Flagship report from the new UN agency shows there is a way to go before improvements in the legal position of women are translated into equality and justice for all More than half of working women in the world, 600 million, are trapped in insecure jobs without legal protection, according to the first flagship report of the new agency UN Women . A similar number do not have even basic protection against domestic violence, it finds, while sexual assault has become a hallmark of modern conflict. Michelle Bachelet, the executive director of UN Women, said the document showed that many millions of women had no access to justice. “The report reminds us of the remarkable advances that have been made over the past century in the quest for gender equality and women’s empowerment,” she said. “However it also underscores the fact that despite widespread guarantees of equality, the reality for many millions of women is that justice remains out of reach.” For millions of women in both rich and poor countries, the search for justice is fraught with difficulty and is often expensive; laws and legal systems frequently discriminate against them. In Cambodia, for example, the forensic test necessary to lay a rape charge costs two weeks’ wages, while in Kenya a land claim in an inheritance case can cost $800 and extend across 17 different administrative stages. Progress of the World’s Women: In Pursuit of Justice is a comprehensive survey of women’s access to justice across the globe. The report offers 10 recommendations to overcome the paradox that while huge improvements have been made in the legal position of women over the last century, there is still a dramatic lag in translating that into equality and justice. For example, 127 countries do not have effective laws on marital rape, and attrition rates in cases brought by women are high, ensuring that only a fraction of reported rapes result in conviction. The report cites one 2009 European study which found that, on average, only 14% of reported rapes ended in a conviction. The first of the 10 recommendations is providing support for women’s legal organisations, which often step into the gaps left by inadequate legal aid systems. In a number of countries, women’s groups have been at the forefront of cases that have led to laws being repealed, or new laws created, with a positive impact on women’s lives. In Nepal, for example, the supreme court ordered parliament to amend the rape law in 2002 to allow prosecutions for marital rape after a case brought by the Forum for Women, Law and Development. In Indonesia, a local NGO has trained community-based paralegals to support women to use the religious courts to get the marriage and divorce certificates they need to claim benefits. Other recommendations include further legal reform to ensure paid maternity leave, equal pay and equal property rights, support for the development of one-stop services to deal with crimes such as rape, and an increase in the recruitment of women into the police force. The report highlights best practice around the world, arguing that change can be achieved with innovative policy. Nepal, for instance, has trebled female land ownership in the last decade by offering tax exemptions to drive the adoption of new inheritance laws. In Sweden, the introduction of “daddy leave” – reserved time off for fathers – has helped narrow the pay gap. And in South Africa, the Thuthuzela care centres, which bring together police, health staff and legal advice, have driven up conviction rates to 89% from a national average of 7%. The report offers a clear indication of some of the areas that UN Women, which started work in January under the leadership of the former Chilean president Michelle Bachelet, is keen to prioritise in its work. But the new agency is struggling to raise the funding it needs. Only US$88m has been pledged against a target of $500m. The UK has yet to announce its pledge. Pressure groups are warning that the funding shortfall is jeopardising the success of the agency. Gender has now been identified as a priority issue by many donor agencies, but the report points out how little funding has gone into strengthening women’s legal rights. Of the $874bn spent by the World Bank in the last 10 years, $126bn went into public administration, law and justice systems, but only $7.3m went into programmes aimed at gender equality – 0.001% of the total budget. Access to justice underlies every aspect of women’s lives, not least their access to land and education, and now that gender has been designated as one of four priority areas for the World Bank up to 2014, there is a real need to invest in improving justice for women. Other recommendations in the report include better training for judges to challenge the notion that women’s behaviour may contribute to rape, and using quotas to increase the number of female legislators. Of the 28 countries that have more than 30% female representation in parliament, 23 have used quotas. Looking in detail at six of those countries, there was a clear link between increased female representation and the passage of laws to strengthen women’s rights. Given how sexual violence is used in conflict, the report says more effort needs to be made to increase women’s access to the courts and truth commissions during and after conflict. The report recognises that significant advances in international law in the past two decades have made it possible to prosecute sexual violence crimes. But international courts now need to prioritise gender-based crimes in prosecution strategies. Women have a crucial role to play in peacebuilding, but the report argues that more attention needs to be paid to women’s access to post-conflict justice mechanisms, such as reparations. It points to the example in Sierra Leone, where a reparations programme is helping female survivors of sexual violence, providing small loans and skills training to set up small businesses. The organisation VSO described the report as a “wake-up call” to world leaders who are not providing equal rights to women. “In many countries there are still too many gaps in the law, which leave women without adequate protection. For others, the laws are barely worth the paper they are written on because implementation is so weak, or justice systems actively discourage women from using them,” said Kathy Peach, head of external affairs at VSO UK. “This report clearly highlights that too much aid is still gender blind. How can it be that out of $126bn that the World Bank spent on improving public administration, law and justice, just $7.3m went to make sure that women had access to these vital services too?” UN Women report 2011 Gender Madeleine Bunting guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …
New revelation deepens crisis at News of the World after it emerges that officers will review child murder cases The phone-hacking crisis enveloping the News of the World intensified on Tuesday night after it emerged that Scotland Yard has started to contact the relatives of victims of the 7 July 2005 attacks to warn them they were targeted by the paper. The revelation that bereaved family members may have had their mobile phone messages intercepted by Glenn Mulcaire, a private investigator employed by the paper, in the days following the 2005 London bombings will heap further pressure on the title’s owner, News International, part of Rupert Murdoch’s media empire. Graham Foulkes, whose son David was killed in the attack at Edgware Road tube station, confirmed that he had been contacted by officers from Operation Weeting, the Met’s investigation into phone hacking. He said they had told him his mobile phone number, ex-directory landline number and address had been found in records made by Mulcaire that were recovered from the investigator’s office in south London. Foulkes’s solicitor, Clifford Tibber, who represents several families who had relatives killed in the terrorist attack, said the news had “come as a terrible shock” to them as they prepared to mark the sixth anniversary of the bombings this week. The news capped a dramatic day of unfolding developments in the News of the World phone-hacking scandal. Police officers are turning their attention to examine every high-profile case involving the murder, abduction or attack on any child since 2001 – in response to the revelation that journalists from the tabloid newspaper hacked into the voicemail messages of the murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler. Officers have already told the parents of Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman, the girls killed in Soham in 2002 by Ian Huntley, that their mobiles had been hacked. Documents seized by the Metropolitan police in a 2006 raid on Mulcaire’s home show he targeted Leslie Chapman, the father of Jessica Chapman. It is understood the name “Greg” appeared in the corner of notes taken by Mulcaire – believed to be a reference to the News of the World’s former assistant editor (news) Greg Miskiw. It is thought that parents of Holly Wells, were also targeted. The move is a direct response to the Guardian’s exclusive story on Monday that Mulcaire caused Milly’s parents to wrongly believe she was still alive – and interfered with police inquiries into her disappearance – by hacking into the teenager’s mobile phone and deleting messages. On Tuesday night it also emerged that News International had given the Metropolitan police details of payments made by News of the World to senior police officers between 2003 and 2007, the period when Andy Coulson was the paper’s editor. The development brings the crisis closer to the door of prime minister David Cameron who appointed Coulson as his director of communications when in opposition and then staunchly defended him until Coulson quit in January 2011. News International said on Tuesday night: “As a result of media enquiries, it is correct to state that new information has recently been provided to the police. As News International and News Group Newspapers has reiterated many times, full and continuing cooperation has been provided to the police since the current investigation started in January 2011. Well understood arrangements are in place to ensure that any material of importance to which they are entitled is provided to them. We cannot comment any further due to the ongoing investigations.” The revelation also suggests there is now a breaking of ranks inside News International since the files on payments to the police are unlikely to have emerged only yesterday, but instead were released to the police as senior executives said the paper could no longer continue to cover up the scale of the wrong doing at the paper. Pointedly, News International insisted on Tuesday night that the payments to the police did not relate to the period from 2000-2003, when Rebekah Brooks was the paper’s editor. Commentators suggested that was a way for the company to deflect the blame on to Coulson. Pressure has intensified on the newspaper and Brooks – now News International chief executive – who insisted she knew nothing of the Dowler hacking allegations. She edited the News of the World at the time the hacking of Dowler’s phone messages took place. On Tuesday night, former News of the World journalist Paul McMullan claimed on BBC Newsnight that Brooks was aware of the phone hacking. Asked if his former editor knew of the activities, he said: “Of course she did.” McMullen, who made similar claims in a conversation that was secretly by taped by actor Hugh Grant earlier this year, described the hacking of Dowler’s phone as “not such a big deal”. He said: “The journalists might have helped. The mistake that was made was that [Mulcaire] was so keen to get new messages he deleted the old ones.” The case of Madeleine McCann is expected to be one of the first to be re-examined by detectives. Clarence Mitchell, Kate and Gerry McCann’s spokesman, said he had been interviewed and was due to be interviewed a second time. Another case likely to be re-examined is that of 15-year-old Danielle Jones, who was abducted and murdered in East Tilbury, Essex, in 2001 by her uncle. Police officers will trawl through their collection of 11,000 pages of notes kept by Mulcaire, and seized from him in 2006, when he and the News of the World’s royal editor, Clive Goodman, were jailed for hacking into mobile phones belonging to aides to Prince William and Harry. Mulcaire issued a public apology on Tuesday to all those hurt or upset by his activities, saying that after the developments of the past 24 hours he had to “break his silence”. He said: “I want to apologise to anybody who was hurt or upset by what I have done. I’ve been to court. I’ve pleaded guilty. And I’ve gone to prison and been punished. I still face the possibility of further criminal prosecution. “Working for the News of the World was never easy. There was relentless pressure. There was a constant demand for results. I knew what we did pushed the limits ethically. But, at the time, I didn’t understand that I had broken the law at all.” The media regulator, Ofcom, is understood to be ready to examine whether News Corporation directors would be “fit and proper persons” to own BSkyB – if any senior employees at News Corporation or its UK arm, News International, were charged with hacking-related offences. Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation is closing in on winning regulatory approval for its proposed £8bn-plus takeover of the 61% of BSkyB it does not own. Sources close to the culture secretary Jeremy Hunt, who will decide on the issue, insisted he could not take phone hacking into account in the decision that is focused on “media plurality”. Meanwhile a string of high-profile companies – including Ford, npower, Halifax, T-Mobile and Orange – said they would be reviewing or withdrawing their advertising in the News of the World. Those five brands are estimated to account for more than £2m worth of advertising in the tabloid in the past year. T-Mobile and Orange are thought to have spent an estimated £1.5m between them. Ford said it would be using “alternative media within and outside News International Group instead of placing Ford advertising in the News of the World” while it awaited the outcome of an internal investigation. The company added: “Ford is a company which cares about the standards of behaviour of its own people and those it deals with externally.” Calls for boycotts of the News of the World appeared on Twitter and Facebook , and companies came under sustained pressure to pull their advertising from it . Those wishing to direct their fury at the firms who advertise through the News of the World were provided with a one-stop page where they could automatically tweet their concerns to companies such as the Co-operative, easyJet, Butlins and Renault. Others went further, and calling for direct boycotts of the firms unless they took their advertising money elsewhere . John Bercow, the speaker of Commons, granted a debate – which will happen on Wednesday – into calls for a public inquiry into phone hacking by News International journalists, and whether there was a potential cover-up by its senior executives. Ministers in the Commons opposed the emergency debate but, in what will be seen as another show of force by Bercow, he accepted arguments in favour put by the Labour MP Chris Bryant. The Labour leader, Ed Miliband, said Brooks needed to “examine her conscience” and that he was sure that she would because “this happened on her watch”. Although his words were Labour’s strongest intervention so far on the phone-hacking crisis, the party is still undecided about whether to put forward a substantive motion calling for a public inquiry that could be subject to a vote or amendment. Media regulator Ofcom is understood to be standing by ready to examine whether News Corporation directors would be “fit and proper persons” to own BSkyB – if any senior employees at News Corporation or its UK arm News International were charged with any hacking related offences. Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation is closing in on winning regulatory approval for its proposed £8bn-plus takeover of the 61% of BSkyB it does not own – with sources close to the deciding minister, culture secretary Jeremy Hunt, insisting again that he could not take phone hacking into account of a decision that is focused on “media plurality”. Channel 4 News reported that Brooks was confronted by the Met in 2002 about the fact a senior detective investigating the murder of a private investigator, Daniel Morgan, was targeted by Mulcaire on behalf of the News of the World. The main suspect in the case, which was being led by Detective Superintendent David Cook, was a man with close links to the News of the World. Cook and his wife, Jackie Haines, were told by Scotland Yard in April this year their mobile phone numbers and payroll details had been found in Mulcaire’s notebook. News International said it could not confirm or deny whether Brooks had ever attended such a meeting. Lady Buscombe, the chairman of the Press Complaints Commission, said she was lied to by the News of the World over phone hacking. “There’s only so much we can do when people are lying to us. We know now that I was not being given the truth by the News of the World,” she told the BBC’s Daily Politics. Brooks emailed employees at News International on Tuesday to insist she knew nothing about phone hacking: “It is inconceivable that I knew or worse, sanctioned these appalling allegations. I am aware of the speculation about my position. “Therefore it is important you all know that as chief executive, I am determined to lead the company to ensure we do the right thing and resolve these serious issues.” Phone hacking 7 July London attacks Newspapers & magazines National newspapers News International Rebekah Brooks Metropolitan police Glenn Mulcaire Newspapers Andy Coulson Police News of the World James Robinson Amelia Hill Sam Jones Nick Davies Dan Sabbagh guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …New revelation deepens crisis at News of the World after it emerges that officers will review child murder cases The phone-hacking crisis enveloping the News of the World intensified on Tuesday night after it emerged that Scotland Yard has started to contact the relatives of victims of the 7 July 2005 attacks to warn them they were targeted by the paper. The revelation that bereaved family members may have had their mobile phone messages intercepted by Glenn Mulcaire, a private investigator employed by the paper, in the days following the 2005 London bombings will heap further pressure on the title’s owner, News International, part of Rupert Murdoch’s media empire. Graham Foulkes, whose son David was killed in the attack at Edgware Road tube station, confirmed that he had been contacted by officers from Operation Weeting, the Met’s investigation into phone hacking. He said they had told him his mobile phone number, ex-directory landline number and address had been found in records made by Mulcaire that were recovered from the investigator’s office in south London. Foulkes’s solicitor, Clifford Tibber, who represents several families who had relatives killed in the terrorist attack, said the news had “come as a terrible shock” to them as they prepared to mark the sixth anniversary of the bombings this week. The news capped a dramatic day of unfolding developments in the News of the World phone-hacking scandal. Police officers are turning their attention to examine every high-profile case involving the murder, abduction or attack on any child since 2001 – in response to the revelation that journalists from the tabloid newspaper hacked into the voicemail messages of the murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler. Officers have already told the parents of Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman, the girls killed in Soham in 2002 by Ian Huntley, that their mobiles had been hacked. Documents seized by the Metropolitan police in a 2006 raid on Mulcaire’s home show he targeted Leslie Chapman, the father of Jessica Chapman. It is understood the name “Greg” appeared in the corner of notes taken by Mulcaire – believed to be a reference to the News of the World’s former assistant editor (news) Greg Miskiw. It is thought that parents of Holly Wells, were also targeted. The move is a direct response to the Guardian’s exclusive story on Monday that Mulcaire caused Milly’s parents to wrongly believe she was still alive – and interfered with police inquiries into her disappearance – by hacking into the teenager’s mobile phone and deleting messages. On Tuesday night it also emerged that News International had given the Metropolitan police details of payments made by News of the World to senior police officers between 2003 and 2007, the period when Andy Coulson was the paper’s editor. The development brings the crisis closer to the door of prime minister David Cameron who appointed Coulson as his director of communications when in opposition and then staunchly defended him until Coulson quit in January 2011. News International said on Tuesday night: “As a result of media enquiries, it is correct to state that new information has recently been provided to the police. As News International and News Group Newspapers has reiterated many times, full and continuing cooperation has been provided to the police since the current investigation started in January 2011. Well understood arrangements are in place to ensure that any material of importance to which they are entitled is provided to them. We cannot comment any further due to the ongoing investigations.” The revelation also suggests there is now a breaking of ranks inside News International since the files on payments to the police are unlikely to have emerged only yesterday, but instead were released to the police as senior executives said the paper could no longer continue to cover up the scale of the wrong doing at the paper. Pointedly, News International insisted on Tuesday night that the payments to the police did not relate to the period from 2000-2003, when Rebekah Brooks was the paper’s editor. Commentators suggested that was a way for the company to deflect the blame on to Coulson. Pressure has intensified on the newspaper and Brooks – now News International chief executive – who insisted she knew nothing of the Dowler hacking allegations. She edited the News of the World at the time the hacking of Dowler’s phone messages took place. On Tuesday night, former News of the World journalist Paul McMullan claimed on BBC Newsnight that Brooks was aware of the phone hacking. Asked if his former editor knew of the activities, he said: “Of course she did.” McMullen, who made similar claims in a conversation that was secretly by taped by actor Hugh Grant earlier this year, described the hacking of Dowler’s phone as “not such a big deal”. He said: “The journalists might have helped. The mistake that was made was that [Mulcaire] was so keen to get new messages he deleted the old ones.” The case of Madeleine McCann is expected to be one of the first to be re-examined by detectives. Clarence Mitchell, Kate and Gerry McCann’s spokesman, said he had been interviewed and was due to be interviewed a second time. Another case likely to be re-examined is that of 15-year-old Danielle Jones, who was abducted and murdered in East Tilbury, Essex, in 2001 by her uncle. Police officers will trawl through their collection of 11,000 pages of notes kept by Mulcaire, and seized from him in 2006, when he and the News of the World’s royal editor, Clive Goodman, were jailed for hacking into mobile phones belonging to aides to Prince William and Harry. Mulcaire issued a public apology on Tuesday to all those hurt or upset by his activities, saying that after the developments of the past 24 hours he had to “break his silence”. He said: “I want to apologise to anybody who was hurt or upset by what I have done. I’ve been to court. I’ve pleaded guilty. And I’ve gone to prison and been punished. I still face the possibility of further criminal prosecution. “Working for the News of the World was never easy. There was relentless pressure. There was a constant demand for results. I knew what we did pushed the limits ethically. But, at the time, I didn’t understand that I had broken the law at all.” The media regulator, Ofcom, is understood to be ready to examine whether News Corporation directors would be “fit and proper persons” to own BSkyB – if any senior employees at News Corporation or its UK arm, News International, were charged with hacking-related offences. Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation is closing in on winning regulatory approval for its proposed £8bn-plus takeover of the 61% of BSkyB it does not own. Sources close to the culture secretary Jeremy Hunt, who will decide on the issue, insisted he could not take phone hacking into account in the decision that is focused on “media plurality”. Meanwhile a string of high-profile companies – including Ford, npower, Halifax, T-Mobile and Orange – said they would be reviewing or withdrawing their advertising in the News of the World. Those five brands are estimated to account for more than £2m worth of advertising in the tabloid in the past year. T-Mobile and Orange are thought to have spent an estimated £1.5m between them. Ford said it would be using “alternative media within and outside News International Group instead of placing Ford advertising in the News of the World” while it awaited the outcome of an internal investigation. The company added: “Ford is a company which cares about the standards of behaviour of its own people and those it deals with externally.” Calls for boycotts of the News of the World appeared on Twitter and Facebook , and companies came under sustained pressure to pull their advertising from it . Those wishing to direct their fury at the firms who advertise through the News of the World were provided with a one-stop page where they could automatically tweet their concerns to companies such as the Co-operative, easyJet, Butlins and Renault. Others went further, and calling for direct boycotts of the firms unless they took their advertising money elsewhere . John Bercow, the speaker of Commons, granted a debate – which will happen on Wednesday – into calls for a public inquiry into phone hacking by News International journalists, and whether there was a potential cover-up by its senior executives. Ministers in the Commons opposed the emergency debate but, in what will be seen as another show of force by Bercow, he accepted arguments in favour put by the Labour MP Chris Bryant. The Labour leader, Ed Miliband, said Brooks needed to “examine her conscience” and that he was sure that she would because “this happened on her watch”. Although his words were Labour’s strongest intervention so far on the phone-hacking crisis, the party is still undecided about whether to put forward a substantive motion calling for a public inquiry that could be subject to a vote or amendment. Media regulator Ofcom is understood to be standing by ready to examine whether News Corporation directors would be “fit and proper persons” to own BSkyB – if any senior employees at News Corporation or its UK arm News International were charged with any hacking related offences. Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation is closing in on winning regulatory approval for its proposed £8bn-plus takeover of the 61% of BSkyB it does not own – with sources close to the deciding minister, culture secretary Jeremy Hunt, insisting again that he could not take phone hacking into account of a decision that is focused on “media plurality”. Channel 4 News reported that Brooks was confronted by the Met in 2002 about the fact a senior detective investigating the murder of a private investigator, Daniel Morgan, was targeted by Mulcaire on behalf of the News of the World. The main suspect in the case, which was being led by Detective Superintendent David Cook, was a man with close links to the News of the World. Cook and his wife, Jackie Haines, were told by Scotland Yard in April this year their mobile phone numbers and payroll details had been found in Mulcaire’s notebook. News International said it could not confirm or deny whether Brooks had ever attended such a meeting. Lady Buscombe, the chairman of the Press Complaints Commission, said she was lied to by the News of the World over phone hacking. “There’s only so much we can do when people are lying to us. We know now that I was not being given the truth by the News of the World,” she told the BBC’s Daily Politics. Brooks emailed employees at News International on Tuesday to insist she knew nothing about phone hacking: “It is inconceivable that I knew or worse, sanctioned these appalling allegations. I am aware of the speculation about my position. “Therefore it is important you all know that as chief executive, I am determined to lead the company to ensure we do the right thing and resolve these serious issues.” Phone hacking 7 July London attacks Newspapers & magazines National newspapers News International Rebekah Brooks Metropolitan police Glenn Mulcaire Newspapers Andy Coulson Police News of the World James Robinson Amelia Hill Sam Jones Nick Davies Dan Sabbagh guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …
Click here to view this media While cable channels like Fox have been paying attention 24/7 to the largely meaningless Casey Anthony murder case, we’ve instead been following the trials in the case of Shawna Forde and her killer Minutemen , which has considerably more social significance — and thus has, of course, been largely ignored in the media. Indeed, the clip above was the only video I could find of the final verdict, which came down Friday: An Arivaca man was convicted today of being behind a May 2009 home invasion that resulted in the death of a former friend and the friend’s 9-year-old daughter. It took a Pima County jury five hours to convict Albert Gaxiola, 44, of first-degree murder in the deaths of Raul Junior Flores, 29, and Brisenia Flores. He was also convicted this afternoon of attempting to murder Flores’ wife, Gina Gonzalez, and one count each of burglary, armed robbery and aggravated robbery; and two counts of aggravated assault. Jurors must now decide if the circumstances of the case warrant consideration of the death penalty. If they say “Yes,” defense attorneys will present mitigation evidence over the next several days. Dave Ricker has much more at his blog : Now that the jury has found Gaxiola guilty of the two counts of first-degree murder the trial will move to the aggravation phase starting on Wednesday, July 6. If the jury finds one of the alleged aggravators, multiple murders and a victim under the age of 15, to have been proven then the trial will move to the penalty phase where the burden lies with the defense to persuade the jury to grant the defendant leniency. During closing arguments in the trial, Thursday, the jury was reminded of a text message sent on May 30, 2009, by the defendant just hours after the a deadly home invasion in Arivaca. That message sent by Gaxiola read “Sweet dreams.” Deputy County Attorney Rick Unklesbay paused for a moment. “They had just killed a 9-year-old. They had just killed her father. They had just wounded Gina,” he said. “And, Albert Gaxiola’s text message back to Shawna Forde was ‘Sweet dreams.’ Shawna Forde’s reply was: ‘You’re one of my minutemen.’” Unklesbay found himself searching for words. “I’m not sure what words can adequately characterize the actions of these people,” he said. “This is beyond outrageous. This is just downright scary.” During those same closing arguments defense counsel Jack L. Lansdale suggested to the jury that his client was incapable of harming Brisenia or her sister. He asked the jury to recall testimony by the medical examiner complete with detailed pictures of the injuries suffered by Brisenia and her father. “Did anyone of you hearing the testimony during the presentation of the photographs of Brisenia Flores happen to notice Albert and his reaction?” he asked, rhetorically. “For him to participate in any action to hurt those children is incomprehensible.” We’ll keep you posted on the final sentence for Gaxiola — which will wrap up this case, barring appeals, for good.
Continue reading …The media pandering on behalf of the Obama Re-election camp already is astonishing. During the George W. Bush years, everything bad that happened in America somehow was connected to the malignant reign of “The Decider.” Last year, CBS even sought out journalist Sally Quinn to
Continue reading …Another Republican is itching to jump into the 2012 presidential race. Former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke is launching a 25 state tour to drum up support for a presidential run, according to the The Daily Beast . While the presidential hopeful claims his views have evolved, he recently described himself as a “white civil rights advocate” to The Daily Beast’s Eve Conant. Duke last held office in 1992, when he served as a state representative in Louisana. Until 2000, he was Republican executive-committee chairman in his district. “David Duke is launching a Duke for President exploratory committee, and will soon start a year long tour across America from his home base in Mandeville, LA,” Duke’s website claimed last year . “He plans to speak in every state and gauge the political response to his possible entry into the race for the Republican nomination.” “Over the past few weeks, since the release of his, ‘ David Duke Speaks to the Tea Party ‘ video, thousands of Tea Party activists have urged him to run for President.”
Continue reading …
If you believe every word uttered by hysterical news anchors and political commentators lately, you would think the world ends August 2nd if the debt ceiling isn't raised. Not only isn't this true, it's another indication of the press's total ignorance about our nation's budget and/or their willingness to lie to the American people in order to get taxes raised. Let's start our truth dig by looking at the monthly debt payments so far this fiscal year: Interest Expense Fiscal Year 2011 May $30,858,726,707.77 April $28,895,123,159.28 March $24,460,282,823.69 February $21,759,253,957.26 January $21,122,729,715.18 December $104,700,174,845.03 November $19,396,316,137.56 October $24,142,491,931.22 Fiscal Year Total $275,335,099,276.99 As you can see, since October, we've made interest payments of $275 billion. Some press members have suggested that us just making interest payments is some bizarre sleight of hand, but in reality, with the exception of treasuries that are either maturing or being called, interest is by far the greatest monthly expense associated with our debt. All we have to do is make those interest payments, and our debt remains in good standing. To give us a better understanding of what this really costs, here are some of the total interest outlays for previous years: 2010 $413,954,825,362.17 2009 $383,071,060,815.42 2008 $451,154,049,950.63 2007 $429,977,998,108.20 2006 $405,872,109,315.83 2005 $352,350,252,507.90 2004 $321,566,323,971.29 2003 $318,148,529,151.51 2002 $332,536,958,599.42 2001 $359,507,635,242.41 2000 $361,997,734,302.36 As interest rates haven't risen this year, we should likely expect our total interest expenses to be close to last year's $414 billion. Let's now look at our monthly tax receipts : FY 2011 October…………………………………………………………. 145,951 November……………………………………………………… 148,970 December……………………………………………………… 236,875 January…………………………………………………………. 226,550 February ……………………………………………………….. 110,656 March …………………………………………………………… 150,894 April ……………………………………………………………… 289,543 May………………………………………………………………. 174,911 Year-to-Date ……………………………………………….. 1,484,350 Notice how each and every month the amount of taxes we collect far exceeds our interest expense? So far in fiscal 2011, we have brought in $1.48 trillion in receipts and only made interest payments of $275 billion. Does it look to you like we're going to have to default on those payments, or that our creditors should be at all concerned about our ability to make said payments? Quite the contrary, the way our treasury paper has been trading this year, investors don't seem to be at all concerned with America's ability to pay them back. Here's a five year chart of our 10-year Treasury note: The number on the right axis is interest rate; the bottom is years. As you can see, our T-notes are currently paying close to their lowest rate so far this year. As bonds trade inversely to price, this means that investors are willing to pay more for our T-notes today than they were earlier in the year. This suggests that there not only isn't any panic going on in the credit markets concerning our debt, but that people are more bullish on it than there were just a few months ago. The same is true for our stock market which after a correction earlier in the year is now approaching recovery highs: Does it look to you like stock investors are worried about this looming debt ceiling? Obviously not, for these folks are intelligent enough to understand that our current tax receipts are running about ten percent ahead of last year's. This means we could average for the year about $200 billion per month, and that our debt service is covered with roughly two months of revenues. This also means that there's enough coming in monthly to pay Social Security and Medicare recipients with absolutely no difficulty. Consider that last August, we brought in $164 billion in receipts. As it should be equal to or greater than that this year, we will easily afford the roughly $35 billion of interest expense without raising the debt ceiling. Our monthly Social Security and Medicare outlays in May were $51 billion. Assuming they're close to the same in August, we'd still be left with $78 billion to pay military members, and a variety of other things. Will we have enough to meet all of our obligations? Certainly not. Like what's happened in the past, many government employees and contractors would be given IOUs. BUT, unlike what the Obama-loving media are telling people, we won't have to default on our debt, we won't have to forego payments to America's seniors, and we won't have to hold back the salaries of our military members in the field. Just imagine how much different this debate would be if our press were actually presenting the truth to the people rather than the hysteria-driving nonsense that's been on display of late. Readers are advised that all the data in this piece – with the exception of the T-note and stock index charts – came directly from the Treasury Department.
Continue reading …
If you believe every word uttered by hysterical news anchors and political commentators lately, you would think the world ends August 2nd if the debt ceiling isn't raised. Not only isn't this true, it's another indication of the press's total ignorance about our nation's budget and/or their willingness to lie to the American people in order to get taxes raised. Let's start our truth dig by looking at the monthly debt payments so far this fiscal year: Interest Expense Fiscal Year 2011 May $30,858,726,707.77 April $28,895,123,159.28 March $24,460,282,823.69 February $21,759,253,957.26 January $21,122,729,715.18 December $104,700,174,845.03 November $19,396,316,137.56 October $24,142,491,931.22 Fiscal Year Total $275,335,099,276.99 As you can see, since October, we've made interest payments of $275 billion. Some press members have suggested that us just making interest payments is some bizarre sleight of hand, but in reality, with the exception of treasuries that are either maturing or being called, interest is by far the greatest monthly expense associated with our debt. All we have to do is make those interest payments, and our debt remains in good standing. To give us a better understanding of what this really costs, here are some of the total interest outlays for previous years: 2010 $413,954,825,362.17 2009 $383,071,060,815.42 2008 $451,154,049,950.63 2007 $429,977,998,108.20 2006 $405,872,109,315.83 2005 $352,350,252,507.90 2004 $321,566,323,971.29 2003 $318,148,529,151.51 2002 $332,536,958,599.42 2001 $359,507,635,242.41 2000 $361,997,734,302.36 As interest rates haven't risen this year, we should likely expect our total interest expenses to be close to last year's $414 billion. Let's now look at our monthly tax receipts : FY 2011 October…………………………………………………………. 145,951 November……………………………………………………… 148,970 December……………………………………………………… 236,875 January…………………………………………………………. 226,550 February ……………………………………………………….. 110,656 March …………………………………………………………… 150,894 April ……………………………………………………………… 289,543 May………………………………………………………………. 174,911 Year-to-Date ……………………………………………….. 1,484,350 Notice how each and every month the amount of taxes we collect far exceeds our interest expense? So far in fiscal 2011, we have brought in $1.48 trillion in receipts and only made interest payments of $275 billion. Does it look to you like we're going to have to default on those payments, or that our creditors should be at all concerned about our ability to make said payments? Quite the contrary, the way our treasury paper has been trading this year, investors don't seem to be at all concerned with America's ability to pay them back. Here's a five year chart of our 10-year Treasury note: The number on the right axis is interest rate; the bottom is years. As you can see, our T-notes are currently paying close to their lowest rate so far this year. As bonds trade inversely to price, this means that investors are willing to pay more for our T-notes today than they were earlier in the year. This suggests that there not only isn't any panic going on in the credit markets concerning our debt, but that people are more bullish on it than there were just a few months ago. The same is true for our stock market which after a correction earlier in the year is now approaching recovery highs: Does it look to you like stock investors are worried about this looming debt ceiling? Obviously not, for these folks are intelligent enough to understand that our current tax receipts are running about ten percent ahead of last year's. This means we could average for the year about $200 billion per month, and that our debt service is covered with roughly two months of revenues. This also means that there's enough coming in monthly to pay Social Security and Medicare recipients with absolutely no difficulty. Consider that last August, we brought in $164 billion in receipts. As it should be equal to or greater than that this year, we will easily afford the roughly $35 billion of interest expense without raising the debt ceiling. Our monthly Social Security and Medicare outlays in May were $51 billion. Assuming they're close to the same in August, we'd still be left with $78 billion to pay military members, and a variety of other things. Will we have enough to meet all of our obligations? Certainly not. Like what's happened in the past, many government employees and contractors would be given IOUs. BUT, unlike what the Obama-loving media are telling people, we won't have to default on our debt, we won't have to forego payments to America's seniors, and we won't have to hold back the salaries of our military members in the field. Just imagine how much different this debate would be if our press were actually presenting the truth to the people rather than the hysteria-driving nonsense that's been on display of late. Readers are advised that all the data in this piece – with the exception of the T-note and stock index charts – came directly from the Treasury Department.
Continue reading …
If you believe every word uttered by hysterical news anchors and political commentators lately, you would think the world ends August 2nd if the debt ceiling isn't raised. Not only isn't this true, it's another indication of the press's total ignorance about our nation's budget and/or their willingness to lie to the American people in order to get taxes raised. Let's start our truth dig by looking at the monthly debt payments so far this fiscal year: Interest Expense Fiscal Year 2011 May $30,858,726,707.77 April $28,895,123,159.28 March $24,460,282,823.69 February $21,759,253,957.26 January $21,122,729,715.18 December $104,700,174,845.03 November $19,396,316,137.56 October $24,142,491,931.22 Fiscal Year Total $275,335,099,276.99 As you can see, since October, we've made interest payments of $275 billion. Some press members have suggested that us just making interest payments is some bizarre sleight of hand, but in reality, with the exception of treasuries that are either maturing or being called, interest is by far the greatest monthly expense associated with our debt. All we have to do is make those interest payments, and our debt remains in good standing. To give us a better understanding of what this really costs, here are some of the total interest outlays for previous years: 2010 $413,954,825,362.17 2009 $383,071,060,815.42 2008 $451,154,049,950.63 2007 $429,977,998,108.20 2006 $405,872,109,315.83 2005 $352,350,252,507.90 2004 $321,566,323,971.29 2003 $318,148,529,151.51 2002 $332,536,958,599.42 2001 $359,507,635,242.41 2000 $361,997,734,302.36 As interest rates haven't risen this year, we should likely expect our total interest expenses to be close to last year's $414 billion. Let's now look at our monthly tax receipts : FY 2011 October…………………………………………………………. 145,951 November……………………………………………………… 148,970 December……………………………………………………… 236,875 January…………………………………………………………. 226,550 February ……………………………………………………….. 110,656 March …………………………………………………………… 150,894 April ……………………………………………………………… 289,543 May………………………………………………………………. 174,911 Year-to-Date ……………………………………………….. 1,484,350 Notice how each and every month the amount of taxes we collect far exceeds our interest expense? So far in fiscal 2011, we have brought in $1.48 trillion in receipts and only made interest payments of $275 billion. Does it look to you like we're going to have to default on those payments, or that our creditors should be at all concerned about our ability to make said payments? Quite the contrary, the way our treasury paper has been trading this year, investors don't seem to be at all concerned with America's ability to pay them back. Here's a five year chart of our 10-year Treasury note: The number on the right axis is interest rate; the bottom is years. As you can see, our T-notes are currently paying close to their lowest rate so far this year. As bonds trade inversely to price, this means that investors are willing to pay more for our T-notes today than they were earlier in the year. This suggests that there not only isn't any panic going on in the credit markets concerning our debt, but that people are more bullish on it than there were just a few months ago. The same is true for our stock market which after a correction earlier in the year is now approaching recovery highs: Does it look to you like stock investors are worried about this looming debt ceiling? Obviously not, for these folks are intelligent enough to understand that our current tax receipts are running about ten percent ahead of last year's. This means we could average for the year about $200 billion per month, and that our debt service is covered with roughly two months of revenues. This also means that there's enough coming in monthly to pay Social Security and Medicare recipients with absolutely no difficulty. Consider that last August, we brought in $164 billion in receipts. As it should be equal to or greater than that this year, we will easily afford the roughly $35 billion of interest expense without raising the debt ceiling. Our monthly Social Security and Medicare outlays in May were $51 billion. Assuming they're close to the same in August, we'd still be left with $78 billion to pay military members, and a variety of other things. Will we have enough to meet all of our obligations? Certainly not. Like what's happened in the past, many government employees and contractors would be given IOUs. BUT, unlike what the Obama-loving media are telling people, we won't have to default on our debt, we won't have to forego payments to America's seniors, and we won't have to hold back the salaries of our military members in the field. Just imagine how much different this debate would be if our press were actually presenting the truth to the people rather than the hysteria-driving nonsense that's been on display of late. Readers are advised that all the data in this piece – with the exception of the T-note and stock index charts – came directly from the Treasury Department.
Continue reading …Administration Offers ‘Tens of Billions’ in Medicare, Medicaid Cuts in Exchange for Tax Increases
July 5, 2011 No CommentWhile there’s certainly some pressure to get some kind of debt ceiling deal, does offering up Medicare as a human sacrifice seem like the smartest plan for a second term – especially when it’s the same issue the Republicans rode to victory in the mid-terms? WASHINGTON — Obama administration officials are offering to cut tens of billions of dollars from Medicare and Medicaid in negotiations to reduce the federal budget deficit, but the depth of the cuts depends on whether Republicans are willing to accept any increases in tax revenues. Administration officials and Republican negotiators say the money can be taken from health care providers like hospitals and nursing homes without directly imposing new costs on needy beneficiaries or radically restructuring either program. Before the talks led by Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. broke off 12 days ago, negotiators said, they had reached substantial agreement on many cuts in the growth of Medicare , which provides care to people 65 and older, and Medicaid, which covers lower-income people. Those proposals are still on the table when Congress reconvenes this week, aides said, and are serious options that Democrats could accept in exchange for Republican concessions that raise revenues. “Congress smells blood,” said William L. Minnix Jr., the chief lobbyist for nonprofit nursing homes.
Continue reading …