Public ‘backs economic reforms’

BBC NEWS CHANNEL

March 31, 009

By Steve Schifferes

A BBC World Service survey of 29,000 people has found broad support for reform of the international economic system ahead of the G20 summit.

Over 70% of people in 29 countries think major changes are needed in the way the global economy is run.

Nearly two-thirds – 62% – of the public say the downturn has negatively affected them, and half say the downturn will last more than two years.

There is also broad support for reform of domestic economic policy.

The survey was conducted by GlobeScan along with the University of Maryland.

Slightly smaller majorities support global economic reform in the G20 counties, 15 of which were included in the BBC survey.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7970625.stm

And under reforms, perhaps America should look for a better way to officially declare recessions. Whose job is it to declare a recession – the President’s or The National Bureau of Economic Research? Should the declaration of  ‘recession’ be politicized?

If the conditions for recession are clearly evident to the National Bureau of Economics Research in December of 2007 why shouldn’t that body tell the American people in December of 2007 rather than a year later – in December of 2008?

In April of 2008:

Bush insists US not in recession

US President George W Bush has insisted the US is not in recession but says that he remains concerned about the economy’s performance.

The latest US unemployment figures – released on Friday – showed the number of people laid off last month at its highest for five years.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7283512.stm

But in December of 2008:

It’s official: Recession since Dec. ’07’

The National Bureau of Economic Research declares what most Americans already knew: the downturn has been going on for some time.

By Chris Isidore, CNNMoney.com senior writer

December 1, 2008

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — The National Bureau of Economic Research said Monday that the U.S. has been in a recession since December 2007, making official what most Americans have already believed about the state of the economy . …

http://money.cnn.com/2008/12/01/news/economy/recession/index.htm?postversion=2008120112

Perhaps the above is a suggestion for a small reform; but a ‘ton’ of Americans were trying to synchronize reality to Mr. Bush’s ‘”R-E-C-E-S-S-I-O-N” rhetoric in April of 2008.

Technorati Tags: economic reforms,g20 summit,declare recessions,national bureau of economic research,bush

Diplomat blows off Cheney dig at Obama

CNN

Political ticker

March 29, 2009

From CNN Associate Producer Martina Stewart

WASHINGTON (CNN) – A senior diplomat in the Obama administration Sunday challenged former Vice President Dick Cheney’s assessment of the new administration’s ability to keep the country safe.

Cheney was asked two weeks ago on CNN’s State of the Union whether he thought President Obama had made the country less safe since taking office. “I do,” Cheney told CNN Chief National Correspondent John King. “He is making some choices that, in my mind, will, in fact, raise the risk to the American people of another attack,” the former vice president added.

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/

The ex-vice president likely thought the question about the country’s safety was a “NO BRAINER”. How the ex-VP would respond to CNN’s question would likely have been answered correctly by no less than 300,000,000 Americans. A more difficult question might have been – who did the most damage to America – terrorists or the latter-day neocons?

Terrorists had a serious and lethal impact on isolated locations in America. The latter-day neocons had an impact on the fabric of  America.

From an attack on an idea,[EXPLETIVE DELETED] description of the United States Constitution, to the war on Iraq – which had no visible cause, to the current economic meltdown – which endangers the very idea of capitalism – the neocons had an impact.

While the impact of terrorists on the lives of America will never be forgotten, neither will the current economic meltdown be forgotten. And neither memory will bring a warm, cozy feeling to Americans. Most Americans have to deal with reality – without the benefit of  IN-DENIAL.

But it is notable that this Question and Answer session did not occur on FOX News.

Technorati Tags: cheney,obama,senior diplomat,cnn’s state of the union,no brainer,latter-day neocons,terrorists,war on iraq,economic meltdown,capitalism,in-denial

Spain court mulls US torture case

BBC NEWS

March 29, 2009

Spanish judges have agreed to consider charging six former US officials with providing legal justification for alleged torture at Guantanamo Bay.

Human rights lawyers brought the case against the six, who all served under former President George W Bush.

Among those named was former defence official Douglas Feith, who said the charges against him “made no sense”.

Spanish courts can prosecute offences such as torture or war crimes even if they occurred in other countries.

The former officials – who include ex-Attorney-General Alberto Gonzalez – could face arrest on leaving the US if the courts decide to issue warrants. …

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7970425.stm

The laws supporting civilization may yet apply to the Bush team members. However if members of the Bush team are convicted of war crimes their penalty/penalties may not be “confining”. Lots of convicted criminals would love being confined to the whole of the United States of America rather than to a jail cell.

Even if there are no convictions, civilization should speak. Even if America’s House of Representatives stayed MUM, civilization should speak. Perhaps, now – it can be seen that the world’s civilization did not rise nor fall based on the antics of the Bush team.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7970425.stm

Technorati Tags: spain court,us torture case,legal justification,human rights,bush team

FTC Warns Against Deceptive DRM

 

Slashdot

Posted by kdawson on Friday March 27, @01:31PM
from the we’ll-come-calling dept.

Jane Q. Public writes "At the Federal Trade Commission’s Seattle conference on DRM, FTC Director Mary Engle started off by referencing the Sony rootkit debacle, and said that companies are going to have to get serious about disclosing DRM that may affect the usability of products. She also said that disclosure via the fine print in a EULA is not good enough, and ‘If your advertising giveth and your EULA taketh away, don’t be surprised if the FTC comes calling.’ Transcripts and webcasts are available from the FTC website."

usa government awesome news government story

http://news.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=09/03/27/152205

It has been a long time in coming but finally an agency of the US government may be ready to take a look at some of the “business friendly” capers that were ignored/overlooked by the previous administration?

And besides, it may have been difficult for the previous administration  – “knee deep” in spying on all its “charges” to reprimand an entity for such a narrow focus.

Technorati Tags: federal trade commission,deceptive drm,slashdot,sony rootkit

Commentary: Obama is flunking economics

CNN Politics.com

By Ruben Navarrette Jr.
Special to CNN

SAN DIEGO, California (CNN) — Welcome to March Madness on the Potomac.

Many Americans are so emotionally invested in the Obama presidency that they consider it too historic to fail.

They won’t tolerate any criticism of the president or his administration, finding it easier to simply attack critics. And whatever goes wrong that they can’t defend or deflect, they just blame on George W. Bush.

But to many of the rest of us, it’s clear that President Obama is flunking economics. He is trying to do too much at once, and so he is not doing any of it well. He vows to cut the federal deficit while proposing an avalanche of new spending that will — says the Congressional Budget Office — increase it by as much as $9.3 trillion over the next decade.

Here’s the really bad news, though. No matter what else goes awry, Obama’s strong suits are supposed to be communications and marketing. Yet, this week we learned that this isn’t the case when he has to communicate and market his message on economics.

It doesn’t help matters much that Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner seems too small for his chair. When he needs to inspire confidence, Geithner does the opposite. Whenever he speaks and comes up short on specifics, the Dow plummets. And when that happens, the Obama supporters don’t care and insist that Wall Street is part of the problem and thus can’t recognize the solution.

This week, after learning of the Treasury Department’s plan to help banks unload so-called toxic assets, the market bounced back a bit. And now the Obama supporters are singing a different tune.

But here’s the big question: When Wall Street smiles on a government bailout, is it a good or bad thing for average Americans? It depends on how much is being given away and who has to pay the bill.

This much is indisputable: The administration’s economic plan is so sweeping, and our financial situation so precarious, that the administration needs nothing less than a master salesman for its economic agenda. Clearly, Geithner isn’t up to the job. The sooner he steps aside, the better it will be for the administration.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/03/27/

navarrette.obama.economics/index.html

America is fortunate to have an alert, knowledgeable and country loving leader who is willing and able to make the tough choices needed to bring America out of a hole that took twenty-four years to dig.

The Republican’s watch has produced two economic meltdowns. That makes it two for the Republicans and none for the Democrats. One would likely exercise caution before accepting economic “advice” from a Republican source.

The “economic engine”, that drives the Republican’s economic beliefs seems to promote tax relief for the wealthy as fuel for that engine. Under that idea, the  government will have done its duty by serving as a catalyst for the activity that will make America’s economy “whole” again. Understand? This concept has never worked in practice even though the Republican neocons have had multiple  opportunities to make it work.

How well did the neocons manage America’s money?

Lip-service was given to the concept of frugal spending by a federal government(neocons). But reality showed a huge love for wars that cost a ton of a nation’s resources – lives and dollars.

The neocons seems to be addicted to wars.  Be the war in South America, the Middle East or next door to Russia – the neocons were interested.  America balked in funding the South America venture but the latter-day neocons ramped up  fear of terrorists to the point where extracting  the needed American taxpayer funds was easier. The economics of the neocons was scary!

ECONOMICS 101 – Republican(neocon) style?

America would not need to spend mightily if somehow it could RECOVER the bulk of the funds spent/misspent/wasted by the neocons. When oversight, of neocon spending  was attempted – a high ranking member of the Bush team cried “foul” and admonished against “MICRO-MANAGING” Bush team activities. But then…

How could the below condition exist?

BBC uncovers lost Iraq billions

By Jane Corbin

BBC News

A BBC investigation estimates that around $23bn (£11.75bn) may have been lost, stolen or just not properly accounted for in Iraq.

The BBC’s Panorama programme has used US and Iraqi government sources to research how much some private contractors have profited from the conflict and rebuilding. …

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7444083.stm

A neighbor of Russia(Georgia) got into a fight with Russia. And who showed up in Russia’s sphere of influence but a member of the Bush team. The Bush team member showed up with a promise of American taxpayer dollars as loans(gifts?) for Georgia.

America’s economy is not in the TULIPS. There is no point in trying to “tip-toe”. And voodoo economics is not an option as it causes problems rather than fixes problems.

America’s economy is in a hole that the neocons were digging for close to twenty four years. Perhaps with IN-DENIAL at work they never realized they were in a deep hole so never exercised the option to “stop digging”.

Again, economics is NOT an exact science – it is unwise to treat it that way. It would be curious to hear of a “best practices” in the field of solving economic problems.

No two American Presidents have to approach economic problems the same way. Ex-President George H.W. Bush’s economic strategy was different from his son’s , Ex-President George W. Bush. And President Barack Obama’s economic problems(upon assuming office) is WAY more serious than any President has assumed since Franklin D. Roosevelt.

But, of course, neocons and their supporters have a right to disagree with the current approach  being used to stave off sudden death for American type capitalism. We have already heard, “ I hope he fails” and now we hear that Obama is not following the correct economic steps – whatever they are.

Technorati Tags: obama,george w. bush,flunking economics,treasury department,wall street,republicans,two economic meltdowns,neocons,addicted to wars,taxpayer funds,lost iraq billions,best practices,george h.w. bush,franklin d. roosevelt

US plans to rein in Wall Street

US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has outlined far-reaching plans to strengthen government authority over the US financial system.

BBC NEWS

March 26, 2009

The measures are designed to prevent the kind of systemic risk-taking among banks that has contributed to the current financial crisis.

Mr Geithner told a US House Committee that a simpler, more effective regulatory system was needed.

He said the government had not had “adequate tools” to handle the crisis.

‘New rules’

The treasury secretary said the existing financial system had “failed in basic, fundamental ways”.

“These failures have caused a great loss of confidence in the basic fabric of our financial system,” he said. …

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7966023.stm

It now looks like America is on the right track to solve the financial meltdown problem. A new administration is in place that is willing to look at the problem without the need for “IN-DENIAL”. The Democrats seem to be willing to face the problem head on. The problem with mortgages was assigned to the people who had the power to control them.

Mortgages were sold to people who were, perhaps, only marginally qualified. Couple that management performance with a new type mortgage called ADJUSTABLE RATE MORTGAGE(ARM) and you have the makings of what could become a budgeting nightmare.

So, why was the ARM invented? What was wrong with the fixed rate mortgage? Who would choose a monthly mortgage payment that could skyrocket over a monthly mortgage payment that was fixed? Did this kind of instrument(ARM) help set up the environment for:

“They gave your mortgage to a less qualified minority”?

Just what role did the “less qualified minorities” play in the meltdown of America’s and the world’s economy? Only as much as they were allowed to play and never were they in control.

Twenty-four years of “leadership” of America and the neocons, especially the latter-day neocons,  have yet to accept responsibility for things that went awry on their watch. There are “whodunits” that reaches all the way back to the original neocons in 1980. One question that is still unanswered from 1980 is “how did those neocons finance their Iran-Contra affair”? The American electorate said it wouldn’t.

Bringing America back up to its pre-neocon days is a tall order that should not be taken lightly. The Democrats and the Republicans seems to have in-depth job talent. But the neocons seems to come up short.

The idea that the wealthy will spend America out of a recession if granted tax-cuts borders on the absurd but it is still put forth by the extreme right wing of the Republican party.

President George W. Bush did not buy it this time. He opted for direct government help to multiple segments of the country thus angering his party’s extreme right. It appears that, this time, he put America ahead of his party.

Technorati Tags: timothy geithner,us financial system,government authority,systemic risk-taking,financial crisis,america,in-denial,fixed rate mortgage,adjustable rate mortgage,less qualified minority,neocons,george w. bush

North Korea to treat detained journalist well: US

news.yahoo.com

Mar 24, 2009

WASHINGTON (AFP) – North Korea has assured the United States that two detained American women journalists will be treated well,State Department spokesman Robert Wood said Tuesday.

But Wood backtracked from earlier remarks that he was “aware” that the pair faced espionage charges, saying only that North Korea has informed the United States that it believes the two entered the country illegally.

“The North has assured us that the detainees will be well treated,” Wood told reporters at the daily news media briefing.

He declined to say whether US officials received the assurance directly from the North Koreans, which have a mission at the United Nations in New York, or through Sweden, which represents US interests in Pyongyang.

He said US officials are pressing for the Swedes to visit the two who have been identified as Euna Lee, a Korean-American, and Laura Ling, a Chinese-American, who work for Current TV in California.

“We have formally requested, through our protecting power in Pyongyang, the Swedish embassy, that the Swedish government be provided with consular access to these two Americans,” Wood added without saying when the request was made.

In Seoul, a South Korean daily said Tuesday that North Korean intelligence officials are questioning the journalists and will likely try to persuade them to confess to spying, a South Korean daily said Tuesday.

JoongAng Ilbo, quoting a South Korean intelligence source, said the pair were transported to a top-security guest-house on the outskirts of Pyongyang a day after they were seized before dawn on March 17 along the border with China.

State Department officials said they do not know where the pair are being detained.

South Korea’s National Intelligence Service declined to comment, and an analyst said he doubted whether the pair would be charged with spying.

When asked to comment on news reports that the two faced charges of spying, Wood replied that US officials have “seen the reports and are aware of the charges.”

But he declined to say how US officials were aware of the charges. …

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090324/pl_afp/nkoreausmilitarymediatreatment;_

ylc=X3oDMTI1NzZyc3Q3BFJfYWlkAwRSX2RtbgN5YWhvby5jb20EUl9maWQDYmRhMGMzMz

U0NTFiYmY2YjY0Y2Q0MWRlYjBiYWRlNDYEUl9sdHADMQ–

North Korea, called a member of an AXIS OF EVIL by Mr. George W. Bush, now finds itself detaining American journalists and not acting like an AXIS of EVIL.

The detention of the American journalists may be more humane than detentions handed out by America’s neocons and friends. Those “AXIS OF EVIL” type detentions are starting to look tame by comparison to the Bush team and its allies detentions.

Not long ago, British citizens were detained by Iran. They were freed with no mention of brutality toward them.

Now contrast the detainee treatment dealt by the “AXIS OF EVIL” gang with the detainee treatment dealt by the “WHITE HAT” gang. The White Hat gang used to do a pretty good job of setting examples of civilized behavior. But then came the Bush team – pushing the only “talent” it could claim expertise in – terrorist hunter. And in order for the Bush team and neocons to perform, most constraints(laws) needed to be removed. National and International laws needed to be trampled.

The West, i.e. the WHITE HAT guys, while holding detainees, can easily claim kings of barbaric activity. The “AXIS OF EVIL” can’t come close to the WHITE HAT guys of the West – or at best, there can be no worse behavior than exhibited by the White Hat guys of the West.

Two of the journalists currently being held by the North Koreans are female and thus do not have the hanging appendage that Robert Fisk’s World spoke of here.

Technorati Tags: north korea,journalist,north korean intelligence officials,border with china,axis of evil,george w. bush

Clash in tense Israeli-Arab town

BBC News

March 24, 2009

Thirteen arrests were made as police used tear gas and water cannon to disperse stone-throwing protesters.

Israeli-Arab residents of the town view the march as highly provocative and had vowed to stop it.

The High Court gave permission for the march, but police had postponed it several times, fearing violence.

About 2,500 police in riot gear flanked about 100 far-right activists as they marched on the outskirts of the town, waving Israeli flags.

Israeli-Arab protesters have clashed with police as Jewish Israeli right-wingers marched in the majority-Arab town of Umm al-Fahm. …

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7960807.stm

The CLASH between Jew and Gentile(non-Jew) continues – enabled by the brain-fruit of the 1947-48 United Nations. Perhaps, the United Nations felt it would be a good idea to forcibly mix, Jew and Gentile(non-jew) so long as it was done outside of Europe.

“History” gave Jews the right to “Palestine” but it was the United Nations, with its enforcement power, that enabled that “right”. The idea was, perhaps for the first time in history, to show that a forced relationship could develop into a display of  “peaceful co-existence”.

Jewish terrorists kicked those who would oversee the relationship out of Palestine. That left just the well armed deciples of the West against the pitifully armed indigneous Palestinians. And MAY THE BEST MAN WIN.

Although there was likely no other place on the face of the earth that the UN could have pointed to as a successful model of its 1947-48 plan of “peaceful co-existence”, the UN had the enforcement power that the League of Nations did not have.

The combination of (1) I want your land And (2) you are militarily weak – was the perfect combination for the acquisition of “free” Middle East land.

YOU CAN’T OWN WHAT YOU CAN’T PROTECT.

The UN’s motto not withstanding – you can’t own what you can’t protect. And that holds true for Iran.

With that first “historical” step completed(the conquest of Palestine), the Zionist then could anticipate their next move – getting rid of the GENTILES. The Zionists may steal another “feature” from history in a quest to get rid of the Gentiles: ARMAGEDDON.

If the Zionist have access to 150 to 200 nuclear weapons(under a single administration), those weapons could go a long way toward getting Armageddon off and running. The Zionist could holocaust(verb) the Gentiles of whole countries.

Detonating 150 to 200 nuclear weapons in the “neighborhood” would make too much of  the Middle East unlivable. And suicide is not on the the Zionist menu. So, those formidable killing resources are likely to be usable worldwide just as Gentiles are worldwide.

Lets try some math. History tells the Zionists that only two nuclear bombs have been dropped on a country. That country, perhaps,  had used a neocon type concept of PRE-EMPTIVE SELF-DEFENSE. The target of the pre-emptive self-defense was a location in Hawaii.

An American response to the PRE-EMPTIVE SELF-DEFENSE of the attacking country came by way of the Enola Gay. Two locations were targeted: Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Perhaps the Zionists would need no more than TWO(2) nuclear bombs per country. So, assuming TWO nuclear bombs per country, the Zionists could do grave and lethal damage to many Gentiles the world over:

200(nuclear bombs) divided by 2(bombs per country) = 100 countries.

Even allowing for duds, misfiring and the like – 200 nuclear bombs would more than WIPEOUT a significant number of Gentiles of the world – thus enabling the Zionist to be elevated to a WORLD LEADERSHIP position. And RELIGION could once again lead the world – likely, straight back to the DARK AGES.

One-hundred countries – populated by Gentiles could feel the wrath of Zionist power. That’s the way GOD, not JESUS, wanted it. RIGHT?

Technorati Tags: israeli-arab protestors,majority-arab town. jewish right-wingers,jew-gentile clash,palestine,israel,peaceful co-existence,united nations,league of nations,you can’t own what you can’t protect,armageddon,zionist,pre-emptive self-defense

UN to criticise Israel over Gaza

By Imogen Foulkes
BBC News, Geneva

The UN investigator into human rights in the Palestinian territories is set to present his latest report to the UN human rights council in Geneva.

It is the first such report since Israel’s incursion into Gaza.

Richard Falk has been highly critical of Israel in the past, and his new report is no exception.

In it he questions the legality of Israel’s actions in Gaza. Israel, however, has repeated accusations that Mr Falk is biased.

Israeli authorities denied him entry last December, when he attempted to conduct his regular investigative mission to the Palestinian territories.

Because Mr Falk was unable to enter the Palestinian territories, his latest report focuses instead on the legality of Israel’s incursion into Gaza.

‘War crime’

He suggests that it is not a question of whether Israel used disproportionate force in Gaza, but rather whether Israel acted lawfully in entering Gaza at all.

He concludes that it did not, and that the incursion may constitute a war crime.

He is calling for an independent inquiry to examine possible war crimes committed by both Israel and Hamas. …

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7958452.stm

Up to this point, it appears that the United Nations has done nothing the League of Nations could not have done. Giving lip-service to possible war crimes is worthy but intervention would have been more to the liking of the Gaza victims of the Zionist war power. Sure the WHITE HAT guys tried to portray the victims of the 1948 land theft as the bad guys but that falsity is becoming more and more “self-evident”.

The Zionist movement will bring no comfort to the gentiles of the Middle East. And knowing that the United Nations – with its enforcement capability, will do little more than talk – means that the Zionist targets will have to protect themselves – likely against American made weapons.

The 1948 United Nations’ concept of Arabs and Jews sharing Palestine long ago came to be a miserable failure – for the Arabs. This fact was not lost on Iran.

Iran has the gall to attempt to defend itself against any new United Nations attempts to settle newly “homeless” people within its borders. This is cause for the WHITE HAT guys to assert much pressure on the addition of new nuclear weapons into the Middle East.

The Middle East is already(likely) the home of 150-200 nuclear weapons under a single administration. But there has been no CONFESSION to that possible fact so the United Nations’ IAEA is not concerned about that possibility – for some reason.

However the IAEA is radically concerned about the possibility of Iran getting ONE nuclear weapon. If Iran got one nuclear weapon that would, how you say -  upset the balance of power in that hot-bed of Middle East war activity.

The Zionist now appear to own the Middle East. They can bomb any target in any Middle East country they want to. They pay special attention to Hamas. Testosterone driven Hamas still has visions of Pre-1948 Palestine.

While the Israeli terrorists(pre-1948) were allowed to create and control the country of Israel, the election that Hamas won was nullified by America’s neocons. Mr. Bush and his neocons were, according to news accounts, considering OVERTHROWING the West Bank government that Hamas was elected to lead. And of course, there is bad blood between the brothers – West Bank and Hamas. That rift, sorta like divide and conquer, would be helpful to the Bush team’s neocons in their planning for “Hamas’s future“.

The Arabs, if they entered the nuclear club, would likely be able to fight back against the expanding Zionist encroachment on their land. The Zionist appear to believe they own the Middle East. It all started in 1948 with the United Nations giving Jews a foot-hold in the Middle East and looking the other way as barrel after barrel of yellowcake vanished in the Middle East. Who got the yellowcake?

Iran? Egypt? Syria? Jordan? Saudi Arabia? Israel?

The WHITE HAT guys showed no apprehension about the loss of the uranium oxide in the Middle East. So, where did it go? The answer, of course, is a “NO BRAINER”.

And now there are estimates of 150 to 200 nuclear weapons in the Middle East. And the IAEA never said a “MUMBLING WORD” – NOT A WORD – NOT A WORD.

Zionism is set to flourish in the Middle East. At the proper time, the Zionists will deal with all of the Middle East’s  GENTILES.

The late American President, Richard Nixon, was concerned about the volatile situation in the Middle East. It appears that the UN with its mottos and other declarations of duty to and respect for humanity, was in its “WHAT ME WORRY” mode.

And perhaps the Catholic hierarchy is again looking to ensure its survival by acknowledging the Zionist existence and ambition to become EMPIRE BUILDERS.

Was Adolph Hitler a visionary? His efforts likely removed the possibility of a Zionist empire in Europe. The empire will likely be built in the Middle East.

After a ton of future killing in the Middle East, all of it may be called the “Holy Land”. The more Gentiles that die, the HOLIER the land will become. And when only Jews are left, Jewish characteristics will likely come under the microscope. Thrill killing would likely not stop with the holocaust of the Gentiles. Certain undesirable and distinguishable characteristics within the Zionist empire would likely be targeted – to further purify the Zionist empire.

The folly of man knows no limits.

Technorati Tags: un,israel,gaza,war crime,united nations,jews,gentiles,middle east,iaea,1948,nuclear club,yellowcake,zionist,empire builders,holocaust

Hamas chief hails Obama approach

BBC NEWS

The political leader of Hamas, Khaled Meshaal, has credited US President Barack Obama with using a “new language” for the Middle East.

Speaking to an Italian newspaper Mr Meshaal also said that an official opening to his Palestinian Islamist movement was only “a matter of time”.

The interview was published three days after President Obama called for a “new beginning” in relations with Iran.

Iran and Syria, where Mr Meshaal is exiled, are key backers of Hamas.

Mr Obama’s video message to the Iranian leaders and people was seen as a major break with previous US policy.

But in response, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei demanded concrete policy changes from the US.

‘Roots in society’

Mr Meshaal, speaking in an interview with La Repubblica, said “a new language towards the region is coming from President Obama”.

He did not directly mention Mr Obama’s message to Iran.

“The challenge for everybody is for this to be the prelude for a genuine change in US and European policies,” Mr Meshaal said. …

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7958037.stm

It is time for a new beginning. It is time for the neocon strategy of “fear and loathing” to be replaced by a more rational approach. When an enemy army was advancing on American interests, President Roosevelt told America that it had nothing to fear but fear itself. But the Bush team was different.

Fear was the driving force of the neocons actions against terrorists and fear helped dislodge American funds used to fight the war against terrorists. Those who tried to exercise oversight of the terror-fighting funds were advised to stop MICRO-MANAGING.

That advice suggested that the WAR MANAGERS knew what they were doing in the money-managing business. But did they? For some, the Iraqi war was a lucrative business venture. And keeping terrorists in the American conscious helped keep the bucks flowing.

The neocons have certainly set the stage for the world to forever have to deal with terrorists. The neocons extended their terrorist seeking reach from the jungles of South America(1980′s) to the sands of the Middle East(2003) – starting much but finishing little – stirring up a hornet’s nests in the 80′s and leaving things for others to solve in 2008.

And, perhaps entertaining the thought that NOBODY could cleanup the mess that they left behind, they await and hope for a failure of the President of the United States of America. That sorta reminds one of that [EXPLETIVE DELETED] description of America’s United States Constitution. In more ways than one, the neocons are in a class by themselves.

Mr. Bush and his team may have wanted to bind the next administration to the Bush team’s terrorist “knowledge” although the Bush team used its own judgment in setting its terror fighting priorities in 2003. The Bush teams’ terror fighting took the battle to where the terrorists lived, worked and played – thus ensuring a noticeable “kill rate”.

And as the calendar, rather than impeachment, ended the administration of the latter-day neocons, they must have had thoughts of seeing their loudly proclaimed terror hunting activities – fizzle. If the terror-hunting fiasco was contrived, it is one of the most expensive, in lives and money, that the free world has seen in quite some time.

And as the curtain closes on an administration that has really earned a place in history, the world should take a breather and be thankful that no “dueling nuclear bombs” were “let loose”.

For America, it is still acceptable policy to speak softly and carry a BIG STICK.

Sure, it is still possible that a chihuahua might just kick an elephant – in a learning process. But the kicker’s rational mind should not put its own restraints on a response from the elephant. The response, from the elephant, would be up to the elephant.

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