Sunday, April 24, 2011

"Good Night Moon"

The Third Quarter, 22.1 day old moon, 50.0% of Full.  Moon.Illuminated Fraction: 0.477
0.2 days after last quarter

April 24, 2011, 11:32 PM EDT.


Young scientists: Nova experiment on Endeavor  (click title to entry - thank you)


April 24, 2011

In the last half-century of U.S.- manned spaceflights NASA has reached milestones by landing men on the moon and helping to establish the International Space Station. One of the lesser-known achievements of the space program, however, is the opportunity for students to participate in experiments flown into space....

 

Is there something "W"rong with this? (click title to entry - thank you)

...In November, after the midterm elections, a draft plan was released by the chairmen, Erskine Bowles, the president of the University of North Carolina system and a former White House chief of staff under President Bill Clinton, and Alan K. Simpson, a former Republican Senate leader from Wyoming. It called for deep cuts in domestic and military spending starting in 2012. It would overhaul the tax code, eliminating or reducing the $1 trillion a year in popular tax breaks for individuals and corporations and using the revenues mostly to slash income tax rates but also to reduce deficits. And to make Social Security solvent for 75 years, it would raise payroll taxes for the affluent and reduce future benefits, including by slowly raising the retirement age for full benefits to 69 from 67 by 2075. They said the plan would reduce deficit spending by about $4 trillion over the coming decade....

When the debt is addressed in a real way and the country is 'producing' higher revenues again, this can be redressed.  That can be written into the bill when these measures are passed.  In other words, there can be 'tests' to the national debt that would 'trip' Congressional challenges to re-examine the progress of the nation's debt and deficit and reconsider some provisions for change.

Playing political brinkmanship over The Annual Budget is hideous. 

The federal debt increased $54.1 billion in the eight days preceding the deal made by President Barack Obama, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D.-Nev.) and House Speaker John Boehner (R.-Ohio) to cut $38.5 billion in federal spending for the remainder of fiscal year 2011, which runs through September.
It is time to get serious.  We need to pass legislation, not more brinkmanship over the debt ceiling.  That isn't going to get us anywhere, it certainly didn't do a darn thing during the budget mess.

In 2000, ... U.S. all-source taxation was 29.5 percent of GDP. In 2009, ... all-source taxation was only 24 percent of GDP...

This is from "Politico."  (click title to entry - thank you)

It is getting more than a little silly to see where the USA is headed and why and why it was propagated by Republicans.

Knock it off.  The American Electorate are being fools for these people.

This graph has some of the same problems noted by Republicans comparing 'treasury failure,' but, it does compare some major European Union countries.

The Australian Tax Rate in relation to GDP is 30.5 %.

Canadian Tax Rate is 33.4% of GDP.

Japanese Tax Rate is 27.4% of GDP.

These countries supply far different services to their citizens from the USA as well.

Russia and China are communist countries that supply many services to their citizens.  China's Tax Rate per GDP is 17% and Russian Tax Rate per GDP is 36.9%.

The USA offers far less services to their citizens while sustaining a low 'tax rate' to GDP than other major First World nations.  Perhaps that is the reason Republicans like it in the USA.  Hm?

One has to remember, when a country provides services to their citizens THE COST OF LIVING is not the same as it is if citizens are forced to purchase those same services in the private capital market.  Think about it.

"Read my lips, no new taxes" Taxes take all kinds of creative forms when political ideology is at issue.


Tennessee’s neighbors have already raised taxes, or are looking to do so, to balance their state’s budget; Georgia has eliminated sales tax credits for the poor, Missouri is looking to raise its sales tax, Mississippi established a new franchise tax on business and Virginia is expanding its sales tax.
Most states view their citizens as ATM’s, a never-ending source of cash for more and more government spending.
Gov. Bill Haslam presented his budget to the Legislature yesterday; it is a balanced budget with no tax increases on Tennessee’s citizens....

...The Governor has presented a budget that cuts spending by 5.6% compared to the current operating budget and eliminates over 1,100 state jobs. Those are meaningful cuts. They deserve our support.

Accoding to 2009 statistics Tennessee is 21st in the nation in GDP with a federal contribution of 1.7%.  It is 36th in the naiton with GDP per capita of $34,089 annually.  Historically (prior to 2009) Tennessee was ranked 34th in the nation with a GDP per capita of $29,844.  That means since President Obama has taken office Tennessee's GDP per capita has increased by $4245 per person annually.  So, with a population that is 17th in the nation according to 2010 statistics numbering 6,346,195 that is a lot of NEW tax revenue.


Top Republicans say they'll balance the state budget with no new taxes, but that doesn't mean any new revenue.
“The question becomes, 'How do you define tax increase? Does that mean there will be no fees or assessments?'” said Dallas Democratic State Senator Royce West, during a taping of "Inside Texas Politics.
Facing a $10 billion gap in 2003, the Republican-controlled Legislature balanced that budget as Gov. Rick Perry recalled Tuesday speaking to senators.
“And as we did back in '03, we'll balance the budget this time too, setting priorities, making tough decisions and not raising taxes," Perry said.
But, what Perry didn't mention is how lawmakers in 2003 deregulated college tuition that shot up 72 percent since then, according to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, and slapped on $2.7 billion in new and higher fees centering on health care and vehicle regulations.
According to the Texas Comptroller’s office, among some of the bigger fee hikes were up to $1,000 more per teacher in health insurance premiums that raised $711 million.
Also, there were the $30 traffic ticket fee forecasted to bring in $271 million and a $20 fee on motor vehicle transfers budgeted to raise $200 million.
So, drivers shouldn't be surprised some lawmakers talk now of raising the vehicle registration fee up $50 more.
Democrats, like West, question if raising the fee on such a basic necessity for the vast majority of Texans owning a car is really just a de facto tax increase.
“I think voters need to look at, and Texans need to look at as well, whether or not there is going to be transparency," he said....



Will no tax increases in Texas just mean highers fees, charges? (click title to entry - thank you)


AFP-TN Analysis of Gov. Haslam's Budget (click here)


by BRAD WATSON
WFAA
Posted on January 14, 2011 at 7:33 PM
Updated Friday, Jan 14 at 9:47 PM

There is nothing moral about GREED.

WHY DID KING Louis XVI RAISE TAXES?  (click title to entry - thank you)

Best Answer - Chosen by Voters

Because France was bankrupt from helping the American colonists in their fight against Great Britain for their independence (The American Revolution).

France's treasury in the years immediately before the French Revolution was almost empty, and King Louis XVI was trying to remedy the kingdom's fiscal problems by raising taxes. Of course, the peasantry were the primary source of taxation, and Louis' raising of the tax was one of the contributing factors of the French Revolution.

Hope this helps,
Peace!

The painting is of the French king assigning a French navy veteran of the American War for Independence, La Pérouse, to undertake the expedition,

 

France unveils €3.5bn in fresh tax rises  (click here)

By Ben Hall in Paris
Published: June 25 2010 14:26
Last updated: June 25 2010 20:34
The French government on Friday announced a further €3.5bn of tax rises for 2011 the latest in a series of announcements that puts Paris’s austerity drive on par with Berlin’s much-criticised plan to trim its budget.
The latest announcement – intended to reassure the markets while not scaring the French public about impending austerity –- brings to €13.2bn the amount France aims to raise from tax increases next year.

The States in the USA are not having problems finding places to raise revenues by increasing taxes.

Georgia gas tax will increase 3 cents on May 1

Higher prices tied to sales price, Ga. economist says  (click title to entry - thank you)

Posted: April 20, 2011 - 11:15pm 
 Updated: April 21, 2011 - 9:45am
As if the pain at the pump isn’t bad enough already, the price of gasoline will increase 3 cents a gallon May 1.
This time, it’s because part of the state gas tax automatically increases when the price of gasoline increases....


Georgia GOP pushes massive service-tax increase  (click here)

At the halfway point in the 2011 session of the Georgia legislature, a measure has been introduced that would — for the first time ever – force Georgia citizens to pay sales taxes on certain professional services they receive. The proposal – HB 385 – also would greatly expand the number of personal services already taxed in the Peach State. If HB 385 — introduced last week by Republicans Mickey Channell of Greensboro and Larry O’Neal of Bonaire — becomes law, Georgia will join a total of only nine other states in taxing consumers for professional services they receive....

What is Rick Scott really afraid of? Taxing the internet or not receiving votes from the poor? The poor never voted for him in the first place.

...On the chopping block (click title to entry - thank you) to date: $400 per student in K-12 education, a 15 percent "emergency" budget cut to an already overburdened system for the developmentally disabled, reduced unemployment compensation, severe , nearly reductions in health care for the poor, $400 million in higher-education funding lost, sorely needed money for children's protective services gone, and land preservation and Everglades restoration halted. And that is just for starters.

Gov. Rick Scott and the Republican-dominated Legislature are being myopic in their single-mindedness toward balancing the budget, at the expense of the most needy and the most vulnerable in our state.

GO AFTER $2.4 BILLION LOSS
There is another way, one that would cover a substantial part of the budget shortfall: collecting Internet sales taxes....

Here again, the Middle Class and Poor are the victims for the 'feel no pain' wealthy and Wall Street. 

NO EQUITY in the Republican approach to cuts and tax hikes.  It is one thing to cut when necessary, it is quite another to cut services to vital needs of a state, while the wealthiest of citizens feel no pain and have resources to supplement their own lives where government leaves off.

Senstor 'Sex Be Shameless" is Pro-Tax hike for high earners. Hm?

Subject:  CHAMBLISS WILL SUPPO9RT TAX INCREASE  (click title to entry - thank you)

To:  Sen. Lamar Alexander
      Sen. Bob Corker
April 18, 2011
Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) Says Senate Republicans Will Support Tax Increases
Tell you what gentlemen, if you think that YOU WORK for Saxby Chambliss then go ahead and vote yes to raise taxes. But if you remember you work for the taxpayers in Tennessee then I suggest you vote NO ON ANY TAX INCREASES. Your job now is to SLASH SPENDING NOT INCREASE TAXES.

Calhoun , TN

U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss was recently recognized (click here) with the 2010 “Taxpayers’ Friend Award” by the National Taxpayers Union.
Georgia’s senior senator scored 97 percent on the group’s rating scale, which weighed votes on tax, fiscal trade and regulatory policy.
“I am humbled to receive this award,” Chambliss said. “I have always worked to protect taxpayers’ interests and will continue to do so.”
The group’s president, Duane Parde, said Chambliss was a stand out in a year of unusual rancor on the issues.
“2010 saw some of the most polarizing fiscal issues in the history of Congress, and NTU’s Rating depicted the trend in stark detail,” Parde said. “Although an increasing number of lawmakers voted with taxpayers’ interests, more than three times as many sided with special interests instead. With this lopsided tug-of-war among members of Congress, it is no wonder the nation’s finances were dragged into a quagmire last year.”
About 8,300 of the members of the National Taxpayers Union reside in the state of Georgia....
 

Economic signs can be manipulated depending completely on the 'political leanings' of any party. Germany is a good example of just that.

Finance 

04.11.2010
A panel of German economic experts has significantly upped its forecast for the country's tax revenue over the next two years, prompting conservative politicians to call for an expedited debate on tax cuts.

A stronger-than-expected economic recovery in 2010 led German authorities on Thursday to raise their outlook for federal, state and local tax revenue from 2010 through 2012 by a total of 61 billion euros ($86.8 billion).

The announcement quickly led Bavarian Finance Minister Georg Fahrenschon, a member of the conservative Christian Social Union (CSU), to call for an immediate discussion on cutting taxes.

"The economy is improving, the new prognoses are surprisingly good, and I think in light of this development there can't be any holdup in tax policy," he told public broadcaster Deutschlandfunk.

Budget cuts come first

But Chancellor Angela Merkel has resisted calls to cut taxes, saying the government's first priority should be cutting the state budget.

"In this year, we will accrue 50 billion euros more of debt," she told reporters on Thursday. "That's a debt level that we haven't had in decades."

Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble echoed Merkel's sentiment, saying the expected increase in tax revenue only showed that Germany's economic situation was not as dramatic as was previously thought.

"We're on the right path (with budget cuts)" he said in Berlin on Thursday. "It's difficult, but we will carry on."...

Wednesday, 25 August 2010 04:37
By Dave Graham
As an age of austerity looms for some of Germany’s poorest citizens, pressure is growing to impose higher taxes on the richest, setting the scene for fresh conflict in Chancellor Angela Merkel’s ruling coalition.
Thousands have taken to the streets this summer to demonstrate against plans by Merkel’s centre-right government to cut billions of euros in spending on the unemployed without imposing a similar burden on the other end of society.
Some senior figures from her conservative Christian Democrats (CDU) have urged Merkel to consider higher taxes for the rich, lest a steady slide in the administration’s popularity accelerate into freefall before six state elections next year....
 

This is what is astoundingly amazing.

Wall Street received its first real taste of Republican corruption of the USA Treasury during the Bush / Cheney years.  They witnessed how Cheney could draw up an energy policy that provided plenty of exploitation of natural resources and over reached to focus on the Caspian Sea and the Middle East as strategic USA interests. 

Wall Street then received the biggest 'wet kiss' they ever did as the banking regulations were dissolved and Bush sent $1.2 Billion to the housing market to 'move renters to homes.'  The beginning of the housing bubble in 2003. 

Then every measure of legislation was a jobs bill which supplied 'short term immediate' upticks in prosperity.  "Flash in the Pan Economics."   It was completely dependent upon the ability of the USA Congress to pump out spending bill after spending bill while raising the debt ceiling higher and higher and higher during the Bush years.  The National Debt exploded.  The money reserves of the country were drained and yet that was not enough.

The housing bubble became all too real following the resignation of John Snow and Paulson did nothing, but, travel to China to 'whine and wine and dine' those he felt would give insight to Goldman Sachs.  Then the housing collapse of 2008.  The SECOND major bailout and corruption of the USA was now endless.

The bailouts didn't stop there.  The investment banks took their money and ran leaving the USA high and dry for an economy.  The economy was shrinking and shrinking fast even as the investment banks stated they were going to pay off their 'bailout' in a short period of time.  The Recovery and Reinvestment Act was a bailout for the nation and Governors were there to receive monies for 'shovel ready' jobs.  The government infrastructure was bouyed and the next budget would fully fund the federal government securing more and more jobs and sending 'authority' in the real world to begin the process of 'restraiining corruption.' 

The next huge bailout came as the elections of 2010 closed from the Fed in the way of QE1.  That 'felt' so good it was followed by the next major bailout QE2.

Well.

It would seem the Wall Street crowd is again seeking to achieve great wealth at the cost of the American taxpayer.  Enter stage right the 'speculators' that hope to make money from the insolvency of the USA.

How S&P's warning could actually help US debt  (click title to entry - thank youi)
NEW YORK (AP) — A warning from Standard & Poor's that mounting debts put the U.S. government's credit rating at risk blindsided markets last Monday. The Dow Jones industrial average lost more than 240 points in the morning before recovering. It was the worst one-day drop for stocks since fears over a nuclear meltdown in Japan sent investors into hiding on March 16.

The response made sense. A downgrade of U.S. debt, after all, could turn into an economic calamity. Here's the surprising part: After a quick dip, prices for U.S. government debt began rising.

Economists and bond traders offer varying explanations for the Treasury market's curious reaction, but there's a common thread: S&P's warning shot could actually wind up making bonds more attractive.
If an actual downgrade were to occur, the effects would ripple through financial markets. When S&P lowers the credit rating on a country, it's saying that there's a greater chance the country won't pay its debts.

Creditors demand higher borrowing rates. In the U.S. it would mean higher interest payments for the federal government. All borrowers — from companies, homeowners to credit card users — would find it harder to borrow. Presumably, bond prices would fall.

The strength of Treasurys, the very debt that S&P said was at risk, left many observers confused. Aren't U.S. government bonds more dangerous now?

"There's quite a bit of head-scratching going on," said Guy LeBas, the chief fixed income strategist at Janney Montgomery Scott. "It looks like the bond market got hit in the head with a frying pan and is already up looking for a fight."...

...Kalivas and others say the threat of a downgrade may push Congressional Republicans and the Obama administration to reach an agreement on tackling the country's long-term debts. Cutting spending and raising taxes would lead the government to sell fewer Treasurys. A drop in supply would likely push Treasury prices up.

The warning could also prod Washington to make even deeper spending cuts more quickly than they would otherwise. Economists warn that slashing too deeply, just like raising taxes too high, could threaten the economic recovery. That could actually help the bond market, too.

When the economy slows, investors tend to take fewer risks and favor stable investments like bonds. During the financial crisis, for instance, Treasurys trounced other investments.

In a note sent to clients last week, Goldman Sachs economists said the greater threat of a downgrade wouldn't translate into higher long-term interest rates and lower Treasury prices. In fact, it would have the opposite effect. "A significant push toward fiscal austerity would lead to lower growth," they wrote.
The Federal Reserve would also likely postpone raising short-term interest rates, because the threat of inflation would diminish. That, too, would add to the appeal of Treasurys.

In other words, what's bad for the economy is often good for Treasury bonds....

Basically, Wall Street could engineer huge profits by investing far less in the 'credit markets.'  Not bad for people that have mastered the 'art of the con.'

The 'hero' of all the 'austerity' mongers in the USA, David Cameron.

Tories will raise tax rates for top earners (click title to entry - thank you)

The Conservatives will go into the next election committed to raising the top level of tax to 45p for those earning more than £150,000.

By Andrew Porter and Rosa Prince

7:00AM GMT 20 Mar 2009


David Cameron signalled that the rich would have to pay “their fair share” to rescue the economy from the mounting crisis in the public finances.
It was made clear that hundreds of thousands of top earners would face paying the new rate — which Labour will also introduce after the election if they hang on to power — if Mr Cameron enters Number 10.
In a speech intended to set out the Tory blueprint for economic recovery, Mr Cameron painted a grim picture of the likely situation he would face if elected Prime Minister.
He said the country faced slumping into a depression, meaning that “tough decisions” would have to be made.  Making sure the rich paid their way would be
 central to the recovery, he said....

The USA has a long way to go to 'catch up' to more struggling countries such as Iceland or Greece.


Click on picture to enlarge it.

...Add it all up and the simple fact is (click title to entry - thank you)  our domestic economy and the global economy are in for real challenges. Robust recovery? I don’t think so. The following pictorials paint a very ugly picture for what lies ahead. I direct you to the pictograph in the lower right which projects that the U.S. Gross Debt as % of GDP will approach 110% in 2015....

This is the argument the Right Wing CHRONICALLY makes as a 'foretelling' to what will occur with the USA.  There are many ways of measuring debt, but, to compare the United States as an equivalent to Iceland, Greece, Ireland, Spain, Lithuania and Romania is not exactly what I would call a good analogy.  In the same light, the United Kingdom is not in that ball park either.  So, the Right Wing might like to make bad analogies, but, the economies of these small countries aren't even comparable to what the USA and the UK comprises as their resources and potential.  As far as I am concerned it is a defunct argument.  The USA's economy is far different than many nations and predicting its future based on wrongful analogies is not prudent.  The global community looked to the USA post October 2008 to salvage their own economies. 

The 'reserves' of the USA far exceed most countries on Earth without much exception.  Comparable economies have to be the 'balance' of major countries of the European Union and Japan along with Australia.  So, this is a really poor argument. 

If Japan, the US, the EU and Australia decided to bring their economic strengths into a 'cooperative' of sorts, that really would be an interesting outcome.  I doubt the WTO would appreciate it.

I do not believe for one minute Johnny Cash ever knew the meaning of being 'tax poor.' Poor, maybe, but not due to over taxation.

Johnny Cash

Earnings: $7 million


Occupation: Musician
Date of Death: Sept. 12, 2003
Age: 71
Cause: Complications from

diabetes

The Man in Black's renaissance

continues even after his death.

His former label, Columbia, put

out a well-received boxed set covering the country legend's

career this summer, and this fall his biopic Walk the Line hits

theaters. Twelve years in the making, the film has Cash's

stamp of approval, as did the choice to cast Joaquin Phoenix

in the lead role. A Sotheby's auction of Cash memorabilia

generated $3.9 million. -- Peter Kafka

It's Sunday Night

Johnny Cash - Tennessee Flat Top Box

"After taxes" from the album: "I Would Like To See You Again" by Johnny Cash

I feel so good come payday
I think of all the things I'm gonna buy when I pick up my pay
Don't you know but then they hand me that little brown envelope
I peep inside Lord I lose all hope
Cause from those total wages earned down to that net amount that's due
I feel the painful sense of loss between the two
There goes that bracelet for her arm there goes that new fence for my farm
There goes that brand new Pontiac there goes the shirt right off my back
You can dream about a honeymoon for two
You can dream but that's about all you can do
Cause by the time old Uncle Sam gets through with you
You can buy her a pair of hose a little powder for her nose
And take her down to Sloppy Joe's for beer and stew them are the facts after tax
You can dream about vacation in the sun
You can dream but you can't never have you one
Cause by the time your good old Uncle Sam gets done
You've got just enough for gas to see them city limits pass
And if you get back home fourth class I'd say you won
There goes that bracelet for her arm there goes that new fence for my farm
Send back that short wave radio cancel that trip to Mexico
Forget that brand new Pontiac there goes the shirt right off my back

United Nations Resolution 1973 demands the protection of the Libyan people. Gadaffi is ordering the shelling. Bomb him.

Scholars and legal interpreters can better decide, but, I believe within the body of that resolution is an understanding there is a dictator in Libya ordering the slaughter of his own people.  If that is the case and Gadaffi won't end the violence, then he has to be displaced from ordering the killing.  I believe he and his compound can be shelled with the understanding of Arab Leaders that the truth of the resolution lies in that reality.

Libyan rebels are seen walking down a street close to a building where forces loyal to Col. Moammar Kadhafi are reportedly held up in Misrata on April 24, 2011

...Libyan government forces (click title to entry - thank you) shelled the besieged rebel-held port of Misrata Sunday, a day after officials signaled a change in tactics.  Deputy Foreign Minister Khaled Kaim claimed the army was suspending operations in Misrata and would hand over positions to pro-Gadhafi tribesmen....

"The USA is NATO." That is a lie. The USA is not going to war with Libya as it did with Iraq. We aren't.

There is NO military solution for Libya.  There was not one for Iraq, either.

NATO's actions have CAUSED civilian deaths.  That is a concern.  We do not want to enhance the effort for the Gadhaffi regime while weakening the Liberation Rebels opposing him.  If civilians die it will diminish the 'credibility' of NATO and escalate support for extremists like al Qaeda.  If extremism receive support, then the opposition rebels won't be safe.

Libya needs serious diplomatic efforts, not military intervention (click here)

Abdel Bari Atwan writes: It has now become imperative to find a suitable exit for Gaddafi and ensure a peaceful transition of power
By Abdel Bari Atwan, Special to Gulf News
Published: 00:00 April 24, 2011

...Resolution 1973 allowed for a no-fly zone to protect Libyan citizens and it succeeded in averting the imminent massacre in Benghazi. Now, however, Gaddafi has adapted his military tactics to evade aerial bombardment — by hiding tanks and taking the battle to the heart of the cities for example — and the world can only look on in horror as his forces slaughter the citizens of Misrata.

Whilst considering what steps Nato might take next I remembered a curious tale I heard from a British taxi driver in 1991 during the first Gulf War. His late father, an architect, had been involved in the 1930s construction of King Gazi's Flowers Palace, in Baghdad; the day before I met him, the taxi driver's home had been visited by MI6 agents who were hoping the family had kept some of the architect's plans of the palace. They wanted to pinpoint possible hiding places of Saddam Hussain who had hunkered down in it.

The idea that foreign special forces might assassinate or spirit Colonel Gaddafi away is not as far-fetched as it may sound. Only last week, French agents kidnapped the stubborn ex-president Laurent Gbagbo of the Ivory Coast who refused to leave office despite having lost the election. The pointed reference to the International Criminal Court in their Op/Ed may suggest that Obama, Cameron and Sarkozy hope to see an abducted Gaddafi brought before it....

There is no support in Arab countries for invasion into Libya.  Invasion by sophisticated military troops is not necessary in Libya.  The opposition rebel forces have secured many areas for themselves with help from "The No Fly Zone."  If NATO forces would enter Libya it would 'ignite' a war that may not be quelled in any short period of time, such as in Iraq, and many, many more civilians would die.  WE  KNOW  THAT  FOR A FACT.

The Neocon Congressmen are grossly in error on all counts in regard to NATO's success and the USA support of that effort.  It is a success and millions of people are alive to prove it.

If there are forces within NATO, such as Italy, France, Great Britain that need more military jets or technology, they don't have to look far to find it.  Nor does it take much to ask for assistance.  Nor would they be refused if they wanted to purchase weapons and weapon technology from the USA.  So, the 'idea' the European allies of the USA are weak and lack determination is a flat out lie.  The TRUTH is that European alllies to the USA are CAREFUL, something the Bush Regime never appreciated. 

No one is happy about the continued deaths of civilians in Miserata.  No one.  But, all realize to enter with sophisticatd troops and weapons will only bring 'the equivalent' of the same from extremists that will parlay this into an attack on Islam.

Libyan troops easing Misrata siege to allow tribal talks, regime claims  (click title to entry - thank you)

Deputy foreign minister says frustrated tribal leaders will attack rebels themselves if deal not done by Monday night

guardian.co.uk,

Libyan forces have pulled back from their siege of Misrata to let tribal leaders in the area attempt to negotiate a political resolution, according to the Libyan government.
In an acknowledgement that loyalist troops had failed to take control of the city after two months of the siege, the deputy foreign minister, Khaled Kaim, said: "The tactic of the army was to have a surgical strike but, with the [Nato] air strikes, that doesn't work."
He said tribal leaders had set a 48-hour deadline – due to expire on Monday night – to strike a deal with the rebels, who hold the port area of Misrata and have made gains in the centre of the city in recent days.
If the talks failed, the tribal leaders would launch a military assault on the rebel strongholds, Kaim said. He warned that could be "very bloody"....

I am quite confident Gadhaffi forces are using this opportunity to gather intelligence and redress the circumstances rather than resolving tribal issues under his Bedowin tent.

The opposition rebels need to be smarter, negotiate in good faith, but, realize this is more an opportunity than it is a profound resolution to the hostilites.

The American Necon Politicians need to take their politics elsewhere, this is NOT our fight.

More 'hate mongering' by The Heritage Foundation

This is a polygamous relationship.  It is illegal in the USA.  Do women still consent to it?  Yeah, they do.

...In S.D. v. M.J.R., (click title to entry - thank you) the plaintiff, a Moroccan Muslim woman, lived with her Moroccan Muslim husband in New Jersey. She was repeatedly beaten and raped by her husband over the course of several weeks. While the plaintiff was being treated for her injuries at a hospital, a police detective interviewed her and took photographs of her injuries. Those photographs depicted injuries to plaintiff’s breasts, thighs and arm, bruised lips, eyes and right check. Further investigation established there were blood stains on the pillow and sheets of plaintiff’s bed.

The wife sought a permanent restraining order, and a New Jersey trial judge held a hearing in order to decide whether to issue the order. Evidence at trial established, among other things, that the husband told his wife, “You must do whatever I tell you to do. I want to hurt your flesh” and “this is according to our religion. You are my wife, I c[an] do anything to you.” The police detective testified about her findings, and some of the photographs were entered into evidence....

In the article by The Heritage Foundation, they make the claim that a woman is not safe from her husband in the USA.  That is a LIE.

Domestic Violence occurs for many reasons, but, for a woman to seek retribution against her husband due to PREVIOUSLY CONSENTUAL sexual 'content' of the marriage is not going to win her a restraining order.

The 'content' of Sharia Law is taken completely out of context by The Heritage Foundation for hate mongering of Muslims.  It is just that simple.

The problem with this case is that although the woman was proven to have received 'harsh' treatment by her husband it is not grounds for permanent restraining order.  IT IS GROUNDS for a divorce now that she no longer consents to rough treatment by the man.  She could move out of the relationship into a life she creates for herself with either visitation or custody of her children depending how it all works out for the best interest of the children. 

The ONLY way this case becomes a case 'good enough' for 'the test' of a Permanent Restraining Order is if the man goes beyond the actions of 'normal' in separating and eventually divorcing his wife.  If he is an Orthodox Muslim and will never change to realize the freedoms the USA allows to women and the equity she has for a happy and 'violence free' life and he seeks REVENGE against her for some 'understood religious right,' then he is entering the place within domestic violence cases and/or stalking cases that will put him in adverse light of the court.

The woman may be humiliated by her past sexual relationship with her husband, especially if she has confided in an American friend that does not tolerate domestic abuse.  But, more than likely, she was given advice to TRY TO GET the upper legal hand by seeking a restraining order against him by provable facts that occurred within the relationship.

The case was not "W"rongly decided, it was correct.  The woman obviously has the law to support her 'desire' for independence from a traditionally violent Orthodox Muslim relationship.  The question is not the law in the USA and if we are to believe The Heritage Foundation, then the Mormons should be locked away forever. 

The law cannot stop consentual relationships, no matter the context of that relationship.  It can investigate deaths.  It can investigate maiming and rape.  But, it cannot hold 'bedroom antics' to the scrutiny of the courts when it fact it was all consentual right up to the point where it is not.

Where a woman is not respected she needs to be empowered to leave marriages and relationships.  That is why there are domestic violence shelters and we are all too familiar with 'recidivism.'  I don't know how many times staff at women's shelters shake their heads at the return of a woman to a violent relationship.  Women return to these relationships for many reasons and frequently it is economic.  But, all too frequently there is pressure on them by family or friends in undermining their intent to change their lives, especially in strongly ethnic or religous content.

The Heritage Foundation never SPOKE to the decision in this case, they spoke to the 'knuckling under' by the judge to 'Sharia Law.'  That is a lie.  They completely took the case out of context and used it for political fodder and it works.  Believe me it works.  The woman that passed this onto me, thought it was possible her husband would be given the right to beat her as this was now precedent by legal decision.