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| Joel Skousen's
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| This week in the World Affairs Brief: |
NEW BOOK PRAISES THE GLOBALIST SECRET ELITE
Superclass: The Global Power Elite and the World They Are Making by David Rothkopf has emerged as a modern follow up to Tragedy and Hope by Dr. Carroll Quigley. The latter treatise by Quigley was the book that clued my uncle W. Cleon Skousen into the fact that there was a globalist elite undermining US sovereignty and aiding Communist takeovers around the world, as opposed to the more obvious but simple theory that Communist agents were infesting the State Department (as conservatives used to think). The Reds were inside government, alright, but the leaders were only posing as communists. Alger Hiss was the principle globalist agent running the show and calling the shots. It caused Cleon to write The Naked Capitalist, a review of Quigley's naive exultation about these globalists who Quigley admired and revered. Quigley claimed to have been on the inside for a while and seen some of their plans. His only criticism of the globalist plans was that he thought they ought to be more open in their intentions rather than keeping everything a secret. Quigley, Bill Clinton's mentor, was a typical Ivory Tower professor at Georgetown, and perhaps unaware of the underlying evil nature of the conspiracy he so admired. This week I document much more of what US globalists are working on to undermine American liberties. For a one-time sample copy of these briefings, send an email to "editor@worldaffairsbrief.com" and request it.
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| Also: |
| US PRESIDENCY NOW AN EVIL INSTITUTION |
| US PREPARING TO TURN PARTS OF SADR CITY INTO A WASTELAND |
| FBI EVADES COURT RULINGS ON NATIONAL SECURITY LETTERS |
| More... |
 | to read the rest of this week’s brief! |
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The World Affairs Brief is a weekly news analysis service dedicated to providing an understanding of the hidden agendas behind the actions of world leaders and other powerful individuals who influence government from behind the scenes. Although the World Affairs Brief is provided to subscribers only, you can read samples of Mr. Skousen's unique analysis in the archives section. The following daily news items are provided as a sampling of the crucial issues that Mr. Skousen may analyze in this week's briefing. |
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Friday, May 16, 2008
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Saudis, US grapple with Iran challenge
Story
It is extremely rare for Saudi diplomacy to blatantly use the weapon of sectarianism against Shi'ite Iran and to draw a line of divide between the Persians and the surrounding Sunni Muslim Arab world.But this time around, if the intention of the vastly experienced, cosmopolitan Saudi prince was to unnerve Tehran, he failed.Tehran coolly ignored the Saudi foreign minister's warning.The Saudis have realized there aren't many takers in the Arab world for their anti-Iran, anti-Hezbollah ploys -M K Bhadrakumar/Asia Times
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Tehran ponders the spoils of victory
Story
We were watching the news coming in from Beirut, as armed Hezbollah troopers stormed entire neighborhoods of Beirut, loyal to parliamentary majority leader Saad al-Hariri.The anchor for al-Manar, Hezbollah's TV station, was roaming the streets of Hamra, Ain Mraiseh and Quraytem, reporting on events from his party's perspective.At one point, the al-Manar TV anchor stood by Starbucks Coffee on Hamra Street and a friend watching the report muttered, "What are they going to next? Rename it Shah-bucks?" -Sami Moubayed/Asia Times
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Myanmar's killing fields of neglect
Story
Myanmar's worst case humanitarian scenario is now playing out in full view of the international community.As the death toll mounts and the United Nations futilely negotiates with the country's ruling generals to open Myanmar's borders and allow a multinational response to the Cyclone Nagris disaster, the moral case for a unilateral US military-led humanitarian intervention has grown.Yet so far the UN and US have played by the junta's rules -Shawn W Crispin/Asia Times
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China buries quake dead as new aftershock hits
Story
China struggled to bury its dead and help tens of thousands of injured and homeless today when a powerful aftershock brought new havoc four days after an earthquake thought to have killed more than 50,000.President Hu Jintao flew to the battered province of Sichuan and Premier Wen Jiabao said the quake damage could exceed the devastating 1976 tremor in the northeastern city of Tangshan that killed up to 300,000 people.China has asked the United States for satellite images to help locate victims and identify damaged infrastructure
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Western Experts Monitor China’s Nuclear Sites for Signs of Earthquake Damage
Story
China’s main centers for designing, making and storing nuclear arms lie in the shattered earthquake zone, leading Western experts to look for signs of any damage that might allow radioactivity to escape.A senior federal official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the delicacy of the issue, said the United States was using spy satellites and other means to try to monitor the sprawling nuclear plants. “There appear to be no immediate concerns,” the official said.Nonetheless, “it’s potentially a serious issue,” said Hans M. Kristensen, a nuclear arms expert at the Federation of American Scientists -William J. Broad/NY Times
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U.S. again cuts off Chalabi, this time over rivalry with Maliki
Story
U.S. military and diplomatic officials in Baghdad have cut off contact with controversial Iraqi politician Ahmad Chalabi, a former Pentagon favorite, because of his increasingly strained relationship with U.S.-backed Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki.Maliki's apparent decision may be part of a growing schism among Shiite Muslim leaders over their conflicting ties to the U.S. and Iranian governments.The Iraqi government is saying nothing publicly -McClatchy Newspapers
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Chavez Says Attack by the U.S. Would Cause $500 Oil
Story
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said crude oil would rise to "$400 or $500'' a barrel in the event of a U.S. attack on his country, the biggest petroleum exporter in the Americas.The reactivation of the U.S. Fourth Fleet in the Caribbean on July 1 and what he said is a possible U.S. base on the Guajira Peninsula, shared by Venezuela and Colombia, are both threats, Chavez said in a speech broadcast Wednesday night -Steven Bodzin/Bloomberg
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Interpol Notes Improper Initial Handling of FARC Laptops
Story
Interpol reported Thursday that the files found on computers that Colombia seized from a FARC guerrilla camp in March were not tampered with and did belong to the rebel group.But it also said the handling of the laptops and hard drives in the first 48 hours after they were discovered "may complicate validating this evidence for purposes of its introduction in a judicial proceeding". "The authentication of the laptops does not mean the validation of the Colombian interpretation of their contents," they stated -Constanza Vieira/IPS
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Lies of Aggression
Story
On May 15, the White House Moron, in a war-planning visit to Israel, justified the naked aggression he and Olmert are planning against Iran as the only alternative to "the false comfort of appeasement, which has been repeatedly discredited by history." But the White House Moron has the roles reversed.It is not Iran that is threatening war.It is Bush.It is not Bush who is appeasing.It is Iran.It is Bush, not Iran, who sounds like Adolf Hitler blustering and threatening -Paul Craig Roberts/LewRockwell.com
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Political clashes underline limits to intelligence reform
Story
As head of analysis for all U.S. spy agencies, Thomas Fingar was making final edits last summer on a long-awaited intelligence report on Iran.The draft concluded that Tehran was still pursuing a nuclear bomb, a finding that echoed previous assessments and would have bolstered Bush administration hawks.Then, just weeks before the report was to be delivered to the White House, new intelligence surfaced indicating that Tehran's nuclear weapons work had stopped.Fingar was acutely aware of the stakes -Greg Miller/LA Times
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U.S. to Seek Client Names From UBS In Tax Case
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U.S. prosecutors are expected to confront Swiss banking giant UBS AG with a broad subpoena for the names of wealthy American clients who may have used its services to avoid income taxes, according to lawyers and others involved in the case.The subpoena would follow an indictment, unsealed Tuesday in Florida federal court, of former UBS private banker Bradley Birkenfeld and his alleged accomplice, Mario Staggl, a Liechtenstein businessman skilled in setting up intricate trusts in Europe and offshore tax havens -Wall Street Journal
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U.S. Economy: Manufacturing Weak as Expansion Falters
Story
The slump in U.S. manufacturing deepened while the economy skirted recession, reports today showed.Industrial production declined 0.7 percent in April, the Federal Reserve said in Washington today, more than twice the drop forecast by economists.Only exports and consumer spending, the largest part of the economy, are keeping the six-year expansion alive as housing shows no sign of a rebound and factories retrench -Shobhana Chandra/Bloomberg
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Congressmen Highlight Mexican Commando Incursions Into U.S.
Story
Rep. Ted Poe, R-Humble, has urged the Congress to take action regarding the frequent incursions of military style Mexican commandos into the U.S. that has seen over 6000 deaths in the past two and a half years according to conservative estimates.The Houston-area Republican told the House Foreign Affairs Committee that members of Mexico's elite counter-narcotics teams, trained at Fort Benning, Ga., have defected and are now in the pay of drug cartels.Poe highlighted the fact that the guerrilla-style commandos are regularly crossing the border into the U.S. and have been involved in violence and killings as far north as Dallas -Steve Watson/InfoWars.net
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Senators Ask FBI to Explain Flawed 'National Security Letter' to Internet Archive
Story
A bipartisan group of U.S. senators is asking FBI head Robert Mueller to explain why the feds sought records from the Internet Archive, a digital library, using a controversial administrative subpoena known as a National Security Letter, which is intended for a communications service providers.The six senators sent Mueller a letter Thursday, asking him to explain what happened and to find out if the FBI reported the incident to an oversight board as a possible violation of federal law -Ryan Singel/Wired
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Report: Government's Cyber Security Plan Is Riddled With New Spying Programs
Story
Major elements of the Bush administration's proposed $17 billion "cyber security" initiative have little to do with protecting government networks, and a lot to do with spying, according to a budget report released by the Senate Armed Services Committee this week.The so-called National Cyber Security Initiative is also wrapped in unnecessary secrecy, and would spend billions on unproven, embryonic technology, and possibly illegal or ill-advised projects, according to the analysis -- which is part of a broad look at the proposed 2009 defense budget -Ryan Singel/Wired
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Change your ways or lose your children, Texas to tell mothers in polygamist sect
Story
Texas, calling a polygamist sect an abusive environment, is poised to tell its mothers they will lose their children unless they distance themselves from portions of their religion.Some lawyers believe this could mean women would never be able to return to the Yearning for Zion ranch in Eldorado, and would have to choose between some of their beliefs and their children.In advance of court hearings that begin Monday, Child Protective Services has drafted 10 goals and 14 tasks that parents will have to work toward to regain custody of their children -Robert T. Garrett/Dallas Morning News
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War Funding Bill Stalls in House
Story
An odd coalition of angry Republicans and antiwar Democrats yesterday torpedoed a $162.5 billion proposal to continue funding for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, leaving the House to pass a measure that demands troop withdrawals, bans torture and expands education benefits for returning veterans.The surprise action left antiwar activists on and off Capitol Hill exultant, Republicans gloating and Democratic leaders baffled.Recriminations from all sides quickly followed -Washington Post
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Thursday, May 15, 2008
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Venezuela Offered Aid to Colombian Rebels
Story
High-ranking officials in Venezuela offered to help Colombian guerrillas obtain surface-to-air missiles meant to change the balance of power in their war with the Colombian government, according to internal rebel documents.Venezuelan officials served as middlemen with Australian arms dealers and agreed to help the rebel commanders travel to the Middle East to receive missile training, according to files on computer hard drives seized by Colombian authorities -Juan Forero/Washington Post
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US billionaire: Olmert allegations insulting
Story
S. Daniel Abraham, a philanthropist who made his fortune as founder of Slim-Fast food products, was summoned by police this week to discuss his ties with Olmert.Another Jewish-American billionaire, Sheldon Adelson, also gave a statement to police this week as part of the investigation.At a Wednesday gala, the casino mogul sat in the front row with President Bush, first lady Laura Bush and other U.S. and Israeli officials, including Olmert
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U.S. military cuts ties with Chalabi
Story
Sources in Baghdad tell NBC News that as of this week American military and civilian officials have cut off all contact with controversial Iraqi politician Ahmad Chalabi, the former favorite of Washington's once powerful neoconservatives.The reason, the sources say, is "unauthorized" contacts with Iran's government, an allegation Chalabi denies.Chalabi had been making a remarkable comeback in Iraq, but that may now be in question -Kianne Sadeq & Aram Roston/MSNBC
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President Bush in Israel
Story
If Bush was looking for support in his belief that public opinion is fleeting but that history will be the ultimate judge of his presidency, he found it in spades last night here, where he is widely viewed as a determined leader who understood the terror threat and was willing to act to meet its challenge.Some Israeli security officials have questioned not his good intentions toward their nation but the pragmatic outcomes of his policies -Laura Rozen/Mother Jones
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World Bank 'Destroyed Basic Grains' in Honduras
Story
The former breadbasket of Central America now imports 83 percent of the rice it consumes -- a dependency triggered almost two decades ago when it adopted free-market policies pushed by the World Bank and other lenders.The country was $3.6 billion in debt in 1990.In return for loans from the World Bank, Honduras became one of dozens of developing nations that abandoned policies designed to protect farmers and citizens from volatile food prices -Bloomberg
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FASCISM, CORPORATE STATE'S ACHILLES HEEL
Story
Last week we looked at a couple of the horrors of our fascist system.Of course there are many others.Monster corporations control that system, and they have long since proved that they will do anything they can get away with to maximize that control, even including the murders of millions around the world.Certainly one of my favorites is Monsanto.As I pointed out last week, this is a horror movie corporation that is literally trying to monopolize the world’s food -Alan Stang/NewsWithViews
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Senate also gives farm bill veto-proof majority
Story
The Senate on Thursday joined the House in overwhelmingly supporting a farm bill, which was cleared to President Bush by an 81-15 vote despite his veto threat.Only 13 Republicans voted against the bill.Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and a majority of his conference supported the bill.All three presidential candidates missed the vote -J. Taylor Rushing/The Hill
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California Supreme Court overturns gay marriage ban
Story
The California Supreme Court ruled today that same-sex couples should be permitted to marry, rejecting state marriage laws as discriminatory.The state high court's 4-3 ruling was unlikely to end the debate over gay matrimony in California.A group has circulated petitions for a November ballot initiative that would amend the state Constitution to block same-sex marriage, while the Legislature has twice passed bills to authorize gay marriage.Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed both -LA Times
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China's All-Seeing Eye
Story
Remember how we've always been told that free markets and free people go hand in hand? That was a lie.It turns out that the most efficient delivery system for capitalism is actually a communist-style police state, fortressed with American "homeland security" technologies, pumped up with "war on terror" rhetoric.Like everything else assembled in China with American parts, Police State 2.0 is ready for export to a neighborhood near you -Naomi Klein/Rolling Stone
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Dozens dead as missiles hit Bajaur village
Story
Dozens of people were feared dead or injured in yet another missile strikes reportedly carried out by two US spy planes on Damadola village in Bajaur tribal region, bordering Afghanistan on Wednesday.Unconfirmed reports put the death toll at 14 in the air attack but there were fears that the casualties might be much higher.Local tribesmen informed this correspondent by telephone late Wednesday night that two US spy planes(drones), which were hovering over the town for the past two days, fired two missiles at Bar Kelay in Damadola town -Pak Tribune PK
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China seeks an Afghan stepping-stone
Story
Afghanistan's geographic location has made it a much coveted strategic pivot in the current Great Game.The stakes now include oil, hydropower sources, strategic metals, pipelines, transit routes and access to markets.These significantly higher stakes have led to Central Asia assuming military, geopolitical, geo-economic and geostrategic significance for two major blocs - one led by the United States (North Atlantic Treaty Organization - NATO) and the other by China (Shanghai Cooperation Organization - SCO) -Tariq Mahmud Ashraf/Jamestown Foundation
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A hard look at China's soft power
Story
China's attempts to use its "soft power" assets are increasingly successful, although not without problems, according to a recent United States congressional study.On May 5, Senator Joseph Biden, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, released a study, prepared by the Congressional Research Service (CRS).The study, "China's Foreign Policy and Soft Power in South America, Asia, and South Africa" found both strengths and weaknesses in China's approach to the world -David Isenberg/Asia Times
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Coups and counter-coups
Story
As the guns begin to fall silent in Beirut, Tripoli and elsewhere in Lebanon and fractious Lebanon and the outside world reflect on what transpired this past several days on the eve of President George W Bush's Middle East trip, it has become fairly obvious that the Saudi Arabia accusation of an Iran-inspired Hezbollah "coup" is a total misnomer.Indeed, the more apt term is a "government coup and Hezbollah's successful counter-coup" -Kaveh L Afrasiabi/Asia Times
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The US-Iran sound bite showdown
Story
They just can't keep from going at each other's throats.Just in time for President George W Bush's special guest appearance at the 60th anniversary of the founding of Israel, his ultimate nemesis, Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad, unleashed another rhetorical shot across the bow as his own way of "celebrating" the anniversary.And once again the substance of what Ahmadinejad actually said risks being lost in (mis)translation -Pepe Escobar/Asia Times
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Bogus Claim, al-Maliki Stall U.S. Plan on Iran Arms
Story
Early this month, the George W. Bush administration's plan to create a new crescendo of accusations against Iran for allegedly smuggling arms to Shiite militias in Iraq encountered not just one but two setbacks.The government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki refused to endorse U.S. charges of Iranian involvement in arms smuggling to the Mahdi Army.Senior U.S. military officials were clearly furious with al-Maliki for backtracking on the issue -Gareth Porter/IPS
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New Study Calls 'Embed' Program for U.S. Media in Iraq a 'Victory' -- for the Pentagon
Story
Debate over the "embedded journalist" program run by the Pentagon since the weeks before the Iraq invasion in 2003 has long raged, with some claiming that it gave reporters valuable close access to action while others saying that the journalists were severely compromised within it.Now sociologist Andrew M. Lindner describes what is billed as the only sociological study to date of the substantive content of media coverage during the first six weeks of the Iraq war -Greg Mitchell/Editor & Publisher
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THE SECRET BAILOUT OF JPMORGAN: HOW INSIDER TRADING LOOTED BEAR STEARNS AND THE AMERICAN TAXPAYER
Story
The secret weekend purchase of Bear Stearns with a Federal Reserve loan was precipitated by a run on Bear’s stock allegedly triggered by rumors of its insolvency.The “rescuer” was not actually JPMorgan but was the Federal Reserve, the “bankers’ bank” set up by J. Pierpont Morgan to backstop bank runs; and the party “rescued” was not Bear Stearns, which wound up being eaten alive -Ellen Brown, J.D.
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Child Theft, "Concentration Camps": It's Happening Here
Story
Even before Dan Jessop's son was born, the State had already made a proprietary claim to him because of the supposed sins of his parents.I say "sins" because as of yet, neither 24-year-old Dan Jessop, Sr., nor his 22-year-old wife Louisa, has been charged with a crime.This didn't prevent the instrument of totalitarian malice called the Texas Department of Child Protective Services from trying to seize control over both the child and his mother as soon as delivery was accomplished -William N. Grigg
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In Custody, In Pain
Story
A 1996 law had given the government new leverage to deport foreigners, including people living in the country legally as U.S. residents, if they had committed a crime at any time in the past, and the Bush administration was wielding that power aggressively.The law expanded the list of crimes defined as "aggravated felonies" that are grounds for deportation. It also for the first time required people to be locked up during their deportation cases -Amy Goldstein & Dana Priest/Washington Post
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Solicitor General Clement Says He Will Step Down
Story
Solicitor General Paul D. Clement, a key advocate in court for the administration's counterterrorism policies, will resign from the Justice Department in early June, the department announced yesterday.Clement, 41, has argued 49 cases before the Supreme Court on behalf of the government, including some of the most controversial since he was appointed in 2005.Gun activists were upset with him earlier this year because of a brief he filed in the Second Amendment challenge of the District's handgun ban -Washington Post
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Judge Says Countrywide Officers Must Face Suit by Shareholders
Story
Directors and officers of Countrywide Financial, the beleaguered mortgage lender, must answer shareholder accusations of insider trading and an overall failure to monitor lending practices that led to the company’s collapse, a federal judge in California has ruled.Senator Charles E. Schumer, Democrat of New York, asked the Federal Trade Commission on Wednesday to investigate whether Countrywide took advantage of borrowers who filed for bankruptcy protection to try to keep their homes -Gretchen Morgenson/NY Times
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Congressman Paul Questions Former Fed Chairman Volcker
Story
Wednesday morning at a Joint Economics Committee Hearing Congressman Ron Paul had the opportunity to question former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker on the economy and the credit crisis.The hearing was entitled “Wall Street to Main Street: Is the Credit Crisis Over and What Can the Federal Government Do to Prevent Unnecessary Systemic Risk in the Future?” Volcker mentioned in his opening remarks that the United States suffers from overconsumption, and that we cannot sustain the current build up of debt
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A Porker Of A Farm Bill
Story
The latest score on farm legislation: Congress 1, President Bush 0.And there's a good chance for a shutout within the next few days.Wednesday afternoon, the House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed a much-debated Farm Bill, with a veto-proof 318-106 vote.The measure, stuffed with lawmakers' pet projects for local farmers, now moves to the Senate, where it is also likely to pass.Bush has threatened to veto the $290 billion bill because it gives generous subsidies to farmers, many of whom are now reaping the benefits of higher food prices-Brian Wingfield/Forbes
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Lebanon Reverses Decisions That Prompted Violence
Story
Lebanon’s governing coalition on Wednesday night formally reversed two decisions that had provoked the militant group Hezbollah, bringing the country a step closer to resolving the week-old political crisis that set off the worst factional violence since the nation’s 15-year civil war.The announcement was made after a day of intensive meetings between Lebanese leaders and an Arab diplomatic delegation led by the foreign minister of Qatar -Robert F.Worth/NY Times
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