Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Barker's Newsbites: Wednesday, April 21, 2010


This Wednesday's theme song...
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8 comments:

William R. Barker said...

http://www.guardian.co.uk/global/2010/apr/20/imf-tax-global-banks

Tough proposals to cut the world's biggest banks down to size by taxing their profits and pay were outlined by the International Monetary Fund...

* BY THE INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND...?!?! CAN YOU SAY "VANISHING NATIONAL S*O*V*E*R*E*I*G*N*T*Y"...???

In measures more stringent than Wall Street and the City had expected, the fund called for the introduction of a twin-track...

* HOLD IT! HOLD IT! WHEN DID THE USA REUNITED WITH THE MOTHER COUNTRY...?!?! NOW THE IMF IS GOING TO TAX AMERICAN BANKS...???

The anticipated study called for a financial stability contribution (FSC), which should be paid by all financial institutions, not just banks, and used to bail out weak and failing firms.

* AND WHY WOULD THE AMERICAN TAXPAYER WANT TO BAIL OUT - FURTHER BAIL OUT - "WEAK AND FAILING FIRMS...???"

Downing Street said the fund's preference...

* "DOWNING STREET...???"

* "THE FUND'S PREFERENCE...?!?!"

April 21, 2010 at 12:17 PM
William R. Barker said...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/04/20/AR2010042005183.html

Both the national Democratic and Republican party committees spend about two-thirds of the money they take in on the care and comfort of committee staffs and on efforts to raise more funds, with lavish spending on limousines, expensive hotels, meals and tips, an analysis of the latest financial disclosure data shows.

* NO SURPRISE, RIGHT... BUT THE POINT IS, OUR TAX SYSTEM IS TOTALLY F---KED UP - THE ABOVE BEING FURTHER PROOF OF THIS.

The nonprofit Center for Responsive Politics, in an analysis done at the request of The Post, calculated, however, that administrative and fundraising expenses consumed about $60 million of Democratic revenue in this cycle through the end of February, or 59% of total revenue that exceeded $100 million. For Republicans, the amount exceeded $74 million, or 68% of $109 million in revenue.

The two political committees are not typical nonprofit organizations, and such high spending for overhead is almost unheard of in the nonprofit world. A rule of thumb among nonprofits is that administrative and fundraising costs should consume no more than 20 to 25 percent of income.

* YOU FOLKS DO REALIZE THAT THIS "TAX EXEMPT" SPENDING IS SUBSIDIZED BY... er... OUR TAXES - RIGHT?

April 21, 2010 at 12:17 PM
William R. Barker said...

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/opinion/opedcolumnists/all_the_president_goldman_men_e2n0aCBBZgC4cEBbEhqFdI

While President Obama assails the culture of greed and recklessness practiced by the men of Goldman Sachs, his administration is infested with them.

Goldman Sachs partner Gary Gensler is Obama's Commodity Futures Trading Commission head. (He was confirmed despite heated congressional grilling over his role, as Reuters described it, "as a high-level Treasury official in a 2000 law that exempted the $58 trillion credit default swap market from oversight.)

Goldman kept White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel on a $3,000 monthly retainer while he worked as presidential candidate Bill Clinton's chief fund-raiser, as first reported by Washington Examiner columnist Tim Carney. (Emanuel received nearly $80,000 in campaign contributions from Goldman during his four terms in Congress - investments that have reaped untold rewards, as Emanuel assumed a leading role championing the trillion-dollar TARP banking bailout law.)

Former Goldman lobbyist Mark Patterson serves under Geithner as his top deputy and overseer of TARP bailout - $10 billion of which went to Goldman Sachs.

National Economic Council head Larry Summers reaped nearly $2.8 million in speaking fees from many of the major financial institutions and government bailout recipients he now polices, including JP Morgan Chase, Citigroup, Lehman Bros. and Goldman. (A single speech to Goldman in April 2008 brought in $135,000.)

April 21, 2010 at 2:07 PM
William R. Barker said...

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/apr/21/could-the-us-become-argentina/

A century ago, if you had told typical citizens of Argentina (which at that time was enjoying the fourth-highest per capita income in the world) that it would decline to become just the 76th richest nation on a per capita basis in 2010, they probably would not have found it believable. They might have responded, "This could not happen; we are a nation rich in natural resources, with a great climate for agriculture. Our people are well educated and largely descended from European stock. We have property rights, the rule of law and an open free-market economy."

* READ THE FULL ESSAY; IS THE USA DESTINED TO FOLLOW IN ARGENTINA'S FOOTSTEPS...???

April 21, 2010 at 2:07 PM
William R. Barker said...

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2010/04/21/white_house_obama_did_not_take_goldman_pac_money_will_not_return_donations.html

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs denied President Obama took any PAC money from Goldman Sachs, therefore he will not return any of it.

* NOW UNLESS THE VIDEO IS TAKEN COMPLETELY OUT OF CONTEXT... (*SCRATCHING MY HEAD*)... GIBBS SEEMS TO HAVE LOST HIS FRIGG'N MIND...

(*AMUSED SNORT*)

April 21, 2010 at 2:48 PM
William R. Barker said...

http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2010/04/20/2275442.aspx

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid today faced his own questions about a fundraiser he attended this year hosted by the president of Goldman Sachs.

Asked by reporters to confirm his attendance and how it played into the debate over financial regulatory reform, Reid didn't answer the question directly. Instead, he read from what appeared to be prepared remarks, touting his "reform" efforts.

Asked later by NBC News to confirm the fundraiser, Reid spokesman Jim Manley readily did so - adding that everything was done in accordance with campaign finance rules. It raised $37,000, Manley said.

Yesterday, however, it was Reid and Manley who were on the attack, condemning Republican Leader Mitch McConnell and NRSC Chairman John Cornyn for meeting with Wall Street execs in New York City. In a written statement, Manley said the senators "should immediately reveal what they discussed..."

* APPARENTLY - UNLIKE WITH THE REID "APPEARANCE" - NO MONEY CHANGED HANDS BETWEEN THE GOLDMAN FOLKS AND MCCONNELL AND CORNYN. (*SMIRK*)

When news of Reid's Goldman Sachs fundraiser was circulated yesterday, NRSC spokesman Brain Walsh said, "One can only presume that Sen. Reid will be return these donations immediately." Today, Manley said the majority leader plans to keep the money.

April 21, 2010 at 2:48 PM
William R. Barker said...

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/latinamerica/la-fg-mexico-monterrey-20100422,0,7968807.story

In a bold predawn attack, gunmen stormed a hotel Wednesday in the heart of the northern city of Monterrey and kidnapped at least three people, officials said.

Mexican media said up to 50 hooded gunmen arrived in a convoy and burst into the downtown Holiday Inn, seizing guests and employees.

Monterrey's mayor, Fernando Larrazabal, said police had trouble reaching the scene because the attackers commandeered cars and used them to block surrounding streets. Larrazabal told a radio interviewer that the kidnappers had disappeared in less than 20 minutes.

The Holiday Inn, with 390 rooms, sits in a downtown zone with numerous high-rise hotels.

April 21, 2010 at 11:12 PM
William R. Barker said...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100421/ap_on_bi_ge/us_obama_tax

President Barack Obama suggested Wednesday that a new value-added tax on Americans is still on the table, seeming to show more openness to the idea than his aides have expressed in recent days.

Before deciding what revenue options are best for dealing with the deficit and the economy, Obama said in an interview with CNBC, "I want to get a better picture of what our options are."

(*SNORT*)

For days, White House spokesmen have said the president has not proposed and is not considering a VAT.

"I think I directly answered this the other day by saying that it wasn't something that the president had under consideration," White House press secretary Robert Gibbs told reporters shortly before Obama spoke with CNBC.

After the interview, White House deputy communications director Jen Psaki said nothing has changed and the White House is "not considering" a VAT.For days, White House spokesmen have said the president has not proposed and is not considering a VAT.

"I think I directly answered this the other day by saying that it wasn't something that the president had under consideration," White House press secretary Robert Gibbs told reporters shortly before Obama spoke with CNBC.

After the interview, White House deputy communications director Jen Psaki said nothing has changed and the White House is "not considering" a VAT.

In the CNBC interview, Obama said he was waiting for recommendations from a bipartisan fiscal advisory commission on ways to tackle the deficit and other problems.

(*SMIRK*)

* HMM... WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO CANDIDATE OBAMA'S PLEDGE OF NO TAX INCREASES FOR AMERICANS MAKING LESS THAN $250,000...?

April 21, 2010 at 11:12 PM

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