ThinkFast: May 11, 2009
ThinkFast: May 11, 2009
As President Obama prepares to address the Muslim world in a speech in Egypt next month, a new McClatchy/Ipsos poll of six Arab nations has “found that residents think that Obama will have a positive impact on the Middle East” and that more than half in Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates have a favorable view of him.
U.S. reporter Roxana Saberi will be released from prison “after an Iranian court reduced her prison term for spying to a two-year suspended sentence.” Last month, Saberi received an eight-year jail term on spying charges.
Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai called on the U.S. to halt air strikes in his country, after attacks that killed as many as 147 people. “We demand an end to these operations … an end to air strikes,” Karzai told CNN. Yesterday, National Security Adviser Jim Jones said it would be “imprudent” to end the air strikes.
Christine Varney, head of the DOJ’s antitrust division, will give a speech today at the Center for American Progress announcing “plans to restore an aggressive enforcement policy against corporations that use their market dominance to elbow out competitors.” The new policy would “reverse the Bush administration’s approach, which strongly favored defendants against antitrust claims.”
Doctors, hospitals, drug makers and insurance companies will join President Obama today “in announcing their commitment to a sharp reduction in the growth of national health spending” that could “save $2,500 a year for a family of four in the fifth year and a total of $2 trillion for the nation over 10 years.” Relatedly, in a new CAPAF report, David M. Cutler shows how “health system modernization could increase productivity growth in health care by 1.5 to 2.0 percentage points annually.”
The anti-health reform group Conservatives for Patients’ Rights, which is funded by disgraced Columbia/HCA Healthcare CEO Richard Scott, has “spent about $600,000 a month on ads in March and April but is ratcheting up its buy for May to more than $1 million.” Scott has recently been “meeting with lawmakers on Capitol Hill and addressing conservative groups in Washington.”
China now uses more coal than the U.S., Europe, and Japan combined, “making it the world’s largest emitter of gases that are warming the planet.” However, China “has emerged in the past two years as the world’s leading builder of more efficient, less polluting coal power plants, mastering the technology and driving down the cost.” While the U.S. debates building such plants, China builds them at a rate of one per month.
“We’re doing what the Japanese did in the nineties,” economist Paul Krugman told reporters in Beijing. “It’s clear the administration won’t take radical action to strengthen the banks any time soon,” he said, referring to the administration’s refusal to temporarily nationalize Citigroup and Bank of America. “A second stimulus is becoming clearly urgent. They need a very, very strong stimulus.”
Christina Romer, chairwoman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, said yesterday that though she expected the economy to begin growing in the fourth quarter, it is “unfortunately pretty realistic” that the unemployment rate could reach 9.5 percent, rising even after the economy starts to recover.
And finally: Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele was the target of some of President Obama’s jokes at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner on Saturday, but he didn’t take any offense. “It was good love between two brothers!” Steele said. He then “noted with a smile,” “This worm will turn. My time will come. Trust me.”
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It’s good that Roxana Saberi is to be released. Why can’t our judiciary be trusted to handle the cases of those held without charges. Iran, the country that has been so demonized by our government, seems to be able to do the right thing.
May 11th, 2009 at 9:07 amU.S. reporter Roxana Saberi will be released from prison
This is a diplomatic success that could not have been achieved by GDumbya or “Bu$h-lite” McNumbNuts. Neither of them would have swallowed their pride or their hatred enough to actually open up the channels of communication that helped make this happen.
May 11th, 2009 at 9:09 amIt’s nice to see mostly good news for a change. Under Bush it was a rare and special thing…
May 11th, 2009 at 9:12 amSo it would be “imprudent” to end the airstrikes in Afghanistan. What is “prudent” about killing all of the civilians that we are doing now? We keep getting stories about how many “terrorists” or “Taliban” are killed in airstrikes (my question always is “how do the US forces know how many are killed on the ground?”) Are the civilians less dead because we are “taking every precaution not to injure non-combatants?”
May 11th, 2009 at 9:12 am“Imprudent”? Losing Karzai would be imprudent.
May 11th, 2009 at 9:17 amGood point. Now if Liberals would stop fighting clean coal, we could surpass China in builing “more efficient, less polluting coal power plants.”
Except China isn’t building “clean coal” plants.
the world’s leading builder of more efficient, less polluting coal power plants… is a long way from clean coal technology.
May 11th, 2009 at 9:22 amThis would be splattered all over TP with a feature story and 400 + comments if Bush were still President, but only gets 4 lines of treatment above with Obama at the helm. Is bombing of civilians o.k. if Obama does it?
Your boy started this mess, and left the next administration holding their bag. I don’t hear you crying about the hundreds of thousands Bush killed. IOKIYAR?
May 11th, 2009 at 9:26 amUS accused of illegal white phosphorus attack in Afghanistan
Updated 16 hours ago
Massacres like this are what drive people into the hands of the groups like the Taliban. Vietnam and Iraq have proven that you cant bomb and shoot your way to public support.
May 11th, 2009 at 9:26 amWow! CFP you finally figured out that this is a progressive blog. Will wonders never cease.
May 11th, 2009 at 9:27 amOr did ConservativeForProgress forget who was in charge on 9/11, and who ignored the warnings given them by the Clinton admin.?
May 11th, 2009 at 9:28 am“It was good love between two brothers!” Steele said. He then “noted with a smile,” “This worm will turn. My time will come. Trust me.”
Your 15 minutes is almost over. Trust us.
May 11th, 2009 at 9:28 amConservativeForProgress Says:
This would be splattered all over TP with a feature story and 400 + comments if Bush were still President, but only gets 4 lines of treatment above with Obama at the helm. Is bombing of civilians o.k. if Obama does it?
May 11th, 2009 at 9:23 am Recommend (0) | Report Abuse
If this were Fox News in Bush’ era, there woundn’t be a single line. Fact.
May 11th, 2009 at 9:28 amThere’s a question ConservativeForProgress needs to answer:
Would we even be discussing Afghanistan if Bush hadn’t failed in stopping terrorists from attacking America?
May 11th, 2009 at 9:32 amConservativeForProgress Says: Good point. Now if Liberals would stop fighting clean coal, we could surpass China in builing “more efficient, less polluting coal power plants.”
You want us to stop fighting the Tooth Fairy and flying invisible unicorns too?
There is no such thing as clean coal yet.
May 11th, 2009 at 9:32 amOn another topic, Luke Russert is not found at NBC.
May 11th, 2009 at 9:35 amHe was not good at his job there, but he seems to be incommunicado.
There is no such thing as clean coal yet.
Like those fiscal conservatives our grandparents told us once existed.
I think it’s more Disney, than fact, personally.
May 11th, 2009 at 9:37 amNow if Liberals would stop fighting clean coal,
As soon as clean coal is created, we progressives will stop fighting it… until then, its a moot point…
May 11th, 2009 at 9:39 amConservativeForProgress Says:
Evil S: Are you honestly tryint to suggest that FoxNews never reported “a single line” on any allegtions of civilian bombing in Iraq or Afghanistan during the Bush administration? “Fact.” Really?
May 11th, 2009 at 9:34 am Recommend (0) | Report Abuse
I’m eager to read a link to Fox News reporting of a bombing of Afghanistan civilians while Bush was president. Can you provide a link?
May 11th, 2009 at 9:39 amI am so relieved that Roxana Sabari will be freed. Iran must have decided not to use her as a political pawn. Let us hope that we can get a similar result for Laura Ling and Euna Lee, 2 reporters both held by North Korea for “allegedly” crossing the border from China into North Korea.
May 11th, 2009 at 9:39 amThere is hope for you unbel. At least you used the word “yet.”
And there’s the tacit admission that he already knew clean coal was (and is) fantasy.
May 11th, 2009 at 9:40 amGood point, Evil S. He should either put up, or stfu.
May 11th, 2009 at 9:42 amCfP–I wonder what he thinks this site is? Or what he thinks his mission is here.
May 11th, 2009 at 9:42 amThe steaming pile of crap left for Obama by the Bushies is still reeking. The DoD is denying the use of white phosphorus, but I don’t believe them. I don’t think Obama does either.
It’s curious though that CfP and other trolls are very quick to point out the slow resolution of these humongous problems, even as they occurred over the course of 8 yeras under Bush&Co.
There are only so many issues to be investigated at a time – yet the repugs have seen to it that not all Obama’s appointees are in place. Dumbya used 40% of his time to play golf, cut brush and otherwise play hookey from the presidency. So the standard that CfP and others set for Obama is inappropriate at best. At least Obama is multi-tasking these issues and I expect each one will be resolved to the extent that it can be so.
Good point, Marie. At this point, hadn’t Bush already taken his first vacation?
May 11th, 2009 at 9:45 amOops, my mistake. Bush waited until August, to take the whole month off, just prior to 9/11.
May 11th, 2009 at 9:48 amMichael Steele: “Trust me.” This is quite amusing, given his admonition earlier this year that we have “absolutely no reason, none, to trust our [the GOP's] word or our actions at this point….”
May 11th, 2009 at 9:48 am“Good point. Now if Liberals would stop fighting clean coal, we could surpass China in builing “more efficient, less polluting coal power plants.”
Problem with that statement is that there is no such thing as clean coal.
May 11th, 2009 at 9:58 amConservativeForProgress Says: There is hope for you unbel. At least you used the word “yet.”
I’m a person of reason, not faith, who knows that all advancements in society have come from Science, so that clean coal is at least possible. But it’s not here yet, and may never be. Some things are simply beyond human capabilities.
May 11th, 2009 at 9:59 amFrom the DoJ anti-trust article:
[...] She will assert instead that severe recessions can provide dangerous incentives for large and dominating companies to engage in predatory behavior that harms consumers and weakens competition. The announcement is aimed at making sure that no court or party to a lawsuit can cite the Bush administration policy as the government’s official view in any pending cases.
In the speeches, Ms. Varney is expected to explicitly warn judges and litigants in antitrust lawsuits not involving the government to ignore the Bush administration’s policies, which were formally outlined in a report by the Justice Department last year. The report applied legal standards that made it difficult to bring new cases involving monopoly and predatory practices. [...]
But the policies are still being given legal protection for those lawsuits that do involve past governmental decisions, or actions, meaning they are cleaning up the past administrations’ messes in this area, as well.
May 11th, 2009 at 10:02 amBut with Obama? 130+ reported dead, and all it gets is 4 lines burried in ThinkFast, and nobody wants to talk about it. IOKIYTM (It’s o.k. if you’re the messiah.)
Except we’ve already discussed it:
There’s a question ConservativeForProgress needs to answer:
Would we even be discussing Afghanistan if Bush hadn’t failed in stopping terrorists from attacking America?
Still haven’t gotten an answer.
May 11th, 2009 at 10:06 amSorry, trolls, you and your arguments are just too pathetic.
May 11th, 2009 at 10:09 amkickdog says:
Some of Barack Obama’s richest supporters fear they have elected a “class warrior” to the White House
What a surprise! Nobody saw this coming! HAHAHAAHA
From kickdog’s link:
Oh. My. God! A candidate who meant what he said? What is the world coming to?
Further note that the “article” uses an unattributed Wall Street source and someone from the Cato Institute for quotations.
May 11th, 2009 at 10:10 amCFP must have been afraid there were some people still around that didn’t know how ignorant he is.
May 11th, 2009 at 10:15 am.
May 11th, 2009 at 10:17 amStop the swiftboating of national health care. Sign the petition in favor of universal single-payer national health care. It’ll piss the bastards off.
.
Blotchedfrog says: You my friend are one of the most destructive type of people in our once great nation. Making political moves and actions solely in spite of the opposition not based in any reality whatsoever. Simply pathetic!
Spending the morning looking in the mirror again, I see, eh froggie?
May 11th, 2009 at 10:30 amMaking political moves and actions solely in spite of the opposition not based in any reality whatsoever. Simply pathetic!
He also advocated the stopping of special-interest-group attempts to astroturf healthcare, AGAIN. What’s pathetic is your ignoring one comment to cherrypick another, in typical conservative fashion. You guys never learn.
May 11th, 2009 at 10:32 amACTION PAGE:
Why Is The Senate Not Even Considering The Only Health Care Plan That Really Works?
8,157 Submissions so far
How many police does it take to silence the voice of the people?
That’s a question a despot might ask in a totalitarian police state. But this week the Senate Finance Committee thought it was a hilarious joke as they ejected one brave activist after another, for protesting that not even one spokesperson for single payer health care was being allowed to sit at the hearing table. Yes, Senator Max Baucus (MT), who had preemptively declared that consideration of a single payer option was off the table, actually joked “We need more police.” [1:58 on video] And the rest of the Senate panel just laughed their heads off.
Senator Chuck Grassley (IA), the ranking Republican, not to be outdone in his contempt for the people, then asked if there was “somewhere they can watch it on television [2:05 on video],” which elicted additional hearty guffaws. Yes, what a wonderful entertaining show that would be, the spectacle of the will of the people being excluded while corporate special interests, like butchers, carve up our pocketbooks and our bodies.
It’s time for the U.S. Senate to get the message that we the people are not just a joke to be laughed off. Why is it that not ONE senator on that committee has the integrity to stand up for a even handed debate of health care issues? Why should any of them be elected to public office ever again?
The one click form below will send your personal message to all your government representatives selected below, with the subject “Put Single Payer Health Care On The Table Now.”
http://www.peaceteam.net/action/pnum982.php
May 11th, 2009 at 10:33 amUPDATE:
Roxana Saberi IS Free!
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gjKHBnioYMS2LqYRGAFbtlWU3xcQ
KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!
James Saville Row
May 11th, 2009 at 10:36 amhttp://publisher.amplecare.com
So, welcome home, Roxana. I am glad you are coming home.
May 11th, 2009 at 10:41 amChristine Varney, head of the DOJ’s antitrust division, will give a speech today at the Center for American Progress announcing “plans to restore an aggressive enforcement policy against corporations that use their market dominance to elbow out competitors.”
The too big to fail policy flies in the face of this assertion as does the fact that, for instance ,Bank of America is bailed out and then purchases Countrywide the nations largest mortgage and home loan corporation .
The little guys have been allowed to fail , the big guys are subsidized to buy up their smaller competion.
May 11th, 2009 at 10:41 amwatchdog Says:
You my friend are one of the most destructive type of people in our once great nation. Making political moves and actions solely in spite of the opposition not based in any reality whatsoever. Simply pathetic!
May 11th, 2009 at 10:25 am
___________
The single-payer health care system IS based in reality. It is the reality in many other countries in the world and it works just fine, removing the burden of health care costs from employers and private citizens alike. Do explain how it would destroy our “once great nation.”
May 11th, 2009 at 10:56 amblotchdog Says:
You my friend are one of the most destructive type of people in our once great nation. Making political moves and actions solely in spite of the opposition not based in any reality whatsoever. Simply pathetic!
I agree 100% with your assessment of George W. Bush.
May 11th, 2009 at 10:58 amBravo.
From Crooks and Liars:
Andy Worthington:
The Arabic media is ablaze with the news that Ibn al-Shaykh al-Libi, the emir of an Afghan training camp — whose claim that Saddam Hussein had been involved in training al-Qaeda operatives in the use of chemical and biological weapons was used to justify the invasion of Iraq — has died in a Libyan jail. So far, however, the only English language report is on the Algerian website Ennahar Online, which reported that the Libyan newspaper Oea stated that al-Libi (aka Ali Abdul Hamid al-Fakheri) “was found dead of suicide in his cell,” and noted that the newspaper had reported the story “without specifying the date or method of suicide.”
–
In Egypt, he came up with the false allegation about connections between al-Qaeda and Saddam Hussein that was used by President Bush in a speech in Cincinnati on October 7, 2002, just days before Congress voted on a resolution authorizing the President to go to war against Iraq, in which, referring to the supposed threat posed by Saddam Hussein’s regime, Bush said, “We’ve learned that Iraq has trained al-Qaeda members in bomb making and poisons and deadly gases.”
Four months later, on February 5, 2003, Secretary of State Colin Powell made the same claim in his notorious speech to the UN Security Council, in an attempt to drum up support for the invasion. “I can trace the story of a senior terrorist operative telling how Iraq provided training in these [chemical and biological] weapons to Al Qaeda,” Powell said, adding, “Fortunately, this operative is now detained, and he has told his story.” As a Newsweek report in 2007 explained, Powell did not identify al-Libi by name, but CIA officials — and a Senate Intelligence Committee report — later confirmed that he was referring to al-Libi.
Al-Libi recanted his story in February 2004, when he was returned to the CIA’s custody, and explained, as Newsweek described it, that he told his debriefers that “he initially told his interrogators that he ‘knew nothing’ about ties between Baghdad and Osama bin Laden and he ‘had difficulty even coming up with a story’ about a relationship between the two.” The Newsweek report explained that “his answers displeased his interrogators — who then apparently subjected him to the mock burial. As al-Libi recounted, he was stuffed into a box less than 20 inches high. When the box was opened 17 hours later, al-Libi said he was given one final opportunity to ‘tell the truth.’ He was knocked to the floor and ‘punched for 15 minutes.’ It was only then that, al-Libi said, he made up the story about Iraqi weapons training.”
May 11th, 2009 at 10:59 amOther weekend news not reported:
1. Obama’s EPA adopts Bush exemption for Polar Bears under Endangered Species Act. They even use the Friday evening news drop. TP ignores story.
2. General James L. Jones said Iran is an existential threat to Israel on ABC’s This Week.
3. General Jones did a George W. Bush tongue tie on Osama bin Laden intelligence. It made little to no sense.
4. On Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell being overturned, General Jones said, “I don’t know.”
5. Jones said many of the released Guanatamo prisoners are back on the battlefield fighting us,
6. Military Commissions are coming back.
7. Dennis Ross said Iran deadline is October. This is like giving an ultimatum to the U.S. in a Presidential election year, one given in September with a March deadline. Obama would’ve had a month in office to get organized and conduct serious/fruitful talks. Iran’s elections are in June and their president is installed in August. An October deadline reveals much about how the U.S. negotiates.
May 11th, 2009 at 11:00 amgood lord…
US Soldier Kills 4 Colleagues, Himself at Baghdad Base
FOXNews – ?17 minutes ago?
DEVELOPING: A US soldier gunned down four of his fellow troops and then killed himself at a stress clinic at the Camp Liberty military base in Baghdad, FOX News confirmed.
US troops ‘killed by colleague’ BBC News
US Soldier Kills 4 GIs, Military Says CBS News
Washington Post – CNN International – The Associated Press – United Press International
all 271 news articles »
http://news.google.com/news/more?pz=1&ned=us&ncl=dyTM3Qp-M1me3GM7fRj40AhY22t2M&topic=h
May 11th, 2009 at 11:00 amI’ll give President Obama some time on the war issues. Remember all the near-death hyperventilation over banks, and “too big to fail”, and the economy would tank, blah, blah, blah, near the end of the campaign? Obama has been in office for fewer than 4 months. Changes with the military are going to take a while longer.
I’m very sorry for what we are doing in Afghanistan, btw. If I don’t see some serious measures that actually correct this problem of Afghanis being massacred a few months from now, I will make noise, and request that TP does the same.
May 11th, 2009 at 11:00 amWill the wing-nuts go into Jiffy-Pop mode, now that the guy who admitted he lied to stop being tortured has reportedly hanged himself?
Wanna’ discuss al-Libi, Conservapro?
May 11th, 2009 at 11:08 amConservativeForProgress Says:
Do I really have to do all of your work for you? I had hoped in vain that you were smarter than that. Go to http://www.foxnews.com. At the top of the page is a search bar. Se it? Put in the key words “bombing” “civilian” and “Afghanistan.” Within those results you will find plenty of the links you claim don’t exist. Here is one example: http://www.foxnews.com/wires/2008Sep05/0,4670,AngryAfghans,00.html. See. FoxNews did report when there were allegations of bombings of civilians in Afghanistan during the Bush administration.
Well, really my intention was one composed by two different ideas: to make you do a little work for a change, and provide links, and to demonstrate that you’re gullible enough to do the work for me. You’ve demonstrated that both points are true.
TP was all over the story every time there was an allegation of civilians being killed by errant bombs in Afghanistan during the Bush administration. But with Obama? 130+ reported dead, and all it gets is 4 lines burried in ThinkFast, and nobody wants to talk about it. IOKIYTM (It’s o.k. if you’re the messiah.)
May 11th, 2009 at 10:00 am Recommend (0) | Report Abuse
Let’s examine now the veracity of your point. “Buried”? Thinkfast is the most important thread of the day, because is the first one and open to each and every one of the news the commenters want to bring to the board and discuss.
The length of the topic is exactly the same of the first topic of the day, and in a third position, of the 10 proposed, so I don’t see it specially discriminaned.
And the real new is, do you find good or bad that there are so many civilian casualties, “collateral damage”, associated to a war? Are you favorable to a “boots on the ground policy” to save civilian lifes but would endanger more soldiers’ lifes, or you favor an air bombing one, that will save USA soldiers’ lifes, but would kill more civilians? If you’re favorable to an air bombing policy, you’re showing your hypocrisy.
If you ask me, I’m in favor of a “boots on the ground”. If you want an omelette, you can’t do it without breaking the eggs’ shells. You can’t have it both ways.
May 11th, 2009 at 11:16 amchiroptera toasterhead Says:
watchdog Says:
You my friend are one of the most destructive type of people in our once great nation. Making political moves and actions solely in spite of the opposition not based in any reality whatsoever. Simply pathetic!
May 11th, 2009 at 10:25 am
___________
The single-payer health care system IS based in reality. It is the reality in many other countries in the world and it works just fine, removing the burden of health care costs from employers and private citizens alike. Do explain how it would destroy our “once great nation.”
May 11th, 2009 at 10:56 am Recommend (1) | Report Abuse
What I find laughable from Conservatives is that probably most of them consider an investment in USA Treasury Bonds a good and secured investment in his investment portfolio, but don’t think of it as a “Big Government Bureaucracy” controlled system.
It’s ironic that they trust all their savings to the Federal Government in one hand, but in the other hand, they don’t trust the same goverment to administer their healthcare payments.
May 11th, 2009 at 11:27 amThats grand that they shall be releasing the reporter. Not sure with all thats going on in the US, that that should be a big concern of ours to devote goverment time to. With all the troubles going on right here within our borders, I think its stupid to spend so much time on one person, who is Dual American/Iranian. There’s gotta be a better way to spend time. Like fixing the problems of those that are Americans.
May 11th, 2009 at 12:01 pmRNDGOF1 Says:
Just because you “can” post here, doesn’t imply you SHOULD.
BTW, everything which happens on Obama’s watch will continue to baffle and confound the regressive mind (you just can’t contain racist hatred).
GET USED TO IT.
May 11th, 2009 at 12:46 pmDFNP er.. what are you talking about?
Did you just imply I’m racist? I didn’t imply that I was “baffled”. Take your own advice on “can” post.
May 11th, 2009 at 1:56 pmObama’s Pentagon requests $50 billion for black ops. The secret budget is up 3% from last year and is more than the whole military budget of Britain, France or Japan.
May 11th, 2009 at 8:54 pmThe administration just replaced the commander in Afghanistan.
May 11th, 2009 at 11:21 pm