Day: January 3, 2009

War Comes To Gaza–Day 7

Israeli tanks and infantry entered Gaza after nightfall Saturday, launching a ground offensive that the military said would be a “lengthy operation” in a widening war on Gaza’s Hamas rulers.

Israeli security officials said the operation is likely to go on for several days, but that the objective is not to reoccupy Gaza. The depth and intensity will also depend on parallel diplomatic efforts, the officials on condition of anonymity in line with military regulations.

Heavy gun battles were reported as Israeli tanks and infantry soldiers entered Gaza after dark. The forces stayed close to the border area, witnesses said. Heavy artillery fire hit east of Gaza City in areas where Hamas fighters were deployed.

A text message sent by Hamas’ military wing, Izzedine al-Qassam, said “the Zionists started approaching the trap which our fighters prepared for them.”

Before the ground operation began, defense officials said around 10,000 soldiers massed along the border in recent days. Heavy artillery fire in the early evening was intended to detonate Hamas explosive devices and mines planted along the border area before troops marched in.

It was not immediately clear how deep into Gaza the Israeli forces would go.

Israel’s offensive against Hamas began with a week of aerial bombardment of Hamas target. However, Hamas kept firing at Israeli towns, and Israeli officials said diplomatic efforts did not produced a satisfactory plan so far to guarantee a halt to rockets.

2008 Anal-ocity “Assie Awards” Nominees

Time to give the shout out to the most anal statement made by anyone for the year of 2008.  These are the five finalists and would like for my readers to help decide who gets the “Award”.

1–Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-GA) returned to Sen. Barack Obama ’s (D-IL) recent suggestion that Americans inflate their tires properly in order to save energy costs. Seeming to outdo his previous false attacks on this issue, Gingrich claimed that Obama’s idea is actually encouraging Americans to “enrich Big Oil”

2–John McCain when Russia invaded Georgis he said:  “In the 21st century, nations do not invade other nations.”  Did he miss Iraq or Afghanistan?

3–Another gem for consideration for the “Assie” Award.  This one comes from the Attorney General Mukasey.  The statement was made at a meeting of the American Bar Association.

“”…not every violation of the law is a crime.”

4–It is something that Jonas Prising, of Manpower Inc said about the dismal economic report just days ago.

“The economy is strong from a historical perspective”.

5– This time it is Phil Gramm and his statement on Americans being whiners.

‘We have sort of become a nation of whiners,’ he said. ‘You just hear this constant whining, complaining about a loss of competitiveness,

6–“Liberals are opponents of American culture”. Mitt Romney

7–“There is no scientific proof that people are responsible for climate change”. Tom DeLay

8–This one comes from Carl Rove. recently he stated that, “Congress pushed for the invasion of Iraq and that the President had been against it.”

Please vote for the one that you feel is the most anal statement from last year, 2008.

Is Raising Taxes Always The Answer?

Oh God, NO, it is not.  But that is all that these socalled capitalist can think of to raise much needed revenues to fund projects.  This is the newest one being proposed or at least considered.

A 50 percent increase in gasoline and diesel fuel taxes is being urged by the commission to finance highway construction and repair until the government devises another way for motorists to pay for using public roads.

The National Commission on Surface Transportation Infrastructure Financing, a 15-member panel created by Congress, is the second group in a year to call for increasing the current 18.4 cents a gallon federal tax on gasoline and the 24.4 cents a gallon tax on diesel. State fuel taxes vary from state to state.

And states like California are coinsidering other moves to help fund programs,

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s staff Wednesday released his most detailed plan yet to tackle the state’s staggering budget deficit, calling for deep cuts to state services, hefty tax increases and a large new round of borrowing to close a projected $41.6 billion shortfall through mid-2010.

While little of the proposal was new, it included some striking elements, such as cutting billions of dollars from public school funding and slashing the deduction state taxpayers can claim for their dependents. The plan also arrived a day after the state controller warned tax refunds might have to be paid with IOUs in the spring because California is so short of cash.

The above are just examples of what ALL states and communities will be looking at in the coming year or so, if they are to keep their areas functioning as an entity.  All the plans involve a complete screwing of the people.  I want to know why?  There is an easier way.  It is not popular with the big shots that call all the shots in state capitals, but nonetheless, it is easier and does not totally drop the burden on the middle class’ shoulders.

The solution is called Land Value Taxation.  It is explained on my pages here.  Read, understand and  fight for fairness.  You as a taxpayer have the power to make a difference.  Use that power and in turn make this a better country.

copyright:  CHUQ/Info Ink

What Is Free Trade?

Free trade means free production. Now fully to free production it is necessary not only to remove all taxes on production, but also to remove all other restrictions on production. True free trade, in short, requires that the active factor of production, Labor, shall have free access to the passive factor of production, Land. To secure this all monopoly of land must be broken up, and the equal right of all to the use of the natural elements must be secured by the treatment of the land as the common property in usufruct of the whole people.

Thus it is that free trade brings us to the same simple measure as that which we have seen is necessary to emancipate labor from its thralldom and to secure that justice in the distribution of wealth which will make every improvement or reform beneficial to all classes.

The partial reform miscalled free trade, which consists in the mere abolition of protection — the mere substitution of a revenue tariff for a protective tariff — cannot help the laboring classes, because it does not touch the fundamental cause of that unjust and unequal distribution which, as we see today, makes “labour a drug and population a nuisance” in the midst of such a plethora of wealth that we talk of over-production. True free trade, on the contrary, leads not only to the largest production of wealth, but to the fairest distribution. It is the easy and obvious way of bringing about that change by which alone justice in distribution can be secured, and the great inventions and discoveries which the human mind is now grasping can be converted into agencies for the elevation of society from its very foundations.

Agreements like NAFTA, CAFTA, etc are not promoting free trade.  They are however, destroying the manufacturing sector in the US.  It did however promote the spread of globalization which in turn out sourced thousands of Amewrican jobs to overseas locations.

I suggest that when Americans hear the words “free trade” uttered by their representatives then they sit up and ask questions.  So far it has not helped the US and its people.

More Predator Kills In Pakistan

A suspected US missile strike Friday killed at least three foreign militants in the northwest Pakistan stronghold of a local Taliban commander, a senior security official said.

The strike was the second in as many days in the South Waziristan tribal area on the border with Afghanistan, where hundreds of extremists fled after the US-led invasion in late 2001 that toppled the Taliban regime in Kabul.

There have been more than two dozen such strikes on northwest Pakistan since August, sparking angry government criticism of the United States, a close ally which is believed to be launching the missiles from unmanned CIA aircraft.

These types of attacks are more favorable since the loss of American lives is at a minimum.  But let us be real for just a moment shall we?

Each of the Predator drones costs about $800,000 each.  And the most recent attack and use of the weapon killed 3 suspected militants.  With using a whole lot of math that breaks down to about $266,000 per kill.  And that figure does not include such things as pay for oprators or training of said people or the transportationof the weapon, you know incidentals like that.  So we could safely round off the figure at$300,000 and not be stretching it too far.

Does that sound like a fair return on an investment?  If this were a stock you would drop it like a hot potato.  I am not against saving American lives, but there has got to be a better way and a cheaper way to take out the bad guys.

And from yet another perspective, congressmen bitch about earmarks, you know things like a polar bear study or some such, but NO ONE bitches about the cost of killing one militant.  Apparently, $300,000 is a good investment of the people’s money.  Yep it is, why?  It is the military-industrial complex and that is the sacred cow of Washington.  They can always find the money for death, but not so for life…..if that does not scare you….then you are the problem we are always warned about.