CBC members sucks up to Castro. World not surprised.

World: Birds of a feather flock together. I wonder if the CBC asked about the political prisoners Castro keeps in jail or did they skip over that part of living under Castro?

Key members of the Congressional Black Caucus are calling for an end to U.S. prohibition on travel to Cuba, just hours after a meeting with former Cuban president Fidel Castro in Havana. “The fifty-year embargo just hasn’t worked,” CBC Chairwoman Barbara Lee (D-Ca.) told reporters this evening at a Capitol press conference after returning from a congressional delegation visit to Cuba. “The bottom line is that we believe its time to open dialogue with Cuba.” Lee and others heaped praise on Castro, calling him warm and receptive during their discussion. But the lawmakers disputed Castro's later statement that members of the congressional delegation said American society is still racist. "It was quite a moment to behold," Lee said, recalling her moments with Castro. “It was almost like listening to an old friend,” said Rep. Bobby Rush (D-Il.), adding that he found Castro’s home to be modest and Castro’s wife to be particularly hospitable. “In my household I told Castro he is known as the ultimate survivor,” Rush said. ....In a statement following the meeting today, Castro said that the delegation had expressed to him that a segment of American society “continues to be racist,” and is at least partly to blame for the travel restrictions. But the delegation this evening said those remarks were not expressed in the meeting. “That did not happen,” Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.), told reporters.

I believe Castro over these three nimrods especially if Bobby Rush is in attendance. You know damn well that is his S.O.P.

Rasmussen: No apologies for the Mohammed cartoons

World: Back in my good graces as the only tough Euro leader around.

Turkey should not expect any apologies when NATO's next Secretary-General and former Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen makes a speech in Istanbul today. “Listen. In Denmark we do not apologise for having freedom of speech,” Fogh Rasmussen is quoted by Ritzau as saying. “You all know that a Danish Prime Minister cannot apologise on behalf of a newspaper,” he continues. The newly-appointed upcoming secretary-general for NATO is in Turkey to speak at a United Nations conference on intercultural dialogue and understanding. Turkish media The Turkish media has widely reported that Fogh Rasmussen will issue an apology during his speech today, and that the apology was one concession offered in order to get Turkey to withdraw its opposition to Fogh Rasmussen’s appointment. But Fogh Rasmussen rejects the assertion. “We have nothing in the bag,” he is reported as saying.

Congress bows down to payday loan industry.

Business: Now this is one industry that needs to be clamped down or shut down. But certain Congress critters especially Dems are looking to not only avert any clamping down but make matters worse.

The payday loan industry, threatened by Congress with extinction, has deployed well-connected lobbyists and hefty sums of campaign cash to key lawmakers to save itself. The strategy has paid off. Now a top Democrat who once tried to ban the practice is instead pushing to regulate it — a result, he says, of the industry's lobbying clout. The lawmaker, Rep. Luis Gutierrez, D-Ill., says his bill does have crucial protections for borrowers and represents the best deal he can manage in the face of the industry's aggressive lobbying. Consumer groups are condemning the bill as a loophole-riddled gift to the industry.

Indeed, the payday lending industry is strenuously resisting Gutierrez's measure, which it says would devastate its business. The measure would cap the annual interest rate for a payday loan at 391 percent, ban so-called "rollovers" — where a borrower who can't afford to pay off the loan essentially renews it and pays large fees — and prevent lenders from suing borrowers or docking their wages to collect the debt. But consumer groups say the legislation would do little to crack down on the most egregious payday lending practices. They argue it would for the first time lend federal legitimacy to usurious loans and undermine successful efforts under way in several states to slap tougher limits on it. ....The group has also helped host several fundraisers for lawmakers with say over what happens to the industry, according to invitations collected by the Sunlight Foundation, which tracks political parties. Those included a fundraiser last year for Rep. Joe Baca, D-Calif., a Financial Services committee member. Dinner and a reception at the fundraiser at a Capitol Hill townhouse cost at least $1,000. Baca on Wednesday introduced his own version of payday lending legislation that has gotten a warmer reception from the industry. It would allow some rollovers and pre-empt state laws, which would effectively pave the way for payday lending in states whose laws currently make it difficult or impossible. And it allows online lenders to charge higher fees than their bricks-and-mortar brethren.

UN unable to agree response to North Korean rocket

UN: I am in total shock and surprise about this development.

The Security Council adjourned after three hours of closed-door talks on North Korea's long-range rocket launch with no agreement on how to respond to what Western members called a clear violation of UN resolutions. "Members of the Security Council agreed to continue consultations on an appropriate action by the council in accordance with its responsibilities given the urgency of the matter," Mexico's UN Ambassador Claude Heller, the council chair this month, told reporters after the meeting.

The Kos " Conservatives like to shoot cops" debacle.

Politics: There is outrage over it from Hot Air and other conservative sites but I am not shocked by it because this is the sort of thing I expect from the left. This is going to be the dominate theme one way or the other in the MSM, MSNBC/CBS/NBC/ABC for as long as they can milk it starting tomorrow morning on the network morning shows.

Not withstanding the facts coming out that Richard Poplawski held views that would have made him welcomed on many leftist and conspiracy theory sites.

But going by Kos logic, the guy who killed four cops in Oakland must have been a conservative afraid of an Obama gun ban as well. Not that both killers were crazed nutjobs.

Update: The journolist set talking points are making the leftist rounds as Oliver Willis whines.

Obama/Rasmussen surrender to Turkey's cartoon demands

World: I asked a couple of posts down why did Turkey just agree to let Rasmussen get the NATO post and what part did Obama have in getting this agreement. Now we know, suck up for standing up for free speech and expression.

NATO leaders agreed to appoint Anders Fogh Rasmussen as the new head of the alliance after Turkey dropped its objections on Saturday. Turkey had opposed Rasmussen's bid for the top NATO post, saying the Dane's unwillingness to suspend broadcasts from a Denmark-based Roj TV station linked to the terror organization PKK, and his stance during the 2006 crisis over a Danish newspapers publication of cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad, cast doubts over his ability to lead the alliance. The consensus process could sometimes be long and troubled, Gul said at a press conference after the summit, adding that the most important element in a defense cooperation organization was conformity. Gul also thanked U.S. President Barack Obama for his contributions to the issue and wished success to the Danish premier. According to media reports, Turkey had received "guarantees" from Obama that one of Rasmussen's deputies would be a Turk and that Turkish commanders would be present at the alliance's command. Rasmussen will also apologize to Muslim world for cartoon crisis and Roj TV will be closed, Hurriyet daily reported on Sunday.

Obama the apologist strikes again.

Update: Danish cartoonist remains defiant

But Mr Westergaard has decided that he will hide no more. "I am 73 years old," he says. "Most of my life is over. I am too old to be afraid. I have complete faith in PET [the Danish Secret Service]." Not only has he emerged from hiding but he has also gone on the offensive, contributing to a recently published Danish book. His latest cartoons are not as provocative as the Muhammad bomb but they satirise Islam and politicians who appease the mullahs. "It is the question of freedom of speech, freedom of expression," he says. "I think we are in a period in which this democratic value is under pressure, so it has to be defended."

He doesn't realizes that it seems democratic values are also flexible in our leaders' minds.

Reuters: Obama a winner at NATO summit!

World: Why did he win?

U.S. President Barack Obama won his spurs as a compromise broker at his first NATO summit on Saturday, persuading a reluctant Turkey to accept the Danish prime minister as the next head of the alliance. But Obama came away with little more than warm words and token support for his new strategy to defeat Al Qaeda Islamic militants in Afghanistan and Pakistan, with only small European commitments of extra soldiers, trainers or money. Encapsulating the difference between his approach and that of his predecessor, George W. Bush, who was deeply unpopular in Europe, the new president said: "The United States came here to listen, to learn and to lead, because all of us have a responsibility to do our part. America cannot meet our global challenges alone. Nor can Europe meet them without America."

So by being a suckup makes him a winner in Reuters world. This is like winning a medal for participating in a race in elementary school.

NYTIMES trying to bust Boston Globe's union.

Media: I love it. I could care less if the Globe goes out of business while pushing its liberal employees out on their ass. It deserves such treatment, but seeing the champion of unions whine about unions is funny.

In a striking example of corporate hardball, the New York Times Co. has threatened to shut down one of its journalistic jewels, the Boston Globe, unless the New England paper's unions agree to sweeping concessions. The Globe quoted union officials last night as saying that Times and Globe executives made the demands in a 90-minute meeting with union officials. The unions were asked to quickly agree to $20 million in cost-cutting moves to avoid the potential shutdown. The executives told the union leaders that the Boston paper will lose $85 million this year without serious cutbacks, the Globe report said. An employee briefed on the discussions was quoted as saying the Globe lost $50 million last year. Such demands have become an increasingly common tactic in the struggling newspaper business, and it is hard to imagine that the Times would actually abandon the paper it bought for $1.1 billion in 1993. Hearst recently used a threat to close the San Francisco Chronicle to win swift union concessions. The Times newspaper said last week that it is laying off 100 employees and cutting the salaries of most of those who remain by as much as 5 percent this year.

NATO pick Rasmussen, Obama bows down to Turkey's demands?

NATO: Turkey's opposition based on the fact they hated that Denmark defended the Mohammmed cartoons is ridiculous but what did they get in return for the support?

NATO leaders appointed Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen as NATO's new secretary-general Saturday after overcoming Turkish objections to a leader who angered Muslims around the world by supporting the right to caricature the Prophet Muhammad. NATO's outgoing head, Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, said NATO's 28 member nations reached unanimity after a series of Turkish "concerns" were addressed at the alliance's two-day, 60th-anniversary summit. Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan told reporters that his government's requests had included the closure of a Kurdish satellite television broadcaster based in Denmark; the establishment of contacts between NATO and Islamic countries; appointment of a Turk as an aide to Fogh Rasmussen and senior NATO command positions for Turkish generals. Erdogan said President Barack Obama had been heavily involved in the negotiations. "Our president gave his approval after receiving information that our reservations have been addressed under the guarantorship of Obama," Erdogan said. "We hope our concerns will be met." Obama said there had been "important efforts to make sure that everyone felt included." Fogh Rasmussen told a NATO news conference in Danish that the station, Roj TV, was being investigated to find out whether it has any ties with the Kurdish militant group PKK or has advocated terror attacks, something the station has repeatedly denied. "If it can be proven that Roj TV is involved in terror activities, we will of course do all we can to shut down the television station," he said. "I have not given in to the Turks," he said on Danish television Saturday evening. "Sometimes it is better to sit face-to-face with people,"

Obama lack of being a leader is getting ridiculous, all I have seen in this overseas trip so far is him doing everything for everyone's elses satisfaction. If he promised Turkey all these things mostly out of their objection to the Mohammed cartoons then we have a huge problem.

Obama refusing to take back TARP money .

Nation: Accusation by Stuart Varney in WSJ which makes sense because without a say in the banks, Obama cannot go thru with most of his social engineering.

Here's a true story first reported by my Fox News colleague Andrew Napolitano (with the names and some details obscured to prevent retaliation). Under the Bush team a prominent and profitable bank, under threat of a damaging public audit, was forced to accept less than $1 billion of TARP money. The government insisted on buying a new class of preferred stock which gave it a tiny, minority position. The money flowed to the bank. Arguably, back then, the Bush administration was acting for purely economic reasons. It wanted to recapitalize the banks to halt a financial panic. Fast forward to today, and that same bank is begging to give the money back. The chairman offers to write a check, now, with interest. He's been sitting on the cash for months and has felt the dead hand of government threatening to run his business and dictate pay scales. He sees the writing on the wall and he wants out. But the Obama team says no, since unlike the smaller banks that gave their TARP money back, this bank is far more prominent. The bank has also been threatened with "adverse" consequences if its chairman persists. That's politics talking, not economics.

Four Marines may be charged with killing fellow Marine and wife.

Nation: So far I don't see anything but these four going on trial and someone getting the death penalty. What the next twist is will they be charged also with a hate crime.

Race may have been the motive for the brutal murders of Brooklyn-raised Marine Sgt. Jan Pawel Pietrzak and his wife, Quiana. After insisting for months the Pietrzaks were slain by four other Marines for their money, a key prosecution witness dropped a bombshell Friday - racist remarks were spray-painted in the couple's California home. The words "N----- Lover" were found on the wall near the master bedroom and on a bathroom mirror, Riverside County Homicide Investigator Benjamin Ramirez testified. Pietrzak, 24, was white, his 26-year-old wife was black, and the four accused Marines are black. Ramirez's revelation came at the start of a two-day hearing to determine if the Camp Pendleton Marines should stand trial - and plunged the victims' heartbroken mothers into tears. "We're going to visit our children at the grave," Henryka Pietrzak-Varga of Bensonhurst said later. "That's all we have left after this." Pietrzak's mother and Quiana's mother, Glenda Faye Williams-Jenkins, have said from the moment their children were found tortured and murdered in October that this was not just a robbery gone bad. Riverside County Prosecutor Dan DeLimon refused to explain why they were silent about the racial angle. "That will be addressed when the preliminary hearing continues on May 8," he said. The accused Marines - Pvt. Emrys John, 18; Lance Cpl. Tyrone Miller, 20; Pvt. Kesuan (Psycho) Sykes, 21, and Pvt. Kevin Cox, 20 - have all pleaded not guilty. They face the death penalty if convicted.

UAW plans to ask for billions in taxpayers money,

Nation: Anyone who thinks Obama of all people will throw the UAW under the bus is just stupid. He will put on a show for the public and then use more taxpayer money to shore them up.

Support For Obama UAW officials remain supportive of the president. They view his tough talk and bankruptcy threats as posturing to put more pressure on the bondholders to forgive debts, said a person familiar with the view of UAW leadership. When the economy recovers and Obama is under less political pressure, the UAW plans to ask him for billions in federal funding for a retiree health-care trust, said the person who asked not to be identified revealing internal union discussions. “There’s light-years of improvement in terms of Washington’s understanding of the importance of manufacturing,” compared with the Bush administration, UAW Vice President Bob King said in a March 18 interview. “There is still a problem of discrimination against the blue-collar worker versus the white- collar worker. They are putting the auto industry through 27 hurdles and hoops before doing anything for them.”

Obama admin demands banks help out Chrysler

Nation: This is why you don't take out TARP money because you have the government trying to strongarm you into a stupid business deal.

Banks that loaned Chrysler LLC $6.8 billion are resisting government pressure to swap more than $5 billion of that for stock to slash the car maker's debt, according to people familiar with the matter, hindering Chrysler's effort to restructure outside of bankruptcy court. The issue is also slowing the company's drive to cement an alliance with Fiat SpA by May 1, and stalling Chrysler's attempt to renegotiate a health-care agreement with the United Auto Workers union, according to these people. While significant work needs to be completed with the UAW and Fiat, people involved in the talks say the banks are striking a much tougher stance than the union or Fiat. The lenders, which include J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Citigroup Inc. and Morgan Stanley, hold great influence in moving the process along. As holders of secured debt, they have the right to take control of Chrysler plants, brands and other assets, which were pledged as collateral for the loans, if the company files for bankruptcy protection.

GMAC eases credit standards to revive auto sales

Nation: I could have sworn this is one of the reasons why we are in this economic mess in the first place.

US auto finance giant GMAC, the former financial arm of General Motors, said Wednesday it was easing credit to dealers and expanding credit for consumers in a bid to rev up the stalled auto market. GMAC Financial Services said it would earmark "at least" five billion dollars for consumer auto loans over the next 60 days and temporarily ease financing terms for dealers squeezed by tight credit conditions in the recession-wracked economy. The measures include allowing qualified dealers to defer wholesale interest charges for two 30-day periods during the next 120 days and waiving the fee for dealers to post aged vehicles on SmartAuction, its online remarketing site, through June. For retail customers, GMAC will lower some rates for new and used vehicle financing and lower the bar on applications for credit. GMAC said it had financed more than two billion dollars in new and used retail contracts through March.

Corzine backs illegal tuition breaks

Nation: Downside is they still have to be in New Jersey.

A state panel on immigrant policy released recommendations Monday that include in-state tuition eligibility and driving privileges for illegal immigrants, as well as the creation of a commission on New Americans. Gov. Jon S. Corzine, who convened the Blue Ribbon Advisory Panel on Immigrant Policy last August, said Monday he agrees that illegal immigrants, especially those brought to the U.S. as children and attending local schools, should be able to pay in-state tuition at the state's public colleges. About 10 states allow illegal immigrants to pay in-state tuition rates, and similar federal legislation, called the Dream Act, has been proposed in Congress. Corzine said most of New Jersey's immigrants are in the state legally, and that the children of the state's estimated 400,000 illegal immigrants; "are not here because they chose to be, but because of their families, and they should not be discriminated against." Corzine differed with the panel on extending driving privileges to illegal immigrants in New Jersey, saying that's an issue for the federal government to decide. "There's a fundamental flaw to letting people drive without insurance and licenses," Corzine said. "Nevertheless, New Jersey has very strict laws on driver's licenses. We need a national policy on how we identify people, not state by state."

Colo. Dems pass illegals tuition bill with the usual sleaze.

Nation: Republicans pull a sleazy stunt like this and it would nationwide news on every media outlet.

A proposal to grant in-state tuition to illegal immigrants passed out of a Colorado state Senate committee this week after Democrats moved up a vote on the bill to coincide with a Republican opponent's absence from the state on a family emergency. Republican state Sen. Ted Harvey's father-in-law has Alzheimer's disease and his health began deteriorating so rapidly early this week that Mr. Harvey was forced to take a few days off to transport the ailing man from Florida to Colorado. Even so, Mr. Harvey had planned to return to the state legislature in time for Friday's Appropriations Committee vote on Senate Bill 170, the in-state tuition bill. He had also planned to vote against it, which would have resulted in a 5-5 tie that would have killed the legislation. Instead, the committee's Democratic chairman, state Sen. Abel Tapia, seized the opportunity and rescheduled the vote for Wednesday. Without Mr. Harvey, the bill passed 5-4 and now heads to the Senate floor.

Homeland Security Frees 27 Illegal Immigrants, Sends Them Back to Work

Immigration: Janet Napolitano went about making open borders mentality a reality within the immigration service faster than I thought she would.

The Department of Homeland Security freed 27 illegal immigrants arrested during a workplace raid in February and offered them legal work permits, signaling a major departure from the immigration enforcement policy of the Bush administration. The Feb. 24 raid of an auto parts plant in Bellingham, Wash., netted 28 illegal immigrants. While one was deported, the remaining workers were released from custody and given employment authorization documents, or EADs, in exchange for cooperating with an ongoing investigation of their employer, Yamato Engine Specialists. The EAD is a temporary work permit most commonly given to people applying for green cards or citizenship. It usually lasts for one year, but Immigration and Customs Enforcement (I.C.E.) sources tell FOX News that these work permits will expire when the case against Yamato is closed.

So the case against Yamato will last for years or it ends quickly then no one can find the workers to deport them. Change has come to America

Facebook, YouTube at work make better employees

Nation: I knew it! Not that I browse during work hours thank you.

Caught Twittering or on Facebook at work? It'll make you a better employee, according to an Australian study that shows surfing the Internet for fun during office hours increases productivity. The University of Melbourne study showed that people who use the Internet for personal reasons at work are about 9 percent more productive that those who do not. Study author Brent Coker, from the department of management and marketing, said "workplace Internet leisure browsing," or WILB, helped to sharpened workers' concentration. "People need to zone out for a bit to get back their concentration," Coker said on the university's website (www.unimelb.edu.au/) "Short and unobtrusive breaks, such as a quick surf of the Internet, enables the mind to rest itself, leading to a higher total net concentration for a days' work, and as a result, increased productivity," he said.

Taliban whips 17 year old girl.

World: No word if this is the moderate Taliban that Obama and Hillary keep talking about all the time.

This is the chilling moment a 17-year-old Pakistani girl is punished in a horrific flogging by Taliban militants for being seen with a man who is not her husband. The girl, who received 37 lashes at the hands of her brother and Taliban forces, has sent shockwaves throughout the once stable Swat Valley region. The mobile phone footage shows the girl pinned down by two men while a third whips her as she begs for mercy. 'Please stop it,' the girl begs as the men, one of whom is believed to be her brother, continue their sickening act.

Kevin Rudd throws hissy fit on flight over no meat meal.

World: I wonder if Chairman Rudd pulled the "do you know who I am card?"

Australia's prime minister reduced a young female air force cabin attendant to tears with a tirade of abuse because he was not able have a 'no meat' meal on a VIP flight, it was claimed today. Mr Rudd was flying from Papua New Guinea, north of Australia, to Canberra on board a taxpayer-funded Boeing 737 VIP aircraft when the 23-year-old flight attendant on the Royal Australian Air Force jet told Mr Rudd that his special meal was not available. Sydney's Daily Telegraph claimed that Mr Rudd let loose with a torrent of abuse. The attendant burst into tears and reported the incident to the senior cabinet attendant. The woman later composed herself and continued with the in-flight service, it was reported. 'The crew were distressed but later in the flight apologies were made by all,' it was claimed. Asked about the incident, said to have occurred in late January, Mr Rudd, who is attending the G20 summit in London, said he did not observe any tears over the incident.

Assisted suicide of healthy woman planned.

EU: I guess this is part of the enlightened culture of Europe. Just think of it as the modern day Sati program.

The founder of the Swiss assistedsuicide clinic Dignitas was criticised yesterday after revealing plans to help a healthy woman to die alongside her terminally ill husband. Ludwig Minelli described suicide as a “marvellous opportunity” that should not be restricted to the terminally ill or people with severe disabilities. Critics said that the plans highlighted the risks of proposals to legalise assisted suicides in Britain for people in the final stages of a terminal illness. The Dignitas clinic in Zurich claims to have assisted in the deaths of more than 100 Britons. The Zurich University Clinic found that more than a fifth of people who had died at Dignitas did not have a terminal condition. Mr Minelli said that anyone who has “mental capacity” should be allowed to have an assisted suicide, claiming that it would save money for the NHS.

Why? Relaxed accounting rules help banks cheat even more.

Nation: DO we really need now a relaxing of the rules to help banks fudge the value of their assets?

The board that sets U.S. accounting standards on Thursday gave companies more leeway in valuing assets and reporting losses. The changes should help boost battered banks’ balance sheets and financial stocks rallied on Wall Street, but the rules may undercut a new financial rescue program. Some experts and industry officials said the move will help resuscitate banks, allowing them to increase earnings and carry less capital as a buffer against potential losses. That should lead to more lending and help get the economy pumping again. But others said the changes by the Financial Accounting Standards Board could undermine a crucial new rescue program mounted by the Obama administration, in which the government is joining with private investors to buy from banks hundreds of billions of dollars in toxic assets — especially the securities tied to high-risk subprime mortgages at the heart of the financial crisis. ....Joshua Shapiro, chief U.S. economist at MFR Inc., was more blunt, saying the FASB decision “allows financial institutions to use fictional valuations on many of their toxic assets” and further obscures their “true position.”

Michigan is dying as people leave.

Nation: What has happened to Detroit has been going on state-wide.

Michigan's exodus is one of the state's best known but least understood problems. Long ignored or downplayed, outmigration has been shrugged off partly because it was assumed that those who were leaving were unemployed blue-collar workers and retirees, groups that, in economic terms, don't cripple the state with their departure. But a Detroit News analysis of U.S. Census Bureau and Internal Revenue Service data reveals that every day, Michigan gets less populated, less educated, and poorer because of outmigration. The state's net loss to outmigration -- the number of people leaving the state minus those moving in from other states -- has skyrocketed since 2001. Although the Census Bureau does not report totals moving in and out each year, Internal Revenue Service records show that the population decline is a result of two disturbing trends: The number of Michigan residents leaving the state rose 25 percent between 2001 and 2007, while the number of new residents moving in plummeted by nearly one-third. Since 2001, migration has cost Michigan 465,000 people, the equivalent of the combined populations of Grand Rapids, Warren and Sterling Heights -- the state's second-, third- and fourth-largest cities.

Haneen Zuabi, elected enemy of the state of Israel.

World: She would be welcomed with open arms in some segments of the Dem party with this sort of talk.

New Balad party MK Haneen Zuabi, the first woman to be elected to the Knesset as a representative of an Arab party, has welcomed Iran's growing influence on Palestinian affairs and praised Iran's quest for a nuclear weapon as a means of offsetting Israel's regional military edge. Having Israel as the region's sole nuclear power, she said, was "dangerous to the world." Interviewed in English twice in recent days - in her Knesset office and in a Jerusalem hotel - Zuabi, one of Balad's three MKs and the former director of the I'lam: Media Center for Arab Palestinians in Israel, said Iran's role in Palestinian affairs was "more useful" than that of regimes like Jordan and Egypt, in that Iran stood more firmly "against occupation than a lot of the Arab countries. This is our interest." She said Egypt and Jordan were scared of a free and democratic Palestinian state. Queried regarding Iran's quest to manufacture nuclear weapons, Zuabi stated that having Israel as the region's sole nuclear power was disadvantageous. "It would be more supporting me to have a counter-power to Israel," she said. "I need something to balance [Israel's] power." Zuabi was asked if she felt worried, living among Jews, that Iran was getting close to acquiring a nuclear weapon. She replied: "No, I am not." Indeed, she said she was "more afraid from the Israeli nuclear [weapons]."

Hell, the London Guardian is probably racing to her to be a guest columnist.

Roland Martin bombs in CNN debut for Campbell Brown.

Media: Via TVNEWSER. Martin is alright in small doses and when he shuts up, but giving him an hour show is just asking for trouble.

Premier Dalton McGuinty defends taxpayers paying six figure salaries

Canada: You have to hand it to liberals in Canada, most other places you wouldn't find anyone trying to defend huge raises to public employees.

As Ontario's economy was shedding tens of thousands of jobs last year, the number of public sector workers who were paid more than $100,000 jumped by 26 per cent over 2007. Premier Dalton McGuinty said the increased size of the so-called sunshine list was to be expected, but added his government is committed to reducing the size of the public service by five per cent over three years.

Clinton wants to talk to moderate Taliban.

World: What moderate Taliban? There is no moderate Taliban in charge of anything. Why is this so hard for the Obama Admin to understand this simple fact?

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Tuesday endorsed Afghan plans to hold reconciliation talks with moderate Taliban members. "We must support efforts by the government of Afghanistan to separate the extremists of al Qaeda and the Taliban from those who joined their ranks, not out of conviction but out of desperation," Clinton said in an address laying out the new U.S. strategy for the region that President Obama announced last week. She added, "They should be offered an honorable form of reconciliation and reintegration into a peaceful society if they are willing to abandon violence, break with al Qaeda and support the constitution."

Reuters: "Obama's call on moderate Taliban useless: analysts"

Obama's comment resemble a dream more than reality," said Waheed Mozhdah, an analyst who has written a book on the Taliban. "Where are the so-called moderate Taliban? Who are the moderate Taliban?" asked Mozhdah, who was an official in both the Taliban and the Karzai governments. Karzai's pro-Western administration and the growing number of foreign forces in Afghanistan have increasingly come under attack from a resurgent Taliban, with Obama now describing Afghanistan as a top foreign policy priority for his new administration. "'Moderate Taliban' is like 'moderate killer'. Is there such a thing?," asked writer and analyst Qaseem Akhgar.

Why? U.S. to Join U.N. Human Rights Council

UN: This has Susan Rice's internationalist fingers all over because why would any sane person give legitimacy to this wretched collection of human rights abusers.

The Obama administration decided Tuesday to seek a seat on the U.N. Human Rights Council, reversing a decision by the Bush administration to shun the United Nations' premier rights body to protest the influence of repressive states. "Human rights are an essential element of American global foreign policy," Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said in a statement. "With others, we will engage in the work of improving the U.N. human rights system. . . . We believe every nation must live by and help shape global rules that ensure people enjoy the right to live freely and participate fully in their societies." The United States announced it would participate in elections in May for one of three seats on the 47-member council, joining a slate that includes Belgium and Norway. ...Susan Rice, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said: "Those who suffer from abuse and oppression around the world, as well as those who dedicate their lives to advancing human rights, need the council to be balanced and credible." She said the United States seeks election to the body "because we believe that working from within, we can make the council a more effective forum to promote and protect human rights."

Good luck.

California raises taxes and borrows more money to stay broke.

Nation: If there is a more fiscally irresponsible state run by dumb officials who got elected by idiots, I can't think of it.

California will likely need to borrow $11 billion more cash in the fiscal year beginning July 1 as the most-populous U.S. state faces a growing deficit, the state’s controller said. California will have exhausted all available cash by August along with $19 billion in internal funds and will likely need to borrow externally to bridge a $10.6 billion gap between projected monthly expenditures and revenue, state controller John Chiang, a Democrat, said in a news release. California, home to one of every eight Americans, faces an $8 billion budget shortfall in the coming fiscal year even after Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and lawmakers agreed last month to close a record $42 billion deficit with a package of tax increases, spending cuts and borrowing intended to leave the government with a surplus 16 months from now. “The borrowing is going to have to happen fairly quick into the new fiscal year,” said Tom Dresslar, spokesman for California Treasurer Bill Lockyer.

AP:

Californians will start feeling the pain of the recently negotiated state budget fix on Wednesday, when a 1-percent increase in the state sales tax will force consumers to pay more for goods such as cars, furniture, laptops and toys. Starting Wednesday, California's sales tax will rise to 6 percent, bringing the average local sales tax rate to almost 9 percent—one of the highest in the nation. Businesses and manufacturers are worried that the temporary tax increase could prolong the worst recession in recent memory and further dampen retail sales. In the coming months, Californians will also see an increase in personal income taxes and higher fees to license their vehicles. "There's no doubt in my mind that our sales will go down because of this," said Beau Boeckmann, vice president of Los Angeles-based Galpin Motors, which he claims runs the largest Ford dealership in the world. "It's an unfortunate truth. I hope the governor will reconsider doubling our car taxes. I think the sales tax is going to hurt us and the car tax can cripple us." Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and lawmakers agreed to $12.5 billion in tax increases as part of a $42 billion deficit-closing plan to help stave off what they described as devastating cuts to education and health care. Despite the higher taxes, state programs also face major cutbacks, and the state is struggling with double-digit unemployment. The sales tax is expected to bring in an estimated $5.8 billion before it expires on July 1, 2011, but could last another year if voters agree to extend it as part of a package of budget-related initiatives in a May 19 special election. State officials predict consumers will spend less because of the tax, and included a 1 percent reduction in their revenue calculation.

They know what is going to happen and still raise taxes. What a state.