[News] The Euro and War Newsletter - April 126 2008
Carlos Mock
ctmock at gmail.com
Sat Apr 26 11:57:38 CST 2008
The Euro and WarBy Carlos T Mock, MD. April 25, 2008. OPEC Nations are
again discussing whch currency should be used to pay for petroleum. The
disagreement was reveaed when a ministerial meeting last November, supposed
to be in closed session, was accidentally broadcasted live to reporters.
The Iranian and Venezuelan ministers called for measures that are more
radicalnd a specific mention of the effect of the dollar to be added to
the draft dclaration: specifically to change the OPEC currency from the
dollar to the uro. This is very significant because petroleum based on the
dollar hasbeen the “flywheel” of our economy, keeping it steadily moving
through he world economy’s ups and downs. But Saud Al-Faisal, the Saudi
foreign affirs minister, warned the meeting: “The mere mention that OPEC is
studying th issue of the dollar is going to have an impact.” He said a
reference to t US currency in the declaration could cause the dollar to
“collapse”. As he dollar continues its relentless six-year slide against
the euro and ther main currencies, the question is being asked more and
more: what woul it mean if the dollar ceded its global dominance to the
euro? http://iretirefromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/04/euro-and-war.html
U.S. eyes military otions vs. Iran - Head of Joint Chiefs cites 'malign
influence' in Iraq B Ann Scott Tyson. Copyright by The Washington Post.
10:23 AM CDT, April 26, 008. WASHINGTON — The nation's top military
officer says the Pentagon is planning for "potential military courses of
action" against Iran, criticizing what he calledthe Tehran government's
"increasingly lethal and malign influence" in Iraq.Adm. Michael Mullen,
chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Friday thata conflict with Iran
would be "extremely stressing" but not impossible fo U.S. forces, pointing
specifically to reserve capabilities in the Navy nd Air Force. "It would
be a mistake to think that we are out of combat apability," he said at a
Pentagon news conference. Still, Mullen made clearthat he prefers a
diplomatic solution to the tensions with Iran and doesnot foresee any
imminent military action. "I have no expectations thatwe're going to get
into a conflict with Iran in the immediate future," he sai.
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/04/us-eyes-military-optins
-vs-iran-head.html
Financial Times Editorial Comment: The curious Syrian uclear affair.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2008. Published: Apri 25 2008 21:50
| Last updated: April 25 2008 21:50. Just over five years ag, a US
secretary of state, Colin Powell, made more than two dozen clams to the
United Nations Security Council about Iraq’s alleged possesion of weapons
of mass destruction. In the build-up to war, many foundit a compelling
performance. But all Mr Powell’s assertions were subsequentlyshown to be
without foundation. He might as well have shown the world a ideo game. Not
long afte that, Israel started hawking “evidence” uncovered by its spies
that Saddam Hussein had moved his WMD to Syria. It got some takers – but
nothing more has been heard of this chiera. Thursday’s Central
Intelligence Agency presentation to the US Congrs – making the case that
North Korea supplied Syria with a nuclear reacto able to produce plutonium
for nuclear weapons – was also compelling. It woud also appear to justify
retroactively the Israeli air strike on th site in Syria’s eastern desert
last September. But given the US and Israel’ recent record in these
matters, it could also be just another dog and pony sow./ Doubts raised
over strength of US intelligence By Demetri Sevastopulo ad Daniel Dombey in
Washington. Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2008. Published: April
25 2008 22:58 | Last updated: April 25 2008 22:58. When th Central
Intelligence Agency on Thursday rolled out evidence to support alegations
that North Korea had helped Syria build a nuclear reactor, oficials said
they had “low” confidence that Syria was developing the reacto to produce
nuclear weapons. Some critics say that admission raises questons about the
quality of the intelligence and the timing of the Israel decision to attack
the Syrian facility under the cloud of daress in September. Nuclear
experts who have reviewed the CIA presentation – which comprised of real and
computer-generated iges of the reactor and a photograph of a North Korea
nuclear scientist with his Syrian counterpart – included some compelling
evidence to support some llegations, and other information that raised more
questions that it answered.
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/04/financial-times-editoria
l-comment_26.html
Euro breaches $1.60 as ECB warns of possible rate rise. Copyright by
Bloomberg News. Published: April 22, 2008. NEW YORK: The euro rose to a
record high against the dollar - briefly topping $1.6 - after the European
Central Bank governing council member Christian Noyr said policy makers
would act to restrain consumer prices if inflation does not slow. "The ECB
is certanly not easing in the near term," said Adam Boyton, a senior
foreign-exchang strategist in New York at Deutsche Bank. "The euro-dollar
will reach $1.65 in the next three to six months." The euro advanced to a
record high $1.6001 in New York, before falling back to just below that
level. The euro also gained against the yen.
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/04/uro-breaches-160-as-ecb-
warns-of.html
Your Lack of Money
Why this crisis is still far from finished By Mohamed El-Erian. Copyright
The Financial Times Limited 2008. Published: April 24 2008 19:24 | Last
updated: April 24 2008 19:24. During the past few weeks we have seen a
growing number of market participants predict an end to the dislocations
that erupted last summer and claimed victims throughout the financial system
and beyond. While their predictions are understandable, they are premature.
The dynamics driving the disruptions are morphing and may again move ahead
of both the market and policy responses. The optimistic view is based on
two distinct elements. First, that the de leveraging process is reaching its
natural end as valuations stabilise and institutions come clean about their
losses and raise capital; second, that a series of previously unthinkable
policy responses have been effective in restoring liquidity to the financial
system. Both views have merit. Financial institutions, particularly in the
US, have recognised the scale of the problem and are taking remedial steps.
Just witness the recent round of capital raising by Citigroup, Merrill
Lynch, JPMorgan and Wachovia. At the same time central banks in Europe and
the US have opened up their financing windows, expanding the size of the
financing, the range of institutions that can access it and the list of
eligible collateral.
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/04/why-this-crisis-is-still
-far-from.html
US regulator fears wave of bank failures By Daniel Pimlott, Krishna Guha and
Joanna Chung in Washington and Ben White in New York. Copyright The
Financial Times Limited 2008. Published: April 22 2008 23:52 | Last
updated: April 22 2008 23:52. US bank failures could rise above “historical
norms” as a weakening economy puts pressure on badly underwritten loans,
particularly in commercial real estate, according to a bank regulator. In
an interview with the Financial Times, John Dugan, who oversees about 1,700
national banks as comptroller of the currency, said the growing problems for
lenders follow a period of almost four years in which no institution
regulated by his agency had failed. “We’re going to have some more bank
failures that will come back more to historical norms and may go above that
with time,” he said. “That is a natural consequence of the economy going
from historically exceptionally benign credit conditions to something that
is more normal to something you would get in a downturn.” Mr Dugan’s
comments come as US banks report big spikes in reserves for expected losses
on consumer and small business loans, reflecting the spread of the credit
crisis from Wall Street to the broader economy. Yesterday, Atlanta-based
SunTrust said profit fell by nearly half to $283.6m as provisions rose
10-fold to $560m. Ohio’s Fifth Third bank said profits fell 19 per cent to
$292m as provisions rose to $544m from $84m last year.
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/04/us-regulator-fears-wave-
of-bank.html
BofA hit by writedowns and credit costs By Ben White in New York. Copyright
The Financial Times Limited 2008. Published: April 21 2008 13:00 | Last
updated: April 21 2008 13:00. Bank of America, slammed by writedowns and
rising credit costs, on Monday said earnings dropped nearly 80 per cent in
the first quarter to $1.2bn. The largest US bank by market value said
provision for credit losses soared by $4.78bn to $6.01bn, driven by problems
in home equity and small business loans as well as loans to homebuilders.
The bank had $1.47bn in writedowns on its collateralised debt obligations
and $439m on its leveraged loan commitments. The numbers were down
significantly from the fourth quarter, in which BofA had $5.15bn in
writedowns leading executives at the bank to stage a sharp pullback from the
investment banking business. Overall, BofA said it earned $1.21bn, or 23
cents a share, down from $5.26bn, or $1.16, last year. The figures fell
short of analyst estimates of a profit of 41 cents a share. Net revenue
dropped 6 per cent to $17bn. ”Despite revenue growth in most of our
businesses, these results clearly did not meet our expectations,” Ken Lewis,
chief executive, said in a statement. ”The weakness in the economy and
prolonged disruptions in the capital markets took their toll on our
performance.” BofA is sitting on large paper gains from in its investment
in China Construction Bank and has said it may sell some of the holding and
book profits.
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/04/bofa-hit-by-writedowns-a
nd-credit-costs.html
Funds to invest $7bn in National City bank By Henny Sender in New York.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2008. Published: April 21 2008 00:03
| Last updated: April 21 2008 14:55. Efforts to recapitalise the US banking
system took a crucial step forward as a group of mutual funds and hedge
funds led by Corsair Capital, a little-known private equity firm, prepare to
invest $7bn (£3.5bn) in National City, the 10th-biggest US bank. The
recapitalisation followed efforts to sell the bank, which has long been the
focus of take-over speculation. Like many regional lenders, National City,
which is based in Cleveland, Ohio, has been hard hit by mortgage losses. The
bank lost $333m in the fourth quarter. The National City deal comes weeks
after TPG led a $7bn recapitalisation for Washington Mutual, the largest US
savings and loan association, and only days after Wachovia announced plans
to raise $7bn from shareholders. Bankers and investors described the
National City transaction as emblematic of the second wave of rescue finance
deals that have followed the collapse of the US subprime mortgage market and
the ensuing turmoil in global finance.
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/04/funds-to-invest-7bn-in-n
ational-city.html
RBS unveils record £12bn rights issue By Martin Arnold in London. Copyright
The Financial Times Limited 2008. Published: April 22 2008 08:54 | Last
updated: April 22 2008 14:27. Royal Bank of Scotland on Tuesday unveiled
emergency plans to repair the damage the credit crisis has wrought on its
balance sheet by raising £12bn from shareholders and £4bn by selling assets,
including its insurance arm. Unveiling the largest rights issue in Europe,
RBS said it had ditched its strategy of operating a more thinly capitalised
balance sheet than rivals. The heavily discounted and fully underwritten
rights issue will allow RBS to rebuild its capital reserves, which have been
stretched by the bank’s role in leading the €71bn (£56bn) break-up bid for
ABN Amro, the Dutch lender, and the turmoil in the credit markets. The move
is an embarrassing U-turn for Sir Fred Goodwin, RBS’s chief executive, who
pushed ahead with the ABN Amro deal even after the markets froze up last
summer, and who had consistently argued that bank did not need additional
capital. Sir Fred denied on Tuesday that he would step down, but admitted
the decision to dilute shareholders with a record rights issue had been
tough. “The world has changed and when the world changes you have to revisit
all the bases of your assumptions,” he said.
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/04/rbs-unveils-record-12bn-
rights-issue.html
UPS downbeat on outlook for US economy By Daniel Pimlott in New York.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2008. Published: April 23 2008 14:19
| Last updated: April 23 2008 14:19. UPS, the largest package delivery
company in the world, cut its earnings forecast after a “dramatic” weakening
in the US economy hit its first quarter earnings and said that conditions
were not expected to pick up in the near future. The company, which is seen
as a bellwether for the US economy, said that domestic shipments of packages
had fallen in the quarter and US customers were also opting less for
costlier services such as overnight delivery. Net income rose to $906m, or
87 cents a share, in line with projections the company issued in an earnings
warning earlier this month. The year before UPS earned $843m, or 78 cents,
when one-off costs hit net income. Revenues rose 6.7 per cent to $12.7bn
from $11.9bn. “UPS’s first quarter results illustrate the dramatic slowing
in the US economy,” said Scott Davis, UPS chairman and chief executive in
call with analysts. The company said it was cutting its earnings outlook on
expectations of continued economic weakness - only the third time it has
done so since going public in 1999.
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/04/ups-downbeat-on-outlook-
for-us-economy.html
United loses $542 million, plans to cut 1,100 jobs By James P. Miller.
Copyright © 2008, Chicago Tribune. 9:11 AM CDT, April 22, 2008. United
Airlines parent UAL Corp., bloodied by an upward spike in fuel prices and
relentless pressure from low-cost rivals, turned in a much
deeper-than-expected first-quarter loss, and unveiled another painful round
of job cuts designed to stem the financial damage. The Chicago-based
carrier had a punishing net loss in the latest quarter of $537 million, or
$4.45 a diluted share. That's a bigger deficit than the year-ago loss of
$152 million, or $1.32 a share, and UAL laid the blame primarily on a $618
million jump in the cost of fuel its jetliners burned through. Revenues
rose 7.7 percent to $4.71 billion from $4.37 billion, the company said, but
neither that increase nor the operating improvements United has put inplace
over the past year was adequate to offset the crushing rise in fuel costs to
$1.85 billion from $1.24 billion. In response to what it called the
"unprecedented increase in fuel prices and a weakening economic
environment," United outlined a number of cost-cutting measures it said are
designed to meet the current environment. Among other things, UAL said, the
company is shrinking its flight capacity in the U.S. by an additional 4
percent.
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/04/united-loses-542-million
-plans-to-cut.html
Ford on road to recovery in N America By John Reed in London. Copyright The
Financial Times Limited 2008. Published: April 24 2008 12:56 | Last
updated: April 24 2008 13:16. Ford Motor on Thursday reported improved
quarterly earnings and said it was on track to return its North American
carmaking business to profitability by next year despite the tough US
economic climate. The carmaker reported net income of $100 m, or 5 cents a
share, compared with a net loss of $282m, or 15 cents, in the first quarter
of 2007. Revenue was $39.4bn, down $3.6bn from a year ago. However, Ford
said it would have been up slightly if adjusted to exclude from 2007 results
from Aston Martin, which it sold last year, and Jaguar Land Rover, which it
recently agreed to sell to India’s Tata Motors. Ford’s first-quarter
pre-tax profit from continuing operations was $736m, up $669m a year ago,
before special items reflecting charges associated with its move to cut
staff and dealers and the restructuring of its investment in hydrogen
fuel-cell company Ballard.
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/04/ford-on-road-to-recovery
-in-n-america.html
Gold and Commodities
Oil $118.52
Silver Bullion $16.86
Gold Bullion $887
Platinum Bullion $ $1965
Euro $1.56
Oil breaches $118 as market tightens By Chris Flood. Copyright The
Financial Times Limited 2008. Published: April 22 2008 10:38 | Last
updated: April 22 2008 15:45. Supply concerns and evidence of strong demand
from China pushed oil prices to a record above $118 a barrel on Tuesday
while base metals advanced but gold remained rangebound. Nymex May West
Texas Intermediate hit a record $118.47 a barrel before easing back slightly
to trade 74 cents higher at $118.22. ICE June Brent gained 77 cents at
$115.20 a barrel after touching a new peak at $115.53. A combination of
strong demand from China, attacks on oil facilities in Nigeria and concerns
about the outlook for supplies from Saudi Arabia ensured strong support for
oil prices. Demand for oil in China appears to be accelerating as refiners
stock up ahead of the Olympics. China’s imports of crude oil jumped by
almost a quarter to 4.07m barrels a day in March, compared to the same month
last year. In Nigeria, militants attacked two Shell pipelines in the Niger
Delta on Monday. The violence by militants in Nigeria appears to be
increasing in intensity. Following a raid on a pipeline last week, Shell has
been forced to close 169,000 barrels a day of crude production and declare
force majeure on Bonny Light exports for April and May.
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/04/opec-supply-concerns-pus
h-oil-above-117.html
Not Guzzling Quite So Much Gas - As the pump price climbs ever higher and
the population ages, U.S. road traffic is falling—and so is fuel consumption
by Christopher Palmeri. Copyright by Business Week. For 20 years now,
workers in Palm Beach County, Fla., have been counting cars with sensors at
strategic points along the county's 4,000 miles of roads. And as sure as the
tide flows in the nearby Atlantic, nearly every year traffic volume has
climbed at least 2%. But in 2007 there was a slight decline in the number of
vehicles on the roads. And this year, traffic is down 7.5% through March.
"We're seeing a very significant change," says county engineer George Webb.
"We're having a good time speculating why." It's not just Palm Beach.
Traffic levels are trending downward nationwide. Preliminary figures from
the Federal Highway Administration show it falling 1.4% last year. Now, with
nationwide gasoline prices having recently passed the inflation-adjusted
record of $3.40 a gallon set back in 1981, the U.S. Energy Information
Administration (EIA) is predicting gas consumption will actually fall 0.3%
this year. That would be the first annual decline since 1991. Others believe
the falloff in consumption is actually steeper than the government's numbers
show. "Our canaries out there tell us they are seeing demand drop much more
considerably than the fraction the EIA is talking about," says Tom Kloza,
chief oil analyst at Oil Price Information Service, a market research firm
in Gaithersburg, Md.
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/04/not-guzzling-quite-so-mu
ch-gas-as-pump.html
Housing
Illinois Average Rates
4/26/2008 - 10:46 PM
30 Yr Fixed 5.86%
15 Yr Fixed 5.45%
30 Yr Fixed Jumbo 7.17%
15 Yr Fixed Jumbo 5.93%
Illinois home sales drop nearly 30% in March. Copyright © 2008, Chicago
Tribune. 8:37 AM CDT, April 22, 2008. Though Chicago fared better, home
sales in Illinois were down nearly 30 percent in March as prices slipped
statewide, according to the Illinois Association of Realtors. In Illinois,
single-family home and condo sales were down 29.5 percent to 8,509 from
12,075 in March of 2007. The Illinois median price in March was $194,500,
off 1.3 percent from $197,000 in March 2007. The median is a typical market
price where half the homes sold for more, half sold for less. “During March
home sales remained mired in slow growth activity due to low consumer
confidence, tighter financing factors and a weakening economy,” said Kay
Wirth, president of the Illinois Association of Realtors. “There is a lot of
pent-up demand and while people are being cautious given the uncertainty in
the overall economy, the spring market is here.” In the city of Chicago
there were 2,045 total sales of single-family homes and condominiums last
month, off 11.5 percent from 2,311 homes sold in March 2007. The median
price in the city of Chicago increased 5.3 percent to $300,000 compared to
$285,000 in March 2007. “City of Chicago sales in March continue to show an
increase in the median price of homes by over 5 percent,” said David Hanna,
president-elect of the Chicago Association of Realtors. "The Chicago condo
market, in particular, continues to see significant appreciation."
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/04/illinois-home-sales-drop
-nearly-30-in.html
Treasury sell-off hits housing recovery hopes By Michael Mackenzie and
Saskia Scholtes in New York and Krishna Guha in Washington. Copyright The
Financial Times Limited 2008. Published: April 18 2008 23:16 | Last
updated: April 18 2008 23:16. US mortgage rates soared this week after a
dramatic sell-off in the Treasury market that hit housing sector recovery
hopes even as it suggested investors were growing more confident in the
medium-term US economic outlook. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose as
high as 3.85 per cent on Friday from less than 3.50 per cent last week as
investors sold bonds on expectations that the Federal Reserve could soon end
its rate-cutting cycle. The Fed sees the rise in yields as signalling
increased market confidence in US economic prospects. However, mortgage
rates also moved higher, making it more expensive to buy homes and less
likely that existing homeowners will be able to refinance mortgages. Rates
on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages rose to 5.87 per cent from 5.63 per cent a
week ago, Bankrate.com said. Jumbo mortgages, those of more than $417,000,
rose to 7.19 per cent from 7.06 per cent.
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/04/treasury-sell-off-hits-h
ousing-recovery.html
Frank pushes for mortgage intervention By James Politi and Krishna Guha in
Washington. Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2008. Published: April
24 2008 20:42 | Last updated: April 24 2008 23:29. Barney Frank, the
powerful Democratic chairman of the House financial services committee,
issued a stark warning at a breakfast meeting with reporters in Washington
on Thursday. If lawmakers and the administration failed to agree on new
housing legislation, the US recession would be “longer and deeper” than
expected. The corridors of Capitol Hill have emerged as the critical venue
for the shaping of economic policy and Mr Frank, veteran congressman from
Massachusetts, is one of the key actors in the legislative drama. Along
with Chris Dodd, chairman of the Senate banking committee, Mr Frank is
proposing a high-stakes government intervention in the US mortgage market,
using up to $400bn (£202bn) in guarantees backed by taxpayers. The
negotiations over the legislation, which was moving through Mr Frank’s
committee on Thursday, are ex-pected to become tougher in the coming weeks.
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/04/frank-pushes-for-mortgag
e-intervention.html
New US home sales plunge to 17-year low By Chris Bryant in Washington.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2008. Published: April 24 2008 16:08
| Last updated: April 24 2008 17:13. New home sales plunged to a 17-year
low in March as tighter credit conditions and weakening consumer confidence
kept prospective buyers on the sidelines in spite of sharp price declines.
Single-family home sales slumped 8.5 per cent in March to a 526,000 annual
rate, the lowest since October 1991, 36.6 per cent below the same period the
previous year. Economists had forecast March sales to fall to a 580,000
annual pace but the result came in much worse than expected after February’s
sales were revised lower from 590,000 to 575,000. The median sales price of
a new home fell to $227,600 from $244,200 in February, 13.3 per cent below
last year’s figure - the biggest decline since 1970. “The continued
deterioration in housing demand reflects high borrowing costs, anticipation
of lower home prices and overall gloomy consumer sentiment. We suspect these
factors will continue to depress home sales for the next several months,”
Michelle Meyer, economist at Lehman Brothers, said.
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/04/new-us-home-sales-plunge
-to-17-year-low.html
International
International Herald Tribune Editorial - The despot of Zimbabwe and his
enablers. Copyright by The International Herald Tribune. Published: April
23, 2008. Prevented from unloading its cargo by dock workers acting in
solidarity with the people of Zimbabwe, a Chinese ship loaded with weapons
for Zimbabwe's despot, Robert Mugabe, has been sailing from port to port
along the coast of southern Africa. The rejection of the Chinese vessel and
its lethal cargo is a tale about the power of commoners when they act in
concert, about the corruption of onetime liberation leaders, and the
involvement of China's communist rulers with the world's worst dictators.
Mugabe lost the recent elections in Zimbabwe. But his appointed electoral
commission is withholding the results while conducting a recount that will
no doubt be rigged to reverse his party's defeat in parliament and prevent
his challenger, Morgan Tsvangirai, from supplanting him as head of state.
At the same time, bands of regime-backed goons have been going about the
countryside demanding to see party identification cards and then beating,
torturing, and sometimes killing citizens who had the temerity to oppose the
84-year-old strongman's reelection.
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/04/international-herald-tri
bune-editorial_4147.html
Better roses than cocaine By Nicholas D. Kristof. Copyright by The
International Herald Tribune. Published: April 24, 2008. BOGOTÁ: For seven
years, U.S. Democrats have rightfully complained that President George W.
Bush has gratuitously antagonized the world, exasperating allies and eroding
America's standing and influence. But now the Democrats are doing the same
thing on trade. In Latin America, it is Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton who
are seen as the go-it-alone cowboys by opposing the United States'
free-trade agreement with Colombia. Some Democrats claim that they are
against the pact because Colombia has abused human rights. Those concerns
are legitimate - but they shouldn't be used to punish people like Norma
Reynosa, a 35-year-old woman who just may snip the flowers that go into the
bouquet that an American will buy this Mother's Day.
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/04/better-roses-than-cocain
e.html
China
Olympics chief tells west not to hector China By Roger Blitz in London and
Richard McGregor in Beijing. Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2008.
Published: April 25 2008 09:41 | Last updated: April 26 2008 02:29. The
west must stop hectoring China over human rights, the Olympics chief has
warned, even as Beijing on Friday showed the first signs of bowing to
international protests by saying it would hold talks with aides to the Dalai
Lama, Tibet’s exiled spiritual leader. “You don’t obtain anything in China
with a loud voice,” said Jacques Rogge, president of the International
Olympic Committee. This was the “big mistake of people in the west”. “It
took us 200 years to evolve from the French Revolution. China started in
1949,” he said, a time when the UK and other European nations were also
colonial powers, “with all the abuse attached to colonial powers”. “It was
only 40 years ago that we gave liberty to the colonies. Let’s be a little
bit more modest.”
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/04/olympics-chief-tells-wes
t-not-to-hector.html
China plans to meet Dalai Lama envoys © Reuters Limited. April 25, 2008.
Chinese officials will meet representatives of the Dalai Lama, the spiritual
leader of Tibetan Buddhism whom China blames for a wave of unrest, Xinhua
news agency reported on Friday, citing official sources. The move marks a
change in tactics on the part of Beijing, which has stepped up its
vilification of the Dalai Lama since anti-government protests hit Tibet and
rippled across ethnic Tibetan parts of China in the past weeks. ”In view of
the requests repeatedly made by the Dalai side for resuming talks, the
relevant department of the central government will have contact and
consultation with Dalai’s private representative in the coming days,” Xinhua
quoted an official as saying. A spokesman for the Dalai Lama, who lives in
exile in India, said he had not received any communication from China about
a meeting and China’s Foreign Ministry said it had no details.
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/04/china-plans-to-meet-dala
i-lama-envoys.html
Mess-o-potamia
12 killed in Baghdad clashes, Iraqi officials say By BUSHRA JUHI. Copyright
2008 Associated Press. 4:42 AM CDT, April 19, 2008. BAGHDAD - Twelve
people died in overnight clashes in Baghdad's Sadr City district, which has
become a chief battleground between U.S. and Iraqi forces and the Mahdi Army
of anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, police and hospital officials said
Saturday. Iraqi troops also kept up the pressure on Shiite militants in the
southern city of Basra, where they fanned out through a stronghold of the
Mahdi Army. In Sadr City's general hospital, officials said 71 people were
admitted for treatment of injuries received in the fighting. The hospital
also received 12 bodies, said an official who asked not to be identified
because he was not authorized to release the information. The fighting came
amid reports that Iraqi troops backed up by U.S. forces were trying to
recapture a position in the district abandoned a day ago by a company of
government soldiers. Security forces in the area also have come under
repeated attack by militants trying to prevent the construction of a
concrete wall through the district. The wall -- a concrete barrier of
varying height up to about 12 feet -- is being built along a main street
dividing the southern portion of Sadr City from the northern part, where
Mahdi Army fighters are concentrated.
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/04/12-killed-in-baghdad-cla
shes-iraqi.html
Official: Roadside bomb kills 3 Afghan civilians By NOOR KHAN. Copyright
2008 Associated Press. 4:16 AM CDT, April 19, 2008. KANDAHAR, Afghanistan
- A roadside bomb hit a civilian vehicle Saturday in southern Afghanistan,
killing three people and wounding another, an official said. The bomb hit
the car in the Shahjoy district of Zabul province, in an area frequently
patrolled by Afghan and international troops, said Shahjoy district chief
Qayum Khan. Khan said the "terrorist act" killed three civilians and
wounded another. He accused the Taliban of planting the bomb. Another
roadside bomb hit a vehicle carrying police trainers from the American
private security firm DynCorp near the Pakistan border, said Spin Boldak
border security commander Gen. Abdul Raziq Khan. No one was wounded in the
attack. In eastern Khost province, two suicide bomb attacks targeted
international forces on Friday in Sabari district, but no one was hurt, said
Wazir Pacha, spokesman for the provincial police chief.
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/04/official-roadside-bomb-k
ills-3-afghan.html
National
Chicago Tribune Editorial - Executions and cruelty. Copyright © 2008,
Chicago Tribune. April 23, 2008. "When you have to kill a man," said
Winston Churchill, "it costs nothing to be polite." When you choose to
execute a condemned person, likewise, it costs little or nothing to do so
without inflicting gratuitous pain. But reaching agreement on how to achieve
that, as the Supreme Court's 7-2 decision upholding Kentucky's execution
protocol shows, can be anything but cheap. The federal government and 36
states insist on maintaining the regrettable practice of capital punishment.
The uncertainty over this issue resulted in an effective nationwide
moratorium that lasted for months. Now, some states can be expected to
resume executions. The court's mixed ruling, however, guarantees more
lawsuits and more appeals. The court splintered on whether and why this
particular method of lethal injection complies with the Constitution's ban
on "cruel and unusual punishment." For the most part, the justices agreed
authorities may not use a procedure that carries a genuine risk of needless
suffering. But they couldn't reach a consensus on what is required to meet
that standard.
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/04/chicago-tribune-editoria
l-executions.html
Bush Whacking
If I Were A Terrorist... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G1EXKLVgEx0
International Herald Tribune Editorial - More hot air from the White House.
Copyright by The International Herald Tribune. Published: April 22, 2008.
President George W. Bush's Rose Garden speech last week had been billed by
the White House as a major turning point at which the president would unveil
an ambitious set of proposals to address the problem of global warming - a
late-breaking act of atonement, as it were, for seven years of doing
nothing. Sadly, Bush's ideas amounted to the same old stuff, gussied up to
look new. Instead of trying to make up for years of denial and neglect, his
speech seemed cynically designed to prevent others from showing the
leadership he refuses to provide - to derail Congress from imposing a price
on emissions of carbon dioxide and the states from regulating emissions on
their own. Bush's main proposal was to halt the growth of emissions in the
United States, chiefly from power plants, by 2025. This means, of course,
that after seven years of letting emissions grow, he would allow them to
continue to grow for another 17 years - and would come nowhere near the
swift reductions in emissions that scientists believe are necessary to
prevent the worst consequences of climate change. We've been here before
with Bush. A few years ago, he grandly offered to reduce "carbon intensity."
The idea then was that carbon emissions could rise so long as they rose more
slowly than economic growth. The president has never quite grasped the idea
that the only way to reverse the process and prevent serious damage is
actually to reduce emissions.
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/04/international-herald-tri
bune-editorial_22.html
Boston Globe Editorial: Nation-building is not the army's job alone.
Copyright by The Boston Globe. Published: April 24, 2008. When George W.
Bush came to office in 2001, he parroted his national security advisers'
view that the U.S. military should not get involved in nation-building in
foreign hot spots. That was one reason the military was so unprepared to
handle the chaos that engulfed Iraq after U.S. forces speedily toppled
Saddam Hussein. Now the U.S. Army has learned its lesson, and is training
its soldiers to stitch communities back together after the fighting has
stopped - or, in some cases, while it is still going on. The challenge now
is to bring the expertise of other government agencies into this work. The
military's preferred term for this is not nation-building but "stabilization
operations." The lesson of both Iraq and Afghanistan is that primary
responsibility for these operations will fall to the military by default, as
no other wing of the government can deploy - and protect - substantial
numbers of trained personnel in short time frames.
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/04/boston-globe-editorial-n
ation-building.html
Dreary verses By H. D. S. Greenway. Copyright by The International Herald
Tribune. Published: April 22, 2008. Shelley's "Ozymandias," written two
years after Napoleon's final defeat at Waterloo, has been used again and
again to illustrate the vanity and hubris of an empire gone to ruin. A
traveler speaks of "two vast and trunkless legs of stone" standing in the
desert, with a "shattered visage" lying beside them in the sand. They say
you get something new from a poem every time you read it, and I had not
noticed before how exactly Shelley described Vice President Dick Cheney: A
shattered visage whose frown/And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold
command/Tell that its sculptor well those passions read. The poem is
reprinted as an introduction to Robert Merry's "Sands of Empire," which
takes no notice of the physical resemblance, but has plenty to say about the
vice president. Cheney gets near top billing in the national catastrophe
that he and George W. Bush have wrought. It was Cheney who said, "I really
believe we will be greeted as liberators" in Iraq. It was Cheney who formed
his own parallel national security apparatus to cherry-pick intelligence on
weapons of mass destruction. And it was Cheney who pushed the bogus
connection between Al Qaeda and Saddam Hussein.
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/04/dreary-verses.html
Indecision 2008
McCain faces accusations of hypocrisy By Andrew Ward in Washington.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2008. Published: April 18 2008 19:36
| Last updated: April 19 2008 00:29. John McCain on Friday faced
accusations of hypocrisy for failing to disclose his wife’s tax records,
despite his promise to bring greater transparency and accountability to
government. The Arizona senator declared income of $419,731 in 2007 – a
fraction of the multi-million dollar earnings reported by Barack Obama and
Hillary Clinton, his Democratic rivals. But the disclosure excluded the
income of his wife, Cindy, the heiress to a large Arizona beer distribution
company, whose wealth is estimated at more than $100m (€63.5m, £50.2m). Mrs
Clinton and her husband, former President Bill Clinton, this month reported
joint income of $20.4m for 2007, while Mr Obama and his wife, Michelle,
declared $4.2m. Presidential candidates are under no obligation to release
tax records but it has become customary to do so as a signal of
transparency.
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/04/mccain-faces-accusations
-of-hypocrisy.html
The Fighter - Hillary Clinton Tonya Harding Video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MeGPgCi0Vaw
Clinton's endearing fictions By Steve Chapman. Copyright © 2008, Chicago
Tribune. April 27, 2008. During the Pennsylvania primary campaign, Barack
Obama made a rather charitable gesture not only toward his Democratic rival
but toward the presumptive Republican nominee as well. "You have real choice
in this election," he told a crowd in Reading. "You know, either Democrat
would be better than John McCain, but . . . all three of us would be better
than George Bush." That was all it took to set off Hillary Clinton. She
rattled off a list of McCain's misguided positions, asking her audience over
and over, "Is that better than George Bush?" She concluded, "We need a
nominee who will take on John McCain, not cheer on John McCain, and I will
be that nominee." It came as a revelation to hear that Obama, who I
thought was plotting to become president, has been shrewedly maneuvering to
lead the pom squad at McCain's inauguration. But there was something else
that struck me as strange about Clinton's reaction: Obama was not the first
of the two Democrats to say something nice about the Arizona senator. He was
the second.
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/04/clintons-endearing-ficti
ons.html
International Herald Tribune Editorial - Down and dirty on the campaign
trail. Copyright by The International Herald Tribune. Published: April 23,
2008. The Pennsylvania Democratic presidential primary campaign, which
produced yet another inconclusive result on Tuesday, was even meaner, more
vacuous, more desperate, and more filled with pandering than the mean,
vacuous, desperate, pander-filled contests that preceded it. Voters are
getting tired of it. It is past time for Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton to
acknowledge that the negativity, for which she is mostly responsible, does
nothing but harm to her, her opponent, her party and the 2008 election. If
nothing else, self-interest should push her in that direction. Clinton did
not get the big win in Pennsylvania that she needed to challenge the
calculus of the Democratic race. It is true that Senator Barack Obama
outspent her 2-to-1. But Clinton and her advisers should mainly blame
themselves, because, as the political operatives say, they went heavily
negative and ended up squandering a good part of what was once a 20-point
lead. On the eve of this crucial primary, Clinton became the first
Democratic candidate to wave the bloody shirt of 9/11. A Clinton television
ad - torn right from Karl Rove's playbook - evoked the 1929 stock market
crash, Pearl Harbor, the Cuban missile crisis, the Cold War and the 9/11
attacks, complete with video of Osama bin Laden. "If you can't stand the
heat, get out of the kitchen," the narrator intoned.
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/04/international-herald-tri
bune-editorial_25.html
Clinton goes nuclear in battle for White House By Philip Stephens.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2008. Published: April 24 2008 19:01
| Last updated: April 24 2008 19:01. When I first heard Hillary Clinton had
promised to annihilate someone, I assumed the chosen target was Barack
Obama. Well before this week’s Pennsylvania primary it was obvious that Mrs
Clinton would leave no missile unfired in her quest for the Democratic
nomination. If the party was caught in the thermonuclear blast, so be it.
Better mutually assured destruction than surrendering her claim on the White
House. On closer inspection, though, this time Mrs Clinton was aiming her
Minutemen at Iran. She had been asked what she would do if that now infamous
3am call to the White House told of a nuclear attack on Israel. “I want the
Iranians to know that if I’m the president, we will attack Iran,” she told
ABC television. “We would be able to totally obliterate them.” First things
first. She has yet to dispose of Mr Obama. Of course, Mrs Clinton’s
reinvention of herself as the mad general in Dr Strangelove is not
unconnected to this ambition. Her comments on Iran were all of a piece with
the effort to undermine Mr Obama’s national security credentials.
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/04/clinton-goes-nuclear-in-
battle-for.html
Flag question should be put to Clinton too By Eric Zorn. Copyright © 2008,
Chicago Tribune. The Old Glory question directed at Barack Obama during
last week's presidential primary debate was fair enough. "I want to know if
you believe in the American flag," began Pennsylvania voter Nash McCabe in a
video snippet. McCabe went on to wonder why Obama doesn't "wear the flag," a
reference to his usual unwillingness to sport a tiny lapel pin that some
believe bespeaks authentic patriotism. Obama launched into a long answer
that began with an affirmation of his reverence for the flag and for the
United States, and ended by calling flag pins "the kind of manufactured
issue that our politics has become obsessed with." True. But campaigns
generally pay close attention to symbolism, so voters are entitled to wonder
about even tiny elements of a candidate's personal stagecraft. The
moderators never followed up with a flag-related question for Hillary
Clinton, but I wish they had. Not "why aren't you wearing a flag pin
tonight, Sen. Clinton?" though that would have been appropriate because,
like presumptive Republican nominee John McCain, Clinton often doesn't wear
such a pin.
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/04/flag-question-should-be-
put-to-clinton.html
New York Times Editorial: The Low Road to Victory. Copyright by The New
York Times. Published: April 23, 2008. The Pennsylvania campaign, which
produced yet another inconclusive result on Tuesday, was even meaner, more
vacuous, more desperate, and more filled with pandering than the mean,
vacuous, desperate, pander-filled contests that preceded it. Voters are
getting tired of it; it is demeaning the political process; and it does not
work. It is past time for Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton to acknowledge that
the negativity, for which she is mostly responsible, does nothing but harm
to her, her opponent, her party and the 2008 election. If nothing else,
self interest should push her in that direction. Mrs. Clinton did not get
the big win in Pennsylvania that she needed to challenge the calculus of the
Democratic race. It is true that Senator Barack Obama outspent her 2-to-1.
But Mrs. Clinton and her advisers should mainly blame themselves, because,
as the political operatives say, they went heavily negative and ended up
squandering a good part of what was once a 20-point lead. On the eve of
this crucial primary, Mrs. Clinton became the first Democratic candidate to
wave the bloody shirt of 9/11. A Clinton television ad — torn right from
Karl Rove’s playbook — evoked the 1929 stock market crash, Pearl Harbor, the
Cuban missile crisis, the cold war and the 9/11 attacks, complete with video
of Osama bin Laden. “If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen,”
the narrator intoned.
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/04/new-york-times-editorial
-low-road-to.html
Democrats to choose ‘by end of June’ By Lionel Barber, Edward Luce and
Andrew Ward in Washington. Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2008.
Published: April 25 2008 22:04 | Last updated: April 25 2008 22:04. The
Democratic party’s “superdelegates” have every right to overturn the popular
vote and choose the candidate they believe would be best equipped to defeat
John McCain in a general election, according to Howard Dean, chairman of the
US Democratic National Committee. Mr Dean, who was a presidential candidate
in 2004 and is a former governor of Vermont, spoke to the Financial Times
just two days after Hillary Clinton put her campaign back in contention with
a near double-digit margin of victory over Barack Obama in the Pennsylvania
primary. He said there was nothing in the DNC’s rules that would prevent
the party’s unelected superdelegates, who make up about a fifth of the
overall delegate tally and who will ultimately pick the winner, from “doing
what they want”.
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/04/democrats-to-choose-by-e
nd-of-june.html
Chicagoland
Want Obama's Senate seat? Join the crowd - It would be gov's call -- and he
could appoint a key rival, a political ally -- or himself By LAURA
WASHINGTON LauraSWashington at aol.com. Copyright by The Chicago Sun-Times.
April 21, 2008. Rumors of Senate wannabes are effervescing skyward like
tiny bubbles. If U.S. Sen. Barack Obama takes the White House this November,
he will depart his Senate seat with nearly two years left on his term. It
may seem a bit premature, but that hasn't stopped Democratic pols from
lining up. Gov. Blagojevich is empowered to appoint anyone he wants to fill
out the stub of the term. That appointee would have a muscular leg up on the
November 2010 general election. Step back -- the fur is sure to fly long
before the January appointment. The lucky pol who snares this appointment
would be positioned a goodly number of laps ahead of the field for the next
senatorial election. The field of possibilities is exceedingly congested.
Here are a few choice picks: Nine ball in the corner pocket: If the
beleaguered Blagojevich is any kind of a pool player, he would appoint his
most formidable opponent for governor: Attorney General Lisa Madigan.
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/04/want-obamas-senate-seat-
join-crowd-it.html
$100 million for museum? - Think what that cash could do for schools By
Dennis Byrne. Copyright © 2008, Chicago Tribune. April 21, 2008. Maybe
we're asking the wrong question when we debate whether the $100 million
Chicago Children's Museum should be built in Grant Park. A better question
is: Why is anyone spending $100 million on a children's museum in the first
place? When the civic good hearts go about raising the $100 million in
private money for the controversial museum in Grant Park, they should ask
themselves: Isn't there a better way to help the children? The answer is:
Yes there is. Especially when Chicago's children have a crying need for
better schools. Think of what $100 million could do by duplicating the
demonstrable successes of, say, Marva Collins Preparatory School on the
South Side. The assumption that a children's museum is a good way to spend
$100 million shouldn't go unchallenged. Yet, whether it is wise to pour all
that money into a children's museum has been completely overshadowed by
whether it should go into Grant Park or elsewhere. As far as I'm concerned
it should go elsewhere; the proponents haven't made the case for plunking it
into a lakefront park, since it has nothing to do with the lakefront or a
park.
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/04/100-million-for-museum-t
hink-what-that.html
Consider the options - Chicago could make a better investment than Olympics
2016 By Allen R. Sanderson. Copyright © 2008, Chicago Tribune. April 22,
2008. As reported in the press and media events, an overwhelming majority
of Chicagoans—84 percent—was supportive of the city's bid to host the 2016
Olympic events. (Given the political season and climate, another way to
"spin" the numbers for those opposed is that only 54 percent were strongly
supportive; 30 percent were simply "somewhat supportive.") I suspect that
at least 84 percent of those polled were also in favor of world peace, fewer
potholes, and the Cubs winning the 2008 World Series. But a more relevant
way to elicit information is to face respondents with some prices or notion
of the sacrifice required to achieve a stated objective. For example, what
if the pollsters had asked: "How much would you be willing to pay annually
in the form of taxes on what you own, earn or spend to bring the 2016
Olympic Games to Chicago?" The survey could have given some prices to choose
from: $0; $50; $100, $500 or $1,000. Or, alternatively, the pollsters could
have asked: "If it costs the city $1 million to have the 2016 Olympic Games
here, are you strongly in favor, somewhat in favor, somewhat opposed, or
strongly opposed?" Then we could, either sequentially or by segmenting
respondents, up the ante: "What if it costs the city $100 million? $1
billion?"
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/04/consider-options-chicago
-could-make.html
Feds: Witness says Rezko tried to oust Fitzgerald - U.S.: Fundraiser said he
could call in Rove to fire prosecutor By Bob Secter and Jeff Coen.
Copyright © 2008, Chicago Tribune. April 24, 2008. In the midst of a
corruption trial that has provided plenty of fodder for political cynics,
prosecutors alleged that political insiders in Washington and Illinois
claimed to be working to choke off a criminal investigation launched by U.S.
Atty. Patrick Fitzgerald. At the trial of Antoin "Tony" Rezko, prosecutors
revealed Wednesday that former Rezko confidant Ali Ata was prepared to
testify that Rezko told him in November 2004 of a plan to pull strings with
then- White House political director Karl Rove to have Fitzgerald fired.
Prosecutors also sought to add the testimony of another admitted schemer
suggesting that two of the state's most powerful Republican operatives
wanted to take the heat off Rezko by dumping the hard-charging prosecutor.
Rove denied the allegations, as did the two Republicans, GOP National
Committeeman Robert Kjellander and Springfield power broker William Cellini.
The developments add political intrigue at a trial in which testimony has
linked Gov. Rod Blagojevich to pay-to-play politics, highlighted Sen. Barack
Obama's long friendship with Rezko and held up an ugly X-ray of the
sometimes malignant inner workings of Illinois government.
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/04/feds-witness-says-rezko-
tried-to-oust.html
GLBT
The Joy of Marriage Was Ours, for a While By TORIE OSBORN. Copyright by The
New York Times. Published: April 20, 2008. GAY marriage was never my issue
— until I actually tried it. A little more than four years ago I stood in
the glorious, echoing rotunda of San Francisco City Hall, looking into my
partner’s eyes and vowing love forever. Little did I grasp then that
enthusiastically participating in this sunny rite of passage would expose me
to its depressing shadow side. I surprised myself, getting married. I had
boycotted the weddings of many straight friends (and political allies in our
battle for equality), resenting them as one by one they chose to embrace
their privilege, leaving us gays and lesbians stranded. In the subsequent
years, the gay civil rights movement steadily inched forward, securing a few
legal rights for couples that varied state by state. In California, my
partner and I signed a benefitless domestic partnership registry in 2001,
and then, a scant two years later, we were granted a whole lot of
separate-but-nearly-equal benefits involving inheritance, medical issues,
adoption and state taxation. It frankly seemed enough for me. I worried that
the gay movement’s focus on marriage was eclipsing our community’s ability
to ally with others on the global issues that increasingly fueled my own
political passions: namely, environmental sustainability and economic
justice.
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/04/joy-of-marriage-was-ours
-for-while.html
Chicago Free Press Editorial: A chance for change. Copyright by The Chicago
Free Press. April 23, 2008. There’s an important election coming up in
November, one that could shape our lives for decades, and almost no one is
talking about it. No, we’re not talking about the presidential race—most of
our readers, we hope, are well aware of what’s at stake in that election.
We’re talking about another decision Illinois voters face on the November
ballot: Whether or not to call for a constitutional convention to rewrite
our state’s constitution. Every 20 years, that question goes before the
voters. Our current constitution, which went into effect almost four decades
ago, is the product of just such a convention. For gays and lesbians here,
there are compelling arguments in favor of a convention. State Rep. Greg
Harris (D-Chicago) and Equality Illinois leaders are pushing House Bill 1826
this session in Springfield, a measure that would legalize civil unions for
gay and lesbian couples in Illinois. It may well pass this year.
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/04/chicago-free-press-edito
rial-chance-for.html
Divorce proves hard for gay pairs who leave Massachusetts By Ray Henry.
Copyright by The Associated Press. April 23, 2008. PROVIDENCE, Rhode
Island—Gay couples had to struggle mightily to win the right to marry or
form civil unions in certain states. Now, some are finding that breaking up
is hard to do, too, thanks to America’s patchwork of state-by-state laws.
In Rhode Island, for example, the state’s top court ruled in December that
gays married in neighboring Massachusetts—the only state to allow the
practice—cannot get divorced because state lawmakers have never defined
marriage as anything but a union between a man and woman. In Missouri, a
judge is deciding whether a lesbian married in Massachusetts can get an
annulment. “We all know people who have gone through divorces. At the end
of that long and unhappy period, they have been able to breathe a sigh of
relief,” said Cassandra Ormiston of Rhode Island, who is splitting from her
wife, Margaret Chambers. But “I do not see that on my horizon, that sigh of
relief that it’s over.”
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/04/divorce-proves-hard-for-
gay-pairs-who.html
Sex forum focuses on what gay men want by Amy Wooten. Copyright by The
Windy City Times. 2008-04-23. Sex and gay men's health were the focal
points of a recent rousing discussion at the Center on Halsted. Project
CRYSP and Lifelube.org co-sponsored its first community forum about gay
men's health. “'Good' Sex? ‘Bad' Sex? Just What Do Gay Men Want, Anyway?”
was hosted by Fausto Fernos and Marc Felion ( Feast of Fools podcast ) , and
featured panel experts Dr. David Halperin ( pictured, author of What Do Gay
Men Want? ) , DePaul University's Dr. Gary Harper and Northwestern
University's Dr. Michele Morales. Although many topics were touched on—from
crystal meth to the idea that younger gay men think HIV is a manageable
disease—the conversation frequently returned to the stereotyping of the
community and communication. The conversation started by exposing the
negative light often cast on gay men by research and science. Researchers
face a “double bind,” said Morales. Although it is important to acknowledge
the real problems that face a community, such as substance abuse, sometimes
focusing on these issues “constructs the idea we are not well as a
community,” she said. Morales said its no coincidence that homosexuality and
alcoholism emerged as identities around the same time roughly 100 years ago.
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/04/sex-forum-focuses-on-wha
t-gay-men-want.html
Dignity confronts the pope by Bob Roehr. Copyright by The Windy City Times.
2008-04-23. Gay and lesbian Catholics were among those who flocked to
events during Pope Benedict XVI's visit to the United States, which
concluded April 20, but there were few smiles upon their faces. They came to
protest the career of a man noted for his anti-gay positions in his service
to the church. “We are holding up the Pope's words and actions to confront
him with the horrific nature of the dehumanizing and demeaning language he
has used against gay people for so long. We want to contrast that with the
tremendous gains that GLBT Catholics have made in the Church in recent
decades,” said Marianne Duddy-Burke, executive director of Dignity USA. “It
is fair to say that this pope has used more shameful rhetoric abut the gay
and lesbian community than any religious leader of the modern era.”
Duddy-Burke added that his continued opposition to the use of condoms to
reduce the spread of HIV “has left him with the blood of millions on his
hands.”
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/04/dignity-confronts-pope.h
tml
LGBTs part of May 1 immigration march by Yasmin Nair. Copyright by The
Windy City Times. 2008-04-23. The 2006 Sensenbrenner Bill ( HR 4437 )
—also known as The Border Protection, Anti-terrorism and Illegal Immigration
Control Act of 2005—prompted widespread protests nationwide. In Chicago, the
March 10 Movement mobilized a rally of 200,000 immigrants in downtown
Chicago. Subsequently, national immigrant-rights groups began staging
immigrant rights rallies on May Day ( May 1 ) to emphasize the connection
between labor and immigrants. This year, the May Day immigrant-rights march
organizers in Chicago have, in a change from previous years, included an
anti-war message along with a call for legalization of all undocumented
people. That's not the only change. For the first time since 2006, local
Chicago queer groups have issued an open invitation for queers and queer
immigrants to join in solidarity with May Day organizers. Several LGBTQ
groups, including Amigas Latinas, ALMA ( Association of Latino Men for
Action ) , Orgullo en Accion and Gay Liberation Network ( GLN ) are
participating. So, queer immigrants will organize under a big tent—or at
least a big rainbow flag. But what does a queer presence mean in an
immigration reform movement that's focused on labor? Do U.S.-born queers and
immigrant queers face the same issues around immigration?
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/04/lgbts-part-of-may-1-immi
gration-march.html
Health Care
C-SECTION - Entering the world. Copyright by The International Herald
Tribune. By Ana Langer. Published: April 22, 2008. The number of women
giving birth by Cesarean section has jumped dramatically in the United
States - up 50 percent over the past 10 years. Not all of these C-sections
are necessary. Many medical experts and health advocates rightly warn
against C-sections as the first choice for healthy women and babies, given
the risks involved for both. Yet an important part of the story is seldom
told: How medicine is practiced in the United States sets the standard
elsewhere, often for better, but sometimes for worse. In developing parts
of the world, demand for unnecessary C-sections is rising, and the procedure
is proving to be more dangerous than in the United States, particularly in
places where the medical infrastructure is insufficient to deal with the
risks associated with what still amounts to major surgery. Recent studies
show that the risk of death for mothers who deliver via C-section in Latin
America is triple that for those who deliver vaginally. Even in developed
countries like the United States, with state-of-the-art delivery rooms, risk
of death for infants delivered via C-sections is double that of vaginal
births. C-section babies also have higher rates of low birth weight and
respiratory problems. To be sure, C-sections have been credited with
sharply reducing both maternal and infant death in the past century. When
performed according to the World Health Organization's standards of care for
real obstetric emergencies, C-sections not only save lives; they prevent
devastating conditions like fistula. Problems arise when the surgery is
overused for elective reasons.
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/04/c-section-entering-world
.html
New HPV test puts cancer screening in 'state of flux' By LAURAN NEERGAARD.
Copyright 2008 Associated Press. April 22, 2008. New research suggests a
test for the HPV virus that causes cervical cancer may replace the
old-fashioned Pap smear one day as that cancer's primary screening tool. But
even enthusiasts say it will take years of additional research to make such
a big switch. For now, a new trend is the Pap-plus — both a Pap and an HPV
test — to improve screening accuracy. But government researchers issued a
caution this month: Nearly one in 10 women over age 30 who get the combo
test learns they have HPV even though their Paps show no cancer or even
precancerous cells. They'll need repeat checkups, and maybe more in-depth
testing, to tease out who's really at risk. What makes the issue confusing:
Women's bodies very often clear an HPV infection on their own, without
lasting harm, but it can take a year. The younger the woman, the more likely
that HPV is going to be transient. "One HPV test does not tell you very
much. Two consecutive HPV tests are what you need," says Debbie Saslow of
the American Cancer Society, who fields phone calls from women frightened by
the test mismatch. "Right now we're, I think, in quite a state of flux,"
adds Dr. George Sawaya of the University of California, San Francisco, who
worries that women aren't being educated enough about the pros and cons of
their test options. "We are very thoughtful in telling them how we believe
it can add to their care versus how it may be complicating."
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/04/new-hpv-test-puts-cancer
-screening-in.html
Financial Times Editorial Comment: Cash for safe sex. Copyright The
Financial Times Limited 2008. Published: April 25 2008 22:11 | Last
updated: April 25 2008 22:11. The phrase “new and daring” is not often
paired with the words “healthcare intervention”, but this idea goes beyond
eye-catching: young Tanzanians are to be bribed to stay HIV negative. A
consortium that includes the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and the
World Bank is funding the experiment. Several thousand 15 to 30-year-olds in
rural Tanzania will be given advice on sexual health, regularly tested for
infections, and paid almost $50 a year if the tests are negative. The
scheme will – evidently – cause controversy. Are the funders saying young
Tanzanians cannot be trusted to do what is good for them without a bribe?
Yet the cash may increase the bargaining power of young women and give them
an alternative to accepting money from richer, older boyfriends. Cash today
may be a more powerful incentive than the risk of an unseen killer disease
many years hence.
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/04/financial-times-editoria
l-comment-cash.html
Technology
Apple exhibits ‘astounding’ resilience By Kevin Allison in San Francisco.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2008. Published: April 24 2008 22:19
| Last updated: April 24 2008 22:19. Can Apple’s winning streak continue?
That was the question vexing technology analysts on Thursday after the
computer maker shrugged off recession fears to report bumper sales and
profits on Wednesday. Surging Macintosh computer sales helped propel Apple
to record sales for the three months ended in March, confounding fears that
the computer group could be hit by the economic slowdown gripping the US.
“If you factor in Apple’s numbers in light of all the other economic news
that’s out there, it’s almost astounding,” says Michael Gartenberg, an
analyst at Jupiter Research. With its computers commanding higher prices
than many of its competitors, and with its unusually high exposure to the US
consumer market, some analysts had feared that Apple could be vulnerable if
a US downturn caused consumers to rein in spending. Judging by Apple’s
performance in the second quarter, that hasn’t happened – at least, not yet.
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/04/apple-exhibits-astoundin
g-resilience.html
Immigration
Where there's a wall, there's still a way By CAROL MARIN
cmarin at suntimes.com. Copyright by The Chicago Sun-Times. April 20, 2008.
On the southern edge of John McCain's Arizona where the tiny town of Sasabe
meets the Mexican border, there sits a crazy looking fence. Imagine the
wrought iron variety that our own Mayor Daley loves to put around every
playground and vacant lot in Chicago. That's pretty much what this fence
looks like except that it's a bit higher (12 to 15 feet tall) and the metal
bars a bit thicker. The wacky part is that the fence at Sasabe is just
seven miles long. And then, on either side, old-fashioned barbed wire
attached to wooden poles picks up where the new fence ends. Now imagine you
are an undocumented worker determined to slip into the United States. What
do you do? Duh. Go AROUND it, of course. Cut a hole in the barbed wire and
keep walking. This is what we in the United States call Homeland Security.
And it wasn't just Sen. John McCain, Republican and presidential candidate,
who voted for the fence back in 2006. Fellow senators and Democratic
contenders Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton joined what was then the
Republican majority and voted for it too. And while all three of them
supported broader, more comprehensive immigration reform than just a largely
symbolic, dubious fence, the comprehensive legislation died a miserable
death in the U.S. House.
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/04/where-theres-wall-theres
-still-way.html
Other
ARTROPOLIS |Carrie Secrist's insider's guide to 5 great galleries - Carrie
Secrist explains what's hot -- and what's going to be By Carrie Secrist.
Copyright by The Chicago Sun-Times. April 24, 2008. Artropolis, as its
title suggests, is a sprawling art expo -- five separate shows, all opening
Friday at the Merchandise Mart -- that for many visitors will seem
dauntingly large and complex. The Sun-Times asked Chicago art dealer Carrie
Secrist to help guide us through the maze. She suggests checking out several
galleries -- including her own -- that are showing work in both Art Chicago
and NEXT. "There are the younger artists the galleries are focusing on in
NEXT, and then there's the blue-chip artists they're doing for Art Chicago,"
she explains. "It's interesting to see them going in both directions, and
that's what I'm doing, too. A lot of younger faces, a lot of graduate
students' work is being devoured by top dealers and collectors around the
world, so established galleries need to keep their eye on what's going on
with new things. It also helps them invigorate their program. Finding
wonderful new talent brings new life into the establishment."
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/04/artropolis-carrie-secris
ts-insiders.html
Humor
The Medical Students
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/04/medical-students.html
New! Carlos now has an online store. Order your books directly from Carlos
and have them signed and dedicated. http://www.carlostmock.com/catalog/
In Pride (orgullo),
Carlos T. Mock, MD
Www.carlostmock.com
Author: Borrowing Time: A Latino Sexual Odyssey - Floricanto Press 2003.
Nominated for a Stonewall Award by the American Library Association GLBT
Round Table.
Author: The Mosaic Virus – Floricanto Press 2007. Nominated for a Stonewall
Award by the American Library Association GLBT Round Table, and a Lammie
from The Lambda Literary Foundation
Author: Author: Papi Chulo – Floricanto Press 2007. Nominated for a
Stonewall Award by the American Library Association GLBT Round Table, and a
Lammie from The Lambda Literary Foundation
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