The Past Week: April 19-25, 2009 (Pakistani Women Pushing Back; French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde Speaks; Doubts About Toxic Asset Plan; UK Blogs)

~~By InsightAnalytical-GRL

With Pakistan and the Taliban now center stage, I found this story from The Dawn Blog interesting. Women in Karachi are meeting because of their concerns about events there:

Women Push Back

…On Friday, the Karachi chapter of the Women’s Action Forum (WAF) invited members of the civil society to help craft a comprehensive strategy to stem the Talibanisation of Pakistan and respond to the recent passage of the Nizam-i-Adl Regulation 2009. On short notice, about 60 women gathered at the Aurat Foundation’s Clifton premises to brainstorm ideas for concrete action against the spread of militant ideology. Participants included the crème de la crème of Karachi society – revered activists, teachers, artists, filmmakers, professionals and many women who described themselves as ‘concerned citizens’ and ‘mothers’ (I could start name-dropping but someone might mistake this for the social pages and not the Dawn Blog).

The general mood was somber and, as the discussion proceeded, panic and passions flared. As one long-term women’s rights activist put it, ‘we came of age in the Zia years. Then, we were fighting the state. Now, we’re fighting against public misogyny being encouraged by non-state actors who have grown more powerful than the state – and they don’t play by any rules.’ In short, the women assembled at Aurat’s offices knew they were there to put up a fight.

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Let’s hope we don’t see the women of Pakistan have the same fate as those in Afghanistan.

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Caught a brief segment a few days ago on BBC America’s nightly newscast with the French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde, but she’s been speaking about the latest IMF report elsewhere, too.  Here’a link to a transcript of  her inteview on Lateline which airs on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). It’s a worthwhile read if only to get a better understanding of what the people in charge of the money elsewhere are thinking.

But what caught my attention in the BBC segment was her comments about how unimpressed she was with the idea of creating stimulus package after stimulus package without getting a clear idea of how useful they really are.  She noted that France was early in pumping up government spending on infrastructure projects, like public buildings, etc. and programs versus cash payments, but the results were only just beginning to trickle in.  She was very pointed about how the French had started their stimulus efforts earlier than the U.S. and was quite clear that an idea of how effective the spending has been–and if it is getting to the right places–is needed before more spending is approved.  She also pointed out that the money really hasn’t started flowing yet, so it’s going to be a while before anything is really known here in the U.S.

Although Lagarde is “on the same page” with the Obama Administration in many ways, we’ll have to see if the Obama crowd and Congress keep creating more “stimulus packages” in spite of Lagarde’s warnings.

Here’s a something Lagarde said toward the end of the interview:

My personal belief is that this crisis stems from excess, abuses of the system. I don’t suggest, though, that it would be the end of free enterprise. I think that a liberal economy can also have its social dimension and that liberal economy, as liberalism is understood in economic terms, can only survive if it is properly regulated. And I think it would be a complete deterioration if you will, or abuse of liberalism itself, if it wasn’t regulated. So, when he says that government is back and policies are back, I totally agree with him if he means regulation, ownership of the development of a free market economy by politicians, by those who have been elected by the people to represent the general interest and to make sure that proper functioning of the economy is actually respected. And to that end, we need a combination of sensible and strong regulations, but also sensible and strong bodies that will make sure that regulations are actually applied. And if there are violations, that such violations are sanctioned appropriately.

“And if there are violations, that such violations are sanctioned appropriately.”

I’m not holding my breath here in Obamaland, are you?

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Kenosha Marge spotted this article in the Financial Times….seems like Timothy Geithner still hasn’t dispelled a sense of mistrust among financial leades:

Warning over US toxic asset plan

By Francesco Guerrera, Deborah Brewster, Henny Sender and Aline Van Duyn in New York

Published: April 24 2009 02:03 | Last updated: April 24 2009 02:03

The Obama administration will on Friday get the first indication of investor interest in its $1,000bn toxic assets plan amid fears that the threat of government intervention and banks’ reluctance to sell will deter fund managers from participating.

Applications to become one of the five asset managers charged with raising funds to buy mortgage-backed securities from banks are due today and groups including BlackRock, Pimco and Bank of New York Mellon are set to apply.

However, financial executives warn that the plan is in danger of missing its goal of quickly shifting billions of dollars in troubled assets off banks’ balance sheets unless the government dispels investors’ concerns.

Potential buyers of assets complain that, a month after Tim Geithner, US Treasury secretary, unveiled the public-private investment programme, the authorities have yet to reassure them they would not be subjected to draconian Congressional scrutiny.

The Treasury did say that, aside from the small group of asset managers, investors who receive the generous loans available under the PPIP will not have to abide by restrictions on employees’ pay imposed on the banks that got funds from the troubled assets relief programme.

Yet some fund managers fear Congress and the government may change the rules mid-course, as they did with Tarp. Wesley Edens, chief executive of Fortress Investment Group, said: “The most important thing for the government is consistency.”

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Wonder what Christine Lagarde thinks about all this?

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Stumbled across this site which is a huge list of UK Political Blog Feeds.  It’s fun to check out what’s on the minds of folks across the pond.

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THE PAST WEEK

Saturday Sanity: The Antidote to the Madness (April 25, 2009) The Squirrels Invade

While Pakistan Has Our Attention, Look What’s Brewing in Somalia…

The Financial Filter: How CNBC Handles Howard Dean vs. Susan Boyle

Labour (UK) Facing Poll Meltdown After “Smeargate” Allegations–Brown’s Fmr. “Spin Chief” (Now Political Director of a Union) Involved

The Past Week: April 12-18, 2009 (Newsweek Death Spiral?; Anti-Abortion Wars; Susan Boyle and Human Grace)

The Past Week: March 29-April 4, 2009 (Hugo Chavez Takes Over Food Producers, Sounds Off on the G-20; A Government Bailout Special; “The Reluctant Ones”

~~By InsightAnalytical-GRL

As the  G-20 circus brought out the whole gang in London, Hugo Chavez was doing his thing in Iran.

Chavez had this to say about the G-20 summit:

Venezuela’s Chavez: Capitalism Must End

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on Friday ridiculed the G-20 summit’s attempts to deal with the global financial meltdown, saying that capitalism is in crisis and must end. Chavez criticized the G-20 nations’ pledges of more than a trillion dollars for lending to struggling countries at Thursday’s summit in London, calling it “the same medicine that’s killing the patient—a trillion dollars … more money for a bottomless pit.”

SNIP

The IMF and the World Bank are “tools of imperialism” and must be eliminated, Chavez said.

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Well, he has a point…But does this mean that he’s no longer Obama’s “best buddy” since Obama is part of the Obama Borg?

Meanwhile, a couple of weeks ago, Chavez took steps to deal with Venezuela’s economy during this global economic crisis:

Chavez trims budget, adds debt to counter crisis

(SNIP)

Chavez, who won a referendum last month allowing him to stay in office as long as he keeps winning elections, is popular for spending oil revenues on health and education programs for the poor majority.

During 10 years in office he has nationalized much of Venezuela’s economy including major oil projects as part of his drive to build a socialist state.

On Saturday, he cut the 2009 budget by 6.7 percent to $72 billion, raised the minimum wage 20 percent and increased planned government financing to $16 billion from $5.6 billion. And he increased a sales tax to 12 percent from 9 percent.

(SNIP)

Economist Luis Vicente Leon described the package of measures as moderate but said the government was gambling crude prices would recover later this year.

“These are not truly deep measures, they don’t attack the fundamental problems of the economy,” Leon told Reuters.

Faced with Latin America’s highest inflation, Chavez has in recent weeks increased pressure on business to lower prices by taking over farms and rice mills and threatening to nationalize the country’s top private employer, which makes food and beer.

What do you think of that last part?  When does Obama go after the food supply?

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The next two items courtesy Kenosha Marge:

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A couple of weeks ago we learned that Evan Bayh has put together a group of “pragmantic Democrats.”  Then there are the Blue Dogs:

Centrist Dems: Dogged If They Do, Dogged If They Don’t

By Froma Harrop

There’s trouble around the Democratic campfire. The party has the White House and solid congressional majorities. But what it doesn’t have is everyone on the same page, strumming the same chords, singing the same tune.

Liberals who kept the fires burning during the long Republican reign now fear that moderate Blue Dog Democrats will thwart their much-delayed dreams. Elected from purplish parts of America, the Blue Dogs are fiscal conservatives who regard expensive new programs with a wary eye.

What’s a liberal to do? First, recognize that the Blue Dogs are the reason Democrats have such nice majorities. They are why the dreams are even on the menu. Second, concede that the Reluctant Ones have a point.

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“The Reluctant Ones”…has a certain ring to it, yes?

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THE PAST WEEK

*By American Lassie

Saturday Sanity: The Antidote to the Madness (April 4, 2009) Spring Winds; Squirrel Wars; Bees Invade Feeder; Wounded Butterfly; Sunrise Over the Organs; Slick Lounges Around

Non-Stop Campaigning Here in NM-CD2 By Bill Richardson’s Hand-Picked Freshman Rep Harry Teague, Who’s Splitting His Votes Pro/Con on Obama Policies

Iowa Gone Wild With Nazi Reference at Public Hearing (Listen to the Audio) as New Yorkers in CD-20 Test Obama’s Popularity

Canada Follows the U.S. Terms for GM/Chrysler; Harper Still Worrying About the “Eased” ‘Buy-American’ Clause in Stimulus Package

Closing Out Women’s History Month With Dr. Mary Schweitzer, Ground-Breaking Molecular Paleontologist, and a Special T. Rex

*China, the Treasury, and Real Estate (As in the New World Trade Center); Cross-Pollination:The New America Foundation/Council of Foreign Relations

The Past Week: March 22-28, 2009 (A Split in Russian Political Forces as Putin Weakens; The Voice of Korea, North Korean Propaganda Outlet; G-20 Protests Begin; A Prescient Wish for a Bush Successor ca. 2006; X-Rated Google Earth)

Non-Stop Campaigning Here in NM-CD2 By Bill Richardson’s Hand-Picked Freshman Rep Harry Teague, Who’s Splitting His Votes Pro/Con on Obama Policies

~By InsightAnalytical-GRL

So, what’s your representative up to lately? Old buddy here in New Mexico CD-2, freshman representative Harry Teague, is in touch…a lot.

Last week I got another phone call about a meeting…this is the third event since he went to D.C. in January.

Today, I got a flyer…a big, glossy campaign flyer.  I’m wondering if all new Democratic reps are carrying on this continuous campaign.

The flyer is a 4 pager and features Teague’s “independent” thinking.  He voted for the stimulus package in February, but voted against the release of  “an additional $350 billion in bailout money for Wall Street.”  And he “lead the successful effort to stop a automatic 2010 pay raise for members of Congress. The latter two votes occurred in March.

You have to remember that CD-2 is a “conservative” district. That’s why Bill Richardson hand-picked Teague to run here.  He has many “Republican-lite” things in his business and local political career.  He’s owned an oil services business and was very popular with Republicans in Lea Country where he served as the top board chairman of the Lea County Board of Commisioners.

So here he is “splitting the difference” to appeal to both the Obama/Democratic crowd and the conservative Republicans here.

Around the time of the stimulus package debate in February, ads were running on the radio against Teague.  Looks like the Obama crowd is trying to “re-create Teague with the March votes against a couple of other Obama initiatives.

So, has anybody else been getting this sort of material in the mail or the invitations to meet their rep on a regular basis?

Here are the inside pages of the flyer with the blurbs about the “split” votes.

First the “stimulus” vote:

The stimulus vote...

Then, the “anti” votes…

The "anti" votes...

The last page of the flyer is all about “staying in touch.”  There’s the 888 number for The Harry Helpline,” an invitation to sign up for “Harry in Your Hometown Updates” and a list of his office…one in D.C. and 5 in the district.

Looks like there’s a full-court press here to keep Teague around for awhile…

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More on Harry Teague, his Republican ties, and the machinations of Bill Richardson:

“Harry T. and the Chamber of Secrets” co-starring Oil and Republicans–Screenplay by Bill Richardson [Subtitle: The Behind-the-Scenes Adventures of Bill R., Harry Teague and the NM CD-02 Democratic Primary] (April 29, 2008)

DCCC Money Now in NM-CD2 for Richardson’s Guy HarryTeague…Where Were They When the Progressive Ran Last Time?? (The One Who Got 40% of the Vote, Then Was Shoved out of the Dem Primary the Race in 2008?) (June 22, 2008)

Iowa Gone Wild With Nazi Reference at Public Hearing (Listen to the Audio) as New Yorkers in CD-20 Test Obama’s Popularity

~~By InsightAnalytical-GRL

It’s not just about “Tea Parties” anymore…

Things are starting to get wild…in IOWA, of all places. But, actually, it’s pretty ironic. After all, this is where Obama began playing games with the Democratic primary system, by delivering people to the caucuses across the Iowa-Illinois state line.

So, here we see some people in Iowa starting to getting unruly at public hearings.  From the DesMoines Register:

BREAKING NEWS: Hundreds of Iowans thrown out of public hearing

By JASON CLAYWORTH • jclayworth@dmreg.com • March 31, 2009

More than 500 people who are upset with a plan to change Iowa’s tax laws were cleared from a hearing tonight at the Iowa House after they interrupted multiple times.

House Speaker Pat Murphy, D-Dubuque, cleared the crowd at about 8:30 p.m. The decision brought about loud protests as the crowd was escorted from the chambers by Iowa State Patrol officers.

“This is the most atrocious thing I’ve seen in the history of the 15 years I’ve been a lobbyist. Pat Murphy has acted like a jack-booted Nazi,” said Ed Failor Jr., president of Iowans for Tax Relief, a conservative taxpayers’ rights group from Muscatine with 50,000 members…

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Note the word “Nazi” in print…with “jack boots,” no less. And here is the short audio clip of Failor’s comment.  And the state troopers…

And, oh dear, Iowa’s governor, Democrat Chet Culver, was simply aghast, too:

Gov. Chet Culver said today that he was disturbed by reports that unruly audience members threw objects from the House gallery during Tuesday night’s public hearing.

“I was very disturbed to hear that some things were thrown from the gallery. That’s completely unacceptable, completely out of bounds. I hope the next time we have a public hearing that people will be respectful and civil. That has to be a part of the process,” Culver said.

Were Murphy and Culver this upset when Obama freaks intimidate voters during the primary caucuses?  When they abused caucus rules?

I don’t condone riots, but if we’re facing chaos according to the Obama plan, it might as well start in Iowa. (And don’t forget, we’ve already seen fisticuffs outside a closing car dealership recently.)

Last night on Lou Dobbs I saw a sign up in Hoboken, New Jersey by a realtor which suggested people could lower their property taxes by LEAVING! Problem is, there’s no where to go in New Jersey that doesn’t have high property taxes.  We left New Jersey ten years ago this coming September to escape what was obvious–in the future, we couldn’t afford to live in Jersey on retirement incomes.  Well, the future is now, and we’re really happy to be out Jersey.

As for New York, Rush Limbaugh, who makes millions, can rant about the taxes in NYC, but what about the “little people” elsewhere in the state?  Apparently, Obama’s “coattails” are beginning to fray there, too.  The election for the seat that Kirsten Gillibrand vacated to replace Hillary Clinton in the Senate is now too close to call. (Gillibrand won this district with 61%  of the vote just 5 months ago…and Obama beat McCain here, too.) Sure, it’s a rural, traditionally Republican district, but Pelosi and the  Obama people put a lot of effort into this race–and Obama endorsed candidate Scott Murphy publicly:

That makes the election an intriguing test of Democrats’ claim to hold the middle ground and also of Republicans’ ability to recover from their electoral drubbing in 2008.

Justin Phillips, a professor of political science at Columbia University, said that victory in New York would be a springboard for next year’s nationwide Congressional polls.

“This becomes a tool for fundraising and candidate recruitment. They say, look: ‘You can run in 2010 as a Republican and you can win.'”

Tedisco hopes that the Obama stimulus package — hamstrung by the storm over executive bonuses at the government-rescued AIG insurance company — will tarnish his opponent.

As of this writing, recounts, lawsuits, etc. are probably coming down the pike; the winner probably may not be known for a couple of weeks.

So, while Obama and his lovely wife Michelle (who got touchy-feeling with the Queen, ignoring simple  manners, let alone formal protocol) zip around London, things may be shifting here at home.

You know what’s sad?  The country has been ready for many Democratic ideas for awhile now, but Obama’s reckless spending plans and the slow revelation of what’s in all those bills being passed are beginning to add up.  His 3-Card Monte game may be getting stale. The Republican Party is offering the same old tax cut mantra but the country just may lurch toward this simplistic message again and sooner than we may think.  And decent Democrats could suffer and where would we wind up?  Perhaps, with the Democratic Party destroyed, as many of us warned last year.  Either way, it seems, it’s the little guy that’s going to get screwed.

Or suffering from a severe case of whiplash…

IL State Treasurer/Obama Ally Giannoulias Planning to Challenge Roland Burris–Report from Our Chicago Correspondent; Medicare Musings

~~By InsightAnalytical–GRL & Chicago Correspondent Leslie

We’ve got a tidbit from Chicago Correspondent Leslie today and a bit of musing about Medicare today.  But since I’ve been swamped by the follow-up since my mother’s fall a few weeks ago, I haven’t been able to finish up the articles I’ve been researching. So, please consider this an OPEN THREAD today and post anything that’s on your mind or any news that has caught your eye!

From Chicago via Leslie:

I am sending you a story about Alexi Giannoulias, the IL State Treasurer, whose family-owned bank played a role in the samming of the woman who owned the Hologram Museum (I sent you the link to the Chicago Reader story a couple of weeks ago.)

When Obama was running for POTUS, he distanced himself from this guy, but now that Giannoulias is thinking about running for the seat now held (by a thread) by Roland Burris, it seems there may be something to the Obama-Giannoulias relationship.

Here is a quote from the article (linked below):

“. . . On Monday, Illinois State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias — who refers to Obama as his political mentor — announced that he will form an exploratory committee to determine whether he’ll be in that race.”

Editor’s note:  Guess what? The link Leslie provided for this story is no longer working.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29466902/

We cannot find the page you requested.

Error 404

The link you followed may be broken or expired. Please try your link again, or take a look at our homepage for today’s top news.  Below you can find today’s most e-mailed and most viewed stories.

I searched the MSNBC site and came up with zip.  That sure “expired” quickly…

Here’s an excerpt from the original information posted here about Giannoulias a couple of weeks ago:

Also from Leslie  and on a more sinister note is this story from the Chicago Reader by Ling Ma about the state treasurer of Illinois, who has ties to Obama.  As Leslie says, it captures the “heart and soul” of Chicago politics, where “They scratch each other’s back. Oh, but they care about the little guy…(snark)!”

Broadway Bank is owned by the family of Alexi Giannoulis, Illinois state treasurer and a political ally of Barack Obama. Giannoulis was the bank officer who approved the loan to Loren Billings.

The full story is fascinating  just on the basis of the story about holography and what is described as the last holography museum in the U.S.  But what really is disturbing is how this elderly woman was cajoled into taking out a loan by “friends” at Giannoulis’  Broadway Bank and how her life may be ruined. Obama’s friends in Chicago really know how to do this sort of thing well…

Leslie adds: Oh, BTW: The Tribune had a headline saying “Race Played a Role in the Senate” selection. All I can say is . . . “No sh*t” .

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Since my mother got home from the hospital we’ve been visited by a nurse who took a blood test, a nurse to assess her case, a physical therapist and, today, an occupational therapist.  She’s going to have bathing assistance and several weeks of instruction by the therapists on what her limits are and some things she can do to keep up her strength.

It took awhile to kick in, as schedules are already in place.  The therapists who have done her initial assessments both have full-time jobs in the hospital, but come after work to do the initial interview.  Then, the full-time people take over.

These services in Medicare are very helpful and you would think that they would automatically be expanded under this “stimulus” package/health care reform spending. But, who knows?  Since we’ve already been warned that “expensive” older people are just going to have take their lumps, I bet these professionals will be hit as hard as the hospitals when it comes to payment.  They may even lose their jobs.  I’m just so cynical at this point about Obama and his arrogant crew that I can’t see them doing anything GOOD for anybody except his favored demographic groups and donors from the financial world…