A interesting side fact that I learned from this article... the U.S. is more socialistic than China - at least by stimulus spending standards :)
May 30 (Bloomberg) -- World Bank President Robert Zoellick warned policy makers that fiscal-stimulus plans are insufficient to turn around the “real economy” and rising joblessness threatens to set off political unrest across the globe.
“While the stimulus has given an impulse, it’s like a sugar high unless you eventually get the credit system working,” Zoellick said in an interview yesterday with Bloomberg Television’s “Political Capital with Al Hunt.” “When unemployment increases, that’s probably the most political combustible issue.”
Zoellick’s caution is a contrast with private economists, who are raising their outlooks for growth from India to China as stimulus measures take effect. The biggest developed and emerging nations have committed spending increases and tax cuts totaling 2 percent of their combined economies, a level the International Monetary Fund recommended to end the recession.
The World Bank is monitoring private companies’ abilities to roll over “a lot” of debt in the developing world, Zoellick said. At the same time, he played down risks to the global recovery posed by rising U.S. Treasury yields, saying that “in terms of absolute levels, rates are still pretty low for most players.”
Zoellick also said that the dollar will remain the world’s main currency “for a long time,” and noted that investors flocked to the dollar as a haven during the worst parts of the financial crisis.
Reagan, Bush Terms
Zoellick, 55, took the helm of the World Bank in 2007, and served as U.S. deputy secretary of state and chief trade negotiator in the Bush administration, and in positions at the Treasury Department under President Ronald Reagan. At State, he played a central role in formulating policy toward China, before departing government for a stint at Goldman Sachs Group Inc.
Chinese officials’ comments calling for a new international currency have been “over-read” and may be more of an indication of the nation’s desire to free up its capital flows, Zoellick said. He added that China’s stimulus has helped stoke growth in the nation that “may even beat expectations a little bit.”
China this year approved a $585 billion (4 trillion yuan) stimulus plan, and the U.S. is now implementing a $787 billion package of tax cuts and spending that President Barack Obama signed in February.
“Right now, the international system appears to have a sufficient amount of stimulus,” Zoellick said. “The danger is if you spend too much government money, you create a different problem.”
And saves 10 lives in the process! Not sure how I missed this story earlier this month... but it's a great testament to concealed carry gun owners and their ability to protect the innocent from violent criminals. This will only continue to be true as long as we do not try to disarm the populace (i.e. the law-abiding) like Obama and his friends would like.
COLLEGE PARK, Ga. -- A group of college students said they are lucky to be alive and they’re thanking the quick-thinking of one of their own. Police said a fellow student shot and killed one of two masked me who burst into an apartment.
Channel 2 Action News reporter Tom Jones met with one of the students to talk about the incident.
“Apparently, his intent was to rape and murder us all,” said student Charles Bailey.
Bailey said he thought it was the end of his life and the lives of the 10 people inside his apartment for a birthday party after two masked men with guns burst in through a patio door.
“They just came in and separated the men from the women and said, ‘Give me your wallets and cell phones,’” said George Williams of the College Park Police Department.
Bailey said the gunmen started counting bullets. “The other guy asked how many (bullets) he had. He said he had enough,” said Bailey.
That’s when one student grabbed a gun out of a backpack and shot at the invader who was watching the men. The gunman ran out of the apartment.
The student then ran to the room where the second gunman, identified by police as 23-year-old Calvin Lavant, was holding the women.
“Apparently the guy was getting ready to rape his girlfriend. So he told the girls to get down and he started shooting. The guy jumped out of the window,” said Bailey.
So Craig Nelson is "seriously thinking" about not paying taxes anymore. Hmmm... I'd like to see someone take on the SS, sorry IRS, and win. I think Wesley Snipes found out that it's pretty hard to do. :)
Mr Nelson better get ready for the brown shirted thugs (aka: IRS) to come knocking :)
I love the last paragraph from the Dallas Fed President.
Richard Fisher, president of the Dallas Federal Reserve Bank, said: "Senior officials of the Chinese government grilled me about whether or not we are going to monetise the actions of our legislature."
"I must have been asked about that a hundred times in China. I was asked at every single meeting about our purchases of Treasuries. That seemed to be the principal preoccupation of those that were invested with their surpluses mostly in the United States," he told the Wall Street Journal.
His recent trip to the Far East appears to have been a stark reminder that Asia's "Confucian" culture of right action does not look kindly on the insouciant policy of printing money by Anglo-Saxons.
Mr Fisher, the Fed's leading hawk, was a fierce opponent of the original decision to buy Treasury debt, fearing that it would lead to a blurring of the line between fiscal and monetary policy – and could all too easily degenerate into Argentine-style financing of uncontrolled spending.
However, he agreed that the Fed was forced to take emergency action after the financial system "literally fell apart".
Nor, he added was there much risk of inflation taking off yet. The Dallas Fed uses a "trim mean" method based on 180 prices that excludes extreme moves and is widely admired for accuracy.
"You've got some mild deflation here," he said.
The Oxford-educated Mr Fisher, an outspoken free-marketer and believer in the Schumpeterian process of "creative destruction", has been running a fervent campaign to alert Americans to the "very big hole" in unfunded pension and health-care liabilities built up by a careless political class over the years.
"We at the Dallas Fed believe the total is over $99 trillion," he said in February.
"This situation is of your own creation. When you berate your representatives or senators or presidents for the mess we are in, you are really berating yourself. You elect them," he said.
His warning comes amid growing fears that America could lose its AAA sovereign rating.
WASHINGTON — In 2001, Sonia Sotomayor, an appeals court judge, gave a speech declaring that the ethnicity and sex of a judge “may and will make a difference in our judging.”
In her speech, Judge Sotomayor questioned the famous notion — often invoked by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and her retired Supreme Court colleague, Sandra Day O’Connor — that a wise old man and a wise old woman would reach the same conclusion when deciding cases.
“I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn’t lived that life,” said Judge Sotomayor, who is now considered to be near the top of President Obama’s list of potential Supreme Court nominees.
WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama tapped federal appeals judge Sonia Sotomayor for the Supreme Court on Tuesday, officials said, making her the first Hispanic in history picked to wear the robes of a justice.
If confirmed by the Senate, Sotomayor, 54, would succeed retiring Justice David Souter. Two officials described Obama's decision on condition of anonymity because no formal announcement had been made.
May 22, 2009
Time to Legalize Counterfeiting
By Harold Witkov
Many Americans today believe certain illegal vices in our society should be decriminalized, taxed, and regulated. The most popular of these vices include marijuana smoking, prostitution, and all forms of gambling. The proponents for decriminalization believe that the new tax revenues produced would help support schools, healthcare, and the impoverished, ease the pain of taxpayers, and reduce the deficit. They also believe that transgressions such as these will take place no matter, but, if properly regulated, would be safer for society in general. It would be a win, win situation.
Unfortunately, when it comes to lowering taxes and helping the downtrodden, the best-laid government plans seem to fall short of expectations. However, there is one vice, one small illegal indiscretion, that, if decriminalized would solve all our problems. The United States needs to legalize the victimless crime known as counterfeiting.
Once legalized, counterfeiting would be for everyone. This could be accomplished by making Federal Reserve Note paper (complete with silk threads, watermarks, etc.) available to the public. With the correct paper, most computers with the right software would have no trouble replicating U.S. currency. If a household did not have a computer, special over- the-counter counterfeit kits could be made available, with instructions in both English and Spanish.
Once in place, universal counterfeiting would prove to be the ultimate stimulus package for the economy. Employees would always have enough money and never have to go on strike. Citizens would have no trouble paying their mortgages and never face foreclosure. Everyone would gladly pay his or her taxes and there would be no need to have an IRS.
Free market consumerism would return with a flourish. People would purchase whatever they wanted and stores would only have to worry about having enough merchandise on hand. Stores could charge the consumer whatever they wanted and the consumer could still afford. Every shopping day would be like the day after Thanksgiving and the day before Christmas.
Once legalized, counterfeiting would still have to be regulated. Parity and fairness would dictate that families earning over $250,000 would only be allowed to print $1, $2, $5 and $10 denominations. Families with combined incomes of less than $250,000 could print $20 and $50 bills. The unemployed could print $100 bills, and ACORN workers and UAW members would be entitled to counterfeit a new denomination, something even larger than the $100 bill (with President Obama on the front).
Universal counterfeiting could be the entitlement program that ends all other entitlement programs and sets us free. It is time to stand up and tell our legislators we want universal counterfeiting. If they protest, "You cannot just print money," then promptly respond in kind, "Why not? It works for you."
NEW YORK (AP) - The dollar kept falling Friday, notching fresh multimonth lows against the euro, pound and yen as a warning that Britain's debt level may result in its credit rating being cut ricocheted into worries about the massive U.S. deficit.
The 16-nation euro rose to $1.4015 in morning trading from $1.3889 in New York late Thursday—its first time above $1.40 since Jan. 2.
The British pound rose to $1.5916 from $1.5890, peaking at $1.5945 earlier in the session, its highest point since Nov. 6.
Meanwhile, the dollar edged up to 94.51 Japanese yen from 94.23 yen—after earlier falling to 93.82, its lowest point since Feb. 23.
On Thursday, Standard & Poor's said Britain may have its rating cut because of rising debt levels. Though the ratings agency reaffirmed the country's actual long-term credit rating at "AAA," it said the outlook had deteriorated because of massive borrowing to deal with the recession and the banking crisis.
Because Britain is pursuing similar policies to the U.S.—with both the Bank of England and the Federal Reserve injecting billions of dollars in their economies by buying assets from banks—the move also weighed on U.S. assets and the dollar. Treasurys sold off Thursday, and continued to do so Friday.
S&P's announcement "wound up creating more problems for the U.S. dollar than for the British pound," HSBC analysts said in a research note.
"The problem for the U.S. is particularly acute because of its reserve status," said UBS analyst Brian Kim in an e-mail to investors Friday. Major holders of U.S. debt, such as Middle Eastern sovereign funds and the Chinese government, have not been shy about calling the U.S. out for what it sees as policies that will trigger inflation, shrinking the value of their Treasury holdings.
The Fed in March said it planned to buy up billions in long-term Treasurys and $1.25 trillion in mortgage-backed securities, flooding the money supply.
"The dollar has weakened as dollar bears have now added concerns on U.S. credit ratings to their arsenal," Kim said.
Earlier this month, the Obama administration hiked its forecast for this year's federal deficit to $1.84 trillion. The deficit is approaching $1 trillion for the budget year that began Oct. 1.
Big deficits mean the government has to borrow more, which could put its credit rating at risk. They can also put upwards pressure on inflation, thus cutting the purchasing power of the dollar.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The Federal Reserve's latest forecasts for the U.S. economy are gloomier than the ones released three months earlier, with an expectation for higher unemployment and a steeper drop in economic activity.
The Fed's forecasts, released as part of the minutes from its April meeting, show that its staff now expects the unemployment rate to rise to between 9.2% and 9.6% this year. The central bank had forecast in January that the jobless rate would be in a range of 8.5% to 8.8%, but the unemployment rate topped that in April, hitting 8.9%.
The Fed also now expects the gross domestic product, the broadest measure of the nation's economic activity, to post a drop of between 1.3% and 2% this year. It had previously expected only a 0.5% to 1.3% decline.
The "Paid Vacation Act" has been introduced in Congress by Rep. Alan Grayson (D - FL). I wouldn't get too worked up about it though... with the socialism heading our way, we'll all be able to take more vacations, albeit unpaid ones. But not to worry, I'm sure that our benevolent "ruler" will requite us with some sort of reparations – no doubt through one of our very successful government programs, such as social security.
Rep. Alan Grayson was standing in the middle of Disney World when it hit him: What Americans really need is a week of paid vacation.
So on Thursday, the Florida Democrat will introduce the Paid Vacation Act — legislation that would be the first to make paid vacation time a requirement under federal law.
The bill would require companies with more than 100 employees to offer a week of paid vacation for both full-time and part-time employees after they’ve put in a year on the job. Three years after the effective date of the law, those same companies would be required to provide two weeks of paid vacation, and companies with 50 or more employees would have to provide one week.
The idea: More vacation will stimulate the economy through fewer sick days, better productivity and happier employees.
“There’s a reason why Disney World is the happiest place on Earth: The people who go there are on vacation,” said Grayson, a freshman who counts Orlando as part of his home district. “Honestly, as much as I appreciate this job and as much as I enjoy it, the best days of my life are and always have been the days I’m on vacation.”
According to the Center for Economic and Policy Research, 28 million Americans — or about a quarter of the work force — don’t get any paid vacation. The center says that a lack of vacation causes stress and workplace burnout and that those evil twins cost the economy more than $300 billion each year.
One more if-you’re-reading-this-then-you’re-probably-not-on-vacation fact: The United States is dead last among 21 industrial countries when it comes to mandatory R&R.
France currently requires employers to provide 30 days of paid leave.
Not surprisingly, some in the travel industry are salivating over Grayson’s bill; Grayson spokesman Todd Jurkowski said the U.S. Tour Operators Association and the Adventure Travel Trade Association are both on board. Other tourism and labor groups are expected to sign on in the coming days.
The U.S. Travel Association has not yet endorsed the measure, but Senior Vice President Geoff Freeman says Congress does need to consider new ways to stimulate the vacation industry and travel economy.
So far, no group has come out in opposition of the bill. Nor has anyone announced opposition to roller coaster rides, cookouts on the beach or salt-water taffy on the boardwalk.
My name is George C. Joseph. I am the sole owner of Sunshine Dodge-Isuzu, a family owned and operated business in Melbourne, Florida. My family bought and paid for this automobile franchise 35 years ago in 1974. I am the second generation to manage this business.
We currently employ 50+ people and before the economic slowdown we employed over 70 local people. We are active in the community and the local chamber of commerce. We deal with several dozen local vendors on a day to day basis and many more during a month. All depend on our business for part of their livelihood. We are financially strong with great respect in the market place and community. We have strong local presence and stability.
I work every day the store is open, nine to ten hours a day. I know most of our customers and all our employees. Sunshine Dodge is my life.
On Thursday, May 14, 2009 I was notified that my Dodge franchise, that we purchased, will be taken away from my family on June 9, 2009 without compensation and given to another dealer at no cost to them. My new vehicle inventory consists of 125 vehicles with a financed balance of 3 million dollars. This inventory becomes impossible to sell with no factory incentives beyond June 9, 2009. Without the Dodge franchise we can no longer sell a new Dodge as "new," nor will we be able to do any warranty service work. Additionally, my Dodge parts inventory, (approximately $300,000.) is virtually worthless without the ability to perform warranty service. There is no offer from Chrysler to buy back the vehicles or parts inventory.
Our facility was recently totally renovated at Chrysler's insistence, incurring a multi-million dollar debt in the form of a mortgage at Sun Trust Bank.
HOW IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA CAN THIS HAPPEN?
THIS IS A PRIVATE BUSINESS NOT A GOVERNMENT ENTITY
This is beyond imagination! My business is being stolen from me through NO FAULT OF OUR OWN. We did NOTHING wrong.
This atrocity will most likely force my family into bankruptcy. This will also cause our 50+ employees to be unemployed. How will they provide for their families? This is a total economic disaster.
HOW CAN THIS HAPPEN IN A FREE MARKET ECONOMY IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA?
I beseech your help, and look forward to your reply. Thank you.
Sincerely,
George C. Joseph
President & Owner
Sunshine Dodge-Isuzu
The U.S. dollar's day of reckoning may be inching closer as its status as a safe-haven currency fades with every uptick in stocks and commodities and its potential risks - debt and inflation - are brought under a harsher spotlight.
Ashraf Laidi, chief market strategist at CMC Markets, said Wednesday a "serious case of dollar damage" was underway.
"We long warned about the day of reckoning for the dollar emerging at the next economic recovery," Mr. Laidi said in a note.
Mr. Laidi said economic recovery would weigh on the greenback as real demand for commodities, coupled with improved risk appetite, caused investors to seek higher yields in emerging markets and commodity currencies. This would draw investment away from the U.S. dollar, which was dragged down by growing debt and the risk quantitative easing would eventually spark a surge in inflation.
The U.S. dollar slid against most major currencies Wednesday, hitting a five-month low of US$1.3775 against the euro and pushing the Canadian dollar up US1.21¢ to a seven-month high of US87.69¢.
John Curran, the senior corporate dealer at Canadian Forex, said the U.S. dollar would likely fall further in the next week, with the Canadian dollar likely reaching about US88.35¢, at which point it could break higher to test the US92.35¢ level.
"The U.S. dollar is continuing to slide as investor appetite is gaining momentum," Mr. Curran said. "People are getting comfortable about taking on a little more risk."
The rise in the Canadian dollar has moved in lock-step with the improvement in equity markets since March 9. Over this time, the S&P 500 has risen by 34%, the S&P/TSX composite index has gained 35% and the Canadian dollar has increased by 14%, equal to almost US11¢. Since Feb. 18, light-crude oil has risen by 46% to US$62.12.
But as risk appetite and equities improve, Mr. Curran said it was unlikely the U.S. dollar would embark on a long-term decline.
This is more than just a cop losing it... this is what you would expect to see from a mob, not police officers! Thankfully all five officers involved have been fired.
And totally owns him! She does a great job holding his feet to the fire, and exposing him for the socialist that he really is, along with President Obama. It really starts to get good around 4:15 :)
Some of the ideas that this union guy is pushing is more than scary, it’s outrageous! Check out this quote: “Medicare is one of the most successful programs we've had in the history of this country”. What???
Also, he believes Europe’s got the greatest economic plans available… and furthermore he’d like to revert to 1970’s tax structure and levels!!!
Jonathan, let me ask you this, Jonathan, okay, unions are of course representing workers. But when you look at the number of industries that are dominated by unions, the performance is not so great, right? Airlines, autos, teachers, so, what else? Why is that? Is there a connection?
JONATHAN TASINI, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR LABOR RESEARCH ASSOCIATION: If I can first address the main point: thank God for the public sector unions. Because if it wasn't for the public sector unions, and the stimulus money coming to states to save jobs, this economy would not just be in a so-called recession, we'd be at the bottom of the abyss. It's actually the stimulus money that has saved part of the economy and kept that sector going while in fact the private sector has declined because there's no credit as you well know in the private sector, and jobs have been lost like crazy.
BARTIROMO: Right, but that's one of the points, because one of Steve's arguments is that the federal stimulus dollars are distributed to the unions, or to, they're steering the funds, hold on, they're steering the funds to projects that are basically preserving public sector jobs, their own jobs. Not other jobs.
TASINI: Okay, so let's talk about what those jobs are. Well, the reality is that the money coming from the government does come to the state governments to spend. And because the private sector is, was contracting, the only place you could actually have jobs was building roads, rebuilding schools, these are very good things. I'm all for that, and I believe that most of the public is for that. You know, Steve is making an argument that is sort of drifting away from him, from the people, the kind of argument he's supporting. The truth is that the majority of the public is really with this kind of spending, supports this kind of spending. I think that's shown in both the support for President Obama's stimulus package and the spending at the state level. Now, I want to address your point about these industries. Let's take the auto industry for example. You cannot blame the unionized workers for the state of the auto industry. That's pure mismanagement, not the least of which is continued to refuse to have a single-payer medicare for all healthcare system which would have relieved tens of billions of dollars of healthcare costs from the -- let me finish -- from the auto industry and the steel industry(right, and would put those tens of billions on the American taxpayer!). The problem of much of the industry in America, the industries you're talking about, has nothing to do with wages, nothing to do with union workers. You...
BARTIROMO: What are you talking about? The autos had all those legacy costs in place. They're paying people who are putting their feet up and just relaxing at home on the sofa, and they're not on the assembly line.
TASINI: UAW members could work for free and you would not save the auto industry...
BARTIROMO: Because they're paying the people that are not on the assembly line. They're at home.
TASINI: The way you solve the problem of the auto industry and the steel industry, many other industries, is you have a national healthcare system. You take the burden of the tens of billions of healthcare costs off the companies, and have a normal healthcare system like the rest of the industrialized world.
BARTIROMO: Steve, do you agree with that?
STEVEN MALANGA, SENIOR FELLOW MANHATTAN INSTITUTE: Well, of course, one of the things that this doesn't contemplate is that if the employers aren't paying healthcare costs, somebody else is. The irony here is that in the public sector, we do have the public sector paying healthcare costs. Healthcare benefits for public employees are paid by government, and they are part of what's driving governments like New York state, New York City, and California broke. The idea that there's sort of money out there somewhere that doesn't come from the private sector and that that money if government just spends it will cure things, you know, it just doesn't recognize the fact that this money has to come from somewhere. So, in a national healthcare system, where's that money going to come from?
BARTIROMO: Taxes. Higher taxes.
MALANGA: Right.
TASINI: Well, actually you would save money, you would save money at the end of the day...
BARTIROMO: How are you saving money because you're going to be spending more money on healthcare? Healthcare is 17 percent of the GDP. You're telling me that it's going to go lower? No, I don't think so. It'll be a higher percentage of GDP.
TASINI: Medicare is one of the most successful programs we've had in the history of this country. It operates at two or three percent administrative costs. The reason our healthcare costs are so high is because you've got a profit mongering industry that pays its executives too high, and spends 20 percent or 30 percent on administrative costs for what reason? To spend billions of dollars every day to prevent people from having healthcare. Now that's a moral obscenity. But I do want to address the other point about the state costs. There are two reasons states are in trouble in terms of their budget. One is the overall collapse of the economy thanks to Bernie Madoff, Wall Street, AIG, and all your other friends. The second point is this: we do not have a progressive taxation system anymore. In New York state, which Steve and I both live in, if we went back to a more progressive taxation system, and taxed just the top one percent, we would have about eight or nine billion dollars more which would solve the crisis.
BARTIROMO: Look, I can't allow you to fan the flames of class warfare on this program. You said, you said "Wall Street and all your other friends." Who's they?
TASINI: Class warfare is, does exist in this country. The problem is, the class that's being affected are 95 percent of the population. Are you telling me there isn't class warfare in this country?
BARTIROMO: Well, workers are being affected, however, I'm trying to get at the point of why we have these troubled...
TASINI: We have the biggest gap between rich and poor that we've ever had in probably a hundred years. Productivity in the last 30 years has skyrocketed, and workers have gotten not benefited, that is the definition of class warfare.
BARTIROMO: Steve, what do you say to that?
MALANGA: Well, the first thing I say to that is all you have to do is look around us. We live in a country now where the average number of families has two cars, three televisions, air conditioning is standard in most houses. The idea that you just look at income and say, "Oh my God, income hasn't increased, therefore people are falling behind," the standard of living of the average American today is far, far ahead of the standard of living of the average American living in the 1960s, and the 1930s.
BARTIROMO: Meanwhile, the unions have their benefits. That's the point that I just made about people, you know, we're paying for benefits, we're paying salaries for people who are no longer on the assembly line. I mean, look, it's just not, you know, having a job for life is not a concept that I understand, because, you know, at some point, you're not getting paid for life. It's just, maybe you do in Europe, that's a socialist concept.
TASINI: Well, you just, I mean you're just throwing around the word socialist concept, I mean Europe bashing...
BARTIROMO: Who's throwing it around?
TASINI: Well, I actually think we could learn a lot from the way Europe treats its...
BARTIROMO: So, you want us to go the European way?
TASINI: For example, there was just a great piece in the New York Times about Norway, and explaining how it has actually expanded its coverage and protection of people. I would argue that people in Norway probably live a better standard of living than most people in this, than many people in this country.
BARTIROMO: Well, the economies of Europe have been in the dumps for, for years, even before this economic slowdown even started. You think that, you think the socialist measures have anything to do with that?
TASINI: Well, what I found interesting is both Steven and both you have ignored the two points that I've made which is that we have the greatest inequality that we've had in the last hundred years, and the most important point I tried to make was productivity. Productivity in the last 30 year is soaring. That means...
BARTIROMO: But what is redistribution of wealth going to do for productivity? What is, what is the idea of the American dream, of working hard and achieving something, and knowing that all, you know, half your wealth is going to someone who didn't do that? What is that going to do to productivity is my question.
TASINI: Well, when I talked about my proposal for a different taxation system here, I talked about affecting the top one percent. We're talking about redistributing the wealth a little bit, five percent in this state...
BARTIROMO: Right...
TASINI: ...to, from the top one percent. 95 percent of the people would have a tax cut...
BARTIROMO: Right...
TASINI: ...if you went back to the taxation system we had in the 1970s which was far more progressive.
BARTIROMO: Right.
TASINI: We just, you guys want to ignore the reality of the math.
America’s spy chief was sent on a secret mission to Israel to warn its leaders not to launch a surprise attack on Iran without notifying the US Administration.
As Binyamin Netanyahu, the Israeli Prime Minister, prepares to visit Washington, it emerged yesterday that Leon Panetta, the head of the CIA, went to Israel two weeks ago. He sought assurances from Mr Netanyahu and Ehud Barak, the Defence Minister, that their hawkish new Government would not attack Iran without alerting Washington.
Concerns have been rising that Mr Netanyahu could launch a strike on Tehran’s atomic programme, in the same way that Israel hit Saddam Hussein’s Osirak reactor in 1981. Israel has been preparing for such an eventuality. It has carried out long-distance manoeuvres and is due to hold its largest civil defence drills this summer. The country’s leaders reportedly told Mr Panetta that they did not “intend to surprise the US on Iran”.
Mr Netanyahu will leave for Washington this weekend. He will meet Hillary Clinton, the Secretary of State, and Mr Obama, whom he will try to convince of the need for tougher action against Iran. Mr Obama favours trying to engage Tehran, but his efforts have been received coolly by President Ahmadinejad.
"When — when — when my staff person — I'm sorry, the page is out of order — five months later, my staff person told me that there had been a briefing — informing that there had been a briefing and that a letter had been sent. I was not briefed on what was in that briefing; I was just informed that the briefing had taken place."
No sympathy for the perp running from the cops, but at the same time... what was this officer thinking??? 1) He knows that there is a helicopter overhead recording his every move. 2) Doesn't he have standards or principles that he lives by... you know, right and wrong?
TEMPE, AZ-- An investigation has been opened by The Arizona Department of Public Safety to see if officers acted properly during a controversial border stop from Tuesday.
The man at the center of the stop is Steve Anderson from Tempe.
He’s the father of five children, a small business owner who travels about three days a week to California, and a pastor for Faithful Word Baptist Church in Tempe.
His wife Zsuzsanna is a housewife who also home schools their children.
The 27-year-old lived a quiet life until he posted a video on YouTube this week.
While sitting in his church, his wife’s hand on the record button, Anderson delivered a harrowing account of a recent encounter at a Border Patrol checkpoint in Arizona.
With large red marks across his forehead, he said he refused to answer a Border Patrol agent’s questions when stopped.
Agents then called in the Department of Public Safety to arrest him.
He said officers broke the windows, deployed a stun gun on him several times, and then smashed his head into the broken glass.
He was subsequently arrested.
At his Tempe home, he showed off several pieces of bloodstained clothing and several marks from stun gun prongs on his stomach and arm.
He admits to refusing to answer the Border Patrol agent’s questions and his reason is simple.
He argues that our forefathers who drafted the Constitution wrote the Fourth Amendment and Fifth Amendment in order to protect us from becoming a “totalitarian government”.
Checkpoints, he said, violate civil liberties.
In a DPS news release from Friday, officers said Anderson never filed a complaint with their office concerning his arrest but instead made a YouTube video that featured his version of the events of that day.
The news release also said the department was looking at current agency policies and procedures that officers must comply with when requested by any agency to respond to checkpoints.
As an American, Anderson said he should have the right to go anywhere he pleases without the government asking him what he is doing and why.
That is the beauty of America, he argued, the gift of a free society.
He does not believe officers had the right to search his car without a warrant.
Interesting analysis... I don't necessarily agree with his conclusions, but he raises some interesting questions.
Opposing View: Keep Arms Off Ships
By Peter Chalk
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This commentary appeared in USA Today on May 4, 2009.
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Does the provision of private security contractors provide a viable solution to the growing problem of piracy off the Horn of Africa? Quite apart from the high cost — a robust security operation can run as much as $21,000 a day — employing security contractors poses problems on several fronts.
First, most coastal states impose restrictions on ships entering their territorial waters if they carry weapons. Arming crews would significantly complicate the legal logistics of any container vessel that makes numerous ports of call.
Second, since many states do not allow armed personnel on vessels, this would be liable to increase so-called flags of convenience, compounding an already amorphous and poorly regulated industry.
Third, death or injury to an innocent party, as a result of an exchange involving security contractors, could expose ship owners to exorbitant compensation claims (not covered by insurance) and criminal charges.
Fourth, it is not apparent what authority, if any, an escort boat has to board a pirate vessel that is threatening a client-owned vessel. Under international law, only warships clearly identified as being in the service of a sovereign government retain this right.
Underscoring all these considerations is the real possibility of pirates elevating their own threshold of violence, storming vessels with an intent to use lethal force against any they confront — including crew, who until now have been relatively well treated.
Preferable, cheaper options would combine state and industry efforts by:
•Enhancing overall policing on the seas.
•Ensuring any military assets in pirate-prone areas are properly coordinated, with transparent rules of engagement.
•Encouraging target hardening by requiring vessels transiting dangerous regions to sail over 15 knots, adhere to pre-defined corridors, maintain close communication with coastal authorities, sail at night (if transiting the Gulf of Aden) and have practiced protocols for hostage situations.
•Installing non-lethal defenses such as electrified perimeter fences and long-range acoustic devices that emit loud, disorienting blasts of sound.
Arming commercial ships is a recipe for making a bad situation worse, not better.
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Peter Chalk is an expert on piracy and terrorism at the RAND Corp.
If what his mother says is true, it should be easy enough to prove he wasn't home at the time of the calls, by getting witnesses at his church to verify that he was indeed at church that evening. So, with that assumption, why is he still being held???
"Oxford, N.C. — Sixteen-year-old Ashton Lundeby's bedroom in his mother's Granville County home is nothing, if not patriotic. Images of American flags are everywhere – on the bed, on the floor, on the wall.
But according to the United States government, the tenth-grade home-schooler is being held on a criminal complaint that he made a bomb threat from his home on the night of Feb. 15.
The family was at a church function that night, his mother, Annette Lundeby, said.
"Undoubtedly, they were given false information, or they would not have had 12 agents in my house with a widow and two children and three cats," Lundeby said.
Around 10 p.m. on March 5, Lundeby said, armed FBI agents along with three local law enforcement officers stormed her home looking for her son. They handcuffed him and presented her with a search warrant.
"I was terrified," Lundeby's mother said. "There were guns, and I don't allow guns around my children. I don't believe in guns."
Lundeby told the officers that someone had hacked into her son's IP address and was using it to make crank calls connected through the Internet, making it look like the calls had originated from her home when they did not.
Her argument was ignored, she said. Agents seized a computer, a cell phone, gaming console, routers, bank statements and school records, according to federal search warrants.
"There were no bomb-making materials, not even a blasting cap, not even a wire," Lundeby said.
Ashton now sits in a juvenile facility in South Bend, Ind. His mother has had little access to him since his arrest. She has gone to her state representatives as well as attorneys, seeking assistance, but, she said, there is nothing she can do.
Lundeby said the USA Patriot Act stripped her son of his due process rights.
"We have no rights under the Patriot Act to even defend them, because the Patriot Act basically supersedes the Constitution," she said. "It wasn't intended to drag your barely 16-year-old, 120-pound son out in the middle of the night on a charge that we can't even defend."
Passed after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the U.S., the Patriot Act allows federal agents to investigate suspected cases of terrorism swiftly to better protect the country. In part, it gives the federal government more latitude to search telephone records, e-mails and other records.
"They're saying that 'We feel this individual is a terrorist or an enemy combatant against the United States, and we're going to suspend all of those due process rights because this person is an enemy of the United States," said Dan Boyce, a defense attorney and former U.S. attorney not connected to the Lundeby case."
Just saw this story related to the MIAC and DHS reports from last month that labeled freedom loving American's as "potential threats".
"We just received a call from Rosemarie in Ball, Louisiana alerting us that her brother-in-law was stopped by small town Louisiana police and detained by the roadside for half an hour. A background check was conducted to determine whether he was a member of an "extremist" group. Why? Her brother-in-law (name not disclosed for privacy) had purchased and displayed a conservative "Don't Tread on Me" bumper sticker on his car.
The bumper sticker is based on the famous flag designed by American Revolution era general and statesman Christopher Gadsden. The yellow flag featured a coiled diamondback rattlesnake ready to strike, with the slogan "Don't Tread on Me!" underneath it. Benjamin Franklin helped make the rattlesnake a symbol of Americans' reluctance to quarrel but vigilance and resolve in defense of their rights. By 1775 when Gadsden presented his flag to the commander-in-chief of the Navy, the rattlesnake was a symbol of the colonies and of their need to unite in defense of threats to their God-given and inherited rights. The flag and the bumper sticker symbolize American patriotism, the need to defend Americans' rights, and resistance to tyranny's threats to American liberty. Those threats included-and include-illegal taxation, profanation of Americans' rights, and violation of the fundamental principles of American law.
The notorious Department of Homeland Security memo, which was apparently based on the infamous Missouri State Police Report that described supporters of presidential candidates Bob Barr, Ron Paul, and Chuck Baldwin as "militia"-type potential extremists and potential terrorists, is not the first effort of leftist radicals to slander their political opponents as "extremists." Some observers have noted that similar "reports" emerged during the Clinton administration. But "liberals" and other leftists have been calling defenders of traditional American limited, constitutional government, free enterprise, and individual liberty "extremists" since at least the 1964 election."
According to the chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff yesterday. It will be interesting to see how Obama/Hillary handle this situation.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - China's build-up of sea and air military power funded by a strong economy appears aimed at the United States, the chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff said on Monday.
Admiral Michael Mullen said China had the right to meet its security needs, but the build-up would require the United States to work with its Pacific allies to respond to increasing Chinese military capabilities.
"They are developing capabilities that are very maritime focused, maritime and air focused, and in many ways, very much focused on us," he told a conference of the Navy League, a nonprofit seamen's support group, in Washington.
"They seem very focused on the United States Navy and our bases that are in that part of the world."
China in March unveiled its official military budget for 2009 of $70.24 billion, the latest in nearly two decades of double-digit rises in declared defense spending.
Beijing bristles at criticism, saying its spending is line with economic growth and defense needs, and its budget remains a fraction of the Pentagon's.
Mullen acknowledged that "every country in the world has got a right to develop their military as they see fit to provide for their own security."
But he said the build-up propelled by fast economic growth required the United States and allies or partners like South Korea, Japan, Australia and New Zealand to work together to "figure out a way to work with (China)" to avoid miscalculations.
At least that’s what the Daily Kos would have us to believe. Perhaps we do have some common ground with our brothers in Texas :).
Interesting stat’s if we can actually believe the Daily Kos. :) It really helps to underline how fed up people here in Georgia are with the socialism going on up in Washington and their incessant desire to steal away our money, our freedom, and the future of our country.
"...about a third of Georgia Republicans do want out of America, but you can't have everything.
Research 2000 for Daily Kos. 4/27-29. Likely voters. MoE 4% (No trend lines)
Do you think Georgia would be better off as an independent nation or as part of the United States of America?
US: 68
Independent nation: 27
Democrats: US 88, Ind 8
Republicans: US 52, Ind 43
Independents: US 61, Ind 33
Would you approve or disapprove of Georgia leaving the United States?
NEW YORK (Reuters) - A documentary called "Outrage" argues that closeted homosexual U.S. politicians who vote against the interests of gays and lesbians should be "outed" because their hypocrisy has slowed the progress of gay rights.
Written and directed by Kirby Dick, the film relies on interviews with people who claim to have had gay relationships with politicians who vote against gay marriage, hate crime legislation, gays in the military, and funding for HIV/AIDS research.
"Outrage" premiered at this week's Tribeca Film Festival in New York and opens on May 8 in select U.S. cities.
"My film is not about outing gay politicians. It is about reporting on hypocrisy," Dick told Reuters. "When a politician is in the closet and voting anti-gay with a very consistent record, he's acting hypocritically and I think it's completely appropriate for me to report on that."
"Outrage" follows journalists like Michael Rogers of BlogActive.com, who has made a name for himself digging up information about the sexual preferences of politicians who he says vote against the interests of gay people.
"I'm going to tell people who these terrible traitors are - and they are traitors to their people, I believe that," Rogers says in "Outrage." - click here for the full article
"Why would the vice president tell his family that [he would advise his them to avoid confined spaces, including subway travel and plane travel]? Are we to believe that the Vice President of the United States is a crackpot?"
All because the gun industry now has the most prolific salesman in its history; Barack "Gun Grabbing" Hussein Obama ;)
So how many did you buy??? :)
From AmmoLand.com -
USA Buys Enough Guns in 3 Months to Outfit the Entire Chinese and Indian Army - Law abiding US citizens bought on average 3,177,256 guns every 3 months in 2008.
EveryTown, USA - -(AmmoLand.com)- In just 3 months Americans bought enough guns to outfit the entire Chinese and Indian army’s combined.
“You cannot invade the mainland United States. There would be a rifle behind every blade of grass.” - Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto WWII
You also bought 1,529,635,000 rounds of ammunition in just the month of December 2008. Yeah that is right, that is Billion with a “B”. This number takes no accounting of reloading or reloaded ammunition.
This is an evaluation of overall firearms and ammunition purchases based on low end numbers per Federal NIC instacheck data base Statistics. The numbers presented are only PART of the overall numbers of arms and ammunition that have been sold. The actual numbers are much higher. - Click here for full article
Update:
Washinton, DC - -(AmmoLand.com)- It seem that readers of our recent post about honest Americans buying enough guns to outfit the current active army’s of China and India have been having trouble finding the hard data and facts to substantiate this article.
Welcome to a new America with socialized health care! It won't be long before we might as well live in the UK or Canada...
“I know many of you here today are single payer advocates and so am I … and those of us who are pushing for a public health insurance don’t disagree with this goal. This is not a principled fight. This is a fight about strategy for getting there and I believe we will”
- Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) at a government-run health care supporters meeting on April 18th 2009.
