The Israeli prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, has encountered severe turbulence after it emerged that he ordered a double bed to be installed on a plane that carried him and his deeply unpopular wife, Sara, to Baroness Thatcher's funeral in London last month – at a cost of $127,000 (£83,000).
The revelation comes amid growing resentment over an austerity budget proposed by the finance minister Yair Lapid, a former TV personality who won popular support in January's election by promising to champion Israel's financially squeezed middle class. Up to 15,000 people demonstrated in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and other cities on Saturday night in an echo of the massive social justice protests that swept the country two years ago.
Netanyahu flies into turbulence over $127,000 bed on plane
8 companies that most owe workers a raise
While CEOs of companies with the strongest financial results are usually paid hundreds of millions of dollars, rank-and-file employees at these corporations are often less fortunate. Only a small number of the best performing companies give raises or bonuses to most employees that are tied to earnings. Why shouldn't these companies spread the wealth?
Several of the American most successful companies have large numbers of low-paid employees. These people work in retail stores and call centers or clean hotel rooms. Some do not make a great deal more than the minimum wage.
Social Justice Protests in Israel Make a Comeback as 10,000 Take to the Streets of Tel Aviv
Over 10,000 Israelis took to the streets of Tel Aviv this evening to protest new austerity measures in the country’s budget, echoing (and perhaps renewing) Israel’s historic social justice protests from two years ago.
Many activists who played a central role in those protests were involved in this evening’s renewed call for Israelis to march in the streets against Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, Finance Minister Yair Lapid and their budget, which proposes cuts in social welfare programs and raised taxes on lower- and middle-income workers.
Man Convicted Of Bribing Alabama Governor, Blames Karl Rove's 'Political Persecution'
Richard Scrushy provides his first on-camera interview since serving six years in prison for allegedly bribing Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman. Scrushy told HuffPost Live why believes Siegelman is innocent and the victim of a political prosecution motivated by Karl Rove.
Ex-Alabama Governor Don Siegelman's daughter, Dana Siegelman and former Alabama Congressman, Parker Griffith joined HuffPost Live in December 2012 to discuss the political conflicts of interest and judicial misconduct that they claim played a role in the former governor's conviction on bribery and mail fraud charges.
Global carbon dioxide in atmosphere passes milestone level
For the first time in human history, the concentration of climate-warming carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has passed the milestone level of 400 parts per million (ppm). The last time so much greenhouse gas was in the air was several million years ago, when the Arctic was ice-free, savannah spread across the Sahara desert and sea level was up to 40 metres higher than today.
These conditions are expected to return in time, with devastating consequences for civilisation, unless emissions of CO2 from the burning of coal, gas and oil are rapidly curtailed. But despite increasingly severe warnings from scientists and a major economic recession, global emissions have continued to soar unchecked.
Guatemala: Rios Montt Convicted of Genocide
The guilty verdict against Efraín Ríos Montt, former leader of Guatemala, for genocide and crimes against humanity is an unprecedented step toward establishing accountability for atrocities during the country’s brutal civil war, Human Rights Watch said today.
“The conviction of Rios Montt sends a powerful message to Guatemala and the world that nobody, not even a former head of state, is above the law when it comes to committing genocide,” said José Miguel Vivanco, Americas director at Human Rights Watch. “Without the persistence and bravery of each participant in this effort – the victims, prosecutors, judges, and civil society organizations – this landmark decision would have been inconceivable.”
'We want out of here': Texas Landowners blame ailments on fracking fumes
Like beacons, the flares in Karnes County draw attention to one of the biggest and most profitable oil and gas finds in the world. Under the light belching from the towers, Mike Cerny takes a puff of medicine in what is now an empty inhaler.
Cerny and his wife say the inhalers and medicines the family takes now eclipse the royalties their property earns from fracking. “When you see your son with up to three nosebleeds a day, something’s wrong with this picture,” Myra Cerny said.
Prairie2: Bits, pieces and body parts
New unemployment claims fell again last week setting another new record since the Bush economic collapse. The Federal Budget deficit continues to fall, not so much from spending cuts but from increased revenue as the economy continues to improve despite the efforts of Republicans.
Senator Elizabeth Warren has introduced a bill that would require Federally backed student loans to be issued at the same rate that the Federal Reserve lends money to billionaire owned banks. Good luck with that.
Study: More fracking health concerns than previously thought
The academic, scientific and public health authorities often move with agonizing slowness where industrial threats to public health are concerned. One rabid bat will get a much swifter, more complete, expensive and dramatic response from public health authorities, typically, compared to large-scale threats to public health emerging from industry.
In this context, the fact that a physician researcher can get any funding at all to study health concerns related to shale gas drilling in Pennsylvania, and the fact that such a study is picked up by the press, is cause for celebration.
Page 351 of 1154
