tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-42540548939035748752024-03-13T05:27:10.057-07:00Lobbying ActivistLobbying Activist,U.S. budget dispute,Lobbying coverage from including profiles of Washington Lobbying firms,lobbying and lobbyists from The New York,News about lobbying. Articles and blogs about lobbying,Lobbying News is News Service for health professionals,on,Lobbying Twitterhttp://1stfirstgentleman.com/http://www.blogger.com/profile/10343662662095460182noreply@blogger.comBlogger345125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4254054893903574875.post-67704936469019576862016-08-06T20:41:00.000-07:002016-08-06T20:41:17.197-07:00Compare six American political personalities<h1 style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="http://www.1stfirstgentleman.com/1st-first-gentleman-life/"><b>1st First Gentleman Life</b></a></h1>
<a href="http://www.1stfirstgentleman.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/1st-First-Gentleman-Life.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="1st First Gentleman Life" class=" wp-image-2155" src="http://www.1stfirstgentleman.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/1st-First-Gentleman-Life-272x300.jpg" height="142" width="129" /></a><br />
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<b>Bill Clinton has continued to be a force behind his foundation,</b>
<b> which has overseen the distribution of millions of dollars </b>
<b>from corporations, governments and individuals to globally-minded </b>
<b>charitable works. The organization has dealt with issues ranging </b>
<b>from providing increased access to HIV/AIDS medications to </b>
<b>reducing greenhouse gas emissions. </b></div>
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<a href="http://www.1stfirstgentleman.com/1st-first-gentleman-life/"><b>Read Full Story</b></a></h3>
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<a href="http://www.1stfirstgentleman.com/hillary-clinton-life/"><b>Hillary Clinton Life</b></a></h1>
<a href="http://www.1stfirstgentleman.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Hillary-Clinton-Life.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Hillary Clinton Life" class=" wp-image-2105" src="http://www.1stfirstgentleman.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Hillary-Clinton-Life-271x300.jpg" height="159" width="144" /></a><br />
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<b>Hillary Clinton spoke for the duration of her recognition speech </b>
<b>on the dnc approximately how her mom?herself a tough cookie </b>
<b>who needed to fend for herself at a very young age?taught </b>
<b>clinton continually to arise to a bully. when you’re fairly </b>
<b>small, or susceptible, or woman, it’s smooth to be intimidated</b></div>
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<a href="http://www.1stfirstgentleman.com/hillary-clinton-life/"><b>Read Full Story</b></a></h3>
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<h1 style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="http://www.1stfirstgentleman.com/barack-obama-life/"><b>Barack Obama Life</b></a></h1>
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<a href="http://www.1stfirstgentleman.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Happy-Birthday-President-Barack-Obama.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Happy Birthday President Barack Obama" class=" wp-image-2127 alignright" src="http://www.1stfirstgentleman.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Happy-Birthday-President-Barack-Obama-276x300.jpg" height="155" width="142" /></a><b>Barack Obama</b><b> was born on August 4th, 1961, in Honolulu, </b><b>Hawaii, to a mother from Kansas, Stanley Ann Dunham, </b><b>and a father from Kenya, Barack Obama Sr. He was also </b><b>raised by his grandfather,</b></h4>
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<a href="http://www.1stfirstgentleman.com/barack-obama-life/"><b>Read Full Story</b></a></h3>
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<h1 style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="http://www.1stfirstgentleman.com/michelle-obama-life/"><b>Michelle Obama Life</b></a></h1>
<a href="http://www.1stfirstgentleman.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Michelle-Obama-Life.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Michelle Obama Life" class=" wp-image-2249" src="http://www.1stfirstgentleman.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Michelle-Obama-Life-283x300.jpg" height="157" width="148" /></a><br />
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<b>Michelle Obama was born on January 17, 1964, in Chicago, Illinois. </b>
<b>She attended Princeton University, graduating cum laude in 1985, </b>
<b>and went on to earn a degree from Harvard Law School in 1988. </b>
<b>Following her graduation from Harvard, she worked at a Chicago l</b>
<b>aw firm, where she met her husband, future U.S. president Barack </b>
<b>Obama. The couple married on October 3, 1992. As first lady, she </b>
<b>has focused her attention on current social issues, such as </b>
<b>poverty, healthy living and education.</b></div>
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<a href="http://www.1stfirstgentleman.com/michelle-obama-life/"><b>Read Full Story</b></a></h3>
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<a href="http://www.1stfirstgentleman.com/donald-trump-life/"><b>Donald Trump Life</b></a></h1>
<a href="http://www.1stfirstgentleman.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Donald-Trump-Life.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Donald Trump Life" class=" wp-image-2243" src="http://www.1stfirstgentleman.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Donald-Trump-Life-269x300.jpg" height="175" width="157" /></a>
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<b>Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American businessman, </b>
<b>television personality, author, politician, and the Republican Party </b>
<b>nominee for President of the United States in the 2016 election. He </b>
<b>is chairman of The Trump Organization, which is the principal holding </b>
<b>company for his real estate ventures and other business interests.</b></div>
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<a href="http://www.1stfirstgentleman.com/donald-trump-life/"><b>Read Full Story</b></a></h3>
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<h1 style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="http://www.1stfirstgentleman.com/melania-trump-life/"><b>Melania Trump Life</b></a></h1>
<a href="http://www.1stfirstgentleman.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Melania-Trump-Life.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Melania Trump Life" class=" wp-image-2237" src="http://www.1stfirstgentleman.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Melania-Trump-Life-224x300.jpg" height="204" width="152" /></a><br />
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<b>At age 45, Melania is a mere seven years older than Donald’s </b>
<b>oldest son, Donald Trump, Jr., who is 38. Awkward, much? She’s </b>
<b>not that far off in age from Trump’s other children, either; </b>
<b>Eric, Ivanka, and Tiffany are ages 34, 32 an 22, respectively. </b>
<b>Melania and Donald have one son together, </b>
<b>Barron, whom they welcomed in 2006.</b></div>
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<a href="http://www.1stfirstgentleman.com/melania-trump-life/"><b>Read Full Story</b></a></h3>
<span style="background: #bd081c no-repeat scroll 3px 50% / 14px 14px; border-radius: 2px; color: white; cursor: pointer; display: none; font: bold 11px / 20px "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; opacity: 1; padding: 0px 4px 0px 0px; position: absolute; text-align: center; text-indent: 20px; width: auto; z-index: 8675309;">Save</span>Profile Factshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04203271084877204403noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4254054893903574875.post-41574614356015478102016-05-29T06:29:00.000-07:002016-05-29T06:29:04.040-07:00What kind of first lady will Bill Clinton be if Hillary becomes president?1st first gentleman<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<b style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">The bake-off was an attempt to appeal to stay at home moms following her </b></h3>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>controversial response to California governor Jerry Brown’s criticism that she owed her professional success to her husband, Bill. “I could have stayed home and baked cookies and had tea,” she told a reporter in a soundbite that was reported around the world. “But what I decided to do was fulfill my profession.” Many women responded with outrage, and perhaps that’s why, shortly thereafter, Clinton participated in the traditional Family Circle first lady bake-off. And won.</b><br /><b><br /></b><b>Clinton’s cookies are good: my best friend’s mom used to make them for her school lunches. No doubt Hillary could have won any number of bake-offs with her recipe, but politics have paid off far more for her: in less than a year, she may be the first female president of the United States. But if that happens, she won’t be the only one breaking a gender barrier: her husband Bill will step into a role no man has ever held before. So what kind of first lady will Bill Clinton be? (Besides, of course, a manly one).</b><br /><b><br /></b><b>Different women leveraged the position in different ways: some argue that Lady Bird Johnson was the first to modernize the job when she campaigned on behalf of her husband Lyndon B Johnson in the mid 60s, but others wielded significant political clout before her. Eleanor Roosevelt’s work as a writer, activist, public speaker and social reformer is perhaps most famous. But other notably hard-working first ladies include Florence Harding, wife of Warren G, a passionate suffragette who edited all of her husband’s important speeches and pushed hard to influence his appointments.</b><br /><b><br /></b><b>But when Hillary Clinton moved into the White House in 1993, she was not granted the same flexibility. As the chair of the Task Force on National Health Care reform, she was slammed in the press for stepping beyond the reaches of her role, in spite of her clear qualifications to work on policy: the implication was that she was being unladylike. To many Americans, the revelations about her husband’s extramarital sexual proclivities confirmed their belief that Hillary was failing to fulfill the remit of the first lady: to be a pleasant and decorative hostess who represents a “traditional” and anachronistic family: a man in charge, a faithful and helpful woman by his side (even though a number of other presidents and first ladies have also had notable affairs). Indeed, Clinton blamed the affair in part on herself for failing as a wife.</b></span></div>
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http://1stfirstgentleman.com/http://www.blogger.com/profile/10343662662095460182noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4254054893903574875.post-29914336177545173242016-05-29T06:24:00.001-07:002016-05-29T06:24:04.722-07:00If Hillary Clinton Becomes President, Who Will Be the First Lady?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<b style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">Though Bill Clinton's waggish reply - "First Laddie!" </b><b style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">"</b><b style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">1st First Gentleman</b><b style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">!"</b><b style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">- is</b></h3>
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<b><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-D4T5NMAJQhw/V0GEtjrf1yI/AAAAAAAABB4/Kd3dDQ2IKVc1xOxcgso-0dVXDjg8pIJowCLcB/s1600/1st%2BFirst%2BGentleman--.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; color: #4d469c; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-D4T5NMAJQhw/V0GEtjrf1yI/AAAAAAAABB4/Kd3dDQ2IKVc1xOxcgso-0dVXDjg8pIJowCLcB/s400/1st%2BFirst%2BGentleman--.jpg" style="border: none; padding: 8px; position: relative;" width="400" /></span></a></b></div>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>more a confirmation of his political professionalism (make a joke, reach out to wavering voters of Scottish ancestry) than useful, it is a question he will have to consider if Hillary makes it to the White House.</b><br /><b>First ladies of yore took their time: not until 1877, nearly 90 years after George Washington became the first US president, did they settle on First Lady, having called themselves "Lady", "Mrs President", "Mrs Presidentress", even "Queen". But these days it would be a dereliction of duty if a tabloid journalist did not come up with a name for him in the first 24 hours - so Bill would be well advised to get in first.</b><br /><b><br /></b><b>There have been several non-wives who served as "first ladies." Presidents Andrew Jackson, Martin Van Buren, and John Tyler all had wives who died either before they were elected or while they were in office. In these cases, a close female relative, like a daughter or a niece, took on the position. James Buchanan was the only president to enter and leave the White House as a bachelor. He adopted his orphan niece, Harriet Lane, and appointed her to handle the First Lady's business.</b><br /><b><br /></b><b>The most generally suggested term is 1st First Gentleman. As that's also what the husbands of the female governors of Michigan and Alaska call themselves, perhaps they could gracefully step aside. Other countries have ducked the issue - in Ireland, Mary McAleese's husband is generally called Dr Martin McAleese, the president's husband; Angela Merkel's spouse, a quantum chemist, is so unwilling to have anything to do with her job that he was once nicknamed "the Phantom of the Opera" by the German press. But both the Philippines and India have First Gentlemen, so maybe Bill could join them, and make a club of three. Just so long as he's not called First Partner. Or, heaven forfend, First Spouse.</b></span></div>
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http://1stfirstgentleman.com/http://www.blogger.com/profile/10343662662095460182noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4254054893903574875.post-17267808246784463772016-05-29T06:23:00.000-07:002016-05-29T06:23:03.961-07:00Bill Clinton responds to Trump attacks,1st first gentleman<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<b style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">Bill Clinton signaled his strategy for dealing with Donald's Trump's attacks on </b></h3>
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<b><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ijP05jDfvc0/V0GKOjwoKMI/AAAAAAAABCI/QCTIfD3_JZo8w-_c9-KdM1vmTjvD8ga2gCLcB/s1600/Bill%2BClinton%252C%2BMonica%2BLewinsky.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; color: #4d469c; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="384" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ijP05jDfvc0/V0GKOjwoKMI/AAAAAAAABCI/QCTIfD3_JZo8w-_c9-KdM1vmTjvD8ga2gCLcB/s400/Bill%2BClinton%252C%2BMonica%2BLewinsky.jpg" style="border: none; padding: 8px; position: relative;" width="400" /></span></a></b></div>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>his personal conduct Tuesday: ignore, and move on.</b><br /><b><br /></b><b>On a campaign swing through Puerto Rico Tuesday, the former president was asked by a reporter whether he had any response to Trump's latest attack on Twitter -- alluding to his past infidelities and charging that he was the "worst abuser" of women in U.S. political history.</b><br /><b><br /></b><b>Even for Trump, the anything-goes showman whose insults left rivals reeling in the GOP primaries, the attacks have a searing personal dimension, pushing boundaries and forcing his presumed Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton, to relive the humiliation of her husband’s adultery.</b><br /><b><br /></b><b>Given Trump’s own extramarital dalliances along his tabloid-chronicled path from his first wife to his second and third, the tactic could backfire. But it serves strategic goals for the presumptive GOP presidential nominee.</b><br /><b><br /></b><b>Donald J. Trump ✔ @realDonaldTrump</b><br /><b>Amazing that Crooked Hillary can do a hit ad on me concerning women when her husband was the WORST abuser of woman in U.S. political history</b><br /><b><br /></b><b>After Trump tweeted about the Clinton scandals of the 1990s earlier this month, Hillary Clinton was asked during a campaign appearance in Virginia whether she would attempt to correct the record on his provocations.</b><br /><b>"I am going to let him run his campaign however he chooses," she said. "I have nothing to say about him and how he is running his campaign."</b><br /><b>Her campaign stuck to that approach Tuesday, issuing no formal response to Trump's trolling on Twitter.</b></span></div>
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http://1stfirstgentleman.com/http://www.blogger.com/profile/10343662662095460182noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4254054893903574875.post-91463889431902182432016-05-29T06:22:00.003-07:002016-05-29T06:22:20.695-07:00Donald Trump steps up attack on Bill Clinton with link to old rape allegations<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<b style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">Donald J. Trump escalated his attacks on former President Bill Clinton’s past </b></h3>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>in an interview on Wednesday with Sean Hannity on Fox News, bringing up an old allegation of rape.</b><br /><b><br /></b><b>Discussing a recent New York Times article regarding Mr. Trump’s history with women, Mr. Hannity led Mr. Trump down a line of questioning, naming women who had accused Mr. Clinton of sexual misconduct.</b><br /><b><br /></b><b>“For example, I looked at The New York Times,” Mr. Hannity said. “Are they going to interview Juanita Broaddrick? Are they going to interview Paula Jones? Are they going to interview Kathleen Willey?”</b><br /><b><br /></b><b>He continued: “In one case, it’s about exposure. In another case, it’s about groping and fondling and touching against a woman’s will.”</b><br /><b><br /></b><b>Mr Trump appeared to be referencing the claims of Juanita Broaddrick, who alleged in 1999 that Mr Clinton had raped her two decades earlier.</b><br /><b><br /></b><b>Mrs Broaddrick was also interviewed on Tuesday, and said that the allegations against Mr Clinton were not receiving sufficient attention. She also implicated Hillary Clinton, Mr Trump's probable general election opponent.</b><br /><b><br /></b><b>"I feel like she has been the enabler behind him, in allowing him to continue on the same path that he did back in the 70's and 80's and 90's," she told Breitbart, the right-wing website. "He has absolutely no morals when it comes to women."</b><br /><b><br /></b><b>Nick Merrill, the traveling press secretary for the Clinton campaign, likened Mr. Trump’s latest allegations to “doing what he does best, attacking when he feels wounded and dragging the American people through the mud for his own gain.”</b><br /><b><br /></b><b>Mr. Merrill added: “If that’s the kind of campaign he wants to run, that’s his choice. Hillary Clinton is running a campaign to be president for all of America. It’s not surprising that after a week of still refusing to release his taxes and likening Oakland and Ferguson to the dangers in Iraq, of course he wants to change the subject. So while he licks his wounds, we’ll continue to focus on improving the lives of the American people.”</b></span></span></div>
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http://1stfirstgentleman.com/http://www.blogger.com/profile/10343662662095460182noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4254054893903574875.post-21907215572667759552016-05-29T06:21:00.003-07:002016-05-29T06:21:32.105-07:00Bill Clinton: Hillary has ‘best economic ideas’<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<b style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">Former President of the United States Bill Clinton speaks at Bonita Vista High </b></h3>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>School Saturday on behalf of his wife, presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. Chula Vista — Former President Bill Clinton on Saturday told an adoring crowd that Hillary Clinton “has the best economic ideas” that can "help us all rise together."</b><br /><b><br /></b><b>He said his wife, the Democratic presidential candidate, and her opponent Bernie Sanders have debated the important issues facing the country, and made no mention of Sanders’ increasing criticism of Hillary Clinton as the campaign heads toward the California primary June 7.</b><br /><br /><b>Sanders plans a rally starting at 7:30 P.M. Saturday at National City’s Kimball Park and another in Vista Sunday afternoon.</b><br /><b><br /></b><b>Bill Clinton told hundreds of people in the Bonita Vista High School gym — and hundreds more in an outdoor overflow area where his comments were piped in — that they needed to help deliver a big win and the necessary delegates to allow Hillary Clinton to clinch the nomination before the summer Democratic convention in Philadelphia.</b><br /><b><br /></b><b>Bill Clinton told hundreds of people in the Bonita Vista High School gym — and hundreds more in an outdoor overflow area where his comments were piped in — that they needed to help deliver a big win and the necessary delegates to allow Hillary Clinton to clinch the nomination before the summer Democratic convention in Philadelphia.</b><br /><b><br /></b><b>On Saturday, he reiterated that Hillary Clinton wants college students to be able to refinance student loans, and allow them to volunteer for public service for three years to get debt relief — which he added will make it easier for them to move out of their parents’ homes.</b><br /><b><br /></b><b>That was particularly well received by a crowd that was decidedly younger than the one earlier this month.</b><br /><b><br /></b><b>He suggested Hillary Clinton, the former secretary of state and New York senator, would do the best job of helping the country welcome people regardless of where they are from and who they are. He added the country needs to eliminate discrimination against the LGBT community and people with disabilities.</b><br /><b><br /></b><b>Without mentioning Donald Trump, Clinton railed against the presumptive Republican nominee’s proposal to build a wall along the length of the U.S.-Mexico border.</b></span></span></div>
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http://1stfirstgentleman.com/http://www.blogger.com/profile/10343662662095460182noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4254054893903574875.post-51798359512841278552016-05-29T06:20:00.004-07:002016-05-29T06:20:46.576-07:00Trump is 'not qualified' to be president, says Clinton – as it happened<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<b style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">Hillary Clinton, for the first time since launching her campaign, declared </b></h3>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>herself the inevitable nominee of the Democratic party, having held off a surprisingly strong challenge from her progressive rival, Bernie Sanders. While Clinton has maintained a comfortable lead in both delegates and votes, her opponent has refused to bow out of the primary race even as his path to the nomination narrowed. Today, Clinton said her pledged delegate lead is “insurmountable” and concluded that Sanders is no longer a barrier on her path to the nomination.</b><br /><b><br /></b><b>She cited his proposal to temporarily bar Muslims from entering American borders, his comments about diminishing the United States’ involvement in NATO and his remarks that he would negotiate directly with the North Korean dictator, Kim Jong-un, as evidence of how “unmoored” Mr. Trump is on foreign policy.</b><br /><b><br /></b><b>This month, when MSNBC asked a similar question, Mrs. Clinton said that Mr. Trump had “given no indication that he understood the gravity of the responsibilities that go with being commander in chief.” But she stopped short of emphatically declaring that he was unqualified.</b><br /><b><br /></b><b>Mrs. Clinton’s statements come as she encounters a lingering threat for the Democratic nomination from Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, whose supporters have become increasingly antagonistic toward her candidacy. Despite recent primary wins by Mr. Sanders, his path to the party’s nomination appears mathematically impossible, a fact Mrs. Clinton sought to make abundantly clear.</b><br /><b><br /></b><b>“I will be the nominee of our party, Chris,” she told Mr. Cuomo. “There is no way I won’t be.”</b><br /><b><br /></b><b>On Thursday afternoon, Michael Briggs, a spokesman for Mr. Sanders, said in a statement that his candidate’s recent victories in Indiana, West Virginia and Oregon showed that voters there “respectfully disagreed with Secretary Clinton.” He added, “We expect voters in the remaining eight contests also will disagree,” and said that some polls showing Mr. Sanders faring better than Mrs. Clinton against Mr. Trump made it “clear that millions of Americans have growing doubts about the Clinton campaign.”</b><br /><b><br /></b><b>Throughout the interview, Mrs. Clinton appeared ready to put the primaries behind her and move on to Mr. Trump. Asked if she would consider naming Mr. Sanders her vice-presidential nominee, in an effort to unify the party and bring in his liberal and young supporters, she demurred.</b></span></span></div>
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http://1stfirstgentleman.com/http://www.blogger.com/profile/10343662662095460182noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4254054893903574875.post-3891695406317116312016-05-29T06:19:00.002-07:002016-05-29T06:19:26.647-07:00Donald Trump, Correctly, Labels Bill Clinton A Rapist<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<b style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump escalated his </span></b></h3>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>attacks on former President Bill Clinton, accusing him of rape in a Fox News interview Wednesday.</b><br /><br /><b>In an interview on Fox News’s “Hannity,” Sean Hannity compared allegations of Trump harassing women that appeared in The New York Times with accusations made against the former president.</b><br /><b><br /></b><b>“For example, I looked at The New York Times. Are they going to interview Juanita Broaddrick? Are they going to interview Paula Jones? Are they going to interview Kathleen Willey?" Hannity said, listing women who have made allegations of sexual misconduct against Clinton.</b><br /><br /><b>“In one case, it's about exposure,” he continued. “In another case, it's about groping and fondling and touching against a woman's will.”</b><br /><br /><b>“And rape,” Trump responded.</b><br /><br /><b>“And rape,” Hannity said.</b><br /><br /><b>"And big settlements, massive settlements," Trump continued. "And lots of other things.</b><br /><b><br /></b><b>In an interview with Fox News Channel host Sean Hannity, Trump was answering questions about an unflattering story published this past weekend by The New York Times involving his relationships with women when he turned his attention to Bill Clinton.</b><br /><b>"By the way, you know, it's not like the worst things, OK," Trump said. "You look at what Clinton's gone through with all of the problems and all of the things that he's done."</b><br /><b>Hannity went on to question whether the newspaper would interview women including Juanita Broaddrick, Paula Jones and Kathleen Willey. All three have accused Bill Clinton of sexual misconduct.</b><br /><b><br /></b><b>The real estate mogul has lashed out at the Clintons in the past over the former president’s infidelities, going so far as to call his wife, Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton, an “enabler.”</b><br /><br /><b>But until now, he had stopped short of accusing Bill Clinton of rape.</b><br /><br /><b>In 1999, Broaddrick, a former nursing home employee, accused Clinton of raping her decades earlier when he was a gubernatorial candidate in Arkansas.</b><br /><br /><b>Clinton denied the allegations through his attorney and refused to comment on them.</b></span></span></div>
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http://1stfirstgentleman.com/http://www.blogger.com/profile/10343662662095460182noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4254054893903574875.post-7938840083599142962011-07-27T02:48:00.000-07:002011-07-27T02:48:50.350-07:00David Wu to Resign Amid Pressure<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NeIJyrlAZ-k/Ti_e86jzwWI/AAAAAAAAGxQ/8GRHW_6yWIg/s1600/David+Wu+to+Resign+Amid+Pressure.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NeIJyrlAZ-k/Ti_e86jzwWI/AAAAAAAAGxQ/8GRHW_6yWIg/s1600/David+Wu+to+Resign+Amid+Pressure.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>Rep. David Wu, D-Ore., announced Tuesday he would resign from Congress, following allegations of sexual misconduct with a teenage girl.</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><br />
</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>The resignation announcement came in the wake of a report last week that the teenage daughter of a longtime friend and campaign donor called the congressman's office earlier this year to accuse him of an unwanted sexual encounter over Thanksgiving.</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><br />
</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>Wu, 56, acknowledged the incident to his aides but said it was consensual, the Portland Oregonian reported.</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><br />
</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>On Monday, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-San Francisco, called for a formal ethics investigation. By Tuesday, Wu, a seven-term member of Congress, said he would resign his post, which he called "the greatest privilege of my life."</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><br />
</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>"I cannot care for my family the way I wish while serving in Congress and fighting these very serious allegations," Wu said in a statement. "The well-being of my children must come before anything else."</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><br />
</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>The accusations against David Wu are jarring and exceptionally serious. While he – like every American – deserves an opportunity to address those accusations and defend himself, our constituents in the first district of Oregon deserve a member in the House of Representatives whose main focus is fighting for their interests,” the senators said.</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><br />
</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>“This is a critical time for our state and our nation and Oregonians need every member of their Congressional delegation to be effective. While no one takes pleasure in asking a colleague to resign, we believe he can no longer be an effective representative for our shared constituents and should, in the best interest of Oregon, step down.”</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><br />
</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>On Monday, Wu confided in his close friend and House Democratic Caucus Chairman Rep. John Larson (D-Conn.), who in his advice to Wu said, “Dave, you have to do what’s in the best interest of your young family, and yourself and then the institution, in that order.”</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><br />
</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>Larson also told Wu that “there are no good answers to this,” during their conversation.</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><br />
</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>Someone speaking on Wu’s behalf initially told reporters the 7-term Oregon Congressman would not resign, but would not seek reelection in 2012. Two Democrat elected officials had already announced their intentions to run against Wu before these recent allegations were made public.</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><br />
</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>The congressional district Wu has represented since 1999 is heavily Democratic and he previously won each of his previous races by double-digit margins.</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><br />
</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>Wu is the second House Democrat to resign over sexual indiscretions this year. In June, former Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.) resigned after sending inappropriate messages and photographs to several women via Twitter.</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><br />
</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>When Wu’s resignation is effective and his seat has been officially vacated, Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber will call a special election.</b></span></div></div>http://1stfirstgentleman.com/http://www.blogger.com/profile/10343662662095460182noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4254054893903574875.post-72291567628140010492011-07-27T02:47:00.000-07:002011-07-27T02:47:53.637-07:00Huntsman campaign focuses on N.H.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oQlI1BNYNcU/Ti_ekCW_t3I/AAAAAAAAGxM/zByUpypsI_g/s1600/Huntsman+campaign.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oQlI1BNYNcU/Ti_ekCW_t3I/AAAAAAAAGxM/zByUpypsI_g/s1600/Huntsman+campaign.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>While Jon Huntsman was winding down his tenure as the U.S. Ambassador to China, a "campaign-in-waiting" was being carefully assembled, so that when he was free of his duties to the Obama White House, he could hit the ground running and get his 2012 candidacy in gear. Those first days of the Huntsman campaign were a model of effeiciency -- Huntsman got on the ground, met with state officials, laid out a plan of attack and -- with a little bit of web-video whimsy -- they got the media to devote lots of time covering the lead-up to his official announcement in front of the Statue of Liberty.</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><br />
</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>And that announcement? Well, it was kind of a bust! Republican voters, as it turned out, liked him less the more they got to know him. And since then, the campaign has gotten stranger.</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><br />
</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>Huntsman, in his speech, called for a “more skeptical’’ view of America’s foreign entanglements.</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><br />
</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>“I look at Libya. There’s no defined goal, no defined national security interest, no exit strategy. I say why do we want to be involved?’’ Huntsman said.</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><br />
</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>On Afghanistan, Huntsman said, “It’s time for us to come home,’’ citing several achievements there including free elections.</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><br />
</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>Turning to Pakistan, Huntsman said, “We can’t do a damn thing about Pakistan. Only Pakistan can save Pakistan. . . . We can’t wish for stability in a nation state more than they do.’’</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><br />
</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>The appearance came as Huntsman is building his presence in New Hampshire, with more than 20 paid staff and several offices opening this summer. Huntsman plans to return the first week in August. He will need to build up his name recognition. Recent polling put him in the low single digits in New Hampshire, and voters tend to know little about him.</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><br />
</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>Behind the scenes, Huntsman has been attacking former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, who is ahead in polls here. A recent e-mail from Huntsman’s campaign was headlined, “The Romney-Obama Budget Plan: Raise Taxes.</b></span></div></div>http://1stfirstgentleman.com/http://www.blogger.com/profile/10343662662095460182noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4254054893903574875.post-56784644535872030202011-07-27T02:39:00.000-07:002011-07-27T02:39:28.610-07:00Jared Lee Loughner: 'I Want to Die, Give Me the Injection, Kill Me Now<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-k-MrAo5CsX0/Ti_cfDRDA0I/AAAAAAAAGxI/U4eO6DSxnpA/s1600/Jared+Lee+Loughner+%2527I+Want+to+Die.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-k-MrAo5CsX0/Ti_cfDRDA0I/AAAAAAAAGxI/U4eO6DSxnpA/s1600/Jared+Lee+Loughner+%2527I+Want+to+Die.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>Jared Lee Loughner, who is accused of killing six people and injuring 13 others in Tucson Arizona, including Gabrielle Giffords, is being forcibly medicated as he is a danger to himself.</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><br />
</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>Court papers have revealed that Loughner, who has been deemed not fit enough to stand trial, is depressed and has "regret for the circumstances that led to his arrest. He also reported that the radio was talking to him and inserting thoughts into his mind."</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><br />
</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>While under suicide watch, Loughner "began pacing quickly in circles near his cell door" and was heard "screaming loudly and seen crying for hours at a time," according to court documents. "He was observed rocking back and forth in the showers."</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><br />
</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>One doctor reported that Loughner was often viewed as "inconsolable, uncooperative and unresponsive" and "also displayed hypersexed behavior." He talked about the "killings" and the possibility of receiving the death penalty and sobbed uncontrollably for 55 minutes. At one point Loughner said, "I want to die. Give me the injection, kill me now."</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><br />
</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>A federal appeals court is set to hear arguments regarding Loughner's forced medication in August after the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday night denied an emergency motion by defense lawyers to keep prison officials from forcibly medicating Loughner with a psychotropic drug.</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><br />
</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>Loughner, 22, has pleaded not guilty in the Jan. 8 shooting in Tucson that killed six and left 13 others wounded, including Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz. Loughner was declared mentally unfit to contribute to his defense by a federal judge and is being held in Springfield, Mo.</b></span></div></div>http://1stfirstgentleman.com/http://www.blogger.com/profile/10343662662095460182noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4254054893903574875.post-83548502630001712282011-07-27T02:32:00.000-07:002011-07-27T02:32:09.648-07:00Credit hit worries Obama, Congress more than default<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-y-ysV3wYRXo/Ti_a7gUQcVI/AAAAAAAAGxE/F0RQzdPU09o/s1600/Credit+hit+worries+Obama.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-y-ysV3wYRXo/Ti_a7gUQcVI/AAAAAAAAGxE/F0RQzdPU09o/s1600/Credit+hit+worries+Obama.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>US debt crisis has escalated after Republicans were forced to rewrite their proposal to lift the debt ceiling, because they miscalculated how much the original plan would cut spending.</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><br />
</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>In an embarrassing development for John Boehner, the Republican Congress speaker, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) ruled on Tuesday night that his bill would have only cut spending by $850bn over the next decade, not the $1.2tr he had aimed for. Republicans are now racing to rewrite the legislation, and have pushed back a Congressional vote on the plan from Wednesday to Thursday at the earliest.</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><br />
</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>Although Boehner was already struggling to find support for his package, the delay increases the risk that Washington will fail to agree a deal to raise the debt ceiling before 2 August, when the federal government is expected to run out of money.</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><br />
</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>The dollar dropped against other currencies on Wednesday morning as investors faced the possibility that America could default. Several economists believe the country will lose its AAA credit rating within months, which would push up its borrowing costs, even if the $14.3tr debt ceiling is increased in time.</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><br />
</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>The White House said on Tuesday it was working with Congress to devise a "Plan B" that might attract enough support. The two sides have been deeply divided for weeks, with Republicans demanding deep spending cuts and Democrats anxious to include tax rises as a major part of the deal.</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><br />
</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>Threat of a downgrade “is very damaging to all of us, and that would be a product of the dysfunction of Congress” said Rep. Peter Welch (D-Vt.), who led a faction of House Democrats who argued for a “clean” debt-limit increase early in the process, only to watch escalating chatter about the “Armageddon” of a missed deal feed scrutiny of the nation’s fiscal health.</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><br />
</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>S&P raised the threat of a downgrade July 14 by declaring that raising the debt limit alone might not be enough. It wanted to see an enforceable agreement to cut $4 trillion over 10 years to affirm the triple-A rating.</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><br />
</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>Administration officials were shocked by the move. They suggested privately that it did not seem to square with prior S&P reports, which said the nation’s larger budget problems could be dealt with over several years. Some administration officials dismissed the S&P report as little more than amateur political prognostication by people with limited understanding of how Washington works.</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><br />
</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>But the White House’s statements in the past week show a downgrade is now top of mind. Obama himself invoked the country’s triple-A rating in a rare prime-time address Monday as he outlined the consequences of default.</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><br />
</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>“For the first time in history, our country’s triple-A credit rating would be downgraded, leaving investors around the world to wonder whether the United States is still a good bet,” Obama said. “Interest rates would skyrocket on credit cards, on mortgages and on car loans, which amounts to a huge tax hike on the American people. We would risk sparking a deep economic crisis — this one caused almost entirely by Washington.”</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><br />
</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>Nearly every debt-limit conversation on Capitol Hill is infused with debate over the potential for either a downgrade, a default, or both. Democrats have embraced the argument of the White House: A short-term plan could result in a debilitating downgrade even if default is avoided.</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><br />
</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>Republicans are moving forward with their two-phase plan, but they’ve shown some concern about the possibility of ratings agencies scarring America’s creditworthiness. There’s significant disagreement in the GOP about the prospects of default and downgrade, and some lawmakers believe the administration and congressional leaders have created a false panic to box them into voting to raise the debt ceiling.</b></span></div></div>http://1stfirstgentleman.com/http://www.blogger.com/profile/10343662662095460182noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4254054893903574875.post-35429132835600476972011-07-27T02:25:00.000-07:002011-07-27T02:25:53.588-07:00Norway suspect's claim of allies in doubt<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yxEVpE7PUHc/Ti_ZkGfGGFI/AAAAAAAAGxA/RSIHIf-X44I/s1600/Norway+suspect%2527s+claim+of+allies+in+doubt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yxEVpE7PUHc/Ti_ZkGfGGFI/AAAAAAAAGxA/RSIHIf-X44I/s1600/Norway+suspect%2527s+claim+of+allies+in+doubt.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>OSLO, Norway — The leader of Norway's Delta Force says the breakdown of the team's boat didn't cause any significant delay in its efforts to reach the island where Anders Behring Breivik's shooting rampage killed 68 people.</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>Anders Snortheimsmoen told reporters Wednesday that even though the assigned boat quickly broke down, the team immediately jumped into another, better boat. He says his team arrived by the harbor at the same time as local police and that the boat mishap caused "no delay."</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>At the same news conference, Justice Minister Knut Storberget praised the team, saying it helped "limit the tragedy" on Utoya island and the bombing in the city center. Friday's twin terrorist acts claimed at least 76 lives.</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>OSLO, Norway — A spokesman for the Norwegian Railway Authority says parts of Oslo's central station have been evacuated as police investigate an abandoned suitcase.</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>Olav Nordli says the suitcase was found in the area where buses depart for Oslo's airport. Police have sealed off the area and are examining the abaondoned luggage.</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>The city is on high alert in the wake of Friday's bombing and youth camp shooting that killed 68 people.</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>The first Cabinet ministers were to return to their offices Wednesday after a car bomb exploded in the government district of the Norwegian capital.</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><br />
</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>On Wednesday, police detonated an unknown quantity of explosives found on a farm owned by Breivik north of Oslo in a controlled blast.</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><br />
</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>CBS News partner network Sky News reports that Breivik posed for years as a farmer in order to purchase large amounts of synthetic fertilizer, some of which he obtained online from a Polish company.</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><br />
</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>Norway's intelligence chief told the BBC on Wednesday that investigators have found no evidence to support Breivik's claims of contact with other extremist individuals or groups in Britain or anywhere else.</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><br />
</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>"We don't have indications that he has been part of a broader movement or that he has been in connection with other cells or that there are other cells," Janne Kristiansen told the BBC.</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><br />
</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>She cautioned that the investigation was still underway and that connections to other groups or individuals could not be ruled out.</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><br />
</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>In a voluminous online manifesto posted the morning before the attack Breivik expressed an admiration for right-wing extremist groups in the U.S. and Europe.</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><br />
</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>"We are in close contact with our sister services in Europe, America and elsewhere," said Kristiansen.</b></span></div></div>http://1stfirstgentleman.com/http://www.blogger.com/profile/10343662662095460182noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4254054893903574875.post-69705993457520757382011-07-27T02:20:00.000-07:002011-07-27T02:20:38.292-07:00Norway killer: 'no link' to British far-right groups<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Ii9X31XkfhU/Ti_YWJ3QvgI/AAAAAAAAGw8/gOfE_2G_pEE/s1600/Norway+killer+no+link%2527+to+British.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Ii9X31XkfhU/Ti_YWJ3QvgI/AAAAAAAAGw8/gOfE_2G_pEE/s1600/Norway+killer+no+link%2527+to+British.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>Explosives found at a farm leased by Anders Behring Breivik, the sole suspect in Friday's killings in Norway, have been safely detonated in a controlled explosion about 160km north of Oslo by the Norwegian police.</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><br />
</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>Police believe that Breivik, 32, made his bomb using fertiliser which he had bought under the cover that he was a farmer.</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><br />
</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>Tueday's detonation came as Breivik's lawyer, Geir Lippestad, said that he is probably insane, and was on drugs while he carried out his attacks that killed 68 in Utoeya island and eight in Oslo.</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><br />
</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>Lippestad said it was too early to say if his client would plead insanity at his trial, even though he thought the loner and computer-games enthusiast was probably a madman.</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><br />
</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>"This whole case indicated that he is insane," Lippestad said of Breivik, who has confessed to "atrocious but necessary" actions, but denies he is a criminal.</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><br />
</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>Breivik, who killed at least 76 people in twin attacks last week, has written of meeting British right-wing groups nine years ago.</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>But Ms Kristiansen said she believed he had acted on his own.</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>The intelligence chief added that she did not believe the killer was insane, but calculating and evil, and someone who sought the limelight.</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>Breivik's lawyer Geir Lippestad, had said it was too early to say if his client would plead insanity at his trial, even though "this whole case indicated that he is insane".</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><br />
</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>He believes that he's in a war and he believes that when you're in a war you can do things like that without pleading guilty," Mr Lippestad told reporters.</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>Ms Kristiansen's comments came as Norwegian police started releasing names of some of Breivik's victims.</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>They published four names, with more expected to follow later today.</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>Norwegian police have also defended the fact that it took an hour and a half for armed officers to reach Utoeya.</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>"I don't think we think we could have done this faster," Police Chief of Staff Johan Fredriksen said in Oslo.</b></span></div></div>http://1stfirstgentleman.com/http://www.blogger.com/profile/10343662662095460182noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4254054893903574875.post-27544870888902200632011-07-27T02:14:00.000-07:002011-07-27T02:14:45.538-07:00GOP Bucks Boehner's Plan That Obama Threatens to Veto<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-N_-9i36_Mq0/Ti_W92RrWjI/AAAAAAAAGw4/-gd83fLm09Y/s1600/GOP+Bucks+Boehner%2527s+Plan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-N_-9i36_Mq0/Ti_W92RrWjI/AAAAAAAAGw4/-gd83fLm09Y/s1600/GOP+Bucks+Boehner%2527s+Plan.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>WASHINGTON - US Representative Richard Neal has been thwarted for years in his effort to stop foreign insurance companies from shifting premiums paid by their US customers to offshore tax havens.</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><br />
</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>This week, it became clear that the Springfield Democrat will be frustrated once again, as Democrats and Republicans in Congress have left tax code changes out of their competing plans to raise the debt limit.</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><br />
</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>While much of the nation’s attention has been riveted on the determination of fiscal conservatives in the House to block any provision that raises new revenue, Neal’s unsuccessful effort to close what he calls an offshore tax loophole is an example of how business interests have stymied an array of tax code changes sought by President Obama, Democrats, and even some Republicans in the Senate.</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><br />
</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>“It’s the lobbying muscle,’’ Neal said. “Once something becomes embedded in the tax code, its very hard to extract.’’</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><br />
</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>Coincidentally, the aftermath of the tornadoes that tore through Western Massachusetts last month, causing an estimated $200 million in damage, offers a peek at the particular strategy on some insurance premiums that Neal and others say is unfair to US taxpayers.</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><br />
</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>So far, it doesn't appear Cantor's efforts are working. Rep. Jim Jordan, who chairs the conservative Republican Study Committee, said, "I am confident as of this morning that there were not 218 Republicans in support of this plan," The Washington Post's Felicia Sonmez reports. (No hard feelings though: Jordan insists that he and fellow conservatives "appreciate the speaker's hard work.") Though she's out on the campaign trail, Rep. Michele Bachmann wants everyone to know she does not back Boehner's plan--her staffers told the liberal site Think Progress, "the congresswoman is standing firm opposing the Boehner plan."</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><br />
</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>The Wall Street Journal's Jonathan Weisman tweets that first the Republican Study Committee, then an arm of the Heritage Foundation, and now the Club for Growth are all opposing Boehner's plan: "This is a whip's nightmare -- or a real [break] for compromise." Could conservatives' abandonment of Boehner mean there's a chance to compromise with Democrats? Probably not. The New York Times' Jada F. Smith reports that House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer says when it's time to vote Wednesday, Boehner's plan will get "very few" Democratic votes, if any. And the White House's Office of Management and Budget released a memo saying if the plan, "is presented to the President, the President’s senior advisors would recommend that he veto this bill."</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><br />
</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>Sen. Kent Conrad, of the declared-dead-then-revived-now-probably-dead-again Gang of Six plan, says the "Boehner plan probably has to fail in the House or Senate before debt limit end game becomes clear," Brian Beutler reports. That's one of two scenarios Democrats are gaming out with the hopes of exploiting the disunity in the Republican ranks, The Washington Post's Greg Sargent reports. Sargent explains.</b></span></div></div>http://1stfirstgentleman.com/http://www.blogger.com/profile/10343662662095460182noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4254054893903574875.post-18384727704605330582011-07-27T02:10:00.000-07:002011-07-27T02:10:29.502-07:00Short-term debt hike confounds 2 sides<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yHnpJMw2bhE/Ti_V-NZueGI/AAAAAAAAGw0/4LAUb0hF92E/s1600/Short-term+debt+hike+confounds.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yHnpJMw2bhE/Ti_V-NZueGI/AAAAAAAAGw0/4LAUb0hF92E/s1600/Short-term+debt+hike+confounds.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>WASHINGTON — Neither the House nor the Senate has a clear path forward for must-pass legislation to allow the government to continue to borrow to pay its bills, putting lawmakers and financial markets alike on edge less than a week before the deadline for heading off a first-ever U.S. default.</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>The pressure is on House Speaker John Boehner, who's being forced to rewrite his debt and budget plan after nonpartisan congressional scorekeepers said it wouldn't reap the savings he's promised.</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><br />
</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>The Ohio Republican also needs to shore up his standing with tea party-backed conservatives demanding deeper spending cuts to accompany an almost $1 trillion increase in the government's borrowing cap.</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><br />
</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>In a national, prime-time address Monday, the president declared that Boehner's plan "would force us to once again face the threat of default just six months from now. In other words, it doesn't solve the problem."</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><br />
</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>But debt ceiling increases are by definition temporary. Since 1993, when the debt ceiling stood at $4.37 trillion, Congress raised the limits 13 times, in amounts that lasted from three months to almost five years. The debt ceiling was raised 18 times during President Ronald Reagan's two terms, including three times during his 1984 re-election run, for an average length of about five months. House Republicans point out that is a shorter period than the six-month debt ceiling increase their plan would provide.</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><br />
</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>The problem for Obama is that Boehner's plan ties a second debt ceiling increase to a broad scrubbing of entitlement programs such as Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security, with a goal of reducing long-term deficits by at least $1.8 trillion. White House officials fear that under such a plan, the debt ceiling would once again be pushed to a near-crisis point in January as lawmakers undertake what so far has been a Sisyphean task to cut the costs of the nation's biggest benefit programs.</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><br />
</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>White House officials say that effort would be further complicated because it would be colored by election-year politics.</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><br />
</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>Boehner and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell both have accused Obama of being more worried about his own re-election than the fiscal health of the country. "With all due respect to the president, we have more important things to worry about than getting through the next election," McConnell said.</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><br />
</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>Obama, however, has said he would be willing to seek increases in the debt ceiling during an election year if they somehow would be guaranteed to pass, as they were in a proposal by McConnell.</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><br />
</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>"That way folks in Congress can vote against it, but at least it gets done," Obama said Friday. "I'm willing to take the responsibility. That's my job. So if they want to give me the responsibility to do it, I'm happy to do it."</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><br />
</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>For House Republicans, the two-step process was not always the preferred method either.</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><br />
</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>On June 13, Cantor asserted, "It's my desire to have one debt ceiling vote."</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><br />
</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>A week later, on June 21, he said: "I don't see how multiple votes on a debt ceiling increase can help get us to where we want to go. We want big reforms, we want big spending cuts and big changes to how this town works. And to me, it is a case of having to make some tough decisions. I am not so sure that if we can't make the tough decisions now, why we would be making those tough decisions later."</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><br />
</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>With six days left before the government exhausts its borrowing authority, Republican officials say they no longer have the luxury of planning a single debt ceiling increase to accomplish the deficit reductions they have in mind.</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><br />
</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>Those chances faded Friday when Boehner ended negotiations with the White House for a large package of $4 trillion in deficit reductions over 10 years in exchange for a $2.4 trillion increase in the debt ceiling. Boehner said he walked out of the talks because Obama had insisted on $400 billion more in tax revenue than the $800 billion that Boehner was willing to concede.</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><br />
</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>But Republicans believe the only way Democrats and the president will seriously consider structural changes to Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security is if the debt ceiling is on the line. Boehner's plan as outlined Tuesday would increase the debt ceiling by $900 billion and seek cuts in day-to-day spending that are greater than that. It then would require a joint committee of Congress to identify deficit reduction measures totaling at least $1.8 trillion. Congress would have to approve those cuts before granting a second debt ceiling increase of $1.6 trillion.</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><br />
</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>"At this late hour, any plan that's going to have significant deficit reduction is going to have to be a two-step plan," Boehner spokesman Brendan Buck said. "There's just not time to write all the reforms needed.</b></span></div></div>http://1stfirstgentleman.com/http://www.blogger.com/profile/10343662662095460182noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4254054893903574875.post-44107932963268988982011-05-16T14:19:00.000-07:002011-05-16T14:19:29.151-07:00Merkel, IMF talks cancelled<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: black; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;"></span></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: black; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FulOakIJHPY/Tc-X6AeHHTI/AAAAAAAACF0/e7kc-vZ9h_c/s1600/Angela+Merkel+hot.jpg" style="clear: right; color: #170beb; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-decoration: none;"><span class="Apple-style-span"></span></a></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: black; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VzktOmjbOmE/Tc_zSS_sivI/AAAAAAAAEJ0/5-73W5IYPq0/s1600/Angela+Merkel+Still+Waitng.jpg" style="clear: right; color: #170beb; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-decoration: none;"><img border="0" height="304" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VzktOmjbOmE/Tc_zSS_sivI/AAAAAAAAEJ0/5-73W5IYPq0/s320/Angela+Merkel+Still+Waitng.jpg" style="-webkit-box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0976563) 1px 1px 5px; background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-color: rgb(238, 238, 238); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-color: initial; border-left-color: rgb(238, 238, 238); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1px; border-right-color: rgb(238, 238, 238); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(238, 238, 238); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; border-width: initial; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0976563) 1px 1px 5px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px; padding-top: 5px; position: relative;" width="320" /></a></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: black; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span">Dominique Strauss-Kahn, head of the International Monetary Fund, has been arrested on charges of attempted rape, criminal sexual act and unlawful imprisonment, New York City police said Sunday, the Associated Press reported.</span></b></span></span></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: black; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span"><br />
</span></b></span></span></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: black; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span">A law enforcement official said Mr. Strauss-Kahn was taken into police custody Saturday after being removed from an airplane at Kennedy Airport.</span></b></span></span></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: black; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span"><br />
</span></b></span></span></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: black; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span">The law enforcement official said Mr. Strauss-Kahn allegedly forced a cleaning woman onto his bed and sexually assaulted her at around 1 p.m. Saturday inside his room at the Sofitel Hotel near Times Square.</span></b></span></span></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: black; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span"><br />
</span></b></span></span></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: black; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span">Mr. Strauss-Kahn's attorney didn't immediately return phone or email messages seeking comment.</span></b></span></span></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: black; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span"><br />
</span></b></span></span></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: black; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span">Talks between German Chancellor Angela Merkel and arrested IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn, set for Sunday, have been cancelled as the International Monetary Fund will not send a replacement to Berlin, a government source said.</span></b></span></span></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: black; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span"><br />
</span></b></span></span></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: black; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span">The charges, if true, would strike a tremendous blow to France's current politics. The Socialist Party is holding primaries this fall, but candidates have been requested to apply between June 28 and July 13.</span></b></span></span></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: black; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span"><br />
</span></b></span></span></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: black; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span">Mr. Strauss-Kahn's decision regarding his candidacy has been much awaited as polls have constantly shown over the past few months that he would beat Mr. Sarkozy as soon as the first round. His decision was expected as soon as the end of May, a person close to him told Dow Jones Newswires.</span></b></span></span></div></div></div></div></div>http://1stfirstgentleman.com/http://www.blogger.com/profile/10343662662095460182noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4254054893903574875.post-17065299203325268312011-05-16T11:34:00.000-07:002011-05-16T11:34:03.146-07:00Corrupt corporate legislation<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jVWWmi_niIo/Tc5B8W6vcMI/AAAAAAAAAR4/g-IsrSbC5SQ/s1600/Think+about+US+budget+2011.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jVWWmi_niIo/Tc5B8W6vcMI/AAAAAAAAAR4/g-IsrSbC5SQ/s400/Think+about+US+budget+2011.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="400" /></span></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Just think about 100 Senators and 435 Representatives total numbers representative are 441 with 5 Delegates and one Resident.</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">If any corporation invest on 50% members one million dollars per member.The total amount will be 220.5 millions Dollars. After that they can make law as corporation want with 25% support of natural agreed members.Simply "that corporation" will "Get benefits" of just some "Billions" only.</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Estimated War-Related Costs, Iraq and Afghanistan</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Estimated Costs of war in Afghanistan 2011</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">119.4 Billions US$</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Estimated Costs of war in Iraq 2011</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">51.1 Billions US$</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Currently, the United States consumes 19.6 million barrels per day, of oil, which is more than 25% of the world's total.</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">If Congressman or Senator talk angrily on Middle east the oil prices will rise again.</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">If oil prices rise only 1$ per "Barrel" Poor corporations just get 19.6 US$ million per day only##########</span></b></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></b></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Which one not agreed with them. They have many other "<a href="http://www.carpenoctem.tv/cons/sex.html">Alternate solutions</a>"</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Bills for raising Revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives; but the Senate may propose or concur with Amendments as on other Bills. ”</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">This establishes the method for making Acts of Congress. Accordingly, any bill may originate in either House of Congress, except for a revenue bill, which may originate only in the House of Representatives. In practice, the Senate can simply circumvent this requirement by substituting the text of any bill previously passed by the House with the text of a revenue bill, as was done with H.R. 1424 or the Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 1982. When the Senate sends an appropriation bill to the House, the House may return it to the Senate with a blue slip, thereby settling the question in practice. Either House may amend any bill, including revenue and appropriation bills.</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The Origination Clause stems from an English parliamentary requirement that all money bills start from the House of Commons; it was intended to ensure that the "power of the purse" lies with the legislative body closer to the people. The clause was also part of a compromise between small and large states: the latter were unhappy with equal representation in the Senate.</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">What did you think about US budget 2011?</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">Where are we (Americans).....................?</span></b></div></div></div>http://1stfirstgentleman.com/http://www.blogger.com/profile/10343662662095460182noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4254054893903574875.post-39468344699510869092011-05-16T11:32:00.000-07:002011-05-16T11:32:43.496-07:00Consumer Outlook for China Luxury<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fHYq22om7O8/Tc5GthB1OyI/AAAAAAAAAR8/3Indfz_yeoA/s1600/OUTLOOK+FOR+CHINA+LUXURY+2011.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" height="186" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fHYq22om7O8/Tc5GthB1OyI/AAAAAAAAAR8/3Indfz_yeoA/s320/OUTLOOK+FOR+CHINA+LUXURY+2011.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="320" /></span></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Chinese i</span></b><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">ncomes</span></b><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> are going up. For some that means a stop at the local fast food restaurant is affordable, for others, it has created a pension for brand names, expensive cars and glitzy jewelry.</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">McKinsey, a management consultancy, recently reported it expects China will account for 20 percent of the world's luxury goods in just four years. By then, it says, the luxury market could be worth 27 billion dollars.</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Rapid increases in wealth, and shifting social mores that sanction the display of that wealth, are driving a growing infatuation for luxury goods among Chinese consumers.”</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“Access to an explosion of information on the Internet, an increasing penchant for overseas travel, and first-hand experience purchasing and consuming luxury goods are contributing to a substantial rise in sophistication among luxury consumers in China. Contrary to popular belief, a growing number of Chinese luxury consumers are exhibiting a noticeable trend away from overt displays of wealth, and towards more understated forms of luxury consumption.”</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“Rapid urbanization and growing wealth outside of China’s largest cities is driving the emergence of several new geographic markets with sizeable pools of luxury goods consumers. Over the next 5 years, [McKinsey] expects that the number of such cities will double from 30-60.</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Ushering into 2011, China, serving as a niche market, is more than just prosperity. It is believed that China’s luxury market has transformed from ‘land-rush’ to ‘ROI focus’. It is urgent for key market players to have in-depth knowledge of ‘China’s rule’. How to cultivate specific brandculture catering to local consumers? How to efficiently build brand image and grant to consumers? What is the ideal retailing solution for variant consumers? How to do ideal CRM in a niche market? It is certain that luxury consumption in China is more than purchasing but purchasing culture, spirit, life sytle of luxury brands.</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Core luxury buyers: Affluent households that spend 12 to 20% of their income on luxury goods per year ($22,000 to $66,000).</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Luxury role models: Young and fashionable, most are self-employed or corporate executives living in Beijing or Shanghai. They buy to indulge themselves and seek to feel unique rather than show off their wealth.</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Fashion fanatics: Middle class, typically in junior to mid-level positions; includes some housewives. They spend a disproportionate amount of income on luxury, and have a stronger “enjoy now” mindset, willing to buy on credit. They also exert a strong influence on other consumers, sharing their purchases and opinions in social circles and online.</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Middle-class aspirants: Middle class living in Tier 2/3 cities. They are infrequent buyers of luxury products. Purchasing luxury goods makes them feel successful and fulfills aspirations of belonging in a higher social circle. They are also less knowledgeable about luxury brands and thus are more cautious spenders.</span></b></div></div></div>http://1stfirstgentleman.com/http://www.blogger.com/profile/10343662662095460182noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4254054893903574875.post-36320796477778494392011-05-16T11:30:00.002-07:002011-05-16T11:30:57.881-07:00Hillary offers carrot, Kerry stick<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--Qwepdh-BwM/TdCZuAWHjLI/AAAAAAAAAS8/kHDVrwusE1E/s1600/Hillary+Kerry.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--Qwepdh-BwM/TdCZuAWHjLI/AAAAAAAAAS8/kHDVrwusE1E/s1600/Hillary+Kerry.jpg" style="cursor: move;" /></span></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">United States has reverted to its old tactics of carrot and stick policy as two of its top leaders have reflected this in their latest contacts with Pakistan.</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called President Asif Ali Zardari late Sunday and discussed present situation in the aftermath of the Abbottabad operation. According to official sources, the President apprised her of the concerns expressed by Pakistan’s Parliament over the operation.</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">According to TV channels, Hillary assured US support to Pakistan. Both leaders also discussed war on terror and the bilateral relations</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Earlier, US Senator John Kerry, while speaking in Kabul, warned that relations with key ally Pakistan were at a ‘critical moment’ and maintained that there was disturbing evidence against Pakistan’s links with Taliban.</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Shortly arriving in Islamabad, John Kerry called on Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani and exchanged views on matters of mutual interest. Kerry, who has ostensibly come to pacify Pakistan over US raid in Abbottabad, was told by General Kayani that unilateral action against Al-Qaeda chief did not go well in Pakistan and had further widened the trust deficit between the two countries.</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">WASHINGTON: US Senate Foreign Relations Committee’s Chairman Senator John Kerry visited Pakistan along with the list of demands and could use threats and offers to make demands meet, a report published in US newspaper said.</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">According to the US newspaper, Senator Kerry would try to use the threat of Congressional cuts to the $3 billion in annual American aid to Pakistan as leverage.</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Kerry will also reassure Pakistani officials that they will be a central part of any political accord with the Taliban in Afghanistan, to ease their fears that India will take over large areas of Afghanistan as the United States pulls out.</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><br />
</b></span></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>He will also raise an issue of Pakistan's escalating production of nuclear fuel.</b></span></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><br />
</b></span></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Members of Congress, in closed sessions, have complained that if Pakistan continued to escalate production of nuclear fuel then it would jeopardize the fundings.</b></span></div></div></div>http://1stfirstgentleman.com/http://www.blogger.com/profile/10343662662095460182noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4254054893903574875.post-19985936908716258592011-05-16T11:30:00.000-07:002011-05-16T11:30:07.587-07:00Kerry presents list of specific demands<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7yKA_wILijI/TdD1Au9qlwI/AAAAAAAAATw/TGfH2Fa9Zac/s1600/John+Kerry+presents+list+of+demands.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="clear: left; float: left; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7yKA_wILijI/TdD1Au9qlwI/AAAAAAAAATw/TGfH2Fa9Zac/s1600/John+Kerry+presents+list+of+demands.jpg" /></span></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">ISLAMABAD - U.S. Senator John Kerry will push Pakistani leaders on Monday to explain how Osama bin Laden was able to hide in their country for years, without further inflaming Pakistani anger over the U.S. raid that killed the al Qaeda chief.</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">U.S. special forces flew in from Afghanistan on a secret operation to find and kill the al Qaeda leader on May 2, nearly 10 years after he orchestrated the September 11 attacks on the United States.</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">His discovery holed up in the comfortable garrison town of Abbottabad, only 50 km from the Pakistani capital, has revived suspicion that U.S. ally Pakistan knew where he was and has been playing a double game.</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Pakistan has rejected that as absurd. It welcomed bin Laden's killing as a big step in the fight against militancy but objected about being left in the dark over the raid to get him.</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Kerry arrived late Sunday and went quickly to see army chief Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, handing him the list of US demands, according to a Pakistani government official. The official spoke on condition of anonymity and declined to give more details because of the sensitivity of the subject.</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Kayani told Kerry his soldiers have “intense feelings” about the raid, in apparent reference to anger and humiliation here that Washington did not tell the army in advance about helicopter-borne raid, and the fact it was unable to stop the incursion.</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Pakistani president Asif Ali Zardari’s office, meanwhile, said US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton called him Sunday to discuss the raid’s fallout in Pakistan. Clinton has spoken of the need to keep strong ties with Pakistan, and stressed there’s no evidence yet its leaders knew of bin Laden’s whereabouts.</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spoke on Sunday to President Asif Ali Zardari by telephone about the situation since bin Laden's death, Zardari's office said, adding Zardari told Clinton about parliament's concerns.</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">"Both agreed to resolve the issues amicably and move forward," the president's office said.</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Compounding Pakistan's reputation as an unstable Muslim country infested with militants, gunmen on motorcycles shot dead a Saudi diplomat in the city of Karachi on Monday as he was driving to work.</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><br />
</b></span></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>The attack came days after unidentified attackers threw two hand grenades at the Saudi consulate in the city, Pakistan's commercial hub. No one as hurt in that attack.</b></span></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><br />
</b></span></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Al Qaeda is violently opposed to the Saudi government, which is a close ally of Pakistan, and has vowed revenge for the killing of its leader, Saudi-born bin Laden.</b></span></div></div></div>http://1stfirstgentleman.com/http://www.blogger.com/profile/10343662662095460182noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4254054893903574875.post-82810101559946214172011-05-16T11:26:00.000-07:002011-05-16T11:26:10.421-07:00IMF chief's arrest may speed up succession battle<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7QtHKdLGTuI/TdCWJ1dUxDI/AAAAAAAAAS4/f_AM_Ckd79E/s1600/Mr.+Strauss-Kahn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7QtHKdLGTuI/TdCWJ1dUxDI/AAAAAAAAAS4/f_AM_Ckd79E/s1600/Mr.+Strauss-Kahn.jpg" style="cursor: move;" /></span></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the leader of the International Monetary Fund, spent much of Sunday at the Manhattan Special Victims Unit in East Harlem as prosecutors sought additional evidence, including possible DNA evidence on his skin or beneath his fingernails, to bolster allegations that he had sexually assaulted a maid in a $3,000-a-night suite at a Midtown hotel, officials said.</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">IMF officials explained Lipsky often runs the financial institution when the managing director (MD) is away and said it remained "fully functioning and operational."</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">But the announcement did not mask concerns among some high-ranking IMF board officials about a possible leadership vacuum, especially as Lipsky only last week said he planned to stand down in August when his term ends.</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">That could leave the world's lender rudderless just as it is immersed in efforts to fix the euro zone's debt debacle and faces the massive task of helping steer the global economy away from the kind of policies that triggered the crash of 2007-09.</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">As the court order was being sought, the woman who told the police on Saturday that she had been attacked by Mr. Strauss-Kahn, picked him from a police lineup on Sunday, the police said.</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The identification came less than a day after he had been taken into custody by detectives of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey in the first-class section of the Air France jet. He was turned over to detectives from the Midtown South Precinct and later taken to the Special Victims Unit.</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">After identifying Mr. Strauss-Kahn about 4:30 p.m., the woman, a maid at the Sofitel New York on West 44th Street, where Mr. Strauss-Kahn was a guest, left the Special Victims Unit in a police van that drove past a gaggle of reporters. A blanket was covering her head.</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Mr. Strauss-Kahn himself remained at the Special Victims Unit, near the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Bridge, well into the evening, and it was unclear when he would be taken to Manhattan Criminal Court for arraignment.</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The heads of the Bretton Woods institutions should be chosen solely on the basis of an open and merit-based process without regard to nationality."</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Former Turkish finance minister Kemal Dervis' name has been circulated in recent months as a possible candidate.</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Dervis was a former head of the United Nations Development Programme and now directs an economics program at the Washington-based Brookings Institution think-tank.</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">While some in Britain speculated about a candidacy of former Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who served as finance minister for a decade until 2007, his successor, David Cameron, has urged the IMF to look beyond Europe for its next leader.</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Current French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde has also been touted by some Europeans as a possible successor. That would make her the first female head of the institution.</span></b></div></div></div>http://1stfirstgentleman.com/http://www.blogger.com/profile/10343662662095460182noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4254054893903574875.post-55330001757619097042011-05-16T11:24:00.001-07:002011-05-16T11:24:58.341-07:00IMF Head Held in Alleged Sexual Assault Attempt<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 1em; padding-bottom: 6px; padding-left: 6px; padding-right: 6px; padding-top: 6px; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OWsSt17j17E/Tc9GzUg7aLI/AAAAAAAAASQ/9Gg_a8-uTFA/s1600/Dominique+Strauss-Kahn+Sexual+Assault.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" height="112" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OWsSt17j17E/Tc9GzUg7aLI/AAAAAAAAASQ/9Gg_a8-uTFA/s320/Dominique+Strauss-Kahn+Sexual+Assault.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="320" /></span></a></div></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px; padding-top: 4px; text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Maybe is that "<a href="http://www.latims.co.cc/2011/05/corrupt-corporate-legislation.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>Corporate Sex</b></span></a>" Assault</span></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Dominique Strauss-Kahn, managing director of the International Monetary Fund, was pulled from an Air France flight in New York today and held for questioning about an alleged sexual assault, a police spokesman said.</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The IMF head was being questioned over an incident in a Manhattan hotel, New York Police Department spokesman Brian Sessa said.</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Authorities said a maid at a midtown Manhattan hotel told police that Strauss-Kahn stepped out of the bathroom naked as she was cleaning the room and assaulted her.</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Strauss-Kahn was taken into custody aboard an Air France jet at John F. Kennedy International Airport, just as the doors were closing to take off on a flight to Paris.</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Detectives from the New York Police Department picked up the IMF president from Port Authority police and took him to midtown for questioning.</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The NYPD realized he had fled, he had left his cell phone behind," Browne said. "We learned he was on an Air France plane. They held the plane and he was taken off and is now being held in police custody for questioning."</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Browne said Strauss-Kahn had not been charged.</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Police said the alleged incident took place at the upscale Sofitel hotel on West 44th Street near Times Square.</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The chambermaid "was brought by EMS (emergency medical services) to the Roosevelt Hotel, where she was treated for minor injuries," Brown said.</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Strauss-Kahn took over the International Monetary Fund in November 2007. Before that, he was a member of the French National Assembly and a professor of economics at the Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris.</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The IMF declined to comment and board officials said they had not been informed officially of the incident.</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Browne said the maid notified hotel managers of the alleged assault and the hotel contacted police, who arrived at about 1:30 pm.</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">"She reported the attack to hotel officials who called police," Browne said.</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">When police arrived they found Strauss-Kahn's cell phone, Browne said.</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">"It appeared he left in a hurry," he said.</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The IMF head has "not said a word" to police since he was taken into custody, Browne said.</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">He was being held for questioning at the Special Victims Unit on 126th Street in Manhattan.</span></b></div></div></div>http://1stfirstgentleman.com/http://www.blogger.com/profile/10343662662095460182noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4254054893903574875.post-4193930338296542082011-05-16T11:23:00.000-07:002011-05-16T11:23:59.601-07:00IMF Chief Set to Face Sexual Scandal Turns to Lipsky<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5AQP7ItGnUA/TdEq7Y78iII/AAAAAAAAAUI/PbIj7-z-4vc/s1600/JOHN+LIPSKY.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5AQP7ItGnUA/TdEq7Y78iII/AAAAAAAAAUI/PbIj7-z-4vc/s1600/JOHN+LIPSKY.jpg" style="cursor: move;" /></span></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Head of the International Monetary Fund is set to appear in a New York City court Monday to face sexual assault charges following a complaint by a hotel maid.</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Lawyers for Dominique Strauss-Kahn say he will plead not guilty, and has agreed to undergo a forensic examination as police gather more evidence in the case.</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Authorities said Sunday Strauss-Kahn, who has been considered a leading candidate to be the next president of France, has been charged with criminal sexual assault, attempted rape and unlawful imprisonment.</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Turns to Lipsky</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">David Lipsky, 64, was named acting managing director yesterday after the fund’s chief, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, was charged with attempted rape and a criminal sex act on a New York hotel maid. Lipsky, who has been first deputy managing director since 2006, takes temporary leadership of the Washington-based IMF as it tries to stem the European sovereign-debt crisis and deal with Greece’s request for a bigger financial lifeline.</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Lipsky, who once served as chief economist at JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) and Salomon Brothers Inc. in New York and represented the IMF in Chile, is described by colleagues as a steady hand who can give the fund some stability in the aftermath of Strauss-Kahn’s arrest. His promotion came three days after the IMF said he would be leaving when his term as the No. 2 official ends on Aug. 31. That could result in an “awkward period,” said Eswar Prasad, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington.</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">IMF spokesman William Murray said Lipsky wouldn’t comment on his new appointment.</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Meeting on Greece</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">European finance ministers will tackle Greece’s financing needs at meetings in Brussels today. Also on the agenda are the approval of 78 billion euros ($110 billion) in aid for Portugal and the nomination of Bank of Italy Governor Mario Draghi to be the next president of the European Central Bank.</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">In late 2008, the Group of 20 finance ministers asked the IMF to develop a so-called Early Warning Exercise. The effort “assesses low-probability but high-impact risks to the global economy and identifies policies to mitigate them,” the IMF said in a fact sheet last month.</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Lipsky was a leader of the effort, emphasizing the importance of specifically identifying potential hazards.</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Police say a 32-year-old chambermaid the Sofitel Hotel says she entered Strauss-Kahn's luxury suite to clean it Saturday afternoon. The maid told police Strauss-Kahn came out of the bathroom naked and attempted to force her into performing sex acts. The maid says she broke free, fled the room and told other hotel personnel, who called police.</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Police say when they arrived at the hotel, Strauss-Kahn had already left for the airport, leaving behind his mobile phone and other personal items.</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">New York police say the maid was treated for minor injuries at a local hospital and released.</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Strauss-Kahn was considered a leading contender to run as the Socialist party's candidate against President Nicolas Sarkozy in France's 2012 election.</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><br />
</b></span></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>The head of the Socialist party, Martine Aubry, appealed for party unity Sunday and said that the news "struck like a thunderbolt.</b></span></div></div></div>http://1stfirstgentleman.com/http://www.blogger.com/profile/10343662662095460182noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4254054893903574875.post-16805854938397191722011-04-29T11:24:00.000-07:002011-04-29T11:24:42.404-07:00Royal wedding Activst<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><a href="http://live.feedjit.com/live/englandtwitter.blogspot.com/0/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #3b2a3e; font-family: Vollkorn; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 17px; text-align: left; text-indent: -15px;"><ul class="posts" style="border-width: 0px; line-height: 1.2; list-style-image: none; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><li style="background-image: none; border-top-style: none; border-width: 0px; list-style: none outside none; margin: 0.25em 0px; padding: 0.35em 0px 0.35em 1.3em; text-indent: -15px;"><a href="http://englandtwitter.blogspot.com/2011/04/charles-prince-of-wales.html" style="color: #210beb; text-decoration: none;">Charles, Prince of Wales</a></li>
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</ul></span></span></a></div>http://1stfirstgentleman.com/http://www.blogger.com/profile/10343662662095460182noreply@blogger.com0