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Tuesday, February 1, 2011

“Ripples of Hope” in Egypt



by Joseph Palermo posted on Monday, 31 January 2011
egypt e1296440388244 “Ripples of Hope” in EgyptIt took decades of inaction, repression, and neglect to produce the mass demonstrations we’re seeing in Egypt. The only real surprise is that something on this scale didn’t happen years earlier.
The gospel of deregulation, privatization, and coddling ruling elites with tax breaks and subsidies, while starving the workers and the poor of basic social services through austerity, has once again created conditions so unbearable that millions of people are taking to the streets in protest. Like Latin America in the 1990s and 2000s, now North African Arab societies are buckling under the failed neo-liberal policies of the “Washington Consensus.” Democracy is breaking out in Tunisia and Egypt not because of U.S. actions in the Middle East, but despite them.
IMF austerity measures and years of failed neo-liberal economic policies led Egyptian ruling elites dating back to the late 1970s to balance their books on the backs of the poor. Thirty-four years ago, in January 1977, President Anwar Sadat cracked down on Cairenes who rose up in protest killing at least 80 people and injuring 1,000. Sadat then cleared out much of the Ishash-al-Turguman slum in the Balaq district (trying to follow an urban planning model based on Los Angeles and Houston), which swelled the ranks of the city’s homeless. In 1981, he suffered his own demise in a spectacular assassination while viewing a military parade. Then came the current president, Hosni Mubarak, whose days look like they might be numbered after thirty years of neglecting the crying social needs of his people.
In Cairo and other Egyptian cities, children under 12 constitute as much as 7 percent of the workforce. There are thousands of children in the streets “employed” as cigarette butt gatherers amassing tobacco to resell cigarettes.
In Cairo, a city estimated in 2004 to have a population of 15.6 million, there are more people living in slums — about 6 to 8 million — than the entire population was in 1950 (2.5 million). Cairo also has 100,000 or more apartments that are standing empty despite the enormous number of homeless people because they are too expensive for the poor to rent and their absentee landlords reside in Saudi Arabia or elsewhere. According to Jeffrey Nedoroscik, a researcher at the American University in Cairo, in Cairo’s “City of the Dead” about a million people use Mameluke tombs as makeshift housing. Cairo has an affluent gated city for the rich where they can pretend they live in Beverly Hills in million-dollar California-style homes shielded from the filth and destitution all around them.
The Egyptians were never really allowed to establish their own “New Deal” of reforms that might have taken the edge off the inequality and injustice rampant in their society — even after decades of being one of the United States’ staunchest allies. In recent years, the U.S. mobilization against the “bad” dictator in Iraq, Saddam Hussein, diverted attention away from the deeply unpopular “good” dictator in Egypt, Hosni Mubarak. Now, it’s too late.
What happens in Egypt might not stay in Egypt because its ruling elite is so closely tied to other ruling elites of the region. No one can predict how history will unfold. The regime could hold on or be replaced with something even worse. But not being able to predict the future should not stop those who desire justice from acting now and doing their best through direct action to try to bring about positive social change.
joseph palmero “Ripples of Hope” in Egypt
In June 1966, it looked like the apartheid regime in South Africa, with all its attendant injustices, would stand forever. But Robert F. Kennedy could envision a better future. The people of Egypt, who are now participating in historic protest, might find some inspiration from Kennedy’s words spoken 45 years ago: “Few will have the greatness to bend history itself,” he told a racially integrated audience of about 15,000 at the University of Cape Town, “but each of us can work to change a small portion of events, and in the total of all those acts will be written the history of this generation.”
“It is from numberless diverse acts of courage and belief that human history is shaped. Each time a man [or woman] stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he [or she] sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring those ripples build a current which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance.”

Egypt

Tuesday, Feb. 1, 2011



Cairo

Cairo -- from Pro-Democracy protest -- Nice view! Jan.29 or 30 2011



Posted on February 1, 2011

Charlotte N.C. gets 2012 DNC Convention


MTP @ Brookings this Thursday


On Thursday our Meet the Press at Brookings series continues with a timely discussion about the events in Egypt. Here is the information.
Meet the Press at Brookings: Egypt, Tunisia and the Changing Strategic Landscape in the Middle East
With regime change in Tunisia, and protests continuing in Egypt, the Obama administration faces new and significant foreign policy challenges across the Middle East. While the political future of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak hangs in the balance, it is clear that the status quo of Egyptian politics cannot be maintained. Egypt may also serve as a bellwether for political change within other Arab nations in the region. Regardless of the eventual outcome of Egypt’s crisis, the administration now faces a changed strategic landscape in the Middle East, and must tackle the crucial task of reorienting U.S. foreign policy in the region.
On February 3, Foreign Policy at Brookings and NBC’s Meet the Press will host a panel discussion on the crisis In Egypt and the shifting Middle East strategic landscape. David Gregory, host of NBC’s Meet the Press, will moderate the session, part of a monthly series of discussions on foreign policy issues. Panelists will include Brookings Senior Fellow Kenneth Pollack, director of the Saban Center for Middle East Policy, Brookings Fellow Shadi Hamid, director of research, Brookings Doha Center, as well as Anouar Boukhars of McDaniel College and Jennifer Windsor of Georgetown University.

After the program, the panelists will take audience questions.

Where are those 8 million jobs Democrats promised to save or create?


I can turn this around and ask the same question of the Republicans, because that is what they promised upon winning the mid-term elections.  Mr Boehner where are the jobs?

By: Mark Tapscott 01/31/11 3:18 PM 
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's Senate Republican Communications Center is pointing out a data point President Obama and congressional Democrats like Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi would rather not talk about - 2,837,000.
That's the number of jobs lost between February 2009 and December 2010, according to the Department of Labor's Current Employment Statistics Survey.
Here's another data point Obama and company talk about all the time - 8 million. That's how many jobs they claim to have saved or created during the same period. Actually, they don't use the 8 million figure, but that's approximately what you get when you add up all their promises.
First, there was the 3.5 million jobs saved or created that Vice President Joe Biden promised Feb. 25, 2009. That was his memorable "drop-kick the economy" remark:
"Because this is about getting this out and spent in 18 months to create 3.5 million jobs and do -- to set -- tee this up so the rest of the good work that's being done here literally drop-kicks us out of this recession and we begin to grow again and begin to employ people again.”
McConnell's office further points out that Reid, Sen. Charles Schumer, D-NY, and then-House Speaker Pelosi also promised the 3.5 million jobs to be saved or created.
Then there was the 4 million new jobs to be created by Obamacare. That was the figure used by Pelosi, Schumer, and Sen. Patty Murray, D-WA. That gets the Democrats to 7.5 million jobs promised to be saved or created.
Finally, there was the Small Business Credit Act, which Reid and Pelosi promised would create 500,000 new jobs.
Despite all those promises - and $1.5 trillion budget deficit Obama, Reid and Pelosi generated with all of their federal spending last year - unemployment is still at 9.4 percent and shows no signs of falling significantly any time soon.
So a logical question to ask Obama, Reid and Pelosi is this: Where are those 8 million jobs you promised America?


Caught on Tape: Planned Parenthood Aids Pimp’s Underage Sex Ring

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Contact: Colleen O'Boyle, media@liveaction.org, (323) 454-3304

NEW JERSEY – February 1, 2011– A Planned Parenthood manager in New Jersey coaches a man and a woman posing as sex traffickers how to secure secret abortions, STD testing, and contraception for their female underage sex slaves, and make their whole operation “look as legit as possible” in an undercover video released this morning.

Clinic manager Amy Woodruff, LPN, of Planned Parenthood Central New Jersey’s Perth Amboy center, warns the pimp and his prostitute to have their trafficked underage girls lie about their age to avoid mandatory reporting laws, promising, “even if they lie, just say, ‘Oh he's the same age as me, 15,’…it's just that mainly 14 and under we have to, doesn't matter if their partner's the same age, younger, whatever, 14 and under we have to report.” She says, “For the most part, we want as little information as possible.”

Woodruff also recommends how the pimp can get his prostitutes cheaper contraception by claiming they are “students”: “If they're minors, put down that they're students. Yeah, just kind of play along that they’re students--we want to make it look as legit as possible.”

If one of the young trafficked girls needs an abortion, Woodruff refers the pimp and prostitute to the Metropolitan Medical Association, where “their protocols aren’t as strict as ours and they don’t get audited the same way that we do.” The prostitute in the video asks how long after the abortion until the girls can have sex again, and when Woodruff says “minimum of 2 weeks,” she asks what sex acts the girls could still do to make money. Woodruff advises, “Waist up, or just be that extra action walking by” to advertise sex to potential clients.

Sex trafficking is punishable under federal law and carries a potential life sentence. The new video is released by Live Action, a pro-life new media organization led by 22-year-old Lila Rose. The video airs just days after Planned Parenthood’s leadership suspected the sting operation and sought an FBI probe of Live Action in order to deter the release of the exposé. Live Action is sending full footage to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, NJ Attorney General Paula Dow, officials at the Federal Bureau of Investigations, and other law enforcement officials, requesting federal and state investigations into Planned Parenthood’s sexual abuse and sex trafficking cover up.

The abridged 11-minute video is available at: LiveAction.org

“This proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that Planned Parenthood intentionally breaks state and federal laws and covers up the abuse of the young girls it claims to serve,” said Lila Rose, President of Live Action. “Time and time again, Planned Parenthood has sent young girls back into the arms of their abusers. They don’t deserve a dime of the hundreds of millions they receive in federal funding from taxpayers. Congress must cease funding and the Department of Justice should investigate this corrupt organization immediately.”

Live Action has previously released more than a dozen hidden camera videos from ten states and shows the alarming trend of illegal Planned Parenthood activity including cover-up of sexual abuse of minors, the skirting of parental consent laws, citing unscientific and fabricated medical information to convince women to have abortions, and Planned Parenthood’s willingness to accept donations earmarked to abort African-American babies.

The new undercover video can be viewed at: http://liveaction.org/traffick
To learn more about Live Action, visit: LiveAction.org

Sessions: Coming Budget Proposal A Crucial Test for Obama Presidency

BudgetGOP | January 31, 2011 |  likes, 0 dislikes
Speaking on the Senate floor tonight, Sessions said, "If [President Obama's] budget fails to change course, we will know where the president is. We're going to see whether the president is moving with the America people towards fiscal and economic sanity, or whether he will continue his ideological commitment to big government."

House Republicans Move To End Medicare’s Promise, Again


Posted on  by Karina
Medicare—which has provided health care for Americans age 65 and older for more than 40 years—is working, and was strengthened under health reform with better benefits, lower costs, and increased solvency.
In addition to voting to repeal added Affordable Care Act benefits like free preventative care and closing the prescription drug donut hole, House Republicans are once again talking about abolishing Medicare in its current form, and replacing our promise to America’s seniors with a voucher for private insurance that declines in value over time. According to National Journal, the GOP plan would:
“…convert Medicare into a voucher program, which would effectively turn the government-backed health care program over to private insurers”
“…would increase premiums for seniors…”
“…could sway seniors to buy less comprehensive plans that don’t cover nearly the same services that Medicare does…”
“…the eligibility age for Medicare would increase incrementally from its current 65 years of age to 69…”
We’ve seen this plan before—House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI) included it in his “Roadmap for America’s Future” with nearly 80% of House Republicans voting in favor. The nonpartisan CBO explained that the amount of the voucher would grow much more slowly than health care costs with the burden of rising health care costs falling on seniors. Ezra Klein of the Washington Post summarizes:
The proposal would shift risk from the federal government to seniors themselves. The money seniors would get to buy their own policies would grow more slowly than their health care costs, and more slowly than their expected Medicare benefits, which means that they’d need to either cut back on how comprehensive their insurance is or how much health care they purchase…. This proposal would take Medicare from costing an expected 14.3 percent of GDP in 2080 to less than 4 percent. That’s trillions of dollars that’s not going to health care for seniors. The audacity is breathtaking.
Far from being just the Budget Chairman’s plan, both Republican Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) and Republican Whip Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) endorsed the plan in their “Young Guns” book and National Journal reports that Republican Conference Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) “expects Republicans to support a provision to convert Medicare into a voucher system.”
Democrats are committed to preserving our bedrock promise to seniors, not making them even more vulnerable to the whims of insurance companies.

AP: Factory Sector Expands at Fastest Pace in 7 Years


Posted on  by Karina
Helping to lead the economy out of the Bush recession, America’s manufacturing base has grown with 136,000 manufacturing jobs added in 2010, the first increase since 1997:
Manufacturing Jobs
With our Make it in America Agenda, the economy continues to make strides in the right direction. Today, the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) released their January report finding:
The manufacturing sector expanded for the 18th consecutive month
Manufacturing activity grew at its fastest pace in 7 years
ISM’s employment index reached its highest level since 1973, indicating a willingness to hire
The factory sector expanded in January at the fastest pace in seven years, as manufacturers reported a sharp jump in new orders. …The employment index also rose, a sign that manufacturing companies are hiring more workers.
Conditions for the nation’s manufacturers improved for the 20th straight month, the Institute for Supply Management reported Tuesday. The ISM index rose to 60.8% in January from 58.5% in December. This is the highest level of the factory index since last May. The report was much stronger than expected.
House Democrats are committed to doing more to accelerate job growth and create the high-skill, high-wage jobs of the future—promoting American competitiveness, innovation, and exports. However, Republicans have been in charge for a month and have offered no plans for jobs.

Senate Democrats Urge Top Republicans On House Spending Panels To Reject Paul's Call To End Foreign Aid To Israel

February 1, 2011


Senators: A Stable Israel is Vital to Our National Security; Eliminating Aid Could Put U.S. at Risk

WASHINGTON, DC—Today, U.S. Senators Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Bill Nelson (D-FL), Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Ben Cardin (D-MD), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Robert Casey (D-PA) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) called on the top Republicans on the House Appropriations and Budget Committees to reject Sen. Rand Paul's call to eliminate foreign aid to Israel. In an interview last week with CNN, Paul announced his support for slashing foreign aid across the board, including a zeroing out of aid to Israel.

In a letter to Rep. Hal Rogers, the Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, and Rep. Paul Ryan, Chairman of the House Budget Committee, the Democratic senators criticized Paul's comments and sought reassurance that aid to Israel would not be threatened.

"These remarks are alarming and aim to weaken the decades-long bipartisan consensus on U.S. support for Israel," the senators wrote.

“At a time when U.S. foreign aid is being utilized to strengthen our partnerships around the world, particularly in the Middle East where our relationships are more important than ever, we urge you to commit to maintain full foreign aid funding to Israel,” the senators continued.

Senator Stabenow said, “We cannot turn our backs on our strongest ally in the Middle East. Our own national security and stability in the region is dependent on Israel's security, so we cannot abandon them.”

Senator Nelson said, “Now, more than ever, Israel needs our steadfast support.  This is not the time to discuss ending our assistance."

Senator Menendez said, “Cutting off our steadfast partner and close ally in the Middle East is a recipe for a national security disaster. The recent developments in the Middle East have added uncertainty to the region’s future, which is closely tied to our security here at home. This is why we need to reaffirm our commitment to Israel, not throw it into question.”

Senator Cardin, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said, "There is no doubt that we need to bring our federal budget into better balance.  But to short-change our national security and one of America's closest democratic allies for the sake of a balance sheet is unwise and misguided."

Senator Brown said, "Ensuring a strong and secure Israel is about more than just maintaining stability in the region. It's also about our nation's commitment to the men and women of the region who seek peace, and a better life for their children." He continued, "During my most recent visit to Israel, I was again impressed with the long struggle for peace and security its people have endured.  With political unrest across the Middle East, cutting aid to Israel could jeopardize the fragile peace we have worked so hard to maintain."

Senator Casey said, "Especially given the rising influence of Hezbollah in Lebanon and the continued saber-rattling from Iran, it should be unthinkable to cut aid for Israel." He continued, "U.S. aid to Israel is an investment in one of our strongest allies and in our own security."

Senator Whitehouse said, "Israel is a strong ally and a bastion of democracy in the Middle East.  Ending US support for Israel would be irresponsible, and damaging to our national interest, and I strongly oppose any effort to do so."

The full text of the senators' letter to Rogers and Ryan appears below.

February 1, 2011

Dear Chairman Rogers and Chairman Ryan:

We write in light of recent statements that demonstrate the intent of certain Senators to eliminate foreign aid funding to the nation of Israel. Recently, Republican Senator Rand Paul suggested that the United States should “halt all foreign aid including its financial aid to Israel.” These remarks are alarming and aim to weaken the decades-long bipartisan consensus on U.S. support for Israel. Both Republicans and Democrats are committed to reining in the federal deficit, but assistance to Israel is not a matter of “pork barrel spending” - rather U.S. foreign aid to Israel demonstrates America’s rock-solid commitment to ensuring Israel’s right to exist.

Israel is the only democratic nation in the Middle East and one of our most trusted allies. A stable and secure Israel is strongly in our national security interest and has been a cornerstone of our foreign policy for over half-a-century. Using Congress’s bipartisan commitment to reining in government spending as a reason to abandon Israel is unacceptable and should be immediately rejected.

At a time when U.S. foreign aid is being utilized to strengthen our partnerships around the world, particularly in the Middle East where our relationships are more important than ever, we urge you to commit to maintain full foreign aid funding to Israel.  As members of the United States Senate, we will work aggressively to prevent any attempts to abandon one of our most trusted allies. We look forward to your response.

Sincerely,

Senator Stabenow
Senator Nelson
Senator Menendez
Senator Cardin
Senator Brown
Senator Casey
Senator Whitehouse

House GOP considers privatizing Medicare


House Budget Committee Chairman Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., chairs a hearing on the fiscal impact of health care overhaul, Wednesday, Jan. 26, 2011, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)(Charles Dharapak - AP)

House Budget Committee Chairman Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., left, talks with with the committee's ranking Democrat, Rep. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 26, 2011 during the committee's hearing on the fiscal impact of health care overhaul. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak) (Charles Dharapak - AP)
By RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR
The Associated Press
Friday, January 28, 2011; 1:11 AM

WASHINGTON -- Months after they hammered Democrats for cutting Medicare, House Republicans are debating whether to relaunch their quest to privatize the health program for seniors. House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis., is testing support for his idea to replace Medicare with a fixed payment to buy a private medical plan from a menu of coverage options.
Party leaders will determine if the so-called voucher plan will be part of the budget Republicans put forward in the spring.
"No decisions have been made on the details of our House GOP budget," Michael Steel, a spokesman for Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, said Thursday. "There are a lot of ideas out there, and we're going to listen to our members and the American people."
Medicare was one of the most highly charged issues during last year's congressional elections, which put the House back in GOP control. Republicans slammed Democrats for cutting Medicare by about 6 percent over 10 years to finance President Barack Obama's health overhaul.
But replacing Medicare's open-ended benefit with a fixed payment would cut projected spending much more deeply.
"Anyone who doesn't think privatization will mean severe cuts to Medicare benefits, I have a bridge I'd like to sell them," said Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. "Privatization will make the cuts previously proposed by either party look tame."
Republicans say it may be the only way to preserve taxpayer-funded health care for seniors in an aging society. The Congressional Budget Office reported this week that the government will borrow 40 cents of every dollar it spends this year, as the deficit hits a staggering $1.5 trillion. Over the long term, health care costs that keep growing more rapidly than the economy are the biggest challenge to the budget.
The idea of a Medicare voucher recently received bipartisan support from a debt reduction panel led by former Republican Sen. Pete Domenici of New Mexico and prominent Democratic economist Alice Rivlin, a former Federal Reserve vice chairman. Obama's own debt commission said the idea should be considered as an option if other strategies fail to get health care costs under control.
Under Ryan's plan, current Medicare recipients would get to stay in the program. People within 10 years of eligibility - ages 55 to 64 - would also go into Medicare. But those now 54 and under would get a fixed payment from the government when they become eligible at age 65. They would be able to use the voucher to buy a Medicare-approved private plan from a menu of coverage levels and options.
The amount of the voucher would be based on total current Medicare spending and indexed to grow year by year thereafter. But that growth would be less than the torrid pace of health care inflation now. Proponents say it would be like putting the health care system on a diet, forcing every player from drug companies to hospitals to be more efficient.
Americans are wary of the idea. An Associated Press-GfK poll last year found 51 percent opposed a voucher plan for Medicare, while 35 percent said they supported it. Opposition was strong among seniors and baby boomers. But those born after 1980 favored the approach by 47 percent to 41 percent.
House Republicans have backed Ryan's idea before, in a 2009 budget plan supported by Boehner. It's unclear whether they will do that now. They might save it for deficit reduction talks with Obama later in the year.
"We'll outline our budget in the months ahead, after we see the president's budget," said Boehner spokesman Steel.