Gates to visit Israel for talks on Iran, US-Israeli tiesUcccchh, please:
The US official told Reuters that the visit “may be an American attempt to reassure Israel on Iran as part of Washington’s pressure for movement on the Palestinian track.”Israel condemns Iran-PA meeting
Other nations around the Glowball condemning it include....
Anyone? Anyone? Beuller?
Israel has accused a senior Palestinian official of meeting "the extreme enemies of peace" after he held talks with Iran's foreign minister.The Palestinian Authority's top negotiator Saeb Erekat said he had met Manouchehr Mottaki last week. He rejected reports that these were the first such talks, saying the two had been meeting since 2006. Iran backs the PA's rival, Hamas, and its president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has called for Israel's destruction.Jordan: East Jerusalem cannot be part of Israel's capital
Tick Tock.
Canadian high court refuses Jerusalem passport case
UNIFIL assisted illegal crossing
Naturally!
The UNIFIL troops who have been stationed in southern Lebanon and given a mandate to maintain peace in the region, have in fact done the exact opposite by assisting the small group of Hizbullah supporters in their illegal border crossing into Israel over the weekend, Israeli ambassador to the United Nations Gabriela Shalev charged on Monday.Fatah-Hamas Gunbattle Injures 2 People in Ain el-Hilweh
On Friday, 15 Lebanese civilians crossed illegally into Israel, shouting and waving Hizbullah flags. IDF troops spotted the group, but did not confront them as they were reportedly unarmed and returned to Lebanon minutes later, without incident.
In a letter submitted by the ambassador to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon and the president of the United Nations Security Council, Shalev accused a contingent of Indian UNIFIL peacekeepers of having done nothing to prevent the demonstrators from crossing the border and even cooperating with the group.
Shin Bet warns: Qatar sheikh funding Hamas activities in Jerusalem
Interview with Hamas spokesman Barhoum Ezzedeen Al-Qassam
Git yer Allah Kazzammy hooplebabble deluxe, MFers!
“Hamas is a moderate Islamic movement, Hamas doesn’t adopt any extremist views against the others, no body heard before that Hamas hurt one for his religious believes. “The conflict with the Zionist enemy is restricted inside the Occupied Palestinian territories, we have nothing to do with the Jews outside of our land, and we are fighting to liberate our land. “We respect all religions and the best example for that the Hamas in the latest election supported a Christian MP & put another one in its list. “We respect the women, so Hamas senate a woman as a mayor for Ramallah city, she was also a Christian, and also Hamas has several women as MPs.Syria: President meets radical Iraqi Shia cleric
BTW Mookie & Nasrallah are blood cousins....
Syria's president Bashar al-Assad on Monday met radical Iraqi Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr in Damascus, Syrian news agency Sana reported. The two men discussed the situation in Iraq since the pullback of US troops from urban areas last month, according to the head of al-Sadr's delegation to Damascus, Sheikh Raiid al-Kazami.Russia To Build Up Naval Site In Syria
The pressing need for reconciliation among Iraqis and Syria's support for this goal as well as the poverty of most Iraqi Shias were also on the agenda during al-Assad and al-Sadr's meeting, according to Sana. The meeting "strengthened the ties of brotherhood and friendship binding the Iraqi and Syrian peoples," said a statement issued after the meeting. Al-Sadr said he appreciated the support promised by Syria to the Iraqi people and efforts to bring about national reconciliation.
The Baath rhetoric of pan-Arabism has remained highly influential in Syria since the 1960s. Iraq had a Baathist government until former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein was ousted from power in 2003 after the US-led invasion and occupation.
The pretense is fighting piracy...
The Russian Navy will expand and modernize its Soviet-era naval maintenance site near Tartus in Syria to support anti-piracy operations off the Somali coast, a high-ranking navy source said on Monday.Erdogan to revive Israel-Syria talks in Damascus
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is to visit neighboring Syria amid speculations that he would make an attempt to revive talks between Israel and Syria. The Turkish Sabah daily speculated that Erdogan's visit is linked to Fred Hof's recent visit to Damascus. Hof is an adviser to the US envoy to the Middle East George Mitchell. The Turkish Premier is expected to be accompanied by Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu on his one-day visit.Hariri witness held for four years without charge in Syria
Syria boosts economic ties with neighbors
Syria hosted regional delegates from Iran, Turkey and Lebanon to hosted regional delegates from Iran, Turkey and Lebanon to discuss ways to improve economic ties...Syrian president calls for national reconciliation of Iraq
Iraq wants urgent water talks with Turkey, Syria
Iraq's water resources ministry on Monday called for talks with neighbouring Turkey and Syria after the flow of water in the Euphrates river fell by more than half in less than a month. The ministry is aiming for "an urgent meeting with ministers and experts from the three countries concerned this coming August to discuss the sharing of water and the fluctuation of flows to Iraq," a statement said.
The Euphrates's flow "in the Hassaiba region (near the Iraq-Syria border) is very low," it said. "For 10 days, it has been 250 cubic metres per second (m3/s) and these quantities are not sufficient for agriculture and other needs."
Hizb Ut-Tahrr: Shariah Takes Precedence Over US ConstitutionImam Promises to Fight "Until Islam Becomes Victorious or We Die in the Attempt"Appeasing Assad
Oak Lawn, Illinois - Hizb ut-Tahrir (HT), the international movement to re-establish an international Islamic state or Caliphate - kicked off a new campaign to win American recruits Sunday afternoon in this Chicago suburb. Nearly 300 people packed the Grand Ballroom of the Hilton Hotel for its Khalifah Conference on "The Fall of Capitalism and the Rise of Islam" to listen to HT ideologues blame capitalism for World War I and World War II; the U.S. subprime mortgage meltdown; the current violence in Iraq and Afghanistan; world poverty and malnutrition and inner-city drug use. A speaker identified as Abu Atallah even blamed capitalism for the late singer Michael Jackson's decision "to shed his black skin."
Lebanon: Crowd attack U.N. peacekeepersSyria's long-standing relationship with terrorists has been obscured by conventional wisdom. That wisdom, which holds that a relationship cannot exist between the secularist Baath state of Syria and the radical Islamic forces linked to al-Qaeda, is easily debunked. It is well-known that the majority of foreign fighters in Iraq, including those linked to al-Qaeda, entered via Syria. The public antagonism the two forces present towards each other may be genuine, but it has not prevented cooperation when their interests coincide.
They have coincided often in recent years. On January 9, 2008 the Treasury Department blacklisted Mish'an Rakin Thamin al-Jaburi, who fled to Syria in February 2006 after being kicked out of Iraq's parliament. He is the owner of al-Zawraa T.V., a station that broadcasted anti-American propaganda and passed on messages to insurgents. The U.S. government accuses him of using his nephew to store weapons, money and footage for the insurgents in Iraq.
Jemaah Islamiyah and Indonesian Terrorism
Irate public resorts to violent protests
LAHORE - Excessive and unscheduled loadshedding coupled with hot and humid weather on Sunday sparked violent protests as dozens of angry protesters attacked the offices of Lahore Electric Supply Company (Lesco) here in Cantonment Area.Pakistan media reports Ajmal's confession, government silent
The police fired tear-gas shells to disperse the protesters while the angry mob retaliated and pelted stones on the police, turning the Sadar Cantonment area into battlefiled, eyewitnesses said.
The protesters tried to forcibly enter the Lesco offices to set it on fire while they were protesting against excessive loadshedding here on Sunday afternoon.
However, heavy police contingents including senior police officers reached the spot and managed to disperse the protesters when the police wielded to batons against the angry protesters and arrested few of them.
The worst and unscheduled loadshedding forced the irate public to take to the streets and express their anger against the government, Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) and Pakistan Electric Power Company (Pepco).
NEW DELHI - Pakistan media Monday reported without comment the startling confession of Ajmal Mohammad Ajmal Kasab, the lone surviving 26/11 terrorist, about his involvement in the siege of Mumbai, his Pakistani identity, and handlers. Kasab named Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) commander Zaki-ur- Rehman Lakhvi as the mastermind of the carnage, and described in detail his and his nine associates’ travel by sea from Karachi to Mumbai. The Pakistan government, however, withheld immediate comment on Kasab’s confession in the court.Shaming the Muslims Out of Islam
Khan: Thank you Bill giving me this opportunity to share my thoughts on the kind of danger the progressive world faces from an Islamic resurgence and how we deal with it.US, India agree on nuclear and defense deals
What we are witnessing today in Muslim countries-namely in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia, and Sudan etc-is the Talibanization or Saudization of the society, i.e., the establishment of Sharia in all spheres of life and society. In other Muslim countries, the demand for the same is solidifying; in a few decades, the face of the entire Islamic world will dramatically change.
The Islamic world is heading toward that which it embraces: Islam as a complete code of life, as believed by every Muslim. This transformation seems inescapable at this moment. But our major concern now is the infidel world, particularly the West. The native population in Europe is declining from low birthrate, while Muslims are procreating at unbridled rates. In the UK, Muslim population is increasing 10 times faster than the rest; the trend should be similar in other Western European countries. And where does this lead? By the middle of this century, Muslims will become the largest religious group in Europe.
In South America, Israeli FM seeks to block IranIsrael's foreign minister is heading to South America on a mission partly aimed at stemming Iranian "infiltration" on the continent, a senior diplomat said Monday.Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman's 10-day visit to Brazil, Argentina, Peru and Colombia comes at a time of rising Iranian influence in Latin America.Venezuela and Bolivia have close ties to Iran, and Israeli and U.S. officials have expressed concern about Islamic militant activities, some of them connected to Iran, in the lawless region where the borders of Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay meet.The visit is meant to "emphasize the high importance the Foreign Ministry ascribes to Latin America," a statement from the ministry said.Iran and the West: From Khomeni to Ahmedinejad
Lieberman was set to leave late Monday. During his trip, Lieberman will tackle the Iranian issue with South American leaders, Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon said, and chiefly the activities of the Iranian-backed Lebanese guerrilla group Hezbollah."Israel, along with many others, is concerned about Iran's infiltration into Latin America, primarily through Hezbollah, and this will definitely be an issue discussed between the Israeli foreign minister and his counterparts," Ayalon said.
Iranian Militias "Marry" & Rape Virgin Prisoners Before Executions
Members of Iran's feared Basij militia forcibly marry female virgin prisoners the night before scheduled executions, raping their new "wives" and making it religiously acceptable to execute them, a self-professed member of the paramilitary group said. The anonymous militiaman told the Jerusalem Post that at age 18 he was "given the 'honor' to temporarily marry young girls before they were sentenced to death."Iran supreme leader warns opposition to back down
In the Islamic Republic of Iran it is illegal to execute a woman if she is a virgin, the former guard told the newspaper. So the government arranges "wedding" ceremonies to be conducted the night before executions, and prisoners are forced to have sexual intercourse with a guard. Raped by her new "husband," a female prisoner is now fit to be put to death.
"I regret that, even though the marriages were legal," said the militiaman, who told the Jerusalem Post he had just been released from prison himself after freeing two teenagers rounded up during post-election protests.
Mousavi supporters chant 'death to dictator'
For Iran's Opposition, 'Death to Russia' is New 'Death to America'
US Missile Defence – The Way ForwardSecretary Gates also emphasised that we were stopping programmes with technologies not reasonably available to affordably meet cost or schedule goals. We will not increase the number of current ground-based interceptors beyond the 26 silos in Alaska and four operational silos at Vandenberg Air Force Base. But we will continue to robustly fund continued research and development to improve the capability we already have to defend against long-range rogue missile threats. We will cancel the second Airborne Laser (ABL) prototype aircraft, but we will keep the existing aircraft and shift the programme to a R&D effort to address affordability and technology issues while assessing the programme’s proposed operational role. We will terminate the Multiple Kill Vehicle (MKV) programme because it is not a necessary capability to defeat rogue threats, and its significant technical challenges and long development timeline warrants review of other capabilities to provide a more near-term hedge against future threats. We will also terminate the Kinetic Energy Interceptor (KEI) programme since its capability is also inconsistent with the missile defence mission to counter rogue nation threats and for cost growth, schedule delays, and its lack of technology maturity. It is our intention to enhance the cost and operational effectiveness of our missile defence architectures by increasing our near-term ability to engage missiles in all phases of flight.Meantime Europe's letter to Obama goes unacknowledged and unresponded to, like it never happened...
Georgians Wants US Along Border
We are going to let everyone twist in the wind. Gird thyselves.
Biden in Ukraine to assure leaders of US backing
Rest assured, my Slavic friends! We have in Brooklyn America a very large bridge which is always for sale! A magic tree grows upon it. Come and see!
~ JoeyB, Oymerikan VP
Not What Obama Promised
CHANGE!
In six months as president, Barack Obama has aggressively done the opposite of many specific things he explicitly and unequivocally promised as a candidate. A lot of these were things Obama's fiercest opponents never wanted. And Obama's fiercest supporters favor censoring this information. But if we expect public servants to be public servants, the public must know the facts, make of them what it will.Obama's New Military Bases in Colombia
Here's a video of candidate Obama promising not to change laws with signing statements and denouncing that practice as unconstitutional. In 2007, Obama filled out a questionnaire for the Boston Globe in which he said "It is a clear abuse of power to use such statements as a license to evade laws that the president does not like or as an end-run around provisions designed to foster accountability. I will not use signing statements to nullify or undermine congressional instructions as enacted into law." Obama now does this routinely. His nominee for the Supreme Court (verbosely) refused to answer a question on the constitutionality of signing statements. She should have asked pre-election Obama to share with her his clear and compelling analysis.
From some commie blog:
Meanwhile, the outrage is growing in Latin America over Obama's request (happily accepted by Colombian president Alvaro Uribe) to occupy 5 new military bases in Colombia.Hemispheric security operations, Tovarich!
This agreement, which was consolidated in the Oval Office this past June 30, 2009, as Obama simultaneously and cynically declared the Honduran coup "illegal," will turn Colombia into a dangerous launching pad for US military operations in the region, never seen before in history.
$46 million of US taxpayer monies was already approved by Congress -- as requested by Obama -- for pumping up the capacity of just one of the Colombian bases that US forces will occupy. The base in Palanquero -- central Colombia -- is set not just for counter-drug operations, which is the usual justification for US military presence in the region, but also for "hemispheric security operations."
Spain's spy chief resigns under fire
Has to be a purge, that can't be the real why, they ALL do that petty shit. Zappy Dhimmhead must have another reason.
Has to be a purge, that can't be the real why, they ALL do that petty shit. Zappy Dhimmhead must have another reason.
MADRID (AP) — Spain's intelligence chief resigned Thursday amid allegations he used government money to go on hunting and fishing trips and had staffers remodel his house. A replacement for the National Intelligence Center director Alberto Saiz will be proposed Friday, said the Defense Ministry, which oversees the center.Honduras Talks Collapse; Arias Warns of “Civil War”
Russian tycoon and politician Lebedev claims he has mercury poisoningThe former-KGB spy turned London newspaper proprietor Alexander Lebedev has revealed to the Daily Telegraph he is being treated for mercury poisoning and may be dying. According to the interviewer, Kate Weinberg, Lebedev's condition echoes that of the former KGB spy, Alexander Litvinenko, who died from poisoning in London in 2006.Putin's meeting with Governor of Lipetsk Region Oleg Korolevh
When asked whether Kremlin had poisoned him, Lebedev shakes his head. "I think it has not come from a political enemy or a rival, but someone close to me. An old story: money... It's simple." He claims that the greatest threat to his life comes from the gambling mafia. "People have shot at my car," he reveals. Having said that if the mercury reaches his brain, his memory will fade, he remarked: "If I wake up tomorrow morning and cannot remember Putin, that would be nice."
Master of micromanaged threatening brevity akbarinoski!
Vladimir Putin: What is situation in social sphere - healthcare, education? How are you preparing for new school year?The Art of Political Murder in Russia
One friend of Estemirova’s described her murder as a last straw, as the end of any hope or pretense that Politkovskaya’s and Markelov’s deaths had been isolated tragedies. Human rights is now a field where casualties are to be expected.China, Russia prepare for show of military power
China and Russia have begun preparations for a joint military drill that Beijing believes will help protect the country against terrorists and separatists, particularly after the July 5 Xinjiang riot. Major General Wang Haiyun, a former military attaché to Russia, said on Monday in Beijing that Russia might face challenges similar to those in China because it is a large country with many ethnic groups.Gazprom borrows $11 bln in H1, $4.5 bln from Sberbank
Yushchenko accuses govt of conducting shadow talks for a gas loan
The Ukrainian president’s secretariat has accused the government of conducting shadow negotiations with offshore companies to get loans for pumping natural gas into underground storage facilities for the coming winter. Presidential envoy for international energy security issues Bogdan Sokolovsky said on Monday that President Viktor Yushchenko urges the government to give up that idea. “There all grounds to say that such negotiations are underway,” Sokolovsky said, adding that the subject is a loan of 4-5 billion U.S. dollars, while Ukraine actually needs 1.6-2 billion U.S. dollars, and negotiations for a EU-brokered loan are being slowed down. Sokolovsky confirmed plans to hold the third round of talks with the European Commission this week to discuss the terms of a loan for the pumping of gas into underground storage facilities.Russia wants anti-terror hub in Central Asia: Kyrgyz leader
Russia may open a new military facility in the Central Asian nation of Kyrgyzstan to help stem the rising tide of insurgency spilling over from Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan's president told Reuters on Monday.Old allies signal loyalty to Russia has its limits
Instability has been on the rise in Central Asia in past months as ripples from increased fighting in Afghanistan and Pakistan appear to have reached the ex-Soviet Muslim region. President Kurmanbek Bakiyev, who looks certain to win a presidential vote on Thursday, said the idea was to set up a hub designed to train forces in Kyrgyzstan's restive south. "Talks on that are now being held with Russia but not to set up a new base but ... a new training center," he said at his Ala-Archa residence in the rocky hills near the capital Bishkek.
"Southern Kyrgyzstan poses the biggest threat, and that involves our neighbors there, Tajikistan and Afghanistan. ... This training center is where forces will be trained everything they might need in case of a terrorist insurgency."
Uzbekistan is angry about Russia's support of border hydropower projects in neighboring Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, which it sees as a threatKasyanov reveals Putin's pursuit of tycoon
Vladimir Putin and his Miracle Cross!
Here is the original CNN transcript.Vladimir Saves!
KING: There is much talk about Vladimir Putin and religious faith. I'm told that you wear a cross. Is that true? Are you religious? What are your feelings in this area?
PUTIN (through translator): I prefer -- I would prefer not to develop on that subject in detail. I think such things are sacred for everybody. Everybody's belief is not to be shown off, it's inside a man's heart. As regards to wearing cross, earlier I never had it -- once my mother gave it to me and when I visited Israel. I was there two times. First on an official invitation of the minister of foreign affairs of that country. The second time, I liked the country, and I traveled there with my family as a tourist. So my mother gave it to me to have a blessing there at the Tomb of Lord. I did so and now it's with me always.
Siberian Soccer Club saved after Putin intervention
Russian Premier League side Tom Tomsk, faced with mounting debts, will not be forced to go out of business following some unexpected help from the government. Seven of the country's largest oil and energy companies would come to Tom's rescue after a meeting with Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, Russian soccer chief Vitaly Mutko said on Monday.
Kyrgyzstan set for campaign silenceKyrgyzstan is set for pre-election silence campaign since July 19th, 2009. The Central Election Commission reminds leaders of mass media organizations, covering the election campaign, that since July 19th it is prohibited to publish any forecasts and statistics about election outcomes. Traditionally the silence campaign starts five days prior the actual elections. On July 22nd the country will be set for the so-called day of silence – a complete prohibition of any propaganda of presidential candidates to last for 24 hours.FACTBOX: Key facts about Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan, eyed by big powers, readies for election
Kyrgyzstan, at the heart of a fierce power struggle between the United States and Russia, votes in a presidential election this week certain to hand incumbent Kurmanbek Bakiyev a second term in office. Both Russia and the United States operate military bases in the landlocked Muslim country of 5 million which plays a key role in regional diplomacy because of its proximity to Afghanistan.Lord Mayor of London to visit Kazakhstan
Well pip pip and cheerio to him.
Ian Luder, Lord Mayor of London, will visit Kazakhstan this week. The chair of the press service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan, Ilyas Omarov, informed at the briefing in the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan, "Kazakhstan Today" agency reports.Kazakhstan seeks investors not only in mining sector, comrades!
Citi cuts lending limits to top Kazakh banks
Tajiks say 5 foreign terrorists killed in clash
TAJIKISTAN: DEAD MILITANTS WERE RUSSIAN CITIZENS
They traveled to Tajikistan to join the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, the source claimed. "Operations to dispose of the remaining members of the enemy group are now in progress," the source added.Golden Age Lake of Turkmenistan dubbed an ecological disaster
The Gates of Hell in Darvaza TurkmenistanWhat do you do when your country’s coffers are overflowing with gas profits? If you’re Turkmenistan President Gurbanguli Berdymukhamedov, you embark on a grandiose plan to cement your place in history and guarantee a happy life for your people by breathing new life into a barren desert.There’s only one problem: the plan is destined to fail.Water has already begun flowing from a network of canals used to irrigate cotton fields across this central Asian country into the natural Karashor depression to make the “Golden Age Lake”. Berdymukhamedov and other Turkmenistan officials insist that creating the lake will transform the dry, lifeless sands of the Karakum Desert into a fertile basin filled with a diverse variety of flora and fauna.The state news agency described it as “an event which would go down in history of the epoch of New Revival as one of its brightest pages”, but experts say it’s more likely to be remembered as a massive mistake. They point out that most of the water dumped into the depression will simply evaporate, and what’s left will quickly become contaminated with toxic pesticides and fertilizers.
Turkmenistan marks Grain Harvest Day
Romanian President Basescu pays official visit to Turkmenistan
Soviet Pesticides Leave Bitter Legacy in Uzbekistan
UZBEKISTAN: US STATE DEPARTMENT UPDATES TRAVEL WARNING
All places ending in STAN are dangerous travel to my purple proles.
OSCE human rights chief to visit Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan
Hopu, Temasek eye $1 bln China iron ore IPOHOPU is the Gold Man's Sacks in China under Comrade Fang. No, my friends, you cannot make this crap up.
Goldman's Atlas Shrug
To read the financial media after Goldman Sachs announced its results for the second quarter felt rather like reading about the chap who turned up wearing his birthday suit to a funeral. America was in mourning for its lost economy, bust through the shenanigans of the Fed and millions of greedy, vacuous Americans and yet, here was a firm - a bunch of financial men for goodness sake - who dared, nay even boasted, about their ability to make money. Surely, fumed the great unwashed, such a travesty cannot be allowed to happen in the Land of the Obama-magic?S&P 500 to Rally Most Since 1982, Goldman Sachs Says
Everybody Dance!
Lessons From CIT as Treasury Crafts Bank Bailout Reforms
They are some crafty MFers, yes they are!
It's 'See You In September' For Financial Reform Package
BulgarWheat may have called it. We will see...
UK: Dr. Cable Sez~ Split up the banks
Iceland Reaches Deal to Recapitalize Failed Banks
Moral Capitalism Reconciling Private Interest with the Public GoodWatch for this Glow Ballin' MFing Caux Round Table originated phrase to begin appearing everywhere very soon. Many western turnspeakers already use it as a euphemism for Shariah Finance and the Pope's econoencyclyical is veritably le master manifesto of it.
The world is drifting without a clear plan for its economic development, Communism is dead, but many see capitalism as amoral and too easily abused. In the wake of the debacles of Enron and other corporate scandals, continued jobless growth, and a languid economy, we need a roadmap to a better future. Written by Stephen Young, the global executive director of the Caux Round Table—an extraordinary international network of top business executives who believe that business can, and must, weight both profit and principle-Moral Capitalism provides a much-needed blueprint for progress.OK. So, here's a run from a February FPNS post on the Caux Round Table, William Donaldson is on Obamanable's "Economic Team" :
Obama Set to Name Economic Panel
President Obama is set to appoint on Friday a new team of outside economic advisers, led by a former Federal Reserve chairman, Paul Volcker, to offer independent advice to help the White House craft a response to the nation’s growing recession.When he first met Obama, Volcker sat at a table with Goldman Sachs President Gary Cohn and Merrill Lynch President Greg Fleming
[SNIP]The group also will include Jeffrey Immelt, chairman of General Electric, and Jim Owens, the chairman of Caterpillar Inc., which announced last week the layoff of 20,000 jobs. William Donaldson, a former Securities and Exchange Commission chairman, will also serve on the board, along with Roger Ferguson, the president of T.I.A.A.-CREF, and Martin Feldstein, a Harvard University professor, who was the chief economic adviser to President Ronald Reagan.
The group also includes two leading labor officials: Richard Trumka of the A.F.L.-C.I.O. and Anna Burger of the Service Employees International Union. The board, which will meet for two years, will be guided by Austan Goolsbee, an economic adviser to the president.
11/21/2008: Where Will GE's Jeff Immelt Be at 2 PM Today?
General Electric (GE) said last week that it will tap the FDIC for guarantees covering $139 billion in corporate debt via its finance arm. Banks are automatically enrolled in the FDIC guarantee program unless they decide to opt out. However, a group of nine large banks, including Goldman Sachs (GS), Bank of America (BAC), Citigroup (C) and JP Morgan (JPM), had objected to certain key provisions in the Interim Rule. In particular, the nine banks, and Credit Suisse (CS), warned that anything short of an unconditional and prompt payment obligation on the part of the FDIC will place American financial institutions at a distinct disadvantage when compared to their British and European counterparts.James W. Owens, Glow Baller Deluxe:
“Nationally, my big interest quite frankly is trade and globalization,” he says. “I feel very strongly about it as a professional economist, as an American, and certainly as a chairman of a major company that participates in a global economy.”William DonaldsonHe says the United States has to win and compete in the world market in order to continue to be a great country in 2050. With only five percent of the world’s population, U.S. companies will not be able to compete in the long term by encouraging protectionist policies.
“There’s tremendous apprehension among the public, fed by and flamed by the politicians for short-term votes, which I think is a bit of a tragedy,” he says. “I think the business leadership in our country has got to speak out more forcefully and articulately about the benefits of trade, the win-win aspect of trade.”
Effective globalization also encompasses the need for a thoughtful immigration policy, which our political system seems to be fighting.
“I believe more people have been lifted out of poverty by globalization and opening markets than by the sum of all the charities by a factor of many,” he says.
Speech by SEC Chairman William H. DonaldsonAs SEC Chairman, Donaldson presided over the meeting at the SEC on April 28, 2004, that was held at the request of the major Wall Street investment houses, including Goldman Sachs, then headed by future Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson, Jr. The firms requested that the SEC approve an alternative to the so-called "net capital rule", or responsibility to hold regulatory capital in their brokerage units. They also wanted to avoid European Union regulation of the entire investment banking conglomerates, since the EU had agreed not to scrutinize foreign firms at the consolidated level if the SEC were to do so instead.
A 1999 law, however, put investment bank holding companies, the consolidated groups of their hundreds of subsidiaries, beyond SEC oversight. The investment banks therefore lobbied for a decision that would allow "voluntary" regulation at the holding company level by the SEC.
The Commission under Donaldson voted unanimously to change the regulation as the investment banks requested. Under the final rules the large investment banks were "subject to substantially fewer requirements," according to the adopting release.[4]
In the 2004 rulemaking, the Commission under Donaldson decided to rely on the firms’ own computer models for determining the riskiness of investments, "essentially outsourcing the job of monitoring risk to the banks themselves."[5] Donaldson and the other Commissioners who voted for the rule change were aware of the risks at the time, as indicated by the comment at the April 28, 2004 meeting by Commissioner Harvey Goldschmid. "If anything goes wrong," said Goldschmid, who supported Donaldson in voting for the proposal, "it's going to be an awfully big mess."[6] A report by the SEC Office of the Inspector General[7][8] after the near-failure of Bear Stearns stated that the standards the Commission adopted under Donaldson in 2004 were inadequate to warn of the firm's impending crisis.
The only briefing the Commission received that criticized the regulatory change prior to its adoption came from Leonard D. Bole, an information technology consultant, who found the risk models used by investors no better in 2004 than during the 1998 failure and bailout of the hedge fund, Long-Term Capital Management. At the time of the rulemaking the SEC took no action to contact Bole to follow up on the briefing that he submitted.[5]
Remarks before the Caux Round Table
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
Minneapolis, Minnesota
November 30, 2004
Let me start by thanking the Caux Round Table for giving me this much appreciated honor and the opportunity to speak this evening. The Round Table has done, and continues to do, important and valuable work – in the United States and throughout the world – helping to advance ethical business practices and a moral capitalism. It is an honor and a pleasure to be here.So, I ask myself WTF is all this "Moral Capitalism" crap he keeps referring to through the whole speech? Well, I'll tell you:
I also want to thank John Whitehead for his generous words. Through his career in business and government John has come to embody the ideals at the core of the Caux Principles for Business. He has been a close friend for many years, and as many of you know he has had a long and distinguished career as the senior partner at Goldman, Sachs and as Deputy Secretary of State. Today, New York and the nation are fortunate to have him leading the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, which has been helping to rebuild the area around the World Trade Center following the September 11th terrorist attacks. He has also served as a director of many non-profit organizations and business corporations, including Pillsbury here in Minneapolis.
Moral Capitalism is based on the Caux Round Table (CRT) Principles for Business, a code of ethics that sets consistent and attainable worldwide guidelines for how business can behave responsibly and ethically. The book shows readers how to manage market capitalism and globalization for economic and social justice and fairness, in the process improving individual lives and communities. Author Stephen Young argues that "brute capitalism" - profit-seeking regardless of effects - must give way to moral capitalism to attain widespread monetary and moral well-being. Emphasizing a cross-cultural perspective that draws on Chinese and Japanese philosophies of selflessness, Young links moral aspirations to practical, day-to-day guidelines for a profitable approach to business that is also ethical, resulting in the public good.SO. Let's look at this Caux Round Table crapola for a minute:
CAUX ROUND TABLE:
"An international network of business leaders working to promote a moral capitalism"Un-MFingHoly Caux Round GlowBalls-o-FIRE, mah Peepers!
"What has differentiated the Caux Round Table from its inception is that it consists of individual senior business leaders who share common values and a conviction that business should assume a leadership role in bringing positive changes in society. We seek to affect the policies and conduct not only of internationally involved businesses but also of governments and multinational institutions. We believe that sensitivity to the concerns of all stakeholders, dialogue that leads to advocacy and action, and collaboration with others are the keys to greater prosperity, sustainability and fairness in a global economy."
~Winston R. Wallin
Former Chairman, Caux Round Table and Chairman Emeritus, Medtronic Inc.
"These principles are rooted in two basic ethical ideals: kyosei and human dignity. The Japanese concept of kyosei means living and working together for the common good enabling cooperation and mutual prosperity to coexist with healthy and fair competition. "Human dignity" refers to the sacredness or value of each person as an end, not simply as a mean to the fulfillment of others' purposes or even majority prescription."Principles for NGO's
The Caux Round Table believes that social justice and better outcomes from the global modernizing and wealth-creating process called "globalization" depend on values of accountability, transparency, and stewardship being infused in all social, cultural, political and economic institutions.
The Caux Round Table has suggested certain principles of accountability, transparency and stewardship for both businesses and governments. Modern civilization, importantly however, also includes civil society. Therefore, the Caux Round Table has undertaken a project under the coordination of Dr. Harry Hummels of The Netherlands, Director of Socially Responsible Investments, ING Bank, to develop a similar set of principles for the non-governmental organizations "NGO's" that play such a vital role in the activities of civil society. To see the draft Principles for NGO's please click here.
DHS earmarks $389 million for emergency communications8.3 Million US Smart Meters and Counting
Nixon talks to troops during Iraq trip
No not that Nixon, silly. That'd be a trick, dick!
The governors were invited to make the trip by the U.S. Department of Defense. Nixon, Pawlenty and Nevada Gov. Jim Gibbons took part in a town-hall meeting with troops stationed at the Contingency Operation Base in Basra, Iraq, according to a U.S. Department of Defense news release. The governors met Friday morning with deputy secretary of defense William J. (RAYTHEON!) Lynn III and other top Pentagon officials, Nixon said, and were briefed on the current military situation.Agree with me or you are a racist:
Leahy hits GOP for 'racist' comments
GAO: FDA can't estimate its own budget needs
The Food and Drug Administration — which has struggled to fulfill its mission of regulating food, drugs and other consumer goods that make up nearly a quarter of the U.S. economy — does not have the expertise to forecast its own budget needs, according to congressional investigators.Financial Conflicts of Interest 101While many lawmakers and consumer advocates have long complained that the agency lacks the staff and equipment to accomplish its mission, the Government Accountability Office says the agency doesn't even have "the data to develop a complete and reliable estimate of the resources it needs."
The GAO places some of the blame on the FDA's lopsided budget — which dedicates significant resources to approving new products, but far less to tracking their safety once they've reached the market. FDA officials acknowledged the problems uncovered by the GAO, saying they are working to get a better picture of the agency's spending and how much additional funding it needs.
"We have to be able to talk about the funds we need, and how we're using the money, with more detail than FDA has in the past," said Dr. Joshua Sharfstein, the agency's deputy commissioner.
Conflicts of interest are a special concern in biomedical research because they have the potential to influence the outcome of study results or clinical trials, leading to results that favor certain products or unnecessary risks for patients. New rules may curb the undue influence.Nation needs full housecleaning in Washington
Czar 54, Who Are You?Democrats were once known as the tax-and-spend, big-government party and Republicans as fiscal conservatives touting smaller government.In 1980, our national debt was $909 billion and today it's almost $12 trillion.Republicans presidents led our nation for 20 of those 28 years advancing a borrow-and-spend form of government culminating in George W. Bush's eight years that added almost $4 trillion of debt.Barack Obama will easily eclipse Bush by adding $6 trillion in his first four years.
Democratic and Republican leaders have both embraced borrow-and-spend policies while overseeing the loss of basic industry and high-paying jobs that fueled the U.S. rise to super-power status in one century. Proponents of a New World Order touted by George H. W. Bush pass bills that move us closer to corporatism, a merger of state and corporate power, while politicians keep voters distracted and bitterly divided over God, gays, guns, and other polarizing issues.
If voters don't revolt at the ballot box and elect 435 new congresspersons and 100 new senators then "government of the people, by the people, for the people" will surely "perish from the Earth."
~ Joe Boyett, Montgomery
Leadership: Our new science czar, John Holdren, once backed compulsory sterilization and forced abortion as part of a government population-control program. The only thing missing was a Soylent Green recipe.Homeland Security chief Janet Napolitano says US faces an eventful fall
We face an eventful FALL indeed. But not the way she means it.
REPENT!
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano warned federal judges and court officials Monday of the urgency of national immigration reform, "an increasing cascade" of cyber-terrorism attacks and a renewed flu pandemic that could severely strain government institutions this fall.
Napolitano made her remarks at the opening of the Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference, an annual gathering of federal judges and court officials from the Western U.S., held this week at the Hyatt Regency in Monterey. Immigration reform topped her list of pressing issues, the former Arizona governor said, "because for the last 16 years, I've seen how flaws in our underlying legislation ... need to be corrected." Napolitano has been a longtime proponent of emphasizing enforcement of immigration laws in the workplace. "The demand for cheap labor is such a primary driver of illegal immigration into our country," she said.
US Govt Proposes Halting Uranium Mining Near Grand CanyonObama can afford to be big and look all appropriately concerned about this because he plans on getting his uranium from outside the US ~ from the Stans, and from China via Africa.
The U.S. Interior Department on Monday proposed suspending review of new mining claims on Arizona lands near the Grand Canyon National Park for two years while it studies the possibility of removing about 1 million acres of federal land from new uranium mining.Feds send team to assess Virginia uranium incident
About 10,600 current mining claims are located in the proposed withdrawal area and several proposed uranium mining operations are waiting for approval from the state of Arizona, the agency said. The proposed removal of the area from uranium mining wouldn't affect any other activities on the land, the agency said. Lawmakers and environmental groups who have been pressing to halt uranium mining near the Grand Canyon hailed the move. "The Grand Canyon is too important to waste, and the Obama administration recognizes that," U.S. Rep. Raul Grijalva, D-Ariz., said in a statement.
Uranium leak in Lewiston NY?
Queensland Australia: Uranium mining 'inevitable'LEWISTON, N.Y. (WIVB) - Is it possible that uranium is leaking from an underground storage site in Niagara County?
"We don't know," said Dr. Joseph Gardella, a U.B. Scientist.
Atomic materials from the Manhattan Project have been buried and capped in the town of Lewiston since the 1980's. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which oversees the site, has found uranium contamination underground, at several locations, outside the containment cell.
Dr. Joseph Gardella, the chairman of the site's restoration advisory board, wonders about underground utility lines, originally capped and severed before the atomic brew was buried. Gardella said, "We think it's a reasonable hypothesis to still say there's still a possibility that there's a slow leak. We don't know how good those plugs are, how long are they going to last. So even if they're not leaking now, there's no testing to say, how good are they?"
Chevron Faces $27 Billion Judgment For Damage To Ecuador's Rainforest
Church Attempt to 'Disappear' Frank LombardCJ was the first to alert me last night to the growing attempts to 'disappear' alleged child rapist Frank Lombard from the commune where he lived in Durham, North Carolina.Half-Blood Prince runs rampant in China and Russia
Lombard's story can be found here, and in it you can see the minute-by-minute details of the way we first discovered a link between Lombard and the Episcopal Church of the Advocate in nearby Carrboro. Lombard was on the vestry of the church and was scheduled to rotate off in 2010. Saturday morning as the news began to break, ECOTA started removing from its site all references to Lombard, including his name on a page listing vestry members, then a "Who's Who" PDF that listed Lombard as a vestry member along with his Duke email address, and finally an archived church newsletter from February 2008 that we believe shows Lombard (and perhaps his two adopted children) with a group from the church posing on the front steps of a home-turned-office.
As is our habit with stories like this, we downloaded everything we thought was relevant and stored it for safe keeping before we posted anything on our site; thus we're able to provide the redacted documents for everyone to see.
We're not surprised that ECOTA would scrub its site of all references to Lombard, but it is odd that the church has not issued a statement of any kind on the matter. This would be understandable if Lombard were merely a parishioner: Anyone, engaging in any perversion, is free to attend almost any church they want, Episcopal or not. The revelation of criminal behavior may prompt a church to issue a statement, but in that case a church doesn't owe the public a statement any more than any other organization owes the public a statement in a similar situation.
Digging Through the Bible
The story of David and Goliath is known the world over. Recent archaeological findings in Israel’s Elah Valley are yielding scientific evidence of the Kingdom of David, and giving credence to the story of David and Goliath, which the Bible says took place in this valley.Chicago-bound jet makes emergency landing in Iceland
The cause of the smoke in the cockpit has not yet been released.
Recent volcano eruption in Ethiopia causes surface displacement
Ghana: Imam predicts earthquake
REPENT!
After his prophetic pronouncement of the disasters and afflictions that might befall the nation as a result of the evils committed by politicians during the last general elections, the renowned spiritual leader of the Salawatia Mission of Ghana, Sheikh Imam Rashid Qutubu Zaanam, has again prophesied that an earthquake is imminent in the country, unless the country is spiritually cleansed to avert its devastating consequences.Quake, tsunami potential high on US west coast
They are just now figuring this out?
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