Category: Money, Class, and Poverty,

This isn’t just a photo of Ivanka Trump. It’s a middle finger to democracy.

On By peanutgallerynhIn Domestic Affairs,, Money, Class, and Poverty,Leave a comment

Instead of liquidating his assets and placing them in a Qualified Diversified Trust, as President Bush did, or investing in index funds and government bonds, as President Obama did, Trump has done nothing.

He’s waved away concerns about conflicts-of-interest, saying that he would just hand over control of his business interests to his children.

…Immediately after Trump’s election, he named three of his adult children — Ivanka, Eric, and Donald Jr. — to his transition team. This means the same people running the Trump Organization will also be choosing the top officials in the Trump administration.

…In his first meeting with an head of state, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Trump invited his daughter Ivanka — who will likely serve as acting CEO of his companies — to participate.

…Nepotism laws prohibit Ivanka from taking a formal role in the White House. But Trump is choosing to send a clear signal to Japan and the world — when you deal with Ivanka, you are dealing with someone who has my ear as president.

This isn’t just a photo of Ivanka Trump. It’s a middle finger to democracy.

hmmm

Bail on NM ballot: Should money determine freedom?

On By peanutgallerynhIn American Injustice System,, Money, Class, and Poverty,Leave a comment

By the time his case was dismissed last month for lack of evidence, Chudzinski was living in Albuquerque homeless shelters and eating meals at free kitchens. His motorhome with most of his possessions trapped inside sat on an impound lot, accruing fees he also couldn’t afford.

…The details of Chudzinski’s story might seem extreme, but time spent in jail due to financial hardship as a person’s case wends through the courts is hardly rare in New Mexico. Hundreds of people with low bonds like Chudzinksi’s sat in the Bernalillo County jail for three days or more during July, August and September, according to reports compiled for Bernalillo County and provided to New Mexico In Depth and Reveal from the Center for Investigative Reporting.

…The nation’s justice system rests on the premise that people are innocent until proven guilty. Yet commercial bail programs undermine that promise: those with money may go free no matter how dangerous they are while non-violent, low-income people often sit behind bars waiting for their trials.

…The amendment on the New Mexico ballot would bar judges from holding non-dangerous people in jail solely because they can’t pay their way out. It also would allow them to deny bail to defendants who are proven dangerous.

…Foster cites two concerns with the cash bail system. First, poor people are treated differently from people with access to money who have similar criminal histories and are charged with similar crimes, she says. That’s a violation of the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment.

“We (also) worry that people who are held pre-trial may feel compelled to plead guilty to an offense for which they may not be guilty just to get out of jail,” she says.

…Chudzinski didn’t have the cash to claim his motorhome when he was released from jail in July. Daily impound fees reached $1,400 while he sat behind bars. When he left jail, he had nowhere to live.

He faces a potential forfeiture proceeding on the motorhome because he can’t pay the impound fees. It is unclear what his options are.

“I had a lot of personal pictures and just financial records from businesses that I owned, personal financial records, things that I wanted: tools that I’ve had for 40 years,” he says. “Just lots and lots of personal things that are now gone. And I doubt that I will ever see them again.”

They also point to studies that show low-level defendants with minimal criminal histories are more likely to lose jobs, housing and custody of their children after two or three days in jail. And low-level defendants are more likely to commit new crimes if they are jailed for longer than 24 hours, the studies show.

Bail on NM ballot: Should money determine freedom?

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Zero mention that it is the court/police imposed impound fees that made this man homeless after the charges were dropped. Not a single reference to this in the entire article. It seems like an obvious part of the problem. The man effectively lost his home and all his worldly possessions to fees imposed upon him because the system assumed he was not innocent. Fees that are not dropped upon his release without charges let alone conviction.

Calais ‘Jungle’ camp to be cleared out by end of day 

On By peanutgallerynhIn Europe,, Middle East,, Money, Class, and Poverty,Leave a comment

The authorities have said that nothing will be left of the notorious Jungle, home to around 6,000 migrants until a week ago, by Monday evening.

Calais ‘Jungle’ camp to be cleared out by end of day – The Local

They came with nothing, to the promise of safety and welcome.

Instead they were greeted by fear, hostility, and indifference.

The little they built for themselves taken and destroyed and still they are offered no help, no relief, nowhere to go.

Humanity is a disgusting cesspool and politicians who refuse to help Satan’s playthings.

Behind Temple attacks, rage often comes with exclusion

On By peanutgallerynhIn Local Interest,, Money, Class, and Poverty,, Race,, Schools,Leave a comment

…For more than a decade, on whip-thin streets with names like Sydenham and Colorado, longtime community residents and their children watched white men from other places come in to build new rental housing. That same community sought jobs on those worksites, but contractors who required union labor and unions that were largely white and male excluded community workers. Then community members were forced to watch as Temple students were welcomed into that same new housing by landlords who used various methods to exclude community residents from renting them.

…”From the point of view of the longtime residents that were still there, there were some pluses and minuses: improved amenities, sometimes the university police patrols the area so community residents feel like they have extra security, retail options and grocery stores and stuff like that. But they also feel that there’s noise; the students don’t respect them, don’t understand them, don’t respect the neighborhood. Some longtime residents feel they’re not as comfortable in the neighborhood as they were.”

And therein lies the problem.

In a city where poverty is concentrated outside the universities, we can’t truly expect the poor to watch jobs and wealth and excess pass them by without any reaction at all.

…Temple University, my alma mater, has reached out to the community with scholarships for local youth, according to spokesman Ray Betzner. They’ve put reading programs in place, tutored high schoolers and even talked to their own students about respecting longtime community residents. But Temple would be wise to reach out into the community with an eye toward creating stronger relationships and greater opportunities for the young people who’ve been pushed aside by a generation of exclusionary development.

Behind Temple attacks, rage often comes with exclusion

hmm

Defense Secretary Ash Carter asks Pentagon to suspend Guard bonus collections – CBS News

On By peanutgallerynhIn Military,, Money, Class, and Poverty,Leave a comment

Efforts to collect the erroneous re-enlistment bonus payments to thousands of soldiers stopped due to “unreasonable burdens on service members”

: Defense Secretary Ash Carter asks Pentagon to suspend Guard bonus collections – CBS News

Not nearly enough. This is total bullshit. All debts of these kinds should 100% forgiven. Any responsibility for paying it back should fall squarely and solely on the backs of those who gave out the money in the first place.

Shaking down veterans… Disgusting and immoral!

Natasha Annie Tonthola: My fight against Malawi’s ‘hyenas’

On By peanutgallerynhIn Africa,, Chick Stuff,, Money, Class, and Poverty,Leave a comment

I started a community organisation working on a variety of issues, from keeping girls in school by fighting early marriage, educating people about rituals and traditions – including hyenas – which put girls at risk, and teaching about HIV/Aids, unwanted pregnancies and reproductive health.

All the while, something was bubbling up inside me, and I knew that what had happened to me in my life was happening to other girls and women.

My community organisation continued to educate people but it was hard, particularly when we were challenging traditions such as the use of hyenas [the male in a sexual initiation ceremony] and wife inheritance.

…But some elders and religious leaders listened, and some have stopped the practice in their villages.

In my community work I soon learned more about the barriers for girls in school. If families are going through a financial rough patch, they’re more likely to pay fees for boys rather than for girls. If girls drop out of school, the family is eager to marry them off rather than have them sit around the house all day. And many girls miss class because they can’t afford sanitary towels.

To try to solve this problem, one of the main things my organisation is doing is distributing eco-friendly reusable washable sanitary pads and pants. They come as part of a kit including pants with clips so that they stay in place and a waterproof bag, in case girls need to change them in school. They are biodegradable, but cost effective and durable – they last for five years.

Natasha Annie Tonthola: My fight against Malawi’s ‘hyenas’ – BBC News

 

More about her programs:
Free Range Chick Support Dignity Project
Dignity Project

10,000 California veterans ordered to pay back enlistment bonuses – NY Daily News

On By peanutgallerynhIn Local Interest,, Military,, Money, Class, and Poverty,Leave a comment

Nearly 10,000 California veterans must pay back hefty reenlistment bonuses they earned a decade ago when they signed up to fight in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Pentagon has ordered.   

Many of the California National Guard soldiers received more than $15,000 to reenlist in the mid-2000s, when the country was struggling to fill the force as two overseas wars raged on, the Los Angeles Times reported.

But Pentagon investigations determined the California Guard handed out bonuses too liberally, giving them to many soldiers who didn’t qualify, as state officials faced difficulties meeting enlistment quotas.

And instead of forgiving the overpaid soldier, many of whom served multiple tours of duties overseas in exchange for the funds, the California Guard has asked for the cash back.

10,000 California veterans ordered to pay back enlistment bonuses – NY Daily News

Grrrrrrrrrrrrr

Thousands of California soldiers forced to repay enlistment bonuses a decade after going to war 

On By peanutgallerynhIn Military,, Money, Class, and Poverty,Leave a comment

Nearly 10,000 soldiers, many of whom served multiple combat tours, have been ordered to repay large enlistment bonuses — and slapped with interest charges, wage garnishments and tax liens if they refuse — after audits revealed widespread overpayments by the California Guard at the height of the wars last decade.

Thousands of California soldiers forced to repay enlistment bonuses a decade after going to war – LA Times

Seriously?!

6 years after Deepwater Horizon oil spill, thousands of people are still sick 

On By peanutgallerynhIn Environment,, Gulf Coast Region,, Money, Class, and Poverty,Leave a comment

The oil spill, the worst in maritime history, dumped 4.2 million barrels of oil, and officials released 1.8 million gallons of Corexit, a chemical dispersant used to break up the oil, into the Gulf before the well was sealed. Six years later, controversy still rages about the wisdom of carpet-bombing the Gulf with these chemicals, and newly released documents reveal that government scientists expressed concern at the time about the health consequences of mixing such large quantities of dispersants with the millions of barrels of sweet crude. Occupational health experts now believe it created a toxic mix that sickened thousands of locals — including some of the 47,000 people that worked in some capacity on BP’s cleanup operation — crippling them with chemically induced illnesses that doctors are unable to treat.

…“That set off alarms,” recalls Porter, who came to the bleak conclusion that he was being sickened simply by being in the water. He found out later that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration wouldn’t allow its divers in the contaminated waters, according to documents obtained by the Government Accountability Project.

…Combining dispersants with oil unleashes hazardous substances contained in crude, such as heavy metals, benzene, hexane, and toluene, which are known carcinogens that can also cause brain damage. Dispersants like Corexit are a mixture of solvents and surfactants that break down the oil into tiny droplets to make them more easily absorbed into the ground and eaten by microorganisms. But it also makes the toxic parts of the oil small enough to seep through the skin and spread throughout the body.

…Even in May 2010, in the first few weeks of the cleanup, government scientists were already worried about this toxic brew, newly released documents reveal.

…Both the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and BP insist that Corexit itself is as safe as dishwashing liquid; the ingredients in the dispersants are also found in household cleaners, hand lotion, and cosmetics. But the safety manual put out by Nalco, the maker of Corexit, lists some of these chemicals’ health effects: chemical pneumonia, eye irritations, dermatitis, nausea, and internal bleeding. One type of Corexit even contains butoxyethanol, which has been linked to a host of hazards, including respiratory ills, headaches, infertility in women, and miscarriages.
6 years after Deepwater Horizon oil spill, thousands of people are still sick | Grist

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