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Even Bartiromo Agrees Obama’s Iran Deal Better Than Trump’s
48 minutes ago
Friday, March 18, 2011
March 18 2011 Travus T. Hipp Morning News & Commentary: Crazy Like A Desert Fox - Gadaffi Caves Or What Good Is A No-Fly Zone If There Are No Flights
"All The News You Never Knew You Needed To Know ...Until Now." March 18 2011 Travus T. Hipp Morning News & Commentary: Crazy Like A (Desert) Fox - al-Gadaffi 'Caves'(Or What Good Is A No-Fly Zone If There Are No Flights?)[Pop Out Player? Click Here] Prefer An MP3 Playlist? It's Here: [128kbps MP3 9:47 Minutes] Other Audio Formats Available [ Here ] Razer Raygun Says: ♥ Sharing IS Caring! ♥  |
In The News:
Thanks this morning to ChrisM, my MP3Angel, for supplying the news and commentary audio files.
» The United Nations, sans China and Russia which abstained, has approved a No-Fly Zone over Libya... I guess they decided to drop all pretenses since there is no such thing as JUST an "No Fly Zone" as the resolution also allows for ground troops. HOWEVER Muammar al-Gadaffi is smart, and immediately called a ceasefire, leaving the assembled invasion forces and air patrols with no rationale for involvement... unless they create a reason of course. More.
A Public Service Message From U.S. Labor Against War:
Democracy Won’t be Delivered by a No-fly Zone» In Japan the situation is NOT getting better as their emergency services struggle with the combined results of an immense earthquake, tsunami, and a terminally damaged nuclear power plant leaking radiation into the atmosphere. US assistance is on-scene but has been restricted by the US government from getting any closer than 50 miles from the damaged reactor.
"Within the social justice movements, it is natural for people to want to come to the aid of a beleaguered people seeking to overthrow an oppressive dictatorship. But good impulses alone are not a basis for making sound policy.
The greatest help we can provide to democratic forces around the world is to end the U.S. role as global cop, global bully and arms merchant to every autocrat, despot, tyrant and authoritarian regime that is willing to do our government’s bidding.
The resources our government now squanders playing super-power to the world should be invested in creating jobs, restoring the social safety net, and meeting the myriad needs of people here and around the world." (There's More)
Electricity has been restored to one of the reactors and there has been an attempt to get cooling water pumped in to cool the now-burning nuclear fuel rods. There have been explosions at two of the sites. There is Plutonium present as well due to one of the facility's dual-use as a reprocessing plant.
There is talk of burying the EX-nuclear power plant under a huge mound of dirt... Effectiveness in the long run absolutely unknown.
» » The Russians have just opened Chernobyl power plant to tourists 25 years after it's meltdown. You are not allowed to stay for long and there are still areas of the facility too hot to visit.
» The Senate passed the continuing resolution to keep the US government running for three more weeks. It is the sixth such resolution... as the Afghanistan war, which also costs about the same as the cuts that were made to pass the bill... $6 billion dollars a week, drags on.
» Meanwhile, the House voted to eliminate funding for National Public Radio yesterday... Whether it will actually happen remains to be seen. Whether it matters is another thing as "Only about 2 percent of NPR's budget comes from the federal government".
In OTHER current and upcoming news:
» Cruel and unusual treatment of WikiLeaks suspect
By Terry A. Kupers, Special to CNN
March 16, 2011 8:53 a.m. EDT
Editor's note: Terry A. Kupers is institute professor at The Wright Institute and author of "Prison Madness: The Mental Health Crisis Behind Bars and What We Must Do About It." He testifies as a psychiatric expert in court about prison conditions and the quality of correctional mental health care. He received the exemplary psychiatrist award from the National Alliance on Mental Illness in 2005, and the William Rossiter Award from the Forensic Mental Health Association of California in 2009.
(CNN) -- Army Pfc. Bradley Manning has been imprisoned in the Quantico Marine Corps Brig for nine months, suspected of giving highly classified State Department cables to the website WikiLeaks. He has not been tried, yet is kept in solitary confinement in a windowless room 23 hours a day and forced to sleep naked without pillows or blankets.
Human rights groups have condemned his treatment, and even State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley spoke out against it. Crowley has resigned, allegedly under pressure from the Obama administration. Defense officials say Manning is stripped of his clothes nightly to prevent him from committing suicide, yet his civilian lawyer says his client is at no risk.
The problem with the argument that Manning is being kept in long-term solitary confinement to prevent his suicide is that long-term solitary confinement causes suicide... [More @ CNN]
This Sunday, March 20, 2011... For one day... No matter where you are... You are in a position to make it clear to to Quantico MCB and the Pentagon that you do NOT support the detention of US citizens in this manner, by showing your support for prisoner-of-conscience Bradley Manning, and rage at the treatment of an as-yet untried victim of the US military Just-Us system.We are ALL Bradley Manning!
» ...as remote-controlled drones bomb civilians in rural Pakistan … as whole villages are obliterated by 25 tons of bombs dropped in Afghanistan … as permanent bases are established in Iraq, already ravaged and torn apart by years of war and a corrupt and brutal regime set up by the U.S. … as torture at Guantanamo and Bagram prisons continue in our name...
WE CANNOT BE SILENTResist the War Machine!
TO ALL OF HUMANITY, WE SAY: U.S. wars & occupations are not in our name!
Stop These Wars Now!
Saturday March 19th: 12 noon at the White House.
Contact dcevents@worldcantwait.net or call 866-973-4463 for more information.
The next day, this coming Sunday, we move on Quantico Military Brig for our visit with Bradley Manning... ...and we EXPECT him to be available... So 'Expect Us' Quantico.
» Quantico, VA - Support Accused Whistleblower Bradley Manning
Sunday March 20: Rally at 2pm (in Triangle, VA at intersection of Main Street and Route 1), then march to the gates of Quantico Marine Base, where Bradley is imprisoned.
Buy a bus ticket from DC to Quantico for the day online. Invite your friends via Facebook. More info.
More protests for Bradley Manning are happening around the country and around the world on March 20th.
Scroll down At DemocracyInAction to find a protest near you.
Global Bradley Manning Action Days in Support of Accused WikiLeaks Whistleblower
A short message from "We Are Not Your Soldiers""The U.S. government is clearly signaling that murdering, raping, mutilating and assaulting are not nearly as serious as allegedly making available to the public documents that reveal embarrassing and/or criminal actions of senior government officials."
This coming Sunday, the day after mass protests and demonstrations around the United States marking still another anniversary of the yet unfinished war on Iraq and it's people, there will be a 'gathering' at Quantico Marine Brig in Virginia in support of Bradley Manning, who stands accused of leaking NON-CLASSIFIED military documents available to all intel analysts and officers in the Iraq theatre of operations. He has been imprisoned at Quantico brig under media reported inhumane conditions.
Senator Kerry has voiced concern and Congressman Dennis Kucinich, who has been stonewalled in his request for a meeting with Mr. Manning, has compared the incarceration conditions of the prisoner as equivalent to Abu Ghraib.
PJ Crowley, long time US government spokesman resigned by his own words when he referred in public comment to Manning's incarceration as “ridiculous and counterproductive and stupid.” just days ago.
"My recent comments … were intended to highlight the broader, even strategic impact of discreet actions undertaken by national security agencies every day and their impact on our global standing and leadership," he wrote. (src)
More at the Bradley Manning Support Network
On March 19-20, 2011, activist organizations and individuals will take to the streets to protest the U.S. government’s treatment of accused WikiLeaks whistleblower Army Private First Class Bradley Manning. Manning, 23, has been held in isolation for nearly 300 days, charged with releasing classified documents, including a video that shows American troops shooting and killing 11 people, including two Reuters employees, in 2007.For the more technically savvy, or those who despise "Stupid" and the people who would be so ... Visit Us: irc://irc.anonops.in/opmanning, or fire up your IRC client and /join #opmanning at the above named server (alt server .ru)
Organizers are calling on supporters around the world to take public action to protest Manning’s inhumane treatment at the Quantico brig...
(...and try not to let your government kill too many 'dusky natives' in the process OK?)
Audio hosting courtesy of: [www.archive.org]
Travus T. Hipp's Commentary Archive Is [ Here]
Search the archive by topic [Here]
Cabale News RSS Feed Via Internet Archive
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Cabale New Service, KPIG Radio, and KVMR radio.
Listen to KVMR
Recorded & transcribed by Razer Raygun @ Razed By Wolves
Postings Auntie Imperial, Razer Raygun, and Da' Buffalo Have Done Lately Are [Here]
The Consolidated Items Listing in RSS format [Here]
Travus T. Hipp Fan Page @ Facebook (unaffiliated)
In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107 and The Berne Convention on Literary and Artistic Works, Article 10, the news clippings, audio, and images used in this posting are made available without profit for research and educational purposes.
Visitors To Cabale News & Razed By Wolves
Thanks For Stopping By
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Thursday, March 17, 2011
March 17 2011 Travus T. Hipp Morning News & Commentary: Electricity - It's Use Isn't Necessarily The Problem... But Generating It Certainly Is
| "All The News You Never Knew You Needed To Know ...Until Now."March 17 2011 Travus T. Hipp Morning News & Commentary: Electricity - It's Use Isn't Necessarily The Problem... But Generating It Certainly Is [Pop Out Player? Click Here] Prefer An MP3 Playlist? It's Here: [128kbps MP3 16:28 Minutes] Other Audio Formats Available [ Here ] Razer Raygun Says: ♥ Sharing IS Caring! ♥ |
In The News:
Thanks this morning to ChrisM, my MP3Angel, for supplying the news and commentary audio files.
[After the commentary, The Kinks suggest a better way... No electricity required. Courtesy of the respective artists.]
» What would have happened if a Pakistani national had done this in the U.S.? Raymond Davis, the CIA/Xe operative apparently responsible for drone strike targeting in Pakistan, captured with a cell phone full of al Qaeda related phone numbers after shooting two 'muggers' (at least one of them FIVE TIMES in the back...) has been released after a deal was made with the victim's families for 3/4 million dollar compensation per victim, avoiding a rather nasty public trial in which he could have easily been sentenced to death. His arrest caused a major diplomatic row between the US and Pakistan.
» Japan is still battling four, or perhaps five runaway nuclear reactors and the 30,000 person minimum death toll caused by an earthquake and tsunami last week. One of the reactor's storage pools has drained dry and is definitely burning and releasing large amounts of radiation.
The US has sent planes to evacuate US citizens if they desire, and have told them to maintain a 50 mile distance from the reactor site. Other damage caused by the tsunami generated by the earthquake... The tsunami swept over Midway Island killing this year's hatch of Petrels and Albatross.
Meanwhile, Japanese military helicopters and fire trucks are dumping water on the burning reactor even as the US says it "stands behind its nuclear program" (waay behind... out of radiation range... See this article by Dimitry Orlov insinuating that people who promote nuclear power are sociopaths...)
It's nice to see they're so confident, considering the US regulatory agencies ignored the atomic science community decades ago (1977) in regard to flaws in this type of reactor's design, and possible fixes, because of construction/maintenance economics and the hesitance to go 'over the head of the heads' of the nuclear power generating industry.
The unspoken argument against requiring that US nuclear power plants be retrofitted with filtered vents was that the industry thought that they were already safe enough and that the expense would be wasteful. And, as today, the commission did not want to force the industry to do more than it was willing to do. [Source: Bulletin of the Atomic ScientistsThis is the same reason our coal fired power plants have gagged us with pollution and despoiled the environment in their own inimitable way for years.
In the meantime... SOMEONE has to ask the 'hard question' "Could the same thing happen here?"
At California Nuclear Plant, Emergency Response Plans Don't Include Earthquakes» Muammar Al Gadaffi's forces have taken the city of al Bayda' near Benghazi, the rebels headquarters. The rebel confiscated weapons and ammno from regional military bases but the ammunition is beginning to run out. The UN and NATO have stood back from involvement in the apparent civil war, but the US IS considering going it alone. See: "U.S. mulls air strikes as battle for Benghazi looms", Reuters.
By Chris Kirkham
03/16/11
As the world's attention remains focused on the nuclear calamity unfolding in Japan, American nuclear regulators and industry lobbyists have been offering assurances that plants in the United States are designed to withstand major earthquakes.
But the Diablo Canyon nuclear plant, which sits less than a mile from an offshore fault line, was not required to include earthquakes in its emergency response plan as a condition of being granted its license more than a quarter of a century ago. Though experts warned from the beginning that the plant would be vulnerable to an earthquake, asserting 25 years ago that it required an emergency plan as a condition of its license, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission fought against making such a provision mandatory as it allowed the facility to be built.
Officials at Pacific Gas and Electric Company, the utility that operates Diablo Canyon, did not respond to calls seeking comment before the story was published. After publication, a spokesman for the company said the plant does have an earthquake procedure that had been implemented during a 2003 earthquake near the facility, and that staff are trained to respond. The company did not provide further details upon request.
As Americans absorb the spectacle of a potential nuclear meltdown in Japan -- one of the world's most proficient engineering powers -- the regulatory review that ultimately enabled Diablo Canyon to be built without an earthquake response plan amplifies a gnawing question: Could the tragedy in Japan happen at home?
Experts who recall how the California plant came to be erected offer a disconcerting answer: Yes [In Full @ The Huffington Post]
Hint... If you want to make absolutely sure al-Gadaffi regains complete control of Libya, just put U.S. boots on the ground there. As Joseph Goebbels infamously said years ago: "Just tell the people they're under attack from an external enemy and they'll just follow along... It works the same in every country."
» There will be a showdown in Sacramento California today as the legislature meets to continue hashing out a budget extension, already cut to the bone, including the dis-assembly of the state's redevelopment agency (ie. the end of gentrification in California if it happens, to the benefit of everyone who lives there except the land owners and developers) and cuts in programs for the developmentally disabled. The budget may go to to a special election this spring.
In OTHER current and upcoming news:
» The copy at al Jazeera read "Saudi-led military forces have arrived in Bahrain to support the beleaguered government"
Legitimate journalists and diplomats must take exception to the semantic of that headline... A "Beleaguered government" by a country's own people is an impossibility. Unless it's a non-democratic forced or imposed government.
More myth-busting at Foreign Policy magazine where Abu Muquama AKA Marc Lynch conceptually destroys the myth of a Sunni-Shia divide in Bahrain.
The MSM is playing the situation as an ethnic dispute, but there ARE vested interests with their 'fingers dug deep and hard into the media's shoulder' insisting on a self-serving interpretation from the 'talking heads':
Bahrain Brings Back the SectarianismThe MSM's attempts to portray the trouble in Bahrain as a "proxy fight" between Saudi Arabia and Iran is particularly disturbing given the nature of US-Iranian relations right now, and again, an incorrect assumption.
Posted By Marc Lynch
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
While the American and international debate over Libya continues, the situation in Bahrain has just taken a sharp turn for the worse. A brutal crackdown on the protestors followed the controversial entry of security forces from Saudi Arabia and three other GCC states. Media access has been curtailed, with journalists finding it difficult to gain entry to the Kingdom (I was supposed to be in Bahrain right now myself, but elected not to try after several journalists let me know that they were being denied entry and several Embassies in Doha warned me off). The road to political compromise and meaningful reform -- which appeared to have been within reach only a few days ago -- now appears to be blocked, which places the long-term viability of the Bahraini regime in serious question.
The response of the Bahraini regime has implications far beyond the borders of the tiny island Kingdom -- not only because along with Libya it has turned the hopeful Arab uprisings into something uglier, but because it is unleashing a regionwide resurgence of sectarian Sunni-Shi'a animosity.
Regional actors have enthusiastically bought in to the sectarian framing, with Saudi Arabia fanning the flames of sectarian hostility in defense of the Bahraini regime and leading Shia figures rising to the defense of the protestors. The tenor of Sunni-Shi'a relations across the region is suddenly worse than at any time since the frightening days following the spread of the viral video of Sadrists celebrating the execution of Saddam Hussein.
The sectarian framing in Bahrain is a deliberate regime strategy, "not an obvious reality." The Bahraini protest movement, which emerged out of years of online and offline activism and campaigns, explicitly rejected sectarianism and sought to emphasize instead calls for democratic reform and national unity.
While a majority of the protestors were Shi'a, like the population of the Kingdom itself, they insisted firmly that they represented the discontent of both Sunnis and Shi'ites, and framed the events as part of the Arab uprisings seen from Tunisia to Libya. Their slogans were about democracy and human rights, not Shi'a particularism, and there is virtually no evidence to support the oft-repeated claim that their efforts were inspired or led by Iran.
The Bahraini regime responded not only with violent force, but also by encouraging a nasty sectarianism in order to divide the popular movement and to build domestic and regional support for a crackdown... [More @ Foreign Policy]
» As remote-controlled drones bomb civilians in rural Pakistan … as whole villages are obliterated by 25 tons of bombs dropped in Afghanistan … as permanent bases are established in Iraq, already ravaged and torn apart by years of war and a corrupt and brutal regime set up by the U.S. … as torture at Guantanamo and Bagram prisons continue in our name...
WE CANNOT BE SILENTResist the War Machine!
What is life like in Iraq after eight years of U.S. occupation?
Iraqi and Johns Hopkins’ physicians count more than one million Iraqis killed. According to the Veterans Administration, more than 50,000 veterans have killed themselves since these wars began. 4.5 million Iraqis were displaced. 50,000 U.S. troops remain, re-named “advise and assist troops.” But they are still killing and dying in Iraq, and the American media has left.
The Iraqi government routinely tortures prisoners with the full complicity of U.S. forces. Journalists are detained and beaten, and women now have fewer rights than under Saddam Hussein, as Human Rights Watch detailed in a report just released...
Send a message to the people of the world on March 19, the anniversary of “shock and awe” on Iraq
TO ALL OF HUMANITY, WE SAY: U.S. wars & occupations are not in our name!
Stop These Wars Now!
Saturday March 19th: 12 noon at the White House.
Contact dcevents@worldcantwait.net or call 866-973-4463 for more information.
» Quantico, VA - Support Accused Whistleblower Bradley Manning
Sunday March 20: Rally at 2pm (in Triangle, VA at intersection of Main Street and Route 1), then march to the gates of Quantico Marine Base, where Bradley is imprisoned.
Buy a bus ticket from DC to Quantico for the day online. Invite your friends via Facebook. More info.
More protests for Bradley Manning are happening around the country and around the world on March 20th.
Scroll down HERE to find a protest near you.
Global Bradley Manning Action Days in Support of Accused WikiLeaks Whistleblower
A short message from "We Are Not Your Soldiers""The U.S. government is clearly signaling that murdering, raping, mutilating and assaulting are not nearly as serious as allegedly making available to the public documents that reveal embarrassing and/or criminal actions of senior government officials."
This coming Sunday, the day after mass protests and demonstrations around the United States marking still another anniversary of the yet unfinished war on Iraq and it's people, there will be a 'gathering' at Quantico Marine Brig in Virginia in support of Bradley Manning, who stands accused of leaking NON-CLASSIFIED military documents available to all intel analysts and officers in the Iraq theatre of operations. He has been imprisoned at Quantico brig under media reported inhumane conditions.
Senator Kerry has voiced concern and Congressman Dennis Kucinich, who has been stonewalled in his request for a meeting with Mr. Manning, has compared the incarceration conditions of the prisoner as equivalent to Abu Ghraib.
PJ Crowley, long time US government spokesman resigned by his own words when he referred in public comment to Manning's incarceration as “ridiculous and counterproductive and stupid.” just days ago.
"My recent comments … were intended to highlight the broader, even strategic impact of discreet actions undertaken by national security agencies every day and their impact on our global standing and leadership," he wrote. (src)
More at the Bradley Manning Support Network
On March 19-20, 2011, activist organizations and individuals will take to the streets to protest the U.S. government’s treatment of accused WikiLeaks whistleblower Army Private First Class Bradley Manning. Manning, 23, has been held in isolation for nearly 300 days, charged with releasing classified documents, including a video that shows American troops shooting and killing 11 people, including two Reuters employees, in 2007.For the more technically savvy, or those who despise "Stupid" and the people who would be so ... Visit Us: irc://irc.anonops.in/opmanning, or fire up your IRC client and /join #opmanning at the above named server (alt server .ru)
Organizers are calling on supporters around the world to take public action to protest Manning’s inhumane treatment at the Quantico brig...
(...and try not to let your government kill too many 'dusky natives' in the process OK?)
Audio hosting courtesy of: [www.archive.org]
Travus T. Hipp's Commentary Archive Is [ Here]
Search the archive by topic [Here]
Cabale News RSS Feed Via Internet Archive
Creative Commons Copyright
Cabale New Service, KPIG Radio, and KVMR radio.
Listen to KVMR
Recorded & transcribed by Razer Raygun @ Razed By Wolves
Postings Auntie Imperial, Razer Raygun, and Da' Buffalo Have Done Lately Are [Here]
The Consolidated Items Listing in RSS format [Here]
Travus T. Hipp Fan Page @ Facebook (unaffiliated)
In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107 and The Berne Convention on Literary and Artistic Works, Article 10, the news clippings, audio, and images used in this posting are made available without profit for research and educational purposes.
Visitors To Cabale News & Razed By Wolves
Thanks For Stopping By
.
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
March 16 2011 Travus T. Hipp Morning News & Commentary: Meltdowns, Mindless Optimism, American Exceptionalism - Sometimes Things Just Don't End Right
| "All The News You Never Knew You Needed To Know ...Until Now."March 16 2011 Travus T. Hipp Morning News & Commentary: Meltdowns, Mindless Optimism And American Exceptionalism - Sometimes Things Just Don't 'End Right' [Pop Out Player? Click Here] Prefer An MP3 Playlist? It's Here: [128kbps MP3 13:36 Minutes] Other Audio Formats Available [ Here ] Razer Raygun Says: ♥ Sharing IS Caring! ♥ |
In The News:
Thanks this morning to ChrisM, my MP3Angel, for supplying the news and commentary audio files.
[After the commentary, from Razer's personal collection... Mindless Optimists And American Exceptionalists "People You Can't Trust"... Atomic Rooster, 1972. Courtesy of the respective artists.]
» The situation in Japan can only be described in one word "Worse", and "Getting Worse". Four reactors are now on fire at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. At least one has broken through it's containment vessel, and a pool storing the spent fuel rods has drained (or steamed off) leaving radioactivity to be found in the groundwater nearby the plant. There are varying degrees of elevated radiation shown in various prefectures in the region of the facility. Most media is reporting the situation as recounted by people who sound like they work for the Nuclear industry, because most of them do...
Dimitry Orlov, my favorite Russian curmudgeon speaks for the rest of us about those people:
Ultimately, the problem is with the people who designed and built these things, not with the people who have to suffer horribly and die when they explode.There are about 50 workers (who had nothing to do with the plant's design or potential for failure) at the Japanese power plant still working to contain the disaster. They are voluntary human sacrifices because they will most likely die of radiation poisoning. None of them ever had a say in the construction and design of the failed facility that will be the cause of their deaths.
You see, you have to be a certain sort of person to say“Sure, using a precariously controlled subcritical nuclear pile to boil water to run steam turbines to generate electricity is a great idea!”That sort of person is called a sociopath.
Having worked with quite a few of them, I know a thing or two about sociopaths. They are always around to make ridiculous things happen and take credit for them while they can, but when these ridiculous things go horribly wrong, as they inevitably do, they are nowhere to be found. They have this knack for promoting the knuckle-draggers just in time for them to take the fall for what appears to be their own mistakes... [In Full @ Club Orlov]
» Meanwhile in Iraq there is fighting around Kirkuk as the Kurds attempt to get the city back under their control.
» Can it REALLY be a 'nation' if they call foreign troops in to quell domestic disturbances? The Saudi troops in Bahrain by request of the country's king have killed five protesters, which is bound to make thing worse, much worse and the U.S. 5th Fleet is evacuating all non-essential personnel. Syria is also experiencing small protests in Damascus demanding the release of political prisoners.
» In Libya the rebels are being forced East by al-Gadaffi's forces as the West waits to see who they deal with for the oil... The only reason the West is interested in Libya at all. The US congress is skeptical about US troop involvement and is demanding a "Declaration of War"... Something unknown in America's wars on the planet since 1941.
From the Middle East Research and Information Project, an early post-mortem on a failed revolution:
Qaddafi had distinct advantages over both Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and Husni Mubarak: In contrast to the compacted population masses of Tunisia and Egypt, which enabled close coordination among the demonstrators, the Libyan population is dispersed over a vast area, dependent on access via air -- of which the colonel held a monopoly -- to hold it together. And in preceding decades Qaddafi had eliminated not only all opposition, but also the state institutions that held the potential to overpower him. Without such props, the National Council struggled to assert its authority, withholding the names of two thirds of its 30 members, either because they feared to declare themselves or because they had yet to be appointed. The body’s third declaration admitted as much: “The Council is waiting for delegations from Tripoli, central and southern areas to join it,” it read.
Armed with air power, Qaddafi alone could straddle the 620 miles of desert separating the eastern population centers from the western. Having wrestled back control of the west, he has pushed east, retaking three oil terminals, thereby securing his own petroleum supplies and reducing rebel leverage. At press time, his forces are bombing Ajdabiya, a hub of arterial roads leading to the rebels’ primary assets: south to the largest oil fields, east to Tobruk and the Egyptian border, and north to Benghazi. Increasingly, the rebels’ fledgling institutions look no stronger than the Paris Commune in the face of Prussia’s advance.
The rebels did little to help matters. Drunk on euphoria, they fatally abandoned their peaceful protests and resorted instead to arms, naïvely believing they could outsmart Qaddafi at his own game. Protesters dumped the placards declaring “No Blood” and took up cries vowing to “avenge the martyrs’ blood,” as well as weapons they pillaged from the colonel’s abandoned armories. Unarmed schoolchildren who had braved sniper fire and students who had chased Qaddafi’s brigades out of their barracks with bulldozers during the fevered days after February 17 now volunteered for the front, fed on tales of the heroics of a 15-year old who downed a helicopter the first time he fired a gun.
It was a lost cause from the start. Worse equipped and trained than their opposition, the rebel volunteers were simply outmatched. Qaddafi commanded a 50,000-man corps plus irregulars drawn from powerful and loyal tribes from central Libya, foremost his own, the Qaddafa. In addition to air power, the colonel had hundreds of tanks, radar whose range reached the thirty-second parallel and speedboats provided by Italy in years past to catch African trans-migrants, but which could equally serve to deter an amphibious landing. The professional forces that had defected were at best one tenth the size of the loyalist units, and reluctant to intervene, on the grounds that such action might trigger a civil war. [Libya in the Balance, at MERIP]
The California legislature has failed to reach a compromise with governor Jerry Brown over the state budget. The pink slips will be handed out to thousands of California teachers today (But NOT the state's prison guards or incredibly bloated law enforcement agencies...)
In OTHER current and upcoming news:
Global Bradley Manning Action Days in Support of Accused WikiLeaks Whistleblower
This Sunday, March 20, 2011... For one day, whether you are in a position to make it to Quantico MCB or not to show your support for prisoner-of-conscience Bradley Manning, and rage at the treatment of an as-yet untried victim of the US military Just-Us system.We are ALL Bradley Manning!
This coming Sunday, the day after mass protests and demonstrations around the US marking still another anniversary of the yet unfinished war on Iraq and it's people, there will be a 'gathering' at Quantico Marine Brig in Virginia in support of Bradley Manning, who stands accused of leaking NON-CLASSIFIED military documents available to all intel analysts and officers in the Iraq theatre of operations. He has been imprisoned at Quantico brig under media reported inhumane conditions.
Senator Kerry has shown concern and Congressman Dennis Kucinich, who has been stonewalled in his request for a meeting with Mr. Manning, has compared the incarceration conditions of the prisoner as equivalent to Abu Ghraib.
Let's start today with Amnesty International's stance on Bradley... Bradley Manning should be considered a prisoner of conscience.
More at the Bradley Manning Support Network
On March 19-20, 2011, activist organizations and individuals will take to the streets to protest the U.S. government’s treatment of accused WikiLeaks whistleblower Army Private First Class Bradley Manning. Manning, 23, has been held in isolation for nearly 300 days, charged with releasing classified documents, including a video that shows American troops shooting and killing 11 people, including two Reuters employees, in 2007.For the more technically savvy, or those who despise "Stupid" and the people who would be so ... Visit Us: irc://irc.anonops.in/opmanning, or fire up your IRC client and /join #opmanning at the above named server (alt server .ru)
Organizers are calling on supporters around the world to take public action to protest Manning’s inhumane treatment at the Quantico brig, which P.J. Crowley, Secretary of State Hilary Clinton’s former assistant for public affairs, declaimed last week as “ridiculous and counterproductive and stupid.”
Also, see David Swanson's extensive critique of President Barack Obama, who has said that Mr. Manning's treatment was "Acceptable":
Three rough ways of looking at a president might be as follows.
First, in the unimaginable circumstance in which a president encountered a homeless person on the street, would he invite him to live in the White House, or help him find a home, be nice and give him $1, ignore him, shout at him to get a job, kick him in the guts, or help him into a van and take him off to be tortured?
I don't care about that way of looking at presidents.
Second, do the policies the president pursues lead to massive numbers of people becoming homeless or worse?
Third, do the policies the president pursues empower all future presidents to make unfathomable numbers of people suffer horribly?
My contention is that Obama has not yet done as much damage as Bush in the second view but has, in a certain sense, done worse in the third view... [Is Obama Even Worse Than Bush?]
This is Razer Raygun saying 'Happy Motoring America...' Enjoy it while you can.
(...and try not to let your government kill too many 'dusky natives' in the process OK?)
Audio hosting courtesy of: [www.archive.org]
Travus T. Hipp's Commentary Archive Is [ Here]
Search the archive by topic [Here]
Cabale News RSS Feed Via Internet Archive
Creative Commons Copyright
Cabale New Service, KPIG Radio, and KVMR radio.
Listen to KVMR
Recorded & transcribed by Razer Raygun @ Razed By Wolves
Postings Auntie Imperial, Razer Raygun, and Da' Buffalo Have Done Lately Are [Here]
The Consolidated Items Listing in RSS format [Here]
Travus T. Hipp Fan Page @ Facebook (unaffiliated)
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Tuesday, March 15, 2011
March 15 2011 Travus T. Hipp Morning News & Commentary: Owsley, The Man Who 'Changed The Minds' Of An Entire Generation... Literally... Passes
| "All The News You Never Knew You Needed To Know ...Until Now."March 15 2011 Travus T. Hipp Morning News & Commentary: Owsley, The Man Who 'Changed The Minds' Of An Entire Generation... Literally... Passes [Pop Out Player? Click Here] Prefer An MP3 Playlist? It's Here: [128kbps MP3 17:45 Minutes] Other Audio Formats Available [ Here ] Razer Raygun Says: ♥ Sharing IS Caring! ♥ |
In The News:
Thanks this morning to ChrisM, my MP3Angel, for supplying the news and commentary audio files.
[After the commentary, an 'Easy Wind' blows 'cross the Bayou today... as Owsley smiles down on us all. The Grateful Dead Live at the Family Dog (At the Avalon Ballroom, a psychedelic music venue Travus was intimately involved with) August 29 1969. Courtesy of the respective artists and the live Grateful Dead collection @ Archive.org]
» In Japan the nuclear nightmare continues to grow. One of the Earthquake/Tsunami damaged power plant's reactor has cracked it's containment vessel and a pool with spent fuel rods has drained leaving the rods exposed and on fire. These events have increased the radiation level to 100 time normal in the area. If that weren't enough, a volcano on Kyushu has erupted forcing the evacuation of hundreds of people and most likely disturbing the now irradiated upper atmosphere over the main island of Japan.
More from Reuters:
Japan braces for potential radiation catastropheA Full Sitrep From Stratfor Intelligence:
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan faced potential catastrophe on Tuesday after a quake-crippled nuclear power plant exploded and sent low levels of radiation floating toward Tokyo, prompting some people to flee the capital and others to stock up on essential supplies. [More]
Red Alert: Radiation Rising and Heading South in Japan
March 15, 2011 | 0551
The nuclear reactor situation in Japan has deteriorated significantly.
Two more explosions occurred at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant on March 15. The first occurred at 6:10 a.m. local time at reactor No. 2, which had seen nuclear fuel rods exposed for several hours after dropping water levels due to mishaps in the emergency cooling efforts. Within three hours the amount of radiation at the plant rose to 163 times the previously recorded level, according to Japan’s Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency.
Elsewhere, radiation levels were said to have reached 400 times the “annual legal limit” at reactor No. 3. Authorities differed on whether the reactor pressure vessel at reactor No. 2 was damaged after the explosion, but said the reactor’s pressure-suppression system may have been damaged possibly allowing a radiation leak. After this, a fire erupted at reactor No. 4 and was subsequently extinguished, according to Kyodo. Kyodo also reported the government has ordered a no-fly zone 30 kilometers around the reactor, and Prime Minister Naoto Kan has expanded to 30 kilometers the range within which citizens should remain indoors and warned that further leaks are possible. Reports from Japanese media currently tell of rising radiation levels in the areas south and southwest of the troubled plant due to a change in wind direction toward the southwest. Ibaraki prefecture, immediately south of Fukushima, was reported to have higher than normal levels. Chiba prefecture, to the east of Tokyo and connected to the metropolitan area, saw levels reportedly two to four times above the “normal” level. Utsunomiya, Tochigi prefecture, north of Tokyo, reported radiation at 33 times the normal level measured there. Kanagawa prefecture, south of Tokyo, reported radiation at up to nine times the normal level. Finally, a higher than normal amount was reported in Tokyo. The government says radiation levels have reached levels hazardous to human health. Wind direction, temperature, and topography all play a crucial factor in the spread of radioactive materials as well as their diffusion, and wind direction is not easily predictable and constantly shifting, with reports saying it could shift west and then back eastward to sea within the next day. It is impossible to know how reliable these preliminary readings are but they suggest a dramatic worsening as well as a wider spread than at any time since the emergency began.
The Japanese government has announced a 30-kilometer no-fly zone and is expanding evacuation zones and urging the public within a wider area to remain indoors. The situation at the nuclear facility is uncertain, but clearly deteriorating. Currently, the radiation levels do not appear immediately life-threatening outside the 20-kilometer evacuation zone. But if there is a steady northerly wind, the potential for larger-scale evacuations of more populated areas may become a reality. This would present major challenges to the Japanese government. Further, the potential for panic-induced individual evacuations could trigger even greater problems for the government to manage. Editor’s note: A previous version of this piece incorrectly stated that the fire at the No. 4 reactor took place at a facility in Daini. It also incorrectly reported the range of the government’s no-fly zone as 20 kilometers. The piece has since been corrected.
[Source]
» It's not going any better in Libya as at least one city close to rebel held Benghazi comes under siege from al-Gadaffi's air force and artillery.
» Ironically, that's what our war on Afghanistan costs.... Congress is back in session and will vote on a $6 Billion dollar continuing resolution to run the US government for three more weeks.
» The Space Shuttle Endeavour is being prepped for it's last voyage in April. For the first time in decades a (contract) worker has died on the job after a fall from the gantry.
» Saudi Arabia has invaded Bahrain by the request of the King of the country. They had been asked for assistance at the beginning of the disturbances in the country a month or so ago and now they are there... along with troops from the UAE.
» Augustus Owsley Stanley III, Dancing Bear of the Dead and the 'main man' of LSD distribution in the 60s has died in a car crash this past Sunday. He was 76 year old. Wikipedia Entry... Obituary at the New York Times... Much more in the commentary.
On that note it's worthwhile noting that another luminary of the 60s passed from the scene 22 years ago yesterday...
R.I.P Edward Paul Abbey
Edward Paul Abbey (January 29, 1927 – March 14, 1989)
This Post Is Dedicated To Edward Abbey
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Recorded & transcribed by Razer Raygun @ Razed By Wolves
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In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107 and The Berne Convention on Literary and Artistic Works, Article 10, the news clippings, audio, and images used in this posting are made available without profit for research and educational purposes.
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Monday, March 14, 2011
March 14 2011 Travus T. Hipp Morning News & Commentary: US Libya Policy - Being 'Cool' Is A Pretty Good Policy If You're The President Of The US
| "All The News You Never Knew You Needed To Know ...Until Now."March 14 2011 Travus T. Hipp Morning News & Commentary: US Libya Policy - Being 'Cool' Is A Pretty Good Policy If You're The President Of The US [Pop Out Player? Click Here] Prefer An MP3 Playlist? It's Here: [128kbps MP3 12:52 Minutes] Other Audio Formats Available [ Here ] Razer Raygun Says: ♥ Sharing IS Caring! ♥ |
In The News:
Thanks this morning to ChrisM, my MP3Angel, for supplying the news and commentary audio files.
Due to time constraints just a short synopsis this morning...
» A third explosion, Hydrogen gas, has taken the roof off of a damaged nuclear facility in Japan following an earthquake and Tsunami. Despite Japan's authorities claiming no radiation leak, the US fleet offshore has noted higher levels and has moved farther out to sea. More.
» In the Libyan war al-Gadaffi's forces move at a rapid pace attempting to re-capture Eastern breakaway cities and towns under rebel control. The question now is whether the UN will be able to take action before Gadaffi has re-taken control of the country. More in the commentary.
» Yemen is experiencing disturbances and open rebellion in the streets even as Tunisia, Bahrain and Oman attempt to compromise with the masses of people demanding democratic changes.
» In the wake of the passage of an anti-union anti-worker's rights bill there has been a major protest in Madison Wisconsin over the weekend bringing 10s of thousands of people into the streets, Recalls are being organized for at least eight Republicans and the governor.
» PJ Crowley, a long time state department PR spokesman is GONE after claiming that Bradley Manning, held in the leaking of essentially non-classified Pentagon material has been subject to stupid and torturous treatment at abu Gh... Sorry Quantico Marine Brig.
More on Bradley Manning and information on an upcoming action at Quantico brig next Sunday will follow over the next few days. Bradley Manning HAS a posse', and they're coming to Quantico for justice next weekend. "Expect Us"
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In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107 and The Berne Convention on Literary and Artistic Works, Article 10, the news clippings, audio, and images used in this posting are made available without profit for research and educational purposes.
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Friday, March 11, 2011
March 11 2011 Travus T. Hipp Morning News & Commentary: Today's Tsunami & California - The Only Thing That Moves Faster Is The Panic
| "All The News You Never Knew You Needed To Know ...Until Now."March 11 2011 Travus T. Hipp Morning News & Commentary: Today's Tsunami & California - The Only Thing That Moves Faster Is The Panic [Pop Out Player? Click Here] Prefer An MP3 Playlist? It's Here: [128kbps MP3 16:00 Minutes] Other Audio Formats Available [ Here ] Razer Raygun Says: ♥ Sharing IS Caring! ♥ |
In The News:
Thanks this morning to ChrisM, my MP3Angel, for supplying the news and commentary audio files.
[After the commentary, Kip Addotta with some thematic words for the day. Courtesy of the respective artists.]
» A massive 8.9 earthquake in Japan has resulted in a large number of deaths, a nuclear power plant failure (coolant system) and a Tsunami 30 feet high. The crest of that wave has already made it to West coast of the US with no appreciable damage along the Central California coast. Of interest, a large and continuing whirlpool off the coast of Japan.
» Class War... It's NOT over... The Capital police in Madison Wisconsin have arrested 200 protesters who had returned to the capital building and smashed windows after the state legislature voted in an anti-collective bargaining law by Parliamentary maneuver not requiring a quorum. Expect further disruptions, and an attempt to recall the governor plus a few choice legislators is in the works
» Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, shot in the head at pretty much point-blank range during a public meet-up with constituents in Tuscon Arizona by a disturbed young man, has recovered enough to attend the launch of her husband, an astronaut, on the final voyage of the Space Shuttle Endeavor.
» In Libya, the Eastern offensive by al-Gadaffi's army continues with the recapture of one of the oil towns and the softening up by bombardment of towns being approached. The US and NATO are still discussing matters... MUCH safer for everyone involved.
This is Razer Raygun saying 'Happy Motoring America...' Enjoy it while you can.
(...and try not to let your government kill too many 'dusky natives' in the process ok?)
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Recorded & transcribed by Razer Raygun @ Razed By Wolves
Postings Auntie Imperial, Razer Raygun, and Da' Buffalo Have Done Lately Are [Here]
The Consolidated Items Listing in RSS format [Here]
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In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107 and The Berne Convention on Literary and Artistic Works, Article 10, the news clippings, audio, and images used in this posting are made available without profit for research and educational purposes.
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Thursday, March 10, 2011
March 10 2011 Travus T. Hipp Morning News & Commentary: Misuse Of Godwin's Law - The Republicans Act As If They're Called Nazis... The Term Is FASCIST
| "All The News You Never Knew You Needed To Know ...Until Now."March 10 2011 Travus T. Hipp Morning News & Commentary: The Misuse Of Godwin's Law - The Republicans Act As If They're Called Nazis... But The Term Is FASCIST [Pop Out Player? Click Here] Prefer An MP3 Playlist? It's Here: [128kbps MP3 22:17 Minutes] Other Audio Formats Available [ Here ] Razer Raygun Says: ♥ Sharing IS Caring! ♥ |
In The News:
Thanks this morning to ChrisM, my MP3Angel, for supplying the news and commentary audio files.
[After the commentary, John Kay, son of Totalitarian regime East German refugees and Steppenwolf saw the "Monster" that will cause the eventual "Suicide" of "America" decades ago. Courtesy of the respective artists.]
» Libya's al-Gadaffi government is staging somewhat of a comeback as the Eastern rebels are forced back by armored columns of tanks and air support. Some elements of the tribal and nomadic groups have switched back to supporting the government which is also trying to negotiate to some extent with the rebels despite the fact there has been a bounty posted on the leader of the interim government in Benghazi.
» In Tunisia the government is dissolving and the president's political party has been banned which will keep it from participating in the elections due to occur in four or five months.
Juan Cole @ Informed Comment has an interesting sidebar on the Tunisian revolt:
It’s Official: Tunisia Now Freer than the U.S.
03/08/2011
by Juan
Tunisian Prime Minister Béji Caïd Essebsi announced on Monday the dissolution of the country’s secret police arm. This step toward democracy is the most important taken by any Arab country for decades.
Tunisia’s interim government also abolished the ‘Ministry of Information,’ which had been in charge of censorship, allowing a free press to flourish. Of course censorship, especially habits of self–censorship, does not actually disappear with the stroke of a pen. Employees of state t.v. have struck recently to protest what they consider government censorship of their news reports.
An Arab country with neither secret police nor censorship is unprecedented in recent decades. Tunisia is inspiring similar demands in Egypt and Jordan. When skeptics wonder if the Revolutions of 2011 would really change anything essential in the region, they would be wise to keep an eye on these two developments in Tunisia, which, if consolidated, would represent an epochal transformation of culture and politics.
In the United States, the fourth amendment had been intended to prevent unreasonable and arbitrary domestic surveillance of Americans. It says,
‘The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.’
Not only were people not to be spied upon by the government without a warrant, but warrants were not to be issued without probable cause.
Arguably, Tunisians are now freer than Americans. The US government thinks our private emails are actually public. The FBI and NSA routinely read our email and they and other branches of the US government issue security letters in the place of warrants allowing them to tap phones and monitor whom we call, and even to call up our library records and conduct searches of our homes without telling us about it. Millions of telephone records were turned over to George W. Bush by our weaselly telecom companies. Courts allow government agents to sneak onto our property and put GPS tracking devices under our automobiles without so much as a warrant or even probable cause. [In Full with links]
» In Yemen there is word that some kind of gas is in use against protesters as the president offers a new constitution and independent legislature. But the demand that he step down is going unheeded.
While all THOSE North African revolts continue, it's notable that 'the OTHER hand' of Western foreign policy in the region is on the offensive in their dirty war on Somalia:
With the world’s eyes riveted to the unfolding civil conflict in Libya, little notice is being given to a major offensive underway in Somalia to defeat the forces of the radical Al-Shabaab movement. Al Shabaab — a coalition of Somali forces supported by hundreds of foreign “jihadist” fighters – has been in control of much of southern and central Somalia, including key sectors of the capital, Mogadishu. Al Shaabab is worrisome to the international community and neighboring states as it was co-founded by Al-Qaeda-trained Somali operatives and has publicly pledged allegiance to Osama Bin Laden. Dozens of young Somalis from the diaspora in Europe and the United States have gone to Somalia to join the Al-Shabaab-inspired jihad, and some of the Somali Americans have been implicated in terrorist plots within the United States, and others with plots in Europe, Australia and South Africa.
In recent days, the intense fighting in Mogadishu between African Union Peacekeepers and Al Shabaab militiamen has left 53 peacekeepers dead. Most of the dead are soldiers from Burundi which has contributed 3,000 soldiers to the peacekeeping contingent. Ugandans comprise the remaining 5,000 members. It is not altogether clear where the UN-sanction African Union “peacekeepers” get their mandate to engage in a major offensive against Al Shabaab, as the UN had rejected the idea of expanding the peacekeeping mandate to include pre-emptive actions.
This push against Al Shabaab has been in the works for some time, [In Full]
» In Wisconsin the legislature used a parliamentary maneuver to separate the financial aspect of the anti-union state worker budget cuts, which requires a quorum, from the provision ending collective bargaining, and voted that measure in 18-1 sans the Democratic legislators. Expect legal action but expect the provision ending collective bargaining to stay in place until court proceedings are done. Ohio and Michigan also have similar bills pending.
» The House is holding hearings on "Radicalized American Muslims" starting today.
In OTHER News
» You didn't REALLY believe we had no troops on the ground in Iraq did you?
New York National Guard Unit Off To IraqThere may be a good reason for the lack of 'participation' by more citizens of the US too!
Mar 9, 2011
WGRZ-TV
The unit is being deployed to northern Iraq later this spring for its mission as a Police Transition team, where it expects to conduct security details for roads, convoys, and dignitaries as well as provide training for Iraqi police forces, ...
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We're called "one-percenters" for a reason, and that's because we do what a lot of people won't," [More]
» And in financial news, It's Baaaack! The '$ubprime Loan':
What's Driving the Surge in Auto Sales?
by Mike Whitney
Subprime is back!
Only this time it's popped up in the auto market where it's triggered an impressive surge in sales. According to Marketwatch, General Motors February sales topped 45% to a robust 207,028 vehicles, way above analysts expectations. But soaring car sales have less to do with the allure of those gussied-up Silvarados than they do with "easy financing" for people with less-than-stellar credit. Here's a clip from an interview on Wednesday's Nightly Business Report with Autonation's President Michael Maroone that helps to explain what's going on.
NBR's Susie Gharib: Another dose of good news today from the auto world, a day after Detroit's big three reported strong February sales. Autonation, the country's largest seller of new and used cars, reported a big jump in its numbers. New vehicle sales rose 29 percent compared to a year ago. And US brands made up forty percent of sales. GM models were especially popular ... Mike, what about any kind of special deals or incentives to entice consumers to buy?
Maroone: Well, almost every day there's a new incentive. They're used in a very tactical manner. The incentives are relatively flat with prior periods. But today we saw GM announce zero percent financing, up to 72 months on specific models. We're seeing Honda increase their incentives. Nissan's got a very aggressive program. Toyota has been aggressive. So almost every manufacturer has something and it varies tremendously. It's certainly tactically driven and it is stimulating business.
Gharib: What about on the credit side, for someone that does need financing, is it getting easier to get a loan or is it still pretty tough?
Maroone: Susie, it's gotten much easier. The big driver of the recovery in 2010 was the restoration of credit. The change in 2011 is we're now seeing an improving environment for sub-prime. So last year prime and near prime were more normal and this year we're starting to see the sub- prime segment come along and that's very important for our industry. (The Nightly Business Report)
Repeat: "72 months zero percent financing" to people with dodgy credit. Sound familiar?
But why would the big car dealers want to get caught up in another enormous subprime meltdown? How do they benefit from issuing loans to people who may not be able to repay the debt?
Ahh, that's the mystery of securitization, Wall Street's magical profit-booster. The dodgy loans are tossed into the food processor with other savory nuggets, ground to perfection, lightly doused with a triple-A rating, and sold as bonds to "yield seeking" institutional investors from Schenectady to Milan. It's all part of the new earnings paradigm that places financial alchemy ("innovation") above productivity and wealth creation.
But, we're getting ahead of ourselves ... [In Full @ Counterpunch]
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Travus T. Hipp's Commentary Archive Is [ Here]
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Cabale New Service, KPIG Radio, and KVMR radio.
Listen to KVMR
Recorded & transcribed by Razer Raygun @ Razed By Wolves
Postings Auntie Imperial, Razer Raygun, and Da' Buffalo Have Done Lately Are [Here]
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In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107 and The Berne Convention on Literary and Artistic Works, Article 10, the news clippings, audio, and images used in this posting are made available without profit for research and educational purposes.
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