Notes 66
Just like the Blackwater assassinations in Baghdad, government contractors killing at will and we protect then from the reaches of local law. And we think the locals will love us?
James Jones would love us tp death.
Arrested US official is actually CIA contractor
By Associated Press Adam Goldman And Kimberly Dozier, Associated Press – Tue Feb 22
WASHINGTON – An American jailed in Pakistan for the fatal shooting of two armed men was secretly working for the CIA and scouting a neighborhood when he was arrested, a disclosure likely to further frustrate U.S. government efforts to free the man and one that's expected to strain relations between two countries partnered in a fragile alliance in the war on terror.
The revelation that Davis was an employee of the CIA comes amid a tumultuous dispute over whether he is immune from criminal prosecution under international rules enacted to protect diplomats overseas. New protests in Pakistan erupted after The Guardian newspaper in London decided to publish details about Davis' relationship with the CIA.
__________________________________________________
When are we going to stop eating meat from domestic animals raised in feed lots or eggs from chickens primed to produce 24/7 or…?
Activists target dog sled rides after dog deaths
By Sue Manning, Associated Press – Tue Feb 8
LOS ANGELES – The slaughter of 100 sled dogs in Canada has re-energized efforts by some animal activists to ban or boycott dog sled rides, a popular activity among tourists in many winter vacation spots, from New England to Minnesota to Alaska.
"I don't think society is willing to accept that animals, particularly dogs, should be killed just because they are surplus or don't suit the purpose they were born for," said Debra Probert, executive director of the Vancouver Humane Society, which has called for a provincial ban on tour businesses.
___________________________________________________
Instead of worrying about dogs, let’s worry about Republican programs bent on disposing of excess people who have become surplus to wealth producing products from corporations.
Census estimates show 1 in 4 US counties are dying
By Associated Press Hope Yen And John Raby– Tue Feb 22,
WELCH, W.Va. – Nestled within America's once-thriving coal country, 87-year-old Ed Shepard laments a prosperous era gone by, when shoppers lined the streets and government lent a helping hand. Now, here as in one-fourth of all U.S. counties, West Virginia's graying residents are slowly dying off.
Hit by an aging population and a poor economy, a near-record number of U.S. counties are experiencing more deaths than births in their communities, a phenomenon demographers call "natural decrease."
______________________________________________________
One way of eliminating the tobacco industry. We should be thinking of others and not subsidizing the tobacco growers. And after that ban smokestack pollution--equallydeadly
Honduras seeks to stop smoking — even at home
By Freddy Cuevas, Associated Press – Tue Feb 22
TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras – Lighting up a cigarette at home could bring a visit from Honduran police if a family member or even a visitor complains about secondhand smoke.
A new law that took effect Monday banning smoking in most public and private spaces doesn't actually outlaw cigarettes inside homes, but it does have a provision allowing people to file complaints about secondhand smoke in homes.
________________________________________________________
Saif Gadhafi says Libya, Syria, Iran won’t go down because they won’t tolerate a democratic revolution. Their armies WILL shoot their own people to protect the ruler.
What some people will pay to be free. It’s not about money.
Witnesses report bodies in the streets in Libya
By Maggie Michael, Associated Press –
CAIRO – The bodies of protesters shot to death by forces loyal to Moammar Gadhafi were left on the streets of a restive district in the Libyan capital Tuesday, an opposition activist and a resident said, while the longtime leader defiantly went on state TV to show he was still in charge.
The eruption of turmoil in the capital after a week of protests and bloody clashes in Libya's eastern cities has sharply escalated the challenge to Gadhafi. His security forces have unleashed the bloodiest crackdown of any Arab country against the wave of protests sweeping the region, which toppled leaders of Egypt and Tunisia.
The head of the U.N. agency, Navi Pillay, called for an investigation, saying widespread and systematic attacks against the civilian population "may amount to crimes against humanity."
_________________________________________________
Israel gets onto U.S. military/industrial gravy train, Just wheat we need is another boondoggle like the empty silos in the Dakotas against an attack that never came. Reminds me of the over-the-shoulder salt joke. Salt thrown over the shoulder on a car ride across the Mojave keeps the elephants away.
Israel, US successfully test Arrow missile
By Press Matti Friedman, Associated Press – 1 hr 43 mins ago
JERUSALEM – Israel and the U.S. carried out a successful test of the Arrow anti-missile system off the coast of California, Israel's Defense Ministry said Tuesday.
Israel's Defense Ministry said the Arrow detected, intercepted and destroyed a target missile launched from an offshore platform inside a U.S. Navy firing range in a test carried out late Monday.
"...an uprooting of the old order, the introduction of a new kind of society - cooperative, peaceful, egalitarian." -Howard Zinn,
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Monday, February 21, 2011
The end of empires and the continuing political struggle over the soul of the nation
Notes 65
Finally somebody with a platform to announce the truth
Op-Ed Columnist, NEW YORK TIMES
Empire at the End of Decadence
By CHARLES M. BLOW
Published: February 18, 2011
It’s time for us to stop lying to ourselves about this country.
Charles M. Blow
Go to Columnist Page »
Multimedia
Readers' Comments
Readers shared their thoughts on this article.
Read All Comments (306) »
America is great in many ways, but on a whole host of measures — some of which are shown in the accompanying chart — we have become the laggards of the industrialized world. Not only are we not No. 1 — “U.S.A.! U.S.A.!” — we are among the worst of the worst.
________________________________________________
What’s hard to figure is why one small segment of the population has to bite the bullet so everybody else can get their serices for nothing and live well. It’s union busting. Walker got the concessions and now wants his poud of flesh.
Wis. gov. says he won't accept union compromise
By Scott Bauer, Associated Press – MADISON, Wis. – Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker again rejected a proposed compromise Monday to end a political stalemate over collective bargaining rights that led to 14 Senate Democrats skipping town and motivated tens of thousands of people to march on the Capitol in protest for more than a week.
Walker said Monday afternoon he wasn't interested in compromises that have been floated by public employee unions and even a Republican state senator. He spoke inside his heavily guarded conference room in the Capitol as thousands of people screamed and stomped outside his office to "Recall Walker!"
__________________________________________________
Wisconsin corporations are getting a 67 million dollar tax break while working people are being asked to give back some of their wages and benefits. Ya gotta love it
Corporations to Government: Give Us More, Tax Us Less
Richard D. Wolff, The Guardian: "Nothing better shows corporate control over the government than Washington's basic response to the current economic crisis. First we had 'the rescue' and then 'the recovery.' Trillions in public money flowed to the biggest US banks, insurance companies, etc. That "bailed" them out (suggestion of criminality?) while we waited for benefits to 'trickle down' to the rest of us. As usual, the 'trickle down' part has not happened. Large corporations and their investors kept the government's money for themselves; their profits and stock market 'recovered' nicely. We get unemployment, home-foreclosures, job benefit cuts and growing job insecurity. As the crisis hits states and cities, politicians avoid raising corporate taxes in favor of cutting government services and jobs."
______________________________________________________
.
One of the liabilities of the wealth generated by smoke and mirrors and corruption and the profits from war has been the rise of a middle class that got fat and satisfied. Now they are blaming all their problems on the unions with the assist of demagogues exploiting their new pain. When will they ever learn?
The Betrayal of Public Workers
Robert Pollin and Jeffrey Thompson, The Nation: "The Great Recession and its aftermath are entering a new phase in the United States, which could bring even more severe assaults on the living standards and basic rights of ordinary people than we have experienced thus far. This is because a wide swath of the country's policy- and opinion-making elite have singled out public sector workers - including schoolteachers, healthcare workers, police officers and firefighters - as well as their unions and even their pensions as deadweight burdens sapping the economy's vitality."
______________________________________________________
The Egyptians get it. Maybe it’s time we do.
Leader Of Egyptian Unions To Wisconsin Protesters: "We Stand With You As You Stood With Us"
Zaid Jilani, ThinkProgress: "One of the most underreported stories about the pro-democracy movement in Egypt was the role of labor unions in the demonstrations, many of which were protesting against neoliberal right-wing economic policies just as much as they were protesting against the Mubarak dictatorship. During the uprising in that country, AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka praised the role of organized labor, saying, 'The people's movement for democracy in Egypt and the role unions are playing for freedom and worker rights inspires us and will not be forgotten.'"
______________________________________________________
Remarkable, we complain sbout China blocking access to internet and we block access to al Jazeera TV. Go figure. Are we schizophrenic or what?
Absence of Al Jazeera English in US Is Troubling
Ronnie Lovler, The San Francisco Chronicle: "The uprisings in Tunisia, Egypt and now Iran should prompt a call for change here in the United States - against the absurd blackout of Al Jazeera television. You can watch Al Jazeera on TV almost anywhere in the world - except in the United States. How is this possible in our nation where freedom of the press is a basic constitutional tenet? Just what do cable and satellite carriers fear?"
______________________________________________________
Now the innocent gunner was a C.I.A agent. We’ve been violating international law by attacking inside Pakistan. That was grounds almost for impeachment for Nixon when he turned the dogs loose in Cambodia. And now Pakistan is supposed to worry about the sanctity of Embassy privileges. Get real.
US: Pakistan must free detained CIA worker
By Matthew Lee, Associated Press –
WASHINGTON – The Obama administration insisted Monday that an American working for the CIA who has been detained in Pakistan for killing two Pakistanis has diplomatic immunity and must be freed.
In a hastily arranged conference call with reporters shortly after details of Raymond Davis' employment were reported, senior State Department officials repeated the administration's stance that he is an accredited member of the technical and administrative staff of the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad.
Finally somebody with a platform to announce the truth
Op-Ed Columnist, NEW YORK TIMES
Empire at the End of Decadence
By CHARLES M. BLOW
Published: February 18, 2011
It’s time for us to stop lying to ourselves about this country.
Charles M. Blow
Go to Columnist Page »
Multimedia
Readers' Comments
Readers shared their thoughts on this article.
Read All Comments (306) »
America is great in many ways, but on a whole host of measures — some of which are shown in the accompanying chart — we have become the laggards of the industrialized world. Not only are we not No. 1 — “U.S.A.! U.S.A.!” — we are among the worst of the worst.
________________________________________________
What’s hard to figure is why one small segment of the population has to bite the bullet so everybody else can get their serices for nothing and live well. It’s union busting. Walker got the concessions and now wants his poud of flesh.
Wis. gov. says he won't accept union compromise
By Scott Bauer, Associated Press – MADISON, Wis. – Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker again rejected a proposed compromise Monday to end a political stalemate over collective bargaining rights that led to 14 Senate Democrats skipping town and motivated tens of thousands of people to march on the Capitol in protest for more than a week.
Walker said Monday afternoon he wasn't interested in compromises that have been floated by public employee unions and even a Republican state senator. He spoke inside his heavily guarded conference room in the Capitol as thousands of people screamed and stomped outside his office to "Recall Walker!"
__________________________________________________
Wisconsin corporations are getting a 67 million dollar tax break while working people are being asked to give back some of their wages and benefits. Ya gotta love it
Corporations to Government: Give Us More, Tax Us Less
Richard D. Wolff, The Guardian: "Nothing better shows corporate control over the government than Washington's basic response to the current economic crisis. First we had 'the rescue' and then 'the recovery.' Trillions in public money flowed to the biggest US banks, insurance companies, etc. That "bailed" them out (suggestion of criminality?) while we waited for benefits to 'trickle down' to the rest of us. As usual, the 'trickle down' part has not happened. Large corporations and their investors kept the government's money for themselves; their profits and stock market 'recovered' nicely. We get unemployment, home-foreclosures, job benefit cuts and growing job insecurity. As the crisis hits states and cities, politicians avoid raising corporate taxes in favor of cutting government services and jobs."
______________________________________________________
.
One of the liabilities of the wealth generated by smoke and mirrors and corruption and the profits from war has been the rise of a middle class that got fat and satisfied. Now they are blaming all their problems on the unions with the assist of demagogues exploiting their new pain. When will they ever learn?
The Betrayal of Public Workers
Robert Pollin and Jeffrey Thompson, The Nation: "The Great Recession and its aftermath are entering a new phase in the United States, which could bring even more severe assaults on the living standards and basic rights of ordinary people than we have experienced thus far. This is because a wide swath of the country's policy- and opinion-making elite have singled out public sector workers - including schoolteachers, healthcare workers, police officers and firefighters - as well as their unions and even their pensions as deadweight burdens sapping the economy's vitality."
______________________________________________________
The Egyptians get it. Maybe it’s time we do.
Leader Of Egyptian Unions To Wisconsin Protesters: "We Stand With You As You Stood With Us"
Zaid Jilani, ThinkProgress: "One of the most underreported stories about the pro-democracy movement in Egypt was the role of labor unions in the demonstrations, many of which were protesting against neoliberal right-wing economic policies just as much as they were protesting against the Mubarak dictatorship. During the uprising in that country, AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka praised the role of organized labor, saying, 'The people's movement for democracy in Egypt and the role unions are playing for freedom and worker rights inspires us and will not be forgotten.'"
______________________________________________________
Remarkable, we complain sbout China blocking access to internet and we block access to al Jazeera TV. Go figure. Are we schizophrenic or what?
Absence of Al Jazeera English in US Is Troubling
Ronnie Lovler, The San Francisco Chronicle: "The uprisings in Tunisia, Egypt and now Iran should prompt a call for change here in the United States - against the absurd blackout of Al Jazeera television. You can watch Al Jazeera on TV almost anywhere in the world - except in the United States. How is this possible in our nation where freedom of the press is a basic constitutional tenet? Just what do cable and satellite carriers fear?"
______________________________________________________
Now the innocent gunner was a C.I.A agent. We’ve been violating international law by attacking inside Pakistan. That was grounds almost for impeachment for Nixon when he turned the dogs loose in Cambodia. And now Pakistan is supposed to worry about the sanctity of Embassy privileges. Get real.
US: Pakistan must free detained CIA worker
By Matthew Lee, Associated Press –
WASHINGTON – The Obama administration insisted Monday that an American working for the CIA who has been detained in Pakistan for killing two Pakistanis has diplomatic immunity and must be freed.
In a hastily arranged conference call with reporters shortly after details of Raymond Davis' employment were reported, senior State Department officials repeated the administration's stance that he is an accredited member of the technical and administrative staff of the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad.
The end of the world as we know it. No more cheap oil from sheiks
Notes 64
Interesting. Government departments find another way to protect oil companies than just wars or backroom diplomacy
Scientist finds Gulf bottom still oily, dead
By Writer Seth Borenstein, Ap Science Writer – Sat Feb 19
WASHINGTON – At a science conference in Washington Saturday, marine scientist Samantha Joye of the University of Georgia reported, "There's some sort of a bottleneck we have yet to identify for why this stuff doesn't seem to be degrading," Joye told the American Association for the Advancement of Science annual conference in Washington. Her research and those of her colleagues contrasts with other studies that show a more optimistic outlook about the health of the gulf, saying microbes did great work munching the oil.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration chief Jane Lubchenco told reporters Saturday that "it's not a contradiction to say that although most of the oil is gone, there still remains oil out there."
_______________________________________________________
The Public and the Congress they elected by varying margins in 62 districts, upending the former order, seems to be determined to eliminate the public safety net and turn the country over to private interests. When the public can’t get into parks, ride safe roads, and benefit from all the myriad programs from which they benefit, they will wonder, too late, what they were thinking.
House GOP spares no pet projects in trimming budget
House passes cuts to domestic programs
Jolted to action by deficit-conscious newcomers, the Republican-controlled House passed sweeping legislation early Saturday to cut $61 billion from hundreds of federal programs. (Feb 19)
By Philip RuckerWashington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, February 20, 2011
The GOP plan to fund the government through September is an assault on bedrock Democratic priorities. It imposes substantial spending cuts that would alter the role of government in nearly every area of society - from education and human services to transportation projects, foreign humanitarian aid and medical research. Gone, too, are an array of federal environmental regulations and consumer product safety measures that private industries have long opposed.
__________________________________________________
All the discussion is about cut, cut, cut. Whatever happened to the idea of pay, pay, pay?
Obama and Boehner: bi-partisan cowardice on the budget
February 14, 2011, by ctucker
Anybody who has looked seriously at the federal budget knows that three areas consume 60 percent of federal spending — the Pentagon, Medicare/Medicaid and Social Security. You can entirely eliminate the rest of the budget and you’d still be looking at a deficit calamity by, say, 2030. You could kill the Environmental Protection Agency, shut down the FBI, eliminate the Drug Enforcement Agency, never fund another interstate, turn off the spigot of foreign aid to Pakistan, Israel and Egypt, dismantle the Education Department — and still not come close to conquering the deficit.
(See chart below.)
Boehner knows that. So does Paul Ryan, the GOP young turk who heads the House Budget Committee. But they won’t make serious moves on the Pentagon because the Republican base insists on protecting the military-industrial complex. And they won’t curb Medicare spending because seniors are conscientious voters who demand that their entitlements be protected. (Social Security wouldn’t be that difficult a fix, but it would require raising taxes — something else the GOP refuses to do.)
______________________________________________________
Tell us something we didn’t know
Former aide slams Palin in leaked tell-all book manuscript
Laura Donovan - The Daily Caller
Although Palin “had God’s blessing and people’s love and faith,” Bailey added that the campaign was vindictive, malicious, and catty, and had a tendency to dwell on petty disputes.
The trading and the damage that takes place off the radar screen
Al-Qaida figure believed killed in US drone strike
By Ishtiaq Mahsud, Associated Press –
DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan
The strike was the first since the arrest of a U.S. citizen who shot two Pakistanis in late January.
The frequency of the missile strikes — often more than one a week — dropped to zero after American Raymond Davis was detained for shooting two Pakistanis in the eastern city of Lahore on Jan. 27. The U.S. has demanded his release, arguing Davis was acting in self-defense against robbers and has diplomatic immunity from prosecution because he works for the U.S. Embassy
Pakistan's government publicly denounces the missile strikes as violations of its sovereignty, but is believed to secretly support the program. Wary of public opinion, however, Islamabad has strained its ties with the U.S. by refusing to verify whether Davis is a diplomat.
Al-Iraqi was believed to be one of several foreigners among the dead.
_______________________________________________
The world we ruled since 1989 is collapsing. Maybe it will be like Reagan said, “Mr President tear down that wall,” and it will pass without a whimper.
Libya air force jets in Malta, pilots seek asylum
AP – One of two Libyan Air Force Mirage jet fighters to land in Malta, is surrounded by Maltese police after …
By GEORGE CINI, Associated Press George Cini, Associated Press – 53 mins ago
VALLETTA, Malta – Two Libyan air force jets landed in Malta on Monday and their pilots asked for political asylum amid a bloody crackdown on anti-government protesters in Libya, a military source said.
The two Mirage jets landed at Malta International Airport shortly after two civilian helicopters landed carrying seven people who said they were French. A military source familiar with the situation said the passengers had left in such a hurry that only one had a passport.
_______________________________________________
The era of the 1,000 billionaire sheiks is finally passing and maybe Lawrence’s aborted dream for Arabia will finally be realized after passing through the British and then the American Empires.
Gulf worries weigh on effort for Bahrain talks
By Barbara Surk And Brian Murphy, Associated Press –
MANAMA, Bahrain – As tanks moved into Bahrain's capital, top envoys from across the Gulf gathered inside a seaside palace and emerged with a message: They were united behind the nation's monarch and his ruling system.
But the show of solidarity last week among the Gulf Arab fraternity — including heavyweight Saudi Arabia — was more than just outreach in a time of crisis. It also sent an implicit warning to Bahrain's leaders not to allow more spillover from pro-democracy unrest within the club of sheiks and kings who hold sway from Kuwait to Oman.
Interesting. Government departments find another way to protect oil companies than just wars or backroom diplomacy
Scientist finds Gulf bottom still oily, dead
By Writer Seth Borenstein, Ap Science Writer – Sat Feb 19
WASHINGTON – At a science conference in Washington Saturday, marine scientist Samantha Joye of the University of Georgia reported, "There's some sort of a bottleneck we have yet to identify for why this stuff doesn't seem to be degrading," Joye told the American Association for the Advancement of Science annual conference in Washington. Her research and those of her colleagues contrasts with other studies that show a more optimistic outlook about the health of the gulf, saying microbes did great work munching the oil.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration chief Jane Lubchenco told reporters Saturday that "it's not a contradiction to say that although most of the oil is gone, there still remains oil out there."
_______________________________________________________
The Public and the Congress they elected by varying margins in 62 districts, upending the former order, seems to be determined to eliminate the public safety net and turn the country over to private interests. When the public can’t get into parks, ride safe roads, and benefit from all the myriad programs from which they benefit, they will wonder, too late, what they were thinking.
House GOP spares no pet projects in trimming budget
House passes cuts to domestic programs
Jolted to action by deficit-conscious newcomers, the Republican-controlled House passed sweeping legislation early Saturday to cut $61 billion from hundreds of federal programs. (Feb 19)
By Philip RuckerWashington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, February 20, 2011
The GOP plan to fund the government through September is an assault on bedrock Democratic priorities. It imposes substantial spending cuts that would alter the role of government in nearly every area of society - from education and human services to transportation projects, foreign humanitarian aid and medical research. Gone, too, are an array of federal environmental regulations and consumer product safety measures that private industries have long opposed.
__________________________________________________
All the discussion is about cut, cut, cut. Whatever happened to the idea of pay, pay, pay?
Obama and Boehner: bi-partisan cowardice on the budget
February 14, 2011, by ctucker
Anybody who has looked seriously at the federal budget knows that three areas consume 60 percent of federal spending — the Pentagon, Medicare/Medicaid and Social Security. You can entirely eliminate the rest of the budget and you’d still be looking at a deficit calamity by, say, 2030. You could kill the Environmental Protection Agency, shut down the FBI, eliminate the Drug Enforcement Agency, never fund another interstate, turn off the spigot of foreign aid to Pakistan, Israel and Egypt, dismantle the Education Department — and still not come close to conquering the deficit.
(See chart below.)
Boehner knows that. So does Paul Ryan, the GOP young turk who heads the House Budget Committee. But they won’t make serious moves on the Pentagon because the Republican base insists on protecting the military-industrial complex. And they won’t curb Medicare spending because seniors are conscientious voters who demand that their entitlements be protected. (Social Security wouldn’t be that difficult a fix, but it would require raising taxes — something else the GOP refuses to do.)
______________________________________________________
Tell us something we didn’t know
Former aide slams Palin in leaked tell-all book manuscript
Laura Donovan - The Daily Caller
Although Palin “had God’s blessing and people’s love and faith,” Bailey added that the campaign was vindictive, malicious, and catty, and had a tendency to dwell on petty disputes.
The trading and the damage that takes place off the radar screen
Al-Qaida figure believed killed in US drone strike
By Ishtiaq Mahsud, Associated Press –
DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan
The strike was the first since the arrest of a U.S. citizen who shot two Pakistanis in late January.
The frequency of the missile strikes — often more than one a week — dropped to zero after American Raymond Davis was detained for shooting two Pakistanis in the eastern city of Lahore on Jan. 27. The U.S. has demanded his release, arguing Davis was acting in self-defense against robbers and has diplomatic immunity from prosecution because he works for the U.S. Embassy
Pakistan's government publicly denounces the missile strikes as violations of its sovereignty, but is believed to secretly support the program. Wary of public opinion, however, Islamabad has strained its ties with the U.S. by refusing to verify whether Davis is a diplomat.
Al-Iraqi was believed to be one of several foreigners among the dead.
_______________________________________________
The world we ruled since 1989 is collapsing. Maybe it will be like Reagan said, “Mr President tear down that wall,” and it will pass without a whimper.
Libya air force jets in Malta, pilots seek asylum
AP – One of two Libyan Air Force Mirage jet fighters to land in Malta, is surrounded by Maltese police after …
By GEORGE CINI, Associated Press George Cini, Associated Press – 53 mins ago
VALLETTA, Malta – Two Libyan air force jets landed in Malta on Monday and their pilots asked for political asylum amid a bloody crackdown on anti-government protesters in Libya, a military source said.
The two Mirage jets landed at Malta International Airport shortly after two civilian helicopters landed carrying seven people who said they were French. A military source familiar with the situation said the passengers had left in such a hurry that only one had a passport.
_______________________________________________
The era of the 1,000 billionaire sheiks is finally passing and maybe Lawrence’s aborted dream for Arabia will finally be realized after passing through the British and then the American Empires.
Gulf worries weigh on effort for Bahrain talks
By Barbara Surk And Brian Murphy, Associated Press –
MANAMA, Bahrain – As tanks moved into Bahrain's capital, top envoys from across the Gulf gathered inside a seaside palace and emerged with a message: They were united behind the nation's monarch and his ruling system.
But the show of solidarity last week among the Gulf Arab fraternity — including heavyweight Saudi Arabia — was more than just outreach in a time of crisis. It also sent an implicit warning to Bahrain's leaders not to allow more spillover from pro-democracy unrest within the club of sheiks and kings who hold sway from Kuwait to Oman.
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Republicans and Israel
Notes 62
Stories of sexual abuse are so common anymore, they are not news. I’m not sure why people do not keep some things in their lives private. The public does not need to know EVERYTHING
Scott Brown's Shocking Confession
Samuel P. Jacobs – Thu Feb 17
NEW YORK – The superstar GOP senator reveals he suffered sexual abuse in his new memoir. Samuel P. Jacobs on his new book and the beginning of Brown's re-election campaign.
With word that the memoir contains revelations about the future senator suffering sexual abuse as a child, the bookseller knows that interest in the politician’s memoir is likely to exceed its current supply.
____________________________________________________
The House steps on enough toes, they will the Egyptian Solution
House Republicans seek to block FCC Internet rules
By Joelle Tessler, Ap Technology Writer – Fri Feb 18
WASHINGTON – House Republicans on Thursday moved to block the Federal Communications Commission from enforcing new rules that prohibit broadband providers from interfering with Internet traffic on their networks.
With a 244-181 vote, Republican leaders succeeded in attaching an amendment to a sweeping spending bill that would bar the FCC from using government money to implement its new "network neutrality" regulations.
_______________________________________________
What I can’t understand is why the House has NEVER, NEVER cut off funding for ANY war. They don’t mind supporting killing people but they object to supporting sustaining people.
House votes to deny Obama healthcare law funds
By Richard Cowan and Thomas Ferraro Richard Cowan And Thomas Ferraro – Fri Feb 18, 4:39 pm ET
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Republican-controlled House of Representatives voted on Friday to choke off cash to fund President Barack Obama's healthcare reform law, stepping up a fight with Democrats over budget cuts and deficits.
___________________________________________________
Well, if the government won’t put the bad guys in jail, at least SOMEBOYD may get repaid.
Allstate sues Citi, Deutsche Bank over mortgages
By Aspan Jonathan Stempel And Maria Aspan – Fri Feb 18
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Allstate Corp (ALL.N) sued Citigroup Inc (C.N) and Deutsche Bank AG (DBKGn.DE), accusing the banks of causing losses by hiding the risks on more than $385 million of mortgage securities it bought.
Allstate, the largest publicly traded U.S. home and auto insurer, has filed similar lawsuits against two other lenders, Bank of America Corp (BAC.N) and JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N).
It is so far seeking to recover losses on more than $1.8 billion of securities, including more than $757 million from JPMorgan and more than $700 million from Bank of America and its Countrywide unit.
_____________________________________________________
In case it wasn’t clear before, in diplo speech, the message is screw you to the vast Middle East--including the Palestinians. We set up the Security Council so we could control the world with one vote. And we are doing our best to do it. The Israelis have us in their pocket.
US vetoes UN resolution on Israeli settlements
By Edith M. Lederer, Associated Press – 2 hrs 44 mins ago
UNITED NATIONS – The United States vetoed a U.N. resolution Friday that would have condemned "illegal" Israeli settlements and demanded an immediate halt to all settlement building, a move certain to anger Arab countries and Palestinian supporters around the world.
The 14 other Security Council members voted in favor of the resolution, reflecting the wide support for the Palestinian-backed draft which had over 100 co-sponsors.
U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice said the United States agrees with the rest of the council and the wider world "about the folly and illegitimacy of continued Israeli settlement activity." But she said the U.S. believes "it is unwise" for the U.N.'s most powerful body to attempt to resolve key issues between the Israelis and Palestinians.
Stories of sexual abuse are so common anymore, they are not news. I’m not sure why people do not keep some things in their lives private. The public does not need to know EVERYTHING
Scott Brown's Shocking Confession
Samuel P. Jacobs – Thu Feb 17
NEW YORK – The superstar GOP senator reveals he suffered sexual abuse in his new memoir. Samuel P. Jacobs on his new book and the beginning of Brown's re-election campaign.
With word that the memoir contains revelations about the future senator suffering sexual abuse as a child, the bookseller knows that interest in the politician’s memoir is likely to exceed its current supply.
____________________________________________________
The House steps on enough toes, they will the Egyptian Solution
House Republicans seek to block FCC Internet rules
By Joelle Tessler, Ap Technology Writer – Fri Feb 18
WASHINGTON – House Republicans on Thursday moved to block the Federal Communications Commission from enforcing new rules that prohibit broadband providers from interfering with Internet traffic on their networks.
With a 244-181 vote, Republican leaders succeeded in attaching an amendment to a sweeping spending bill that would bar the FCC from using government money to implement its new "network neutrality" regulations.
_______________________________________________
What I can’t understand is why the House has NEVER, NEVER cut off funding for ANY war. They don’t mind supporting killing people but they object to supporting sustaining people.
House votes to deny Obama healthcare law funds
By Richard Cowan and Thomas Ferraro Richard Cowan And Thomas Ferraro – Fri Feb 18, 4:39 pm ET
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Republican-controlled House of Representatives voted on Friday to choke off cash to fund President Barack Obama's healthcare reform law, stepping up a fight with Democrats over budget cuts and deficits.
___________________________________________________
Well, if the government won’t put the bad guys in jail, at least SOMEBOYD may get repaid.
Allstate sues Citi, Deutsche Bank over mortgages
By Aspan Jonathan Stempel And Maria Aspan – Fri Feb 18
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Allstate Corp (ALL.N) sued Citigroup Inc (C.N) and Deutsche Bank AG (DBKGn.DE), accusing the banks of causing losses by hiding the risks on more than $385 million of mortgage securities it bought.
Allstate, the largest publicly traded U.S. home and auto insurer, has filed similar lawsuits against two other lenders, Bank of America Corp (BAC.N) and JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N).
It is so far seeking to recover losses on more than $1.8 billion of securities, including more than $757 million from JPMorgan and more than $700 million from Bank of America and its Countrywide unit.
_____________________________________________________
In case it wasn’t clear before, in diplo speech, the message is screw you to the vast Middle East--including the Palestinians. We set up the Security Council so we could control the world with one vote. And we are doing our best to do it. The Israelis have us in their pocket.
US vetoes UN resolution on Israeli settlements
By Edith M. Lederer, Associated Press – 2 hrs 44 mins ago
UNITED NATIONS – The United States vetoed a U.N. resolution Friday that would have condemned "illegal" Israeli settlements and demanded an immediate halt to all settlement building, a move certain to anger Arab countries and Palestinian supporters around the world.
The 14 other Security Council members voted in favor of the resolution, reflecting the wide support for the Palestinian-backed draft which had over 100 co-sponsors.
U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice said the United States agrees with the rest of the council and the wider world "about the folly and illegitimacy of continued Israeli settlement activity." But she said the U.S. believes "it is unwise" for the U.N.'s most powerful body to attempt to resolve key issues between the Israelis and Palestinians.
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Sleeping bear finally awakens
Notes 61
The tranquilized bear has finally awakened after taking a pass on Sen Feingold and a liberal governor
Wis. union vote on hold after Democrats leave state
Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan summed up the unexpected fervor on MSNBC today: "Cairo has moved to Madison."
Gov. Scott Walker's legislation would end collective bargaining rights--the process by which employees band together to negotiate with employers--for almost all of Wisconsin's state, county and local workers (police, firefighters and the state patrol would be excepted). This would mean, among other things, that unions wouldn't be able to seek pay increases above inflation, unless voters approve those hikes in a special referendum. Unions also would not be able to require members to pay dues, and would have to hold yearly votes to stay organized.
The bill also would make public workers pay half the cost of their pensions, and at least 12.6 percent of their health care coverage. On average, state employees' share of their pension and health care costs would go up by 8 percent.
In exchange for all this, Walker has promised not to lay off or furlough public employees. But he has said that if the bill doesn't pass, he'll order layoffs of up to 6,000 state workers.
_______________________________________________________
More battles over House GOP spending bill
By Press Andrew Taylor, Associated Press –
The arts and heating subsidy votes were the first in an anticipated long day as House leaders pressed to wrap up a $1.2 trillion spending bill to fund the Pentagon and the operating budgets of every Cabinet agency and to provide $158 billion for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Boehner said that after passage of the pending measure, containing $61 billion in cuts, the Republican majority would next turn its attention to "wasteful mandatory spending."
The term "mandatory programs" generally refers to benefits such as food stamps, farm subsidies, Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.
__________________________________________________
How sweet it is. A Mob prosecutor running New Jersey like the poor are gangsters--and people polled love it. It’s a sad reflection on Americans scared about their pocketbook and not about their Christian values. No need to worry about a sectarian nation.
Chris Christie Shows Why He's a GOP Star
Eleanor Clift Eleanor Clift – Wed Feb 16
Soon after taking office in January 2010, Gov Chris Christie, NJ, was told the state could not meet its payroll if he didn't act immediately to close a deficit. He impounded money without the permission of the legislature.
He likes to tell stories about himself taking on the teachers' unions and the firefighters and the police officers.
The way to understand Christie, says Ben Dworkin, director of the Institute for New Jersey Politics at Rider University, "is he has the leadership skills of a powerful prosecutor who happens to be governor. He argues his case in the press, and he stays on the attack constantly." As a federal prosecutor in New Jersey, Christie never lost a corruption case, and there were plenty in a state best known for The Sopranos. His favorite phrase: "Heads I win, tails you lose."
The attributes that have excited Republicans were on full display at AEI. Christie neatly skewered Obama's notion of big things, calling high-speed rail, high-speed Internet access, and a million electric cars "the candy of American politics," not the place where real politicians get their chops in an era of scarce resources.
____________________________________________________
Multi billion dollar decisions given to pipe jockeys on Deepwater Horizon
BP workers could have prevented rig accident: commission
By Ayesha Rascoe Ayesha Rascoe
REUTERS
"The sad fact is that this was an entirely preventable disaster," the White House oil spill commission’s chief counsel, Fred Bartlit said on Thursday. "Poor decisions by management were the real cause.”
Had BP's well site leaders brought their faulty explanation of the test results to either of the visiting engineers, "events likely would have turned out differently," the commission report said.
The two engineers who were visiting the rig that day said they would have insisted on further testing, had they been consulted.
________________________________________________
Sounds like Karzai took lessons from Wall Street
Kabul Bank crisis
by Katherine Haddon –
KABUL (AFP)
Reuters
The Afghan finance ministry issued a statement saying Afghan and US officials had agreed that the "unethical and fraudulent behaviour" of bank executives plus failings at the country's central bank, Da Afghanistan Bank, were at the heart of the problem.
The war-torn country's biggest commercial bank, whose owners include a brother of President Hamid Karzai, came close to collapse last year amid claims that former executives had granted themselves huge loans off the books.
________________________________________________
What the IMF does well, gives a nation’s resources over to private interests. Private interests proved much better at looting U.S. resources during the financial meltdown than the government ever did with its tax and spend policies.
Greek minister heightens row with EU, IMF
AFP – Wed Feb 16
ATHENS (AFP) - Greek Finance Minister George Papaconstantinou accused the EU and IMF Wednesday of exceeding their role in calling for massive privatisation to boost the country's coffers, while not ruling out such a move.
___________________________________________________
Chevron finally reads the writing on the wall--too late. What a joke. The Niger Delta is an ecological disaster with oil festering like a gigantic cesspool in the waters and farmlands of the locals
Chevron foundation, USAID give Nigeria $50M
By YINKA IBUKUN, Associated Press– Thu Feb 17
LAGOS, Nigeria –
Chevron Corp.'s foundation and USAID are to pour $50 million into Nigeria's impoverished delta where militants have kidnapped foreign oil workers and demanded that more oil profits come back to the region, the U.S. oil giant said Thursday.
Chevron's Niger Delta Partnership Initiative and the U.S.-government funded USAID will each invest $25 million toward the development of the region over the next four years.
Chevron's move in Nigeria comes after a judge in Ecuador ordered the oil company on Monday to pay $9.5 billion in damages and cleanup costs after ruling that Chevron was responsible for oil drilling contamination in a wide swath of Ecuador's northern jungle. Chevron plans to appeal that decision.
The tranquilized bear has finally awakened after taking a pass on Sen Feingold and a liberal governor
Wis. union vote on hold after Democrats leave state
Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan summed up the unexpected fervor on MSNBC today: "Cairo has moved to Madison."
Gov. Scott Walker's legislation would end collective bargaining rights--the process by which employees band together to negotiate with employers--for almost all of Wisconsin's state, county and local workers (police, firefighters and the state patrol would be excepted). This would mean, among other things, that unions wouldn't be able to seek pay increases above inflation, unless voters approve those hikes in a special referendum. Unions also would not be able to require members to pay dues, and would have to hold yearly votes to stay organized.
The bill also would make public workers pay half the cost of their pensions, and at least 12.6 percent of their health care coverage. On average, state employees' share of their pension and health care costs would go up by 8 percent.
In exchange for all this, Walker has promised not to lay off or furlough public employees. But he has said that if the bill doesn't pass, he'll order layoffs of up to 6,000 state workers.
_______________________________________________________
More battles over House GOP spending bill
By Press Andrew Taylor, Associated Press –
The arts and heating subsidy votes were the first in an anticipated long day as House leaders pressed to wrap up a $1.2 trillion spending bill to fund the Pentagon and the operating budgets of every Cabinet agency and to provide $158 billion for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Boehner said that after passage of the pending measure, containing $61 billion in cuts, the Republican majority would next turn its attention to "wasteful mandatory spending."
The term "mandatory programs" generally refers to benefits such as food stamps, farm subsidies, Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.
__________________________________________________
How sweet it is. A Mob prosecutor running New Jersey like the poor are gangsters--and people polled love it. It’s a sad reflection on Americans scared about their pocketbook and not about their Christian values. No need to worry about a sectarian nation.
Chris Christie Shows Why He's a GOP Star
Eleanor Clift Eleanor Clift – Wed Feb 16
Soon after taking office in January 2010, Gov Chris Christie, NJ, was told the state could not meet its payroll if he didn't act immediately to close a deficit. He impounded money without the permission of the legislature.
He likes to tell stories about himself taking on the teachers' unions and the firefighters and the police officers.
The way to understand Christie, says Ben Dworkin, director of the Institute for New Jersey Politics at Rider University, "is he has the leadership skills of a powerful prosecutor who happens to be governor. He argues his case in the press, and he stays on the attack constantly." As a federal prosecutor in New Jersey, Christie never lost a corruption case, and there were plenty in a state best known for The Sopranos. His favorite phrase: "Heads I win, tails you lose."
The attributes that have excited Republicans were on full display at AEI. Christie neatly skewered Obama's notion of big things, calling high-speed rail, high-speed Internet access, and a million electric cars "the candy of American politics," not the place where real politicians get their chops in an era of scarce resources.
____________________________________________________
Multi billion dollar decisions given to pipe jockeys on Deepwater Horizon
BP workers could have prevented rig accident: commission
By Ayesha Rascoe Ayesha Rascoe
REUTERS
"The sad fact is that this was an entirely preventable disaster," the White House oil spill commission’s chief counsel, Fred Bartlit said on Thursday. "Poor decisions by management were the real cause.”
Had BP's well site leaders brought their faulty explanation of the test results to either of the visiting engineers, "events likely would have turned out differently," the commission report said.
The two engineers who were visiting the rig that day said they would have insisted on further testing, had they been consulted.
________________________________________________
Sounds like Karzai took lessons from Wall Street
Kabul Bank crisis
by Katherine Haddon –
KABUL (AFP)
Reuters
The Afghan finance ministry issued a statement saying Afghan and US officials had agreed that the "unethical and fraudulent behaviour" of bank executives plus failings at the country's central bank, Da Afghanistan Bank, were at the heart of the problem.
The war-torn country's biggest commercial bank, whose owners include a brother of President Hamid Karzai, came close to collapse last year amid claims that former executives had granted themselves huge loans off the books.
________________________________________________
What the IMF does well, gives a nation’s resources over to private interests. Private interests proved much better at looting U.S. resources during the financial meltdown than the government ever did with its tax and spend policies.
Greek minister heightens row with EU, IMF
AFP – Wed Feb 16
ATHENS (AFP) - Greek Finance Minister George Papaconstantinou accused the EU and IMF Wednesday of exceeding their role in calling for massive privatisation to boost the country's coffers, while not ruling out such a move.
___________________________________________________
Chevron finally reads the writing on the wall--too late. What a joke. The Niger Delta is an ecological disaster with oil festering like a gigantic cesspool in the waters and farmlands of the locals
Chevron foundation, USAID give Nigeria $50M
By YINKA IBUKUN, Associated Press– Thu Feb 17
LAGOS, Nigeria –
Chevron Corp.'s foundation and USAID are to pour $50 million into Nigeria's impoverished delta where militants have kidnapped foreign oil workers and demanded that more oil profits come back to the region, the U.S. oil giant said Thursday.
Chevron's Niger Delta Partnership Initiative and the U.S.-government funded USAID will each invest $25 million toward the development of the region over the next four years.
Chevron's move in Nigeria comes after a judge in Ecuador ordered the oil company on Monday to pay $9.5 billion in damages and cleanup costs after ruling that Chevron was responsible for oil drilling contamination in a wide swath of Ecuador's northern jungle. Chevron plans to appeal that decision.
Potpourri
Notes 60
Congress plays chicken over paying for 1099 mandate repeal
Cheaters screwed themselves and are now reaping the pain. Too Bad.
Neil deMause, contributing writer, On Wednesday February 16, 2011
The expanded 1099 reporting mandate was placed in the health reform bill in late 2009 by the Senate Finance Committee, which was looking for ways to raise revenue to help make health reform "revenue neutral" -- a key demand of Obama's. The bipartisan Congressional Joint Committee on Taxation estimated requiring all purchases of goods and services to be reported on 1099 forms would reduce the "tax gap" on income that businesses collect but don't report could by about $2 billion a year.
____________________________________________________
Israel knows all about provocations. Check out Sharron touring the Dome of the Rock and starting the Second Intafada with his in-your-face bravado
Israel claims Iran warships to transit Suez Canal
By Mark Lavie, Associated Press –
JERUSALEM – Israel's foreign minister claimed Wednesday that Iran is about to send two warships through the Suez Canal for the first time in years, calling it a "provocation," but he offered no evidence. The Egyptian authority that runs the canal denied it.
Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman "This is a provocation that proves that Iranian audacity and insolence are increasing."
______________________________________________________
What a concept--but first the public has to believe America is an empire. Its tactics were certainly aired during the revolution in Egypt. Enough to strip the blinders off the public if they just paid attention. America is not without fault, not a benign good fellow.
Nadler, Polis Push Today to Cut Deficit by Trimming Empire
Robert Naiman, Truthout: "President Obama and House Republicans are out with their budget plans for the next fiscal year. Economist Jeffrey Sachs described it thus: President Obama wants to bleed the patient. House Republicans want to cut the patient's arm off. As Sachs pointed out, it's only possible in our 'Mubarak Egypt' political terrain - both party leaderships catering to the super rich, largely ignoring the interests of the vast majority of Americans who must work or scrounge to earn their daily bread - that we can have a debate premised on the absurd notion that the budget deficit is an urgent crisis while we have ten percent measured unemployment and many Americans - disproportionately veterans - don't have a decent place to sleep. But if that weren't outrageous enough, amid all the blather about 'shared sacrifice,' there is another group of powerful people that are largely escaping budget pain, in the plans of leaders of both parties, besides the super rich: the partisans of the Empire."
________________________________________________
Maybe the spirit of Egypt won’t just spread to the Middle East. Maybe they have taught us something about feet on the street and it won‘t be uneasy just for the dictators. Having to learn about democracy from the Egyptians. Isn’t that a sad comment on how far we have sunk.
Thousands protest anti-union bill in Wisconsin
By Scott Bauer, Associated Press –
MADISON, Wis. –
Thousands of teachers, students and prison guards descended on the Wisconsin Capitol on Wednesday to fight a move to strip government workers of union rights in the first state to grant them more than a half-century ago.
The Statehouse filled with as many as 10,000 demonstrators who chanted, sang the national anthem and beat drums for hours. The noise in the rotunda rose to the level of a chainsaw, and many Madison teachers joined the protest by calling in sick in such numbers that the district — the state's second-largest — had to cancel classes.
______________________________________________________
Beware Pentagon. . . Half billion down. 500 more to go. Maybe it won’t be business as usual. Maybe there’s a rebellion brewing against the powers that have been able to lock in stupid defense spending for decades.
Obama, GOP freshmen win in jet engine budget fight
AP – Defense Secretary Robert Gates testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Feb. 16, 2011, before …
By DAVID ESPO, AP Special Correspondent David Espo, Ap Special Correspondent – 2 hrs 2 mins ago
WASHINGTON – Determined to reduce deficits, impatient House Republican freshmen made common cause with President Barack Obama on Wednesday, scoring their biggest victory to date in a vote to cancel $450 million for an alternative engine for the Pentagon's next-generation warplane.
"Right here, right now was a surefire way to reduce spending," declared Rep. Tom Rooney of Florida, a second-term lawmaker whose summons to cut money from the F-35 fighter jet was answered by 47 Republican newcomers. Speaker John Boehner and other House GOP leaders back the funding.
Congress plays chicken over paying for 1099 mandate repeal
Cheaters screwed themselves and are now reaping the pain. Too Bad.
Neil deMause, contributing writer, On Wednesday February 16, 2011
The expanded 1099 reporting mandate was placed in the health reform bill in late 2009 by the Senate Finance Committee, which was looking for ways to raise revenue to help make health reform "revenue neutral" -- a key demand of Obama's. The bipartisan Congressional Joint Committee on Taxation estimated requiring all purchases of goods and services to be reported on 1099 forms would reduce the "tax gap" on income that businesses collect but don't report could by about $2 billion a year.
____________________________________________________
Israel knows all about provocations. Check out Sharron touring the Dome of the Rock and starting the Second Intafada with his in-your-face bravado
Israel claims Iran warships to transit Suez Canal
By Mark Lavie, Associated Press –
JERUSALEM – Israel's foreign minister claimed Wednesday that Iran is about to send two warships through the Suez Canal for the first time in years, calling it a "provocation," but he offered no evidence. The Egyptian authority that runs the canal denied it.
Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman "This is a provocation that proves that Iranian audacity and insolence are increasing."
______________________________________________________
What a concept--but first the public has to believe America is an empire. Its tactics were certainly aired during the revolution in Egypt. Enough to strip the blinders off the public if they just paid attention. America is not without fault, not a benign good fellow.
Nadler, Polis Push Today to Cut Deficit by Trimming Empire
Robert Naiman, Truthout: "President Obama and House Republicans are out with their budget plans for the next fiscal year. Economist Jeffrey Sachs described it thus: President Obama wants to bleed the patient. House Republicans want to cut the patient's arm off. As Sachs pointed out, it's only possible in our 'Mubarak Egypt' political terrain - both party leaderships catering to the super rich, largely ignoring the interests of the vast majority of Americans who must work or scrounge to earn their daily bread - that we can have a debate premised on the absurd notion that the budget deficit is an urgent crisis while we have ten percent measured unemployment and many Americans - disproportionately veterans - don't have a decent place to sleep. But if that weren't outrageous enough, amid all the blather about 'shared sacrifice,' there is another group of powerful people that are largely escaping budget pain, in the plans of leaders of both parties, besides the super rich: the partisans of the Empire."
________________________________________________
Maybe the spirit of Egypt won’t just spread to the Middle East. Maybe they have taught us something about feet on the street and it won‘t be uneasy just for the dictators. Having to learn about democracy from the Egyptians. Isn’t that a sad comment on how far we have sunk.
Thousands protest anti-union bill in Wisconsin
By Scott Bauer, Associated Press –
MADISON, Wis. –
Thousands of teachers, students and prison guards descended on the Wisconsin Capitol on Wednesday to fight a move to strip government workers of union rights in the first state to grant them more than a half-century ago.
The Statehouse filled with as many as 10,000 demonstrators who chanted, sang the national anthem and beat drums for hours. The noise in the rotunda rose to the level of a chainsaw, and many Madison teachers joined the protest by calling in sick in such numbers that the district — the state's second-largest — had to cancel classes.
______________________________________________________
Beware Pentagon. . . Half billion down. 500 more to go. Maybe it won’t be business as usual. Maybe there’s a rebellion brewing against the powers that have been able to lock in stupid defense spending for decades.
Obama, GOP freshmen win in jet engine budget fight
AP – Defense Secretary Robert Gates testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Feb. 16, 2011, before …
By DAVID ESPO, AP Special Correspondent David Espo, Ap Special Correspondent – 2 hrs 2 mins ago
WASHINGTON – Determined to reduce deficits, impatient House Republican freshmen made common cause with President Barack Obama on Wednesday, scoring their biggest victory to date in a vote to cancel $450 million for an alternative engine for the Pentagon's next-generation warplane.
"Right here, right now was a surefire way to reduce spending," declared Rep. Tom Rooney of Florida, a second-term lawmaker whose summons to cut money from the F-35 fighter jet was answered by 47 Republican newcomers. Speaker John Boehner and other House GOP leaders back the funding.
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
The budget, the facts, the killers, and Tom Clancy
Notes 59
The opposition plan we have been waiting for. I hope we get it and rue the day.
Obama, GOP steering onto budget collision course
By David Espo And Andrew Taylor, Associated Press –
WASHINGTON –
Republicans used their first major spending bill to reflect conservative priorities on a range of issues, from abortion to the environment.
The bill would prohibit federal funding for any private organization that uses its own funds to facilitate abortions, except in cases of rape, incest or when the life of the mother is in jeopardy.
It also would block the administration from terminating plans for a nuclear waste site at Yucca Mountain in Nevada — a direct challenge to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.
Additionally, the EPA would be barred from regulating greenhouse gas emissions from factories and other stationary sites.
Conservatives said they would attempt to add other policy requirements to the legislation during floor debate, including one to prevent the implementation of the year-old health care law.
______________________________________________________
The problem with our democracy is the people are NOT well informed and don't much care to be or are too ll educated to be able to be. So ther goes Jefferson's axiom.
Bill Moyers: "Facts Still Matter ..."
Monday 14 February 2011
by: Bill Moyers, t r u t h o u t | Speech
Hadn't Thomas Jefferson proclaimed that, "Whenever the people are well-informed, they can be trusted with their own government"? And wasn't a free press essential to that end?
I had left the White House by then to be publisher of Newsday and would soon join public television as anchor of a weekly broadcast. Fred's first teaching assistant, Martin Clancy, was my star producer. It was usually one of Fred's people who taught me the most about our craft - how it was possible through the coupling of word and image to come close to the verifiable truth and an honest accounting of reality. Fred played a critical role in my life when, after stints at both CBS and PBS, I had to choose between the two. I had found it increasingly difficult at the network to do the work I most wanted to do, but was reluctant to take off the golden handcuffs and leap into the world of independent production. I went over to see Fred at the foundation and there was nothing subtle in his advice. He said, "You're never going to do the work you most want to do until you do it for yourself." So, I followed him overboard.
Fred was right, as he so often was: independence meant the best hope for me to pursue journalism as a mission. Perhaps, we were naïve, but in those days many of us still assumed that an informed public is preferable to an uninformed one. Hadn't Thomas Jefferson proclaimed that, "Whenever the people are well-informed, they can be trusted with their own government"? And wasn't a free press essential to that end?
__________________________________________________
Obama Prince of the Poor or Darth Vader
Left slams Obama over safety net
Charles Riley, staff reporter, On Tuesday February 15, 2011
The Progressive Change Campaign Committee, a liberal organization that boasts 700,000 members, took Obama to task before the budget was even officially released.
"Proposing even more tax breaks for Wall Street banks while slashing and burning necessary government programs is right-wing radicalism, and no Democratic president should be part of it," the group said in a statement.
Obama -- who worked for years as a community organizer -- acknowledged that some of the programs facing cuts are personally important to him.
"This budget freeze will require some tough choices," the president said Monday. "It will mean cutting things that I care deeply about."
"The budget proposal from President Obama is right from the Republican plan," Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr., a Democrat from Obama's home state of Illinois said in a statement. "As the president, he should be the last line of defense for the most vulnerable Americans, instead of the first one to cut."
_________________________________________________
Maybe Arizona will get what it deserves, its own Clockwork Orange
Anti-immigration Sheriff Joe Arpaio leads AZ Senate Race
By Rachel Rose Hartman – Tue Feb 15
A new poll shows Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio is the favorite candidate for Arizona Senate among state Republicans, Roll Call's David M. Drucker reports.
Anti-illegal immigration activists across the country have hailed the Republican sheriff as a model of harsher enforcement. He led the GOP field with 21 percent in a poll from Summit Consulting Group. Arpaio has not indicated he will run in 2012 in the race to succeed Republican Sen. Jon Kyl, who is retiring. But the poll suggests if Arpaio could be a formidable candidate should he elect to run.
_______________________________________________________
Joe Arpaio would know what to do. Former Special Forces troop thought he had a license to kill--like Blackwater thugs. Finally somebody standing up to people U.S turns loose as professional killers.
Kerry tries to soothe Pakistan diplomatic dispute
By BABAR DOGAR and HEIDI VOGT, Associated Press Babar Dogar And Heidi Vogt, Associated Press – 21 mins ago
LAHORE, Pakistan –
U.S. officials have said Davis shot in self-defense when two armed men on a motorcycle tried to rob him. Pakistani police officials have said they plan to try him for murder, arguing that while the Pakistanis did have a loaded gun, there was no round in the chamber, and saying Davis shot one man as he was trying to flee.
Regardless of guilt, the U.S. says the detention of Davis, a former Special Forces soldier and an embassy worker, is illegal under international agreements covering diplomats. U.S. officials have threatened to withhold billions of dollars in aid to Pakistan unless Davis is freed.
___________________________________________________________
The world of the Bourne Identity only more ruthless and deadly. Our murderous thugs against their murderous thugs in a battle for underworld supremacy while the rest of the innocent world bumbles on
New York TIMES
Arts Beat
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
New Clancy Thriller Contains the Sum of All Characters
By DAVE ITZKOFF
The new novel, called “Dead Or Alive” will feature the characters Jack Ryan, the C.I.A. analyst-turned-American president; his son and fellow analyst, Jack Ryan Jr.; the C.I.A. operative John Clark; his apprentice, Ding Chavez; and the agency executive Mary Pat Foley. In a statement, Penguin said the novel will pit them against “The Emir, a sadistic killer who has masterminded the most vicious terrorist attacks on the West” and who “has eluded capture by the world’s armed forces and law enforcement agencies.”
____________________________________________
The beat goes on
Bahrain protesters take control of main square

By Brian Murphy, Associated Press –
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – Thousands of protesters poured into a main square in Bahrain's capital Tuesday in an Egypt-style rebellion that sharply escalated pressure on authorities as the Arab push for change gripped the Gulf for the first time.
Security forces have battled demonstrators calling for political reforms and greater freedoms over two days, leading to the deaths of two protesters and the main opposition group vowing to freeze its work in parliament in protest.
In a clear sign of concern over the widening crisis, Bahrain's King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa made a rare national TV address, offering condolences for the deaths, pledging an investigation into the killings and promising to push ahead with reforms, which include loosening state controls on the media and Internet.
_______________________________________________________
The opposition plan we have been waiting for. I hope we get it and rue the day.
Obama, GOP steering onto budget collision course
By David Espo And Andrew Taylor, Associated Press –
WASHINGTON –
Republicans used their first major spending bill to reflect conservative priorities on a range of issues, from abortion to the environment.
The bill would prohibit federal funding for any private organization that uses its own funds to facilitate abortions, except in cases of rape, incest or when the life of the mother is in jeopardy.
It also would block the administration from terminating plans for a nuclear waste site at Yucca Mountain in Nevada — a direct challenge to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.
Additionally, the EPA would be barred from regulating greenhouse gas emissions from factories and other stationary sites.
Conservatives said they would attempt to add other policy requirements to the legislation during floor debate, including one to prevent the implementation of the year-old health care law.
______________________________________________________
The problem with our democracy is the people are NOT well informed and don't much care to be or are too ll educated to be able to be. So ther goes Jefferson's axiom.
Bill Moyers: "Facts Still Matter ..."
Monday 14 February 2011
by: Bill Moyers, t r u t h o u t | Speech
Hadn't Thomas Jefferson proclaimed that, "Whenever the people are well-informed, they can be trusted with their own government"? And wasn't a free press essential to that end?
I had left the White House by then to be publisher of Newsday and would soon join public television as anchor of a weekly broadcast. Fred's first teaching assistant, Martin Clancy, was my star producer. It was usually one of Fred's people who taught me the most about our craft - how it was possible through the coupling of word and image to come close to the verifiable truth and an honest accounting of reality. Fred played a critical role in my life when, after stints at both CBS and PBS, I had to choose between the two. I had found it increasingly difficult at the network to do the work I most wanted to do, but was reluctant to take off the golden handcuffs and leap into the world of independent production. I went over to see Fred at the foundation and there was nothing subtle in his advice. He said, "You're never going to do the work you most want to do until you do it for yourself." So, I followed him overboard.
Fred was right, as he so often was: independence meant the best hope for me to pursue journalism as a mission. Perhaps, we were naïve, but in those days many of us still assumed that an informed public is preferable to an uninformed one. Hadn't Thomas Jefferson proclaimed that, "Whenever the people are well-informed, they can be trusted with their own government"? And wasn't a free press essential to that end?
__________________________________________________
Obama Prince of the Poor or Darth Vader
Left slams Obama over safety net
Charles Riley, staff reporter, On Tuesday February 15, 2011
The Progressive Change Campaign Committee, a liberal organization that boasts 700,000 members, took Obama to task before the budget was even officially released.
"Proposing even more tax breaks for Wall Street banks while slashing and burning necessary government programs is right-wing radicalism, and no Democratic president should be part of it," the group said in a statement.
Obama -- who worked for years as a community organizer -- acknowledged that some of the programs facing cuts are personally important to him.
"This budget freeze will require some tough choices," the president said Monday. "It will mean cutting things that I care deeply about."
"The budget proposal from President Obama is right from the Republican plan," Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr., a Democrat from Obama's home state of Illinois said in a statement. "As the president, he should be the last line of defense for the most vulnerable Americans, instead of the first one to cut."
_________________________________________________
Maybe Arizona will get what it deserves, its own Clockwork Orange
Anti-immigration Sheriff Joe Arpaio leads AZ Senate Race
By Rachel Rose Hartman – Tue Feb 15
A new poll shows Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio is the favorite candidate for Arizona Senate among state Republicans, Roll Call's David M. Drucker reports.
Anti-illegal immigration activists across the country have hailed the Republican sheriff as a model of harsher enforcement. He led the GOP field with 21 percent in a poll from Summit Consulting Group. Arpaio has not indicated he will run in 2012 in the race to succeed Republican Sen. Jon Kyl, who is retiring. But the poll suggests if Arpaio could be a formidable candidate should he elect to run.
_______________________________________________________
Joe Arpaio would know what to do. Former Special Forces troop thought he had a license to kill--like Blackwater thugs. Finally somebody standing up to people U.S turns loose as professional killers.
Kerry tries to soothe Pakistan diplomatic dispute
By BABAR DOGAR and HEIDI VOGT, Associated Press Babar Dogar And Heidi Vogt, Associated Press – 21 mins ago
LAHORE, Pakistan –
U.S. officials have said Davis shot in self-defense when two armed men on a motorcycle tried to rob him. Pakistani police officials have said they plan to try him for murder, arguing that while the Pakistanis did have a loaded gun, there was no round in the chamber, and saying Davis shot one man as he was trying to flee.
Regardless of guilt, the U.S. says the detention of Davis, a former Special Forces soldier and an embassy worker, is illegal under international agreements covering diplomats. U.S. officials have threatened to withhold billions of dollars in aid to Pakistan unless Davis is freed.
___________________________________________________________
The world of the Bourne Identity only more ruthless and deadly. Our murderous thugs against their murderous thugs in a battle for underworld supremacy while the rest of the innocent world bumbles on
New York TIMES
Arts Beat
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
New Clancy Thriller Contains the Sum of All Characters
By DAVE ITZKOFF
The new novel, called “Dead Or Alive” will feature the characters Jack Ryan, the C.I.A. analyst-turned-American president; his son and fellow analyst, Jack Ryan Jr.; the C.I.A. operative John Clark; his apprentice, Ding Chavez; and the agency executive Mary Pat Foley. In a statement, Penguin said the novel will pit them against “The Emir, a sadistic killer who has masterminded the most vicious terrorist attacks on the West” and who “has eluded capture by the world’s armed forces and law enforcement agencies.”
____________________________________________
The beat goes on
Bahrain protesters take control of main square

By Brian Murphy, Associated Press –
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – Thousands of protesters poured into a main square in Bahrain's capital Tuesday in an Egypt-style rebellion that sharply escalated pressure on authorities as the Arab push for change gripped the Gulf for the first time.
Security forces have battled demonstrators calling for political reforms and greater freedoms over two days, leading to the deaths of two protesters and the main opposition group vowing to freeze its work in parliament in protest.
In a clear sign of concern over the widening crisis, Bahrain's King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa made a rare national TV address, offering condolences for the deaths, pledging an investigation into the killings and promising to push ahead with reforms, which include loosening state controls on the media and Internet.
_______________________________________________________
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
IMF/Austerity budgets; shades of Westmoreland; and other mourning news
Notes 58
Understanding why the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund are not well liked outside the industrialized west and why nations like Britain and the U.S have become one of the Third World debtor nations. Explained in less time that it takes to get a taxi in New York
"Austerity" Comes to America
Monday 14 February 2011
by: Richard D. Wolff, t r u t h o u t | Video
His documentary film on that crisis, Capitalism Hits the Fan, can be previewed at www.capitalismhitsthefan.com.
________________________________________________
Back to General Westmoreland and the Tet Offensive that proved his lies unbelievable
Deferring to Petraeus, NIE Failed to Register Taliban Growth
Gareth Porter, Inter Press Service: "Despite evidence that the Taliban insurgency had grown significantly in 2010, the U.S. intelligence community failed to revise its estimate for Taliban forces as part of a National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) on Afghanistan in December. That unusual decision was in deference to Gen. David Petraeus, commander of U.S.-NATO forces in Afghanistan, who did not want any official estimate of the insurgency's strength that would contradict his claims of success by Special Operations Forces in reducing the capabilities of the Taliban in 2010."
__________________________________________________
Our own sectarian state right here in River City
Christian Flag Folding Ceremony Reveals Official Sanction of Church-State Violations in the Military
Valerie Tarico, Away Point: "When American soldiers come forward with tales of divisive evangelism run amuck in the military - for example, proselytizing by commanding officers, coerced attendance at revival meetings, distribution of Bibles to Afghanis or Jesus coins to Iraqis - one problem they face is that people find the stories too outrageous to be credible. A combat soldier being forced to pick hairs out of a latrine because he wouldn't pray? Another being told he's responsible if any of his buddies die? An Iraqi child post-IED given a tract that shows dead Iraqis going to hell and Americans (aka Christians) going to heaven? Some folks have accused the Military Religious Freedom Foundation of making this stuff up. Military officials insist that each event was the isolated actions of individual soldiers and lacked official sanction. One recent scandal left little room for such framing."
_____________________________________________________
Obama’s con job--masking as a liberal while acting like an antidote for liberal values and programs
Liberal Fallacies: Protecting Social Security From Its "Friends"
L. Randall Wray, new deal 2.0: "Liberal attacks on Social Security are the unkindest cut of all. The Center for American Progress's Matt Miller has argued that liberals can learn a valuable lesson from NY Governor Andrew Cuomo's proposed budget. With his state facing a fiscal crisis, the Governor has proposed to cap growth of state spending on the Medicaid program. Miller has argued that we should follow his example and apply a similar cap to Social Security spending."
_______________________________________________________
The Deepwater Horizon blowout in the Gulf just of the tip of the damage done to environment by oil companies In Ecuador, Nigeria, Siberia and places off our usual maps
Chevron fined $8.6 billion in Ecuador
By Gonzalo Solano And Frank Bajak, Associated Press –
QUITO, Ecuador – An Ecuadorean judge ruled Monday in an epic environmental case that Chevron Corp. was responsible for oil drilling contamination in a wide swath of Ecuador's northern jungle and ordered the oil giant to pay $8.6 billion in damages and cleanup costs.
The amount was far below the $27.3 billion recommended by a court-appointed expert but appeared to be the highest damage award ever issued in an environmental lawsuit.
_________________________________________________________
Busted--why the Arabs and the rest do not like U.S military on the ground in their countries
Argentina, US tangle over military material
By Michael Warren, Associated Press – Mon Feb 14
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina – Argentina is accusing the U.S. military of trying to sneak guns and spy equipment into the country under the guise of providing a routine police training course — a charge disputed Monday by U.S. officials.
Argentine authorities say they seized nearly 1,000 cubic feet of undeclared equipment, describing it as machine guns and ammunition, drugs and spy equipment. It was on a U.S. Air Force C-17 cargo plane that landed Thursday with material for a training course that a U.S. Special Forces team had been invited to provide to Argentina's federal police.
"Argentine law must be complied with by all, without exception," Foreign Minister Hector Timerman told Arturo Valenzuela, the assistant U.S. secretary of state for Western Hemisphere affairs, when Valenzuela called him to complain about how authorities handled the cargo, the ministry said.
___________________________________________________________
FYI--the New York Stock Exchange will soon be a memory
The Deutsche Boerse and NYSE Euronext are expected to announce their merger Tuesday.
The merger would create the world's largest exchange operator.
Once Deutsche Boerse completes its takeover agreement with NYSE Euronext, the parent of the New York Stock Exchange, the 17-member board of the combined firm will mostly be drawn from the Germany company, The Wall Street Journal reports.
Understanding why the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund are not well liked outside the industrialized west and why nations like Britain and the U.S have become one of the Third World debtor nations. Explained in less time that it takes to get a taxi in New York
"Austerity" Comes to America
Monday 14 February 2011
by: Richard D. Wolff, t r u t h o u t | Video
His documentary film on that crisis, Capitalism Hits the Fan, can be previewed at www.capitalismhitsthefan.com.
________________________________________________
Back to General Westmoreland and the Tet Offensive that proved his lies unbelievable
Deferring to Petraeus, NIE Failed to Register Taliban Growth
Gareth Porter, Inter Press Service: "Despite evidence that the Taliban insurgency had grown significantly in 2010, the U.S. intelligence community failed to revise its estimate for Taliban forces as part of a National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) on Afghanistan in December. That unusual decision was in deference to Gen. David Petraeus, commander of U.S.-NATO forces in Afghanistan, who did not want any official estimate of the insurgency's strength that would contradict his claims of success by Special Operations Forces in reducing the capabilities of the Taliban in 2010."
__________________________________________________
Our own sectarian state right here in River City
Christian Flag Folding Ceremony Reveals Official Sanction of Church-State Violations in the Military
Valerie Tarico, Away Point: "When American soldiers come forward with tales of divisive evangelism run amuck in the military - for example, proselytizing by commanding officers, coerced attendance at revival meetings, distribution of Bibles to Afghanis or Jesus coins to Iraqis - one problem they face is that people find the stories too outrageous to be credible. A combat soldier being forced to pick hairs out of a latrine because he wouldn't pray? Another being told he's responsible if any of his buddies die? An Iraqi child post-IED given a tract that shows dead Iraqis going to hell and Americans (aka Christians) going to heaven? Some folks have accused the Military Religious Freedom Foundation of making this stuff up. Military officials insist that each event was the isolated actions of individual soldiers and lacked official sanction. One recent scandal left little room for such framing."
_____________________________________________________
Obama’s con job--masking as a liberal while acting like an antidote for liberal values and programs
Liberal Fallacies: Protecting Social Security From Its "Friends"
L. Randall Wray, new deal 2.0: "Liberal attacks on Social Security are the unkindest cut of all. The Center for American Progress's Matt Miller has argued that liberals can learn a valuable lesson from NY Governor Andrew Cuomo's proposed budget. With his state facing a fiscal crisis, the Governor has proposed to cap growth of state spending on the Medicaid program. Miller has argued that we should follow his example and apply a similar cap to Social Security spending."
_______________________________________________________
The Deepwater Horizon blowout in the Gulf just of the tip of the damage done to environment by oil companies In Ecuador, Nigeria, Siberia and places off our usual maps
Chevron fined $8.6 billion in Ecuador
By Gonzalo Solano And Frank Bajak, Associated Press –
QUITO, Ecuador – An Ecuadorean judge ruled Monday in an epic environmental case that Chevron Corp. was responsible for oil drilling contamination in a wide swath of Ecuador's northern jungle and ordered the oil giant to pay $8.6 billion in damages and cleanup costs.
The amount was far below the $27.3 billion recommended by a court-appointed expert but appeared to be the highest damage award ever issued in an environmental lawsuit.
_________________________________________________________
Busted--why the Arabs and the rest do not like U.S military on the ground in their countries
Argentina, US tangle over military material
By Michael Warren, Associated Press – Mon Feb 14
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina – Argentina is accusing the U.S. military of trying to sneak guns and spy equipment into the country under the guise of providing a routine police training course — a charge disputed Monday by U.S. officials.
Argentine authorities say they seized nearly 1,000 cubic feet of undeclared equipment, describing it as machine guns and ammunition, drugs and spy equipment. It was on a U.S. Air Force C-17 cargo plane that landed Thursday with material for a training course that a U.S. Special Forces team had been invited to provide to Argentina's federal police.
"Argentine law must be complied with by all, without exception," Foreign Minister Hector Timerman told Arturo Valenzuela, the assistant U.S. secretary of state for Western Hemisphere affairs, when Valenzuela called him to complain about how authorities handled the cargo, the ministry said.
___________________________________________________________
FYI--the New York Stock Exchange will soon be a memory
The Deutsche Boerse and NYSE Euronext are expected to announce their merger Tuesday.
The merger would create the world's largest exchange operator.
Once Deutsche Boerse completes its takeover agreement with NYSE Euronext, the parent of the New York Stock Exchange, the 17-member board of the combined firm will mostly be drawn from the Germany company, The Wall Street Journal reports.
Monday, February 14, 2011
unrest and budgets
Notes 57
REAL POLITIK
America's Proud Egypt Moment
The DAILY BEAST
Peter Beinart – Mon Feb 14
NEW YORK – Forced to choose between national interests and national ideals, the Obama administration, and many of its fiercest domestic critics, chose ideals. That’s a remarkable achievement, writes Peter Beinart.
In 2009, Barack Obama told an audience in Cairo that “America is not the crude stereotype of a self-interested empire.” Now, in 2011, he—and we—have proved it. It’s a proud moment for Egypt, and for America too.
When nations rise up nonviolently against their pro-American tyrants, Americans across the political spectrum grow ashamed, and that shame can be the difference between a peaceful revolution and Tiananmen Square.
Since World War II, international-relations theory has been dominated by “realism,” a doctrine that sees ideology as a thin veneer covering national interest, which is to say: a nation’s effort to maximize its power.
Hosni Mubarak’s regime was the foundation stone—along with Israel and Saudi Arabia—of American power in the Middle East. It tortured suspected Al Qaeda terrorists for us, pressured the Palestinians for us, and did its best to contain Iran.
When it came to Egypt, the relevant divide was between neoconservatives and Islamophobes, the kind of folks who think the real problem with the Middle East is the Koran itself. The other divide was between the neoconservatives and Benjamin Netanyahu, whose government yearned for Mubarak to stay.
Peter Beinart is associate professor of journalism and political science at City University of New York and a senior fellow at the New America Foundation.
What is the difference between success and failure? Mass
Iranian opposition defies warning, calls for rally
By Nasser Karimi, Associated Press –
TEHRAN, Iran – Iran's opposition on Sunday renewed its call for a rally in support of protesters in Tunisia and Egypt despite a government warning of repercussions if demonstrations take place, a reformist website reported.
It was not clear whether the rally would actually take place. Many opposition calls for demonstrations in the past months have gone unheeded.
The protests that swept Iran in the months after the 2009 vote grew into a larger movement opposed to Iran's ruling system. It was the biggest challenge faced by Iran's clerical leadership since it came to power in the 1979 revolution that toppled the U.S.-backed shah.
Hundreds of thousands peacefully took to the streets in support of Mousavi, and some powerful clerics sided with the opposition.
________________________________________________
Doug Holtz-Eakin has nerve to say on MSNBC that Obama budget is on wrong track, will increase deficits. He was chief economist and Director of Congressional Budget Office under the two Bush presidencies when the budgets went from surplus to doubling and tripling the national debt. His explanation for the financial collapse, “common shock.”
And he is the expert on budgets? What a joke.
Monday, January 31, 2011
What caused the financial crisis?
Managers of many large and midsize financial institutions amassed enormous concentrations of highly correlated housing risk;
and they amplified this risk by holding too little capital relative to the risks and funded these exposures with short-term debt.
These risks within highly leveraged, short-funded financial firms with concentrated exposure to a collapsing asset class led to a cascade of firm failures. The losses spread in two ways. Some firms had large counterparty credit risk exposures, and the sudden and disorderly failure of one firm risked triggering losses elsewhere. We call this the risk of contagion.
In other cases, the problem was a common shock.
A rapid succession of 10 firm failures, mergers and restructurings in September 2008 caused a financial shock and panic
Confidence and trust in the financial system evaporated, as the health of almost every large and midsize financial institution in the U.S. and Europe was questioned. The financial shock and panic caused a severe contraction in the real economy.
__________________________________________________
The wonders of voodoo accounting. Everybody wins--except the losers
By Darlene Superville, Associated Press – 55 mins ago
WASHINGTON – An administration official says President Barack Obama is proposing to cut $100 billion over a decade from the Pell Grant program through belt-tightening, but use the savings to keep the maximum college financial aid award at $5,550.
Most of the projected savings, more than $90 billion, would be achieved through two changes would require congressional approval.
The administration official spoke on condition of anonymity because Obama's 2012 budget hasn't been released. That happens on Monday, when the White House sends the plan to Capitol Hill.
__________________________________________________
Somebody in the Administration finally getting idea. It’s time for corps to pony up.
Quote of the Day: Aw, You Don't Really Want Lower Taxes
By Uri Friedman | February 09, 2011
"There are folks who say they'd like their taxes lower, but we'll persuade 'em."
- Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, speaking to Judy Woodruff at The Atlantic's "Building the Economy & Jobs of the Future" event on Wednesday morning. Geithner was discussing the administration's efforts to convince corporate CEOs to support reform of the corporate tax code, even if means eliminating loopholes that have proven lucrative for certain companies.
_______________________________________________________
INFURIATING. Republican plan to cut the budget--screw the poor, pay off the oil lobby that drives not only the budget but the wars of the past 50 years
Obama wields scalpel to budget, avoiding much pain
By Andrew Taylor, Associated Press – Sun Feb 13, 12:51 am ET
WASHINGTON
House Republicans are trying to pull back $2.5 billion that's already been promised. He's seeking increases for his "Race to the Top" initiative that provides grants to better-performing schools; Republicans on Friday unveiled a five percent cut to schools serving the disadvantaged
Obama promises to seek eliminating tens of billions of dollars in tax breaks for oil companies — even though such ideas went nowhere under Democratic control of Congress and have even less of a chance now
____________________________________________________
McConnell on Obama. He got part of it right
McConnell says Obama agenda is `over'
By Bruce Schreiner, Associated Press – Sat Feb 12
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell declared Saturday that President Barack Obama's legislative agenda is "over," but said GOP lawmakers are willing to work with the White House to do what they "think is right for America."
In a speech Saturday night to a GOP crowd in his hometown, the Kentucky Republican derided Obama for performing "Clintonian back flips" to portray himself as a moderate, but said it's yet to be seen whether the new tone is "rhetoric or reality."
_______________________________________________________
Whahoooooooo. A leader of the opposition party willing take the risk with his base and say it the way it is. Obama is an American and a Christian. But Boehner unwilling to ,address any ignorance among his base, says educating the public is not his job
Boehner says facts show Obama a Christian, citizen Sun Feb 13
WASHINGTON
When the host of NBC's "Meet the Press" asked Boehner whether he, as speaker of the House, had a responsibility to "stand up to that kind of ignorance," Boehner told David Gregory: "It's not my job to tell the American people what to think. Our job in Washington is to listen to the American people."
Boehner continued: "Having said that, the state of Hawaii has said that he was born there. That's good enough for me. The president says he's a Christian. I accept him at his word." He later called those "the facts" of Obama's background.
Gregory asked, "But that kind of ignorance, about whether he's a Muslim, doesn't concern you?"
"The American people have the right to think what they want to think," Boehner replied. "I can't — it's not my job to tell them."
__________________________________________________
REAL POLITIK
America's Proud Egypt Moment
The DAILY BEAST
Peter Beinart – Mon Feb 14
NEW YORK – Forced to choose between national interests and national ideals, the Obama administration, and many of its fiercest domestic critics, chose ideals. That’s a remarkable achievement, writes Peter Beinart.
In 2009, Barack Obama told an audience in Cairo that “America is not the crude stereotype of a self-interested empire.” Now, in 2011, he—and we—have proved it. It’s a proud moment for Egypt, and for America too.
When nations rise up nonviolently against their pro-American tyrants, Americans across the political spectrum grow ashamed, and that shame can be the difference between a peaceful revolution and Tiananmen Square.
Since World War II, international-relations theory has been dominated by “realism,” a doctrine that sees ideology as a thin veneer covering national interest, which is to say: a nation’s effort to maximize its power.
Hosni Mubarak’s regime was the foundation stone—along with Israel and Saudi Arabia—of American power in the Middle East. It tortured suspected Al Qaeda terrorists for us, pressured the Palestinians for us, and did its best to contain Iran.
When it came to Egypt, the relevant divide was between neoconservatives and Islamophobes, the kind of folks who think the real problem with the Middle East is the Koran itself. The other divide was between the neoconservatives and Benjamin Netanyahu, whose government yearned for Mubarak to stay.
Peter Beinart is associate professor of journalism and political science at City University of New York and a senior fellow at the New America Foundation.
What is the difference between success and failure? Mass
Iranian opposition defies warning, calls for rally
By Nasser Karimi, Associated Press –
TEHRAN, Iran – Iran's opposition on Sunday renewed its call for a rally in support of protesters in Tunisia and Egypt despite a government warning of repercussions if demonstrations take place, a reformist website reported.
It was not clear whether the rally would actually take place. Many opposition calls for demonstrations in the past months have gone unheeded.
The protests that swept Iran in the months after the 2009 vote grew into a larger movement opposed to Iran's ruling system. It was the biggest challenge faced by Iran's clerical leadership since it came to power in the 1979 revolution that toppled the U.S.-backed shah.
Hundreds of thousands peacefully took to the streets in support of Mousavi, and some powerful clerics sided with the opposition.
________________________________________________
Doug Holtz-Eakin has nerve to say on MSNBC that Obama budget is on wrong track, will increase deficits. He was chief economist and Director of Congressional Budget Office under the two Bush presidencies when the budgets went from surplus to doubling and tripling the national debt. His explanation for the financial collapse, “common shock.”
And he is the expert on budgets? What a joke.
Monday, January 31, 2011
What caused the financial crisis?
Managers of many large and midsize financial institutions amassed enormous concentrations of highly correlated housing risk;
and they amplified this risk by holding too little capital relative to the risks and funded these exposures with short-term debt.
These risks within highly leveraged, short-funded financial firms with concentrated exposure to a collapsing asset class led to a cascade of firm failures. The losses spread in two ways. Some firms had large counterparty credit risk exposures, and the sudden and disorderly failure of one firm risked triggering losses elsewhere. We call this the risk of contagion.
In other cases, the problem was a common shock.
A rapid succession of 10 firm failures, mergers and restructurings in September 2008 caused a financial shock and panic
Confidence and trust in the financial system evaporated, as the health of almost every large and midsize financial institution in the U.S. and Europe was questioned. The financial shock and panic caused a severe contraction in the real economy.
__________________________________________________
The wonders of voodoo accounting. Everybody wins--except the losers
By Darlene Superville, Associated Press – 55 mins ago
WASHINGTON – An administration official says President Barack Obama is proposing to cut $100 billion over a decade from the Pell Grant program through belt-tightening, but use the savings to keep the maximum college financial aid award at $5,550.
Most of the projected savings, more than $90 billion, would be achieved through two changes would require congressional approval.
The administration official spoke on condition of anonymity because Obama's 2012 budget hasn't been released. That happens on Monday, when the White House sends the plan to Capitol Hill.
__________________________________________________
Somebody in the Administration finally getting idea. It’s time for corps to pony up.
Quote of the Day: Aw, You Don't Really Want Lower Taxes
By Uri Friedman | February 09, 2011
"There are folks who say they'd like their taxes lower, but we'll persuade 'em."
- Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, speaking to Judy Woodruff at The Atlantic's "Building the Economy & Jobs of the Future" event on Wednesday morning. Geithner was discussing the administration's efforts to convince corporate CEOs to support reform of the corporate tax code, even if means eliminating loopholes that have proven lucrative for certain companies.
_______________________________________________________
INFURIATING. Republican plan to cut the budget--screw the poor, pay off the oil lobby that drives not only the budget but the wars of the past 50 years
Obama wields scalpel to budget, avoiding much pain
By Andrew Taylor, Associated Press – Sun Feb 13, 12:51 am ET
WASHINGTON
House Republicans are trying to pull back $2.5 billion that's already been promised. He's seeking increases for his "Race to the Top" initiative that provides grants to better-performing schools; Republicans on Friday unveiled a five percent cut to schools serving the disadvantaged
Obama promises to seek eliminating tens of billions of dollars in tax breaks for oil companies — even though such ideas went nowhere under Democratic control of Congress and have even less of a chance now
____________________________________________________
McConnell on Obama. He got part of it right
McConnell says Obama agenda is `over'
By Bruce Schreiner, Associated Press – Sat Feb 12
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell declared Saturday that President Barack Obama's legislative agenda is "over," but said GOP lawmakers are willing to work with the White House to do what they "think is right for America."
In a speech Saturday night to a GOP crowd in his hometown, the Kentucky Republican derided Obama for performing "Clintonian back flips" to portray himself as a moderate, but said it's yet to be seen whether the new tone is "rhetoric or reality."
_______________________________________________________
Whahoooooooo. A leader of the opposition party willing take the risk with his base and say it the way it is. Obama is an American and a Christian. But Boehner unwilling to ,address any ignorance among his base, says educating the public is not his job
Boehner says facts show Obama a Christian, citizen Sun Feb 13
WASHINGTON
When the host of NBC's "Meet the Press" asked Boehner whether he, as speaker of the House, had a responsibility to "stand up to that kind of ignorance," Boehner told David Gregory: "It's not my job to tell the American people what to think. Our job in Washington is to listen to the American people."
Boehner continued: "Having said that, the state of Hawaii has said that he was born there. That's good enough for me. The president says he's a Christian. I accept him at his word." He later called those "the facts" of Obama's background.
Gregory asked, "But that kind of ignorance, about whether he's a Muslim, doesn't concern you?"
"The American people have the right to think what they want to think," Boehner replied. "I can't — it's not my job to tell them."
__________________________________________________
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Constant vigilance, the price of democracy
Notes 56
Status quo uninterrupted. Egypt’s repression of Gaza continues. When do Israelis abide by international law and end blockade of Gaza?
Egypt military promises to abide by peace deal
By Maggie Michael, Associated Press --
CAIRO – Egypt's ruling military reassured its international allies Saturday that there would be no break in its peace deal with Israel following the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak, and it lay out the first tentative steps to keep Egypt's economy and state functioning while it figures out how to overhaul the country for greater democracy.
The preserving of Mubarak's last government was likely to disappoint protesters, thousands of whom remain in their camp in Cairo's central Tahrir Square. Many of them have demanded more dramatic steps like the dissolving of parliament and the scrapping of the current government to form a broader-based transitional body to oversee reforms until elections can be held.
A spokesman for the Armed Forces Supreme Council underlined the military's "commitment to all Egypt's international treaties."
The military statement, aired on state TV, was its first, cautious attempt to define the next steps after Mubarak handed over power to a council of his top generals and resigned on Friday in the face of an 18-day wave of popular protests.
The military's statement did not rule out these steps might still be carried out.
__________________________________________________
Egypt's revolt met with wide support, censorship
By Raphael G. Satter, Associated Press –
LONDON –Nearly everywhere else, newspapers congratulated Egypt's revolution, with many headlines carrying the word: "Finally."
From London to Gaza City to Seoul, the world was savoring the spectacular fall of Egypt's Hosni Mubarak, with demonstrators rallying in the thousands Saturday in cities across the world. But other authoritarian regimes weren't celebrating — and some are trying to censor the news.
In China, where the ruling Communist Party ruthlessly stamps out dissent, terse media reports downplayed the large-scale pro-democracy protests in Egypt that forced Mubarak from power and instead emphasized the country's disorder and lawlessness.
In oil-rich Equatorial Guinea, where coup leader Teodoro Obiang has held sway since 1979, state-controlled media was ordered to stop reporting about Egypt altogether, according to African news site afrol.com.
____________________________________________________
Before there was the Shah, there was a democratically elected government in Iran, but one that threatened American oil supply. Western values have incorporated the idea of conquest and expansion and exploitation since the Iliad and the Odyssey and the Old Testament. Maybe it’s time to reexamine them and see if anybody else has a right, without going to war, to hold their native lands in Africa, in Asia, in Australia, in the Americas where the buffalo once roamed, in peace under their own rules.
Egypt and Iran; Different looks at people power
By Robert H. Reid, Associated Press –
CAIRO –
The face of the revolution was Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, whose demeanor, vehemently anti-American rhetoric and stern interpretation of Islam challenged not only Western interests but also Western values.
On Feb. 11, 1979, the commander of the Iranian air force announced on national radio that the armed forces were withdrawing from the fight to save the American-backed regime of Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, who had already fled the country three weeks before in the face of burgeoning street protests against his autocratic rule.
No sooner had the announcement come than the streets of Cairo exploded in joyful celebration. The hated autocrat was gone. A new era was ushered in with cheers, tears and the cacophony of car horns.
And so it was in Tehran — 32 years before to the day.
The popular revolt against the shah raised alarm bells in the West, which saw the shah as a trusted ally and counterweight to hard-line Arab regimes and Palestinian radicals.
____________________________________________________
The same complaints Third World countries have had for decades. IMF not user friendly
Greece slams IMF, EU debt inspectors for hubris
By Elena Becatoros, Associated Press –
ATHENS, Greece – An indignant Greece slammed EU and International Monetary Fund inspectors overseeing its efforts to reform its debt-crippled economy, accusing them Saturday of overstepping their role and interfering in Greece's internal affairs.
In an unusually harshly worded, pre-dawn statement, government spokesman Giorgos Petalotis called the behavior of the inspectors at a Friday news conference unacceptable.
"We have needs, but we also have limits. And we do not negotiate the limits of our dignity with anyone," Petalotis said. "We take orders only from the Greek people."
_________________________________________________
A GREAT place to start cutting budget deficit. Stop paying Harvard tuition rates to incarcerate hundreds of thousands for drug offenses that could be eliminated by buying poppy crop in Arghanistan for pennies on the dollar and burning it.
Webb to push criminal justice reform before exit
By Bob Lewis, Ap Political Writer – Sat Feb 12
RICHMOND, Va. – U.S. Sen. Jim Webb announced this week that he had reintroduced the National Criminal Justice Commission Act to create a panel to review the system and make reform recommendations. He noted that the measure had bipartisan support last year, clearing the Senate Judiciary Committee and passing the full House of Representatives.
Webb of Virginia contends that the current system incarcerates too many people at too high a cost, with poor results. He said legislation got bogged down last year but that he's confident it will pass in this session.
"We're going to get it done," the 65-year-old Democrat told The Associated Press in a brief phone interview on Friday.
______________________________________________________
Cutting cost of criminal justice system pales by comparison to cutting cost of Tooth Fairy dole\
Paul Ryan Criticizes Bernanke for Failing to Contain Tooth Fairy
James Kwak, The Baseline Scenario: "In a Congressional hearing Wednesday, Representative Paul Ryan (R-WI), chair of the House Budget Committee, strongly criticized Federal Reserve Chair Ben Bernanke for failing to contain the severe inflation threat posed by the Tooth Fairy. Ryan pointed to numerous studies showing that, despite ongoing economic sluggishness, the Tooth Fairy is paying much more for children's baby teeth than in past years. In neighborhoods such as Winnetka, Cleveland Park, the Upper East Side, and Palo Alto, children can receive more than $20 per tooth - a dramatic increase from the 25-50 cents that the Tooth Fairy paid only a decade or two ago. In the Hamptons, summertime prices for teeth can easily exceed $100, according to a survey commissioned by the American Enterprise Institute."
_________________________________________________________
If we are going to return to something to get our house in order, let’s return to the pre-Reagan years when the government was solvent, the military was in control, and the sun set on an immensely smaller American pie.
Republicans take a $100 billion whack at Obama budget
By Brad Knickerbocker Brad Knickerbocker – Sat Feb 12,
“The CR contains over $100 billion in cuts compared to the President’s request – fully meeting the spending reduction goal outlined in the Republican ‘Pledge to America’ while providing common sense exceptions for our troops and veterans,” says Rep. Hal Rogers (R) of Kentucky, chairman of the House Appropriations Committee. “These cuts go far and wide, and will affect every community in the nation.”
“These were hard decisions, and I know many people will not be happy with everything we’ve proposed in this package,” he said. “That’s understandable and not unexpected, but I believe these reductions are necessary to show that we are serious about returning our nation to a sustainable financial path.”
_________________________________________________
Is objective journalism like the Loch Ness Monster?
Katrina vanden Heuvel and Ryan Grim on the State of the Media (Video)
GRITtv: "'We don't write about class struggle in the US so it's hard for us to see it elsewhere,' says the Huffington Post's Ryan Grim on the failings of the US media around issues in Egypt. And Katrina vanden Heuvel notes that Islamophobia in the US leads many to focus on fear of the Muslim Brotherhood rather than understanding the ways that Islam and democracy coexist and complement one another.
__________________________________________________
Another capitulation to the banking industry and the insurance industry
White House wants less gov't in mortgage system
By Daniel Wagner And Derek Kravitz, Ap Business Writers – Fri Feb 11
WASHINGTON – The Obama administration wants to shrink the government's role in the mortgage system — a proposal that would remake decades of federal policy aimed at getting Americans to buy homes and would probably make home loans more expensive across the board.
The Treasury Department rolled out a plan Friday to slowly dissolve Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government-sponsored programs that bought up mortgages to encourage more lending and required bailouts during the 2008 financial crisis.
Exactly how far the government's role in mortgages would be reduced was left to Congress to decide, but all three options the administration presented would create a housing finance system that relies far more on private money.
____________________________________________________
Public Trust is a thing of the past. The social contract has gone the way of the ardvark. Survival of he fittest has become common law and the devil take the hindmost.
Discover the Network Out to Crush Our Public Workers
Dave Johnson, Campaign for America's Future: "People hear the same story over and over and over and over, seemingly coming from everywhere: public employees have it good, with extravagant pay and 'lavish' or 'plush' pensions, while taxpayers are taking it in the shorts. Public-employee pensions are 'bankrupting' the state/county/city. 'Unfunded liabilities' are 'out of control' and it is time to do something about it before it is too late."
_____________________________________________________
Our secular government being moth eaten by efforts to make religion cornerstone of military and litmus tests.
Backward, Christian Soldiers
Stephen Glain, The Nation: "Late last summer, Mikey Weinstein broke up a fight between Crystal and Ginger, the guard dogs trained to protect him and his family from a violent reckoning with Christian zealots. For the 55-year-old civil rights activist committed to ridding the US military of religious intolerance, it was a refreshingly secular and evenly matched bout. Weinstein is, after all, famously combative, both pugnacious and profane, with the bearing and sensibility of a mastiff. In the end he prevailed and peace was restored, though at the price of some bad scratches on his arms and a hole in his right hand where a well-aimed canine had struck."
_____________________________________________________
All in the name of security but we are more secure without Big Brother’s and secret police and secret tortures secret courts
Obama Assertion: FBI Can Get Phone Records Without Oversight
Marisa Taylor, McClatchy Newspapers: "The Obama administration's Justice Department has asserted that the FBI can obtain telephone records of international calls made from the U.S. without any formal legal process or court oversight, according to a document obtained by McClatchy. That assertion was revealed — perhaps inadvertently — by the department in its response to a McClatchy request for a copy of a secret Justice Department memo. Critics say the legal position is flawed and creates a potential loophole that could lead to a repeat of FBI abuses that were supposed to have been stopped in 2006."
Status quo uninterrupted. Egypt’s repression of Gaza continues. When do Israelis abide by international law and end blockade of Gaza?
Egypt military promises to abide by peace deal
By Maggie Michael, Associated Press --
CAIRO – Egypt's ruling military reassured its international allies Saturday that there would be no break in its peace deal with Israel following the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak, and it lay out the first tentative steps to keep Egypt's economy and state functioning while it figures out how to overhaul the country for greater democracy.
The preserving of Mubarak's last government was likely to disappoint protesters, thousands of whom remain in their camp in Cairo's central Tahrir Square. Many of them have demanded more dramatic steps like the dissolving of parliament and the scrapping of the current government to form a broader-based transitional body to oversee reforms until elections can be held.
A spokesman for the Armed Forces Supreme Council underlined the military's "commitment to all Egypt's international treaties."
The military statement, aired on state TV, was its first, cautious attempt to define the next steps after Mubarak handed over power to a council of his top generals and resigned on Friday in the face of an 18-day wave of popular protests.
The military's statement did not rule out these steps might still be carried out.
__________________________________________________
Egypt's revolt met with wide support, censorship
By Raphael G. Satter, Associated Press –
LONDON –Nearly everywhere else, newspapers congratulated Egypt's revolution, with many headlines carrying the word: "Finally."
From London to Gaza City to Seoul, the world was savoring the spectacular fall of Egypt's Hosni Mubarak, with demonstrators rallying in the thousands Saturday in cities across the world. But other authoritarian regimes weren't celebrating — and some are trying to censor the news.
In China, where the ruling Communist Party ruthlessly stamps out dissent, terse media reports downplayed the large-scale pro-democracy protests in Egypt that forced Mubarak from power and instead emphasized the country's disorder and lawlessness.
In oil-rich Equatorial Guinea, where coup leader Teodoro Obiang has held sway since 1979, state-controlled media was ordered to stop reporting about Egypt altogether, according to African news site afrol.com.
____________________________________________________
Before there was the Shah, there was a democratically elected government in Iran, but one that threatened American oil supply. Western values have incorporated the idea of conquest and expansion and exploitation since the Iliad and the Odyssey and the Old Testament. Maybe it’s time to reexamine them and see if anybody else has a right, without going to war, to hold their native lands in Africa, in Asia, in Australia, in the Americas where the buffalo once roamed, in peace under their own rules.
Egypt and Iran; Different looks at people power
By Robert H. Reid, Associated Press –
CAIRO –
The face of the revolution was Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, whose demeanor, vehemently anti-American rhetoric and stern interpretation of Islam challenged not only Western interests but also Western values.
On Feb. 11, 1979, the commander of the Iranian air force announced on national radio that the armed forces were withdrawing from the fight to save the American-backed regime of Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, who had already fled the country three weeks before in the face of burgeoning street protests against his autocratic rule.
No sooner had the announcement come than the streets of Cairo exploded in joyful celebration. The hated autocrat was gone. A new era was ushered in with cheers, tears and the cacophony of car horns.
And so it was in Tehran — 32 years before to the day.
The popular revolt against the shah raised alarm bells in the West, which saw the shah as a trusted ally and counterweight to hard-line Arab regimes and Palestinian radicals.
____________________________________________________
The same complaints Third World countries have had for decades. IMF not user friendly
Greece slams IMF, EU debt inspectors for hubris
By Elena Becatoros, Associated Press –
ATHENS, Greece – An indignant Greece slammed EU and International Monetary Fund inspectors overseeing its efforts to reform its debt-crippled economy, accusing them Saturday of overstepping their role and interfering in Greece's internal affairs.
In an unusually harshly worded, pre-dawn statement, government spokesman Giorgos Petalotis called the behavior of the inspectors at a Friday news conference unacceptable.
"We have needs, but we also have limits. And we do not negotiate the limits of our dignity with anyone," Petalotis said. "We take orders only from the Greek people."
_________________________________________________
A GREAT place to start cutting budget deficit. Stop paying Harvard tuition rates to incarcerate hundreds of thousands for drug offenses that could be eliminated by buying poppy crop in Arghanistan for pennies on the dollar and burning it.
Webb to push criminal justice reform before exit
By Bob Lewis, Ap Political Writer – Sat Feb 12
RICHMOND, Va. – U.S. Sen. Jim Webb announced this week that he had reintroduced the National Criminal Justice Commission Act to create a panel to review the system and make reform recommendations. He noted that the measure had bipartisan support last year, clearing the Senate Judiciary Committee and passing the full House of Representatives.
Webb of Virginia contends that the current system incarcerates too many people at too high a cost, with poor results. He said legislation got bogged down last year but that he's confident it will pass in this session.
"We're going to get it done," the 65-year-old Democrat told The Associated Press in a brief phone interview on Friday.
______________________________________________________
Cutting cost of criminal justice system pales by comparison to cutting cost of Tooth Fairy dole\
Paul Ryan Criticizes Bernanke for Failing to Contain Tooth Fairy
James Kwak, The Baseline Scenario: "In a Congressional hearing Wednesday, Representative Paul Ryan (R-WI), chair of the House Budget Committee, strongly criticized Federal Reserve Chair Ben Bernanke for failing to contain the severe inflation threat posed by the Tooth Fairy. Ryan pointed to numerous studies showing that, despite ongoing economic sluggishness, the Tooth Fairy is paying much more for children's baby teeth than in past years. In neighborhoods such as Winnetka, Cleveland Park, the Upper East Side, and Palo Alto, children can receive more than $20 per tooth - a dramatic increase from the 25-50 cents that the Tooth Fairy paid only a decade or two ago. In the Hamptons, summertime prices for teeth can easily exceed $100, according to a survey commissioned by the American Enterprise Institute."
_________________________________________________________
If we are going to return to something to get our house in order, let’s return to the pre-Reagan years when the government was solvent, the military was in control, and the sun set on an immensely smaller American pie.
Republicans take a $100 billion whack at Obama budget
By Brad Knickerbocker Brad Knickerbocker – Sat Feb 12,
“The CR contains over $100 billion in cuts compared to the President’s request – fully meeting the spending reduction goal outlined in the Republican ‘Pledge to America’ while providing common sense exceptions for our troops and veterans,” says Rep. Hal Rogers (R) of Kentucky, chairman of the House Appropriations Committee. “These cuts go far and wide, and will affect every community in the nation.”
“These were hard decisions, and I know many people will not be happy with everything we’ve proposed in this package,” he said. “That’s understandable and not unexpected, but I believe these reductions are necessary to show that we are serious about returning our nation to a sustainable financial path.”
_________________________________________________
Is objective journalism like the Loch Ness Monster?
Katrina vanden Heuvel and Ryan Grim on the State of the Media (Video)
GRITtv: "'We don't write about class struggle in the US so it's hard for us to see it elsewhere,' says the Huffington Post's Ryan Grim on the failings of the US media around issues in Egypt. And Katrina vanden Heuvel notes that Islamophobia in the US leads many to focus on fear of the Muslim Brotherhood rather than understanding the ways that Islam and democracy coexist and complement one another.
__________________________________________________
Another capitulation to the banking industry and the insurance industry
White House wants less gov't in mortgage system
By Daniel Wagner And Derek Kravitz, Ap Business Writers – Fri Feb 11
WASHINGTON – The Obama administration wants to shrink the government's role in the mortgage system — a proposal that would remake decades of federal policy aimed at getting Americans to buy homes and would probably make home loans more expensive across the board.
The Treasury Department rolled out a plan Friday to slowly dissolve Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government-sponsored programs that bought up mortgages to encourage more lending and required bailouts during the 2008 financial crisis.
Exactly how far the government's role in mortgages would be reduced was left to Congress to decide, but all three options the administration presented would create a housing finance system that relies far more on private money.
____________________________________________________
Public Trust is a thing of the past. The social contract has gone the way of the ardvark. Survival of he fittest has become common law and the devil take the hindmost.
Discover the Network Out to Crush Our Public Workers
Dave Johnson, Campaign for America's Future: "People hear the same story over and over and over and over, seemingly coming from everywhere: public employees have it good, with extravagant pay and 'lavish' or 'plush' pensions, while taxpayers are taking it in the shorts. Public-employee pensions are 'bankrupting' the state/county/city. 'Unfunded liabilities' are 'out of control' and it is time to do something about it before it is too late."
_____________________________________________________
Our secular government being moth eaten by efforts to make religion cornerstone of military and litmus tests.
Backward, Christian Soldiers
Stephen Glain, The Nation: "Late last summer, Mikey Weinstein broke up a fight between Crystal and Ginger, the guard dogs trained to protect him and his family from a violent reckoning with Christian zealots. For the 55-year-old civil rights activist committed to ridding the US military of religious intolerance, it was a refreshingly secular and evenly matched bout. Weinstein is, after all, famously combative, both pugnacious and profane, with the bearing and sensibility of a mastiff. In the end he prevailed and peace was restored, though at the price of some bad scratches on his arms and a hole in his right hand where a well-aimed canine had struck."
_____________________________________________________
All in the name of security but we are more secure without Big Brother’s and secret police and secret tortures secret courts
Obama Assertion: FBI Can Get Phone Records Without Oversight
Marisa Taylor, McClatchy Newspapers: "The Obama administration's Justice Department has asserted that the FBI can obtain telephone records of international calls made from the U.S. without any formal legal process or court oversight, according to a document obtained by McClatchy. That assertion was revealed — perhaps inadvertently — by the department in its response to a McClatchy request for a copy of a secret Justice Department memo. Critics say the legal position is flawed and creates a potential loophole that could lead to a repeat of FBI abuses that were supposed to have been stopped in 2006."
Saturday, February 12, 2011
VE Day in Egypt
When the Silent Majority finally decides they’ve had enough, People Power can create DEMOCRACY
Democracy protests bring down Egypt's Mubarak
Reuters/Dylan MartinezAnti-government protesters celebrate in Tahrir Square, Cairo, Egypt
AP – Anti-government protesters, and Egyptian soldiers on top of their vehicles, make traditional Muslim Friday …
By PAUL SCHEMM and MAGGIE MICHAEL, Associated Press Paul Schemm And Maggie Michael, Associated Press – 11 mins ago
CAIRO – Egypt exploded with joy, tears, and relief after pro-democracy protesters brought down President Hosni Mubarak with a momentous march on his palaces and state TV. Mubarak, who until the end seemed unable to grasp the depth of resentment over his three decades of authoritarian rule, finally resigned Friday and handed power to the military.
"The people ousted the regime," rang out chants from crowds of hundreds of thousands massed in Cairo's central Tahrir Square and outside Mubarak's main palace several miles away in a northern district of the capital.
The crowds in Cairo, the Mediterranean city of Alexandria and other cities around the country burst into pandemonium. They danced, chanted "goodbye, goodbye," and raised their hands in prayer as fireworks and car horns sounded after Vice President Omar Suleiman made the announcement on national TV just after nightfall.
"Finally we are free," said Safwan Abou Stat, a 60-year-old in the crowd of protesters at the palace. "From now on anyone who is going to rule will know that these people are great.
________________________________________________
The beginning of a NEW WORLD
Analysis: Fallout from Egypt being felt in region
AP – First Person: On ground in Cairo, change begins
AP – Yemenis chant slogans and hold posters of Egypt's late President Gamal Abdel Nasser during a demonstration …
By BRIAN MURPHY, Associated Press Brian Murphy, Associated Press – 41 mins ago
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – Less than a month after the world watched Tunisia celebrate the collapse of the country's strong-arm ruler, the scenes in central Cairo on Friday offered an even more potent display of the newfound power of the Arab street: fist-pumping crowds cheering the end of President Hosni Mubarak.
The downfall of Mubarak — one of the mainstays of Middle East politics and Western policies in the region for nearly three decades — marks another history-shaping moment for the Arab world from a country seen by many as its political and cultural crucible.
________________________________________________
U.S. hails Mubarak exit, wants "irreversible" change
Reuters – U.S. President Barack Obama walks to the Oval Office of the White House in Washington February 10, 2011. …
By Matt Spetalnick Matt Spetalnick – 3 mins ago
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Vice President Joe Biden hailed Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak's exit from power on Friday as a "pivotal moment" for the Middle East and insisted Egypt's democratic transition must be irreversible.
Biden spoke shortly before President Barack Obama was to step before television cameras at the White House as he weighs the deep uncertainty and huge challenges Washington now faces in dealing with Egypt's potentially volatile power shift.
"The transition that's taking place must be an irreversible change and a negotiated path toward democracy," Biden told a college audience in Kentucky after Mubarak handed over power to Egypt's military. "What is at stake in Egypt and across the Middle East is not just about Egypt alone."
__________________________________________________
Tweets, cheers, fireworks: The world praises Egypt
AP – Pro-democracy supporters react to news of the resignation of President Hosni Mubarak in Egypt on the …
By RAPHAEL G. SATTER, Associated Press Raphael G. Satter, Associated Press – 51 mins ago
LONDON – Fireworks and celebratory gunfire rang out in Tunisia and Lebanon, South Africans recalled Nelson Mandela's euphoric release from prison and two words — "Congrats Egypt" — dominated social media sites as the world cheered the ouster of Egypt's Hosni Mubarak.
European officials on Friday saluted the resilience of the demonstrators in Cairo — who mobbed the capital for 18 days to demand their rights despite attacks from pro-government thugs — and pledged assistance to help Egypt make the transition to democracy.
"In their eyes, you can see what power freedom can have," German Chancellor Angela Merkel said of the protesters, adding that, by stepping down, Mubarak had rendered "a last service to the Egyptian people." Merkel herself had lived under another autocratic regime, growing up behind the Iron Curtain in East Germany.
_____________________________________________________
With all the aborted roadmaps to peace and peace negotiations going back to the Oslo Accords in 1993, Israel has had numerous chances to reach a settlement with the Palestinians. They decided to run the clock and bite away at the West Bank one settlement at a time until they now control about 60% of something not theirs. Now the clock has run out.
Israel watches Mubarak ouster with trepidation
By Ian Deitch, Associated Press – Fri Feb 11
JERUSALEM –In Gaza, thousands rushed into the streets in jubilation. Expectations were rising in Gaza that regime change in Egypt will help end a crushing border blockade of the territory, imposed by Egypt and Israel after a Hamas takeover of Gaza in 2007.
"Egypt wrote today a new chapter in the history of the Arab nations and I can see the blockade on Gaza shaking right now," said Gaza's Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh.
Hamas has smuggled weapons into Gaza through smuggling tunnels that bypass the blockade, and Israel fears the influx of arms could now increase.
Still, the peace treaty with Israel was not raised by protesters during the current uprising, and the Muslim Brotherhood has been vague on the issue.
A strengthened Muslim Brotherhood could affect the power struggle between the two Palestinian political camps — the Islamic militant Hamas in Gaza and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank.
Abbas is backed by the West.
Some in Israel feared the unrest could spread to neighboring Jordan, the only other Arab country that has a peace deal with Israel, or to the Palestinian territories.
Former Israeli officials expressed concern that regime change in Egypt, as part of a wider transformation of the Arab world, could leave Israel even more isolated. Last year, regional powerhouse Turkey shifted away from its alliance with Israel.
_____________________________________________
This is the regime we supported, beginning with Ronald Reagan. If Obama gets nothing else done, his oft-stated convictions about democracy in Egypt coupled with the back channel efforts to remove Mubarak will make him memorable if he sees it through..
How Hosni Mubarak Got So Rich
Rick Newman, On Friday February 11, 2011, 5:28 pm EST
Mubarak was a military man, not a businessman. But running a country with a suspended constitution for 30 years generates certain perks, and Mubarak was in a position to take a slice of virtually every significant business deal in the country, from development projects throughout the Nile basin to transit projects on the Suez Canal, which is a conduit for about 4 percent of the world's oil shipments. "There was no accountability, no need for transparency," says Prof. Amaney Jamal of Princeton University. "He was able to reach into the economic sphere and benefit from monopolies, bribery fees, red-tape fees, and nepotism. It was guaranteed profit."
Had the typical Egyptian enjoyed a morsel of that, Mubarak might still be in power. But Egypt, despite a cadre of well-educated young people, has struggled as an economic backwater. The nation's GDP per capita is just $6,200, according to the CIA--one-seventh what it is in the United States. That output ranks 136th in the world, even though Egypt ranks 16th in population. Mubarak had been working on a set of economic reforms, but they stalled during the global recession. The chronic lack of jobs and upward mobility was perhaps the biggest factor driving millions of enraged Egyptian youths into the streets, demanding change.
Democracy protests bring down Egypt's Mubarak
Reuters/Dylan MartinezAnti-government protesters celebrate in Tahrir Square, Cairo, Egypt
AP – Anti-government protesters, and Egyptian soldiers on top of their vehicles, make traditional Muslim Friday …
By PAUL SCHEMM and MAGGIE MICHAEL, Associated Press Paul Schemm And Maggie Michael, Associated Press – 11 mins ago
CAIRO – Egypt exploded with joy, tears, and relief after pro-democracy protesters brought down President Hosni Mubarak with a momentous march on his palaces and state TV. Mubarak, who until the end seemed unable to grasp the depth of resentment over his three decades of authoritarian rule, finally resigned Friday and handed power to the military.
"The people ousted the regime," rang out chants from crowds of hundreds of thousands massed in Cairo's central Tahrir Square and outside Mubarak's main palace several miles away in a northern district of the capital.
The crowds in Cairo, the Mediterranean city of Alexandria and other cities around the country burst into pandemonium. They danced, chanted "goodbye, goodbye," and raised their hands in prayer as fireworks and car horns sounded after Vice President Omar Suleiman made the announcement on national TV just after nightfall.
"Finally we are free," said Safwan Abou Stat, a 60-year-old in the crowd of protesters at the palace. "From now on anyone who is going to rule will know that these people are great.
________________________________________________
The beginning of a NEW WORLD
Analysis: Fallout from Egypt being felt in region
AP – First Person: On ground in Cairo, change begins
AP – Yemenis chant slogans and hold posters of Egypt's late President Gamal Abdel Nasser during a demonstration …
By BRIAN MURPHY, Associated Press Brian Murphy, Associated Press – 41 mins ago
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – Less than a month after the world watched Tunisia celebrate the collapse of the country's strong-arm ruler, the scenes in central Cairo on Friday offered an even more potent display of the newfound power of the Arab street: fist-pumping crowds cheering the end of President Hosni Mubarak.
The downfall of Mubarak — one of the mainstays of Middle East politics and Western policies in the region for nearly three decades — marks another history-shaping moment for the Arab world from a country seen by many as its political and cultural crucible.
________________________________________________
U.S. hails Mubarak exit, wants "irreversible" change
Reuters – U.S. President Barack Obama walks to the Oval Office of the White House in Washington February 10, 2011. …
By Matt Spetalnick Matt Spetalnick – 3 mins ago
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Vice President Joe Biden hailed Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak's exit from power on Friday as a "pivotal moment" for the Middle East and insisted Egypt's democratic transition must be irreversible.
Biden spoke shortly before President Barack Obama was to step before television cameras at the White House as he weighs the deep uncertainty and huge challenges Washington now faces in dealing with Egypt's potentially volatile power shift.
"The transition that's taking place must be an irreversible change and a negotiated path toward democracy," Biden told a college audience in Kentucky after Mubarak handed over power to Egypt's military. "What is at stake in Egypt and across the Middle East is not just about Egypt alone."
__________________________________________________
Tweets, cheers, fireworks: The world praises Egypt
AP – Pro-democracy supporters react to news of the resignation of President Hosni Mubarak in Egypt on the …
By RAPHAEL G. SATTER, Associated Press Raphael G. Satter, Associated Press – 51 mins ago
LONDON – Fireworks and celebratory gunfire rang out in Tunisia and Lebanon, South Africans recalled Nelson Mandela's euphoric release from prison and two words — "Congrats Egypt" — dominated social media sites as the world cheered the ouster of Egypt's Hosni Mubarak.
European officials on Friday saluted the resilience of the demonstrators in Cairo — who mobbed the capital for 18 days to demand their rights despite attacks from pro-government thugs — and pledged assistance to help Egypt make the transition to democracy.
"In their eyes, you can see what power freedom can have," German Chancellor Angela Merkel said of the protesters, adding that, by stepping down, Mubarak had rendered "a last service to the Egyptian people." Merkel herself had lived under another autocratic regime, growing up behind the Iron Curtain in East Germany.
_____________________________________________________
With all the aborted roadmaps to peace and peace negotiations going back to the Oslo Accords in 1993, Israel has had numerous chances to reach a settlement with the Palestinians. They decided to run the clock and bite away at the West Bank one settlement at a time until they now control about 60% of something not theirs. Now the clock has run out.
Israel watches Mubarak ouster with trepidation
By Ian Deitch, Associated Press – Fri Feb 11
JERUSALEM –In Gaza, thousands rushed into the streets in jubilation. Expectations were rising in Gaza that regime change in Egypt will help end a crushing border blockade of the territory, imposed by Egypt and Israel after a Hamas takeover of Gaza in 2007.
"Egypt wrote today a new chapter in the history of the Arab nations and I can see the blockade on Gaza shaking right now," said Gaza's Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh.
Hamas has smuggled weapons into Gaza through smuggling tunnels that bypass the blockade, and Israel fears the influx of arms could now increase.
Still, the peace treaty with Israel was not raised by protesters during the current uprising, and the Muslim Brotherhood has been vague on the issue.
A strengthened Muslim Brotherhood could affect the power struggle between the two Palestinian political camps — the Islamic militant Hamas in Gaza and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank.
Abbas is backed by the West.
Some in Israel feared the unrest could spread to neighboring Jordan, the only other Arab country that has a peace deal with Israel, or to the Palestinian territories.
Former Israeli officials expressed concern that regime change in Egypt, as part of a wider transformation of the Arab world, could leave Israel even more isolated. Last year, regional powerhouse Turkey shifted away from its alliance with Israel.
_____________________________________________
This is the regime we supported, beginning with Ronald Reagan. If Obama gets nothing else done, his oft-stated convictions about democracy in Egypt coupled with the back channel efforts to remove Mubarak will make him memorable if he sees it through..
How Hosni Mubarak Got So Rich
Rick Newman, On Friday February 11, 2011, 5:28 pm EST
Mubarak was a military man, not a businessman. But running a country with a suspended constitution for 30 years generates certain perks, and Mubarak was in a position to take a slice of virtually every significant business deal in the country, from development projects throughout the Nile basin to transit projects on the Suez Canal, which is a conduit for about 4 percent of the world's oil shipments. "There was no accountability, no need for transparency," says Prof. Amaney Jamal of Princeton University. "He was able to reach into the economic sphere and benefit from monopolies, bribery fees, red-tape fees, and nepotism. It was guaranteed profit."
Had the typical Egyptian enjoyed a morsel of that, Mubarak might still be in power. But Egypt, despite a cadre of well-educated young people, has struggled as an economic backwater. The nation's GDP per capita is just $6,200, according to the CIA--one-seventh what it is in the United States. That output ranks 136th in the world, even though Egypt ranks 16th in population. Mubarak had been working on a set of economic reforms, but they stalled during the global recession. The chronic lack of jobs and upward mobility was perhaps the biggest factor driving millions of enraged Egyptian youths into the streets, demanding change.
Friday, February 11, 2011
Quixotic Mubarak
Notes 54
Egypt Army Promises 'Free, Fair' Elections
Egypt's Mubarak to step down, sources say
NBC News is told VP will take over; protesters and opposition fear a military coup
NBC, msnbc.com and news services NBC, msnbc.com and news services updated 2 hours 2 minutes ago 2011-02-10T18:22:29
breaking news
CAIRO — Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak is to step down tonight, two sources have told NBC News, losing his 30-year grip on power after 17 days of mass uprisings across the country.
NBC's Richard Engel reported that a high-ranking source inside the president's office said the newly appointed vice president, Omar Suleiman, would take over. This was confirmed by a second source.
State television reported that country's supreme military council had expressed its "support of the legitimate demands" of the protesters after an all-day meeting. The latest developments came on the heels of repeated warnings by members of the regime of a military crackdown or coup.
Some pro-democracy protesters reacted cautiously to the reports Mubarak was leaving, saying they would only believe them if and when he announced his departure on television.
President Barack Obama urged people to "wait and see."
___________________________________________________
A quickly revolving story
By MAGGIE MICHAEL, Associated Press Maggie Michael, Associated Press
CAIRO – State TV says Egypt's information minister has denied that President Hosni Mubarak will step down.
The comment by Anas el-Fiqqi, in a written scroll on state television, comes ahead of an address by Mubarak to the nation. Announcements by the military that the demands of protesters calling for his immediate ouster would be met raised their expectations he would announce his resignation
___________________________________________________
Not so easy
Egypt's Mubarak transfers power to vice president
By Maggie Michael, Associated Press –
CAIRO – Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak announced he has handed his powers over to his vice president but he refused to step down outright or leave the country, retaining his title of president and ensuring regime control over the reform process. Stunned protesters in central Cairo who demand his ouster waved their shoes in contempt and shouted, "Leave, leave, leave."
The crowd in Tahrir Square had swollen to several hundred thousand in expectation that Mubarak would announce is resignation in the nighttime address to the nation. Instead, they watched in silence, slapping their foreheads in anger and disbelief. Some broke into tears. After he finished, they broke out into chants for him to go.
Immediately after Mubarak's speech, Vice President Omar Suleiman called on the protesters to "go home" and asked Egyptians to "unite and look to the future."
___________________________________________________________
Saga of the nine vestal virgins tht are swiftly decreasing in number
Impatient, Obama sharply questions Mubarak pledge
By Ben Feller, Ap White House Correspondent –
WASHINGTON – Bristling with impatience, President Barack Obama on Thursday openly and sharply questioned whether Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak's pledge to shift power to his vice president is an "immediate, meaningful or sufficient" sign of reform for a country in upheaval.
Obama's comments came after Mubarak, in a televised speech, refused to step down despite intense speculation that he was on the brink of ouster. He said he was delegating powers to Vice President Omar Suleiman, yet Mubarak remained president and defiantly said he would so until a successor was elected to replace him in September. Protesters were shocked, saddened and enraged.
Obama challenged Egypt's leaders to plainly explain what the new changes mean and how they would lead them to the freedoms or opportunities that have driven enormous crowds into the streets since late January.
"Too many Egyptians remain unconvinced that the government is serious about a genuine transition to democracy," Obama said, "and it is the responsibility of the government to speak clearly to the Egyptian people and the world."
Still, analysts and even U.S. officials themselves acknowledge the White House has limited power to shape what Egypt does.
The White House has warned Egypt's leaders that they should not expect those protests to go away until they respond appropriately; at issue are deep concerns over repression, poverty and corruption.
In his address on state TV, Mubarak showed the strategy he has followed throughout the days of upheaval. He has made a series of largely superficial concessions while resolutely sticking to his refusal to step down immediately. And on Thursday, he said he would not give in to what he called foreign dictates.
"President Mubarak's announcement that he will remain in power is deeply unfortunate and troubling," said Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona. "The voices of the Egyptian people are growing louder and more unified, and they are not demanding partial transfers of power or minor adjustments to the current government. They are calling for President Mubarak to step down."
Joel Rubin, a former State Department official under President George W. Bush, said Mubarak was directly referring to the United States on Thursday when he said he would not be pushed out by foreign powers.
"He's daring them," said Joel Rubin, deputy director at the Washington-based National Security Network. "The White House will have a harder time messaging now because he's called their bluff."
A coup or other non-constitutional transfer of power could trigger a suspension in all non-humanitarian assistance. The U.S. is providing at least $1.5 billion annually to Egypt in military aid.
_________________________________________________
Not only Mubarak has the power to shut things down. While Obama dithers if he’s on side of democracy or dictators, Liberation Sq continues to be a beacon for democracy
Egypt bus drivers go on strike as unrest spreads
AP – 27 mins ago
CAIRO – Bus drivers and other public transportation employees in Egypt have gone on strike as spreading labor unrest adds momentum to mass protests calling for President Hosni Mubarak's ouster.
___________________________________________________
OOOPS. What you call something does make a difference. Like terrorism for example. Maybe nothing more than insurgencies after all. Maybe just local crime lords
Mexico angry at US official's 'insurgency' remark
By E. Eduardo Castillo, Associated Press – 1 hr 54 mins ago
MEXICO CITY – The Mexican government on Wednesday condemned comments by a top U.S. Defense Department official characterizing the drug gang violence here as a "form of insurgency" — remarks the official later apologized for and retracted.
Mexico's Foreign Secretary Patricia Espinosa regretted that "outdated visions" on drug trafficking continue to be used and urged U.S. officials to refrain from commenting on issues they are not fully informed about.
"These unfortunate incidents should show that officials need to refrain from making statements, from giving opinions without having all the facts," Espinosa said.
____________________________________________________
According to NBC terrorism analyst , al Qaida formed by Egyptians in reaction to Mubarak repression. If democracy triumphs in Egypt, al Qaida has lost its reason to be.
AP source: Clapper says al-Qaida top threat
By Kimberly Dozier, Ap Intelligence Writer –
WASHINGTON – Amid criticism that intelligence services missed the signs of Arab revolt in Tunisia and Egypt, the nation's top intelligence official will tell Congress that the threat from al-Qaida and its affiliates remains his No. 1 priority, U.S. officials said.
In testimony scheduled Thursday before the House Intelligence Committee, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper will stress that counterterrorism to keep Americans safe is the focus of the intelligence community, according to one of those officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss matters of intelligence.
_________________________________________________________
Not some enemy but the military a threat to national security according to Admiral Mullen
Mullen: Debt is top national security threat
August 27, 2010
|By the CNN Wire Staff
The wars on Iraq and Afghanistan have contributed to a more than doubling of the Pentagon budget, which has jumped from $300 billion to $664 billion since 2000

"The most significant threat to our national security is our debt," Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Adm. Michael Mullen told CNN Wednesday. "And the reason I say that is because the ability for our country to resource our military -- and I have a pretty good feeling and understanding about what our national security requirements are -- is going to be directly proportional -- over time, not next year or the year after, but over time -- to help our economy.
The national debt is bad for the military according to Mullen


"That's why it's so important that the economy move in the right direction, because the strength and the support and the resources that our military uses are directly related to the health of our economy over time."
____________________________________________________
.
Gimme a break. If we had just a small portion of the money spent on useless systems and scare-tactic hardware liked missile defense and missile silos over the past half century, the country would be solvent instead of broke and we’d be out of the war business,
Defense leaders warn of impact of big budget cuts
By LOLITA C. BALDOR, Associated Press Lolita C. Baldor, Associated Press – 1 hr 12 mins ago
WASHINGTON – Congress' failure to pass a 2011 defense budget bill is jeopardizing the military's effort to send more surveillance and attack drones into Afghanistan, as well as stymieing plans to buy a new Navy submarine, Army combat helicopters and other major weapons systems, defense leaders say.
As Pentagon officials fan out across Capitol Hill, pleading for lawmakers to approve the 2011 spending levels proposed by the Obama administration, they also are hitting lawmakers where it hurts — in their congressional districts and states. Less money in the budget, the officials said, will put at risk thousands of jobs and construction projects nationwide.
____________________________________________________
Discretion to pay or not to pay 1.7 billion dollars in bonuses makes Feinberg a sugar daddy
Watchdog: Gov't pay rules had few lasting effects
By Daniel Wagner, Ap Business Writer –
WASHINGTON – The government's restrictions on pay at bailed-out banks had little lasting impact because officials soft-pedaled some issues and did much of their work out of the public's view, a congressional panel says.
Obama administration pay czar Kenneth Feinberg used "black-box" processes that provide few lessons for the private sector, according to a report Thursday from the Congressional Oversight Panel that monitors the $700 billion financial bailout fund. The report faults Feinberg for deciding not to seek the return of $1.7 billion in banker pay that he deemed "ill-advised."\
____________________________________________________
Maybe we need to hire Chinese to find out what’s happening
Report: hackers in China hit Western oil companies
BEIJING – An American security firm says hackers working from China have broken into computers of oil companies in the United States, Taiwan and other countries.
The report Thursday by McAfee says hackers stole sensitive information about operations, finances and bidding for oil fields.
__________________________________________________
A threat to American superiority worth worrying about. What Hitler could not get done, the German economy, industrial base, Burse finally will.
NYSE Euronext in merger talks with
Deutsche Boerse
NYSE, Deutsche Boerse merger talks
By JUERGEN BAETZ and MATTHEW CRAFTThe Associated Press
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
-- Germany's Deutsche Boerse AG, the company that runs the stock exchange in Europe's largest economy, could soon take over the New York Stock Exchange.
NYSE Euronext Inc., which also operates exchanges in Europe, said Wednesday it is in "advanced discussions" about a possible merger with Deutsche Boerse, owner of the Frankfurt stock exchange.
Egypt Army Promises 'Free, Fair' Elections
Egypt's Mubarak to step down, sources say
NBC News is told VP will take over; protesters and opposition fear a military coup
NBC, msnbc.com and news services NBC, msnbc.com and news services updated 2 hours 2 minutes ago 2011-02-10T18:22:29
breaking news
CAIRO — Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak is to step down tonight, two sources have told NBC News, losing his 30-year grip on power after 17 days of mass uprisings across the country.
NBC's Richard Engel reported that a high-ranking source inside the president's office said the newly appointed vice president, Omar Suleiman, would take over. This was confirmed by a second source.
State television reported that country's supreme military council had expressed its "support of the legitimate demands" of the protesters after an all-day meeting. The latest developments came on the heels of repeated warnings by members of the regime of a military crackdown or coup.
Some pro-democracy protesters reacted cautiously to the reports Mubarak was leaving, saying they would only believe them if and when he announced his departure on television.
President Barack Obama urged people to "wait and see."
___________________________________________________
A quickly revolving story
By MAGGIE MICHAEL, Associated Press Maggie Michael, Associated Press
CAIRO – State TV says Egypt's information minister has denied that President Hosni Mubarak will step down.
The comment by Anas el-Fiqqi, in a written scroll on state television, comes ahead of an address by Mubarak to the nation. Announcements by the military that the demands of protesters calling for his immediate ouster would be met raised their expectations he would announce his resignation
___________________________________________________
Not so easy
Egypt's Mubarak transfers power to vice president
By Maggie Michael, Associated Press –
CAIRO – Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak announced he has handed his powers over to his vice president but he refused to step down outright or leave the country, retaining his title of president and ensuring regime control over the reform process. Stunned protesters in central Cairo who demand his ouster waved their shoes in contempt and shouted, "Leave, leave, leave."
The crowd in Tahrir Square had swollen to several hundred thousand in expectation that Mubarak would announce is resignation in the nighttime address to the nation. Instead, they watched in silence, slapping their foreheads in anger and disbelief. Some broke into tears. After he finished, they broke out into chants for him to go.
Immediately after Mubarak's speech, Vice President Omar Suleiman called on the protesters to "go home" and asked Egyptians to "unite and look to the future."
___________________________________________________________
Saga of the nine vestal virgins tht are swiftly decreasing in number
Impatient, Obama sharply questions Mubarak pledge
By Ben Feller, Ap White House Correspondent –
WASHINGTON – Bristling with impatience, President Barack Obama on Thursday openly and sharply questioned whether Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak's pledge to shift power to his vice president is an "immediate, meaningful or sufficient" sign of reform for a country in upheaval.
Obama's comments came after Mubarak, in a televised speech, refused to step down despite intense speculation that he was on the brink of ouster. He said he was delegating powers to Vice President Omar Suleiman, yet Mubarak remained president and defiantly said he would so until a successor was elected to replace him in September. Protesters were shocked, saddened and enraged.
Obama challenged Egypt's leaders to plainly explain what the new changes mean and how they would lead them to the freedoms or opportunities that have driven enormous crowds into the streets since late January.
"Too many Egyptians remain unconvinced that the government is serious about a genuine transition to democracy," Obama said, "and it is the responsibility of the government to speak clearly to the Egyptian people and the world."
Still, analysts and even U.S. officials themselves acknowledge the White House has limited power to shape what Egypt does.
The White House has warned Egypt's leaders that they should not expect those protests to go away until they respond appropriately; at issue are deep concerns over repression, poverty and corruption.
In his address on state TV, Mubarak showed the strategy he has followed throughout the days of upheaval. He has made a series of largely superficial concessions while resolutely sticking to his refusal to step down immediately. And on Thursday, he said he would not give in to what he called foreign dictates.
"President Mubarak's announcement that he will remain in power is deeply unfortunate and troubling," said Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona. "The voices of the Egyptian people are growing louder and more unified, and they are not demanding partial transfers of power or minor adjustments to the current government. They are calling for President Mubarak to step down."
Joel Rubin, a former State Department official under President George W. Bush, said Mubarak was directly referring to the United States on Thursday when he said he would not be pushed out by foreign powers.
"He's daring them," said Joel Rubin, deputy director at the Washington-based National Security Network. "The White House will have a harder time messaging now because he's called their bluff."
A coup or other non-constitutional transfer of power could trigger a suspension in all non-humanitarian assistance. The U.S. is providing at least $1.5 billion annually to Egypt in military aid.
_________________________________________________
Not only Mubarak has the power to shut things down. While Obama dithers if he’s on side of democracy or dictators, Liberation Sq continues to be a beacon for democracy
Egypt bus drivers go on strike as unrest spreads
AP – 27 mins ago
CAIRO – Bus drivers and other public transportation employees in Egypt have gone on strike as spreading labor unrest adds momentum to mass protests calling for President Hosni Mubarak's ouster.
___________________________________________________
OOOPS. What you call something does make a difference. Like terrorism for example. Maybe nothing more than insurgencies after all. Maybe just local crime lords
Mexico angry at US official's 'insurgency' remark
By E. Eduardo Castillo, Associated Press – 1 hr 54 mins ago
MEXICO CITY – The Mexican government on Wednesday condemned comments by a top U.S. Defense Department official characterizing the drug gang violence here as a "form of insurgency" — remarks the official later apologized for and retracted.
Mexico's Foreign Secretary Patricia Espinosa regretted that "outdated visions" on drug trafficking continue to be used and urged U.S. officials to refrain from commenting on issues they are not fully informed about.
"These unfortunate incidents should show that officials need to refrain from making statements, from giving opinions without having all the facts," Espinosa said.
____________________________________________________
According to NBC terrorism analyst , al Qaida formed by Egyptians in reaction to Mubarak repression. If democracy triumphs in Egypt, al Qaida has lost its reason to be.
AP source: Clapper says al-Qaida top threat
By Kimberly Dozier, Ap Intelligence Writer –
WASHINGTON – Amid criticism that intelligence services missed the signs of Arab revolt in Tunisia and Egypt, the nation's top intelligence official will tell Congress that the threat from al-Qaida and its affiliates remains his No. 1 priority, U.S. officials said.
In testimony scheduled Thursday before the House Intelligence Committee, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper will stress that counterterrorism to keep Americans safe is the focus of the intelligence community, according to one of those officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss matters of intelligence.
_________________________________________________________
Not some enemy but the military a threat to national security according to Admiral Mullen
Mullen: Debt is top national security threat
August 27, 2010
|By the CNN Wire Staff
The wars on Iraq and Afghanistan have contributed to a more than doubling of the Pentagon budget, which has jumped from $300 billion to $664 billion since 2000

"The most significant threat to our national security is our debt," Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Adm. Michael Mullen told CNN Wednesday. "And the reason I say that is because the ability for our country to resource our military -- and I have a pretty good feeling and understanding about what our national security requirements are -- is going to be directly proportional -- over time, not next year or the year after, but over time -- to help our economy.
The national debt is bad for the military according to Mullen


"That's why it's so important that the economy move in the right direction, because the strength and the support and the resources that our military uses are directly related to the health of our economy over time."
____________________________________________________
.
Gimme a break. If we had just a small portion of the money spent on useless systems and scare-tactic hardware liked missile defense and missile silos over the past half century, the country would be solvent instead of broke and we’d be out of the war business,
Defense leaders warn of impact of big budget cuts
By LOLITA C. BALDOR, Associated Press Lolita C. Baldor, Associated Press – 1 hr 12 mins ago
WASHINGTON – Congress' failure to pass a 2011 defense budget bill is jeopardizing the military's effort to send more surveillance and attack drones into Afghanistan, as well as stymieing plans to buy a new Navy submarine, Army combat helicopters and other major weapons systems, defense leaders say.
As Pentagon officials fan out across Capitol Hill, pleading for lawmakers to approve the 2011 spending levels proposed by the Obama administration, they also are hitting lawmakers where it hurts — in their congressional districts and states. Less money in the budget, the officials said, will put at risk thousands of jobs and construction projects nationwide.
____________________________________________________
Discretion to pay or not to pay 1.7 billion dollars in bonuses makes Feinberg a sugar daddy
Watchdog: Gov't pay rules had few lasting effects
By Daniel Wagner, Ap Business Writer –
WASHINGTON – The government's restrictions on pay at bailed-out banks had little lasting impact because officials soft-pedaled some issues and did much of their work out of the public's view, a congressional panel says.
Obama administration pay czar Kenneth Feinberg used "black-box" processes that provide few lessons for the private sector, according to a report Thursday from the Congressional Oversight Panel that monitors the $700 billion financial bailout fund. The report faults Feinberg for deciding not to seek the return of $1.7 billion in banker pay that he deemed "ill-advised."\
____________________________________________________
Maybe we need to hire Chinese to find out what’s happening
Report: hackers in China hit Western oil companies
BEIJING – An American security firm says hackers working from China have broken into computers of oil companies in the United States, Taiwan and other countries.
The report Thursday by McAfee says hackers stole sensitive information about operations, finances and bidding for oil fields.
__________________________________________________
A threat to American superiority worth worrying about. What Hitler could not get done, the German economy, industrial base, Burse finally will.
NYSE Euronext in merger talks with
Deutsche Boerse
NYSE, Deutsche Boerse merger talks
By JUERGEN BAETZ and MATTHEW CRAFTThe Associated Press
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
-- Germany's Deutsche Boerse AG, the company that runs the stock exchange in Europe's largest economy, could soon take over the New York Stock Exchange.
NYSE Euronext Inc., which also operates exchanges in Europe, said Wednesday it is in "advanced discussions" about a possible merger with Deutsche Boerse, owner of the Frankfurt stock exchange.
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Mubarak not gone yet
Notes 54
Egypt's Mubarak to step down, sources say
NBC News is told VP will take over; protesters and opposition fear a military coup
NBC, msnbc.com and news services NBC, msnbc.com and news services updated 2 hours 2 minutes ago 2011-02-10T18:22:29
breaking news
CAIRO — Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak is to step down tonight, two sources have told NBC News, losing his 30-year grip on power after 17 days of mass uprisings across the country.
NBC's Richard Engel reported that a high-ranking source inside the president's office said the newly appointed vice president, Omar Suleiman, would take over. This was confirmed by a second source.
State television reported that country's supreme military council had expressed its "support of the legitimate demands" of the protesters after an all-day meeting. The latest developments came on the heels of repeated warnings by members of the regime of a military crackdown or coup.
Some pro-democracy protesters reacted cautiously to the reports Mubarak was leaving, saying they would only believe them if and when he announced his departure on television.
President Barack Obama urged people to "wait and see."
___________________________________________________
A quickly revolving story
By MAGGIE MICHAEL, Associated Press Maggie Michael, Associated Press
CAIRO – State TV says Egypt's information minister has denied that President Hosni Mubarak will step down.
The comment by Anas el-Fiqqi, in a written scroll on state television, comes ahead of an address by Mubarak to the nation. Announcements by the military that the demands of protesters calling for his immediate ouster would be met raised their expectations he would announce his resignation
___________________________________________________
Not so easy
Egypt's Mubarak transfers power to vice president
By Maggie Michael, Associated Press –
CAIRO – Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak announced he has handed his powers over to his vice president but he refused to step down outright or leave the country, retaining his title of president and ensuring regime control over the reform process. Stunned protesters in central Cairo who demand his ouster waved their shoes in contempt and shouted, "Leave, leave, leave."
The crowd in Tahrir Square had swollen to several hundred thousand in expectation that Mubarak would announce is resignation in the nighttime address to the nation. Instead, they watched in silence, slapping their foreheads in anger and disbelief. Some broke into tears. After he finished, they broke out into chants for him to go.
Immediately after Mubarak's speech, Vice President Omar Suleiman called on the protesters to "go home" and asked Egyptians to "unite and look to the future."
___________________________________________________________
Not only Mubarak has the power to shut things down. While Obama dithers if he’s on side of democracy or dictators, Liberation Sq continues to be a beacon for democracy
Egypt bus drivers go on strike as unrest spreads
AP – 27 mins ago
CAIRO – Bus drivers and other public transportation employees in Egypt have gone on strike as spreading labor unrest adds momentum to mass protests calling for President Hosni Mubarak's ouster.
___________________________________________________
OOOPS. What you call something does make a difference. Like terrorism for example. Maybe nothing more than insurgencies after all. Maybe just local crime lords
Mexico angry at US official's 'insurgency' remark
By E. Eduardo Castillo, Associated Press – 1 hr 54 mins ago
MEXICO CITY – The Mexican government on Wednesday condemned comments by a top U.S. Defense Department official characterizing the drug gang violence here as a "form of insurgency" — remarks the official later apologized for and retracted.
Mexico's Foreign Secretary Patricia Espinosa regretted that "outdated visions" on drug trafficking continue to be used and urged U.S. officials to refrain from commenting on issues they are not fully informed about.
"These unfortunate incidents should show that officials need to refrain from making statements, from giving opinions without having all the facts," Espinosa said.
____________________________________________________
According to NBC terrorism analyst , al Qaida formed by Egyptians in reaction to Mubarak repression. If democracy triumphs in Egypt, al Qaida has lost its reason to be.
AP source: Clapper says al-Qaida top threat
By Kimberly Dozier, Ap Intelligence Writer –
WASHINGTON – Amid criticism that intelligence services missed the signs of Arab revolt in Tunisia and Egypt, the nation's top intelligence official will tell Congress that the threat from al-Qaida and its affiliates remains his No. 1 priority, U.S. officials said.
In testimony scheduled Thursday before the House Intelligence Committee, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper will stress that counterterrorism to keep Americans safe is the focus of the intelligence community, according to one of those officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss matters of intelligence.
_________________________________________________________
Not some enemy but the military a threat to national security according to Admiral Mullen
Mullen: Debt is top national security threat
August 27, 2010
|By the CNN Wire Staff
The wars on Iraq and Afghanistan have contributed to a more than doubling of the Pentagon budget, which has jumped from $300 billion to $664 billion since 2000

"The most significant threat to our national security is our debt," Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Adm. Michael Mullen told CNN Wednesday. "And the reason I say that is because the ability for our country to resource our military -- and I have a pretty good feeling and understanding about what our national security requirements are -- is going to be directly proportional -- over time, not next year or the year after, but over time -- to help our economy.
The national debt is bad for the military according to Mullen


"That's why it's so important that the economy move in the right direction, because the strength and the support and the resources that our military uses are directly related to the health of our economy over time."
____________________________________________________
.
Gimme a break. If we had just a small portion of the money spent on useless systems and scare-tactic hardware liked missile defense and missile silos over the past half century, the country would be solvent instead of broke and we’d be out of the war business,
Defense leaders warn of impact of big budget cuts
By LOLITA C. BALDOR, Associated Press Lolita C. Baldor, Associated Press – 1 hr 12 mins ago
WASHINGTON – Congress' failure to pass a 2011 defense budget bill is jeopardizing the military's effort to send more surveillance and attack drones into Afghanistan, as well as stymieing plans to buy a new Navy submarine, Army combat helicopters and other major weapons systems, defense leaders say.
As Pentagon officials fan out across Capitol Hill, pleading for lawmakers to approve the 2011 spending levels proposed by the Obama administration, they also are hitting lawmakers where it hurts — in their congressional districts and states. Less money in the budget, the officials said, will put at risk thousands of jobs and construction projects nationwide.
____________________________________________________
Discretion to pay or not to pay 1.7 billion dollars in bonuses makes Feinberg a sugar daddy
Watchdog: Gov't pay rules had few lasting effects
By Daniel Wagner, Ap Business Writer –
WASHINGTON – The government's restrictions on pay at bailed-out banks had little lasting impact because officials soft-pedaled some issues and did much of their work out of the public's view, a congressional panel says.
Obama administration pay czar Kenneth Feinberg used "black-box" processes that provide few lessons for the private sector, according to a report Thursday from the Congressional Oversight Panel that monitors the $700 billion financial bailout fund. The report faults Feinberg for deciding not to seek the return of $1.7 billion in banker pay that he deemed "ill-advised."\
____________________________________________________
Maybe we need to hire Chinese to find out what’s happening
Report: hackers in China hit Western oil companies
BEIJING – An American security firm says hackers working from China have broken into computers of oil companies in the United States, Taiwan and other countries.
The report Thursday by McAfee says hackers stole sensitive information about operations, finances and bidding for oil fields.
__________________________________________________
A threat to American superiority worth worrying about. What Hitler could not get done, the German economy, industrial base, Burse finally will.
NYSE Euronext in merger talks with
Deutsche Boerse
NYSE, Deutsche Boerse merger talks
By JUERGEN BAETZ and MATTHEW CRAFTThe Associated Press
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
-- Germany's Deutsche Boerse AG, the company that runs the stock exchange in Europe's largest economy, could soon take over the New York Stock Exchange.
NYSE Euronext Inc., which also operates exchanges in Europe, said Wednesday it is in "advanced discussions" about a possible merger with Deutsche Boerse, owner of the Frankfurt stock exchange
Egypt's Mubarak to step down, sources say
NBC News is told VP will take over; protesters and opposition fear a military coup
NBC, msnbc.com and news services NBC, msnbc.com and news services updated 2 hours 2 minutes ago 2011-02-10T18:22:29
breaking news
CAIRO — Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak is to step down tonight, two sources have told NBC News, losing his 30-year grip on power after 17 days of mass uprisings across the country.
NBC's Richard Engel reported that a high-ranking source inside the president's office said the newly appointed vice president, Omar Suleiman, would take over. This was confirmed by a second source.
State television reported that country's supreme military council had expressed its "support of the legitimate demands" of the protesters after an all-day meeting. The latest developments came on the heels of repeated warnings by members of the regime of a military crackdown or coup.
Some pro-democracy protesters reacted cautiously to the reports Mubarak was leaving, saying they would only believe them if and when he announced his departure on television.
President Barack Obama urged people to "wait and see."
___________________________________________________
A quickly revolving story
By MAGGIE MICHAEL, Associated Press Maggie Michael, Associated Press
CAIRO – State TV says Egypt's information minister has denied that President Hosni Mubarak will step down.
The comment by Anas el-Fiqqi, in a written scroll on state television, comes ahead of an address by Mubarak to the nation. Announcements by the military that the demands of protesters calling for his immediate ouster would be met raised their expectations he would announce his resignation
___________________________________________________
Not so easy
Egypt's Mubarak transfers power to vice president
By Maggie Michael, Associated Press –
CAIRO – Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak announced he has handed his powers over to his vice president but he refused to step down outright or leave the country, retaining his title of president and ensuring regime control over the reform process. Stunned protesters in central Cairo who demand his ouster waved their shoes in contempt and shouted, "Leave, leave, leave."
The crowd in Tahrir Square had swollen to several hundred thousand in expectation that Mubarak would announce is resignation in the nighttime address to the nation. Instead, they watched in silence, slapping their foreheads in anger and disbelief. Some broke into tears. After he finished, they broke out into chants for him to go.
Immediately after Mubarak's speech, Vice President Omar Suleiman called on the protesters to "go home" and asked Egyptians to "unite and look to the future."
___________________________________________________________
Not only Mubarak has the power to shut things down. While Obama dithers if he’s on side of democracy or dictators, Liberation Sq continues to be a beacon for democracy
Egypt bus drivers go on strike as unrest spreads
AP – 27 mins ago
CAIRO – Bus drivers and other public transportation employees in Egypt have gone on strike as spreading labor unrest adds momentum to mass protests calling for President Hosni Mubarak's ouster.
___________________________________________________
OOOPS. What you call something does make a difference. Like terrorism for example. Maybe nothing more than insurgencies after all. Maybe just local crime lords
Mexico angry at US official's 'insurgency' remark
By E. Eduardo Castillo, Associated Press – 1 hr 54 mins ago
MEXICO CITY – The Mexican government on Wednesday condemned comments by a top U.S. Defense Department official characterizing the drug gang violence here as a "form of insurgency" — remarks the official later apologized for and retracted.
Mexico's Foreign Secretary Patricia Espinosa regretted that "outdated visions" on drug trafficking continue to be used and urged U.S. officials to refrain from commenting on issues they are not fully informed about.
"These unfortunate incidents should show that officials need to refrain from making statements, from giving opinions without having all the facts," Espinosa said.
____________________________________________________
According to NBC terrorism analyst , al Qaida formed by Egyptians in reaction to Mubarak repression. If democracy triumphs in Egypt, al Qaida has lost its reason to be.
AP source: Clapper says al-Qaida top threat
By Kimberly Dozier, Ap Intelligence Writer –
WASHINGTON – Amid criticism that intelligence services missed the signs of Arab revolt in Tunisia and Egypt, the nation's top intelligence official will tell Congress that the threat from al-Qaida and its affiliates remains his No. 1 priority, U.S. officials said.
In testimony scheduled Thursday before the House Intelligence Committee, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper will stress that counterterrorism to keep Americans safe is the focus of the intelligence community, according to one of those officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss matters of intelligence.
_________________________________________________________
Not some enemy but the military a threat to national security according to Admiral Mullen
Mullen: Debt is top national security threat
August 27, 2010
|By the CNN Wire Staff
The wars on Iraq and Afghanistan have contributed to a more than doubling of the Pentagon budget, which has jumped from $300 billion to $664 billion since 2000

"The most significant threat to our national security is our debt," Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Adm. Michael Mullen told CNN Wednesday. "And the reason I say that is because the ability for our country to resource our military -- and I have a pretty good feeling and understanding about what our national security requirements are -- is going to be directly proportional -- over time, not next year or the year after, but over time -- to help our economy.
The national debt is bad for the military according to Mullen


"That's why it's so important that the economy move in the right direction, because the strength and the support and the resources that our military uses are directly related to the health of our economy over time."
____________________________________________________
.
Gimme a break. If we had just a small portion of the money spent on useless systems and scare-tactic hardware liked missile defense and missile silos over the past half century, the country would be solvent instead of broke and we’d be out of the war business,
Defense leaders warn of impact of big budget cuts
By LOLITA C. BALDOR, Associated Press Lolita C. Baldor, Associated Press – 1 hr 12 mins ago
WASHINGTON – Congress' failure to pass a 2011 defense budget bill is jeopardizing the military's effort to send more surveillance and attack drones into Afghanistan, as well as stymieing plans to buy a new Navy submarine, Army combat helicopters and other major weapons systems, defense leaders say.
As Pentagon officials fan out across Capitol Hill, pleading for lawmakers to approve the 2011 spending levels proposed by the Obama administration, they also are hitting lawmakers where it hurts — in their congressional districts and states. Less money in the budget, the officials said, will put at risk thousands of jobs and construction projects nationwide.
____________________________________________________
Discretion to pay or not to pay 1.7 billion dollars in bonuses makes Feinberg a sugar daddy
Watchdog: Gov't pay rules had few lasting effects
By Daniel Wagner, Ap Business Writer –
WASHINGTON – The government's restrictions on pay at bailed-out banks had little lasting impact because officials soft-pedaled some issues and did much of their work out of the public's view, a congressional panel says.
Obama administration pay czar Kenneth Feinberg used "black-box" processes that provide few lessons for the private sector, according to a report Thursday from the Congressional Oversight Panel that monitors the $700 billion financial bailout fund. The report faults Feinberg for deciding not to seek the return of $1.7 billion in banker pay that he deemed "ill-advised."\
____________________________________________________
Maybe we need to hire Chinese to find out what’s happening
Report: hackers in China hit Western oil companies
BEIJING – An American security firm says hackers working from China have broken into computers of oil companies in the United States, Taiwan and other countries.
The report Thursday by McAfee says hackers stole sensitive information about operations, finances and bidding for oil fields.
__________________________________________________
A threat to American superiority worth worrying about. What Hitler could not get done, the German economy, industrial base, Burse finally will.
NYSE Euronext in merger talks with
Deutsche Boerse
NYSE, Deutsche Boerse merger talks
By JUERGEN BAETZ and MATTHEW CRAFTThe Associated Press
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
-- Germany's Deutsche Boerse AG, the company that runs the stock exchange in Europe's largest economy, could soon take over the New York Stock Exchange.
NYSE Euronext Inc., which also operates exchanges in Europe, said Wednesday it is in "advanced discussions" about a possible merger with Deutsche Boerse, owner of the Frankfurt stock exchange
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