Monthly Archives: June 2012

German opinion poll shows majority believe euro membership carries more disadvantages than advantages

From Open Europe:

open quoteNew German opinion poll shows majority believe euro membership carries more disadvantages than advantages;
In an interview with Leipziger Volkszeitung, German Interior Minister Hans-Peter Friedrich reiterated that German assistance for Greece was not unconditional, arguing that: “We’re not willing to pour money into a bottomless pit… Anyone who wants to see help and solidarity from us has to accept that we expect a certain amount of seriousness and a certain amount of reasonableness”. An opinion poll commissioned by German state TV ZDF published on Friday showed that 79% of respondents rejected eurobonds as a solution to the crisis. Support for euro membership appears to be waning as 50% of respondents (up from 43% in February) say they believed Germany’s euro membership carried more disadvantages than advantages. According to the poll, 45% took the opposite view (down from 51% in February).close quote

EU = all 17 countries can print money at the expense of others

Patrick Barron

open quoteRe: Spain Pours Billions into Bank

The central bank of Spain accepts Spanish debt and uses that debt as collateral at the European Central Bank for euro loans. So, all seventeen countries of the European Monetary Union have a back-door method for monetizing government debt. This is the structural flaw in the European System of Central Banks–there is no real, enforceable prohibition to massive printing of euros, as we see here. The other sixteen members of the EMU had no say in the matter. Each member can counterfeit euros ’til the cows come home. There is talk of a one trillion euro bailout of European banks.close quote

Man Loses $22,000 In New ‘Policing For Profit’ Case

open quoteIn this latest case, a Monterey police officer took $22,000 off the driver — even though he had committed no crime.

“You live in the United States, you think you have rights — and apparently you don’t,” said George Reby.

As a professional insurance adjuster, Reby spends a lot of time traveling from state to state. But it was on a trip to a conference in Nashville last January that he got a real education in Tennessee justice.

“I never had any clue that they thought they could take my money legally,” Reby added. “I didn’t do anything wrong.”

Reby was driving down Interstate 40, heading west through Putnam County, when he was stopped for speeding.

A Monterey police officer wanted to know if he was carrying any large amounts of cash.

“I said, ‘Around $20,000,'” he recalled. “Then, at the point, he said, ‘Do you mind if I search your vehicle?’ I said, ‘No, I don’t mind.’ I certainly didn’t feel I was doing anything wrong. It was my money.”

That’s when Officer Larry Bates confiscated the cash based on his suspicion that it was drug money.close quote (Read more)

Sen. Paul Offers Amendment to Rein in FDA Abuses

open quoteToday on the U.S. Senate floor, Sen. Rand Paul introduced an amendment to the Food and Drug Administration User Fee Reauthorization bill, which would curb the Food and Drug Associations overreach and abuse of power. Sen. Paul’s amendment, No. 2143, would disarm the FDA, put an end to raids on natural food stores and Amish farmers, and stop FDA censorship of truthful claims of dietary supplements.close quote (Read more)

Penn Jillette Accuses Obama Of Class Warfare For Drug Policy, States’ Rights

open quoteIn a recent episode of his podcast “Penn’s Sunday School,” comedian Penn Jillette laid his opinions on the Obama drug policies out on the table.

Jillette, who has never done drugs or drunk alcohol in his life, expressed particular concern over the policies’ broad-sweeping, all-inclusive nature. Namely, that people are going to prison because of marijuana use.close quote (Read more)

Gaza fishermen leashed by Israel, starved for fuel

open quoteIsraeli gunboats and an Egyptian clampdown on fuel smuggling into the Gaza Strip are strangling the Palestinian enclave’s little fishing fleet, slowly turning a generation of fishermen into fishmongers.

Since 2009, they have been unable to sail out beyond three miles because of Israel’s strictly enforced blockade. This year they can hardly afford to go out at all because diesel has nearly tripled in price.

There are about 3,700 full-time fishermen in the Gaza Strip ready to serve a market of 1.7 million Palestinians. They used to export to Israel. Now Gaza imports about 80 percent of its needs from the Egyptians and the Israelis.close quote (Read more)

Tony Blair and George Bush’s phone conversation a week before Iraq invasion ‘must be released’

open quoteWords that Tony Blair spoke over the phone to George Bush on the eve of the Iraq war are to be made public, a tribunal has ordered.

The Foreign Office has been ordered to release parts of the note detailing the conversation on 12 March 2003, a week before the invasion of Iraq began.

A panel chaired by tribunal judge Professor John Angel overruled objections from the Foreign Office that publishing any part of the conversation could do “serious damage” to relations with the USA

They said in their ruling: “The circumstances surrounding a decision by a UK government to go to war with another country is always likely to be of very significant public interest, even more so with the consequences of this war.”close quote (Read more)

US House Stealthily Passes Extreme Pro-Israel Legislation. Ron Paul lone dissenter.

open quoteThe House bill basically provides Israel with a blank check drawn on the U.S. taxpayer to maintain its “qualitative military edge” over all of its neighbors combined.

. . . .

Go to Google and type in “H.R. 4133.” You will discover that, apart from a handful of blogs and alternative news sites, not a single mainstream medium has reported the story of a congressional bill that might well have major impact on the conduct of United States foreign policy.

H.R. 4133, the United States-Israel Enhanced Security Cooperation Act of 2012, was introduced into the House of Representatives of the 112th Congress on March 5 “to express the sense of Congress regarding the United States-Israel strategic relationship, to direct the president to submit to Congress reports on United States actions to enhance this relationship and to assist in the defense of Israel, and for other purposes.” The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) reportedly helped draft the bill, and its co-sponsors include Republicans Eric Cantor and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and Democrats Howard Berman and Steny Hoyer. Hoyer is the Democratic whip in the House of Representatives, where Cantor is majority leader. Ros-Lehtinen heads the Foreign Affairs Committee.

. . . .

A number of congressmen spoke on the bill, affirming their undying dedication to the cause of Israel. Rep. Ron Paul of Texas was the only one who spoke out against it, describing it as “one-sided and counterproductive foreign policy legislation. This bill’s real intent seems to be more saber-rattling against Iran and Syria.” Paul also observed that “this bill states that it is the policy of the United States to ‘reaffirm the enduring commitment of the United States to the security of the State of Israel as a Jewish state.’ However, according to our Constitution, the policy of the United States government should be to protect the security of the United States, not to guarantee the religious, ethnic, or cultural composition of a foreign country.”close quote (Read more)

US Envoy To Israel: US Ready To Strike Iran

open quoteJERUSALEM (AP) — The U.S. has plans in place to attack Iran if necessary to prevent it from developing nuclear weapons, Washington’s envoy to Israel said, days ahead of a crucial round of nuclear talks with Tehran.

Dan Shapiro’s message resonated Thursday far beyond the closed forum in which it was made: Iran should not test Washington’s resolve to act on its promise to strike if diplomacy and sanctions fail to pressure Tehran to abandon its disputed nuclear program.

Shapiro told the Israel Bar Association the U.S. hopes it will not have to resort to military force.

“But that doesn’t mean that option is not fully available. Not just available, but it’s ready,” he said. “The necessary planning has been done to ensure that it’s ready.”close quote (Read more)

Taxpayers Fund $454,000 Pay for Collector Chasing Student Loans

open quoteJoshua Mandelman made $454,000 in a single year as a student-loan debt collector — more than twice the pay of the U.S. secretary of education.

His boss, Richard Boyle, chief executive officer of Educational Credit Management Corp., received $1.1 million in 2010, including commuting expenses from his ranch in New Mexico. Five other managers each took home more than $400,000. close quote (Read more)

Court won’t reduce student’s music download fine

open quoteA former Boston University student who was ordered to pay $675,000 for illegally downloading and sharing 30 songs on the Internet says he will continue fighting the penalty, despite the Supreme Court’s refusal Monday to hear his appeal.

Joel Tenenbaum, 28, of Providence, R.I., said he’s hoping a federal judge will reduce the amount.

“I can’t believe the system would uphold a six-figure damages amount for downloading 30 songs on a file-sharing system that everybody used,” Tenenbaum said. “I can’t believe the court would uphold something that ludicrous.”

A jury in 2009 ordered Tenenbaum to pay $675,000, or $22,500 per song, after the Recording Industry Association of America sued him on behalf of four record labels, including Sony BMG Music Entertainment and Warner Brothers Records Inc. A federal judge called the penalty unconstitutionally excessive and reduced the award to $67,500, but the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals later reinstated it.close quote (Read more)

TN Man “Fathers” 30 Kids But Can’t Support Any

open quote(Knoxville, TN) Desmond Hatchett is pleading with the state of Tennessee to help him pay for child support.

With 30 kids, who could afford to pay child support?

Yes, 30 children by 11 different “baby mamas.”

Desmond explained how it all happened, well you know what we mean, “I had four kids in the same year. Twice.”

The children range in age from toddlers to 14 years old.

He was last in court in 2009, at which time he had 21 children.close quote (Read more)