Overlooked in the welter of fast-moving events throughout the Arab world was a Saudi Arabian call for transforming the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) into "an entity identical to the (27-nation) European Union" — plus nuclear weapons.
Saudi Arabia has grown impatient. "Waiting for Godot," Samuel Beckett's famous play, depicts the "meaninglessness of life," with its repetitive plot, where nothing much happens. In Saudi eyes, that's Iran and its secret nuclear weapons program. And eye-drop Western sanctions have done zip to deter Iran's aging theocrats.
Iran began nuclear research with French assistance in the 1960s. In 1972, Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi told this reporter that Iran would one day be a nuclear power. Britain had relinquished all its geopolitical responsibilities east of Suez in 1968.
Under the Nixon Doctrine that followed the British withdrawal from the Persian Gulf, the Shahanshah ("King of Kings") became the "Guardian" (and gendarme) from the Strait of Hormuz to Kuwait.
Israel is considering plans to build an artificial island off the coast of theGaza Strip to house a sea and airport, and encourage tourism in the area.
Yisrael Katz, the Israeli minister for transport, said the plan had been under consideration for many months and had been encouraged byBinyamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister. He said it would also relieve Israel of the obligation to be the transit point for goods into the enclave.
The Gaza Strip has no sea port and its airport was destroyed. The area is the sixth most crowded place in the world. Since 2007, Israel, which controls the majority of Gaza's borders has only allowed limited kinds of goods into Gaza and allowed very few exports out. Gazans have got round restrictions by smuggling goods from Egypt through tunnels
David Cameron told the Commons at PMQs there was a legal basis for supplying arms to Libyan rebels. Photograph: PA
Britain threw its weight behind the US declaration that the UN had provided a legal basis to supply arms to rebel forces in Libya in limited circumstances, though ministers would act with "extreme care" before making any decision, David Cameron said.
In a sign that Britain was in no rush to ship arms to the rebels, William Hague, the foreign secretary, warned that sending weapons could have "unforeseeable and unknown consequences".
The government set out its thinking on arming the rebels ahead of news last night that President Barack Obama has signed a secret government order that authorises covert help to the Libyan rebels by such organisations as the CIA.
A massive cache of documents released by the Federal Reserve Thursday reveals that banks from every corner of the globe, large and small, turned to the U.S. government’s emergency bailout program for help as the credit crisis exploded in late 2008.
In addition to global banking giants such as Bank of New York Mellon (BK: 29.87, +0.20, +0.67%) and Morgan Stanley (MS: 27.32, +0.09, +0.33%), the documents show numerous, small regional banks tapped the Fed’s discount window, especially banks from areas hard hit by collapsing real estate markets, such as California.
Dexia, Erste Group and Depfa, were among the foreign banks that turned to the Fed as credit markets dried up and banks had no other alternative but to seek U.S. government bailout dollars.
Other big foreign borrowers were Norinchukin Bank of Japan, Bank of Scotland, and Germany’s Landesbank Baden-Wurttemberg and France’s Societe Generale.
The Fed released the trove of information after a lengthy court battle initiated by media outlets including FOX Business, which sought the data under the Freedom of Information Act.
Update: Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA), who asked Clinton about the War Powers Act during a classified briefing, said Clinton and the administration are sidestepping the measure's provisions giving Congress the ability to put a 60-day time limit on any military action.
"They are not committed to following the important part of the War Powers Act," he told TPM in a phone interview. "She said they are certainly willing to send reports [to us] and if they issue a press release, they'll send that to us too."
The White House would forge ahead with military action in Libya even if Congress passed a resolution constraining the mission, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said during a classified briefing to House members Wednesday afternoon.
Clinton was responding to a question from Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA) about the administration's response to any effort by Congress to exercise its war powers, according to a senior Republican lawmaker who attended the briefing.
The answer surprised many in the room because Clinton plainly admitted the administration would ignore any and all attempts by Congress to shackle President Obama's power as commander in chief to make military and wartime decisions. In doing so, he would follow a long line of Presidents who have ignored the act since its passage, deeming it an unconstitutional encroachment on executive power.
Other than that, the lawmaker said he learned nothing new during the classified briefing by Clinton, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper and Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
NATO's idea of humanitarian aid is 40 dead civilians
ROME (Reuters) - At least 40 civilians have been killed in air strikes by Western forces on Tripoli, the top Vatican official in the Libyan capital told a Catholic news agency on Thursday, quoting witnesses.
"The so-called humanitarian raids have killed dozens of civilian victims in some neighborhoods of Tripoli," said Giovanni Innocenzo Martinelli, the Apostolic Vicar of Tripoli.
"I have collected several witness accounts from reliable people. In particular, in the Buslim neighborhood, due to the bombardments, a civilian building collapsed, causing the death of 40 people," he told Fides, the news agency of the Vatican missionary arm.
Libyan officials have taken foreign reporters to the sites of what they say were the aftermath of Western air strikes on Tripoli but evidence of civilian casualties has been inconclusive.
A morbidly obese man is dead after he was found fused to a chair that he had been stuck on for two years.
The 43-year-old man from Bellaire, Ohio, was discovered unconscious on Sunday by his girlfriend.
Emergency crews had to pry him free, as his skin was stuck to the recliner with urine, feces and maggots.
Local reports say one officer threw away his uniform because the conditions were so putrid.
"The living room where the man lived in his chair was very filthy, very deplorable. It's unbelievable that somebody lives in conditions like that," Jim Chase, a code enforcer, told local news station WTRF.
A hole was cut in the wall of the home to remove the heavy man.
Officials said his girlfriend, who lived with him along with another roommate, told investigators she fed the man in his chair, as he complained of leg pain.
The unidentified man was transported to hospital in critical condition, where he later died.
A RadioShack in Montana is making headlines — and doing a brisk business — by offering free guns to new Dish Network customers.
"Protect yourself with Dish Network. Sign up now, get free gun," reads the sign over the door of a Hamilton, MT, RadioShack. The promo has been running since October and the store's owner says it's tripled the business in that time. It's also made the store a bit of a local landmark.
"We have people literally stop in to take pictures of the sign," the Shack's manager tells local paper the Ravalli Republic.
The note begins, “Grandpa, I just wanted to give you my thanks for being a great influence in my life.”
Former Marine Sgt. Dana O’Brien can barely make it through the first line before tears begin streaming down his face. It was sent from his grandson, Marine Cpl. Daniel O’Brien during one of his two tours of duty in Iraq.
On the surface, Cpl. O’Brien appeared to have a lot to live for. He was a good Marine with a promising career ahead of him. And he had a beautiful baby girl, Alexis, who, it is clear from the photographs of the two, really seemed to love her daddy.
But on the inside, O’Brien was tormented. His wife, also a Marine had recently left him. And after an altercation on base at the Marine Air Station in Beaufort, S.C., he thought his career was over. In July 2009, he took his own life.
O'Brien's death was part of an alarming trend: Fifty-two Marines committed suicide that year, a record high, and the military is still struggling to deal with an elevated suicide rate among those who serve.
FORTUNE -- With nearly 14 million unemployed workers in America, many have gotten sodesperate that they're willing to work for free. While some businesses are wary of the legal risks and supervision such an arrangement might require, companies that have used free workers say it can pay off when done right.
"People who work for free are far hungrier than anybody who has a salary, so they're going to outperform, they're going to try to please, they're going to be creative," says Kelly Fallis, chief executive of Remote Stylist, a Toronto and New York-based startup that provides Web-based interior design services. "From a cost savings perspective, to get something off the ground, it's huge. Especially if you're a small business."
Detroit could probably use another Eminem boost following Tuesday's news that it lost 25% of its residents from 2000 to 2010.
You may remember the catchy Chrysler ad during January's Super Bowl.
To the sounds of a jangly guitar, the rapper drives through the city's gritty streets, telling the viewer, "This is the Motor City and this is what we do."
The spot ends with "Imported From Detroit," a message that may have a new meaning, given the latest census numbers.
It’s been nearly two weeks since the US entered Libya and there is still no clear indication on who the rebels really are. Webster Tarpley, an investigative journalist says the US is supporting al-Qaeda, and racists on the ground. The world should ask America, “What are you doing arming and promoting al-Qaeda fighters in Libya?” he said.
TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi will stay in the country "until the end" to lead it to victory against its enemies, a government spokesman said on Thursday.
Speaking after former Foreign Secretary Moussa Koussa defected and flew to Britain on Wednesday, the spokesman said Western air strikes against Libya had only united its top leadership against "a clear enemy."
"If this aggression did anything, it only rallied people around the leader and the unity of the nation," Mussa Ibrahim said in Tripoli. "Especially now. They see a clear enemy."
Asked if Gaddafi and his sons were still in the country, he said: "Rest assured, we are all here. We will remain here until the end. This is our country. We are strong on every front."
Rolling Stone published horrific photos reportedly taken by members of the U.S. Military who allegedly were part of what is being called the "Kill Team." These individuals have been described by the Army, according to Rolling Stone, as a "rogue unit" operating completely on its own, "without the knowledge of its superiors.”
Anwar al-Awlaki, al-Qaeda's most influential English-language preacher, said revolts sweeping the Arab world would help rather than harm its cause by giving Islamists freed from tyranny greater scope to speak out.
Radical cleric Anwar al-Awlaki and the cover of the fifth edition of Inspire, an online al-Qaeda magazinePhoto: REUTERS/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
12:44PM BST 30 Mar 2011
Western and Arab officials say the example set by young Arabs seeking peaceful political change is a counterweight to al-Qaeda's push for violent militancy and weakens its argument that democracy and Islam are incompatible.
The Libyan National Council, the Benghazi-based group that speaks for the rebel forces fighting the Gaddafi regime, has appointed a long-time CIA collaborator to head its military operations. The selection of Khalifa Hifter, a former colonel in the Libyan army, was reported by McClatchy Newspapers Thursday and the new military chief was interviewed by a correspondent for ABC News on Sunday night.
Hifter’s arrival in Benghazi was first reported by Al Jazeera on March 14, followed by a flattering portrait in the virulently pro-war British tabloid the Daily Mail on March 19. The Daily Mail described Hifter as one of the “two military stars of the revolution” who “had recently returned from exile in America to lend the rebel ground forces some tactical coherence.” The newspaper did not refer to his CIA connections.
McClatchy Newspapers published a profile of Hifter on Sunday. Headlined “New Rebel Leader Spent Much of Past 20 years in Suburban Virginia,” the article notes that he was once a top commander for the Gaddafi regime, until “a disastrous military adventure in Chad in the late 1980s.”
#1 In 2010, one out of every eight American families had at least one family member that was unemployed. In fact, the figure for 2010 was the highest it has been since the U.S. Labor Department began keeping track of this statistic back in 1994.
#2 According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, more than 8 million Americansare working part-time jobs because they can't get full-time jobs.
#4 After accounting for inflation, the average income for an American family has fallen 5 percent since the year 2000.
#5 According to the New York Times, as of 2009 the wealthiest 5 percent of all Americans had 63.5 percent of all the wealth in America. Meanwhile, the bottom 80 percent had just 12.8 percent of all the wealth.
#6 During this most recent economic downturn, employee compensation in the United States has been the lowest that it has been relative to gross domestic product in over 50 years.
#7 According to the Federal Reserve, between 2007 and 2009 median household net worth in the United States fell by 23 percent.
#8 The Federal Reserve also says that median household debt in the United States has risen to $75,600.
#14 When you adjust wages for inflation, middle class workers in the United States make less money today than they did back in 1971.
#15 American workers that are unemployed are nearly twice as likely to have been told by a doctor or a nurse that they suffer from depression.
#16 In 2010, for the first time ever more than a million U.S. families lost their homes to foreclosure, and that number is expected to go even higher in 2011.
#18 U.S. home values have fallen an astounding 6.3 trillion dollars since the peak of the real estate market. Most of that pain has been felt by ordinary American families.
#20 According to a survey released very close to the end of 2010, 55 percentof all Americans are now living paycheck to paycheck.
#211.5 million Americans filed for bankruptcy in 2010. That represented the fourth yearly increase in bankruptcy filings in a row.
#22 As 2007 began, only about 26 million Americans were on food stamps, but today over 44 million Americans are on food stamps which is an all-time record high.
Les Christie, staff writer, On Monday March 28, 2011, 8:28 am EDT
High residential vacancies are killing many housing markets, as foreclosed homes sit on the market and depress sale prices and property values.
And it's only getting worse: The national vacancy rate crept up to just over 13% according to last week's decennial census report. That's up from 12.1% in 2007.
"More vacant homes equal more downward pressure on home prices," said Brad Hunter, chief economist for Metrostudy, a real estate information provider.
Maine had the highest proportion of empty housing stock, at 22.8%. Other states with gluts of empty houses included Vermont (20.5%), Florida (17.5%), Arizona (16.3%) and Alaska (15.9%).
The U.S. housing market is still in recession, with prices all over the country declining and testing 2009 trough levels, according to the latest S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index.
The January Case-Shiller report released today showed that in 11 of the 20 cities surveyed, prices dropped below lows forged in 2009 following the bursting of a real estate bubble that peaked in 2006. Another month of declines adds to a trend many analysts suggest will continue.
Last month, Yale University’s Prof. Robert Shiller said the housing market is “vulnerable” in an assessment he conceded might be overly optimistic. He argued that the market’s strength since bouncing off its 2009 lows was largely linked to government tax credits aimed at creating demand for homes. Since they expired last summer, price declines have resumed.
The U.S. housing market is at the center of a credit crisis that sent the U.S. economy into perhaps its worst slowdown since the 1930s. Real estate remains a crucial element to a lasting recovery, which is why some analysts fret that renewed declines in prices are a bad omen for the whole economy.
President Barack Obama says the United States is at the center of efforts to build a better future for the Libyan people, but is not acting alone. The president spoke one day after laying out his policy on Libya.
President Obama said Tuesday American leadership is helping an international coalition to save innocent lives in Libya.
LONDON (AP) - A sweeping array of world powers called forcefully Tuesday for Moammar Gadhafi to step down as Libya's ruler. Some even hinted at secret talks on Gadhafi's exit.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and British Foreign Secretary William Hague led the crisis talks in London between 40 countries and institutions, all seeking an endgame aimed at halting the Libyan leader's bloody onslaught against Libya's people.
Although the NATO-led airstrikes on Gadhafi's forces aren't aimed at toppling him, dozens of nations agreed in the talks that Libya's future does not include the dictator at the helm.
President Barack Obama predicted Tuesday that continued military and diplomatic pressure will force Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi to "ultimately step down."
In an interview with NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams a day after he addressed the nation to explain his Libya policy , Obama refused to rule out providing direct U.S. military assistance to the rebels fighting Gadhafi's government. But he said that was unlikely and that his comments shouldn't be interpreted as signaling wider U.S. intervention in the region.
"Gadhafi's been greatly weakened," Obama said. "He does not have control over most of Libya at this point, and so for us to continue to apply this pressure, I think, will allow us the space and the time to forge the kind of political solution that's necessary."
The U.S government wants former Governor Jesse Ventura's lawsuit against the TSA thrown out.
Ventura filed the suit in federal court earlier this year. He says he was sexually assaulted by the TSA during a pat down at Minneapolis- St. Paul International Airport in November.
The U.S. government filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit Monday arguing all challenges to aviation and security-related TSA orders must be filed in the courts of appeal.
Another wonderful example of corporate royalty and their immunity to natural common law Travinyle1
Despite extremely questionable design engineering that saved Tokyo Power and Electric many millions of dollars, but ignored the threat of a major tsunami, the company may not be liable for any damages resulting from its Fukuskima Daiichii nuclear power plant disaster.
According to Paul J. Scalise, a former financial analyst, who is writing a book on Japan’s electric power system, under Japanese law governing compensation for nuclear damage, companies are liable for the cost of all nuclear accidents resulting from reactor operations except when the accidents are provoked by a “grave natural disaster of an exceptional nature or by an insurrection.” The company might plausibly seek to avoid liability altogether within that definition, he said, according to NYT.
So the question becomes one of whether the tsunami provoked the accident or whether design shortcuts resulted in the accident, because the tsunami should have been anticipated.
Beyond that, it appears that the Japanese government may step into the picture, in any case, in a manner similar to the way the United States government stepped in to bailout elite banks during the height of the financial crisis.
RAS LANUF, Libya — Having halted a westward push by rebel fighters, forces loyal to Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi began a counteroffensive on Tuesday, marching eastward to the outskirts of this critical oil town, as an array of diplomats gathered in London to shape a political vision of a post-Qaddafi era.
desperate that they're willing to work for free. While some businesses are wary of the legal risks and supervision such an arrangement might require, companies that have used free workers say it can pay off when done right.