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Politics : Liberalism: Do You Agree We've Had Enough of It? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?


To: Kenneth E. Phillipps who wrote (105753)5/31/2011 8:23:34 PM
From: lorne2 Recommendations  Respond to of 224771
 
kenny ..give hussein obama another 4 years and this is what will likely happen in the USA...according to hussein obama the worlds largest moslum nation? Where ever there are moslulms gathered there is serious problems for host country.

Ugandan legislation pits Muslims vs. Christians over power of courts
By Ioannis Gatsiounis -
Special to The Washington Times
Monday, May 30, 2011
washingtontimes.com

KAMPALA, Uganda — Christians call a proposed religious law a sly attempt to favor Muslims in this predominantly Christian country and warn that it could promote Islamic fundamentalism. Muslims say the reaction to the bill just shows Islamophobia.

The Muslim Personal Law bill - which would give more power to Islamic Kadhi courts for Muslims on matters of marriage, divorce and inheritance - is straining relations between Uganda’s two largest religious groups.

Each side is vowing to resist the other to protect what both say are the fundamental rights of their respective communities.

The dispute also highlights an apparent contradiction between two sections of the Ugandan Constitution.

Muslims, who make up roughly 12 percent of Uganda’s 32 million people, point to Article 129 of the constitution, which explicitly allows for the creation of Kadhi civil courts. Under current law, Kadhi court decisions are not legally binding.

Christians argue that Article 129 conflicts with another section of the constitution, Article 21, which states that all people are equal under the law in all spheres of life. Institutionalizing the Islamic courts would give the country two parallel legal systems that would undermine the secular nature of the Ugandan Constitution, Christian leaders say.

“Let it not be a nationally enforceable law,” said the Rev. Umar Mulinde, a former Muslim who is senior pastor of the Christian Gospel Life International in Kampala. “Life will get worse for non-Muslims.”

Christians and followers of traditional African religions faced persecution under the bloody dictatorship of Idi Amin in the 1970s. After Amin’s overthrow in 1979, Muslims suffered a backlash under the short but brutal reign of Milton Abote.

Relations generally have been good under President Yoweri Museveni, who is in his 25th year in power.

Mr. Mulinde and leaders of the powerful evangelical community and the Ugandan Joint Christian Council have been pressing Ugandan parliamentarians to reject the Muslim court bill when it comes to a vote, likely later this year.

They also have successfully pressured the Uganda Law Reform Commission, which worked with Muslims to agree on a final draft to weakenthe bill.

Sewaya Muhamud, chairman of the Muslim Technical Committee on the Muslim Personal Law Bill, was shocked in September to see a proposed draft from the commission that limited the power of Kadhi courts to marriage, divorce and inheritance.

“It does nothing to protect Muslim family values,” he said. “We want to exercise our right to worship in accordance with the principles of Islam.”

Muslims, though, have been evasive on how the bill would affect those accused of apostasy, or the rejection of Islam by Muslims who fall out of the faith or convert to other religions. That religious crime could be punishable by death under Islamic tradition.

Some Muslim leaders insist that Christian fears on apostasy are overblown because Kadhi courts will operate only at the magistrate level and appeals would be handled by a secular higher court. Those decisions would be guided by the Ugandan Constitution - which calls for freedom of religion - and not Islamic law



To: Kenneth E. Phillipps who wrote (105753)5/31/2011 8:48:14 PM
From: locogringo3 Recommendations  Respond to of 224771
 
Libya says Nato air raids 'killed 700 civilians'

The Libyan government says Nato air raids have killed more than 700 civilians since bombing began in March. Spokesman Moussa Ibrahim said more than 4,000 people had been wounded, but gave no evidence to confirm his figures.

Who said "days not weeks" an then became a liar and murderer?



To: Kenneth E. Phillipps who wrote (105753)5/31/2011 8:51:43 PM
From: locogringo4 Recommendations  Read Replies (1) | Respond to of 224771
 
Obama Recovery Still Feeble After Two Years

Economy: Without a lot of fanfare, the Obama economic recovery officially turned 2 this month. Anyone think we're better off than we were two years ago? On Tuesday, a trio of reports gave fresh evidence that the answer to this question is no. Single family home prices dropped in March to their lowest level since April 2009; the consumer Confidence Index tumbled to a six-month low of 60.8; and regional manufacturing is slowing. In the Chicago area, it fell to its lowest level since November 2009. Yet if you listened to President Obama and his cheerleaders in the press over the past two years, the answer should have been a resounding yes.

investors.com



To: Kenneth E. Phillipps who wrote (105753)5/31/2011 10:30:08 PM
From: Hope Praytochange2 Recommendations  Respond to of 224771
 
Why no jail time for Wall Street CEOs?PROVIDED BY MarketWatch - 12:01 AM 05/31/2011
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- It's probably the most asked question to come out of the financial crisis: why aren't any Wall Street CEOs in jail?

It's asked on the message boards, over dinner, in the media, in Washington and in schools. Most people shrug and agree, someone important -- Lloyd Blankfein at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) , Stan O'Neill, formerly of Merrill Lynch & Co., or Dick Fuld, the former CEO of Lehman Brothers -- should go to jail, right?

A lot of us have tried to answer this question. Joe Nocera at the New York Times wrote in February that prosecutions were unlikely because "delusion is an ironclad defense." Read Joe Nocera's commentary.

More recently, Roger Lowenstein, writing for Bloomberg BusinessWeek, concluded "risk-taking and stupidity aren't criminal." Lowenstein's argument won praise from the Times' Andrew Ross Sorkin who tweeted that Lowenstein was "probably right." Read Roger Lowenstein's 'Wall Street: Not Guilty.

Finally, Bill Black, the University of Missouri at Kansas City law school professor, and one of clearest-thinking minds on culpability in the financial crisis, wrote a blistering takedown of both Lowenstein and Sorkin on The Big Picture blog by quoting their previous writing on Wall Street against them. In Sorkin's case:

"If the government spent half the time trying to ferret out fraud at major companies that it does tracking pump-and-dump schemes, we might have been able to stop the financial crisis, or at least we'd have a fighting chance at stopping the next one." Read Bill Black's critique of Sorkin and Lowenstein.

Taking down the 'Don'

The upshot of these assessments of legal culpability seems to be that while a successful prosecution may have long odds, it's probably worth doing. Indeed, the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission and the Senate Investigations Subcommittee report on Wall Street, the Levin-Coburn report, both suggest further investigations are in order. Read the Coburn-Levin report (pdf).

"It is possible for certain senior executives at major financial firms and banks to be held liable for the credit crisis," said Michael Chester, a partner at Skarzysnki Walsh & Black. "However, putting together a successful case will likely be much more problematic than most realize."

For one, regulators just haven't been keeping up, Chester said.

"Traditionally, these agencies have always amassed large amounts of information to use in subsequent criminal prosecutions. However, statistics show that these agencies have referred fewer financial cases to the U.S. Department of Justice in recent years."

Also, a ruling in the case against former Enron Chief Executive Jeff Skilling about the "honest services" statute now strictly applies to bribes and kickbacks, Chester said.

Moreover, the statute of limitations has run out on a lot of securities law claims, said Max Gardner, a consumer advocacy lawyer who's been working in the foreclosure space. He adds that it's difficult to pursue claims against securities sold by the banks these CEOs ran, because common-law fraud claims require a showing of intent.

"There's also the representations and warranties in the securitization documents themselves, including that there is good title to the mortgages and that they're not in default," he said. ""It's important to emphasize, however, that there could be suits against mortgage-backed securities sponsors, MBS servicers, and MBS trustees."

But those targets are admittedly below the executive suite for which we're aiming. It's hard, but not impossible, to believe those CEOs didn't know how reckless their standards had become on the mortgage and securitization front. Again, the Coburn-Levin report suggests there are some smoking guns that could link high-level executives who testified that they just didn't know what was happening.

Even if there was evidence enough to build a case, it probably wouldn't satisfy us.

"For those who sold financial products that misrepresented their credit worthiness, how far up the chain do you want to go?" asked Brian Greenberg, an accountant and investor based in Marlton, N.J. "Do you want to take down the 'Don'?

"In that case start with the Federal Reserve that made credit plentiful and cheap without any regard to creditworthiness of the buyer. If their excessive policy of pushing cheap money did not exist, then Wall Street would not have been able to push the 'junk' to the kids -- er, public."

Greenberg makes a fair point. There's a lot of blame to go around.

It's the ability to mete out punishment that has its limits.
odumba took money from these thieves



To: Kenneth E. Phillipps who wrote (105753)5/31/2011 10:31:16 PM
From: Hope Praytochange2 Recommendations  Read Replies (1) | Respond to of 224771
 
Odumbama Recovery Still Feeble After Two Years
Posted 06:56 PM ET

Economy: Without a lot of fanfare, the Odumbama economic recovery officially turned 2 this month. Anyone think we're better off than we were two years ago?

On Tuesday, a trio of reports gave fresh evidence that the answer to this question is no.

Single family home prices dropped in March to their lowest level since April 2009; the consumer Confidence Index tumbled to a six-month low of 60.8; and regional manufacturing is slowing. In the Chicago area, it fell to its lowest level since November 2009.

Yet if you listened to President Obama and his cheerleaders in the press over the past two years, the answer should have been a resounding yes.

Obama promised way back in February 2009 that his $830 billion stimulus plan would unleash "a new wave of innovation, activity and construction" and "ignite spending by businesses and consumers."

In June 2010, he announced that the recovery was "well under way" and that it "is getting stronger by the day." A couple months later, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner penned a New York Times op-ed headlined "Welcome to the Recovery."

And all along, media simply parroted the White House line, extolling every "green shoot" they could find, celebrating every time a handful of jobs got created, while constantly acting surprised by the ongoing "unexpected" bad economic news.

But the fact is that the Obama recovery is one of the worst ever. Certainly the worst since the Great Depression. It's so bad, in fact, that even 24 months after the recession officially ended there are few places beyond the stock market and corporate profits that have shown much, if any, improvement. A few examples:

• Jobs: The number of people with jobs has barely changed since June 2009 — up just 0.4%.

• Unemployment: While the unemployment rate has dropped a bit, the number of long-term unemployed is up by a third, and the average length of unemployment is now a staggering 38 weeks.

• Earnings: Median weekly earnings are down slightly between Q3 2009 and Q1 2011, after adjusting for inflation, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

• Housing prices: The National Association of Realtors reports that median price for existing home sales dropped 10% since June 2009.

• Gas prices: Pump prices climbed 52% over the past two years, according to the Department of Energy.

Yet, incredibly, Obama continues to escape blame for this sorry state of affairs. A Rasmussen survey in May found 54% of the public still blames President Bush, while just 39% blame Obama's policies.

The disconnect is stunning, but it nevertheless offers Republicans a huge opportunity, if they will seize it, to decisively claim the pro-growth label.

To do that, they first need to hammer home the fact that Obama's growth-smothering policies are solely to blame for the economy's two-year rut. Then they must focus on clearly needed pro-growth tax cuts and regulatory relief to turbocharge the private sector.

Sure, spending cuts and Medicare reform are important issues. But the millions of families still worried about keeping their jobs and their homes also need to hear how the GOP can get the economy moving again






To: Kenneth E. Phillipps who wrote (105753)6/1/2011 8:21:44 AM
From: TideGlider7 Recommendations  Read Replies (2) | Respond to of 224771
 
Don't you usually announce the ADP Data? It is usually wrong anyway. Today it is + 38K private sector jobs. The expectation was +190K.



To: Kenneth E. Phillipps who wrote (105753)6/1/2011 9:46:16 AM
From: chartseer2 Recommendations  Respond to of 224771
 
Forget the jobs and remind them that brilliant barry soetoro had usama assassinated. We may not have jobs food is becoming unaffordable but we are all safer.

citizen chartseer



To: Kenneth E. Phillipps who wrote (105753)6/1/2011 10:30:05 AM
From: TideGlider1 Recommendation  Read Replies (1) | Respond to of 224771
 
So how's your Weiner today Kenneth?

NY Rep. Weiner hires lawyer after alleged Twitter hacking
Below:

updated 5/31/2011 1:06:23 PM ET 2011-05-31T17:06:23
Share Print Font: +-NEW YORK — Democratic Representative Anthony Weiner has hired an attorney to investigate the hacking of his Twitter account after a lewd photo was sent to one of his followers, his office said on Tuesday.

"Look, this is a prank, not a terribly creative one and it's a distraction," Weiner said on NY1 TV.

His office confirmed to Reuters that the New York congressman, who has a high profile as an advocate of liberal causes, has hired an attorney to advise him on whether or not he could press criminal charges as a result of the alleged hack of his Twitter account.

Weiner said his account was hacked when a lewd photo of a man in bulging boxer briefs was tweeted to a 21-year-old female college student in Washington state over the weekend.

The posting was quickly deleted and Weiner made light of the incident on his Twitter page.

"More Weiner Jokes for all my guests!" he tweeted with the hashtag "Hacked!"

The student, Gennette Cordova, issued a statement to the New York Daily News that denied she personally knew Weiner but said, "I am a fan."

She denounced rumors she was intimately involved with Weiner, who is married to Huma Abedin, a longtime aide to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

"All of this is so outlandish that I don't know whether to be pissed off or amused, quite frankly," Cordova said in the statement.

msnbc.msn.com



To: Kenneth E. Phillipps who wrote (105753)6/1/2011 3:47:49 PM
From: TideGlider2 Recommendations  Read Replies (1) | Respond to of 224771
 
No talking points today Kenneth? Check your spam filter!



To: Kenneth E. Phillipps who wrote (105753)6/2/2011 12:02:22 PM
From: Hope Praytochange1 Recommendation  Respond to of 224771
 
Pricey gasoline eats into US retailers' May sales 06/02 07:59 AM: odumba brings change and hope to the dumb demorats

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

* U.S. retailers post 4.9 pct rise in same-store sales

* Wall Street had expected a 5.4 pct rise

* Macy's (M:$28.000000,$-0.280001,-0.99%) , Costco, BJs, Zumiez (ZUMZ:$26.51,00$-2.89,00-9.83%) beat estimates

* Limited Brands (LTD:$36.48,00$-2.2300,-5.76%) , Target (TGT:$47.98,00$-0.5800,-1.19%) , Gap, Dillard's miss

* Gap shares down 1.6 pct; Limited down 6 pct (Rewrites first paragraph; adds more retailers)

By Martinne Geller

NEW YORK, June 2 (Reuters) - High prices for food and gasoline, a sluggish economy and picky shoppers going to fewer stores cut into sales at big U.S. retailers in May.

Retailers that missed analysts' estimates included Victoria's Secret owner Limited Brands Inc (LTD:$36.48,00$-2.2300,-5.76%) , Target Corp (TGT:$47.98,00$-0.5800,-1.19%) , Gap Inc (GPS:$18.549999,$-0.350000,-1.85%) and J.C. Penney Co Inc (JCP:$32.7300,$-1.2600,-3.71%) .

Overall, sales at stores open at least a year rose 4.9 percent in May at the retailers tracked by Thomson Reuters data, below the 5.4 percent increase that Wall Street expected.

"Perhaps we will see some pent-up demand in June, but we are concerned that the consumer, particularly at the lower end, may simply have a fixed spending amount and may simply spend less as apparel prices rise," said Janney Capital Markets analyst Adrienne Tennant.

Also, new U.S. claims for unemployment benefits fell last week, but not enough to assuage fears that the labor market recovery has taken a step back. [ID:nN02246578]

Retailers that beat estimates were generally those with a large array of products or what consumers saw as good prices.

Costco Wholesale Corp (COST:$80.315,0$0.105,00.13%) and BJ's Wholesale Club Inc (BJ:$49.38,00$-0.4200,-0.84%) on Thursday joined department store operator Macy's Inc (M:$28.000000,$-0.280001,-0.99%) in reporting higher-than-expected same-store sales.

"Consumers are consolidating trips to the destinations perceived to offer the most overall value, such as Macy's (M:$28.000000,$-0.280001,-0.99%) and Costco," Wall Street Strategies analyst Brian Sozzi said in a research note.

For a graphic on May same-store sales expectations, see graphics.thomsonreuters.com

"Our guests continue to shop cautiously in light of higher energy costs and inflationary pressures on their household budgets," said Target (TGT:$47.98,00$-0.5800,-1.19%) Chief Executive Officer Gregg Steinhafel.

For May, the discount chain posted 2.8 percent rise in same-store sales, a key gauge of a retailer's health.

That was below the analysts' average estimate for a 3.5 percent gain and at the low end of the company's expectations. Steinhafel cited a slowdown in traffic in the back half of the month, which included the U.S. Memorial Day holiday that unofficially starts summer.

PUTTING OFF PURCHASES

Overall, the 4.9 percent increase compares with gains of 8.9 percent in April, when a late Easter holiday fueled sales, and 2.6 percent in May 2010, when the economy was still fitful and many experts feared a double-dip recession.

"For the things I can hold off on for a bit, I won't buy," said Christa Hirneisen, who was shopping at a Gap store in midtown Manhattan on Wednesday.

That means that competition between retailers has heated up.

"There's not really a rising tide," said Walter Stackow, senior research analyst for Manning & Napier Advisors, which invests in the retail sector. "For every winner, there's going to be a loser."

Limited posted a same-store sales increase of 6 percent, below the analysts' average forecast of 7 percent, and its shares dropped 6 percent.

Gap Inc (GPS:$18.549999,$-0.350000,-1.85%) reported a 4 percent drop, disappointing analysts who were expecting a 1 percent decline. Same-store sales fell 9 percent at its international stores, while its North American stores posted declines of 4 percent at Gap, 6 percent at Banana Republic and 1 percent at Old Navy. The company's shares fell 1.6 percent. (Additional reporting by Phil Wahba, Helen Chernikoff and Dhanya Skariachan in New York; editing by Andre Grenon, Brad Dorfman and Lisa Von Ahn)



To: Kenneth E. Phillipps who wrote (105753)6/2/2011 3:59:23 PM
From: TideGlider2 Recommendations  Read Replies (2) | Respond to of 224771
 
Kenneth, get your Weiner here!!

youtube.com



To: Kenneth E. Phillipps who wrote (105753)6/3/2011 10:35:44 AM
From: Hope Praytochange1 Recommendation  Read Replies (2) | Respond to of 224771
 
RALEIGH, North Carolina—A federal grand jury on Friday indicted two-time presidential candidate John Edwards following a two-year federal investigation into money used to cover up an extramarital affair during the 2008 election.

Federal officials have said that hundreds of thousands of dollars two Edwards donors gave to help keep the candidate's mistress in hiding were contributions that should have been reported publicly by his campaign fund because they aided his bid for the Democratic White House nomination. Mr. Edwards's lawyers have argued that the funds were gifts from friends intended to keep the affair a secret from his wife, Elizabeth, who died of cancer in December.

Mr. Edwards's attorneys have denounced the investigation as a waste of resources and contend he didn't violate the law.

Mr. Edwards has said he hopes that once this case is behind him he can revive his legal career, specializing in helping the victims of poverty he championed on the campaign trail.

The case against Mr. Edwards focused on the private money used to keep his mistress in hiding. Andrew Young, a former aide to Mr. Edwards, initially claimed paternity of mistress Rielle Hunter's child and traveled around the country keeping her in seclusion. Mr. Young has said he received hundreds of thousands of dollars of support from two wealthy Edwards donors.



To: Kenneth E. Phillipps who wrote (105753)6/3/2011 12:31:43 PM
From: lorne2 Recommendations  Read Replies (1) | Respond to of 224771
 
ken...This is from Gallup so should be an accurate assessment of hussein obama's voter base paid for by American tax payer.
49% against hussein obama....47% for hussein obama.

Gallup: 'Soak the rich' losing popularity

Americans Divided on Taxing the Rich to Redistribute WealthPublic is split over enacting heavy taxes on the rich to redistribute wealth
by Lydia Saad
PRINCETON, NJ --

Americans break into two roughly evenly matched camps on the question of whether the government should enact heavy taxes on the rich to redistribute wealth in the U.S. Forty-seven percent believe the government should redistribute wealth in this way, while 49% disagree, similar to views Gallup found four years ago.

Full article >>>>

gallup.com



To: Kenneth E. Phillipps who wrote (105753)6/3/2011 4:25:15 PM
From: locogringo4 Recommendations  Read Replies (1) | Respond to of 224771
 
Here's some more "HOPE N CHANGE" for ya kenny_troll. (I don't blame you for pretending to not be around)

OBAMA SUFFERS 'STUNNING REBUKE' ON LIBYA

DOOM: More Americans Think Economy Will Never Recover...

Recovery Languishing as Americans Await Signal of Better Times...

Obama Said to Consider Adding Unemployment Aid to Free-Trade Agreements?

Greenspan 'Scared' Over Deficit...

........... and what is the old lady gonna do when people can't afford to buy food , gas, tuition or retirement? Why, go to Africa with the family on our dime.

Nobody can make this stuff up...................






To: Kenneth E. Phillipps who wrote (105753)6/3/2011 6:01:40 PM
From: lorne5 Recommendations  Respond to of 224771
 
kenny .moslums at play ?.IMO you need this wake up call more than anyone...do you think there is a moslum problem in the world
This beautiful girl murdered in compliance with sharia moslum barbaric laws. And this is NOT in a moslum country!

Stakelbeck on Terror
Erick Stakelbeck
CBN News Terrorism Analyst
blogs.cbn.com



Muslim Beauty Pageant Contestant Stoned to Death in Ukraine

This is just a sampling of what Islamists would like to bring to the United States, as I'll show in the new episode of the Stakelbeck on Terror show (airing tonight), which focuses on the sharia threat to America.

I'll be posting that episode here later today. In the meantime, prepare to have your day ruined. From CBS News:

A teenage Muslim girl was stoned to death by suspects claiming the 19-year-old has violated Sharia law by taking part in a beauty contest, a British newspaper reports.

The body of Katya Koren was found in a forest near a village in the Crimea region of Ukraine.

Will Stewart of the Daily Mail writes that Koren's remains were found a week after her disappearance.

She appeared to have suffered head injuries and been strangled.

Police are investigating claims that three Muslim youths killed her, saying her death was justified under Islamic law.

The Daily Mail reports one 16-year-old suspect under arrest told police Koren had "violated the laws of Sharia."

According to an official report on a Crimean government website, the 16-year-old classmate confessed to her murder, and gave as his reason, "I just wanted to kill her."

Yes. In accordance with sharia.



To: Kenneth E. Phillipps who wrote (105753)6/4/2011 12:34:59 PM
From: locogringo  Read Replies (3) | Respond to of 224771
 
Hey, kenny_12,000, how does this grab ya?

Dow Average Has Its Longest Weekly Slump Since 2004 on Employment Report

or this one.....

US house price fall 'beats Great Depression slide'

Can you refresh my memory on how the hell George Bush is doing this? TIA