Rule of Thieves™

Kleptocracy

[ruleofthieves]

The Trump administration’s foreign policy toward Venezuela includes supporting a boycott of Sunday’s elections in Venezuela, hinting at the possibility of a coup, and enacting harmful economic sanctions, with consequences for democracy in the country beset by poverty and unrest.

[ruleofthieves]

U.S. house prices to rise at twice the speed of inflation and pay:...

An acute shortage of affordable homes in the United States will continue over the coming year, according to a majority of property market analysts polled by Reuters, driving prices up faster than inflation and wage growth.

[ruleofthieves]

The Empire’s Media and the Quest for Veto Authority in the Americas

With rare exceptions, corporate media have overlooked US assaults on democracy in Latin America, or defended them with misinformation.

[ruleofthieves]

'Jaw-Dropping' Report Reveals Rampant Wage Theft Among Top US Corporations

"Wage theft goes far beyond sweatshops, fast-food outlets, and retailers. It is built into the business model of a substantial portion of corporate America."

Grand Theft Paycheck: The Large Corporations Shortchanging Their Workers' Wages (pdf), produced by Good Jobs First and the Jobs With Justice Education Fund, found that hundreds of firms have collectively paid billions of dollars in wage theft penalties since 2000.

[ruleofthieves]

500 years of America summed up in 1 photograph. https://twitter.com/ryanvizzions/status/1003726026730590210/photo/1

[ruleofthieves]

Wage theft—employers’ failure to pay workers money they are legally entitled to—affects far more people than more well-known and feared forms of theft such as bank robberies, convenience store robberies, street and highway robberies, and gas station robberies. Employers steal billions of dollars from their employees each year by working them off the clock, by failing…

Reminder: In 2012 alone the total amount stolen in robberies of all kinds in the US––bank, residential, gas station, street––was only 36% of that taken by corporate wage theft ($340M vs $933M). And that ONLY includes wage theft settled in court. Doesn't include that which we don't know about.

[ruleofthieves]

Norway Is No. 1 in Happiness. The U.S., Sadly, Is No. 14.

Nordic countries top the rankings in the latest World Happiness Report, which explores who’s happiest and why.

*Real* Socialist countries are consistently ranked in the top 5, while Capitalist countries rank the lowest. This is reality. This is not communist/socialist propaganda.

[ruleofthieves]

"The United States is a land of stark contrasts. It is one of the world’s wealthiest societies, a global leader in many areas, and a land of unsurpassed technological and other forms of innovation. Its corporations are global trendsetters, its civil society is vibrant and sophisticated and its higher education system leads the world. But its immense wealth and expertise stand in shocking contrast with the conditions in which vast numbers of its citizens live. About 40 million live in poverty, 18.5 million in extreme poverty, and 5.3 million live in Third World conditions of absolute poverty.4 It has the highest youth poverty rate in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), and the highest infant mortality rates among comparable OECD States."

Capitalists self-congratulate: “economic success” because unemployment is low. But US jobs’ pay, benefits, security, etc. declined for years. Inequality and deep poverty rose (see UN report). Shame would be more honest.

[ruleofthieves]

The Oligarchy Actively Hates Poor People

Per UN, among rich countries the US has the single highest rates of: 

 - Income inequality 

- Child poverty 

- Infant mortality 

- Obesity 

- Citizens living "shorter and sicker lives" 

- Incarceration 

 And this data is from BEFORE Trump

https://t.co/HPQK1DSBsP

Much of the coverage of this UN report has been through the prism of, "Trump is good vs. Trump is bad," since that's all we can talk about now. But while the UN does think Trump will make life for the poor much worse, the reality is America's abysmal safety net predates him.

[ruleofthieves]

The Bush Years

“Thread In no particular order, but the Bush years https://t.co/5ENrrXropR”

[ruleofthieves]

The Clinton Years

“Seems like I need to do a thread on the Clinton Years. This extreme shilling and apologia is getting on my nerves. Btw: Those people in the back are prisoners. This is Stone Mountain (Mt Rushmore for the confederacy)”

[ruleofthieves]

The Obama Years

3 days after his inauguration, he launches his first drone strikes. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jan/23/drone-strike-victim-barack-obama

Even before he is inaugurated, he has Citibank privately vet his cabinet. https://wikileaks.org/podesta-emails/emailid/32870 

Bailing out Wall Street but not the people whose homes were foreclosed upon. https://www.salon.com/2009/03/20/reich_3/

Expanded the "state secrets" doctrine. https://www.colorlines.com/articles/obamas-unprecedented-use-state-secrets-defend-religious-profiling

Maintained and continued Bush's rendition policy. https://www.salon.com/2009/02/09/state_secrets/

Escalates the war in Afghanistan. https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=120991044

Legitimized the coup in Honduras. https://www.commondreams.org/views/2016/03/15/us-role-honduras-coup-and-subsequent-violence

Lobbied to LOWER the minimum wage in Haiti to 30 cents an hour. https://www.thenation.com/article/wikileaks-haiti-let-them-live-3-day/

Started droning in Pakistan. https://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/04/world/asia/04drones.html?smid=tw-share

Coup in Ukraine (WATCH THE VIDEO WHERE HE ADMITS IT)  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8_h4wNRb44

Makes Bush's tax cut permanent. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/12/16/AR2010121606200.html

Thought police brutality was "police acting stupidly." https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/barackobama/5902222/Cambridge-police-demand-apology-from-Barack-Obama-over-stupid-comments.html

Granted final immunity to torturers. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/aug/31/obama-justice-department-immunity-bush-cia-torturer

Ended Habeus Corpus. https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/dear-americans-this-law-makes-it-possible-to-arrest_us_57c9b648e4b06c750dd9cd6f

Robert Gibbs says left-wing critics of Obama 'ought to be drug tested.' https://amp.theguardian.com/world/richard-adams-blog/2010/aug/10/robert-gibbs-crazy-liberal-critics-obama?__twitter_impression=true

NSA spying. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/jun/09/edward-snowden-nsa-whistleblower-surveillance

Unprecedented crackdown on whistle blowers. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/mar/16/whistleblowers-double-standard-obama-david-petraeus-chelsea-manning

Eric Holder determined that some banks are "Too Big to Jail." https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/06/eric-holder-banks-too-big_n_2821741.html

The really bizarre gun-smuggling scheme. http://www.latimes.com/nation/atf-fast-furious-sg-storygallery.html?page=2

Obama signed the Executive Order banning Syrian and Iranian immigrants. https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2012/04/23/executive-order-blocking-property-and-suspending-entry-united-states-cer

Obama repeatedly reauthorized militarizing the police. https://www.mintpressnews.com/white-house-moves-reauthorize-military-equipment-police/218714/

Deporting children to "send a message" to their parents. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-immigration/u-s-says-deportation-of-honduran-children-a-warning-to-illegal-migrants-idUSKBN0FK29N20140715

Turning Libya from Africa's most prosperous nation, to the ISIS hellhole it is today. https://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/28/us/politics/hillary-clinton-libya.html?mtrref=www.google.com&gwh=F4AB919802C9539BCBFA63C9DF7C7DD6&gwt=pay

Drone strikes in Somalia. https://t.co/QM4D3Oj97Q

Obama: The first Nobel Peace Prize winner in history, to bomb another Nobel peace prize winner. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-afghanistan-attack-msf/obama-apologizes-for-kunduz-attack-msf-demands-independent-probe-idUSKCN0S10SX20151007

Why did he build a drone base in Niger? http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2283346/Obama-builds-new-drone-base-West-Africa-combat-spread-Al-Qaeda.html

Why did he build a drone base in Cameroon? https://www.pri.org/stories/2016-03-01/can-us-new-drone-base-cameroon-help-fight-boko-haram

Why were we building a drone base in Seychelles? https://t.co/Hjq6ruLfT7

Why were we building a drone base in Chad? https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2014/11/you-might-not-know-where-chad-us-military-has-big-plans-it/

Djibouti? https://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/Secret-U.S.-Drone-Base-Rapidly-Expanding-in-Djibouti-20151021-0033.html

The U.S. Just Agreed to Give Israel $38 Billion in Military Aid --- because we’re just THAT charitable. http://fortune.com/2016/09/13/us-israel-military-aid/

Failed to reinstate Glass Steagall. http://thehill.com/policy/finance/248336-white-house-distances-itself-from-glass-steagall-push

Egypt... Syria... https://mobile.nytimes.com/2012/09/25/us/politics/arab-spring-proves-a-harsh-test-for-obamas-diplomatic-skill.html

His drone strike program that killed 90% innocent people. https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/oct/15/90-of-people-killed-by-us-drone-strikes-in-afghani/

Democrats skillfully manipulate the rules so they don't have to pass single payer. https://www.salon.com/2010/02/23/democrats_34/

Obama’s Final Arms-Export Tally More than Doubles Bush’s. https://www.defenseone.com/business/2016/11/obamas-final-arms-export-tally-more-doubles-bushs/133014/

Who was hurt most by Obamacare? http://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/227312-racial-gap-shrinking-under-obamacare-but-black-americans-remain-stuck

Right after Ferguson, was this Bill O Reilly or Obama?  I can't tell. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2BBAfWucaE

The Haliburton loophole continued under Obama. http://www.gaslandthemovie.com/whats-fracking

The DOJ didn't hold the Red Cross accountable after this. https://www.propublica.org/article/how-the-red-cross-raised-half-a-billion-dollars-for-haiti-and-built-6-homes

Cuts to food stamps while bailing out the big banks. http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/obama-signs-food-stamp-cut

Malaysia gets a free pass on Slavery for the TPP. https://theintercept.com/2015/07/27/blocked-trade-pact-failure-trafficking-malaysia-suddenly-gets-passing-grade/

Turning a blind eye to child soldiers and selling the militia weapons. https://theintercept.com/2016/06/09/hillary-clintons-state-department-gave-south-sudans-military-a-pass-for-its-child-soldiers/

Arms deals to Saudis. https://m.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/sep/11/obama-administrations-1-billion-arms-deal-aids-sau/

The crackdown on peaceful protesters from Occupy Wall Street. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/dec/29/fbi-coordinated-crackdown-occupy

The White House did order it. https://www.counterpunch.org/2012/05/14/did-the-white-house-direct-the-police-crackdown-on-occupy/

HAMP mortgage relief program was designed to "foam the runway" for the banks, not help underwater home owners. https://billmoyers.com/2015/02/14/needless-default/

After getting elected on a wave of anger at Wall Street; calling for a meeting of their CEO's and saying "My administration is the only thing between you and the pitchforks" --- How can I help? http://www.newsweek.com/why-cant-obama-bring-wall-street-justice-65009

Refueled Saudi aircraft in mid-air before they double-tapped a funeral. https://www.alternet.org/world/did-us-assist-sanaa-bombing

Cut funding to NASA, while we had plenty of money for bombs. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/cifamerica/2010/apr/15/obama-nasa-space-neil-armstrong

Bombed Syria until they ran out of bombs. https://www.cnn.com/2015/12/04/politics/air-force-20000-bombs-missiles-isis/index.html

Aided Mali government with their fight against the Traureg ethnicity. https://t.co/H2ac2ugWHF

Supported the*extremely* right wing faction in Ukraine. https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2014/12/18/statement-president-ukraine-freedom-support-act

Expanded the Monsanto Doctrine. https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/obama-signs-dark-act-to-invalidate-vermonts-landmark_us_57a644c7e4b0ccb023727b2d

Obama drones a wedding. http://www.newsweek.com/wedding-became-funeral-us-still-silent-one-year-deadly-yemen-drone-strike-291403

Infiltrating Standing Rock activists. https://theintercept.com/2017/12/11/standing-rock-dakota-access-pipeline-fbi-informant-red-fawn-fallis/

Expanded offshore drilling for oil and gas. https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/2010/0331/Obama-seeks-compromise-in-offshore-drilling-plan

Ignored child rape at Abu Ghraib. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/5395830/Abu-Ghraib-abuse-photos-show-rape.html

Obama ignored surge of right-wing extremism that inspired Charleston killer. https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/rania-khalek/expert-obama-ignored-surge-rightwing-extremism-inspired-charleston-killer

Obama administration scraps child labor restrictions for farms. http://thehill.com/business-a-lobbying/224169-obama-administration-scraps-child-labor-rules-for-farms

Justice Department under Obama uses very racist precedent to deny Samoans citizenship (insular cases). https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2016/05/obama-administration-american-samoa-deny-citizenship/

Obama breaks promise to Iowa to break up big agra monopolies. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/10/09/magazine/obama-administration-big-food-policy.html

Obama threatens the British that he will stop sharing intelligence with them if they release evidence of torture that they possess. This forces the high court to reverse itself, because now there are national security concerns. https://www.salon.com/2009/05/12/obama_101/

Why Is the Obama Administration Keeping Toddlers Behind Bars? https://www.thenation.com/article/why-is-the-obama-administration-keeping-toddlers-behind-bars/

Trump loses 1500 children and god knows how many are with human traffickers. Obama: more or less the same. https://mobile.nytimes.com/2016/01/29/us/politics/us-placed-immigrant-children-with-traffickers-report-says.html

Obama Administration Steps Back From Effort to End Federal Death Penalty. https://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/30/us/white-house-balks-on-ending-death-penalty.html

Obama says he'd be seen as moderate Republican in 1980s. http://thehill.com/policy/finance/272957-obama-says-his-economic-policies-so-mainstream-hed-be-seen-as-moderate-republican-in-1980s

Privately, Mr. Obama has described himself, at times, as essentially a Blue Dog Democrat. https://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/01/us/politics/01bai.html?_r=1&ref=politics

Why Obama Must Take Some Blame for Slavery in Libya. https://www.laprogressive.com/libyan-slavery/

Obama oversaw the rapid erosion of the Democratic Party’s political power in state legislatures, congressional districts and governor’s mansions. https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/barack-obama-won-the-white-house-but-democrats-lost-the-country/

All False statements involving Barack Obama. http://www.politifact.com/personalities/barack-obama/statements/byruling/false/

Recruits Perez to sink Ellison as DNC Chair ...  aligning with wishes of largest Dem Party funder Israeli-American billionaire Haim Saban. https://theintercept.com/2017/02/24/key-question-about-dnc-race-why-did-white-house-recruit-perez-to-run-against-ellison/

Another instance where Obama denied clemency for Leonard Peltier an almost 80 year old American Indian activist sentenced to life in prison for a crime he didn't commit in the 1970s. It was found that the FBI fabricated evidence against him. https://www.democracynow.org/2017/1/18/breaking_leonard_peltier_denied_clemency_by

Barack Obama’s Shaky Legacy on Human Rights. http://foreignpolicy.com/2017/01/04/barack-obamas-shaky-legacy-on-human-rights/

“When the CIA actually rehires as a contractor someone who held a power-drill against the skull of a prisoner, you know that change from within this system is impossible.” https://theatln.tc/2LoOU3Q 

[ruleofthieves]

Post-cold war politics shifted to the right, and ordinary people suffered. Mainstream parties need to know what went wrong, writes Guardian economics editor Larry Elliott

[ruleofthieves]

Future timeline, a timeline of humanity's future, based on current trends, long-term environmental changes, advances in technology such as Moore's Law, the latest medical advances, and the evolving geopolitical landscape.

[ruleofthieves]

The End Of Capitalism Is Already Starting–If You Know Where To Look

One of America’s foremost Marxist economists has never felt so optimistic in his 50-year career.

[oncelerfucker69-deactivated2019]

[scp-230]

[ruleofthieves]

They won’t admit it, but it’s in the fine print: federal relief funds are being earmarked for bondholders.