying heft fines in U.S. (Market Watch).

It's not often that I agree with the Heritage Foundation, but their report on "Quantitative Easing, The Fed's Balance Sheet, and Central Bank Insolvency" is spot on (Heritage Foundation).


OIL / FRACKING NEWS 
Fracking's dark side gets darker (ECO Watch).

Since city of Denton banned fracking, Texas GOP moves to preempt local control (Truth Out).

Texas oil queen ... of the Texas Railroad Commission (Ozy).

California order 12 oil-field wells shut to protect groundwater (LA Times).

Hundred of illicit oil wastewater pits found in Kern County (LA Times).


ISSUES OF RACE IN AMERICA
Obama givers another greatest speech ever, this time in Selma (Naked Capitalism).

Colin Powell still sees 'dark vein' of intolerance in GOP (ABC News).

Beyond reform: Essays call for a sweeping reassessment of incarceration (Truth Out).

Yes, black America fears the police. Here's why (Pro Publica).

Madison police chief says officer shooting of unarmed man has similarities to Ferguson (The Guardian).


THE AMERICAN RIGHT
Reagan adviser to GOP: 'They are really rather stupid and not well read' (Daily Kos).

From white sheets to spread sheets ... Jim Crow becomes Dr. James Crow (Nation of Change)

How to become a conservative in four embarrassing steps (Nation of Change).

Republican presidential hopefuls scramble to support seditious Iran letter (Politics USA).


LIVING IN DENIAL
Florida officials ban term 'climate change' (Nation of Change).

Mayor of Ferguson rejects DOJ report, says there's 'no proof' city has a race problem (Nation of Change).

Charter school hailed by Jeb Bush ended in ruin ... but looks good on his presidential resume (NY Times).


MISCELLANEOUS
Senator expected to face federal corruption charges (Nation of Change).

Maine efforts to tax non-profits raises eyebrows across the U.S. (Seattle PI).

Holder says he's prepared to 'dismantle' Ferguson police department if necessary (Washington Post).

3 connections between climate change and extreme weather (ECO Watch).

- Mark 

THE ENVIRONMENT .... LET'S CALL IT THE "CLIMATE BANK"

Quoted in 2009 from Hugo Chavez, the former president of Venezuela.

- Mark

Correction: I've corrected the attribution here to Venezuela's Hugo Chavez. Thanks to Ilya for catching the error. 

THE 3 BIGGEST MYTHS PUSHED BY CONSERVATIVES ... ROBERT REICH

Salon has a brief article presented by former Labor Secretary Robert Reich. He has several ideas on issues that we need to re-frame if we want to move forward as a nation.

1. The “job creators” are CEOs, corporations, and the rich, whose taxes must be low in order to induce them to create more jobs. Rubbish. The real job creators are the vast middle class and the poor, whose spending induces businesses to create jobs. Which is why raising the minimum wage, extending overtime protection, enlarging the Earned Income Tax Credit, and reducing middle-class taxes are all necessary. 

2. The critical choice is between the “free market” or “government.” Baloney. The free market doesn’t exist in nature. It’s created and enforced by government. And all the ongoing decisions about how it’s organized – what gets patent protection and for how long (the human genome?), who can declare bankruptcy (corporations? homeowners? student debtors?), what contracts are fraudulent (insider trading?) or coercive (predatory loans? mandatory arbitration?), and how much market power is excessive (Comcast and Time Warner?) – depend on government. 

3. We should worry most about the size of government. Wrong. We should worry about who government is for. When big money from giant corporations and Wall Street inundate our politics, all decisions relating to #1 and #2 above become rigged against average working Americans.

You can watch Robert Reich talk about these issues here ...

- Mark 

YOU DECIDE ... IS THIS WHAT'S WRONG WITH AMERICA?

- Mark

Hat tip to Tom for the meme.

THE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY ... THEN AND NOW

I'm working on a few projects that I need to get out of the way, and I came across this map of California's San Joaquin Valley.

The map was put together by California State University, Stanislaus researchers, and depicts the transformation of the San Joaquin Valley from a water, wetland, and saltbush area to a region that is now dominated by irrigated farm land and creeping urban sprawl.

Where you could once navigate a small boat in the waters from Bakersfield to the Fresno area (including through Tulare Lake) after heavy Sierra Nevada snow and rainy seasons, things changed drastically by the end of the 19th century. Today the region is threatened by a drought that many believe will cripple agriculture production over the next five years if there is no change in current weather patterns.

And you definitely can't navigate a boat from Bakersfield to the Fresno area, even after heavy snow years in the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

- Mark

IRANS FOREIGN MINISTER BECOMES THE ADULT IN THE ROOM ... AS GOP TURNS IKE'S WARNING INTO PROPHECY

Via Crooks & Liars we get the Iranian Foreign Minister's response to the 47 warmongering Senate Republicans who think they understand international law and the U.S. Constitution better than a sitting U.S. President. Here's what Foreign Minister Javad Zarif had to say about the Senate Republicans latest attempt to undermine ongoing negotiations between the President of the United States and another government.

Asked about the open letter of 47 US Senators to Iranian leaders, the Iranian Foreign Minister, Dr. Javad Zarif, responded that "in our view, this letter has no legal value and is mostly a propaganda ploy.  It is very interesting that while negotiations are still in progress and while no agreement has been reached, some political pressure groups are so afraid even of the prospect of an agreement that they resort to unconventional methods, unprecedented in diplomatic history.  This indicates that like Netanyahu, who considers peace as an existential threat, some are opposed to any agreement, regardless of its content. 

Zarif expressed astonishment that some members of US Congress find it appropriate to write to leaders of another country against their own President and administration. He pointed out that from reading the open letter, it seems that the authors not only do not understand international law, but are not fully cognizant of the nuances of their own Constitution when it comes to presidential powers in the conduct of foreign policy.

Foreign Minister Zarif added that "I should bring one important point to the attention of the authors and that is, the world is not the United States, and the conduct of inter-state relations is governed by international law, and not by US domestic law. The authors may not fully understand that in international law, governments represent the entirety of their respective states, are responsible for the conduct of foreign affairs, are required to fulfil the obligations they undertake with other states and may not invoke their internal law as justification for failure to perform their international obligations. 

The Iranian Foreign Minister added that "Change of administration does not in any way relieve the next administration from international obligations undertaken by its predecessor in a possible agreement about Iran`s peaceful nuclear program." He continued "I wish to enlighten the authors that if the next administration revokes any agreement with the stroke of a pen, as they boast, it will have simply committed a blatant violation of international law.

He emphasized that if the current negotiation with P5+1 result in a Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, it will not be a bilateral agreement between Iran and the US, but rather one that will be concluded with the participation of five other countries, including all permanent members of the Security Council, and will also be endorsed by a Security Council resolution.

Zarif expressed the hope that his comments "may enrich the knowledge of the authors to recognize that according to international law, Congress may not modify the terms of the agreement at any time as they claim, and if Congress adopts any measure to impede its implementation, it will have committed a material breach of US obligations.

The Foreign Minister also informed the authors that majority of US international agreements in recent decades are in fact what the signatories describe as "mere executive agreements" and not treaties ratified by the Senate.

He reminded them that "their letter in fact undermines the credibility of thousands of such mere executive agreements that have been or will be entered into by the US with various other governments.

Zarif concluded by stating that "the Islamic Republic of Iran has entered these negotiations in good faith and with the political will to reach an agreement, and it is imperative for our counterparts to prove similar good faith and political will in order to make an agreement possible."

Think about the following: Iran already has the ability to make a nuclear weapon, while the GOP's only suggested option is effectively more conflict, and war in perpetuity. So we need to ask ourselves, why is the GOP so bent on sabotaging President Obama's negotiations with Iran?

Here's a hint. The original sponsor of the open letter - freshman Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR) - is now going to meet with the leading lobbying and professional group that represents military contractors like Northrop Grumman, Boeing, and Booz-Allen-Hamilton, among other firms. Senator Cotton is a big proponent of increased military spending.

Warmongering and torpedoing diplomatic agreements in tense regions like the Middle East serve both their interests.

You be the judge as to whether this stunt is just the GOP's way of ginning up financial support from the defense industry for the next election cycle, or if something else is at work here ...

- Mark 

REPUBLICAN PREDICTIONS IN THE MIDDLE EAST ... OOPS

So, 47 Republican U.S. Senators have signed off on a letter warning Iran against coming to an agreement with President Obama on a nuclear deal. As if bringing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to speak in front of Congress last week wasn't enough of an insult to President Obama. Now the GOP wants to undercut President Obama's constitutional authority to negotiate agreements with other nation-states, as if they are the only ones who understand foreign policy.

It's at times like these that we all benefit from taking a look at the last time the GOP ran the foreign policy show, and how their predictions on the Middle East turned out ...

The reality is that the GOP has been getting the world wrong for the better part of 35 years, and don't have any kind of track record when it comes to domestic policy either.

On a positive note, Iran reacted with a degree of disdain, calling the Republican letter a "propaganda ploy."

So, yeah, the Iranians seem to be more mindful of protocols tied to President Obama's constitutional authority to negotiate on behalf of America than the GOP.

- Mark

PRESIDENT OBAMA'S RECORD OF SUCCESS

- Mark 

BAKERSFIELD TOPS THE LIST AGAIN ... WE'RE #1 WHEN IT COMES TO U.S. CITIES RUNNING OUT OF WATER

From Eco Watch and Natural News we learn that Bakersfield's #1 again. This time we're at the top of the list of U.S. cities running out of water.

And, no, Bakersfield has not imposed any water restrictions on its citizens.

Click here for the latest from the U.S. Drought Monitor.

- Mark