Don't Be So Sensitive, Mr. President

photo of Roxana Saberi who continues to be held captive in Iran

Truth comes before reconciliation.

By Christopher Hitchens
Monday, April 13, 2009
from Slate.com

President Barack Obama's visit to Europe afforded us an opportunity to gauge the strengths and weaknesses of his style in operation. And, even though he has almost attained the Holy Grail of public relations—in other words, he is practically at that ineffable and serene point where he gets good press for getting good press—there may come a time when even his trans-Atlantic admirers will have to take a second look.

His speech in Strasbourg, France, was much too long, given the youth of the audience and the way in which presidential sonorousness ate into the time that was to be allowed for questions, but its aim of changing the American tone was largely successful. I thought that the best moment was when he focused on the German and French citizens who had perished in the World Trade Center. George W. Bush always spoke as if the atrocities of Sept. 11, 2001, were an attack on the United States only and drew the corollary in his rhetoric that you are either "with" the United States or with the "terrists" (as he always seemed to think they were called). By underlining the losses suffered by other countries, not only did Obama redress this imbalance, he also gently but firmly reminded Europeans that this was and is their struggle, too.
Related in Slate

One would have liked a bit more of this combination and perhaps very slightly less willingness to make disclaimers about American power. It's absurd to act as if, at NATO and G20 meetings, the United States is just another modest member. In the case of NATO, it is at least "first among equals," or primus inter pares, in that its military strength is greater than that of all the other members of the alliance combined. In the case of the world's economic powers, a disproportionate share of the blame for the current crisis lies with America and so does a comparably vast element of the chance that the decline can be reversed. It is obviously not a moment to strut around impersonating a hyperpower, but that doesn't mean that Madeleine Albright's injunction about the United States being a "necessary" power can be disowned, either.

The limitations of the Obama manner were exposed in his address to the Turkish parliament and his press conference with the Turkish leadership. The president did not take the opportunity to reiterate his principled stand on the Armenian genocide that we are commemorating this month and took refuge in platitudes about healing and negotiation. It's not as if the Turks don't know what he thinks, so it's difficult to see the value of undue reticence. And it's hardly an accident that, in all successful attempts at settling accounts with the past in other nations, the word reconciliation has invariably been preceded by the word truth. The first duty is to stop lying. Only then can any genuine attempt at settlement get under way.

It was also somewhat naive of Obama to deny that the United States is "or ever will be" at war with Islam. Of course, one cannot exactly make war on a faith, most especially a faith that is currently undergoing a civil war within itself, in which Turkey has several times been attacked by Bin Ladenist forces. But twice in the past, jihad has been officially proclaimed from Turkey's capital. It was in the name of the Quran that the piratical Ottoman provinces known as the Barbary States took hundreds of thousands of American and European voyagers into slavery in the 18th century, until Thomas Jefferson dispatched the fleet and the Marines to put down the trade, and it was from Constantinople that the Ottoman military alliance with German imperialism in 1914 was proclaimed as a holy war binding on all good Muslims. In other words, what one really wants is an assurance that Islam is not, nor ever will be, at war (again) with the United States.

That Obama is confused about this, and also slightly weak, is demonstrated by his earlier attempt at quiet diplomacy, or constructive engagement, or whatever we agree to call it, with Iran. He sent a message to "the people and leaders of Iran" on the occasion of Nowruz, or New Year—a day that he may or may not have known is slightly frowned upon by the Islamic authorities, because it involves fire ceremonies and other celebrations that predate the Muslim conquest of Persia. Any offense they might have taken on that score must have been mollified when the president twice referred to the country as "the Islamic Republic of Iran," as in, "The United States wants the Islamic Republic of Iran to take its rightful place in the community of nations."

Does this boilerplate goodwill represent anything true? In order for the great and civilized nation of Persia to take its rightful place in the community of nations, it would have to be able to demonstrate that its leadership was freely chosen by its own people and that it was willing to abide by agreements and undertakings (on nontrifling matters such as nuclear proliferation) that it had solemnly signed. The mullahs rule Iran on the basis of a Khomeini-ite dogma known as the veliyate faqui, which makes them the owners and "guardians" of all the country's citizens. And they have been covertly seeking enriched uranium of the sort not required for a civilian nuclear program, while never ceasing to proclaim the imminent and apocalyptic return of the 12th or "hidden" imam. In other words, in order to claim its "rightful place" in any recognizable community of nations, Iran would in effect have to cease to be an Islamic republic.

Meanwhile, the theocratic regime has several times exerted its power to arrest and imprison Iranian-Americans for "offenses" that would not be crimes in any civilized country. The most recent such outrage is the imprisonment of journalist Roxana Saberi, framed for allegedly buying a bottle of wine. We should hear more from the White House about her case and less about the sensitivities of her jailers. Some differences cannot be split. Many conflicts are real and do not arise from mere cultural misunderstandings. Obama must learn this or be taught it, whichever comes sooner.
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Why Are You Bowing To Me???

Aide Denies Obama Bowed to Saudi King - That is an outright lie!

from Politico.com
by Ben Smith
April 8, 2009

The White House is denying that the president bowed to King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia at a G-20 meeting in London, a scene that drew criticism on the right and praise from some Arab outlets.

"It wasn't a bow. He grasped his hand with two hands, and he's taller than King Abdullah," said an Obama aide, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

BS - start watching at about 50 seconds - this comment explains exactly what happened:

That was a bow...and an outright lie from the White House if they are denying it was... They say he was shaking hands with 2 hands...but he didn't extend his second hand until he was fully upright again, you can see his second hand at his waist level. A total lie from the White House!!!

Posted By: Sean April 08, 2009 at 04:16 PM

The Washington Times called the alleged bow a "shocking display of fealty to a foreign potentate" and said it violated centuries of American tradition of not deferring to royalty. The Weekly Standard, meanwhile, noted that American protocol apparently rules out bowing, or at least it reportedly did on the occasion of a Clinton "near-bow" to the emperor of Japan.

Interestingly, a columnist in the Saudi-backed Arabic paper Asharq Alawsat also took the gesture as a bow and appreciated the move.

"Obama wished to demonstrate his respect and appreciation of the personality of King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz, who has made one of the most important calls in the modern era, namely the call for inter-faith and inter-cultural dialogue to defuse the hatred, conflict and wars," wrote the columnist, Muhammah Diyab.

Click to read the article and comments

A crisis Obama won't waste

April 8, 2009
By Dick Morris & Eileen Mc Gann
from The Jewish World Review.com

This economic crisis is too useful for Obama to want it to end. When Rahm Emanuel — and later Hillary Clinton — spoke of never letting a good crisis "go to waste," many people were shocked. But now Obama seems to embody the corollary: that the crisis should continue until he has thoroughly milked it to reshape American politics, society and the economy. Like Faust, he seems to wish that this "given moment" will "endure forever." Unlike Faust, however, he will not lose his "life and soul" to such a wish. He'll sacrifice ours instead.

First came the "stimulus package." With only about $185 billion of its $800 billion in spending to be spent in 2009, Obama clearly never intended the spending to be about stimulus but wanted the need for a stimulus to trigger the spending he wanted anyway.

Then came the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) funding, often forced down banks' throats. Now comes word that even as banks want to return the money, the Treasury is making them keep it. One source at a TARP bank reports that Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner is insisting that banks go through their "stress test" before refunding the TARP money. As Stuart Varney speculates, in The Wall Street Journal, Obama wants the banks to keep the money so he can enforce his regulations on them.

Now comes Geithner's plea for extra regulatory powers and Obama's concession to global economic regulation at the G-20 summit. Both moves are game-changers for any major American business. Geithner wants the power to take over any business — presumably in any field — whose failure would imperil the national economy. Today it's banks, brokerage houses, car companies and insurance firms. Tomorrow? Who knows?

And Obama agreed to agree on international "high standards" for the regulation of all "systemically important" companies to be promulgated by the new global Financial Stability Board (FSB). The United States, occupying one of 20 chairs on the FSB board (21 if we count the EU), will come to a consensus with other central bankers from the G-20 nations on what these regulations should say. Then the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Federal Reserve and the other regulatory arms of the U.S. government will impose them on our economy.

(Some have objected that Congress needs to be consulted, but as long as the agreements are "voluntary" and the U.S. agencies are merely "asked" to impose the regulations, no further grant of congressional authority is needed. But, of course, there will be nothing voluntary about the administration's demand that the agencies implement the coming FSB directives, no matter how intrusive they may be.)

And, finally, there is Obama's delegation of a total overhaul of the tax code to a commission headed by Paul Volcker with a mandate to report back in December of this year.

So with the tax code totally changing, Europe about to formulate regulations for our economy, the U.S. government empowered to take over any large company, the deficit and spending reaching unbelievable levels and the feds insisting on continued control of banks, what businessman in his right mind is going to invest in anything? How could even the most foolish optimist pull the trigger on a business investment without knowing the tax consequences, the regulatory framework and the policy of the banks on lending?

But Obama knows all this. He knows that his steps will delay economic recovery. But he wants these changes, not as means to an end, but as the end itself. And he is determined to get them passed and set in stone while the rubric of "crisis" justifies his doing so.

He is not unlike a leader who takes his country into war, knowing that by "wagging the dog" he can reinforce his power.

But ultimately, does Obama care if he is reelected? Doesn't he know that he needs a good economy to extend his mandate to eight years? Yes, of course he does. But he probably figures that he can turn the economy around as Election Day 2012 draws nearer and reap all the credit then. In the meantime, no good crisis should ever go to waste.

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Obama Endorses Saudi Peace Ultimatum

from Joshua Pundit

April 04, 2009

Well, you knew it was coming:

US President Barack Obama reiterated his support for the Saudi Mideast peace initiative in a meeting with King Abdullah on Thursday night, the White House said in a statement.

The February 2002 initiative calls for a full Israeli withdrawal from all territories taken in the Six Day War, including east Jerusalem, and a "just settlement" to the Palestinian refugee crisis in exchange for normalizing ties
with the Arab world.

The leaders "reaffirmed the long-standing, strong relationship between the two countries," continued the statement after the two met on the sidelines of the G20 summit in London.

Yes, that must have happened during Obama's grotesque bowing and scraping act yesterday.

For those of you who are unaware, this 'peace ultimatum' is essentially an Arab plan for Israel's national suicide.

The Israelis give up the strategic Golan Heights to the Syrians and Hezbollah and all of Judea and Samaria (AKA the West Bank), including land legally purchased from the Arabs via the Jewish National Fund to the Palestinians. The Israelis also give up half of Jerusalem, which means that Jews will be denied access to their holiest sites and will have to watch their religious shrines desecrated by the triumphant Arabs, just as they were prior to 1967. Needless to say, the Arabs are unwilling to tolerate a single Jew living in their countries, so the Jews will have to be removed..at Israel's expense, of course.

Then, having made thousands of their own citizens homeless, unemployed refugees and having retreated to indefensible borders, Israel allows itself to be flooded by thousands of genocidal Arab `refugees' and their descendants.

There's absolutely no mention of a `just settlement' for the almost one million Jewish refugees ethnically cleansed from the Arab world after 1948.

In exchange for committing what amounts to national suicide, the Jews of Israel get a guarantee of ill-defined `normalized ties' and peace from the Arabs.

Those `normalized ties' would last for as long as a dismembered vulnerable Israel manages to survive, and the `peace' would be the peace of the cemetery.

And keep in mind, none of this is subject to negotiation. It's an ultimatum for acceptance or rejection, just as it is. Even the Lefty and dovish Shimon Peres tried to regard it as a starting point for further discussions and was told in no uncertain terms that nothing in this proposal is subject to change.

President Barack Hussein Obama just endorsed it and as much has pledged to pressure the Israelis to accept it, knowing full well the Israelis have already said no.

This is of a piece with the news that the United States is definitely going to join the UN's 'Human Rights Council', where America will no doubt take part in the systematic demonization of Israel and the Jews while endorsing proposals to make criticism of Islam and sharia law a thought crime.

I think all but the most clueless can see which way the wind is blowing. And as for those genuinely deluded Jews who actually voted for this man, they may rest assured that the fallout will not be limited to Israel, and that the chickens coming home to roost will affect them as well, in a very painful and personal way. Accompanied by the usual shock and surprise, of course.

Click to read the article and comments

Brown and Obama deny G20 splits as protesters scuffle with police

Anti-capitalist protesters scuffled with police outside the Bank of England today as Gordon Brown received a series of world leaders in Downing Street to prepare for tomorrow's G20 summit.

First up was Barack Obama, making his first trip outside North America since his inauguration, The US President and his wife, Michelle, received a rare round of applause from staff at No 10 as they arrived for a breakfast meeting this morning.

Mr Obama's outsized motorcade was just the first in a series of armoured convoys due to pass through the Downing Street gates. The Prime Minister was also holding talks with President Medvedev of Russia, President Hu of China, the Indian Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh and Taro Aso, Prime Minister of Japan.

But the two leaders who most threaten to upset Mr Brown's plans for the G20 are not due at No 10 until this evening when all the G20 heads of state and government meet for a pre-summit dinner.

Mr Sarkozy and Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor, have already scuppered UK attempts to have the meeting endorse a massive and coordinated fiscal stimulus. They are now pushing for the summit to make clear progress on tighter regulation of financial markets to replace the "light-touch" Anglo-Saxon model blamed for the current crisis.

Asked on Europe 1 this morning about a Times report that he would be prepared to walk out of the summit if he does not agree with its conclusions, Mr Sarkozy replied: "I will not associate myself with a summit that would end with a communiqué made of false compromises that would not tackle the issues that concern us."

He went on: "As of today, there is no firm agreement in place. The conversation is going forward, there are projects on the table. As things stand at the moment, these projects do not suit France or Germany."

At a joint press conference with Mr Brown, Mr Obama denied that there was any real disagreement on the need for governments to boost their economies, just normal discussions as to how best to do it.

"The truth is that that's just arguing at the margins," he said. "The core notion that government has to take some steps to deal with a contracting market place and to restore growth is not in dispute."

Mr Brown also did his best to laugh off Mr Sarkozy's walk-out threat. "I'm confident that President Sarkozy will be here not just for the first course of our dinner but will still be here when we complete our dinner this evening," he said.

The Metropolitan Police said that around 4,000 protesters had gathered in the City for a protest outside the Bank of England and a "Meltdown Carnival" headlined by the left-wing rock singer Billy Bragg.

Mixing in with them were City workers who had deliberately "dressed down" – on police advice – to avoid being the targets of protesters.

In clear spring sunshine, the protests were initially good-natured, but isolated scuffles soon saw police retreat behind their barriers. By 1pm, the violence was worsening, with police using their batons to push back the crowds.

Even before the protest began, 11 people were arrested as they drove an armoured personnel carrier - painted blue with the words "riot police" in capital letters – towards Bishopsgate. All 11 were arrested for being in possession of police uniforms.

More than 30 forces have provided specialist officers for the days around the summit when there will be unprecedented levels of protests and 40 diplomatic delegations requiring security.

While hopes of a new co-ordinated international stimulus of the world economy have faded, negotiations are proceeding on rules to curb excessive bonuses, control tax havens, extend regulation to hedge funds, introduce greater co-operation between national regulators and draw up fresh mechanisms to stop protectionism.

The summit at the ExCeL centre in Docklands comes as the World Bank said that the global economy would shrink by 1.7 per cent this year and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development predicted a 2.7 per cent contraction, the worst since the Second World War.

But while Mr Brown pointed out that G20 governments had already agreed fiscal stimulus packages totalling more than $2 trillion, Mr Obama warned that the rest of the world could not simply rely on "voracious" American consumers to drive the global recovery.

"If there is to be new growth, it cannot just be the United States as the engine," he said. "Everyone is going to have to pick up the pace."

Click to go to the article

G20 Protests turn violent

Protesters break into RBS building

from the Times Online

April 1, 2009

Anti-capitalist protesters are believed to have broken into a branch of the Royal Bank of Scotland in the centre of London today after smashing windows with a volley of missiles.

With police on horseback unable to maintain control and being forced back, a series of windows at the building were broken, graffiti was daubed on the walls and there were reports that some protesters had broken into the branch.

Hundreds of protesters were seen to converge on the bank, on the corner of Threadneedle Street and Bartholomew Lane, as a total of 4,000 demonstrated outside the Bank of England nearby.

As police on horseback and in riot gear proved unable to protect the building, which was thought to be empty, officers with dogs charged at the crowd in an attempt to force them back. The crowd were heard to chant: "Shame on you" as officers drove them away from the door.

With the demonstrations - carried out by a combination of anarchists, anti-war protesters, environmentalists and others - rapidly heating up, Scotland Yard said cordons had been put up all around the surrounding area in response to "increasing levels of violence". The marchers had made their way to the bank using four different routes - from Moorgate, Cannon Street, Liverpool Street and London Bridge.

A Met Police spokesman said: "There have been a number of missiles thrown at officers and a number of surges at the police cordons, and increasing levels of violence towards police. Cordons have been put in place to maintain safety and control the crowd."

Police confirmed earlier that 11 people had been arrested for impersonating police officers as they travelled towards Bishopsgate in uniform in a fake armoured personnel carrier.

Their vehicle was escorted to Wapping, in east London, where it was taken off the road and later driven away by a police officer.

Speaking to The Times as the van was being driven away, a protester calling himself Greenman said he organised the stunt along with other members of a group calling itself Spacehijackers.

He said it was designed to highlight how Britain was increasingly becoming a police state.

"Terrorism laws are always encroaching on our freedoms and discouraging dissent," he said.

At the Bank of England, marchers confronted police standing on the building's steps. Several police helmets were grabbed and thrown in the air as dozens of protesters surged forward and forced officers to retreat on to higher plinths at the base of the building.

A red smoke canister was set off, leaving at least one officer covered in bright red powder.

One senior officer was overheard telling colleagues to watch out for people with paint spray cans attempting to write on their backs. Many protesters were dressed colourfully, and claimed that they represented a host of causes.

Among them were campaigners from War on Want, who carried a giant toy canary on a stretcher after setting off from Moorgate station for the Bank of England. Attached to the makeshift stretcher was a placard which read "RIP Canary Wharf 1990-2009". It also listed banks including RBS, HSBC, NatWest, Abbey and LloydsTSB.

Many of the protesters chanted as they walked towards the Bank of England. Chants included "Revolution" and "Palestine will be free".

Other demonstrators, carrying placards such as "Bring on decent decision making" and "0% interest in others", then began to make their way to the Bank of England.

Several individuals, some wearing masks and hoods to cover their faces, were involved in minor scuffles with officers as they were shepherded onwards.

Among those spotted among the crowd was the comedian Russell Brand, who said he was accompanying the marchers because he was interested to see why the protest was taking place.

As the demonstrations kicked into gear, many City workers reported for duty dressed down or in jeans, attempting to avoid any trouble

Jeremy Batstone-Carr, head of research at stockbrokers Charles Stanley, based in the heart of the City, said they were "preparing for the worst, but hoping for the best".

His firm has extra security on the door, while workers were "aggressively" dressed down.

"It’s a strange atmosphere around the City and everyone seems somewhat apprehensive - everyone that should be in the office is in, but we’re not taking any chances," he said.

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G20 - A Group too diverse to succeed?

Group of 20 too diverse to succeed

Wednesday, April 1, 2009
By KEVIN RAFFERTY
Special to The Japan Times

HONG KONG — Amid great fanfare, pestered by a rainbow alliance of protesters, and protected by almost blanket security costing $30 million for a mere seven hours of meetings and making London a virtual no-go area, the leaders of the Group of 20 (G20) countries meet this week, promising to restore hope and prosperity to a world battered and bruised by financial and economic crises.

Unfortunately, there are too many doctors already squabbling over the diagnosis and which medicines to take, vitamins or antibiotics, starvation or a rich diet, energy boosters or that new but expensive wonder drug that might have damaging side effects; moreover, the doctors are going to have to take some of their own medicine, and they don't like that at all.

There are many good reasons for the world's top economic powers to come together, not least because the global economy has fallen off the proverbial cliff edge. In October, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), was more pessimistic than his own economists, but all scorned the idea that the world as a whole would fall into recession. Indeed, the economists expected positive growth of 3 percent, thanks to rapidly growing developing countries like China and India.

There has been a rude awakening. Robert Zoellick, president of the World Bank predicted, that global growth this year will be minus 2 percent, the first time since the end of World War II that there has been negative global growth.

The IMF is slightly less pessimistic, expecting only minus 0.5 percent. But there are plenty of ominously gloomy signs. World trade, the main engine of growth, has spluttered and fallen by 9 percent. Protectionism is growing from the United States and Russia, to China and India. The U.S., France, Germany and Japan are looking for ways to protect their carmakers.

Jobs are being lost in the thousands, adding up globally to tens of millions. The U.S. and China are being noticed most because of the large numbers involved, but every country is suffering except perhaps North Korea (the harder-hit victim of its own isolation). The idea that rapidly growing developing countries had their own momentum and would be immune to global trends has been found wanting: The poorest countries are faring relatively worst, with children being taken out of school to try to earn pennies for their families.

One problem for the summit is where to start. The extensive agenda includes too many key issues, including: How much extra stimulus governments should pump to revive their own and the global economy and get sustainable growth going again; what new rules and regulations should be put in place to stop future financial excesses and restore confidence; how to stimulate trade and prevent the resurgence of protectionism; what special measure should be taken to help the poorest countries; what new powers and funds should be given to the IMF and World Bank; what part the two should play in a reformed international financial system.

On its Web site, the G20 boasts that its members account for 85 percent of global output. In striving for inclusiveness it has become unwieldy. Ideas of giving emerging economic mega-powers China and India a greater voice have been lost in the profusion of voices at the top table, though critically Bangladesh, Pakistan and the oil-rich Gulf, apart from Saudi Arabia, are missing.

The G20 has become the G-22 with the unaccountable admission of the Netherlands and Spain. Places also have been found for the Czech Republic, as chair of the EU, plus the president of the EU commission — how the Europeans love double and triple dipping — the heads of the IMF and World Bank, the U.N. secretary general and chairs of the African Union, ASEAN and other regional bodies, making it a "G30something" circus of more than 1,000 summiteers.

Mutual bitching has already started. A small taste greeted British Prime Minister Gordon Brown last week in Brazil where he went trying to find common cause to set the world to rights. On the same platform as the British leader, President Luiz Ignacio Lula da Silva launched a stinging attack on the "white and blue-eyed" people "who appeared to be gods of wisdom" who started the crisis that has engulfed the world.

President Barack Obama is not blue-eyed, but there are plenty of leaders who are gunning for the U.S. and American-style capitalism. There is a great gulf between the U.S. and Europe, and the leaking in Der Spiegel of a draft final communique containing plans for a $2 trillion global spending boost has been seen as a German ploy to defeat such spending.

There is a real danger that infighting among the old G7 members preoccupied by domestic politics may prevent China, India or the emerging countries being heard. Canada has already said specifically that helping the world's poorest countries is "secondary" to the need to restore global growth.
Kevin Rafferty, editor in chief of PlainWords Media, was managing editor at the World Bank.
Click to read the rest of the article

Tax Problems for HHS nominee Kathleen Sebelius

from Michelle Malkin.com
by Michelle Malkin
March 31, 2009

Knock me over with a feather. Another Obama nominee made “unintentional” errors, meaningless goofs, nothingburger mistakes on her tax returns.

It’s HHS nominee Kathleen Sebelius. Via Brian Montopoli of CBSNews:

Kathleen Sebelius, President Obama’s nominee to become Health and Human Services secretary, said in a letter obtained by the Associated Press that she made "unintentional errors” on her taxes and has corrected her returns from three different years.

In the letter, which was sent to senators and dated today, Sebelius wrote that she had made changes related to charitable contributions, business expenses and the sale of a home, according to the AP.

The wire service reports that she and her husband paid just over $7,000 in back taxes, along with $878 in interest, for the years 2005-2007.

Hey, where’s that stamp? Oh, yeah. There it is.

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G20 Protesters - David vs Goliath - Capitalism vs Socialism

Brave dissenters at the G20 anti-capitalist orgy
By Michelle Malkin
March 31, 2009

This is heartening: A small band of rational students is standing up to the G20 anarchist mob in defense of free markets.
Godspeed!


Capitalist-David rally versus Goliath-protests for Socialism
by Michelle Minton
March 31, 2009

During the G20 summit something like 40,000 plus protesters slated to descend upon London. Of that number, there is a small but growing and prodigiously brave group of idealists planning to throw their message and bodies into the breach. They are not there to demand government action against climate change, stricter business regulations, nor are they requesting money for the poor, hungry, or infirm. Their message is simple, but profound: Get out of our way.

This small band, comprised mostly of university students and recent graduates wants only to communicate the message to the world that capitalism is not to blame for the current economic crisis. In fact, they want people to know that interventionist policies are what got us into the mess in the first place and increased state intervention is unacceptable.

“The point must be made, essentially, that we do not live in a Capitalist system and certainly not a Laissez-Faire Capitalist system. The sectors of the economy that failed were the most regulated sectors of a ‘mixed-economy’,” said Rory Hodgson, University of York student and protest organizer.

Perhaps because those still in university and recent graduates have the most to lose that they are willing to risk physical harm in order to oppose the ever-tightening choke-hold the government has on the economy. But we should all be as worried about the future and willing to fight the increasing anti-capitalist sentiment and the vulnerability of individual liberty.
Click to go to the article and read comments

5 arrested in G20 'bomb plot'

Well, it appears the G20 rioters are well organized. They've got fancy posters and even a web site. Do these professional rioters have their own union to protect them from unsafe rioting conditions? Just curious.

I'll bet our rioters from back in the 60's are sitting in their rocking chairs right now, and shaking their heads about how things could have been, if only...

Rees

Five activists arrested in G20 'bomb plot' as London goes into lockdown for world leaders

By Stephen Wright and Luke Salkeld

from the MailOnline.com

31st March 2009

Five people were arrested under anti-terror laws yesterday after an imitation Kalashnikov rifle and other weapons were seized by police investigating a possible plot to cause havoc at the G20 summit.

Three men aged 25, 19 and 16 and two women of 20, were held after the eldest man was seen allegedly spraying graffiti in Plymouth. [maybe he ran out of printer paper for his riot posters]

In searches of several homes, officers found a range of imitation and deactivated firearms from handguns to hunting rifles and a Kalashnikov-style assault rifle.

They also found 'improvised explosives made of fireworks'.

Detectives are investigating the possibility that the group were planning to mount protests in London against the G20 summit.

Assistant Chief Constable Paul Netherton said 'politically sensitive material' had been found.

Sources said the suspects were not linked to any religious group. All five were being held under the Terrorism Act.

The arrests were made after the 25-year-old man was held in Plymouth on Friday evening, for allegedly spraying graffiti on a wall, and his home was searched.

Mr Netherton said the operation had no connection to Nicky Reilly, 22, the Muslim convert from Plymouth who was jailed for 18 years earlier this year for an attempted nail bomb attack on an Exeter restaurant.

In London, Scotland Yard said the Metropolitan Police was liaising with the Devon and Cornwall force but the investigation was at a very early stage.

The spokesman added that police were seeing 'an unprecedented level of activity amongst protest groups not seen since the late 1990s, involving some individuals we have not seen on the protest circuit for some time'.

Organisers of a planned protest in the City of London tomorrow are to meet Scotland Yard officers today to discuss their concerns over how it will be policed.

Activists from the Climate Camp said they had been trying to open communication following 'increasingly sensational police predictions' of violence. The group said it was concerned it was the victim of a 'smear campaign' ahead of the demonstration.

More than 3,000 police officers will be on duty during the summit period, with up to 100,000 protesters expected to stage rallies and marches. Police estimate the cost of the security operation at £8 million - the largest in UK history. A huge cordon will be thrown around the Excel centre in London's Docklands, the headquarters of the summit. A ring of steel will also be constructed to keep protesters away from the U.S. embassy in central London.

Senior officers fear a repeat of the violent anti-capitalist and MayDay protests of 1999 and 2000. Shops and other businesses were damaged and dozens of arrests made.

Click to read the article and comments

G 20 Riots - You Must See This Info!

You Must Go To Michelle Malkin.com to look at all the posters and then read the rest of the article. It's really eye opening material.
Rees

The coming G20 riots & the spread of mob rule
By Michelle Malkin

March 27, 2009

My syndicated column today continues the theme I blogged about two days ago in the “Rule of the Mob” post. Keep an eye on next week’s G20 summit in London. Thousands of anti-capitalism zealots will be amassing there to intimidate and harass bankers. The vandalizing of the Scottish ex-banking executive’s home in Edinburgh is just a prelude. The protests are slated to start tomorrow and last all week; President Obama leaves for the summit on Tuesday. The images above are graphics and posters being disseminated online by protest organizers.

The anarchists are reportedly using Google Streetview and Twitter to organize riots, hang businessmen in effigy at the behest of a university professor known as “Mr. Mayhem,” call for guillotining bank execs, and — get this — target London firms that fail to turn off their lights to commemorate that moronic “Earth Hour” event I wrote about earlier this week. If shops don’t worship at the altar of environmentalism, they will be broken into:

Sir Paul Stephenson said ‘old faces’ from British protest groups - thought to be behind earlier anti-globalisation riots - were also expected in London. Activists have dubbed April 1 Financial Fools Day and are planning to march on the Bank of England, the European Climate Exchange in Bishopsgate and the U.S. embassy. At least 2,000 demonstrators are expected. The first demonstration in London will come tomorrow with ‘Earth Hour’ - targeting City firms that fail to turn off their lights by 8.30pm. Organisers say every office block in London with lights on will be fair game and have warned that they are prepared to break in and put the lights out themselves. The protest group Climate Camp has already released a map of potential targets in the City for its demonstration on April 1, including the Royal Bank of Scotland, carbon offset and trading companies and ‘green-washing’ PR firms.

Think this madness couldn’t happen here? Think again.

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EU presidency: US economic plans 'a road to hell'

Dear Obama,

They really don't like your bogus plan to rescue the American Economy and the impact it will have on the Global Economy. I hope you have an wonderful time at the G-20 Summit.
Rees

By RAF CASERT
Associated Press Writer
March 25, 2009

STRASBOURG, France – The president of the European Union slammed President Barack Obama's plans to have the U.S. spend its way out of recession as "a road to hell," underscoring European differences with Washington ahead of a crucial summit next week on fixing the world economy.

Other European politicians kept their distance from the blunt remarks by Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek, with some reproaching the Czech leader for his strong language and others reaffirming their good diplomatic ties with the U.S.

Topolanek, whose country currently holds the rotating EU presidency, told the European Parliament on Wednesday that Obama's massive stimulus package and banking bailout "will undermine the liquidity of the global financial market."

European governments, led by France and Germany, say the focus should be on tighter financial regulation, while the U.S. is pushing for larger economic stimulus plans — but nobody has so far escalated the rhetoric to such strident levels.

Topolanek's remarks are the strongest criticism so far from a European leader as the 27-nation bloc sticks to its position that its member countries are already spending enough to stimulate demand.

The remark highlights the difficulties leaders may face coming up with a common approach at the April 2 summit in London among leaders of the Group of 20 industrialized and leading developing countries.
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Mervyn King warns Gordon Brown to stop spending - Can someone please communicate this same message to Obama?

from the Timesonline.com
March 25, 2009

The Governor of the Bank of England laid bare tensions between Gordon Brown and the Treasury yesterday by warning that Britain could not afford a second economic stimulus in the Budget.

Mervyn King threw caution to the wind as he sided with Alistair Darling and the CBI against Downing Street in raising strong doubts over any prospect of another round of “significant fiscal expansion” next month.

Mr King spoke as the Prime Minister, beginning an international tour to co-ordinate measures for next week’s G20 gathering in London, called on leaders to do “whatever it takes to create growth and the jobs we need”.

President Obama, Mr Brown’s main stimulus ally, writes in the same vein in The Times today, saying that America is ready to lead the world out of recession, while calling for swift and robust action to stimulate growth “until growth is restored”.
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Financial Policy Despair - Cash for Trash

from The New York Times
March 23, 2009
by Paul Krugman

Over the weekend The Times and other newspapers reported leaked details about the Obama administration’s bank rescue plan, which is to be officially released this week. If the reports are correct, Tim Geithner, the Treasury secretary, has persuaded President Obama to recycle Bush administration policy — specifically, the “cash for trash” plan proposed, then abandoned, six months ago by then-Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson.

This is more than disappointing. In fact, it fills me with a sense of despair.

After all, we’ve just been through the firestorm over the A.I.G. bonuses, during which administration officials claimed that they knew nothing, couldn’t do anything, and anyway it was someone else’s fault. Meanwhile, the administration has failed to quell the public’s doubts about what banks are doing with taxpayer money.

And now Mr. Obama has apparently settled on a financial plan that, in essence, assumes that banks are fundamentally sound and that bankers know what they’re doing.

It’s as if the president were determined to confirm the growing perception that he and his economic team are out of touch, that their economic vision is clouded by excessively close ties to Wall Street. And by the time Mr. Obama realizes that he needs to change course, his political capital may be gone.
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Intelligence services have embarked on a crash program to secure the G-20 summit

photo of Mumbai Taj Hotel

World agencies gearing up to thwart upgraded Islamist terror

DEBKAfile Special Analysis
March 21, 2009

Using novel, upgraded tactics, Al Qaeda and fellow Islamist terror groups are outperforming anti-terror agencies in their attacks on targeted countries. International counter-terror agencies are worried enough to start retooling their counter-measures after viewing terrorist performances in Mumbai on Nov. 2008, killing 172 people, Lahore on March 3, causing 8 fatalities, and the Jordan Valley, shooting dead 2 Israeli policemen.
India, for instance, is overhauling its special forces from top to bottom and preparing to launch the world's first anti-terror satellite RISAT 2 on short-order delivery from Israel.

British intelligence and anti-terror services have embarked on a crash program to secure the G-20 summit opening in London on April 2,fearing the posh hotels hosting the leaders and their retinues are designated for a Mumbai-style massacre.

Western terror experts have detected common traits in the recent spate of attacks:

1. Preparation and execution straddle several countries as attested to by the highly-polished, coordinated attacks in separate places – India, Pakistan, Jordan and Israel.

2. Select jihadis are extensively trained to operate in large teams, using elite tactics and skills superior to existing combat techniques practiced by the special operations units of regular armies and security service SWAT teams in the targeted countries.

3. They may undergo training for as long as six months, a testament to the kind of long-term operational planning which is beyond the capabilities of most local law and order services – even in high-profile centers like Mumbai, London, Tel Aviv or Paris.

4. Al Qaeda and its ilk are now going in for large-scale attacks carried out by small armies of terrorists trained to operate in fully compartmentalized conditions.

The ten gunmen who carried out the Mumbai atrocity had support teams of hundreds deployed in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Kashmir and other parts of India.

The Lahore attack was perpetrated by 14 men.
Both teams operated like well-oiled machines on terrain which they had studied thoroughly.

5. The new terrorists are trained to carry large quantities of ammo, transportable missiles, grenades, rockets and explosives.

This enables them
- to maximize the lethality of their mission;
- to commandeer targeted sites at top speed. In Mumbai, they swiftly seized three large hotels, a main train terminus and the Habad Center;
- to outgun the local security forces in the first moments of the attack. In Mumbai, the local forces took two days to rally and muster enough firepower to suppress the attack. In Lahore, the terrorists effectively silenced Pakistani security personnel for long enough for them all to escape without a scratch.

6. Islamist terrorists have learned to operate long distance, preparing assault teams in one country to hit another and moving them in fast, even taking over ships, planes, vehicles or trains.

As much effort and resources are invested in transport as in other facets of an operation. The Mumbai assailants were smuggled in from Pakistan; for Lahore, they came from the Pakistan-Afghan border region; for the Jordan Valley, they stole in from the Hashemite Kingdom.

In that last attack, it is now estimated that 5 or 6 gunmen, members of al Qaeda, took part.

The highly-enhanced tactics now employed by Islamist terrorist organizations are being met with improved counter-measures by potentially vulnerable countries.

The Israeli spy satellite acquired by India in an extra-fast transaction is capable of day-and-night viewing and all-weather imaging, which enables Indian forces to keep track of terrorist movements through the low-cloud cover prevailing in the monsoon season. India is the first country in the world to acquire a surveillance satellite tailored specifically to counter terror.

The British authorities are in high gear for securing the G-20 summit to be kicked off on April 1 by the first face-to-face encounter between US president Barack Obama and Russian president Dmitry Medvedev.

They are also preparing for the 2012 London Olympics.

The London Daily Telegraph reports that British security services officials are judging the threat against the UK to be at the "severe end of severe." Previously focused on preventing bombings, they are most concerned since the Mumbai massacre about attacks using automatic weapons on major hotels and public buildings.

They are considering issuing guidance to the managements of places where people gather in large numbers and are watching for small arms being smuggled in to the UK through ports or remote airfields.

Cagey about their preventive tactics, British officials are working to the slogan of the four "Ps – Prevent, Pursue, Protect and Prepare."
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