Notes 48
If you feel helpless, promise for an active outlet coming
We’re proud to announce the formation of a new action-oriented group which shares Truthout’s values: RootsAction.
Our readers often ask, “How can I make a difference?” It’s a question we all grapple with daily in this new age of instant communication, corporate dominance and global tumult. RootsAction is a new online initiative dedicated to galvanizing millions of Americans who are committed to economic fairness, equal rights, civil liberties, environmental protection - and defunding endless wars.
Working in tandem with Truthout's efforts to expose wrongdoing, investigate injustice and shed light on crucial issues, RootsAction will speak out against the untenable status quo, demand progressive change and stand up to the powerful forces which influence both major political parties in the United States.
RootsAction is the project of dedicated progressive activists and media critics Norman Solomon and Jeff Cohen. Their introductory essay, “A Time for Action, Not Servility,” can be read here.
Their initial campaigns center around a call from Daniel Ellsberg for a definitive opposition to the continued occupation and war in Afghanistan and a demand for a full withdrawal of US troops; a White House call-in day to insist that accused leaker Bradley Manning be treated humanely during his detention; and a push to demand a formal apology to the people of Egypt for the United States’ role in supporting the dictatorial regime of Hosni Mubarak.
Please click through to the action pages above or visit RootsAction.org to find out more. We’re hoping to help RootsAction mobilize a thriving community of progressives dedicated to standing up for change. Only together can we force the political and corporate elite to listen and respond to our demands for justice, accountability, democracy and peace.
You can also connect with RootsAction on Facebook.
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Leadership of Egypt's ruling party resigns
Sarah El Deeb, Associated Press – 24 mins ago
CAIRO
The ruling party leaders who resigned included the country's most powerful political figures — and its most unpopular among many Egyptians. The move may have been aimed at convincing protesters in the streets that the regime is sincere in implementing democratic reforms they demand.
But State TV, announcing the resignations, still identified head of state Mubarak as president of the ruling party in a sign he would remain in authority
At a press conference aired on state TV, Shafiq suggested the government hopes to convince enough factions to enter talks that the others will be forced to join in. Asked whether the Muslim Brotherhood, for example, will enter talks, Shafiq said, "Once they find the others are negotiation, for sure they will or they will be left alone ... The level of aspirations is going down day by day."
The government and military have promised not to try to clear protesters from Tahrir, and soldiers guarding the square continued to let people enter to join the growing rally.
But there were signs of tension Saturday. At one point, army tanks tried to brought out tanks to try to bulldoze away several burned out vehicles that protesters used in barricades during fighting this week with pro-regime attackers. The proteters say they want the gutted chassis in place in case of a new attack. Protesters clambered onto the vehicles and lay down in front of them to prevent soldiers from removing them, and only after heated arguments did the troops agree.
Also, there were reports for the first time of attempts by troops guarding the square's entrances to prevent those entering from bringing food for protesters, thousands of whom have camped out for days and need a constant flow of supplies.
Protesters distrust a process conducted by the current government, given the regime's overwhelming domination of the playing field, including a grip on security services and the media, a vast patronage system, a constitution that effectively enshrines its monopoly and a history of rigging elections.
ElBaradei has argued that the current leadership be replaced by a presidential council of several figures — including a military representative — to oversee the daunting process of loosening that grip, which he says will take a year.
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PIMCO billionaire a heretic. Hits nail on the head. Enough is enough
PIMCO's Bill Gross blasts U.S. culture of money and greed
Wed Feb 2
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Billionaire bond maven Bill Gross says financiers have lost the high ground and the list of financial blow-ups -- from the S&L debacle, the Asian crisis and the demise of Long Term Capital Management and Lehman Brothers to the dot-com bubble and subprime mortgage mess are major sins for the money-changers of Wall Street.
In a February report, he says America needs new priorities and blasts a culture that worships money and greed.
Gross, in remarks called "Devil's Bargain", blames money managers for failing to allocate capital wisely.
He criticizes a culture that lives off ill-advised financial innovation such as securitization.
"I know one thing for sure. This is not God's work -- it has the unmistakable odor of Mammon," says Gross, a founder and co-chief investment officer at PIMCO in Newport Beach, California, where he helps oversee about $1.1 trillion in assets.
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Getting the war machine under control
A Marine Remembers: Learning to Kill, Learning Not to Kill
David Lindorff, This Can't Be Happening: "One of my grandsons recently asked me, 'What is wisdom?' After some discussion, we together concluded that wisdom comes only with experience. When it comes to war, though, living in a country that has not experienced a war on its own soil since 1865, Americans, other than those veterans who have actually fought abroad, have no such experience to draw on. Perhaps this is why so many Americans easily accept, and even cheer the nation's militarism, and why most of us accept our government's reflexive resort to military action to settle international disputes."
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The first rule for communicating with short attention span. Keep it simple, stupid
"Anchor Babies": No Getting Around the Constitution
TIME
By Reynolds Holding – Fri Feb 4,
The Fourteenth Amendment says, "All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.”
America's birthright citizenship derives from the 1608 English case of Robert Calvin, who was born in Scotland just after the Scottish King James VI also became the King of England. Calvin wanted to own land in England, but couldn't, unless he was a subject of England as well as Scotland. The court ruled that he was, because he and Englishmen owed allegiance to the same king.
English and then American courts consistently followed that rule over the centuries. Still, Britain began saying in 1981 that people born there could not automatically become citizens unless at least one parent was already a citizen or permanent resident, and the U.S. Supreme Court held in 1857 that slaves could not be citizens, even when born here. The infamous Dred Scott decision rested in part on the idea that the framers of the Constitution had chosen not to make slaves citizens. This idea of choice was clearly contrary to the rule of birthright citizenship, and Congress essentially rejected it through the Civil Rights Act of 1866 and, more definitively, the adoption of the Fourteenth Amendment in 1868.
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Let’s use the tea baggers playbook and take back our Constitution. Let the Patriot Act DIE
Patrick Leahy Introduces Bipartisan PATRIOT Act Reforms, but Civil Rights Groups Unsatisfied
Nadia Prupis, Truthout: "Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont) introduced a reauthorization of the PATRIOT Act last week that would extend and reform some provisions set to expire on February 28. Leahy's reforms, known as the USA PATRIOT Act Sunset Extension Act of 2011, would limit the government's power in gathering intelligence on individuals in the United States. But many civil rights groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the American Library Association (ALA) and the Campaign for Reader Privacy say the reforms do not go far enough to reduce the PATRIOT Act's impact, which the ACLU calls unconstitutional."
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The bastards should all be put in jail, not given the right to review the language of their incrimination
Government in new dispute with tobacco companies
WASHINGTON – .
The government has prepared corrective statements it wants the companies to be forced to make about the health hazards from smoking. But the tobacco companies don't want those proposed statements put in the public record before they get a chance to review them.
The department asked the federal judge in the case, Gladys Kessler, to say whether she intends to prohibit the government from filing its proposed corrective statements publicly.
In 2006, Kessler ruled that the tobacco industry had concealed the dangers of smoking for decades. The proposed statements by the companies would be the remedy for that violation.
On Friday, the industry told the court that it wants the proposed corrective statements to be filed with the companies so that both sides can minimize if not eliminate any disagreements in advance of a March 3.
EDITOR’S Note--My 54 year old wife, after two years of struggling with cigarette induced lung cancer, is in her final few weeks.
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Those rascal bankers wouldn’t do us that courtesy
JPMorgan Hid Doubts on Madoff, Documents Suggest
Diana B. Henriques, The New York Times News Service: "Senior executives at JPMorgan Chase expressed serious doubts about the legitimacy of Bernard L. Madoff's investment business more than 18 months before his Ponzi scheme collapsed but continued to do business with him, according to internal bank documents made public in a lawsuit unsealed on Thursday. On June 15, 2007, an obviously high-level risk management officer for Chase's investment bank sent a lunchtime e-mail to colleagues to report that another bank executive 'just told me that there is a well-known cloud over the head of Madoff and that his returns are speculated to be part of a ponzi scheme.'"
The trustee working on behalf of the victims of Bernie Madoff's huge ponzi scheme has sued JP Morgan for a startling $6.4 billion.
The bank was "thoroughly complicit" in the fraud, says the trustee, Irving Picard, and he cites some emails from JP Morgan executives to prove it.
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More of the same. Bush used same tactic to starve SEC oversight of examiners and make the financial collapse of 2008 possible
Outgunned by Wall St, SEC warns of fraud
By Sarah N. Lynch and Dave Clarke Sarah N. Lynch And Dave Clarke –
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Tighter budgets at the Securities and Exchange Commission could mean killing vital technology upgrades needed to catch swindlers, the agency's chief said on Friday in a blunt appeal for more funding.
With Republicans in Congress threatening to restrain her budget, SEC Chairman Mary Schapiro said the agency faces severe challenges in doing its existing job and in taking on new duties mandated under 2010's Dodd-Frank market reform law.
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Well damn, contrary to public opinion, nothing to cut at Post Office. Guess we’ll have to blame somebody else for deficits. Maybe ourselves?
Things Your Mail Carrier Won’t Tell You

by Reader's Digest Magazine, on Wed Jan 26, 2011 8:12am PST
We don’t get a penny of your tax dollars. Really. The sale of postage, products, and services at our 36,000 retail locations, and on our website, covers all of the post office's operating expenses.
"...an uprooting of the old order, the introduction of a new kind of society - cooperative, peaceful, egalitarian." -Howard Zinn,
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Friday, February 4, 2011
Notes 47
Channel surfing from security of our home surreal. Our ally exposed for what he has been for the past 30 years, a ruthless, repressive dictator and our friend. Makes Bull Connor look like a pussycat while demonstrators continue the tactics that brought down British Empire in India
Egypt protesters throng square after violence
By Hamza Hendawi, Associated Press –
CAIRO –
Thousands including families with children flowed over bridges across the Nile into Tahrir Square, a sign that they were not intimidated after the protesters fended off everything thrown at them by pro-Mubarak attackers — storms of hurled concrete, metal rebar and firebombs, fighters on horses and camels and automatic gunfire barrages. The protesters passed through a series of beefed-up checkpoints by the military and the protesters themselves guarding the square.
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THIS is TRANSFORMATION. A new world at hand
Noam Chomsky | "The Arab World Is on Fire"
Noam Chomsky: "'The Arab world is on fire,' al-Jazeera reported on Jan. 27, while throughout the region, Western allies 'are quickly losing their influence.' The shock wave was set in motion by the dramatic uprising in Tunisia that drove out a Western-backed dictator, with reverberations especially in Egypt, where demonstrators overwhelmed a dictator's brutal police. Observers compared the events to the toppling of Russian domains in 1989, but there are important differences."
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Maybe there are some Christ values acquired along the way. The deaths mount. Like U.S losses in Afghanistan since the start of the war ten years ago
US Officials: US-Egypt discuss Mubarak quitting
By MATTHEW LEE and BEN FELLER, Associated Press Matthew Lee And Ben Feller, Associated Press – 42 mins ago
WASHINGTON – The Obama administration is in talks with top Egyptian officials about the possible immediate resignation of President Hosni Mubarak and the formation of an interim government that could prepare the country for free and fair elections later this year, U.S. officials said late Thursday.
Creation of a military-backed caretaker government in Egypt is one of several ideas being discussed as anti-Mubarak protests escalate in the streets of Cairo and other Egyptian cities, the officials said. Those protests are expected to grow in size and intensity on Friday and the administration fears they may erupt into more widespread violence unless the government takes tangible steps to address the protesters' main demand that Mubarak leave office.
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Modern Christian orthodoxy in America at odds with Christ of the Via Dolorosa, hung on the cross on Golgotha, turning his cheek, forgiving his tormentors, and abjuring wealth. No warrior He.
Presidency has 'deepened my faith,' Obama says
– Thu Feb 3, 11:31 am ET
WASHINGTON (AFP) – President Barack Obama's two years in the White House have deepened his Christian faith, he said Thursday as he brushed aside lingering doubts by some Americans who still believe he is Muslim.
During his 2008 presidential campaign, Obama was put in the extraordinary position of having to reassure American voters that he is a Christian
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There is nothing as terrible as killing another human being. And there is nothing like the scenes playing before us this past week to show its brutality. But if you want to see it up close and grasp its pain and its complexity and the oppression that leads people to rebel whether they are Irish or Egyptian, see this movie
The Wind That Shakes the Barley (2006)
Ireland, 1920. Damien and Teddy are brothers. But while the latter is already the leader of a guerrilla squad fighting for the independence of his motherland, Damien, a medical graduate of University College, would rather further his training at the London hospital where he has found a place. However, shortly before his departure, he happens to witness atrocities committed by the ferocious Black and Tans and finally decides to join the resistance group led by Teddy. The two brothers fight side by side until a truce is signed. But peace is short-lived and when one faction of the freedom-fighters accepts a treaty with the British that is regarded as unfair by the other faction, a civil war ensues, pitting Irishmen against Irishmen, brothers against brothers, Teddy against Damien....
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They made me do it. That’s the reason AT&T was eavesdropping against the law. It’s always the reason when we won’t oppose what is wrong
Vodafone: Egypt forced us to send text messages
Vodafone says Egyptian authorities forced it to broadcast pro-government text messages
Raphael G. Satter, Associated Press, On Thursday February 3, 2011
LONDON (AP) -- Egyptian authorities forced Vodafone to broadcast pro-government text messages during the protests that have rocked the country, the U.K.-based mobile company said Thursday.
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Why we’re in trouble as a nation? Money is the bottom line driving every decision.
Maybe Alaskans could just pay taxes instead of living off the oil dole and the disproportionate return they get from the Feds for what they pay in.
Shell: No Beaufort Sea drilling in Arctic for 2011
Dan Joling, Associated Press, On Thursday February 3, 2011
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) --
Alaska receives upward of 90 percent of its general fund revenue from the petroleum industry, and top state officials reacted strongly to the decision. U.S. Sen. Mark Begich, D-Alaska, blamed the Obama administration and the EPA.
"Their foot dragging means the loss of another exploration season in Alaska, the loss of nearly 800 direct jobs and many more indirect jobs," Begich said. "That doesn't count the millions of dollars in contracting that won't happen either at a time when our economy needs the investment."
Channel surfing from security of our home surreal. Our ally exposed for what he has been for the past 30 years, a ruthless, repressive dictator and our friend. Makes Bull Connor look like a pussycat while demonstrators continue the tactics that brought down British Empire in India
Egypt protesters throng square after violence
By Hamza Hendawi, Associated Press –
CAIRO –
Thousands including families with children flowed over bridges across the Nile into Tahrir Square, a sign that they were not intimidated after the protesters fended off everything thrown at them by pro-Mubarak attackers — storms of hurled concrete, metal rebar and firebombs, fighters on horses and camels and automatic gunfire barrages. The protesters passed through a series of beefed-up checkpoints by the military and the protesters themselves guarding the square.
_____________________________________________________
THIS is TRANSFORMATION. A new world at hand
Noam Chomsky | "The Arab World Is on Fire"
Noam Chomsky: "'The Arab world is on fire,' al-Jazeera reported on Jan. 27, while throughout the region, Western allies 'are quickly losing their influence.' The shock wave was set in motion by the dramatic uprising in Tunisia that drove out a Western-backed dictator, with reverberations especially in Egypt, where demonstrators overwhelmed a dictator's brutal police. Observers compared the events to the toppling of Russian domains in 1989, but there are important differences."
______________________________________________________
Maybe there are some Christ values acquired along the way. The deaths mount. Like U.S losses in Afghanistan since the start of the war ten years ago
US Officials: US-Egypt discuss Mubarak quitting
By MATTHEW LEE and BEN FELLER, Associated Press Matthew Lee And Ben Feller, Associated Press – 42 mins ago
WASHINGTON – The Obama administration is in talks with top Egyptian officials about the possible immediate resignation of President Hosni Mubarak and the formation of an interim government that could prepare the country for free and fair elections later this year, U.S. officials said late Thursday.
Creation of a military-backed caretaker government in Egypt is one of several ideas being discussed as anti-Mubarak protests escalate in the streets of Cairo and other Egyptian cities, the officials said. Those protests are expected to grow in size and intensity on Friday and the administration fears they may erupt into more widespread violence unless the government takes tangible steps to address the protesters' main demand that Mubarak leave office.
___________________________________
Modern Christian orthodoxy in America at odds with Christ of the Via Dolorosa, hung on the cross on Golgotha, turning his cheek, forgiving his tormentors, and abjuring wealth. No warrior He.
Presidency has 'deepened my faith,' Obama says
– Thu Feb 3, 11:31 am ET
WASHINGTON (AFP) – President Barack Obama's two years in the White House have deepened his Christian faith, he said Thursday as he brushed aside lingering doubts by some Americans who still believe he is Muslim.
During his 2008 presidential campaign, Obama was put in the extraordinary position of having to reassure American voters that he is a Christian
_______________________________________________
There is nothing as terrible as killing another human being. And there is nothing like the scenes playing before us this past week to show its brutality. But if you want to see it up close and grasp its pain and its complexity and the oppression that leads people to rebel whether they are Irish or Egyptian, see this movie
The Wind That Shakes the Barley (2006)
Ireland, 1920. Damien and Teddy are brothers. But while the latter is already the leader of a guerrilla squad fighting for the independence of his motherland, Damien, a medical graduate of University College, would rather further his training at the London hospital where he has found a place. However, shortly before his departure, he happens to witness atrocities committed by the ferocious Black and Tans and finally decides to join the resistance group led by Teddy. The two brothers fight side by side until a truce is signed. But peace is short-lived and when one faction of the freedom-fighters accepts a treaty with the British that is regarded as unfair by the other faction, a civil war ensues, pitting Irishmen against Irishmen, brothers against brothers, Teddy against Damien....
________________________________________________
They made me do it. That’s the reason AT&T was eavesdropping against the law. It’s always the reason when we won’t oppose what is wrong
Vodafone: Egypt forced us to send text messages
Vodafone says Egyptian authorities forced it to broadcast pro-government text messages
Raphael G. Satter, Associated Press, On Thursday February 3, 2011
LONDON (AP) -- Egyptian authorities forced Vodafone to broadcast pro-government text messages during the protests that have rocked the country, the U.K.-based mobile company said Thursday.
_________________________________________________
Why we’re in trouble as a nation? Money is the bottom line driving every decision.
Maybe Alaskans could just pay taxes instead of living off the oil dole and the disproportionate return they get from the Feds for what they pay in.
Shell: No Beaufort Sea drilling in Arctic for 2011
Dan Joling, Associated Press, On Thursday February 3, 2011
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) --
Alaska receives upward of 90 percent of its general fund revenue from the petroleum industry, and top state officials reacted strongly to the decision. U.S. Sen. Mark Begich, D-Alaska, blamed the Obama administration and the EPA.
"Their foot dragging means the loss of another exploration season in Alaska, the loss of nearly 800 direct jobs and many more indirect jobs," Begich said. "That doesn't count the millions of dollars in contracting that won't happen either at a time when our economy needs the investment."
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Les Miserables
The scene in Libration Square real time yesterday reminded me sadly of the battle scene in Les Miserable, t this time on a world stage, the revolutionaries behind makeshift barricades, outmanned, outgunned, and outraged. The feeling of the Battle of the Bulge, surrounded, no food, no drink, and no hope but staring at the enemy and saying “Nuts!”
Clashes Erupt in Cairo Between Mubarak's Allies and Foes
Anthony Shadid, David D. Kirkpatrick and Kareem Fahim, The New York Times News Service: "President Obama's calls for a rapid transition to a new order in Egypt seemed eclipsed on Wednesday as a choreographed surge of thousands of people chanting support for the Egyptian leader, Hosni Mubarak, fought running battles with a larger number of antigovernment protesters in and around Cairo's Tahrir Square. Both sides exchanges volleys of Molotov cocktails and rocks, while the military restricted itself mostly to guarding the Egyptian Museum and using water cannons to extinguish the flames."
Watch Live: Revolution in Egypt
Watch Al Jazeera English's coverage, live on the scene in Egypt
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These are HEROES
Egypt army moves to stop assault on protesters
Maggie Michael, Associated Press – CAIRO – Egyptian army tanks and soldiers cleared away pro-government rioters and deployed between them and protesters seeking the fall of President Hosni Mubarak, as the prime minister made an unprecedented apology Thursday for the assault by regime backers that turned central Cairo into a battle zone.
The military began to move with muscle for the first time to stop the fighting early Thursday after a barrage of automatic gunfire hit the anti-government camp before dawn, killing at least three protesters in a serious escalation.
A sense of victory ran through the protesters, even as they organized their ranks in the streets in case of a new assault. "Thank God, we managed to protect the whole area," said Abdul-Rahman, a taxi driver who spent the night in the square. "We prevented the pro-Mubarak people from storming the streets leading to the square."
Clearly there is a difference between “backers” and hired guns. If the media is not sure, they should use words that do not appear to show Mubarak has public support.
Mubarak backers attack foes with firebombs, bricks
CAIRO – Thousands of supporters and opponents of President Hosni Mubarak battled in Cairo's main square Wednesday, raining stones, bottles and firebombs on each other in scenes of uncontrolled violence as soldiers stood by without intervening. Government backers galloped in on horses and camels, only to be dragged to the ground and beaten bloody.
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Clashes Erupt in Cairo Between Mubarak's Allies and Foes
Anthony Shadid, David D. Kirkpatrick and Kareem Fahim, The New York Times News Service: "President Obama's calls for a rapid transition to a new order in Egypt seemed eclipsed on Wednesday as a choreographed surge of thousands of people chanting support for the Egyptian leader, Hosni Mubarak, fought running battles with a larger number of antigovernment protesters in and around Cairo's Tahrir Square. Both sides exchanges volleys of Molotov cocktails and rocks, while the military restricted itself mostly to guarding the Egyptian Museum and using water cannons to extinguish the flames."
Watch Live: Revolution in Egypt
Watch Al Jazeera English's coverage, live on the scene in Egypt
___________________________________________________
These are HEROES
Egypt army moves to stop assault on protesters
Maggie Michael, Associated Press – CAIRO – Egyptian army tanks and soldiers cleared away pro-government rioters and deployed between them and protesters seeking the fall of President Hosni Mubarak, as the prime minister made an unprecedented apology Thursday for the assault by regime backers that turned central Cairo into a battle zone.
The military began to move with muscle for the first time to stop the fighting early Thursday after a barrage of automatic gunfire hit the anti-government camp before dawn, killing at least three protesters in a serious escalation.
A sense of victory ran through the protesters, even as they organized their ranks in the streets in case of a new assault. "Thank God, we managed to protect the whole area," said Abdul-Rahman, a taxi driver who spent the night in the square. "We prevented the pro-Mubarak people from storming the streets leading to the square."
Clearly there is a difference between “backers” and hired guns. If the media is not sure, they should use words that do not appear to show Mubarak has public support.
Mubarak backers attack foes with firebombs, bricks
CAIRO – Thousands of supporters and opponents of President Hosni Mubarak battled in Cairo's main square Wednesday, raining stones, bottles and firebombs on each other in scenes of uncontrolled violence as soldiers stood by without intervening. Government backers galloped in on horses and camels, only to be dragged to the ground and beaten bloody.
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Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Internet "Kill" switch; gloves are off in Egypt; obscene Wall Street payroll
Notes 46
Timing terrible for trying to get public support for this after affairs in Egypt. Or are the people going to lay down for this like they did for eavesdropping in the Patriot Act? And TSA feeling up their bodies at the airport? Seems like people in government are preparing to protect themselves from public.
Internet 'Kill Switch' Approved By Senate Homeland Security Committee
Bianca Bosker, Huffington Post
The Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs has approved a cybersecurity bill, Protecting Cyberspace as a National Asset Act (PCNAA), that would give the president far-reaching authority over the Internet in the case of emergency.
As The Hill explains, the bill, sponsored by Sens. Joe Lieberman, Susan Collins, and Tom Carper, would give the president "emergency authority to shut down private sector or government networks in the event of a cyber attack capable of causing massive damage or loss of life."
[or a fed up populace saying they won’t take it anymore]
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This is not Health Care negotiation. Obama’s going to have to get his hands dirty, show proof of life
US condemns violence in Egypt, chides government
Bradley Klapper And Matthew Lee, Associated Press –
WASHINGTON – The United States criticized the government of President Hosni Mubarak and condemned violence in Egypt's capital as clashes between protesters and pro-government supporters demonstrated there would be no easy resolution to the unrest destabilizing America's closest ally in the Arab world.
A day after President Barack Obama pressed Mubarak to loosen his grip on power immediately, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said the U.S. "deplores and condemns the violence that is taking place in Egypt."
"We are deeply concerned about attacks on the media and peaceful demonstrators," he added in a statement. "We repeat our strong call for restraint."
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Clearly there is a difference between “backers” and hired guns. If the media is not sure, they should use words that do not appear to show Mubarak has public support.
Mubarak backers attack foes with firebombs, bricks
CAIRO – Thousands of supporters and opponents of President Hosni Mubarak battled in Cairo's main square Wednesday, raining stones, bottles and firebombs on each other in scenes of uncontrolled violence as soldiers stood by without intervening. Government backers galloped in on horses and camels, only to be dragged to the ground and beaten bloody.
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People abandoned once. No gold the second time. Maybe we’ll get a bike-riding, Mandarin-speaking ambassador to China who has done his mission and believes in service
Dems choose Charlotte for 2012 convention
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – President Barack Obama's selection of this Southern city for the 2012 Democratic convention signals he will try to reassemble his diverse coalition of 2008 supporters and fight for the conservative-leaning states that helped him win the White House
The convention's apparent theme — The People's Convention — indicates that the president will try to rekindle the grass-roots flavor of his groundbreaking 2008 bid.
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If they’d sunk or swam on their own, perhaps their obscene compensation might be bearable. But the continuing free money from the Fed makes this unbearable.
Wall Street pay hits new record
By Zachary Roth
For most Americans, wage growth has been sluggish, to say the least, ever since the Great Recession began in late 2007. But that's not the case for Wall Street, the sector that helped cause the downturn. In fact, it looks like for the financial industry, the good times are well and truly back.
Less than two years after a massive government bailout, total Wall Street compensation hit a new record of $135 billion, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis. The rise is in part the result of increased revenue, which also spiked to a record high of $417 billion.
The average Wall Streeter is now paid $141,000 -- up 3 percent from last year.
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Israel at center of GOP early hopefuls’ search for international credentials
The GOP Line on Egypt -- and Obama
By Michael Crowley, TIME
This is a tricky place for the GOP candidates, and the way this debate plays out with tell us interesting things about how the Republican Party has changed on foreign policy since George W. Bush left office. Republicans have spent most of the post-9/11 era positioning themselves as the champions of freedom and democracy abroad. The GOP has also positioned itself as the true defender of Israel against a Democratic Party which, in this telling, obsesses over Israeli settlements and wants to negotiate with Israel's mortal foes, Iran and Hezbollah. Consider the way leading GOP 2012 contenders - Romney, Pawlenty, and soon Haley Barbour - have been visiting Israel to kiss Bibi Netanyahu's ring. If they're looking to impress Netanyahu and emphasize their pro-Israel bona fides, then, the Republicans will couch their enthusiasm about Cairo's revolution.
_____________________________________________
So the gloves are off. Obama’s made his final deal with the devil and the people get screwed again. Reminiscent of the Soviet Spring of ‘68, Tiannemen Square in China, Shia in southern Iraq, Intafada in Israel.
Mubarak supporters, protesters clash in Egypt
Violence comes as country's military calls for end to demonstrations
CAIRO — Hundreds of pro-government supporters attacked protesters Wednesday in Cairo's central square, where thousands were pushing ahead with demonstrations demanding the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak.
Mubarak supporters were out in the streets for the first time Wednesday in large numbers, with thousands demanding an end to the anti-government movement a day after the president went on national television and rejected demands for him to step down.
"We saw rocks flying in all directions … it was total mayhem," an Al-Jazeera correspondent in the area of Tahrir Square told the TV station.
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The dominoes are falling--but not in Far East. An unholy alliance made in midst of turmoil with Iran in ’79 and built on buying Egypt for Israel is coming unglued
Yemen's President to retire in 2013
BEIJING, Jan. 24 (Xinhuanet) -- Yemen's President, Ali Abdullah Saleh, is pledging to step down, after his second term expires in 2013.
Sunday's announcement, follows eight days of popular protests, demanding his ouster, as thousands of demonstrators took to the streets of the capital, Sanaa, and other major cities.
They expressed outrage, at potential Constitutional amendments, which could make Saleh, the country's President for life.
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More original plotters in 911--but no attack on Qatar OR Saudi. All pressure on Pakistan/Afghanistan
WikiLeaks cable shows three Qataris in September 11 plot
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A classified U.S. document obtained by the anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks shows three previously undisclosed participants in the September 11, 2001 plot, The Washington Post reported on Tuesday.
"There is no manhunt," the official was quoted as saying. "There is no active case. They were looked at, but it washed out," he was quoted as saying, downplaying a report by Britain's The Daily Telegraph, which said the FBI has launched a manhunt for the previously unknown team of men suspected to be part of the attacks.
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Uncertainty not stopping health insurers like the media is fond of saying about business managers. Uncertainty all a smokescreen. Business is a gamble always filled with uncertainty.
Too big to stop? Obama's overhaul lumbers on
By Ricardo Alonso-zaldivar, Associated Press --
WASHINGTON – It has too much momentum for one judge to stop it.
Most insurers, hospital executives and state officials expect they'll keep carrying out President Barack Obama's health care overhaul even after a federal judge cast its fate in doubt by declaring all of it unconstitutional.
"I don't think people are going to hit the stop button," said Paul Keckley, executive director of the Deloitte Center for Health Solutions, a research arm of the consulting firm. "You probably don't make the big bets right now, but you make the incremental investments in case you have to make the big bets 6 or 12 or 18 months down the road. Everyone proceeds with an informed approach."
___
Associated Press writer Bill Kaczor in Tallahassee contributed to this report.
Timing terrible for trying to get public support for this after affairs in Egypt. Or are the people going to lay down for this like they did for eavesdropping in the Patriot Act? And TSA feeling up their bodies at the airport? Seems like people in government are preparing to protect themselves from public.
Internet 'Kill Switch' Approved By Senate Homeland Security Committee
Bianca Bosker, Huffington Post
The Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs has approved a cybersecurity bill, Protecting Cyberspace as a National Asset Act (PCNAA), that would give the president far-reaching authority over the Internet in the case of emergency.
As The Hill explains, the bill, sponsored by Sens. Joe Lieberman, Susan Collins, and Tom Carper, would give the president "emergency authority to shut down private sector or government networks in the event of a cyber attack capable of causing massive damage or loss of life."
[or a fed up populace saying they won’t take it anymore]
___________________________________________
This is not Health Care negotiation. Obama’s going to have to get his hands dirty, show proof of life
US condemns violence in Egypt, chides government
Bradley Klapper And Matthew Lee, Associated Press –
WASHINGTON – The United States criticized the government of President Hosni Mubarak and condemned violence in Egypt's capital as clashes between protesters and pro-government supporters demonstrated there would be no easy resolution to the unrest destabilizing America's closest ally in the Arab world.
A day after President Barack Obama pressed Mubarak to loosen his grip on power immediately, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said the U.S. "deplores and condemns the violence that is taking place in Egypt."
"We are deeply concerned about attacks on the media and peaceful demonstrators," he added in a statement. "We repeat our strong call for restraint."
______________________________________________
Clearly there is a difference between “backers” and hired guns. If the media is not sure, they should use words that do not appear to show Mubarak has public support.
Mubarak backers attack foes with firebombs, bricks
CAIRO – Thousands of supporters and opponents of President Hosni Mubarak battled in Cairo's main square Wednesday, raining stones, bottles and firebombs on each other in scenes of uncontrolled violence as soldiers stood by without intervening. Government backers galloped in on horses and camels, only to be dragged to the ground and beaten bloody.
______________________________________________
People abandoned once. No gold the second time. Maybe we’ll get a bike-riding, Mandarin-speaking ambassador to China who has done his mission and believes in service
Dems choose Charlotte for 2012 convention
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – President Barack Obama's selection of this Southern city for the 2012 Democratic convention signals he will try to reassemble his diverse coalition of 2008 supporters and fight for the conservative-leaning states that helped him win the White House
The convention's apparent theme — The People's Convention — indicates that the president will try to rekindle the grass-roots flavor of his groundbreaking 2008 bid.
______________________________________________
If they’d sunk or swam on their own, perhaps their obscene compensation might be bearable. But the continuing free money from the Fed makes this unbearable.
Wall Street pay hits new record
By Zachary Roth
For most Americans, wage growth has been sluggish, to say the least, ever since the Great Recession began in late 2007. But that's not the case for Wall Street, the sector that helped cause the downturn. In fact, it looks like for the financial industry, the good times are well and truly back.
Less than two years after a massive government bailout, total Wall Street compensation hit a new record of $135 billion, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis. The rise is in part the result of increased revenue, which also spiked to a record high of $417 billion.
The average Wall Streeter is now paid $141,000 -- up 3 percent from last year.
__________________________________________________
Israel at center of GOP early hopefuls’ search for international credentials
The GOP Line on Egypt -- and Obama
By Michael Crowley, TIME
This is a tricky place for the GOP candidates, and the way this debate plays out with tell us interesting things about how the Republican Party has changed on foreign policy since George W. Bush left office. Republicans have spent most of the post-9/11 era positioning themselves as the champions of freedom and democracy abroad. The GOP has also positioned itself as the true defender of Israel against a Democratic Party which, in this telling, obsesses over Israeli settlements and wants to negotiate with Israel's mortal foes, Iran and Hezbollah. Consider the way leading GOP 2012 contenders - Romney, Pawlenty, and soon Haley Barbour - have been visiting Israel to kiss Bibi Netanyahu's ring. If they're looking to impress Netanyahu and emphasize their pro-Israel bona fides, then, the Republicans will couch their enthusiasm about Cairo's revolution.
_____________________________________________
So the gloves are off. Obama’s made his final deal with the devil and the people get screwed again. Reminiscent of the Soviet Spring of ‘68, Tiannemen Square in China, Shia in southern Iraq, Intafada in Israel.
Mubarak supporters, protesters clash in Egypt
Violence comes as country's military calls for end to demonstrations
CAIRO — Hundreds of pro-government supporters attacked protesters Wednesday in Cairo's central square, where thousands were pushing ahead with demonstrations demanding the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak.
Mubarak supporters were out in the streets for the first time Wednesday in large numbers, with thousands demanding an end to the anti-government movement a day after the president went on national television and rejected demands for him to step down.
"We saw rocks flying in all directions … it was total mayhem," an Al-Jazeera correspondent in the area of Tahrir Square told the TV station.
_____________________________________________
The dominoes are falling--but not in Far East. An unholy alliance made in midst of turmoil with Iran in ’79 and built on buying Egypt for Israel is coming unglued
Yemen's President to retire in 2013
BEIJING, Jan. 24 (Xinhuanet) -- Yemen's President, Ali Abdullah Saleh, is pledging to step down, after his second term expires in 2013.
Sunday's announcement, follows eight days of popular protests, demanding his ouster, as thousands of demonstrators took to the streets of the capital, Sanaa, and other major cities.
They expressed outrage, at potential Constitutional amendments, which could make Saleh, the country's President for life.
____________________________________
More original plotters in 911--but no attack on Qatar OR Saudi. All pressure on Pakistan/Afghanistan
WikiLeaks cable shows three Qataris in September 11 plot
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A classified U.S. document obtained by the anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks shows three previously undisclosed participants in the September 11, 2001 plot, The Washington Post reported on Tuesday.
"There is no manhunt," the official was quoted as saying. "There is no active case. They were looked at, but it washed out," he was quoted as saying, downplaying a report by Britain's The Daily Telegraph, which said the FBI has launched a manhunt for the previously unknown team of men suspected to be part of the attacks.
__________________________________________________
Uncertainty not stopping health insurers like the media is fond of saying about business managers. Uncertainty all a smokescreen. Business is a gamble always filled with uncertainty.
Too big to stop? Obama's overhaul lumbers on
By Ricardo Alonso-zaldivar, Associated Press --
WASHINGTON – It has too much momentum for one judge to stop it.
Most insurers, hospital executives and state officials expect they'll keep carrying out President Barack Obama's health care overhaul even after a federal judge cast its fate in doubt by declaring all of it unconstitutional.
"I don't think people are going to hit the stop button," said Paul Keckley, executive director of the Deloitte Center for Health Solutions, a research arm of the consulting firm. "You probably don't make the big bets right now, but you make the incremental investments in case you have to make the big bets 6 or 12 or 18 months down the road. Everyone proceeds with an informed approach."
___
Associated Press writer Bill Kaczor in Tallahassee contributed to this report.
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Today's news before it stinks--Obama, Blair, Mubarak, revolutionaries
Notes 45
Will a transitional government under Mubarak lead to same betrayal as transformational government under Obama and all the elation and hope for a new democracy be destroyed? Interestingly, the rise of Mubarak in Egypt in 1981 coincided with the decay of democracy beginning with Reagan in the same year
Jubilant crowds flood Cairo, escalating protests
Sarah El Deeb And Hadeel Al-shalchi, Associated Press – CAIRO –
More than a quarter-million people flooded Cairo's main square Tuesday in a stunning and jubilant array of young and old, urban poor and middle class professionals, mounting by far the largest protest yet in a week of unrelenting demands for President Hosni Mubarak to leave after nearly 30 years in power.
The movement to drive Mubarak out has been built on the work of on-line activists and fueled by deep frustration with an autocratic regime blamed for ignoring the needs of the poor and allowing corruption and official abuse to run rampant. After years of tight state control, protesters emboldened by the Tunisia unrest took to the streets on Jan. 25 and mounted a once-unimaginable series of protests across this nation of 80 million people — the region's most populous country.
_______________________________________________
An interesting rewriting of history. Blair says Sadam was a brutal dictator whose leadership led to an impoverished country while Mubarak was a benign dictator whose leadership led to improving standards for Egyptians--skipping over fact that Iraq suffered under years of progressively punishing embargoes while Egypt was showered with billions.
Tony Blair tells Piers Morgan why it's "over" for Mubarak (even if he stays until elections)
Tony Blair was interviewed by Piers Morgan for tonight's "Piers Morgan Tonight" and When Piers Morgan asked if Blair thinks Mubarak should stay in power until elections and not leave immediately--
MORGAN: If you don't have world leaders telling him publicly it's over, aren't you going to create a - a vacuum and a
void here into which the extremists could well come?
BLAIR: Well, it is over, in the sense that whatever we're talking about, we're talking about a period of transition until we get to elections.
____________________________________________________
So the man in the street gets promise of new leadership--next year--and the U.S. juggles all its promises to loyal dictators
Egypt's Mubarak says he won't run for a new term
AP – In this image from Egyptian state television aired Tuesday evening Feb 1 2011, Egyptian President Hosni …
By SARAH EL DEEB and HADEEL AL-SHALCHI, Associated Press Sarah El Deeb And Hadeel Al-shalchi, Associated Press – 7 mins ago
CAIRO – Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said he will not run for a new term in office in September elections, but rejected demands that he step down immediately and leave the country, vowing to die on Egypt's soil, in a television address Tuesday after a dramatic day in which a quarter-million protesters called on him to go
His speech came after a visiting envoy of President Barack Obama told Mubarak that his ally the United States sees his presidency at an end. Frank Wisner, a respected former U.S. ambassador to Egypt who is a friend of the Egyptian president, made clear to Mubarak that the U.S "view that his tenure as president is coming to close," according to an administration official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the delicacy of the ongoing diplomacy
____________________________________________________
Abdullah not wasting anymore time
Jordan's king fires Cabinet amid protests
Jamal Halaby, Associated Press – 1 hr 36 mins ago
AMMAN, Jordan – Jordan's King Abdullah II fired his government Tuesday in the wake of street protests and asked an ex-prime minister to form a new Cabinet, ordering him to launch immediate political reforms.
The dismissal follows several large protests across Jordan_ inspired by similar demonstrations in Tunisia and Egypt — calling for the resignation of Prime Minister Samir Rifai, who is blamed for a rise in fuel and food prices and slowed political reforms.
_________________________________________________
After Egypt, writing on wall no longer in invisible ink. Army finally preparing to end adventure with poison pen.
US general predicts Taliban `assassination teams'
AP
WASHINGTON - The Afghanistan war can be won without Pakistan's army moving against militants in North Waziristan, the No. 2 American general for the war effort said Tuesday, publicly signaling that the U.S. is resigned to the idea that Islamabad won't take on that terrorist safe haven.
_______________________________________________
The amazing thing is our leaders can have compassion for our war dead at the same time their decisions are responsible for hundreds of thousands of dead and maimed, and we do not see them as King Macbeths with blood all over their hand. Guess Shylock was right. Some blood isn’t red.
MEMORIAL DAY 2010 / WAR IS AN OLD RECYCLED LIE
Three dead Americans in Afghanistan ~ why ?
War is a waste so why do we celebrate it with parades, flags and glorious war stories when, in reality, they are fought by our youth who are but pawns in the hands of old men ~ seduced by power and greed ~ who are more than willing to waste our most precious resource on illegal wars and occupations : Allen L Roland
The aspect of control and domination is a precipitating factor in all wars, and it is also the the principle aspect of ego consciousness ~ which is directly contradictory to our innate propensity to unite and cooperate, which are the principle aspects of soul consciousness and the Unified Field
______________________________________________
Too bad AZ doesn’t police its own laws. Why local laws and enforcement are insufficient to stop gun killing gun trade.
NYC mayor conducts gun-sale sting in Arizona
Samantha Gross, Associated Press – Mon Jan 31
NEW YORK – Weeks after the shooting in Tucson, sellers at an Arizona gun show allowed undercover investigators hired by New York City to buy semiautomatic pistols even after they said they probably couldn't pass a background check, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said Monday.
"After Tucson, you would think that people, particularly at a gun show in Arizona, would have been much more careful in enforcing the law," he said. "That unfortunately in some cases wasn't the case."
______________________________________________
Another ambitious Democrat veers right. What about paying the bill by eliminating vouchers to the rich and corporations and the money manipulators for free pass on taxes?
Cuomo slashes spending, freezes taxes in NY budget
By Dan Wiessner Dan Wiessner – 10 mins ago
ALBANY, New York (Reuters) – New York Governor Andrew Cuomo proposed laying off nearly 10,000 state workers and cutting billions from education and Medicaid programs as he laid out his first budget on Tuesday, designed to close a $10 billion deficit.
The Democratic governor proposed no new or increased taxes in the $132.9 billion budget plan, which would shrink the current budget ending March 31 by 2.7 percent. If the budget plan holds, it would mark the first spending decrease since 1997.
Cuomo had billed the budget as an opportunity to alter a process he labeled a "sham" that led to runaway spending in the past because of automatic spending increases and deception that he likened to what he uncovered on Wall Street in his previous job as the state's attorney general.
_____________________________________________
Hurray--earmarks have been a sly way to guarantee reelection of sitting Congressmen by making them favorites at home for bringing home the bacon.
Inouye reluctantly announces earmark moratorium
WASHINGTON – The Senate's foremost champion of "earmarking" pet projects back home has reluctantly joined President Barack Obama and Capitol Hill Republicans in banning them for the next two years.
________________________________________________
To Be or not to BE. That is a question for healthcare law. Perhaps the compromise would be to eliminate “mandate” for “one payer.” Issue eliminated.
PENSACOLA, Fla. –
In the health care lawsuit, Vinson ruled that lawmakers lack the power to penalize citizens for not doing something. Defenders of the law said insurance can't work if people are allowed to opt out until they need medical attention. Premiums collected from many who are healthy pay the cost of care for those who get sick. Since the uninsured can get treated in the emergency room, deciding not to get coverage has consequences for other people who act prudently do buy coverage.
"The judge's decision contradicts decades of Supreme Court precedent that support the considered judgment of the democratically elected branches of government that the act's individual responsibility provision is necessary to prevent billions of dollars of cost-shifting every year by individuals without insurance who cannot pay for the health care they obtain," White House adviser Stephanie Cutter wrote in an Internet posting.
____________________________________________________
It’s a game of egos for winners thoroughly beating their opponents, like most games. Maybe Tiger will get his back after his wife beat him in how many ways….
Follow Shane Bacon on Twitter at @shanebacon
PGA Tour rookie Brendan Steele, who earned status this season with the big boys after finishing sixth on the Nationwide Tour money list in 2010, was paired with Tiger on Sunday at Torrey Pines, where Woods closed with a 75 to Steele's 70.
After the round, Steele told Sports Illustrated that he didn't think Tiger gave it 100 percent during the final round.
Will a transitional government under Mubarak lead to same betrayal as transformational government under Obama and all the elation and hope for a new democracy be destroyed? Interestingly, the rise of Mubarak in Egypt in 1981 coincided with the decay of democracy beginning with Reagan in the same year
Jubilant crowds flood Cairo, escalating protests
Sarah El Deeb And Hadeel Al-shalchi, Associated Press – CAIRO –
More than a quarter-million people flooded Cairo's main square Tuesday in a stunning and jubilant array of young and old, urban poor and middle class professionals, mounting by far the largest protest yet in a week of unrelenting demands for President Hosni Mubarak to leave after nearly 30 years in power.
The movement to drive Mubarak out has been built on the work of on-line activists and fueled by deep frustration with an autocratic regime blamed for ignoring the needs of the poor and allowing corruption and official abuse to run rampant. After years of tight state control, protesters emboldened by the Tunisia unrest took to the streets on Jan. 25 and mounted a once-unimaginable series of protests across this nation of 80 million people — the region's most populous country.
_______________________________________________
An interesting rewriting of history. Blair says Sadam was a brutal dictator whose leadership led to an impoverished country while Mubarak was a benign dictator whose leadership led to improving standards for Egyptians--skipping over fact that Iraq suffered under years of progressively punishing embargoes while Egypt was showered with billions.
Tony Blair tells Piers Morgan why it's "over" for Mubarak (even if he stays until elections)
Tony Blair was interviewed by Piers Morgan for tonight's "Piers Morgan Tonight" and When Piers Morgan asked if Blair thinks Mubarak should stay in power until elections and not leave immediately--
MORGAN: If you don't have world leaders telling him publicly it's over, aren't you going to create a - a vacuum and a
void here into which the extremists could well come?
BLAIR: Well, it is over, in the sense that whatever we're talking about, we're talking about a period of transition until we get to elections.
____________________________________________________
So the man in the street gets promise of new leadership--next year--and the U.S. juggles all its promises to loyal dictators
Egypt's Mubarak says he won't run for a new term
AP – In this image from Egyptian state television aired Tuesday evening Feb 1 2011, Egyptian President Hosni …
By SARAH EL DEEB and HADEEL AL-SHALCHI, Associated Press Sarah El Deeb And Hadeel Al-shalchi, Associated Press – 7 mins ago
CAIRO – Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said he will not run for a new term in office in September elections, but rejected demands that he step down immediately and leave the country, vowing to die on Egypt's soil, in a television address Tuesday after a dramatic day in which a quarter-million protesters called on him to go
His speech came after a visiting envoy of President Barack Obama told Mubarak that his ally the United States sees his presidency at an end. Frank Wisner, a respected former U.S. ambassador to Egypt who is a friend of the Egyptian president, made clear to Mubarak that the U.S "view that his tenure as president is coming to close," according to an administration official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the delicacy of the ongoing diplomacy
____________________________________________________
Abdullah not wasting anymore time
Jordan's king fires Cabinet amid protests
Jamal Halaby, Associated Press – 1 hr 36 mins ago
AMMAN, Jordan – Jordan's King Abdullah II fired his government Tuesday in the wake of street protests and asked an ex-prime minister to form a new Cabinet, ordering him to launch immediate political reforms.
The dismissal follows several large protests across Jordan_ inspired by similar demonstrations in Tunisia and Egypt — calling for the resignation of Prime Minister Samir Rifai, who is blamed for a rise in fuel and food prices and slowed political reforms.
_________________________________________________
After Egypt, writing on wall no longer in invisible ink. Army finally preparing to end adventure with poison pen.
US general predicts Taliban `assassination teams'
AP
WASHINGTON - The Afghanistan war can be won without Pakistan's army moving against militants in North Waziristan, the No. 2 American general for the war effort said Tuesday, publicly signaling that the U.S. is resigned to the idea that Islamabad won't take on that terrorist safe haven.
_______________________________________________
The amazing thing is our leaders can have compassion for our war dead at the same time their decisions are responsible for hundreds of thousands of dead and maimed, and we do not see them as King Macbeths with blood all over their hand. Guess Shylock was right. Some blood isn’t red.
MEMORIAL DAY 2010 / WAR IS AN OLD RECYCLED LIE
Three dead Americans in Afghanistan ~ why ?
War is a waste so why do we celebrate it with parades, flags and glorious war stories when, in reality, they are fought by our youth who are but pawns in the hands of old men ~ seduced by power and greed ~ who are more than willing to waste our most precious resource on illegal wars and occupations : Allen L Roland
The aspect of control and domination is a precipitating factor in all wars, and it is also the the principle aspect of ego consciousness ~ which is directly contradictory to our innate propensity to unite and cooperate, which are the principle aspects of soul consciousness and the Unified Field
______________________________________________
Too bad AZ doesn’t police its own laws. Why local laws and enforcement are insufficient to stop gun killing gun trade.
NYC mayor conducts gun-sale sting in Arizona
Samantha Gross, Associated Press – Mon Jan 31
NEW YORK – Weeks after the shooting in Tucson, sellers at an Arizona gun show allowed undercover investigators hired by New York City to buy semiautomatic pistols even after they said they probably couldn't pass a background check, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said Monday.
"After Tucson, you would think that people, particularly at a gun show in Arizona, would have been much more careful in enforcing the law," he said. "That unfortunately in some cases wasn't the case."
______________________________________________
Another ambitious Democrat veers right. What about paying the bill by eliminating vouchers to the rich and corporations and the money manipulators for free pass on taxes?
Cuomo slashes spending, freezes taxes in NY budget
By Dan Wiessner Dan Wiessner – 10 mins ago
ALBANY, New York (Reuters) – New York Governor Andrew Cuomo proposed laying off nearly 10,000 state workers and cutting billions from education and Medicaid programs as he laid out his first budget on Tuesday, designed to close a $10 billion deficit.
The Democratic governor proposed no new or increased taxes in the $132.9 billion budget plan, which would shrink the current budget ending March 31 by 2.7 percent. If the budget plan holds, it would mark the first spending decrease since 1997.
Cuomo had billed the budget as an opportunity to alter a process he labeled a "sham" that led to runaway spending in the past because of automatic spending increases and deception that he likened to what he uncovered on Wall Street in his previous job as the state's attorney general.
_____________________________________________
Hurray--earmarks have been a sly way to guarantee reelection of sitting Congressmen by making them favorites at home for bringing home the bacon.
Inouye reluctantly announces earmark moratorium
WASHINGTON – The Senate's foremost champion of "earmarking" pet projects back home has reluctantly joined President Barack Obama and Capitol Hill Republicans in banning them for the next two years.
________________________________________________
To Be or not to BE. That is a question for healthcare law. Perhaps the compromise would be to eliminate “mandate” for “one payer.” Issue eliminated.
PENSACOLA, Fla. –
In the health care lawsuit, Vinson ruled that lawmakers lack the power to penalize citizens for not doing something. Defenders of the law said insurance can't work if people are allowed to opt out until they need medical attention. Premiums collected from many who are healthy pay the cost of care for those who get sick. Since the uninsured can get treated in the emergency room, deciding not to get coverage has consequences for other people who act prudently do buy coverage.
"The judge's decision contradicts decades of Supreme Court precedent that support the considered judgment of the democratically elected branches of government that the act's individual responsibility provision is necessary to prevent billions of dollars of cost-shifting every year by individuals without insurance who cannot pay for the health care they obtain," White House adviser Stephanie Cutter wrote in an Internet posting.
____________________________________________________
It’s a game of egos for winners thoroughly beating their opponents, like most games. Maybe Tiger will get his back after his wife beat him in how many ways….
Follow Shane Bacon on Twitter at @shanebacon
PGA Tour rookie Brendan Steele, who earned status this season with the big boys after finishing sixth on the Nationwide Tour money list in 2010, was paired with Tiger on Sunday at Torrey Pines, where Woods closed with a 75 to Steele's 70.
After the round, Steele told Sports Illustrated that he didn't think Tiger gave it 100 percent during the final round.
The Muslim Brotherhood and other bogeymen from the American past
Notes 43
Paradise Lost. What we have let slip away because it was not our problem if AT&T was listening to us.
Farewell to Modernity in the New Age of Surveillance
Jan Widacki LLD, Truthout: "The world we were aiming at was to be a free one, granting people peace, equality, riches and healthcare, and allowing us to extend our lives and rid ourselves of numerous illnesses - and yet, the world we are approaching, which Fukuyama calls 'our posthuman future,' may be far more hierarchical and focused on competition than the present one: a world where the powers-that-be will be able to achieve full control over governed communities, and the governed communities, in turn, will manifest full control over the individuals. It is going to be a world of different - possibly genetically modified - people. Perhaps humankind, Adam and Eve's tribe, is reaching for the forbidden fruit. Will that effort result in an end to a possible life in a paradise of democracy and human rights?"
_________________________________________________
The reliability of our government in defining risks to our well being is marginal at best from WMD in Iraq to aviation threat levels to the Gulf of Tonkin to the Bay of Pigs to the Cold War. As far back as the USS Maine in1898 in Cuba and maybe before. Now we have the Muslim Brotherhood threatening us. How long are we going to be suckered into doing the bidding of the war profiteers and the empire builders?
The Muslim Brotherhood: The Future of Egypt?
Caitlin Dickson Caitlin Dickson – Mon Jan 31, 12:44 pm ET
WASHINGTON, DC – As protests in Cairo continue, attention has turned to the Muslim Brotherhood, the 83-year-old Islamist opposition group. Members of the long-suppressed organization have recently been arrested in the protests. The opinions of the Muslim Brotherhood are vast and varied, as beliefs that the group's sole motivation is to oust President Mubarak and bring peace to the country are contradicted by proclamations that the Brotherhood plans to take over Egypt and create an anti-American state.
____________________________________________
It’s not Islam that has been threatening the West. It is the West that has been trying to convert Islam going back to the Crusades, and more recently as part of American foreign policy over oil.
The Wrong Friends: The Uncomfortable Lesson of the Uprisings in the Middle East
David Mednicoff, The Boston Globe: "This rising tide of mass protests against Arab secular strongmen urges us to think again about the role of Islam and government. Decades of Western policy have pushed Middle Eastern governments toward secular reforms. But a more nuanced view of the region - one that values authenticity as much as Western dogma - suggests something different. If we are concerned about stability, balance, even openness, it may be Arab Islamic governments that offer a better route to those goals."
________________________________________________
Well , duh. Mea culpa too late
Steven R. Hurst, Associated Press –
WASHINGTON
The recent WikiLeaks release of U.S. diplomatic reports showed that Washington knew what problems it increasingly faced with the regime of President Hosni Mubarak and his three decades of iron-fisted rule.
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton was spreading her spin widely on U.S. television talk shows Sunday.
"It's not a question of who retains power," she said. "It's how are we going to respond to the legitimate needs and grievances expressed by the Egyptian people and chart a new path. Clearly, the path that has been followed has not been one that has created that democratic future, that economic opportunity that people in the peaceful protests are seeking."
_________________________________________
Gibbs got it right. This is about action. Sometimes you can’t finesse an issue. You just have to stand for what you believe in.
U.S. increases pressure on Mubarak to act quickly
By Steve Holland and Andrew Quinn Steve Holland And Andrew Quinn – 1 hr 56 mins ago
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The White House increased pressure on Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to act swiftly to respond to mass protests on Monday and said appointing a new government was not enough.
Still walking a diplomatic tightrope, however, U.S. officials insisted President Barack Obama was not calling on Mubarak to step down and said it was up to the Egyptian people to decide the way forward in Egypt.
After a weekend in which Mubarak named a new vice president but clung to power in Cairo, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs declared, "This is not about appointments, it's about actions."
Paradise Lost. What we have let slip away because it was not our problem if AT&T was listening to us.
Farewell to Modernity in the New Age of Surveillance
Jan Widacki LLD, Truthout: "The world we were aiming at was to be a free one, granting people peace, equality, riches and healthcare, and allowing us to extend our lives and rid ourselves of numerous illnesses - and yet, the world we are approaching, which Fukuyama calls 'our posthuman future,' may be far more hierarchical and focused on competition than the present one: a world where the powers-that-be will be able to achieve full control over governed communities, and the governed communities, in turn, will manifest full control over the individuals. It is going to be a world of different - possibly genetically modified - people. Perhaps humankind, Adam and Eve's tribe, is reaching for the forbidden fruit. Will that effort result in an end to a possible life in a paradise of democracy and human rights?"
_________________________________________________
The reliability of our government in defining risks to our well being is marginal at best from WMD in Iraq to aviation threat levels to the Gulf of Tonkin to the Bay of Pigs to the Cold War. As far back as the USS Maine in1898 in Cuba and maybe before. Now we have the Muslim Brotherhood threatening us. How long are we going to be suckered into doing the bidding of the war profiteers and the empire builders?
The Muslim Brotherhood: The Future of Egypt?
Caitlin Dickson Caitlin Dickson – Mon Jan 31, 12:44 pm ET
WASHINGTON, DC – As protests in Cairo continue, attention has turned to the Muslim Brotherhood, the 83-year-old Islamist opposition group. Members of the long-suppressed organization have recently been arrested in the protests. The opinions of the Muslim Brotherhood are vast and varied, as beliefs that the group's sole motivation is to oust President Mubarak and bring peace to the country are contradicted by proclamations that the Brotherhood plans to take over Egypt and create an anti-American state.
____________________________________________
It’s not Islam that has been threatening the West. It is the West that has been trying to convert Islam going back to the Crusades, and more recently as part of American foreign policy over oil.
The Wrong Friends: The Uncomfortable Lesson of the Uprisings in the Middle East
David Mednicoff, The Boston Globe: "This rising tide of mass protests against Arab secular strongmen urges us to think again about the role of Islam and government. Decades of Western policy have pushed Middle Eastern governments toward secular reforms. But a more nuanced view of the region - one that values authenticity as much as Western dogma - suggests something different. If we are concerned about stability, balance, even openness, it may be Arab Islamic governments that offer a better route to those goals."
________________________________________________
Well , duh. Mea culpa too late
Steven R. Hurst, Associated Press –
WASHINGTON
The recent WikiLeaks release of U.S. diplomatic reports showed that Washington knew what problems it increasingly faced with the regime of President Hosni Mubarak and his three decades of iron-fisted rule.
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton was spreading her spin widely on U.S. television talk shows Sunday.
"It's not a question of who retains power," she said. "It's how are we going to respond to the legitimate needs and grievances expressed by the Egyptian people and chart a new path. Clearly, the path that has been followed has not been one that has created that democratic future, that economic opportunity that people in the peaceful protests are seeking."
_________________________________________
Gibbs got it right. This is about action. Sometimes you can’t finesse an issue. You just have to stand for what you believe in.
U.S. increases pressure on Mubarak to act quickly
By Steve Holland and Andrew Quinn Steve Holland And Andrew Quinn – 1 hr 56 mins ago
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The White House increased pressure on Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to act swiftly to respond to mass protests on Monday and said appointing a new government was not enough.
Still walking a diplomatic tightrope, however, U.S. officials insisted President Barack Obama was not calling on Mubarak to step down and said it was up to the Egyptian people to decide the way forward in Egypt.
After a weekend in which Mubarak named a new vice president but clung to power in Cairo, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs declared, "This is not about appointments, it's about actions."
Sham universities, funeral pyres, and a final bucket wish realized
Notes 44
Unintended benefits. Interesting how our obsession with illegal immigration is finally getting the government to move on the money hemorrhaging into phony training programs.
Feds probe Calif. 'sham university' for visa fraud
Press Terence Chea, Associated Press – Tue Feb 1
SAN FRANCISCO – The government of India is urging the United States to show leniency toward Indian students who were enrolled at a "sham university" in California that U.S. authorities say was a front for illegal immigration.
The U.S. attorney's office alleges the owner of Tri-Valley University in Pleasanton used the unaccredited school to charge foreigners millions of dollars in tuition fees and help them obtain student visas to stay in the U.S.
_______________________________________________
So much for the 1st Amendment when the Koch Brothers get together
25 arrested at California conservative meeting
Sun Jan 30, 9:10 pm ET
LA QUINTA, Calif. – Authorities in California say 25 protesters have been arrested for trespassing outside a strategy session of conservative political donors at a Palm Springs-area resort.
Sunday was the second day of the four-day conclave. It was organized by brothers David and Charles Koch, who have funded the fight against global warming laws and have financial ties to tea party groups.
_____________________________________________
When the people are aroused, mountains will yield. The problem is arousing people in denial and standing on the edge of a cliff
Raffi | The Right to a Future
Raffi Cavoukian, Truthout: "Are we tweeting while Earth burns? Is climate collapse our new collective Titanic? How do we best describe the survival struggle of seven billion in a way that connects with the public and with decision makers? The science on global warming is clear and compelling. Earth is in serious climate crisis. That's why many writers have recently upgraded climate change to climate collapse, climate catastrophe, the long emergency. To convey the climate threat fully, we need a new Story.... I propose a new lens and lexicon for conveying climate change as the greatest threat on Earth, a tragedy of epic proportions, especially for the world's young."
_______________________________________________
Congressman Jeff Miller in Florida’s 1st District.
Here’s a record to write home about. What’s the Constitutional authority for a health care subsidy to private insurance industry that gets 50% more than any government system in the world for services? And will funnel 33,000,000 more government subsidized customers through the private system rather than having a single payer public system that eliminates the price gouging?
Miller Newsletter January 30, 2011
Three weeks ago a new Congress was sworn in, and, immediately, the new Republican majority in the House of Representatives began to fundamentally change the way the House works. We adopted a House rules package requiring all legislation to cite Constitutional authority. This rules package also requires that legislation be publicly available for at least three days before voting on it. Additionally, we changed budget enforcement rules to ensure limited government and fiscal responsibility prevails over wasteful spending.
In the Republican Pledge to America, we promised to repeal and replace the job-killing health care package passed in the 111th Congress. The ObamaCare package was a 2,800 page monstrosity that imposed unconstitutional mandates on our citizens. This bill increased economic uncertainty and infringed upon our individual liberties without effectively reducing the cost of health care. H.R. 2, one of the first bills introduced and passed in the 112th Congress, repealed ObamaCare with a simple two-page bill. By itself, repealing ObamaCare will save $2.6 trillion over ten years, or $22,643 per household.
______________________________________________
I do not know if justice is blind or not but I get the feeling the blindfold has gotten rotten
By MELISSA NELSON, Associated Press Melissa Nelson, Associated Press – 1 min ago
PENSACOLA, Fla. – A federal judge declared the Obama administration's health care overhaul unconstitutional Monday, siding with 26 states that argued people cannot be required to buy health insurance.
Senior U.S. District Judge Roger Vinson agreed with the states that the new law violates people's rights by forcing them to buy health insurance by 2014 or face penalties. He went a step further than a previous ruling against the law, declaring the entire thing unconstitutional if the insurance requirement does not hold up.
________________________________________________
People taking more charge of a lot of previously off limits options
Funeral pyres an option in Colo. mountain town
By IVAN MORENO, Associated Press Ivan Moreno, Associated Press – CRESTONE, Colo. – Belinda Ellis' farewell went as she wanted. One by one, her family placed juniper boughs and logs about her body, covered in red cloth atop a rectangular steel grate inside a brick-lined hearth. With a torch, her husband lit the fire that consumed her, sending billows of smoke into the blue-gray sky of dawn.
_______________________________________________
There’s dying and there’s dying with a mission
How a Dying Wish Became a Best-Selling Investment Guide
Posted Jan 28, 2011 by Peter Gorenstein
A shot to beat the buzzer, a walk-off home run...the most memorable winning moments often come at these final stages of a game, with the clock running down and your back against the wall. Seldom does real life offer these same opportunities to make an indelible mark while staring death in the face. But for Gordon Murray, a former Wall Street investment banker, that's exactly what happened.
Murray died on January 15 at the age of 60 from glioblastoma, a type of brain cancer. Fortunately, several months before he died he was able to accomplish his dream, to write and publish an investment guide for individual investors.
Unintended benefits. Interesting how our obsession with illegal immigration is finally getting the government to move on the money hemorrhaging into phony training programs.
Feds probe Calif. 'sham university' for visa fraud
Press Terence Chea, Associated Press – Tue Feb 1
SAN FRANCISCO – The government of India is urging the United States to show leniency toward Indian students who were enrolled at a "sham university" in California that U.S. authorities say was a front for illegal immigration.
The U.S. attorney's office alleges the owner of Tri-Valley University in Pleasanton used the unaccredited school to charge foreigners millions of dollars in tuition fees and help them obtain student visas to stay in the U.S.
_______________________________________________
So much for the 1st Amendment when the Koch Brothers get together
25 arrested at California conservative meeting
Sun Jan 30, 9:10 pm ET
LA QUINTA, Calif. – Authorities in California say 25 protesters have been arrested for trespassing outside a strategy session of conservative political donors at a Palm Springs-area resort.
Sunday was the second day of the four-day conclave. It was organized by brothers David and Charles Koch, who have funded the fight against global warming laws and have financial ties to tea party groups.
_____________________________________________
When the people are aroused, mountains will yield. The problem is arousing people in denial and standing on the edge of a cliff
Raffi | The Right to a Future
Raffi Cavoukian, Truthout: "Are we tweeting while Earth burns? Is climate collapse our new collective Titanic? How do we best describe the survival struggle of seven billion in a way that connects with the public and with decision makers? The science on global warming is clear and compelling. Earth is in serious climate crisis. That's why many writers have recently upgraded climate change to climate collapse, climate catastrophe, the long emergency. To convey the climate threat fully, we need a new Story.... I propose a new lens and lexicon for conveying climate change as the greatest threat on Earth, a tragedy of epic proportions, especially for the world's young."
_______________________________________________
Congressman Jeff Miller in Florida’s 1st District.
Here’s a record to write home about. What’s the Constitutional authority for a health care subsidy to private insurance industry that gets 50% more than any government system in the world for services? And will funnel 33,000,000 more government subsidized customers through the private system rather than having a single payer public system that eliminates the price gouging?
Miller Newsletter January 30, 2011
Three weeks ago a new Congress was sworn in, and, immediately, the new Republican majority in the House of Representatives began to fundamentally change the way the House works. We adopted a House rules package requiring all legislation to cite Constitutional authority. This rules package also requires that legislation be publicly available for at least three days before voting on it. Additionally, we changed budget enforcement rules to ensure limited government and fiscal responsibility prevails over wasteful spending.
In the Republican Pledge to America, we promised to repeal and replace the job-killing health care package passed in the 111th Congress. The ObamaCare package was a 2,800 page monstrosity that imposed unconstitutional mandates on our citizens. This bill increased economic uncertainty and infringed upon our individual liberties without effectively reducing the cost of health care. H.R. 2, one of the first bills introduced and passed in the 112th Congress, repealed ObamaCare with a simple two-page bill. By itself, repealing ObamaCare will save $2.6 trillion over ten years, or $22,643 per household.
______________________________________________
I do not know if justice is blind or not but I get the feeling the blindfold has gotten rotten
By MELISSA NELSON, Associated Press Melissa Nelson, Associated Press – 1 min ago
PENSACOLA, Fla. – A federal judge declared the Obama administration's health care overhaul unconstitutional Monday, siding with 26 states that argued people cannot be required to buy health insurance.
Senior U.S. District Judge Roger Vinson agreed with the states that the new law violates people's rights by forcing them to buy health insurance by 2014 or face penalties. He went a step further than a previous ruling against the law, declaring the entire thing unconstitutional if the insurance requirement does not hold up.
________________________________________________
People taking more charge of a lot of previously off limits options
Funeral pyres an option in Colo. mountain town
By IVAN MORENO, Associated Press Ivan Moreno, Associated Press – CRESTONE, Colo. – Belinda Ellis' farewell went as she wanted. One by one, her family placed juniper boughs and logs about her body, covered in red cloth atop a rectangular steel grate inside a brick-lined hearth. With a torch, her husband lit the fire that consumed her, sending billows of smoke into the blue-gray sky of dawn.
_______________________________________________
There’s dying and there’s dying with a mission
How a Dying Wish Became a Best-Selling Investment Guide
Posted Jan 28, 2011 by Peter Gorenstein
A shot to beat the buzzer, a walk-off home run...the most memorable winning moments often come at these final stages of a game, with the clock running down and your back against the wall. Seldom does real life offer these same opportunities to make an indelible mark while staring death in the face. But for Gordon Murray, a former Wall Street investment banker, that's exactly what happened.
Murray died on January 15 at the age of 60 from glioblastoma, a type of brain cancer. Fortunately, several months before he died he was able to accomplish his dream, to write and publish an investment guide for individual investors.
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