U.S. veterans call on Canada to let war resister Kim Rivera stay

We are writing you on behalf of thousands of military veterans in the United States who believe that Kimberly Rivera and her family should be allowed to remain in Canada.

As a U.S. soldier, Kimberly Rivera spent six months in Iraq where she witnessed the injustice caused by illegal U.S. war. Home on leave in the U.S., she decided that she could not in good conscience continue to be part of the U.S. occupation of Iraq. Kimberly Rivera drove to Canada hoping to find a safe haven for herself, her husband, and their two young children.

The Commons: The Harper government fully embraces satire

The Scene. The Prime Minister wasn’t present for Question Period this afternoon. He had a photo op to attend to. As a result, it was Peter Van Loan’s responsibility to stand and lead the Conservative response this day. History will make notice of this only because it was under Mr. Van Loan’s leadership today that the Harper government fully embraced a satirical approach to political discourse.

After two Conservative MPs had been sent up to mouth this month’s talking point—Rick Dykstra deserves special mention for managing to accuse the NDP leader of both not backing down on cap-and-trade and not sufficiently defending it in the House—Thomas Mulcair stood and ventured his own version of events.

Watchdog group questions MP trip to Guatemala

A trip by five Canadian parliamentarians to Guatemala at the invitation of Canadian mining giant Goldcorp has drawn questions from a mining industry watchdog group over lobbying regulations.

The group MiningWatch said the recent report to the lobbying commissioner does not provide enough detail about the trip. At the end of August, a senator and four MPs boarded the company's jet in Ottawa for the three-day trip.

NDP working toward balance as it crafts new foreign policy

The NDP is quietly working on a foreign policy that won’t scare off Canadians.

It has to decide whether trade is good and China is bad. Or at least, for their electoral hopes, NDP members have to find an approach to those things, and the world, that doesn’t make Canadians nervous about them running the country.

Liberals go on the attack after Harper says they stand for nothing

The federal Liberals may enjoy watching Conservatives accuse New Democrats of favouring a carbon tax but the third party in the Commons has not been immune this week to government attack messaging – specifically accusations that it stands for nothing.

On Monday, Prime Minister Stephen Harper brushed off Liberal questions in the House of Commons by saying: “The one difference between the NDP and the Liberal Party is at least the NDP brings bad ideas to this debate, whereas the Liberals bring none.”

Americans For Prosperity, Funded By Koch Brothers, To Hold NY Protest Against 'Occupy Wall Street Mob'

An activist group founded by the notorious Koch brothers is holding a demonstration in Midtown tomorrow to voice its opposition to President Barack Obama’s economic policies and to stand up to the “Occupy Wall Street mob,” according to a press release.

Activists from Americans for Prosperity plan to protest tomorrow morning outside the Time-Life building as part of group’s Failing Agenda Bus Tour, which is devoted to urging President Barack Obama to shun policies that increase the nation’s debt. Despite the group’s billionaire backers, the AFP describes itself as a grass roots organization. It has more than 2 million supporters nationwide.

Chicago Teachers Strike Suspension Sends Students Back To School, But Budget, Layoff Questions Loom

CHICAGO, Sept 19 (Reuters) - Hundreds of thousands of Chicago students returned to school on Wednesday after a teachers' strike ended, thrilling parents who had struggled with child care but shifting the debate to hard questions about budget deficits, school closures and teacher layoffs.

At the doorstep of John H. Vanderpoel Elementary Magnet School on the city's south side, children lined up on a sunny and chilly morning to wait for doors to open for the first time in nine days.

"Mommy, I've got to go to school," yelled Kimberly Watson's kindergartner as she pulled her mother toward the door.

Daryl Metcalfe, GOP Lawmaker: If People Are Too 'Lazy' To Get Voter ID, Pennsylvania Can't Fix That

Daryl Metcalfe, a Pennsylvania state House member who originally sponsored the state's voter ID law that is currently in legal limbo, said on a local radio station Wednesday morning that the state shouldn't be responsible for people who are too "lazy" to obtain the needed ID.

"Ultimately, the burden isn't on the state to make sure every individual does what they need to get their ID card. I mean, individuals have certain responsibilities in securing their ID," the Republican lawmaker told Pittsburgh radio station KDKA, in a clip circulated by the Pennsylvania Democratic Party. "They have to present the documents needed. The state doesn't have that burden. I think the individual does, and ultimately it's a great travesty of justice to violate the rights of millions to have their legally cast vote protected for the special interests of a few individuals that are too lazy to get out there and get done what they have to to get their ID card."

Interest Rate Manipulation Extends Far Beyond Libor, Secret Survey Reveals

Interest rates all over the world are mostly made up.

That's the verdict of a new study by the International Organization of Securities Commissions, a copy of which was obtained by Bloomberg. It found that more than half of the benchmark lending rates in the U.S., Europe and Asia are "calculated by methodologies that were unclear, not transparent and only rarely subject to specific regulatory standards or obligations." Less than half of all benchmark lending rates, in contrast, were based on actual market transactions.

Mitt Romney Offers Full-Throated Attack On Obama's 'Redistribution'

Mitt Romney, facing fallout from leaked videos showing him at a May fundraiser saying that 47 percent of Americans are "dependent on government" and view themselves as "victims," attacked President Barack Obama over a 1998 video pushed by the Drudge Report and purportedly showing him favoring "redistribution."

"He [Obama] really believes in what I’ll call a government-centered society. I know there are some who believe that if you simply take from some and give to others then we’ll all be better off. It’s known as redistribution. It’s never been a characteristic of America," Romney said Wednesday at an Atlanta fundraiser. "There’s a tape that came out just a couple of days ago where the president said yes he believes in redistribution. I don’t. I believe the way to lift people and help people have higher incomes is not to take from some and give to others but to create wealth for all."