Greek News
What are they trying to save?

By Alexis PapachelasGreece is sinking because its politicians demolished the state so that they could govern as they willed and with impunity, together with the labor union leaders, party officials and entangled businessmen.

Obama, Boehner tee up golf summit

Bipartisan Congress rebuffs Obama on Libya mission

By Stephen Dinan - The Washington Times Crossing party lines to deliver a stunning rebuke to the commander in chief, the vast majority of the House voted Friday for resolutions telling President Obama he has broken the constitutional chain of authority by committing U.S. troops to the international military mission in Libya.

Banks May Need More Capital

Large U.S. financial institutions might be forced to sharply increase their capital cushions as part of a plan discussed by the Fed to help prevent another financial crisis.

Drone Attacks Split U.S. Officials

Fissures have opened within the Obama administration over the drone program targeting militants in Pakistan, with the U.S. ambassador to Pakistan and some top military leaders pushing to rein in the CIA's aggressive pace of strikes.

The unemployment rate rose to 9.1 percent, raising concerns once again about the underlying strength of the economic recovery.

Death By Pollution: How the Obama Administration Just Put Thousands of Lives at Risk

The Democrats and President Obama have just turned their backs on the most disenfranchised and vulnerable among us.

Limousine Liberals: Why Has the Number of Government-Owned Limos Jumped 73 Percent in 2 Years of Obama?

"One more reason why there is so much cynicism in the public about what goes on in Washington."

Obama's Plan on Taxes

President Obama's budget proposes $989 billion in new taxes over the course of the next 10 years, starting fiscal year 2011.

1. On people with High Incomes
   • $338 billion - Bush tax cuts expire
   • $179 billlion - eliminate itemized deduction
   • $118 billion - capital gains tax hike
   -----------------------------------------------
   Total: $636 billion/10 years

1. Businesses:
   • $17 billion - Reinstate Superfund taxes
   • $24 billion - tax carried-interest as income
   • $5 billion - codify "economic substance doctrine"
   • $61 billion - repeal LIFO
   • $210 billion - international enforcement, reform deferral, other tax reform
   • $4 billion - information reporting for rental payments
   • $5.3 billion - excise tax on Gulf of Mexico oil and gas
   • $3.4 billion - repeal expensing of tangible drilling costs
   $62 million - repeal deduction for tertiary injectants
   • $49 million - repeal passive loss exception for working interests in oil and natural gas properties
   • $13 billion - repeal manufacturing tax deduction for oil and natural gas companies
   • $1 billion - increase to 7 years geological and geophysical amortization period for independent producers
   • $882 million - eliminate advanced earned income tax credit
   ------------------------------------------------------------------------
   Total: $353 billion/10 years

1. Subtotal = $636 billion + $353 billion = $989 billion in 10 years

        Almost $1 Trillion in New Taxes Over Next 10 yrs, Starting 2011.

Rahm to the rescue on Obama, Israel

The president's biggest gun on the Jewish state is coming to his defense, saying he supports Israel.

World Scene

By THE WASHINGTON TIMES

Israel's recently retired spymaster said the country's military does not plan to attack Iran within the next two years, and the Israeli government should accept a Saudi proposal for Mideast peace.

Outbreak in Europe blamed on 'super-toxic' strain of E. coli

By Kirsten Grieshaber and Maria Cheng - Associated Press

Scientists on Thursday blamed Europe's worst recorded food-poisoning outbreak on a "super-toxic" strain of E. coli bacteria that may be brand new

For-profit college regulation softer than anticipated

By Ben Wolfgang - The Washington Times

updated 11 hours, 51 minutes ago

The Obama administration Thursday released its highly anticipated regulation for tougher oversight of private, for-profit colleges, saying the new rules were needed to protect students who were running up big tuition bills but getting few practical job skills.

Dissenters in GOP rethink Electoral College

By Valerie Richardson - The Washington Times

A once-sleepy movement that would upend the Electoral College, reverse two centuries of constitutional practice and elect presidents by direct popular vote has quietly picked up momentum in recent days, with Republican Party leaders scrambling to stanch a steady stream of defections by GOP state lawmakers to the plan.

Taliban, al Qaeda pursue peace deals

By Ashish Kumar Sen - The Washington Times

A large number of Taliban and al Qaeda fighters “have lost all hope” and are seeking peace deals with the Afghan government since U.S. commandos killed Osama bin Laden last month, a senior Afghan official told The Washington Times this week.

Syrian Violence Poses Test for Obama

Forces loyal to Syrian leader Assad pressed a sustained assault against protesters in one of the bloodiest episodes in the so-called Arab Spring, exposing the quandary that Obama faces in dealing with a man he once thought could be an ally.

Gmail Hack Targeted White House

People who work at the White House were among those targeted by the China-based hackers who broke into Google's Gmail accounts.

By CHRISTINE HAUSER (NYT)

Discount stores led the increase as consumers faced an uncertain economy and higher gas prices.

By SALMAN MASOOD (NYT)

At least 27 Pakistani troops have been killed as a battle with militants who crossed the border from Afghanistan into northwestern Pakistan entered its second day on Thursday.

Moody's Warns of Downgrade for U.S. Credit

By JACKIE CALMES and CARL HULSE

The unexpected report from Moody's puts a spur to sputtering talks between party leaders and the White House to reach an agreement on a long-term deficit-reduction plan.

Chaos in Yemen Drives Economy to Edge of Ruin

By ROBERT F. WORTH and LAURA KASINOF

Even if its political situation stabilizes and the fighting ends, Yemen faces an economic collapse with shortages of oil, electricity and water and rising food prices.

The Tevatron accelerator in Fermilab in Illinois will shut down

Reporting by Gabriel Kazakias

Particle accelerators are used by physicists to study the smallest known particles, the fundamental building blocks of all things. Such discoveries have the potential of revolutionizing our understanding from the minuscule world within atoms to the vastness of the Universe. These include the existence of anti-matter and the new “God Particle” as it is called, the Higgs boson, a hypothetical particle that scientists think gives mass to other particles and therefore all objects in the universe.

At the Large Hadron Collider two beams of subatomic particles called 'hadrons' travel in opposite directions inside the circular accelerator. Physicists are recreating the conditions just after the Big Bang, by colliding the two beams head-on at very high energy. Teams of physicists from around the world will then analyze the particles created in the collisions using special detectors.

It was decided that the Tevatron accelerator in Fermilab in Illinois in the U.S. will shut down in September. It was the world's largest particle accelerator until the recent completion of the 17-mile Large Hadron Collider (LHC) on the French-Swiss border.

The Tevatron was once the most powerful machine in the world for atom smashing until 2008 when the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) became operational at the European Organisation for Nuclear Research, known by the acronym CERN.

The structure of the atom was discovered early in the 20th Century. Scientists found that the atom was made of smaller pieces called subatomic particles, most notably the proton, neutron, and electron. However, experiments conducted in the second half of the 20th Century with atom smashers revealed that the subatomic structure of the atom was much more complex.

Particle accelerators can take a particle, such as an electron, speed it up to near the speed of light, collide it with an atom and thereby discover its internal parts.

Pressure Rises on Iran Leader

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad came under new domestic pressure on two fronts with a rare, unified blow against him in parliament and the first significant opposition rally in months, a spontaneous protest in response to the death of an activist in an assault by security forces.

Iraq's Oil Exports Continue to Climb

Iraq's oil exports in May ran at an average of 2.225 million barrels a day, putting them on track for the biggest monthly volume since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein's regime.

Cost of Germany's Nuclear Exit to Be €1 Billion a Year

Germany likely will lose about €1 billion in tax revenues a year due to the phasing out of nuclear power, finance-ministry spokesman Martin Kotthaus said.

Europe Races to Widen Aid for Greece

European finance officials met to prepare a fresh aid package for Greece, but the talks must first bridge a crucial gap between Germany and the ECB on how to prop up the indebted nation.

Auto Bailout Cost $14 Billion

The White House said that taxpayers could lose roughly $14 billion of the money spent on auto industry bailouts, despite the industry's recent recovery.

House Republicans say spending cuts can be combined with an increase in the federal debt limit.

What Medicare Services to Cut, Now

Virulent E. Coli Strain Spreads in Germany and Puzzles Health Officials

The source of an unusually lethal strain of E. coli bacteria that has killed at least 16 people is unknown.

Employment Data May Be the Key to the President's Job

No president since Franklin Roosevelt has won re-election with unemployment above 7.2 percent. To keep his own job, it appears President Obama may have to defy this trend.

America's Most Dangerous Pill?

It's not Adderall or Oxy. It's Klonopin. And doctors are doling it out like candy, causing a surge of hellish withdrawals, overdoses and deaths.

An index of prices in 20 cities is down 33.1 percent from the peak in July 2006 after falling for the eighth straight month in March.

How Dangerous Is Anwar al-Awlaki?

As the presidential election heats up, we will continue to track where the candidates stand on ethanol and energy subsidies. The issue of ethanol subsidies is vital to conservatives for several reasons. First, ethanol epitomizes everything that is wrong with onerous government interventions; corporate cronyism, market distortions, higher prices for vital goods and services, and government dependency. Also, with food and energy prices at an all time high, ethanol subsidies will provide the eventual Republican nominee with a unique opportunity to use bread and butter issues to educate voters about the virtues of the free market.

Which is a surprise, given that I didn’t think that there were 318 Republicans in the House… no, wait, there aren’t. 82 Democrats voted against raising the debt limit without accompanying spending cuts; which is highly entertaining, given that 114 House Democrats signed Rep. Peter Welch’s letter requesting… precisely this vote. Do compare the signatories to said letter with the no votes on HR 1954: you will notice an entertaining amount of overlap, there.

Who Obama really is?

Researched by: Gabriel Kazakias

Consider this article as a feeler to the articles written by Dinesh D'Souza and Mohyeddin Sajedi on Sept 27, 2010 and Feb 22, 2011 respectively.

I started this article with a hope to collect enough data or opinions so that I can understand the personality and character of Barack Obama. Instead, I found conflicting information. One article talks about his disturbing personality and his affinity for conspiracies and another article speaks about his intelligence, patriotism and know-how to bring this country to a new height.

Who is Obama then? What makes the president tick? In his book titled “Dreams from My Father” he is writing about the dreams he received from his father. He writes about the forces that shaped him as the son of a black African father and white American mother, a struggle that takes him from the American heartland to the ancestral home of his great-aunt in a tiny African village. His life is a life of complicated circumstances but a brilliant future.

Barack Obama’s father was a tribesman who grew up in Kenya and studied at Harvard. He was a man who had four wives and eight children. He was also a regular drunk driver who got into numerous accidents, killing a man in one and causing his own legs to be amputated due to injury in another. In 1982 he got drunk at a bar in Nairobi and drove into a tree, killing himself. But to the President his father represented a great and noble cause, the cause of anticolonialism. This is the doctrine that rich countries of the West got rich by invading, occupying and looting poor countries.

His father was an economist, and in 1965 he published an important article in the East Africa Journal called "Problems Facing Our Socialism." In his book he describes the state appropriation of wealth as a necessary means to achieve the anticolonial, anti-imperialism objective of taking resources away from the foreign looters and restoring them to the people of Africa. Obama’s father proposed that the state in order to restore resources could confiscate private land and raise taxes with no upper limit. In fact, he claimed that "theoretically there is nothing that can stop the government from taxing 100% of income as long as the people get benefits from the government proportionate with their income which is taxed." The senior Obama called for Africa to free itself from the influence of Europe, specifically Britain.

Today's neocolonial leader is not Europe but America. For a while, U.S. power was checked by the Soviet Union, but since the end of the Cold War, America has been the sole superpower.

Some claim that president Obama adopted his father's position about capitalism and free markets. If the President indeed adopted his father’s position about capitalism and free markets, then, he would work to squeeze the neocolonialism out of America and the West.

If Obama shares his father's anticolonial crusade, that would explain why he wants people who are already paying close to 50% of their income in overall taxes to pay even more.

In his own writings Obama stresses the centrality of his father not only to his beliefs and values but to his very identity. He calls his memoir "the record of a personal, interior journey, a boy's search for his father and through that search a workable meaning for his life as a black American." "My father's voice had nevertheless remained untainted, inspiring, rebuking, granting or withholding approval. You do not work hard enough, Barry. You must help in your people's struggle. Wake up, black man!"

The one thing that is solid truth is that Obama brought back the era of big government. He has expanded the federal government's control over home mortgages, investment banking, health care, autos and energy and as a result of this the national deficit increased.

We don’t need to figure out how our President thinks. He has told us and he is carrying it out. The President said energy will become more expensive, and it has. He said he would focus on green energy, and he has. He said he would propose increased taxes on conventional energy producers and he has.

I am certain that the President is not managing or leading the country with an evil intent. He is a product of his background and education. As some claim, I too believe, he is an elitist who chooses elitists to advise him.

By NASSER ARRABYEE and J. DAVID GOODMAN (NYT)

News agencies reported on Monday that the Yemeni air force was responding with bombing runs to Islamist militants who were consolidating control over a second city on the southern coast.

Housing Index Is Expected to Show a New Low in Prices

The downward spiral of the housing market, which experts expect will continue, has not only lowered home ownership, but tarnished a piece of the American dream.

Let me put an editorial note here that this is not in any way, shape, or form an endorsement of Chris Christie. It is, rather, my assessment of his chances for the Presidency should he choose to pass on 2012.

The governor of New Jersey, Chris Christie, claims he has no intention of running for president in 2012. I believe that 2012 is the only time Chris Christie will be a highly viable candidate. Should Chris Christie not run in this presidential cycle, I believe this will be the last we will hear of Chris Christie for President.

As you probably have heard by now, the United States has reached its statutory debt limit, and the Treasury Department each day performs “extraordinary measures” to prevent the federal government from having to make any real choices to reduce debt or prioritize spending.

As of right now, only one entity on Capitol Hill has put forward a serious, robust plan to truly reform the way Washington budgets and spends taxpayer dollars, so that we never again hit the debt ceiling. It’s the U.S. House Republican Study Committee (RSC)—and the plan is called “Cut, Cap, and Balance.”

Syria, Iraq, Iran, Lebanon, Jordan – Economic Drivers

Researched by Gabriel Kazakias

Syria, Iran and Iran are oil producers and exporters. Oil represents 80% or more of the exports of Iran and Iraq, and about 40% of Syria’s exports. Syria is diversifying its economy towards a social market economy with the World Bank offering an array of technical assistance programs to support the efforts. Lebanon and Jordan, unlike the other three countries, do not have energy resources. These countries share the characteristics of high unemployment. Declining oil export values are the main drivers behind economic slowdown in Iraq, Iran and to a certain extent Syria.

Iran

The Iranian government has made debt reduction one of its top priorities. As a result, Iranian letters of credit are much better received now than they were two years ago. Iran holds almost 10 per cent of world oil reserves; it is OPEC's second largest producer. It has the second largest oil and gas reserves in the world. The Iranian economy’s most significant challenge is the fall in oil export revenues due to the reduction in global demand and the anticipated fall in global oil prices.

Iraq

According to IMF projections, Iraq’s fiscal position is projected to worsen with oil revenues expected to decrease by 26 percent corresponding to a deficit of about 17 percent of GDP for the year. Iraq’s oil sector contributes around 65% of Iraq’s GDP and over 90% of public revenues, and is therefore central to Iraq’s fiscal position and critical to the health of the Iraqi economy.

Labanon

Lebanon's economy and markets are best portrayed by a private economic activity and openness to abroad with capital and labor mobility. The country that has reconstructed its infrastructure using the best technologies, has revised basically most of its business laws and regulations and has a reputable banking sector with high financial standing, strictly regulated by the Central Bank. Lebanon today has the unique opportunity to move forward with one of the most important social reforms in decades.

Syria

The Syrian government, stuck in a stalemate with protesters, also is facing the longer-term challenge of keeping the country's already creaky economy from collapsing. Years of mismanagement, corruption and a recent drought have brought hardship to its growing population. Reforms aimed at opening the state-controlled economy have opened opportunities more for the well-connected than for average Syrians.

Jordan

The Kingdom of Jordan provides all people with learning experiences relevant to stimulating and sustaining economic development through an educated population and a skilled workforce.  King Abdullah’s commitment to economic reforms, the country’s geo-strategic location and positive relationships make Jordan a logical hub for regional and global trade that businesses can look to with confidence.

Islamists Seize a Yemeni City, Stoking Fears

By NASSER ARRABYEE and LAURA KASINOF

The fall of Zinjibar fed into Western fears that militants sympathetic to Al Qaeda could exploit the breakdown of authority to take control of territory.

Meet the Oil-Rich Mid-East Monarchies Hell-Bent on Pushing Back the Democratic Revolutions of the Mideast

A new regional political-military alliance emerges out of the 'Arab Spring,' laden with corporate contracts, missile deals, anti-Iran propaganda and oodles of oil money.

There's a Right Way and a Wrong Way to Deal With a Jobs Crisis -- Why Is Germany Doing It So Well?

Germany's success indicates that one way to fight unemployment would be some modest efforts to give U.S. employers incentives to cut hours, not workers.

My thoughts about Ryan's Medicare Plan

Researched by Gabriel Kazakias

Last Friday when I was asked about Paul Ryan's plan to reform Medicare I stated my fears that the plan might add additional burdens to seniors such as the decision and purchasing of health insurance coverage as well as put them at risk of not being able to afford it.

I believe any reform to the existing Medicare system should include in its core the protection of those who are counting on the current system through their entire adult life.

Medicare, as we know it, has already taken significant abuses such as Medicare frauds and half trillion dollars cuts from the private side of Medicare (Medicare Advantage) to help pay for the president’s Health Care Plan.
We all agree that we need to work on the system to make it leaner and more efficient and there are plenty of ways to reform the system from within, including eliminating Medicare fraud.

It has estimated that nearly $60 billion of annual Medicare spending is nothing but waste, fraud or abuse. So, we should start making improvements to the traditional Medicare system by increasing congressional oversight as well as improving the quality of medical care to seniors.

I am sure Ryan’s plan has caused fears in the Republicans, a handful of who are keeping quite due to fear of alienating Republican voters.

Oil Wars

Researched by Gabriel Kazakias

Oil War #1
Let us not forget that Iran used to be Persia. Persia was the biggest and most powerful empire in history. The Persians controlled Iraq, Syria, Turkey, Egypt even Israel, along with Afghanistan and Pakistan and most of the oil-rich coast of the Caspian. No Empire forgets its past glory and the Iranians see a chance to get it back.
 

Iran has almost total control over the Strait of Hormuz. Strait of Hormuz is a narrow, strategically important waterway between the Gulf of Oman in the southeast and the Persian Gulf. Over 40% of all the oil shipped in the world have to pass through Hormuz every day. Iran with total control of the Strait of Hormuz and the liberated Iraq, has a foothold for kicking off the long-awaited Shia Revolution. Today, Iran backs Shia militants in Iraq. They give them money and guns.

Oil War #2
For the last six years Iran was supporting the Yemen’s revolution. Yemen could now give Iran the control of another key oil point called Bab-el-Mandeb, meaning the "Gate of Tears". Bab-el-Mandeb is a strait located between Yemen and the horn of Africa, north of Somalia and connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden. Over 3.3 million barrels go through every day and that could slap a $30 "political premium" on the price of every barrel of oil.

I addition Iran now "donates" $1 billion every year to Hezbollah terrorists in Lebanon to run militant Shia training camps in Iraq and more billions to Syria's president to distribute Iran's money and weapons to others in the Shia network.

Many are concerned about the development and use of Iran’s Nuclear Power. I believe the most danger is a Shia-Sunni unrest spreading across the rest of the oil states, suddenly, Iran has Saudi Arabia, surrounded.

You could see this revolution spreading to the nearly two million Shia that live and work on Saudi Arabia's oil fields. Leaders in all three of America's biggest Middle East allied countries — Egypt, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia — claim the epic Sunni-Shia showdown is in the cards.

The police official’s death raises concerns about stability in the region as NATO begins turning over security to Afghan forces in July.

The authors of a new study say the United States could eventually face a debt burden equal to 302 percent of its gross domestic product.

Republican Legislators Push to Tighten Voting Rules

Republicans say the new rules, which have recently advanced in 13 states, weed out fraudulent votes. Democrats say they impede the young and minorities.