i thought some of you may find this interesting:
http://www.housingtracker.net

Posted by: charmicarmicat | Aug 30 2007 16:17 utc | 4

@charmicarmicat
huh. so why is the austin TX market so hot?

Posted by: catlady | Aug 30 2007 16:28 utc | 6

I might add that without a government in place or any remotest semblance of one, the NGOs have been the life blood of the territories. When Fayyad asks the beneficiaries of these organizations to head to the Ministry of Social Affairs to state their needs, that is patently absurd — it is not as if the “Ministry” of Social Affairs has anything to offer them at all. The “Ministry” is probably some run-down dusty old office with a secretary and a “Minister” and a handful of bored obsequious employees on the dole who may or may not have received their pay checks in the past year.

Posted by: Bea | Aug 30 2007 17:30 utc | 8

why would a prime minister do this to his own people?

Posted by: annie | Aug 30 2007 18:06 utc | 10

I am looking for a list. Meanwhile I found this, which shows that even the World Bank recognized the signal importance of NGOs to Palestinian society. It also mentions in passing a legacy of hostility between the Palestinian Authority and the NGOs. Interesting.

The Palestinian NGO Project is groundbreaking. For the first time in its history, the World Bank established a project to support NGOs directly, without going through “normal” channels – i.e., representatives of a State. Another unique feature of this first-ever Project is that the Bank financed most of the costs itself as a grant of US$10 million derived from its net income. Additional funding (US$5.3 million) was raised for this Project from the Saudi and Italian Governments, as well as local contributors. All of this was done for a “people without a State,” the people of Palestine. Bank officials administering the Palestinian NGO Project consider it to be “pioneering project funding” that has “enabled the Bank to better balance its client focus by including Palestinian NGOs as partners in project design and implementation.”
Concerned with a deteriorating socio-economic situation for Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza coupled with the Palestinian Authority’s unwillingness or inability to take on most social service delivery, the Bank established the Palestinian NGO Project in 1997 to address poverty reduction. Palestinian NGOs became both a mechanism to deliver services to the poor and marginalized and a beneficiary of capacity building and institutional strengthening as a result of this Project.

My guess is that the ones targeted by Fayyad are run by Hamas, but that is pure speculation at this point. I will try and find out more.

Posted by: Bea | Aug 30 2007 18:58 utc | 12

OK, there was a list published in an Arabic newspaper but I can’t access that. The best I could do was to find this, in the statement by the Palestinian Center for Human Rights:

PCHR fears that the decision to dissolve 103 benevolent organizations and non-governmental organizations and the restrictions on civil society are implemented as part of the “State of Emergency” in the OPT. It is noted that there were no Presidential decrees to end the “State of Emergency” or its decrees, including the one on the re-registration of associations. The Center’s fears are accentuated by the fact that most of the associations to be dissolved were registered in Gaza during the tenure of ex-Minister of Interior, Sa’id Seyam, during the Hamas government.

That does clarify things somewhat.

Posted by: Bea | Aug 30 2007 19:09 utc | 14

mats, can you please try and interpret that into plain english? I really want to understand it, but the article is like reading Greek to me.

Posted by: Bea | Aug 30 2007 19:58 utc | 16

All those missing weapons…….. and pension funds for GI’s Hmmmm Turkey is now a Goat of the scape variety.

Weapons originally given to Iraqi security forces by the U.S. military have been recovered over the past year by the authorities in Turkey after being used in violent crimes in that country, Pentagon officials said.

Posted by: Cloned Poster | Aug 30 2007 20:06 utc | 18

@mats
From thestreet.com link:

Dan Perper, a Partner at Peak 6, one of the largest option market makers and proprietary trading firms, has confirmed that the trades are part of a “box-spread trade.”
“This was done as a package in which the box spread was used [as a] means of alternative financing at more attractive interest rates” explained Perper.
Simply put, two parties agree to trade the box at a price that essentially splits the difference between current rates.
For example, the rough numbers would be that given the September 700/1700 box must settle at a value of 1,000 — it is currently trading around 997 — that translates into a 5% interest rate.
…
Given the fact that these calls are some 700 points in-the-money, and therefore have a delta of 1.0 — meaning the options price moves dollar-for-dollar with the underlying index — “the only advantage to owning them is it would be a more efficient and slightly less capital-intensive way to gain one-to-one exposure” to the S&P 500, Randy Frederick, director of derivatives at Charles Schwab, writes in an email exchange.

It looks to me like the “in the money” is not a typo. If that is so, almost all of the premium will be returned on settlement. As Perper says, this is a roundabout way of borrowing funds from someone without going through normal credit or reporting channels or getting index exposure without normal amounts of collateral.
What it may say is that someone is in enough trouble to need to game the system for liquidity.

Posted by: PeeDee | Aug 30 2007 21:15 utc | 20

Also from Al-Ahram, on Nahr Al-Bared, Lebanon:
The final ‘final battle’

Fatah Al-Islam’s women and children have at last left Nahr Al-Bared camp, heralding the final battle which could last days or weeks

Provides a good deal of interesting details.

Posted by: Alamet | Aug 30 2007 23:30 utc | 22

Project for a New American Citizen: Rebuilding America’s Senses.
Is a Google vid, that is a great, well-researched presentation by activist Daniel Abrahamson.
This guy has it nailed.
via

Posted by: Uncle $cam | Aug 31 2007 0:01 utc | 24

@PeeDee
Yes, the article at the link has been almost completely rewritten since the time of my post (they really should have thrown up a new link rather than just adding an ‘updated’ tag). As it stood this morning it made very little sense at all — the focus was almost entirely on the large open interest in the 700 strike s&p500 puts, which are as far out of the money as you can get. Anyway, parts of it make more sense now, though there’s still no explanation for (and likely no explaining) why someone would have bought that many puts that far out of the money to begin with.
@Bea
The short is answer is it’s not really worth understanding, nothing to see here, move on, etc. For the slightly longer answer you can take this paragraph:

The first area of focus was that open interest September 700 S&P puts had such an unusually high number for such a low-probability trade. A put is a defensive bet that gives the holder the right to sell a security at a specified price, in this case more than 50% below the S&P 500’s current level of 1463 as of Wednesday’s close.

…which explains it correctly. There are over 110,000 contracts out there which somebody bought, which will expire worthless on 9/21 unless the market drops by more than 50% between now and then. This either is or isn’t particularly unusual – I’m not sure – but it’s not what you’d generally call a good bet.

Posted by: mats | Aug 31 2007 0:32 utc | 26

Bea @ 25, you are welcome. By the way, The Palestinian Pundit had some choice words about that poll last week:
Fabricating Palestinian Public Opinion, the So-Called Pollster Ghassan Khatib

Posted by: Alamet | Aug 31 2007 1:09 utc | 28

OK, worst case thinker and google addict that I am, I had to check this out. I found these links:
False Flag Alert – San Francisco Bay Area
Chatter About an “Incident” on West Coast at an All Time High
Craig’s List
Letter from Cindy SHeehan, Cynthia McKinney, et al
I take no responsibility whatsoever for the accuracy of the content. I just ran the search. The weirdest thing is that it appeared to me from a cursory look that except for the last one, the content on each site was an exact replica, as if someone had spread the same article everywhere, including on Craigs list. I have no idea what that means… most likely it is all hoo-hah.

Posted by: Bea | Aug 31 2007 1:35 utc | 30

Bea, I googled
Dick Cheney terror event provocation pretext military attacks Iran
The link is only one of several but to me Brzezinski portended inside credibility to the rumors way back in Feb of this year.

Posted by: Juannie | Aug 31 2007 2:27 utc | 32

It occurred to me today that xDems. cut deal w/Fascists in Power. We’ll toss 2 of our Nazis – Gonzo & Rove – to soon be replaced by others (Rove’ll go make a killing on ’08 elections just in case they exist some where – anyway prob. won’t need Rove if they nuke Iran & Cheney declares police state after new false flag); you give us Gestapo prerogatives to wiretap & ransack at will.

Posted by: jj | Aug 31 2007 2:31 utc | 34

urban survival.com

Posted by: possum | Aug 31 2007 4:19 utc | 36

Bea/possum,
The story about the “suspicious middle eastern men” photographed casing Washington state ferries (where I live & use the ferries) first surfaced in the local paper, where they refused to publish the pictures claiming the evidence against (the 2 people) was insufficient to print their pictures. Whats a little weird, is that I first saw the story last week (visiting my no computer parents) in an op-ed piece in Ohio! Why this seemingly minor local PNW story has been picked up in an Ohio paper may indicate the FBI/DHS is shopping the story around. Either as a means to show non-cooperation (of the paper/media), or to drum up fear/anticipation, or both.
Being a regular user of the Washington state ferries, I’ve always thought (even before 911) that they would be an easy mark, for the deranged. The only security I’ve seen on the ferries post 911 is occasional armed escort by little Coast Guard zodiac boats. Which has ended recently after one of the sailors went overboard and got caught under the prop and died. I could never figure out what the escort service was meant to anyway, since the biggest threat to ferries is a bomb (parked among all those other cars) aboard the boat. And I’ve not seen any security against that kind of threat – either before this story broke or after. If the threat against the mysterious two was to be taken as seriously as they say it was, you’d think security against the most obvious would have been increased, but as far as I can see (rode one yesterday) nothing has changed.

Posted by: anna missed | Aug 31 2007 6:15 utc | 38

Lawmakers Describe ‘Being Slimed in the Green Zone’

The sheets of paper seemed to be everywhere the lawmakers went in the Green Zone, distributed to Iraqi officials, U.S. officials and uniformed military of no particular rank. So when Rep. James P. Moran Jr. (D-Va.) asked a soldier last weekend just what he was holding, the congressman was taken aback to find out.
In the soldier’s hand was a thumbnail biography, distributed before each of the congressmen’s meetings in Baghdad, which let meeting participants such as that soldier know where each of the lawmakers stands on the war. “Moran on Iraq policy,” read one section, going on to cite some the congressman’s most incendiary statements, such as, “This has been the worst foreign policy fiasco in American history.”

Looks like the soldieres were well prepared …
Not so much some Iraqis

At one point, the three were trying to discuss the state of Iraqi security forces with Iraq’s national security adviser, Mowaffak al-Rubaie, but the large, flat-panel television set facing the official proved to be a distraction. Rubaie was watching children’s cartoons.
When Moran asked him to turn it off, Rubaie protested with a laugh and said, “But this is my favorite television show,” Moran recalled.
Porter confirmed the incident, although he tried to paint the scene in the best light, noting that at least they had electricity.

Message to Congress: You are irrelevant …

Posted by: b | Aug 31 2007 6:55 utc | 40

In light of Sen. Craig’s public restroom sex ordeal, I recently had this traveling experience, I was drinking coffee heavily so that I would stay awake and needed to relieve myself pretty badly. I pulled into a rest area, locked the car doors, and went into the restroom. When I entered I noticed it was unoccupied except for a pair of sneakers visible under the second stall.
As I unzipped at one of the urinals and began to relieve my burning bladder I heard a voice say “Hey, what’s up?”. I looked around and there was no one else in the restroom. After a moments hesitation, I answered “Not much”.
A little time went by and he says, “What ya doing?”.
I didn’t feel very comfortable talking to someone in a stall but I didn’t want to be rude and answered, “Uh…we are heading to Butte, to visit friends.”
“Want to come over?”, he says.
At this point I am really uncomfortable and I finish up and scoot over to the sink to wash up. “No I don’t think so.”, I replied. Wow, was this something else. I had never even had someone next to me with a wide stance before and now I’ve got someone in the stall asking me over!
As I reached for the paper towels to dry my hands I hear, “Hey man, can I call you back? There’s some asshole in the bathroom answering every thing I say.”

Posted by: Uncle $cam | Aug 31 2007 7:44 utc | 42

LOL – except I can’t cause I’ll wake the house…

Posted by: jcairo | Aug 31 2007 7:52 utc | 44

So, Larry Craig was outed as a member in good standing of the Gross Old Perverts Party. but that doesn’t answer the question of who outed him & why. This piece by Buchannan – yes, that one – implicitly raises question whether, as one of 2 Senators to support Romney, he might have been outed to humiliate, or otherwise hinder said candidate. link

Posted by: jj | Aug 31 2007 8:00 utc | 46

French troops ‘raped girls during Rwanda genocide’

French soldiers stationed in Rwanda during the genocide in 1994 have been accused of “widespread rape” by a Rwandan commission investigating France’s role during the conflict.
The commission, which is due to publish its final report in October, will also provide fresh evidence that French soldiers trained the Interahamwe, the extremist Hutu militia responsible for most of the killing, and even provided them with weapons.
The allegations threaten to plunge relations between Rwanda and its former colonial master to a new low. It could also lead to Rwanda seeking reparations from France at the International Court of Justice. “That is something we are considering,” said one government official.
France’s support for the genocidal Rwandan regime – both before and during the slaughter – has been well documented, but the new report sheds some light on the extent of that backing.

Posted by: b | Aug 31 2007 8:37 utc | 48

At Least 740 Arrested in Chile Protest Violence

Chilean officials say at least 740 people have been arrested after clashing with police during mass protests in Santiago over the government’s social and economic policies.
Authorities say demonstrators hurled objects at police and hid behind barricades Wednesday as officers used tear gas and water cannon to disperse the crowds. Some shops were looted as the violence erupted in the capital.
Dozens of people were injured, including a ruling coalition senator, Alejandro Navarro, who was seen bleeding from the head after he was clubbed by an officer.
Labor unions organized the protests, saying workers should get a larger portion of profits from Chilean industry. Chile is the world’s biggest copper producer and has benefited from high prices for the metal in recent years.

Posted by: b | Aug 31 2007 9:50 utc | 50

why would a prime minister do this to his own people?
why, he had a premonition… 😉
are you going to follow me around and
this is the third thread and your umteenth snark. why? does every opinion of mine have to go thru some jcairo review? don’t play cutesy w/me w/your little smiley face. you have royally pissed me off.

Posted by: annie | Aug 31 2007 14:04 utc | 52

annie,
Chemical weapons at the UN? Sounds like a pretty clear-cut case to start bombing, followed up by a full-scale invasion.
Then they could “spread democracy” to the UN, set up a US- friendly Security Council and establish permanent bases there…

Posted by: ralphieboy | Aug 31 2007 14:40 utc | 54

b,
the basic flaw in the CPI assessment is the assumption that there is any sort of government in Iraq: there is nothing more than a collectin of racketeers and scam artists using government offices and stationery.

Posted by: ralphieboy | Aug 31 2007 15:12 utc | 56

@jj,
In the last couple of months since the announcement, the alumni and friends gathered $8million in pledges, have created a communications network, gotten thousands of people interested and a bunch of press. The Board of Trustees heard this and announced that they’d work with us, and if we had money and a business plan in October, they’d reverse their decision. The faculty have also sued for an injunction to prevent the college from closing. Carrot and stick.
Friedman fits in because a couple of years ago at a Trustee meeting, one of them recommended The World Is Flat. The Chancellor (the Cheney figure in this mess) read it, and has used it as her framework for decision-making.

n a speech I gave to the Board in February 2006, I shared that there is a section of Thomas Friedman’s book, The World is Flat, that, while reading, I bracketed and wrote “Antioch College-question mark” in the margin. Friedman explains that the measure of a society or institution is most often in classical economic and social statistics. But there is another measure much harder to gauge that is more revealing in Friedman’s eyes. Does your institution have more memories than dreams, or more dreams than memories?
Friedman declares that he knows when an organization is in trouble and that is when they tell him how good they were in the past. When memories exceed dreams, the end is near. The hallmark of a truly successful organization is the willingness to abandon what made it successful and start fresh.

I have no idea how that became analysis, but we gave a person who believed that bunk the highest position in the University system, and somehow things went wrong.

Posted by: Rowan | Aug 31 2007 16:55 utc | 58

Rowan, I knew it was in trouble when a friend’s daughter wanted to go there, 10-15 yrs. ago. She was a Nat’l Merit Scholar. But that no longer comes w/a Scholarship. They couldn’t come up w/the money, so she was stuck going somewhere that could. Sad. Do you know if Reed is likewise in trouble, or what sort of adaptations they’ve made?
Sounds like the crisis that rallies the troops & clarifies the focus. Hopefully everyone now understands that the focus should be as locus of opposition to TFriedman’s worldview. That would make it essential & unique. Would allow you to get top faculty for less money as well. I’m thinking of Henry Giroux for starters. Be awesome if you became an anti-predator think tank & teaching center. Ohio has so much great land, you could add Major Permaculture Center – become a center of renewal. Maybe other faculty figuring out how to reseed manufacturing…Education for an age of climatic turbulence…making transition from Civ. of Cheap Oil to one of dear oil…If you get clearly focused, Everyone gets Energized & oriented around common purpose… Freshman Seminar in History of False Flag Attacks…Stop Trying to “Compete”, Distinguish Yourselves…On money, a Putney Alum, donated $100M – largest donation to prep school ever & it’s the only Liberal/Experimental Prep School….so there should be some money to be had amongst Alums…

Posted by: jj | Aug 31 2007 20:31 utc | 60

Whoops, too much reminiscing. The point was that Reed was no Antioch then, and I doubt it has been more recently.

Posted by: Malooga | Aug 31 2007 21:00 utc | 62

This from Forbes.

Posted by: beq | Aug 31 2007 21:36 utc | 64

ADL vs. ADL – More on the genocide denial brouhaha.
Pass the popcorn – This one ain’t over yet.
And for any who are interested, Fisk had a very interesting and moving piece in the Independent this week about the Armenian genocide. The Forgotten Holocaust. Written from Turkey.

Posted by: Bea | Aug 31 2007 23:58 utc | 66

Oh Dear. It looks like the Bush Regime has been doing a bit of house keeping lately:
According to the White House, at least five million e-mails were not properly archived and may be lost forever, in apparent violation of the Presidential Records Act.

Posted by: Bagem | Sep 1 2007 0:38 utc | 68

catlady – did you find this one?

Posted by: beq | Sep 1 2007 1:20 utc | 70

“pretext to arm them to the gills to prepare for the next round of fighting against Hizbollah”
you think shelling a refugee camp really prepares them for going toe to toe with Hizbollah Bea?
maybe like murdering rock throwing teens prepared the IDF for the same last summer.

Posted by: ran | Sep 1 2007 2:42 utc | 72

President Bush Discusses Homeownership Financing
Rose Garden
Play Video Video (Windows)
RSS Feed Presidential Remarks
Play Audio Audio
Fact sheet Fact Sheet: New Steps to Help Homeowners Avoid Foreclosure
Fact sheet In Focus: Jobs & Economy
11:05 A.M. EDT
THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. Thank you for joining me. Secretary Paulson and Secretary Jackson gave me an update on the strong fundamentals of our nation’s economy. Economic growth is healthy (sic), and just yesterday we learned that our economy grew at a strong rate of 4 percent in the second quarter of this year (based on easy-credit asset inflation and Defense expenditures bought with deficit spending). Wages are rising, (sic) unemployment is low, (doesn’t even meet population growth, nevermind retirement replacement) exports are up (due solely to commodities inflation), and steady job creation continues (in Dubai and China).
President George W. Bush stands with Secretary Alfonso Jackson, of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and Secretary Henry Paulson Jr.,of the Department of Treasury, during a statement Friday, Aug. 31, 2007, in the Rose Garden regarding homeownership financing.
“Owning a home has always been at the center of the American Dream. Together with the United States Congress, I will continue working to help make that dream a reality for more of our citizens.”
White House photo by Shealah Craighead
We also had a good discussion about the situation in America’s financial markets. The markets are in a period of transition, as participants reassess and re-price risk (since bundled CDO’s marked up arbitrarily give investors absolutely no idea of their true market value). This process has been unfolding (some would say ‘hemorraghing’) for some time, and it’s going to take more time to fully play out. As it does, America’s overall economy will remain strong enough to weather any turbulence.
Photo of Bush buying some souvenir knickknack at White House gift shop with cash borrowed from an aide.
“Whatever you do, don’t stop shopping!”
One area that has shown particular strain is the mortgage market, especially what’s known as the sub-prime sector of the mortgage market (and altA and jumbos). This market has seen tremendous ‘innovation’ (five-finger discounts) in recent years, as new lending products make credit available to more people. For the most part, this has been a positive development, and the reason why is millions of families have taken out mortgages to buy their homes, and American homeownership is at a near all-time high.
Unfortunately, there’s also been some excesses in the lending industry. One of the most troubling developments has been the increase in adjustable rate mortgages that start out with a very low interest rate and then reset to a higher rate after a few years. This has led some homeowners to take out loans larger than they could afford based on overly-optimistic assumptions about the future performance of the housing market (mortgage brokers literally forcing borrowers to take out larger loans than they need, just to increase broker commissions) . Others may have been confused by the terms of their loan, or misled by irresponsible lenders. Whatever the reason they chose this kind of mortgage, some borrowers are now unable to make their monthly payments, or facing foreclosure.
Complicating the situation for borrowers is the nature of today’s mortgage market. In many cases, the neighborhood banker who issued a family’s mortgage does not own that mortgage for long. Instead, mortgages are sold as securities on the global market. And that makes it harder for the lender and borrower to renegotiate.
The recent disturbances in the sub-prime mortgage industry are modest (compared to the devastation of Iraq, for example) — they’re modest in relation to the size of our economy. But if you’re a family — if your family is one of those having trouble making the monthly payments, this problem doesn’t seem modest at all. I understand these concerns, and therefore, I’ve made this a top priority to help our homeowners navigate these financial challenges, so that many families as possible can stay in their homes. That’s what we’ve been working on, a plan to help homeowners (hold onto your wallet, The Decider is ‘planning’ again!).
We’ve got a role, the government has got a role to play — but it is limited. A federal bailout of lenders would only encourage a recurrence of the problem. It’s not the government’s job to bail out speculators, or those who made the decision to buy a home they knew they could never afford. Yet there are many American homeowners who could get through this difficult time with a little flexibility from their lenders, or a little help from their government. So I strongly urge lenders to work with homeowners to adjust their mortgages. I believe lenders have a responsibility to help these good people to renegotiate so they can stay in their home. And today I’m going to outline a variety of steps at the federal level to help American families keep their homes.
First, we’re going to work to modernize and improve the Federal Housing Administration — that’s known as the FHA. The FHA is a government agency that provides mortgage insurance to borrowers through a network of private sector lenders. Sixteen months ago I sent Congress an FHA modernization bill that would help more homeowners qualify for this insurance by lowering down-payment requirements, by increasing loan limits and providing more flexibility in pricing. These reforms would allow the FHA to reach families that need help, those with low incomes and less-than-perfect credit records or little savings.
Of course, not everyone can be helped. Let’s be honest. Certainly, homosexual unions won’t qualify for faith-based Federal insurance. I suppose frequenting airport bathrooms may get you disqualified. A criminal record for shoplifting, an arrest for protesting, having an abortion, being on a no-fly list. Disqualified. Being an undocumented alien will get you a one-way busfare to Nogales. African American from New Orleans? I’m sorry, you’re not on the list. And, of course, our brave returning American soldiers, who get one last $2000 check and an eviction notice from the BQ, will have insufficient credit and heavy medical expenses to qualify for a home loan. Maybe they can live at home with their parents again.
Last year the House passed this bill with more than 400 votes. Unfortunately, Congress hasn’t acted this year. It would be a good task for Congress to come and get FHA modernization done so that we can help these people refinance their homes, so more people can stay in their homes. I look forward to signing a bill as quickly as possible.
In the coming days, the FHA will launch a new program called FHA-Secure. This program will allow American homeowners who have got good credit history but cannot afford their current payments to refinance into FHA-insured mortgages. (of course, it’s first come, first served, and registered Republicans get first priority.) This means that many families who are struggling now (to bridge their roll-over investment mortgage flip) will be able to refinance their loans, meet their monthly payments and keep their homes. In other words, we’re going to start reaching out and making sure people know that this option is available to them so they can stay in their homes.
Second, I’m going to work with Congress to temporarily reform a key housing provision of the federal tax code, which will make it easier for homeowners to refinance their mortgages during this time of market stress. Under current law, homeowners who are unable to meet their mortgage payments can face an unexpected tax bill. For example, let’s say the value of your house declines by $20,000 and your adjustable rate mortgage payments have grown to a level you cannot afford. If the bank modifies your mortgage and forgives $20,000 of your loan, the tax code treats that $20,000 as taxable income. When your home is losing value and your family is under financial stress, the last thing you need to do is to be hit with higher taxes. (however, I have no problem saddling you and your grandchildren with an additional $50B in deficit spending on top of $450B spent already in my Endless War on Iraq).
So I believe we need to change the code to make it easier for people to refinance their homes and stay in their homes. (after all, soaring easy-credit home valuations bring in more Federal income taxes, more property taxes, and more sales taxes in an ever-increasing death spiral, so that soon your graduating college student young family will be looking at a $1M buy-in for even a basic chicken shack) And to this end, I’ve called Senator Debbie Stabenow of Michigan and told her that she’s on to a good idea with the bill that she and George Voinovich have submitted to the Senate. The House has got Rob Andrews of New Jersey and Ron Lewis of Kentucky introducing legislation that is a positive step toward changing the tax code so people aren’t penalized when they refinance their homes. With a few changes in the Senate version and the House version, this administration can support these bills, and we look forward to working with them — the senators and the members of the House — to pass common-sense legislation to help us address this issue.
Third, my administration will launch a new foreclosure avoidance initiative to help struggling homeowners find a way to refinance. Secretary Jackson and Secretary Paulson are going to reach out to a wide variety of groups that offer foreclosure counseling and refinancing for American homeowners. These groups include community organizations like NeighborWorks and mortgage lenders and loan services, and the FHA, as well as government-sponsored enterprises like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. These organizations exist to help people refinance, and we expect them to do that.
See, it’s easy for me to stand up here and talk about refinancing — some people don’t even know what I’m talking about. And we need to have a focused effort to help people understand the mortgage financing options available to them, or to identify homeowners before they face hardships and help them understand what’s possible.
Finally, the federal government is taking a variety of actions to make the mortgage industry more transparent, more reliable and more fair, so we can reduce the likelihood that these kind of lending problems won’t happen again. Federal banking regulators are improving disclosure requirements to ensure that lenders provide homeowners with complete and accurate and understandable information about their mortgages, including the possibility that their monthly payments could rise dramatically. In other words, we believe that if the consumer is better informed, these kind of problems won’t arise — are less likely to arise in the first place. Banking regulators are also strengthening lending standards to help ensure that borrowers are not approved for mortgages larger than they can handle. (think of it as track signals changing after a slow-motion trainwreck)
This administration will soon issue regulations that require mortgage brokers to fully disclose their fees and closing costs. We’re pursuing wrongdoing and fraud in the mortgage industry through the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Department of Justice, the Federal Trade Commission, and other agencies.(we’re pursuing wrongdoers with the same ferocity we’re pursuing Osama bin Laden) In other words, if you’ve been cheating somebody we’re going to find you and hold you to account. (unless you’re a Republican Party campaign donor). And we’ll continue to do our part to help improve all aspects of the mortgage marketplace that is really important to this economy of ours.
With all the steps I’ve outlined today we will deliver help and hope to American families who need it. We’ll help guard against future problems in the housing sector. We’ll reaffirm the vital place of homeownership in our nation. When more families own their own homes, neighborhoods are more vibrant and communities are stronger, and more people have a stake in the future of this country.
Owning a home has always been at the center of the American Dream. Together with the United States Congress I will continue working to help make that dream a reality for more of our citizens. Thank you.
Q Sir, what about the hedge funds and banks that are overexposed on the sub-prime market? That’s a bigger problem. Have you got a plan?
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you.(that’s already being taken care of by easing credit to banks and mortgage companies) Ahh,ha,ha,ha,ha,ha,ha,ha,ha,ha,ha,ha,ha,haaaa.
END 11:16 A.M. EDT

Posted by: Peris Troika | Sep 1 2007 3:57 utc | 74

Responding to b’s post directly above. b quotes Robert Fisk quoting his friend’s letter, referring to USA escalation of Tension In The Middle East and the USA’s targeted goal.

I think that the Bush administration is looking for something to distract Americans before the mid-September report on progress in Iraq

If the goal is distraction of Americans, the threat of attacks on Iran are just as good as actually attacking Iran. (Fisk’s friend discusses USA planes over Pakistan.)
If the goal is really serious such as major in-country reform in the USA I say:
Whether due to a catastrophic failure of money, transportation or power due to faulty infrastructure, faulty policy, a real or orchestrated attack or natural disaster, or something else, or even dealing with a genuinely militant population, that might require the USA to begin another actual war that kills people to regain the dominant voice.
Of course they are killing people at an enormous rate in Iraq already.
Frankly the whole point of media manipulation these days is to scare us all.
I currently think the goal is met by the leaked threats that war is upcoming.
No war.
I find a strange attraction to our worst nightmares coming true and the infantile joy of joining in and saying I told you so!
About these rumours. It doesn’t serve anyone to expect the worst, possibly with the exception of potential military recruits. If I were them I’d probably leave town asap.

Posted by: jonku | Sep 1 2007 9:15 utc | 76

Holy crap, did a state level government just rule against intrusive surveillance? Senate blocks mandatory ID implants in employees
Snip…

State Sen. Joe Simitian (D-Palo Alto) proposed the measure after at least one company began marketing radio frequency identification devices for use in humans.
The devices, as small as a grain of rice, can be used by employers to identify workers. A scanner passing over a body part implanted with one can instantly identify the person.
“RFID is a minor miracle, with all sorts of good uses,” Simitian said. “But we shouldn’t condone forced ‘tagging’ of humans. It’s the ultimate invasion of privacy.”
Simitian said he fears that the devices could be compromised by persons with unauthorized scanners, facilitating identity theft and improper tracking and surveillance.
The bill has been approved by the state Assembly and now goes to the governor.
Nine senators opposed the measure, including Bob Margett (R-Arcadia), who said it is premature to legislate technology that has not yet proved to be a problem. “It sounded like it was a solution looking for a problem,” Margett said. “It didn’t seem like it was necessary.”
One company, VeriChip, has been licensed by the Food and Drug Administration to sell implanted identification devices, and about 2,000 people have had them implanted, Simitian said. A representative of the firm did not return calls seeking comment Thursday.
CityWatcher.com, a Cincinnati video surveillance company, has required employees who work in its secure data center to have a microchip implanted in an arm.

Oh… okay. They voted against employers mandating this kind of thing from their workers. I wonder if it will still be a “solution looking for a problem” when the feds use it to fight “terrorists”.
I’m fair certain I already linked to the story about how US security firms are already using China as a guinea pig selling human tracking technology to the Chinese… here it is again: High-Tech China Tracking Citizen Movement – U.S Not Far Behind. Sleep tight.

Posted by: Monolycus | Sep 1 2007 11:31 utc | 78

Fuck their legacies.
[sorry]

Posted by: beq | Sep 1 2007 15:36 utc | 80

21st Century May Belong to the Shrub
[it’s not what you’re thinking. or is it… :-)]

BROOKLIN, Canada, Sep 1 (IPS) – As atmospheric carbon dioxide levels continue to climb shrubs and other woody plants will likely dominate grasslands, altering pastoral lifestyles around the world, a U.S. study has found.
In the first experiment of its kind done on native grassland, U.S. scientists artificially doubled carbon dioxide (CO2) levels over enclosed sections of prairie in Colorado, a state in the western United States, for five years. To their surprise, one shrub species, Artemisia frigida — commonly known as fringed sage — thrived under those conditions. In fact, it grew 40 times faster than normal, dominating other plant species.
“This kind of response to higher CO2 levels is almost unprecedented,” said Jack Morgan, a plant physiologist at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and lead author of the study, published Aug. 28 in the ‘Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences’ (PNAS), a science journal.
“Fringed sage is a minor species on the landscape normally. We were not expecting to see this,” Morgan told IPS.
…
Although the extent of the response was surprising, the fact that shrubs do better with more CO2 is not a new finding, he added.
Shrubs and other woody plants like trees can use CO2 more efficiently than grasses: they have deeper roots than grasses, enabling them to tap into deeper water supplies. These supplies, along with sunlight and CO2, are used to produce glucose energy for growth through photosynthesis.
…
The effects of elevated CO2 may already be in play, as indicated by fairly consistent evidence of “bush encroachment” or “shrub encroachment” in many grasslands of the world, he added.

Posted by: b real | Sep 1 2007 16:20 utc | 82

and in mogadishu, the TFG’s “national reconciliation conference” wrapped on thursday. other than in stmts from conference organizer’s, word is that, as expected, it didn’t really accomplish anything.
AFP: No progress after six weeks of peace talks

MOGADISHU (AFP) – Talks aimed at ending 16 years of conflict in Somalia were due to wrap up yesterday, with diplomats saying the parley had made no progress after six weeks of marathon negotiations.
As about 2 500 delegates and observers gathered for a closing ceremony in northern Mogadishu amid tight security, diplomats called for a new approach to solve Somalia’s chronic anarchy.
“We know this conference has gone nowhere. The problem is blind confidence in the transitional federal government,” a foreign diplomat said…

IRIN: Opinions mixed as reconciliation conference winds up

Organisers of Somalia’s national reconciliation conference hailed the meeting as a success even as analysts expressed doubts over the outcome, saying major parties in the current crisis had been left out of the peace-making process.
…
According to analysts, however, the conference did not achieve much and failed in its main task of reconciliation. “Reconciliation is the most urgent priority for Somalia but the TFG defined it in deliberately narrow terms, related to clans only. The conference achieved very little since none of the key issues essential to restoring security, as well as a broader peace, was discussed,” said Salim Lone, a newspaper columnist and political commentator based in Nairobi, Kenya.
Timothy Othieno, Horn of Africa analyst at the Institute for Global Dialogue in Johannesburg, described the conference as “a total failure” because of the way the participants were chosen and the arbitrary tactics of the TFG. “The TFG determined who was going to attend and who wasn’t. You cannot place conditions on participants if you are trying to reconcile a nation.”
The Hawiye clan, the dominant group in Mogadishu, and the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC) were left out of the process, he said. “This indeed signalled the end of the ‘conference’ even before it began,” Othieno said. The TFG forgot that it was an interim government created to “to facilitate a process that would legitimise whoever is chosen by the people – via credible elections”, he added.

the TFG didn’t “forget” anything.
an alternative conference, hosted in asmara, eritrea, and comprised of the ICU, members of the diaspora, and a range of somalis opposed to the occupation of their country was initially to begin today, though it has now been delayed for a bit.

The conference was intended to unite diverse groups who oppose Somalia’s interim government and vehemently object to the presence of its Ethiopian military backers on Somali soil.
But various delegates had not arrived in Eritrea, and the agenda was still not properly prepared, diplomats said.
“I think they need a few more days to work out exactly how they’re going to handle this conference,” said one Western diplomat who tracks Somalia closely. “The main rallying flag is going to be ‘get the Ethiopian troops out’, that’s for sure.”

a recent diaspora community communiqué provides an idea of the communique to come out of the asmara conference once it gets underway

1- The Diaspora recognizes that Somalia is not a free country but a country under Ethiopian occupation and that the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) is a quisling of Ethiopia and is thus incapable of independent action. The TFG has utterly failed and is totally irrelevant. Thus the international community should not waste time or resources on propping it.
2- Ethiopia must completely and unconditionally withdraw from Somalia, and the withdrawal must be verified by neutral governments or organizations.
3- We commit ourselves to the liberation of our homeland from the illegal occupation of Ethiopia by using all necessary means, political or otherwise.
4- International peacekeepers, drawn outside of the frontline states, should be deployed as soon as possible. The peace-keepers must have a clear mandate of peacekeeping and a timetable for their withdrawal. It is also paramount to find a genuine political solution for the Somali crisis.
5- We believe in the establishment of a broad-based inclusive government based on justice, freedom of expression and respect for human rights. Such government should not be a threat to international security nor to the security of its neighbours. We call upon all peace loving and friendly countries to help establish such a government.
…

Posted by: b real | Sep 1 2007 17:18 utc | 84

they all deserve their totally fucked legacies. their legacies are toast.
no matter how they try spinning it, they are all criminals and will be remembered a such.

Posted by: annie | Sep 1 2007 18:39 utc | 86

Is there a blog/s, websites, etc. about what’s going on at Antioch, Rowan?
Thanks for your contributions. Keep us up to date with what is happening. It is very important.

Posted by: Malooga | Sep 1 2007 19:34 utc | 88

http://www.antiochians.org is the home site of the Alumni movement. It’s going through some growing pains, but news is put up there pretty consistently. The student/community newspaper is at http://www.recordonline.org, and as a former editor of that paper, it’s really exciting to see it in the hands of some dynamic current students. I also may move back to Yellow Springs, Ohio, and perhaps blog from there. I’ll let y’all know if so.
The news on Antiochians is somewhat lacking in context, though, which is one of my main goals as “newsletter editor.” I’m putting together pamphlets to try to get people up to speed as quickly as I can, though they’re primarily aimed at alums. The initial batch, is up here. There’s a timeline of the closing, the Revival resolution from the Reunion a few weeks after the closing, my writeup on how we organized at Reunion, an analysis of the poor decision-making that led to the closure, and some specifics on the disastrous “Renewal Plan” that was the final straw.
For a non-Antiochian audience, the most interesting, in my mind, is one written by a current faculty member on the importance of tenure at Antioch and in general, which can be found here. The faculty view this as an attempt to bust their tenure, for a variety of reasons, which this partially explains.
I’ll try to write a “story so far” for non-Antiochians, which I want to do for you guys, and because we need to have one written for the Revival movement to go forward.

Posted by: Rowan | Sep 1 2007 23:34 utc | 90

the rest of the article doesn’t do anything for me, but i was surprised to see the role of the u.s. in the rise of the islamic courts last year mentioned so unambiguously in a reuters story on somalia

In June last year, warlords — backed by the United States but despised locally — were run out of Mogadishu by the SICC with decisive victories giving them total control.

reuters rpts on somalia tend to be uncritically biased w/ the u.s. worldview & that of its ethiopian proxy or ethiopia’s TFG proxy.
one of the reasons that the u.s. is spinning hard on eritrea these days is b/c the eritrean govt is not afraid to speak out on the crimes, hypocrisy & double-standards of u.s. policies & rhetoric. the latest editorial from the eritrean ministry of information —
Securing Global Dominance: US Administration’s Impractical Dream

The world is now going through a dangerous and at the same time an eye-opening period under the dominance of the world’s super power, the United States. A handful of capitalists controlling the political and economic resources as well as the military and intelligence organizations of the US are subjecting billions of people to conflict and unrest in an attempt to secure the world’s resources for their own use by applying a brutal Machiavellian principle of ‘the end justifies the means’.
…
Washington’s masterminds who outlined US geo-political strategy for securing complete dominance through power ideology often try to cover up their conspiracies with peacekeeping missions and seek to present their country as the acme of perfection in democracy and respect of human rights. However, the world can be fooled no longer and people have become aware that the US Administration’s blind pursuit to secure its own interests above all else is in fact a gross violation of their basic rights as well as international laws and principles.
The US mission of promoting ‘democracy and respect of human rights’ is merely a cover up for its conspiratorial actions in creating a crisis and then perfecting the art of ‘crisis management’. US officials have no other mission but to compromise the sovereignty and national interests of others, instigate religious conflict in the name of religious rights and create divergence and conflict among peoples.
It has been clear for sometime now that the US national security strategy of weakening and intimidating other people to establish dominance is impractical. It has not only failed to subjugate people and secure submission but also backfired on the US itself. There is no force in the world that can defeat the unity of the people, although this fact does not seem to have been taken into account on the part of the US Administration. The current instability in the Horn of Africa created as a result of US interference and the resulting popular opposition is one of the many examples verifying the failure of Washington’s misguided geo-political strategy.

Posted by: b real | Sep 2 2007 3:51 utc | 92

Uncle, we’re gonna need students. Lots of them, and soon, when we win. When that is is somewhat up in the air, but hey, what isn’t.
Anyway – how Antioch died, Cliff’s notes version. How it will be resurrected coming soon, hopefully.
Antioch College was opened in 1853, with educational pioneer Horace Mann as its first president. It was the first college to allow women and men on an equal basis, and had a female professor with equivalent pay to her male counterparts. During Mann’s commencement speech of 1859, shortly before his death, he uttered the phrase that became Antioch’s motto: “Be ashamed to die until you have won some victory for humanity.”
In 1919, the College was in dire financial straits, and appointed innovative industrialist Arthur Morgan to the Board of Trustees. Morgan quickly became President, and initiated a series of changes, none more radical than the “co-operative education program” where every other term, students would work at jobs, then return to study. The co-op program, widely copied in modern America, became Antioch’s main claim to fame.
After World War II, and through the mid-70’s, Antioch College thrived, with upwards of 2000 students and a national reputation as an elite liberal arts college. Many of the most famous alumni came from this period: Eleanor Holmes Norton, Stephen Jay Gould, Rod Serling, and Coretta Scott King.
During the mid-60’s, a series of satellite campuses were purchased or founded all over the country. Most failed and disappeared. The unsustainable growth of both the College’s student body and the satellite campuses caused crisis after crisis in the 70’s, with the end result being the collapse of the amount of students and the acknowledgment that the graduate programs and satellite campuses made Antioch a University.
After wobbling through the 80’s, damaging the endowment through the maintenance of the College and the (now 5) University campuses, the 90s saw Antioch’s last major PR event, the anti-date rape Sexual Offense Prevention Policy. This shockingly radical policy based around the concept that partners should make sure that both parties want to have sex before they do have sex, the patriarchal media firestorm severely damaged Antioch’s reputation in the mainstream media.
More importantly to Antioch’s long-term future, the President of the College changed the basic relationship between the campuses from having the College at the center, to the “federal” system by which the College was supposed to be “first among equals.” However, the system never was equal – the other university campuses, primarily adult or graduate programs, always had a higher profit ratio than the full residential liberal arts college. The University Board of Trustees, meanwhile began to be dominated by businesspeople used to cutting unprofitable parts of their organization, culminating the the October 2002 decision to scrap Antioch’s Socially Responsible Investment Policy and invest…in a hedge fund.
The beginning of the end for Antioch College occurred in 2001-2002, when a slow economy caused a budget deficit. The Board of Trustees and the University leadership instituted a Financial Stabilization and Consolidation plan. The crux of this was that the College lost control of its own finances, and found itself saddled with a crippling annual depreciation bill. For the next few years, every spring found the College with a new budget crisis, causing hiring freezes or the firing of essential staff.
The meddling of the Board of Trustees continued in 03-04, when they announced a Renewal Plan, a massive curricular overhaul designed to make Antioch more marketing and fix a student retention problem. The Renewal’s combination of educational innovation and lowered costs (such as a higher student:faculty ratio) appealed to the Board, and it was imposed entirely from above on a skeptical faculty and campus community. Despite their reservations, the community worked to implement the Plan, a project initially slated to take two years. The Board mandated that the Renewal be pushed through in one year, with predictably disastrous results. Enrollment plummeted, from a slowly growing 650-700 students to half that. This was expected, and the Board had promised that they would provide the money for five years of the Renewal.
Lower-than-expected enrollment the next year, however, somehow changed the Board’s minds, and they pulled the plug on the Renewal in June, 2007, declaring financial exigency, and that the College was “suspending operations” and would reopen better than ever in 2012.
The popular narrative that Antioch was “too liberal” for the marketplace falls apart under any reasonable examination. The real explanation for Antioch College’s almost-demise lies in an increasingly authoritarian, hidden, and unaccountable University decision-making process, which was taken over by money-first businesspeople. As their decisions weakened and crippled the College, they systematically removed any recourse within the system that the College had. The two most devastating decisions in recent Antioch history, the Financial Stabilization plan and the hurried implementation of the Renewal were both run over a College under an interim President. The University lost its attachment to Antioch College’s core values of shared governance and social justice, and the College paid the price.

Posted by: Rowan | Sep 2 2007 4:51 utc | 94

The first is generally accepted, though the endowment damage is up for interpretation. The College, of course, claims that, and because of that, the satellite campuses “owe” the College money every year. Think of it like a colony – founded to make the motherland money, rebelling and refusing to send the money. On the other hand, Arthur Morgan apparently preferred that Colleges have small endowments, and make their money off of entreprenuerialism.
On the second note, yes, kind of. I’d say that they were too capitalist, if you want to call that non-liberal (which I wouldn’t, but I could understand the argument). I do think that the brand was underestimated, especially the shared governance aspects of it. The other campuses were run much more hierarchically, without the “Community Government” concept which Antioch College depends on. Faculty have no tenure, and virtually no say in the governance structure. This is the kind of thing which I tend to put outside normal liberal/conservative structures. Radical/progressive/anarchist/libertarian.
In terms of your food co-ops…I’ve never heard of an organization operating in a non-transparent fashion, then voluntarily making things more transparent when they think they’re settled. So I’d agree with you.

Posted by: Rowan | Sep 2 2007 6:27 utc | 96

@Rowan
Next time you’re out in Glen Helen or lifting a glass at The Trail, give me a passing thought. I miss that area.
@Noirette/Tangerine
Can I get some commentary on this story… Swiss deportation policy draws criticism
Snip…

GENEVA – The campaign poster was blatant in its xenophobic symbolism: Three white sheep kicking out a black sheep over a caption that read “for more security.” The message was not from a fringe force in Switzerland’s political scene but from its largest party.
The nationalist Swiss People’s Party is proposing a deportation policy that anti-racism campaigners say evokes Nazi-era practices. Under the plan, entire families would be expelled if their children are convicted of a violent crime, drug offenses or benefits fraud.
The party is trying to collect the 100,000 signatures needed to force a referendum on the issue. If approved in a referendum, the law would be the only one of its kind in Europe.
“We believe that parents are responsible for bringing up their children. If they can’t do it properly, they will have to bear the consequences,” Ueli Maurer, president of the People’s Party, told The Associated Press.
Ronnie Bernheim of the Swiss Foundation against Racism and Anti-Semitism said the proposal was similar to the Nazi practice of “Sippenhaft” — or kin liability — whereby relatives of criminals were held responsible for his or her crimes and punished equally.
Similar practices occurred during Stalin’s purges in the early days of the Soviet Union and the 1966-76 Cultural Revolution in China, when millions were persecuted for their alleged ideological failings.
“As soon as the first 10 families and their children have been expelled from the country, then things will get better at a stroke,” said Maurer, whose party controls the Justice Ministry and shares power in an unwieldy coalition that includes all major parties.
He explained that his party has long campaigned to make deportation compulsory for convicted immigrants rather than an optional and rarely applied punishment.
The party claims foreigners — who make up about 20 percent of the population — are four times more likely to commit crimes than Swiss nationals.

Is this truly coming from a majority in Switzerland or is this piece giving misrepresentative weight to a vocal minority?

Posted by: Monolycus | Sep 2 2007 10:50 utc | 98

jony_b_cool @97
the 2002 NSS makes it clear that world security will exist only when every country on the planet accepts empire’s view of terror. regimes w/ a different perspective, therefore, must be removed by any means necessary.

Posted by: b real | Sep 2 2007 19:51 utc | 100