Sharpton owes $359,973 to the IRS for 2009 personal income tax, according to documents on file with the city.The claims that this is a matter of bureaucracy don't cut it. Sharpton has to know that he's going to be audited and investigated thoroughly because of his prior tax troubles and he needs to be having his tax preparation done better and more effectively than in past years. To get hit with another $360,000 in tax liens for 2009 tells me that he simply hasn't changed his accounting strategies and that he'll continue to be hit with tax troubles until he cleans up his act.
Public records show he owes a total of $3.7 million in city, state and federal taxes, including penalties, dating to 2002. But Sharpton’s spokeswoman, Rachel Noerdlinger, said that he had paid back “well over seven figures” as part of agreements with the state and IRS and that the liens remained on the books as “a matter of bureaucracy.”
Monday, February 07, 2011
Al Sharpton's Tax Woes Continue
Al Sharpton has repeatedly been in trouble with the IRS and various state and local tax authorities because of an inability to pay his taxes. Today, we learn that he's been hit with another tax lien of just under $360,000. That's on top of the $3.7 million he has owed since 2002.
Egypt Protests Continue Amid Mubarak Moves To Stay In Power
Egyptian protesters continue calling for Hosni Mubarak to step down, and the protesters have some new ammunition in their calls- the fact that so many of those officials connected with the Mubarak regime banking billions that should have gone to the people.
It will matter little to the Egyptian people that Mubarak just increased government pay by 15% when tens of millions of Egyptians are barely getting by with $2 a day, which is far below what the Egyptian government statistics suggests.
The pace of concessions shows that Mubarak is desperate to remain in power, and that is ultimately his goal.
Meanwhile, US officials are beginning to take a much closer look at the Egyptian military and its secret weapons projects, which have been going on for more than three decades.
As part of a new openness meant to appease the anti-government protesters, the newspaper Al-Masry al-Youm printed startling estimates of the wealth of former top officials who are suddenly being investigated for corruption:Even though there are some in Egypt who are tiring of the protests, the grievances are real and there appears to be a sufficiently motivated group that will keep the pressure on the Mubarak government to force him to step down.
*Ahmed Ezz, a steel magnate who was Organisation Secretary of the ruling party: $3 billion. Prosecutors said Ezz had $300,000 in 1989.
*Former Housing Minister Ahmed al-Maghraby: $1.8 billion
*Former Tourism Minister Zuhair Garrana: $2.2 billion
*Former Minister of Trade and Industry Rashid Mohamed Rashid: $2 billion
*Former Interior Minister Habib al-Adly: $1.3 billion
Their assets have been frozen and state prosecutors are readying corruption charges.
The newspaper reported three of the former ministers tried to leave the country in recent days but were denied permission to travel at Cairo Airport.
The average Egyptian takes home $60 a week, according to Egypt's Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics.
The salary hikes and corruption investigations follow Sunday's promises from the embattled government to open up elections, lift martial law and free political prisoners.
None of those steps - even though unthinkable just two weeks ago - have been enough to convince the protesters to stand down.
It will matter little to the Egyptian people that Mubarak just increased government pay by 15% when tens of millions of Egyptians are barely getting by with $2 a day, which is far below what the Egyptian government statistics suggests.
The pace of concessions shows that Mubarak is desperate to remain in power, and that is ultimately his goal.
Meanwhile, US officials are beginning to take a much closer look at the Egyptian military and its secret weapons projects, which have been going on for more than three decades.
NBC News has obtained more than a dozen documents from the United States, Russia and Israel that shed some light on several Egyptian weapons of mass destruction programs, including its nuclear potential and details of a joint North Korean-Egyptian missile development agreement.
The reason the U.S. didn’t move, officials say, was Egypt’s role as a staunch U.S. ally and stabilizing force in the Middle East and later as a key player in U.S. counterterrorism efforts.
If Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak is forced to step down, new leadership in Cairo could mean a radical change in that relationship, analysts say.
Can Shark Skin Lead To Revolutionary Breakthrough in Infection Control?
Scientists have long wondered how exactly sharks were able to avoid having all manner of skin infections - whether it was marine growths like barnacles or bacterial infections.
Well, it turns out that sharks' abilities to resist those kinds of infections may have something to do with the shape of the skin cells that cover their entire body. This has tremendous repercussions for naval builders - including the US Navy and shipping industry, that spend billions annually cleaning and attempting to prevent the buildup of marine growths on ships that reduce their speed and efficiency. More profound is that the discovery may lead to a revolution in infection control
The company is looking at developing a wide range of thin films that could be affixed to heavy-traffic areas to reduce the spread of bacterial infections. Everything from medical devices to hospital bed railings or elevator controls could be treated with the film, reducing the spread of bacterial infections, with the possibility of a major savings on health care costs from infection control.
Well, it turns out that sharks' abilities to resist those kinds of infections may have something to do with the shape of the skin cells that cover their entire body. This has tremendous repercussions for naval builders - including the US Navy and shipping industry, that spend billions annually cleaning and attempting to prevent the buildup of marine growths on ships that reduce their speed and efficiency. More profound is that the discovery may lead to a revolution in infection control
Patented by Sharklet Technologies, a Florida-based biotech company, the film, which is covered with microscopic diamond-shaped bumps, is the first “surface topography” proven to keep the bugs at bay. In tests in a California hospital, for three weeks the plastic sheeting’s surface prevented dangerous microorganisms, such as E. coli and Staphylococcus A, from establishing colonies large enough to infect humans. Bacteria have an easier time spreading out on smooth surfaces, says CEO Joe Bagan: “We think they come across this surface and make an energy-based decision that this is not the right place to form a colony.” Because it doesn’t kill the bacteria, there’s also little chance of the microbes evolving resistance to it. Hey, it’s worked for sharks for 400 million years.Sharklet is looking to exploit not only their knowledge for naval shipbuilders like the US Navy, but the medical advances that could help reduce the spread of infections in hospitals and the reliance on chemicals and antibiotics for infection control.
The company is looking at developing a wide range of thin films that could be affixed to heavy-traffic areas to reduce the spread of bacterial infections. Everything from medical devices to hospital bed railings or elevator controls could be treated with the film, reducing the spread of bacterial infections, with the possibility of a major savings on health care costs from infection control.
The Best Super Bowl Commercial and the Star Who Never Saw The Movies He Spoofed
He's only six years old, so he can be forgiven for never having seen Star Wars.
This was the single best commercial from an entirely lackluster commercial set. It was absolutely charming and funny, and it introduced the Passat in a way that everyone will remember.
All the other commercials paled in comparison and many of them blended into each other so that you had no idea who was pitching what or they struck the wrong tone.
The Force was with TODAY Monday when the pint-size Darth Vader who has stolen America’s heart came to Studio 1A and tried to wield the same powers that seemingly brought a Volkswagen Passat to life in this year’s breakout Super Bowl ad. He had an early success in the makeup room, apparently turning on a hair dryer with a thrust of his hands.
The diminutive Darth’s efforts to channel metaphysical energies were more hit-and-miss when he tried to work them on a coffeemaker in the greenroom or on monitors in the TODAY control room — but 6-year-old Max Page’s star power couldn’t be stifled, even by the bulky helmet he wore.
Max’s Super Bowl ad shows him in full Vader regalia, struggling vainly to use the Force to start a washer and dryer, rouse the family dog, and bring a baby doll to life. But when he heads outside to work his magic on his dad’s 2012 Volkswagen Passat, he’s shocked when the engine roars to life — little knowing that his father has started the car by remote control from the kitchen.
This was the single best commercial from an entirely lackluster commercial set. It was absolutely charming and funny, and it introduced the Passat in a way that everyone will remember.
All the other commercials paled in comparison and many of them blended into each other so that you had no idea who was pitching what or they struck the wrong tone.
South Sudan To Become World's Newest Nation
The Sudanese government led by Omar al-Bashir will accept the vote enabling South Sudan to split off and establish a new nation.
All this is a good start for South Sudan, which has been hit by decades of violence, civil wars, and repression, but there are huge hurdles to overcome. Much of the country lives in extreme poverty and economic and social infrastructure is wholly inadequate.
Still, South Sudan will need to rely on its northern neighbor as the main oil pipeline from the Southern oil fields must travel through Sudan to generate much of the income needed by the country to get off its feet.
All this is a good start for South Sudan, which has been hit by decades of violence, civil wars, and repression, but there are huge hurdles to overcome. Much of the country lives in extreme poverty and economic and social infrastructure is wholly inadequate.
Still, South Sudan will need to rely on its northern neighbor as the main oil pipeline from the Southern oil fields must travel through Sudan to generate much of the income needed by the country to get off its feet.
Sens. Lautenberg and Menendez Attempt To Resuscitate Trans-Hudson Tunnel Project
After Gov. Chris Christie killed the ARC tunnel project because New Jersey taxpayers would be on the hook for all cost overruns, and it was already estimated to go $1 billion over the $8.7 billion budget, Sen. Frank Lautenberg was among Christie's harshest critics. He complained about how commuters would be harmed by the loss of a key project.
Never mind that Christie was absolutely right to protect taxpayers from a project that would benefit New Jersey and New York, but put the entire risk of overruns on New Jersey while New York contributed no funds to the project. Even federal efforts to keep the project on track amounted to nothing more than additional loan guarantees to cover a portion of cost overruns.
The project, which was originally proposed as a $5 billion project, had already ballooned to $8.7 billion, and the most conservative estimate for overruns was $1 billion beyond that amount. Other estimates could have pushed the New Jersey share to $5 billion.
So, now Lautenberg and Menendez are back touting that they've got another plan to build a trans-Hudson river rail tunnel.
This time, they've got Amtrak on board with the proposal, and it would lead to an expanded Penn Station, rather than a dead-ended annex under Herald Square.
The cost of the project is still huge, and they expectation is that the tunnel will run $10 billion or more, but the issue will be who will cover what costs. With Amtrak involved this time, there will be additional cost sharing, and this proposal shows that the NJ Transit claim that the new tunnels could not be built to Penn Station were nothing but bureaucratic domain protection. It wasn't based on anything but NJ Transit trying to expand its own infrastructure at tremendous cost even though the agency's operating budget is incapable of handling the existing traffic.
NJ Transit's dealing with an aging infrastructure and an operating budget that can't cover the existing schedule. I have serious doubts over its scheduling claims from North Jersey when there have been a reduction in train service, and debt service on the Secaucus Transfer continues to be a drain all while the proposed tunnel would include a Transfer bypass allowing trains to travel directly into Manhattan from North Jersey. That would severely limit the ridership that would utilize the Transfer unless the existing parking facilities are greatly expanded.
What remains to be seen is who will be paying for what and what the New Jersey share will be. Moreover, the key questions will be whether New York actually ponies up any funds to cover construction costs, and who will bear the risk of cost overruns.
This new project is already starting at a much higher price point, and it's more than double the original ARC tunnel cost projection.
UPDATE:
I wonder if the costs for the new tunnel project are including the Portal Bridge costs, which at last check was a totally separate and distinct project that was scheduled to cost $1.344 billion. Construction is scheduled to begin next year and run through 2017 in building two new bridges and five tracks to handle traffic on the Northeast Corridor as well as reconfigure about 10 miles of track between Newark and Secaucus Transfer to handle high speed rail (80-90 mph, from the current 60 mph limitations). That work has to be done regardless of what happens with the tunnel project, and monies were already set aside by Amtrak, the ARRA of 2009, and other funding sources to get the project underway.
It's notable that there isn't any mention of where the money is coming from under the new proposal, and it's further notable that neither of New York's senators, including Chuck Schumer were around to agree on a joint New York/New Jersey plan to fund the project. That would once again suggest that New York is not going to be putting up monies to get the project done.
There's a further question of how exactly this new proposal (which actually is a step back to the original intent of the ARC tunnel when first proposed) will take the sails out of the study by New York City to extend the 7 Line to Secaucus.
UPDATE:
Reuters is reporting that the cost for the project would be $13.5 billion. That would put it significantly above the costs for the canceled ARC tunnel, and more than double the original cost estimate for the ARC tunnel when first proposed despite being little different from the original design and scope. Even if the $13.5 billion includes the $1.344 billion for the Portal Bridge, we're talking about the upper range from the cost estimates that led Christie to kill the project.
As a reminded, when the ARC tunnel was first proposed years ago, it was seen as a $5 billion project. By the time Christie killed it last year, it was up to $8.7 billion but widely expected to go at least $1 to $5 billion over that budget.
Now, we're looking at a $13.5 billion to achieve the same goal as the original budget and it's riding on the hope that President Obama's Amtrak capital initiatives get adopted.
The one question that seems to be missing from the reporting is how and why this latest attempt to build new capacity is costing so much more than the original project? Those are the unanswered questions that reporters have yet to ask in any critical fashion.
UPDATE:
Digging through the Amtrak Northeast Corridor master plan, Amtrak and NJ Transit believe that as of May 2010 that the cost of the Portal Bridge will cost $1.8 billion (page 29) or $1.9 billion (page 101 overall/page 28 of Part II), which is significantly above the $1.344 billion as per the Portal Bridge site information. There's a further backlog of $214 million to rehabilitate the existing two Hudson River tunnels and rehabilitation of the overhead catenary system and replacing electrical substations would cost another $350 million. That's despite a $453 million infusion of federal stimulus monies. Overall, Amtrak says that they're short $5.2 billion to bring the system into a state of good repair.
Never mind that Christie was absolutely right to protect taxpayers from a project that would benefit New Jersey and New York, but put the entire risk of overruns on New Jersey while New York contributed no funds to the project. Even federal efforts to keep the project on track amounted to nothing more than additional loan guarantees to cover a portion of cost overruns.
The project, which was originally proposed as a $5 billion project, had already ballooned to $8.7 billion, and the most conservative estimate for overruns was $1 billion beyond that amount. Other estimates could have pushed the New Jersey share to $5 billion.
So, now Lautenberg and Menendez are back touting that they've got another plan to build a trans-Hudson river rail tunnel.
This time, they've got Amtrak on board with the proposal, and it would lead to an expanded Penn Station, rather than a dead-ended annex under Herald Square.
The cost of the project is still huge, and they expectation is that the tunnel will run $10 billion or more, but the issue will be who will cover what costs. With Amtrak involved this time, there will be additional cost sharing, and this proposal shows that the NJ Transit claim that the new tunnels could not be built to Penn Station were nothing but bureaucratic domain protection. It wasn't based on anything but NJ Transit trying to expand its own infrastructure at tremendous cost even though the agency's operating budget is incapable of handling the existing traffic.
The Gateway tunnel would allow 13 additional NJ Transit trains per hour — from 20 to 33 — and eight more Amtrak trains. The ARC project would have allowed 25 extra NJ Transit trains per hour.The $1.3 billion Portal Bridge project should be going ahead regardless of what happens with the tunnel project, because it is one of the worst bottlenecks on the entire Northeast Corridor, and that work isn't contingent on what happens with the tunnel project.
"I’m in my late 60s, and I was just hoping and praying I’d see the day when there would be another Hudson River tunnel," New Jersey transportation expert Martin E. Robins said. "My hopes have been rekindled."
Many hurdles will have to be overcome, including finding federal and local funding for a project that could cost upwards of $10 billion. But Amtrak officials say they believe the tunnel fits in well with President Obama’s vision for infrastructure improvements in America and high-speed rail in the Northeast Corridor from Boston to Washington, D.C.
gateway-tunnel-project.jpgView full size
The hope is to have the Gateway tunnel built in a decade.
News of the announcement was first reported today on NJ.com, The Star-Ledger’s real-time news and information site.
Amtrak this week is expected to ask the federal government to fund a $50 million engineering study on the Gateway plan. The project also could benefit from the engineering work done previously for ARC.
Amtrak President and Chief Executive Officer Joseph Boardman, Amtrak board member Anthony Coscia, Lautenberg and Menendez are expected to present the alternative tunnel plans during a news conference at 11 a.m. Monday at the Hilton Newark Penn Station.
Amtrak had intended to build another tunnel to improve capacity in the nation’s most congested rail corridor, but not until 2040. The killing of the ARC tunnel expedited the Gateway tunnel plans.
Citing projected cost overruns that would leave New Jersey taxpayers on the hook, Christie pulled the plug on the nation’s largest public works project on Oct. 27.
Lautenberg immediately began working with Amtrak to revive the trans-Hudson rail tunnel project, which he says will benefit New Jersey’s commuters by giving them transfer-free train rides to prosperous jobs in Manhattan, increase property values along the rail line and put contractors to work.
"New Jersey is facing a transportation crisis," he said. "Our commuters are fed up with train delays that make them late to work and endless traffic that traps them on our highways when they want to be home with their families. When the ARC tunnel was canceled, it was clear to me that we couldn’t just throw up our hands and wait years to find another solution."
New Jersey always rises above challenges, Menendez said in a statement tonight. "While some choose to do nothing and accept delays, the people of New Jersey cannot, will not, and must not wait. We are moving full steam ahead with this strong investment in New Jersey and the region. We are on a path to create good-paying jobs and move people and goods more quickly."
Some transportation officials think the Gateway plan makes more sense than expanding the No. 7 subway line from New York City to Secaucus Junction, an idea floated over the last three months by the staff of New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Under Amtrak’s best-case scenario, the No. 7 line would also be extended to Penn Station, between 31st and 33rd streets, two blocks west of the Empire State Building.
Along with the Gateway project would be a plan to raise and replace the decrepit, century-old train Portal Bridge between Kearny and Secaucus over the Hackensack River. The condition of the bridge limits train speeds and the span is so low that it often has to be opened to allow commercial boats to pass under, causing more delays.
When the ARC project was being considered in the 1990s, Amtrak was in a fight for survival with the federal government and couldn’t assist New Jersey. The Gateway tunnel represents a historic change of direction for Amtrak, Robins said.
NJ Transit's dealing with an aging infrastructure and an operating budget that can't cover the existing schedule. I have serious doubts over its scheduling claims from North Jersey when there have been a reduction in train service, and debt service on the Secaucus Transfer continues to be a drain all while the proposed tunnel would include a Transfer bypass allowing trains to travel directly into Manhattan from North Jersey. That would severely limit the ridership that would utilize the Transfer unless the existing parking facilities are greatly expanded.
What remains to be seen is who will be paying for what and what the New Jersey share will be. Moreover, the key questions will be whether New York actually ponies up any funds to cover construction costs, and who will bear the risk of cost overruns.
This new project is already starting at a much higher price point, and it's more than double the original ARC tunnel cost projection.
UPDATE:
I wonder if the costs for the new tunnel project are including the Portal Bridge costs, which at last check was a totally separate and distinct project that was scheduled to cost $1.344 billion. Construction is scheduled to begin next year and run through 2017 in building two new bridges and five tracks to handle traffic on the Northeast Corridor as well as reconfigure about 10 miles of track between Newark and Secaucus Transfer to handle high speed rail (80-90 mph, from the current 60 mph limitations). That work has to be done regardless of what happens with the tunnel project, and monies were already set aside by Amtrak, the ARRA of 2009, and other funding sources to get the project underway.
It's notable that there isn't any mention of where the money is coming from under the new proposal, and it's further notable that neither of New York's senators, including Chuck Schumer were around to agree on a joint New York/New Jersey plan to fund the project. That would once again suggest that New York is not going to be putting up monies to get the project done.
There's a further question of how exactly this new proposal (which actually is a step back to the original intent of the ARC tunnel when first proposed) will take the sails out of the study by New York City to extend the 7 Line to Secaucus.
UPDATE:
Reuters is reporting that the cost for the project would be $13.5 billion. That would put it significantly above the costs for the canceled ARC tunnel, and more than double the original cost estimate for the ARC tunnel when first proposed despite being little different from the original design and scope. Even if the $13.5 billion includes the $1.344 billion for the Portal Bridge, we're talking about the upper range from the cost estimates that led Christie to kill the project.
As a reminded, when the ARC tunnel was first proposed years ago, it was seen as a $5 billion project. By the time Christie killed it last year, it was up to $8.7 billion but widely expected to go at least $1 to $5 billion over that budget.
Now, we're looking at a $13.5 billion to achieve the same goal as the original budget and it's riding on the hope that President Obama's Amtrak capital initiatives get adopted.
The one question that seems to be missing from the reporting is how and why this latest attempt to build new capacity is costing so much more than the original project? Those are the unanswered questions that reporters have yet to ask in any critical fashion.
UPDATE:
Digging through the Amtrak Northeast Corridor master plan, Amtrak and NJ Transit believe that as of May 2010 that the cost of the Portal Bridge will cost $1.8 billion (page 29) or $1.9 billion (page 101 overall/page 28 of Part II), which is significantly above the $1.344 billion as per the Portal Bridge site information. There's a further backlog of $214 million to rehabilitate the existing two Hudson River tunnels and rehabilitation of the overhead catenary system and replacing electrical substations would cost another $350 million. That's despite a $453 million infusion of federal stimulus monies. Overall, Amtrak says that they're short $5.2 billion to bring the system into a state of good repair.
Sunday, February 06, 2011
Machinations and Maneuvering to Send Mubarak Packing
The demonstrations against Hosni Mubarak are now going on nearly two weeks, and there's no end in sight. US officials continue talks with Egyptian officals on a way to effectuate a peaceful transition away from the Mubarak regime to something different.
The machinations and maneuvering to send Mubarak packing also includes talks between the Muslim Brotherhood and the Egyptian government.
There are even reports that the Brotherhood will accept a continuing Mubarak regime as long as there are significant constitutional reforms.
So, what are ordinary Egyptians to do?
Well, they're going to continue demonstrating.
And the West will continue hoping that Mubarak takes the hint and resigns with an orderly transition to a caretaker government that will hold elections in a prompt manner. The West, and the US and Israel, will hope that the new government fulfills its obligations under the Camp David Accords and doesn't bring about a wholesale revision/rejection of the Treaty between Egypt and Israel; if that happens, any further peace treaties between Israel and its enemies (those regimes that are still at war with Israel or which are trying to bring about Israel's end) will not happen. That means that the peace process will come to an abrupt end because the treaties will last only as long as the regime in charge and Israel is not about to trade land for a peace that could be over within the blink of an eye.
The machinations and maneuvering to send Mubarak packing also includes talks between the Muslim Brotherhood and the Egyptian government.
The Brotherhood is an outlawed Islamist organization often depicted by the authorities as committed to the overthrow of the secular order in the heart of the Middle East. Official attitudes toward it here have swung between outright repression and reluctant tolerance. But it has remained Egypt’s biggest opposition force against the autocratic rule of President Hosni Mubarak.Trying to figure out the ultimate goal of the Brotherhood is the biggest problem facing the US and even ordinary Egyptians. The Brotherhood's website and propaganda includes ultimately establishing a caliphate and instituting Islamic law on Egypt. It seeks the elimination of Israel, but depending on who you ask within the group, the group will work within the political process to do so. Some factions within the Brotherhood have spun off to form Islamic terror groups you might be familiar with, including Egyptian Islamic Jihad, al Qaeda, and has inspired the likes of Hamas.
After the meeting had started, The Associated Press said that talks included some of the top issues for the opposition — including freedom of the press and the release of those detained since anti-government protests started — as well as agreement to begin setting up a structure to study amending the country’s constitution.
A spokesman for the Muslim Brotherhood, Gamal Nassar, said the huge and sometimes violent demonstrations that have paralyzed Cairo for 13 days, reverberating around the Middle East, would continue “until the political path can have a role in achieving the aspirations of the protesters” — an apparent reference to their goal of removing Mr. Mubarak.
Mr. Nassar said mediators had brokered the encounter with Mr. Suleiman, who Saturday received public backing from the Obama administration and other Western governments that confirmed him as the West’s choice to guide any transfer of power.
“The brothers decided to enter a round of dialogue to determine how serious the officials are achieving the demands of the people,” Mr. Nassar said. “The regime keeps saying we’re open to dialogue and the people are the ones refusing, so the Brotherhood decided to examine the situation from all different sides.”
There are even reports that the Brotherhood will accept a continuing Mubarak regime as long as there are significant constitutional reforms.
Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood movement accepts that President Hosni Mubarak staying in power is a “safer option” to secure the implementation of constitutional reforms.Because the Brotherhood is more organized than other opposition groups, their decision may allow Mubarak the breathing room to continue limping along and gives the Brotherhood time to prepare for elections in September when they can use the elections to further their goals - which are antithetical to many Egyptians.
“We wanted the president to step down but, for now, we accept this arrangement as long as we feel there is a serious implementation,” Mohamed Saad El-Katatni, a senior leader of the group, said after a meeting between Vice President Omar Suleiman and leaders of some opposition groups.
“It’s safer that the president stays until he makes these amendments to speed things up because of the constitutional powers he holds,” he said in Cairo today.
So, what are ordinary Egyptians to do?
Well, they're going to continue demonstrating.
And the West will continue hoping that Mubarak takes the hint and resigns with an orderly transition to a caretaker government that will hold elections in a prompt manner. The West, and the US and Israel, will hope that the new government fulfills its obligations under the Camp David Accords and doesn't bring about a wholesale revision/rejection of the Treaty between Egypt and Israel; if that happens, any further peace treaties between Israel and its enemies (those regimes that are still at war with Israel or which are trying to bring about Israel's end) will not happen. That means that the peace process will come to an abrupt end because the treaties will last only as long as the regime in charge and Israel is not about to trade land for a peace that could be over within the blink of an eye.
Saturday, February 05, 2011
Sabotage Damages Gas Terminal in Sinai.
The Sinai was rocked by an explosion at a gas terminal which sent flames shooting skyward. Bedouin extremists are believed to be behind the attack. Israeli authorities have said that they were monitoring the situation but that they weren't affected.
UPDATE:
The affected terminal and pipeline were shut down and it will probably take a week to repair. This will adversely affect Jordan, which is highly reliant on the natural gas supplied by that pipeline.
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UPDATE:
The affected terminal and pipeline were shut down and it will probably take a week to repair. This will adversely affect Jordan, which is highly reliant on the natural gas supplied by that pipeline.
The state-run Middle East News Agency said the stoppage was to limit damage caused by an explosion carried out by “subversive elements,” while the Oil Ministry said a gas leak led to a fire. Official Egyptian television reported that the incident in El Arish in the northern Sinai desert was an act of “terror” carried out by “foreign hands.”Terrorist groups have reportedly contemplated attacks on the El-Arish-Ashkelon line following the weeks of rioting and demonstrations in Egypt.
There were no casualties and the fire is under control, the Oil Ministry said in a statement. Flames and smoke billowed into the sky in the area of the pipeline, footage from the Al Arabiya network showed.
The incident adds tension as hundreds of thousands of protesters have been demonstrating in Cairo and other cities for more than 10 days, calling for the resignation of President Hosni Mubarak. He has warned that an early departure for him would leave Egypt, the first Arab country to sign a peace treaty with Israel in 1979, in chaos.
Israel’s Ministry of National Infrastructure said in a statement that it doesn’t foresee any interruptions to the country’s electricity supply. About 40 percent of gas consumed in Israel is imported from Egypt.
One-Week Stoppage
The incident occurred on a part of the natural-gas network before it divides to Jordan or Israel, Marwan Bqaeen, head of the natural-gas unit at the Jordanian Energy Ministry, said in a telephone interview. The stoppage will halt Egyptian gas exports to Jordan for about a week, Petra news agency reported, citing Ghaleb al-Maabira, general director of Jordan’s state electricity company.
Egypt has halted gas supplies “as a safety precaution,” and Jordan has “resorted to back-up fuel,” Bqaeen said. “We heard from the Egyptians that the flames were under control and will soon be put out. They will then carry out an assessment.”
Egypt has natural-gas reserves of 77 trillion cubic feet and is the main producer of the hydrocarbon in the eastern Mediterranean, according to the U.S. Energy Department. The country exported 650 billion cubic feet of gas in 2009, 30 percent by either the Arab gas pipeline to Jordan, Syria and Lebanon, or to Israel through the El-Arish-Ashkelon line, according to the U.S. department’s figures.
Friday, February 04, 2011
New York To Study Extending 7 Line To Secaucus
After Gov. Chris Christie killed the ARC tunnel project and riled the likes of Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York, one of the alternative proposals was that the MTA should extend the 7 line to Secaucus.
Well, the MTA and New York City are going to conduct a study whether it makes sense to do so.
Schumer and Lautenberg were unable to find additional funding to cover potential overruns, and the federal DOT could only provide additional loans to cover potential overruns. All they could do was snipe at Christie looking at the state's financial health and seeing that the state could not afford to cover cost overruns that were beyond its control. No one else was willing to step in to cover the overruns, which should be a warning sign that Christie was right to reconsider the project since if the costs could be contained, it should have been easy to convince other entities (the federal government, or New York) to cover potential cost overruns directly.
It's inexcusable on their part to not find the funding or ways to enable New York to pony up the overruns. New York state finances are in shambles as I've repeatedly warned and argued, but a new rail connection was critical to reducing congestion and improving service along the Northeast Corridor. Further, the new tunnels could support additional traffic that could be generated by a link to Stewart Airport in Newburgh. The Port Authority bought the airport in an attempt to reduce congestion at the other area airports but hasn't found a way to integrate it into the long term airport strategy. It needs a high speed rail link to make that a credible option, but no one has the money to make it happen.
That's where the federal stimulus funds should have come into play - using the federal government's funding to build major infrastructure that would help bring relief to the millions of commuters and travelers who rely on an aged and decrepit system.
The 7 line extension would be less costly than the ARC tunnel project, and would bring a more direct routing for commuters looking to get to the East Side of Manhattan and the rest of the City and it's an option worth seriously considering, even if a portion of the ill-conceived Xanadu looks like it will collapse under the strain of the latest snowstorm.
Moreover, the 7 line extension would likely be able to use much of the real estate procured for the ARC tunnel and the engineering expenditures and other work on the tunnel before it was cancelled. That will further reduce the New Jersey tab that it would owe to the federal government for canceling the project.
Well, the MTA and New York City are going to conduct a study whether it makes sense to do so.
The city hired engineering firm Parsons Brinckerhoff this week to analyze how many riders the line could serve, how they would connect to the NJTransit train hub in Secaucus and - most importantly - how much it would cost.Schumer, along with New Jersey's Sen. Lautenberg have been hypercritical of Christie's shutdown of the ARC tunnel over expected cost overruns that would likely leave New Jersey on the hook for an excess of $1 billion (some estimates put it as high as $5 billion).
Their study is due in three months, which Deputy Mayor Robert Steel said will help show government and transportation agencies in the region whether to go forward.
"All of [them] are focused on trying to understand, is this a good alternative?" Steel said. "It's a matter of months, not years."
Other officials in New York and New Jersey are looking at the idea, but haven't put up any cash to make it happen.
It could give New Jersey residents their first direct train line to Grand Central Terminal, as well as to see the Mets or the U.S. Open in Queens.
"City Hall really does want to explore it," said one person involved in the multiagency talks.
"They have an incredibly reluctant MTA partner, and an incredibly wary New Jersey state government," the source cautioned. "[MTA Chairman] Jay Walder doesn't have enough money to finish what they're already doing."
The city is paying $2.1 billion to extend the 7 train to 34th St. and 11th Ave., where it will serve a massive office and housing development planned for the West Side rail yards.
Schumer and Lautenberg were unable to find additional funding to cover potential overruns, and the federal DOT could only provide additional loans to cover potential overruns. All they could do was snipe at Christie looking at the state's financial health and seeing that the state could not afford to cover cost overruns that were beyond its control. No one else was willing to step in to cover the overruns, which should be a warning sign that Christie was right to reconsider the project since if the costs could be contained, it should have been easy to convince other entities (the federal government, or New York) to cover potential cost overruns directly.
It's inexcusable on their part to not find the funding or ways to enable New York to pony up the overruns. New York state finances are in shambles as I've repeatedly warned and argued, but a new rail connection was critical to reducing congestion and improving service along the Northeast Corridor. Further, the new tunnels could support additional traffic that could be generated by a link to Stewart Airport in Newburgh. The Port Authority bought the airport in an attempt to reduce congestion at the other area airports but hasn't found a way to integrate it into the long term airport strategy. It needs a high speed rail link to make that a credible option, but no one has the money to make it happen.
That's where the federal stimulus funds should have come into play - using the federal government's funding to build major infrastructure that would help bring relief to the millions of commuters and travelers who rely on an aged and decrepit system.
The 7 line extension would be less costly than the ARC tunnel project, and would bring a more direct routing for commuters looking to get to the East Side of Manhattan and the rest of the City and it's an option worth seriously considering, even if a portion of the ill-conceived Xanadu looks like it will collapse under the strain of the latest snowstorm.
Moreover, the 7 line extension would likely be able to use much of the real estate procured for the ARC tunnel and the engineering expenditures and other work on the tunnel before it was cancelled. That will further reduce the New Jersey tab that it would owe to the federal government for canceling the project.
Princeton Researches May Have Cracked Metastatic Cancer Code
A team of Princeton University researchers may have cracked the code to figuring out how cancer metastasizes.
A team of Princeton University biologists reported Thursday they may have finally figured out the cancer’s molecular point of attack.
“Everyone knows that metastasis — the spread of cancer — is the reason people die,” Yibin Kang said. “Everyone knows it’s the most important question — but it’s been almost impossible to tackle, it’s been too complicated. It’s only very recently that we have the tools to answer the question.”
Kang and his research team discovered breast cancer tumor cells use a well-known protein and molecular pathway to essentially hijack the bone repair process, according to a paper published in the online journal Cancer Cell.
The malignant cells, they wrote, use a protein called Jagged1 and its so-called “Notch pathway” to get a stronghold in bone tissue in 70 percent to 80 percent of patients with an advanced stage of the disease. From there, the cancer spreads throughout the body.
In healthy people, cells called “osteoclasts” and “osteoblasts” naturally repair the skeleton by breaking down and rebuilding bone, like microscopic repaving machines. But in cancer patients, Kang found tumor cells use Jagged1 to commandeer the process, using the osteoclasts to forge deep into the bone and even speed up the growth of tumors there.
The researcher and his lab have made previous discoveries about the spread of breast cancer to skeletal cells. In a 2009 study, Kang showed that TGF-beta, which controls cell proliferation, played a role in the growth of bone tumors.
Jagged1, it turns out, plays a similar role in that process.
The latest work by the Princeton researchers reveals TGF-beta is released in large amounts during the breakdown of bone and feeds the tumor cells, thereby stimulating increased production of Jagged1. Together, the two processes possess considerable destructive power.
“(It) establishes a vicious cycle, essentially driving the unstoppable expansion of tumor and the destruction of skeletal tissues,” said Nilay Sethi, a student who recently finished his doctorate in molecular biology at Princeton and worked with Kang on the discovery.
Is Today Mubarak's Day of Departure?
Hundreds of thousands of protesters are coming together across Egypt to demand that today Hosni Mubarak exit from the political stage. It's gotten to the point where the US is trying to intercede and get Mubarak to step down and lead to an orderly transfer of power. The US and Egyptian officials are trying to figure out an exit plan.
Mubarak, in an interview with Christiane Amanpour claimed that he wanted to leave, but that he was concerned about the chaos that would ensue.
That's a laugh-riot, considering that it was his refusal to leave, and his security thugs, that were causing much of the chaos and bloodshed. Mubarak could have spared everyone the scenes of chaos and violence in Tahrir Square had he agreed to an orderly transfer of power and new elections within a short period of time.
He refused to do so.
This is where things get odd. On the one hand, you've got Mubarak in an interview saying that he contemplates leaving, but wont do so because of the chaos that he claims would ensue, and then there's the reports that there's no willingness on his part to leave. Those mixed messages aren't helping matters, and one has to wonder whether he's saying one thing to Amanpour and the US officials, and quite another to his generals. It wouldn't be the first time either.
Amanpour has also managed to snag an interview with current VP Omar Suleiman.
Journalists continue to be targeted by the mobs and security forces.
UPDATE:
The EU is mirroring calls by the US for an orderly transition to a broad-based government that reflects the public will.
Some Egyptians are bridling at what they consider interference in an internal state matter, but if Mubarak is honestly saying he'd leave, then the US efforts aren't meddling but would potentially help keep the violence to a minimum while a transition government is put in place and that existing government officials would not be allowed to run for office or stay beyond their allotted time periods.
The military remains the wildcard in events, and thus far, they're providing security to the protesters in Tahrir Square. That follows two days of riots where pro-Mubarak thugs assaulted and pummeled anti-Mubarak demonstrators. Hundreds were injured in those riots and the videos from Tahrir Square and other locations around Cairo show the harrowing scenes where security forces ran over demonstrators and engaged in a reckless disregard for the lives of their fellow Egyptians or otherwise allowed the pro-Mubarak thugs to run wild through the crowds causing stampedes and carnage.
Since the protests began, more than 5,000 Egyptians have been injured, and at least a dozen people killed.
A further sign that the Mubarak regime is under increasing pressure to quit: Amr Moussa, the Secretary General of the Arab League appeared in Tahrir Square alongside the anti-Mubarak demonstrators.
Demonstrations are expected today in NYC at Times Square and a march is planned thereafter to the Egyptian mission on the East Side of Manhattan in solidarity with the anti-Mubarak protesters.
An Egyptian journalist relates harrowing tale. Having a policeman say that she would be lynched wasn't the scariest part of her experience yesterday.
No, that came when crowds surrounded her car:
UPDATE:
US officials are continuing talks with Egyptian officials, and they're even pressing the Egyptian military to take a leading role in the transition but the focus is on trying to get the opposition to meet with Suleiman to discuss a transition. The opposition doesn't want to engage in talks until after Mubarak leaves:
Mohamed ElBaradei told CNN he's willing to run for president "if people want" him to and if Egypt becomes a "democracy based on social justice." I just don't see people coalescing behind ElBaradei given that he's an outsider and has only recently inserted himself into the opposition of Mubarak. While he's a known quantity for diplomats and the West, what he would actually bring to the table for Egypt is far less certain.
Even though Mr. Mubarak has balked, so far, at leaving now, officials from both governments are continuing talks about a plan in which Mr. Suleiman, backed by Lt. Gen. Sami Enan, chief of the Egyptian armed forces, and Field Marshal Mohamed Tantawi, the defense minister, would immediately begin a process of constitutional reform.
The proposal also calls for the transitional government to invite members from a broad range of opposition groups, including the banned Muslim Brotherhood, to begin work to open up the country’s electoral system in an effort to bring about free and fair elections in September, the officials said.
Senior administration officials said that the proposal was one of several options under discussion with high-level Egyptian officials around Mr. Mubarak in an effort to persuade the president to step down now.
They cautioned that the outcome depended on several factors, not least Egypt’s own constitutional protocols and the mood of the protesters on the streets of Cairo and other Egyptian cities.
Some officials said there was not yet any indication that either Mr. Suleiman or the Egyptian military was willing to abandon Mr. Mubarak.
Even as the Obama administration is coalescing around a Mubarak-must-go-now posture in private conversations with Egyptian officials, Mr. Mubarak himself remains determined to stay until the election in September, American and Egyptian officials said. His backers forcibly pushed back on Thursday against what they viewed as American interference in Egypt’s internal affairs.
“What they’re asking cannot be done,” one senior Egyptian official said, citing clauses in the Egyptian Constitution that bar the vice president from assuming power. Under the Constitution, the speaker of Parliament would succeed the president. “That’s my technical answer,” the official added. “My political answer is they should mind their own business.”
Mr. Mubarak’s insistence on staying will again be tested by large street protests on Friday, which the demonstrators are calling his “day of departure,” when they plan to march on the presidential palace. The military’s pledge not to fire on the Egyptian people will be tested as well.
Mubarak, in an interview with Christiane Amanpour claimed that he wanted to leave, but that he was concerned about the chaos that would ensue.
That's a laugh-riot, considering that it was his refusal to leave, and his security thugs, that were causing much of the chaos and bloodshed. Mubarak could have spared everyone the scenes of chaos and violence in Tahrir Square had he agreed to an orderly transfer of power and new elections within a short period of time.
He refused to do so.
This is where things get odd. On the one hand, you've got Mubarak in an interview saying that he contemplates leaving, but wont do so because of the chaos that he claims would ensue, and then there's the reports that there's no willingness on his part to leave. Those mixed messages aren't helping matters, and one has to wonder whether he's saying one thing to Amanpour and the US officials, and quite another to his generals. It wouldn't be the first time either.
Amanpour has also managed to snag an interview with current VP Omar Suleiman.
Journalists continue to be targeted by the mobs and security forces.
UPDATE:
The EU is mirroring calls by the US for an orderly transition to a broad-based government that reflects the public will.
Some Egyptians are bridling at what they consider interference in an internal state matter, but if Mubarak is honestly saying he'd leave, then the US efforts aren't meddling but would potentially help keep the violence to a minimum while a transition government is put in place and that existing government officials would not be allowed to run for office or stay beyond their allotted time periods.
The military remains the wildcard in events, and thus far, they're providing security to the protesters in Tahrir Square. That follows two days of riots where pro-Mubarak thugs assaulted and pummeled anti-Mubarak demonstrators. Hundreds were injured in those riots and the videos from Tahrir Square and other locations around Cairo show the harrowing scenes where security forces ran over demonstrators and engaged in a reckless disregard for the lives of their fellow Egyptians or otherwise allowed the pro-Mubarak thugs to run wild through the crowds causing stampedes and carnage.
Since the protests began, more than 5,000 Egyptians have been injured, and at least a dozen people killed.
A further sign that the Mubarak regime is under increasing pressure to quit: Amr Moussa, the Secretary General of the Arab League appeared in Tahrir Square alongside the anti-Mubarak demonstrators.
Amre Moussa, the Arab League's secretary-general and a veteran Egyptian diplomat, joined protesters in Cairo's Tahrir Square on Friday, state-run Nile TV reported. Time magazine has described him as "perhaps the most adored public servant in the Arab world."UPDATE:
Demonstrations are expected today in NYC at Times Square and a march is planned thereafter to the Egyptian mission on the East Side of Manhattan in solidarity with the anti-Mubarak protesters.
The rally will start at 3:30 pm. Protesters are expected to march to the Egyptian Consulate on 59th Street and 2nd Avenue. A large enough crowd could complicate the evening commute for those trying to escape the city via the 59th Street bridge.UPDATE:
The larger rally in Cairo has been dubbed by protesters there as “the day of departure.” They are hoping to get Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to step down.
#UPDATE:
1709: Wael Abbas seems to confirm his own detention, tweeting: "Arrested by the army!"
#
1708: Ramy Yaacoub tweets: "It seems that blogger Wael Abbas has been arrested by the army."
#
1705: CNN Breaking Newslink tweets: "Security force with "thugs" storms website office of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood and makes arrests, group say."
An Egyptian journalist relates harrowing tale. Having a policeman say that she would be lynched wasn't the scariest part of her experience yesterday.
No, that came when crowds surrounded her car:
Having a policeman say he wanted to kill me wasn’t my most frightening moment yesterday in Cairo. That came when police and civilians smashed our car windows -- with the five of us inside it -- jumped up and down on the roof, spat on us, pulled my hair, beat my friends and dragged us into a police van.Meanwhile, Tunisia's government is lifting the state of emergency next week, which undermines Mubarak's argument that Egypt will descend into chaos if he departs. Egypt's unrest continues precisely because he's sticking around past his expiration date.
The five of us were lucky: We emerged from our confrontation with President Hosni Mubarak’s police and operatives alive and relatively healthy. Violence over the past 11 days, much of it in Cairo’s Tahrir Square, has killed as many as 300 people in Egypt, according to the United Nations.
But it was a day I never dreamed could occur in my native city. It happened not because I was a reporter, a Sudan-based contract journalist for Bloomberg News returning to Cairo for vacation. The friends giving me a ride downtown were just trying to take food and first-aid supplies to those injured the previous night in clashes with pro-Mubarak protesters.
UPDATE:
US officials are continuing talks with Egyptian officials, and they're even pressing the Egyptian military to take a leading role in the transition but the focus is on trying to get the opposition to meet with Suleiman to discuss a transition. The opposition doesn't want to engage in talks until after Mubarak leaves:
The Obama administration, encouraged by the relative calm in Egypt on Friday, is urgently trying to persuade opposition groups to participate in a dialogue with Vice President Omar Suleiman in a meeting scheduled for Saturday morning.UPDATE:
Over the past 24 hours, senior administration officials have urged the army and a still-unformed council of respected leaders from across Egyptian society to step forward and bless the dialogue.
President Obama plans to reiterate his call for a transition in public remarks at the White House Friday afternoon.
At the Saturday meeting, the administration hopes that government and opposition leaders will begin to draw the contours of a multi-step transition, including the immediate suspension of harsh emergency laws and establishment of a roadmap for constitutional change and free and fair elections.
Reform protesters have continued to insist that no dialogue can begin until President Hosni Mubarak leaves office. Officials - who discussed the administration's efforts on condition they not be identified or directly quoted - agreed that no substantive progress will be made until Mubarak steps aside.
They said that Mubarak's departure had not been directly addressed in administration conversations with Suleiman, defense leaders and others outside the government. But, they said, that was the recognized subtext.
Mohamed ElBaradei told CNN he's willing to run for president "if people want" him to and if Egypt becomes a "democracy based on social justice." I just don't see people coalescing behind ElBaradei given that he's an outsider and has only recently inserted himself into the opposition of Mubarak. While he's a known quantity for diplomats and the West, what he would actually bring to the table for Egypt is far less certain.
Thursday, February 03, 2011
Senate Passes Repeal of Small Business 1099 Burden
The US Senate voted to repeal the onerous 1099 provision that would have burdened businesses to report to the IRS any purchases of goods and services over $600 a year from another business or individual. The repeal enjoyed broad bipartisan support, passing 81-17, but all 17 opposing were Democrats (or Bernie Saunders), including NY Senators Gillibrand and Schumer.
The 1099 measure was designed to help capture income to balance the overall health care reform package (Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act; PPACA of 2010). The repeal provided some adjustments in how the OMB should cut unnecessary unobligated spending (discretionary spending) to reflect the adjustment in revenues expected and due.
The 1099 measure was designed to help capture income to balance the overall health care reform package (Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act; PPACA of 2010). The repeal provided some adjustments in how the OMB should cut unnecessary unobligated spending (discretionary spending) to reflect the adjustment in revenues expected and due.
New York Set To Extend Smoking Ban To Beaches, Sidewalks, and Parks
Locations where smokers can light up in New York without fear of being fined continues decreasing. The City Council overwhelmingly passed a bill that would prohibit smoking in parks, beaches, boardwalks, and other public areas. It awaits Mayor Bloomberg's signature and would take effect 90 days thereafter:
I have a more substantive criticism of the ban.
How will it affect the city's revenues? Brewer's lackadasical approach to revenues shows that she fails to grasp the repercussions of her vote on city revenues.
If the city (and New York State) rely on tobacco products taxes to help balance the budget, how exactly is banning smoking going to affect those tobacco tax revenues. It isn't going to increase revenues, that's for sure.
It's going to adversely affect the revenues, which means that the programs funded by tobacco tax revenues will be adversely affected. That means that revenues will need to come from somewhere else, or tobacco products taxes will need to be raised even more.
The New York Times reported last year that the state tax hike on cigarettes and tobacco products was expected to raise $440 million in revenue to fund health care programs, including subsidies for AIDS drugs, money for tobacco cessation programs and $71.6 million for the state cancer research center in Buffalo.
If smokers are not lighting up - and they're not purchasing as many packs of cigarettes, then the revenues are going to fall short of what's necessary to fund those programs. The state and city cynically need smokers to balance the budget, so passing bills that reduce where smokers can continue to light up will affect the state's bottom line.
And when the revenues don't meet expectations, watch for more cigarette tax hikes to cover the shortfalls.
By a 36-to-12 vote, the Council passed the most significant expansion of antismoking laws since Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg pushed to prohibit smoking in restaurants and bars in 2002.The limitations are sure to rankle civil libertarians and those who think that the nanny state is once again going too far.
The Council speaker, Christine C. Quinn, said the ban was an affirmation of the rights of nonsmokers. “Their health and their lives should not be negatively impacted because other people have decided to smoke,” Ms. Quinn said at a news conference.
Opponents of the bill spoke strongly against it; several members derided it as an overly broad law that would infringe on individual liberties.
“We’re moving towards a totalitarian society if in fact we’re going to have those kinds of restrictions on New Yorkers,” said Councilman Robert Jackson of Manhattan, who described himself as a marathon runner and nonsmoker.
Others said the ban would set a dangerous precedent. Councilman Daniel J. Halloran III of Queens said, “Once we pass this, we will next be banning smoking on sidewalks, and then in the cars of people who are driving minors and then in the homes.”
A compromise that would establish designated smoking areas outdoors was scuttled by Council leaders in favor of an all-out ban. The bill will become law 90 days after Mr. Bloomberg signs it, which he is expected to do this month.
“This summer, New Yorkers who go to our parks and beaches for some fresh air and fun will be able to breathe even cleaner air and sit on a beach not littered with cigarette butts,” Mr. Bloomberg said in a statement. Enforcement of the law will fall to the Department of Parks and Recreation, which can impose $50 fines.
Councilwoman Gale A. Brewer of Manhattan, a longtime advocate for stricter antismoking laws, said increasing revenue for the city was not the goal.
“I’m not interested in arrests; I’m not interested in revenue,” she said. “I’m just interested in public health.”
I have a more substantive criticism of the ban.
How will it affect the city's revenues? Brewer's lackadasical approach to revenues shows that she fails to grasp the repercussions of her vote on city revenues.
If the city (and New York State) rely on tobacco products taxes to help balance the budget, how exactly is banning smoking going to affect those tobacco tax revenues. It isn't going to increase revenues, that's for sure.
It's going to adversely affect the revenues, which means that the programs funded by tobacco tax revenues will be adversely affected. That means that revenues will need to come from somewhere else, or tobacco products taxes will need to be raised even more.
The New York Times reported last year that the state tax hike on cigarettes and tobacco products was expected to raise $440 million in revenue to fund health care programs, including subsidies for AIDS drugs, money for tobacco cessation programs and $71.6 million for the state cancer research center in Buffalo.
If smokers are not lighting up - and they're not purchasing as many packs of cigarettes, then the revenues are going to fall short of what's necessary to fund those programs. The state and city cynically need smokers to balance the budget, so passing bills that reduce where smokers can continue to light up will affect the state's bottom line.
And when the revenues don't meet expectations, watch for more cigarette tax hikes to cover the shortfalls.
Mayor Bloomberg Sees the Light On Pension Reform
After doing considerable damage to the stability of the pension system over the past 8 years, Mayor Bloomberg has finally come to the realization that all of those sweeteners to the unions to seal contract deals have long-term implications that are increasingly eating into the city's budget. When Bloomberg took office, $1 out of every $28 went to pay for the pension funds.
It's now $1 out of every $8, and Bloomberg has finally come out calling for a major revision of the pension benefit system. It's sure to rankle the very unions and workers who benefited from the pension expansion, but taxpayers can no longer afford the sweetheart deals.
That's going to run into a huge amount of opposition from firefighter, police, and sanitation unions whose members are beneficiaries of that policy. What will most likely happen is that the formula used to calculate the pension will be adjusted.
Instead of the final year salary (or final three years) including overtime, the formula would be expanded to be the final 5 or 7 years - reducing the overall compensation and resulting in a cost savings to the city, but not nearly as much as Bloomberg wants, but one that still preserves part of the benefits package promised to existing workers.
It's further interesting to note that had Bloomberg maintained pension benefits at the 2002 levels, the city would not be in nearly the financial straits it is facing. The city would be on far more solid financial footing and would have been able to weather the recession with far greater ease. Simply put, the city needs to live within its means, and increasing union benefits to win elections is a short-sighted political ploy that damages the financial stability of the municipalities.
It's now $1 out of every $8, and Bloomberg has finally come out calling for a major revision of the pension benefit system. It's sure to rankle the very unions and workers who benefited from the pension expansion, but taxpayers can no longer afford the sweetheart deals.
The mayor wants to require most new municipal workers to work at least 10 years, or double the current amount, to qualify for a pension, and bar them from receiving pension checks until age 65. Now most nonuniformed workers, including teachers, can get pension checks at age 57, and some police officers and firefighters can receive full pension checks after working 20 years, no matter their age.One of the ways that an individual can boost their pension is to work massive amounts of overtime in their final year (or final three years, depending on which contract deal we're talking about), to result in a far higher final salary on which the pension is calculated. Eliminating the overtime from the pension calculation would result in a significant savings to the taxpayers.
New employees would also need to contribute more of their own money to their retirement accounts, according to the plan.
And Mr. Bloomberg would forbid all new employees to benefit from a time-honored practice: adding hundreds of hours of overtime at the end of their careers to balloon their final year’s pay and their pensions.
The mayor did not spare current retirees, vowing to eliminate a $12,000 annual stipend that retired police officers and firefighters get on top of their regular pension benefits.
“This reflects the dire fiscal circumstances the city faces, the devastating impact of increasing pension costs and the desperate need for aggressive reforms,” said Marc La Vorgna, a mayoral spokesman.
The mayor’s pension proposal — coming one day after a shrunken state budget from the new governor, Andrew M. Cuomo, with similar tough talk — represents a clear bid to capitalize on growing concerns about pension costs and rising anti-union sentiments, even among traditional labor allies.
Public pensions are being tightened in other states across the country where government employees, as in New York, receive far more generous retirement benefits than most private employees; many companies are eliminating pensions altogether.
But Mr. Bloomberg’s proposal also represents a departure from his own past practices. His administration has been responsible for a significant portion of the growth in city pension costs, offering generous pension sweeteners during contract negotiations and repeatedly missing opportunities to rein in spending.
Indeed, pension costs are now projected to eat up one of every eight city dollars next year, in contrast to 1 in 28 when he took office in 2002.
Mr. Bloomberg’s package could help the city save at least $200 million a year immediately, and billions of dollars more in the future. But his proposal faces a potentially major obstacle because any changes in the city’s pension system must be approved by the Legislature and the governor.
The mayor has potential allies in Mr. Cuomo and the new Senate majority leader, Dean G. Skelos, a Republican. But Sheldon Silver, the Assembly speaker, will most likely be the wild card.
That's going to run into a huge amount of opposition from firefighter, police, and sanitation unions whose members are beneficiaries of that policy. What will most likely happen is that the formula used to calculate the pension will be adjusted.
Instead of the final year salary (or final three years) including overtime, the formula would be expanded to be the final 5 or 7 years - reducing the overall compensation and resulting in a cost savings to the city, but not nearly as much as Bloomberg wants, but one that still preserves part of the benefits package promised to existing workers.
It's further interesting to note that had Bloomberg maintained pension benefits at the 2002 levels, the city would not be in nearly the financial straits it is facing. The city would be on far more solid financial footing and would have been able to weather the recession with far greater ease. Simply put, the city needs to live within its means, and increasing union benefits to win elections is a short-sighted political ploy that damages the financial stability of the municipalities.
Protesters Continue Defying Mubarak's Regime
After yesterday's riots and skirmishes started when pro-Mubarak groups stampeded camels and horses through Tahrir Square and hundreds of people were injured, the Egyptian Prime Minister apologized for the violence. Gunfire overnight rang out through Tahrir Square and at least five people were killed. That was after hours of melee combat between the pro-Mubarak thugs and protesters included hurling rocks, Molotov cocktails and anything that wasn't firmly attached to the ground.
Multiple journalists were assaulted by mobs of demonstrators, making it more difficult for reporting to get out. So, what has the Egyptian government/military done?
Well, the military has begun rounding up the journalists.
Despite the military's ongoing presence in Cairo, the violence continues as the pro-Mubarak thugs continue their ongoing assault on the protesters.
Meanwhile, jihadis are looking on and trying to figure out how they can take advantage of the situation to further their own agenda.
UPDATE:
There are reports that the Egyptian Central Bank is imposing limits on how much depositors can withdraw. That would suggest that the Bank is contemplating a possible bank run - except that the news of those limits might itself bring on a bank run not just in Cairo, but around the country. That's going to upset the already delicate economic situation even further and would suggest that the government is even more worried about the financial picture than they're letting on.
Meanwhile, the BBC is reporting that the Egyptian Constitution will be amended to impose term limits and who can or can't be elected to the presidency.
The BBC is also reporting that at least one employee at the state-run television network has quit over the propagandizing nature of the network's reporting:
Mohamed ElBaradei has given Mubarak 48 hours to leave the country, but that's an idle threat since ElBaradei doesn't exactly have the power to make that happen. It's just a strong statement made in the hopes of currying favor among the disparate opposition groups.
UPDATE:
The regime is systematically attempting to thwart reporting of the protests, the riots by pro-Mubarak thugs, and otherwise getting the news out about the ongoing conditions in the country.
There are protests in Gaza to support the anti-Mubarak protesters, but similar protests were disbanded by Hamas in Gaza and Fatah has prevented similar gatherings in the West Bank. The PA Prime Minister says that the Egyptian situation is blamed on the failure of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.
And you wonder why I have no expectation of success in a peace process when Israel is demonized its so-called partners in peace at every opportunity.
Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq told state TV that the attack on the anti-government protesters which began late Wednesday was a "blatant mistake" and promised to investigate who was behind it. He said the actions of the pro-Mubarak supporters were "a million percent wrong."
In an attempt to quell the violence, Egyptian army tanks and soldiers cleared away pro-government rioters Thursday and deployed between them and the protesters seeking the fall of President Hosni Mubarak.
The protesters accuse the regime of organizing the assault, using paid thugs and policemen in civilian clothes, in an attempt to crush their movement.
Government supporters charged central Tahrir Square Wednesday afternoon, sparking 15 hours of uncontrolled chaos, with the two sides battled with rocks, sticks, bottles and firebombs as soldiers largely stood by without intervening.
Video: Witness: Gangs roam Cairo with 'iron bars, knives' (on this page)
However, the military began to move with muscle to stop the fighting early Thursday after a barrage of automatic gunfire hit the anti-government camp before dawn.
Four tanks cleared a highway overpass from which Mubarak supporters had hurled rocks and firebombs onto the protesters.
Multiple journalists were assaulted by mobs of demonstrators, making it more difficult for reporting to get out. So, what has the Egyptian government/military done?
Well, the military has begun rounding up the journalists.
The Egyptian military started rounding up journalists, possibly for their own protection, on Thursday after they came under attack from supporters of President Hosni Mubarak who have been assaulting anti-government protesters.Instead of capturing those who were assaulting the journalists, the military is squandering an opportunity to do the right thing to maintain the flow of information.
The U.S. State Department condemned what it called a "concerted campaign to intimidate" foreign journalists in Egypt. The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday that violence against journalists was part of a series of deliberate attacks and called on the Egyptian military to provide protection for reporters.
Foreign photographers reported a string of attacks on them by Mubarak supporters on Thursday near Tahrir Square, the scene of battles between supporters of Mubarak and protesters demanding he step down after nearly 30 years in power.
One Greek print journalist was stabbed in the leg with a screwdriver. A Greek freelance photographer was punched in the face by a group of men who stopped him on the street near Tahrir Square and smashed some of his equipment.
An Associated Press reporter saw eight foreign journalists detained by the military near the prime minister's office, not far from Tahrir Square
The Arabic-language satellite channel Al-Arabiya pleaded on an urgent news scroll for the army to protect its offices and journalists.
Despite the military's ongoing presence in Cairo, the violence continues as the pro-Mubarak thugs continue their ongoing assault on the protesters.
Meanwhile, jihadis are looking on and trying to figure out how they can take advantage of the situation to further their own agenda.
At Muslm.net, a Web site associated with Al Qaeda in Egypt, the call was for foreign youths to come to Egypt to join the jihad.Perhaps most ominous are the calls for the jihadi groups to come under the Muslim Brotherhood umbrella to help topple the Mubarak regime.
“Hey, brothers, the fall of Egypt’s tyrant is a fall of the earth’s tyrants,” it urged. “This is the time to slaughter the cow.”
That, one expert said, was about the most they could make of the crisis.
“Like always, Al Qaeda’s online movement is viewing this through consummately opportunist lenses,” said Jarret Brachman, a counterterrorism consultant and author of the book “Global Jihadism,” who monitors jihadi Web sites.
Elsewhere, Web postings urged jihadis in Egypt to attack the Arish-Ashkelon gas pipeline, which goes to Israel. “This is a chance to stop the supply to the Israelites,” urged a writer on the Shumukh al-Islam forum, according to a translation by the SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors extremist Web sites.
In Yemen, where Al Qaeda in the Arab Peninsula is stronger, the group posted a videotaped speech by its deputy leader Abu Sufyan al-Azdi encouraging attacks on a Shiite group that it considered part of an Iranian advance on the country, according to SITE.
The jihadi groups, which created mayhem in Egypt in the early part of the last decade, were largely crushed by Mr. Mubarak’s government, and do not enjoy popular support. They face structural challenges in Egypt, where the Muslim Brotherhood, a conservative but nonviolent organization, forms the best-known political opposition.
Though many Qaeda leaders, including Osama bin Laden’s No. 2, Ayman al-Zawahri, began in the Muslim Brotherhood, the two movements have often contrary positions, and the Brotherhood on Tuesday announced its support of Mohamed ElBaradei, a liberal Muslim, to lead an opposition umbrella group in negotiations on a new government to replace Mr. Mubarak’s — a position that is antithetical to Al Qaeda, because it exalts human authority rather than divine.
On Hanein, a Qaeda Web site, a poster using the name Citizen of the Village called jihadis to join with the Muslim Brotherhood because both supported Islamic revolution, whatever their differences.
“You have printed the exact truth,” another replied. “We have to sacrifice for our religion and not let titles hinder us.”
From their weakened position, some jihadis struggled to figure out their role in the protests in Cairo.
In a post on the Ansar al-Mujahedeen forum, translated by SITE, an anonymous writer noted many jihadis’ objections to the demonstrators’ “mistakes and distance from religion.”
But he added, “it is nevertheless our duty not to ignore the benefits that may come about,” including an empty throne. “Jihadists may then leap on that throne.”
Yet, the writer also acknowledged that within the jihadi movement many felt that replacing Mr. Mubarak with a secular, democratic leader might mean simply exchanging one tyrant with ties to the United States with another. “So we wait and do not care for those revolutionaries against injustice, and we continue our jihadi path and the support of our jihadi brothers.” Ultimately, “separating the jihadi movement from the popular Muslim movement is the end of this movement,” he wrote.
UPDATE:
There are reports that the Egyptian Central Bank is imposing limits on how much depositors can withdraw. That would suggest that the Bank is contemplating a possible bank run - except that the news of those limits might itself bring on a bank run not just in Cairo, but around the country. That's going to upset the already delicate economic situation even further and would suggest that the government is even more worried about the financial picture than they're letting on.
Meanwhile, the BBC is reporting that the Egyptian Constitution will be amended to impose term limits and who can or can't be elected to the presidency.
#That's not sufficient to placate the protesters.
1457: More from Vice-President Suleiman, as reported by state TV: He says articles 76 and 77 of the Egyptian constitution will be amended, and other articles are open to amendment as well. Article 76 specifies who can or can't run for president, and article 77 says the president can be re-elected, without specifying a term limit.
The BBC is also reporting that at least one employee at the state-run television network has quit over the propagandizing nature of the network's reporting:
#NYT Lede coverage continues here.
1450: Shahira Amin, was until yesterday a journalist with the state-run Egyptian channel, Nile TV. She told the BBC World Service that she had to leave her job because she no longer felt able to report the state view when what she saw on the street was so different: "We were basically showing the pro-Mubarak rallies all day long, as if that was the only thing that was happening. I couldn't show what was happening here in Tahrir. I couldn't even report the figures as they were. So no thank you. I feel liberated."
Mohamed ElBaradei has given Mubarak 48 hours to leave the country, but that's an idle threat since ElBaradei doesn't exactly have the power to make that happen. It's just a strong statement made in the hopes of currying favor among the disparate opposition groups.
UPDATE:
The regime is systematically attempting to thwart reporting of the protests, the riots by pro-Mubarak thugs, and otherwise getting the news out about the ongoing conditions in the country.
Many journalists covering the protests in Egypt were detained and attacked on Thursday, and human rights groups were also a target, in what appeared to be an escalating effort to block reports on the violence.UPDATE:
The Egyptian security forces were rounding up workers for human rights groups as well as foreign journalists, witnesses in Cairo said. Security police raided the Hisham Mubarak Law Center, where many nongovernmental organizations operate. They ordered people there to lie on the floor and disabled their mobile phones. Two people were being interrogated. The state news agency Thursday has asked foreign press to evacuate all the hotels near Tahrir Square.
The Committee to Protect Journalists was investigating at least 10 cases of reporters being detained on Thursday. The government told the journalists that they were not being arrested but rather taken into "protective custody," according to the group.
There are protests in Gaza to support the anti-Mubarak protesters, but similar protests were disbanded by Hamas in Gaza and Fatah has prevented similar gatherings in the West Bank. The PA Prime Minister says that the Egyptian situation is blamed on the failure of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.
Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad said Thursday during a visit to Paris that he thinks the failure to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is playing into the unrest in Egypt and elsewhere in the Middle East.Ah, when all else fails, blame Israel. Never mind that the situation in Egypt is directly related to with the failure of Mubarak to provide socioeconomic opportunities and allow a political process to develop and flourish that was open - high food costs, high unemployment, and lack of political participation have nothing to do with Israel and everything to do with the autocratic regime in place whose economic policies have led to more than half the population of Egypt living on less than $2 a day.
Fayyad said he thinks protesters' complaints stem partly from the internal situations in countries hit by unrest, but also from "a frustration, a desperation because of the failure of efforts to solve the Palestinian problem."
And you wonder why I have no expectation of success in a peace process when Israel is demonized its so-called partners in peace at every opportunity.
Wednesday, February 02, 2011
Gov. Cuomo Launches Assault on Dysfunctional Budget Process Including Medicaid and Education Funding Mechanisms
Gov. Andrew Cuomo seems to get it. His budget proposal for the upcoming fiscal years shows that he understands the nature of the beast. The state's financial health has been destroyed because of structural deficits brought on because the state legislature and political leaders have been unwilling to tackle the sources of the deficits - cost adjustments that require increases far above the rate of inflation or other standard metrics.
I have no doubt that opponents will claim that Cuomo is slashing critical budget items and that women and minorities will be hardest hit, but here are some facts.
Cuomo is talking about resetting the formula used to fund Medicaid and state education, which are the key drivers in pushing the state budget into deficit on an annual basis. Reforming those areas would help bring the state's finances into balance without resorting to one-shots and other financial trickery.
Former Gov. Paterson tried to deal with the same issues when he came to office, and he even initially proposed a 1.1% increase to the budget budget, up until the moment he frittered away his advantage and caved in to give a 4.9% increase in the state budget, funded largely through tax and fee increases. When the revenues from those tax and fee hikes failed to materialize, the deficit was further exacerbated.
Cuomo has to do much better than that, and his head-on assault of the Medicaid funding mechanism is a good start. That's sure to get the usual suspects up in arms, including some politicians who would rather treat that separate from the budget process, but that's a wholly ignorant stance. The Medicaid financing structure is critical to the state budgeting process, and reforming the financing structure is going to help bring the state's finances into order and address longstanding structural deficits.
I have no doubt that opponents will claim that Cuomo is slashing critical budget items and that women and minorities will be hardest hit, but here are some facts.
Cuomo is talking about resetting the formula used to fund Medicaid and state education, which are the key drivers in pushing the state budget into deficit on an annual basis. Reforming those areas would help bring the state's finances into balance without resorting to one-shots and other financial trickery.
Cuomo will propose legislation that would change the system involving what are known as Article 7 bills, which accompany the budget when it is submitted to the Legislature.The opposition will try to claim that the governor is slashing their budgets, but the reality is that he's merely reducing the rate of increase. That's a huge difference, and it's one that everyone needs to recognize. The state isn't cutting these budgets, but trying to slow the rate of increase. For those who are reliant on those programs, they're going to complain that their services are being slashed, but this proposal brings a rationality to the programs and will help slow the already sky-high cost of health care and education throughout the state.
He revealed Monday that most of the state's widely forecast $10 billion budget deficit was the result of automatic "sham" spending increases that have no bearing on the state's fiscal reality.
Unlike the budget itself, which has a legal life of just one year, Article 7 bills become "permanent law" upon adoption and remain in effect until changed or repealed.
Cuomo's budget director, Robert Megna, said the Article 7 changes would substitute the widely used Medical Consumer Price Index formula for the nearly impenetrable and complex set of some 200 measurements used for decades to project cost hikes in the $50 billion-plus Medicaid program.
The current formula, if followed, would have increased Medicaid by almost 14 percent, while the new system would limit growth to about 4 percent annually, Megna said.
Former Gov. Paterson tried to deal with the same issues when he came to office, and he even initially proposed a 1.1% increase to the budget budget, up until the moment he frittered away his advantage and caved in to give a 4.9% increase in the state budget, funded largely through tax and fee increases. When the revenues from those tax and fee hikes failed to materialize, the deficit was further exacerbated.
Cuomo has to do much better than that, and his head-on assault of the Medicaid funding mechanism is a good start. That's sure to get the usual suspects up in arms, including some politicians who would rather treat that separate from the budget process, but that's a wholly ignorant stance. The Medicaid financing structure is critical to the state budgeting process, and reforming the financing structure is going to help bring the state's finances into order and address longstanding structural deficits.
Dark Days Ahead For Mets Ownership
The Wilpons are in huge trouble. They've been denying that their financial situation was adversely affected by the Madoff scandal, but revelations in the past 48 hours shows a significantly different picture.
It suggests that the Wilpons made out like bandits for being associated with Bernard Madoff and that the Met organization's financial situation was tied to Madoff.
What does this mean for the Mets organization? It may result in a sale of the entire team, rather than just a fractional share as the Wilpons announced earlier this week. The last thing that baseball, and the Mets, needs is for the team to be embroiled in a major financial/criminal scandal.
Mets GM Sandy Alderson says that the situation wont affect the Mets on the field, but that's just putting a spin on things. The financial situation is tenuous at best, and Alderson is limited as to how much money he can spend on bringing players to New York because of the situation. Players may also be shying away from the Mets because of the unsettled financial situation.
It will take time to untangle the financial holdings of all the parties involved, but if this means the end of the Wilpons' ownership of the Mets, I think that Met fans would cheer heartily.
It suggests that the Wilpons made out like bandits for being associated with Bernard Madoff and that the Met organization's financial situation was tied to Madoff.
Now, however, a lawsuit against Mr. Wilpon and Mr. Katz brought by the trustee for victims of Mr. Madoff has suggested the relationship — financially and personally — was deeper than anyone might have suspected. The trustee, Irving H. Picard, has alleged that the two men’s dealings with Mr. Madoff were extensive and longstanding, and that they went on even after suspicions about Mr. Madoff’s operation were raised, according to two lawyers involved in the case.If Cashen's statements can be corroborated by the evidence, and there's further evidence that the Wilpons shilled for Madoff, we may yet see the Wilpons perp-walked for their involvement in the Ponzi scheme.
As a result, according to the lawyers, Mr. Picard has asserted that Mr. Wilpon and Mr. Katz either knew or should have known that Mr. Madoff’s operation was a potential fraud. Mr. Wilpon, Mr. Katz and their lawyers have refused to comment on the lawsuit, which was filed under seal in December in federal bankruptcy court in Manhattan.
But interviews with current and former associates of Mr. Wilpon and Mr. Katz, as well as former employees of the club, former employees of Mr. Madoff and others, make it clear that the relationship was substantial and that the role Mr. Madoff played in the financial life of the ball club and the Wilpon and Katz families was pervasive.
“The relationship between Fred and Bernie became closer and closer because Bernie was returning more and more to Fred in terms of his investments while Bernie is getting exposure from Fred and Saul,” said Jerry Reisman, a lawyer in Garden City, N.Y., who has represented 10 or so commercial real estate investors who lost a total of some $150 million to Mr. Madoff.
“They both relied on one another,” he said. “It was reciprocal, symbiotic. They both relied on each other for money, and Bernie also relied on Fred for contacts.”
One former executive with the Mets recalled how it could work:
“I remember vividly Madoff’s name being brought up a lot when” the team “would negotiate contracts, particularly with deferments,” said the former executive, who would not be identified because he did not want to harm his career in baseball. “That money would be turned over to Madoff.
“And as part of friends and family of the Mets, they offered people the opportunity to invest in Bernie. There was talk about Bernie averaging like 15 percent for the Wilpons. It just seemed too good to be true, but then you think the owner has vetted it.”
Frank Cashen, the former general manager of the Mets who built the team that won the 1986 World Series, said it was his understanding that several million dollars of his deferred compensation had been invested with Mr. Madoff, but that he had been paid. Asked whether it was Mr. Wilpon or Mr. Katz who was more likely to push the idea of investing with Mr. Madoff, Mr. Cashen, who stepped down as general manager in 1991, said, “To me, they operated in unison.”
What does this mean for the Mets organization? It may result in a sale of the entire team, rather than just a fractional share as the Wilpons announced earlier this week. The last thing that baseball, and the Mets, needs is for the team to be embroiled in a major financial/criminal scandal.
Mets GM Sandy Alderson says that the situation wont affect the Mets on the field, but that's just putting a spin on things. The financial situation is tenuous at best, and Alderson is limited as to how much money he can spend on bringing players to New York because of the situation. Players may also be shying away from the Mets because of the unsettled financial situation.
It will take time to untangle the financial holdings of all the parties involved, but if this means the end of the Wilpons' ownership of the Mets, I think that Met fans would cheer heartily.
Chaos Descends As Pro Mubarak Thugs Attack Protesters In Tahrir Square
The scenes in Tahrir Square are one of chaos and violence as pro-Mubarak thugs are stirring up trouble and renewed rioting. The pro-Mubarak thugs rode horses and camels through the crowd, causing a stampede among the groups looking to oust Mubarak. Countless people were trampled in the melee. At least 1 person killed and 300 injured:
Things are about to get a whole lot more dangerous for all involved - including for Mubarak. He's left himself no wiggle room, and with the rioters descending on the peaceful protesters at Tahrir Square, there will be a call for blood.
Also, while Mubarak claimed yesterday that he would not run for reelection in the September elections, there's quite a bit that he didn't say, which is even more noteworthy:
From the BBC live feed:
UPDATE:
Anderson Cooper, who is covering the protests at Tahrir Square for CNN was attacked by a crowd of people. Tear gas and molotov cocktails are being hurled into the crowds.
UPDATE:
The Army is holding its fire. It wont take actions against either the demonstrators or the pro-Mubarak agitators who have streamed into Tahrir Square to disrupt what had been peaceful demonstrations. Via BBC:
Multiple reports indicate that pro-Mubarak thugs are throwing firebombs/molotov cocktails, and several have fallen on the grounds of the Cairo Museum. Army soldiers and demonstrators have been trying to put out the fires before they spread. The pro-Mubarak thugs continue throwing firebombs at the protesters.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon says that the transition of power should occur now. That's yet another call for Mubarak to step down. Those calls are increasing, even as the pro-Mubarak thugs are streaming into the streets to confront the demonstrators.
UPDATE:
Here's more video, showing pro-Mubarak thugs hurling Molotov cocktails and getting into scrums with protesters - sending volleys of rocks hurling at each other:
Things are about to get a whole lot more dangerous for all involved - including for Mubarak. He's left himself no wiggle room, and with the rioters descending on the peaceful protesters at Tahrir Square, there will be a call for blood.
Also, while Mubarak claimed yesterday that he would not run for reelection in the September elections, there's quite a bit that he didn't say, which is even more noteworthy:
1. Emergency law is still effective, which means oppression, brutality, arrests, and torture will continue. How can you have any hope for fair democratic elections under emergency law where the police have absolute power?2. Internet is still not working, no talks of lifting censorship.The Army is now calling for an end to the protests, which means that the window of opportunity for the anti-Mubarak protesters is closing fast.
3. No talks of allowing freedom of speech, freedom to create political parties, freedom to participate in politics without the risk of getting arrested. FYI to start a political party you need the government's permission. How do you expect democracy to come out of this?
4. He said he will put anyone responsible for corruption to trial right? What about putting the police who killed 300+ to trial? What about members of NDP who are the most corrupt businessmen/politicians in the country. Do you think he'll put those to trial? Think again.
5. He didn't even take responsibility for anything that went wrong in the last 30 years. Not even his condolences to the martyrs who have fallen in this revolution.
From the BBC live feed:
#Far too many people think that the US is omnipotent and can simply deem whoever it chooses to be in power, or that it can force Mubarak from power. It's never quite that easy or simple, and it still remains up to the Egyptian people and Mubarak to figure out the path ahead.
1432: Egyptian state-owned Channel One TV cites a security source as saying that no gun shots have been fired in Tahrir Square, as reported by al-Jazeera.
#
1430: A journalist in Tahrir Square tells al-Jazeera that one of the pro-government demonstrators has been killed. Hundreds of people have also been wounded, the journalist says.
#
1426: Ola in Egypt writes: "Not only will Mubarak and the Egyptian military be blamed for any bloodshed that happens today, but also the western governments - Obama, the UK and the EU for sitting back and watching. For encouraging him to buy time while watching him use very low tactics." Have Your Say
UPDATE:
Anderson Cooper, who is covering the protests at Tahrir Square for CNN was attacked by a crowd of people. Tear gas and molotov cocktails are being hurled into the crowds.
UPDATE:
The Army is holding its fire. It wont take actions against either the demonstrators or the pro-Mubarak agitators who have streamed into Tahrir Square to disrupt what had been peaceful demonstrations. Via BBC:
#UPDATE:
1534: BBC world affairs editor John Simpson, in Tahrir Square, says: "I am among a group of Mubarak supporters. They have been preparing all sorts of weapons - pulling down iron railings, breaking up paving stones - and using them against anti-government protesters. There has been a kind of counter-attack by the pro-Mubarak groups, who are determined to force the remaining protesters out of the square. The soldiers are right here, sitting on their tanks, looking on and occasionally taking shelter, but are not trying to intervene. People know the army is not going to fire on either side, so their presence is not intimidating. The Mubarak supporters are forcing their way into the square through all the main entrances, and trying to force out the protesters gathered there."
Multiple reports indicate that pro-Mubarak thugs are throwing firebombs/molotov cocktails, and several have fallen on the grounds of the Cairo Museum. Army soldiers and demonstrators have been trying to put out the fires before they spread. The pro-Mubarak thugs continue throwing firebombs at the protesters.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon says that the transition of power should occur now. That's yet another call for Mubarak to step down. Those calls are increasing, even as the pro-Mubarak thugs are streaming into the streets to confront the demonstrators.
UPDATE:
Here's more video, showing pro-Mubarak thugs hurling Molotov cocktails and getting into scrums with protesters - sending volleys of rocks hurling at each other:
Tuesday, February 01, 2011
Jihad Jane Enters Guilty Plea On Four Terror-Related Charges
Colleen LaRose, who had been dubbed Jihad Jane, has entered a guilty plea on all four terror-related charges.
Prior coverage is here.
Colleen LaRose, the woman who authorities say called herself "Jihad Jane" on YouTube, has changed her mind about fighting government charges that she was plotting to wage violent jihad overseas. She pleaded guilty to all counts Tuesday at a federal change-of-plea hearing in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.Al Qaeda in Iraq had put a $100,000 bounty on Vilks for his involvement in depicting Mohammed.
LaRose was indicted in 2009 on four counts, including conspiring to support terrorists and kill someone overseas. She was allegedly part of a plot to murder Swedish cartoonist Lars Vilks, who outraged some by depicting the prophet Mohammed with the body of a dog in 2007.
Five other co-conspirators were allegedly involved, but never named by the government.
LaRose also is accused of lying to a federal agent and attempted identity theft.
Prior coverage is here.
MTA Mulls Safety Doors For Subways
This is an idea that makes tremendous sense, but the cost is going to be the main issue barring implementation.
The doors would also reduce the amount of trash that collects on the tracks. That trash often starts fires when sparks given off from passing subway cars ignite the newspapers and other debris that commuters toss into the tracks rather than garbage cans. That, in turn, would reduce the amount of garbage that rats and mice could feed upon, and help the MTA get the rodent problem under control.
Would you accept higher fares for the safety that these doors would bring?
The MTA may install sliding mechanical doors on subway platforms so riders can't fall, jump - or get pushed to the tracks.Congestion and crowding at some stations makes the likelihood of even being accidentally pushed onto the tracks a real possibility. It would make the subways vastly safer, and it would allow for the implementation of improved climate control in stations, which are often unbearably hot in the winter or incredibly cold in the summer.
The metal-and-glass doors would be part of a barrier along a platform's edge and would open only after a train stops at the station, a Metropolitan Transportation Authority document shows.
The system would help prevent tragic incidents, like the Sunday morning death on the L train tracks of 24-year-old Brendan Mahoney in Brooklyn, officials said.
And it would protect riders from killers like Andrew Goldstein, the mental patient who shoved 32-year-old Kendra Webdale to her death in front of a speeding N train beneath Madison Square Park in 1999.
In 2009 alone, 90 people were struck by trains - and 40 died, NYC Transit stats show. "We are very early in the process of looking at the possibility of installing platform doors that would go a long way toward enhancing passenger safety and station appearance," MTA spokesman Kevin Ortiz said.
The protective platforms under consideration are increasingly common overseas in cities like London, Paris and Tokyo. They are also in use closer to home at AirTrain stops in Queens and in New Jersey.
The doors would also reduce the amount of trash that collects on the tracks. That trash often starts fires when sparks given off from passing subway cars ignite the newspapers and other debris that commuters toss into the tracks rather than garbage cans. That, in turn, would reduce the amount of garbage that rats and mice could feed upon, and help the MTA get the rodent problem under control.
Would you accept higher fares for the safety that these doors would bring?
Egyptians Mull the Next Step UPDATE: Mubarak Wont Resign, But Wont Run For Reelection
Ordinary citizens have banded together to provide protection for themselves, their neighbors, and provide local authority. They're trying to protect key infrastructure and provide basic services as the government police and security have all but disappeared.
And Egyptians aren't exactly rushing to back Mohamed ElBaradei either. They see him as an outsider and interloper.
Hundreds of thousands of Egyptians took to the streets today demanding that Mubarak step down.
Stephen Walt at Foreign Policy is calling on President Obama to demand that Mubarak step down. I think that's the wrong tact - the President has to continue walking a fine line between being supportive of democratic rights and freedoms for the Egyptian people, and being cognizant that the Mubarak regime has been an ally of the US for more than 30 years and if the US backs the change now, other US allies throughout the region and the rest of the world may take that as a sign to consider other allies down the road.
Frankly, the outcome in Egypt wont be decided by Washington. It will be decided by the Egyptian people and Mubarak himself. Egyptian protesters are planning on marching on the presidential palace itself:
That's sure to hammer home just how tenuous a hold Mubarak has on his power. His power continues slipping through his hands no matter how hard he's tried to retain power. Sacrificing his cabinet and ministers didn't have an effect because the Egyptians are past window dressing and are demanding nothing less than Mubarak step down.
UPDATE:
Photos from the ongoing protests in Tahrir Square and elsewhere in Egypt. While the size of the protests have been estimated at anywhere from 250,000 to 2 million, the crowds are gathering despite an ongoing curfew and they are showing no sign of relenting on their demands.
UPDATE:
Mubarak is reportedly not going to run for reelection as head of Egypt in elections scheduled for September. The problem is that he's not going to step down now either, and that's the only thing that will satisfy the millions of Egyptians who have taken to the streets to protest his regime.
And Egyptians aren't exactly rushing to back Mohamed ElBaradei either. They see him as an outsider and interloper.
Hundreds of thousands of Egyptians took to the streets today demanding that Mubarak step down.
The army's pledge on Monday not to use force against demonstrators emboldened Egyptians to push for the biggest shake-up of the political system since 1952 when army officers deposed King Farouk.Video of Tahrir Square:
More than 200,000 Egyptians crowded into Tahrir Square in central Cairo and 20,000 marched in Suez with reports of protests in other cities such as Alexandria.
"Mubarak go away to Saudi or Bahrain" and "We don't want you, we don't want you," chanted men, women and children in a sea of people that began gathering from the early hours.
The scenes in Tahrir (Liberation) Square, which has become a rallying point for protests over poverty, repression and corruption, were in sharp contrast to Friday when police beat, teargassed and sprayed water cannon on protesters.
There had been talk that the protesters, some shouting "Revolution, Revolution, until victory," would march on the presidential palace on Tuesday but by early afternoon the crowds had not moved from the square.
Initially unorganized, the protests against Mubarak are gradually coalescing into a loose reformist movement encompassing many sections of Egyptian society.
Young unemployed mixed with members of the Islamist movement the Muslim Brotherhood, and the urban poor held hands in solidarity with doctors and teachers.
"We are calling for the overthrow of the regime. We have one goal, and that is to remove Hosni, nothing else. Our politicians need to step in and form coalitions and committees to propose a new administration," said Ahmed Abdelmoneim, 25, a computer engineer.
Stephen Walt at Foreign Policy is calling on President Obama to demand that Mubarak step down. I think that's the wrong tact - the President has to continue walking a fine line between being supportive of democratic rights and freedoms for the Egyptian people, and being cognizant that the Mubarak regime has been an ally of the US for more than 30 years and if the US backs the change now, other US allies throughout the region and the rest of the world may take that as a sign to consider other allies down the road.
Frankly, the outcome in Egypt wont be decided by Washington. It will be decided by the Egyptian people and Mubarak himself. Egyptian protesters are planning on marching on the presidential palace itself:
That's sure to hammer home just how tenuous a hold Mubarak has on his power. His power continues slipping through his hands no matter how hard he's tried to retain power. Sacrificing his cabinet and ministers didn't have an effect because the Egyptians are past window dressing and are demanding nothing less than Mubarak step down.
UPDATE:
Photos from the ongoing protests in Tahrir Square and elsewhere in Egypt. While the size of the protests have been estimated at anywhere from 250,000 to 2 million, the crowds are gathering despite an ongoing curfew and they are showing no sign of relenting on their demands.
UPDATE:
Mubarak is reportedly not going to run for reelection as head of Egypt in elections scheduled for September. The problem is that he's not going to step down now either, and that's the only thing that will satisfy the millions of Egyptians who have taken to the streets to protest his regime.
Jordan's King Abdullah Attempts To Get Ahead of Protests
The problems that are racking Egypt with protests and riots can be found throughout the Middle East. Regimes that are not responsive or responsible to the people. Regimes that have excused their failing policies by blaming others - whether it is the US, Israel, or a combination of the two. Regimes that crush any and all opposition because they are perceived as threats to the regimes.
Jordan is no exception.
Now, Jordan's King Abdullah is trying to stave off the death rattle that currently swirls around Egypt's Hosni Mubarak. King Abdullah has fired his entire government.
Jordan is no exception.
Now, Jordan's King Abdullah is trying to stave off the death rattle that currently swirls around Egypt's Hosni Mubarak. King Abdullah has fired his entire government.
Jordan's Royal Palace says the king has fired his government in the wake of street protests and has asked an ex-army general to form a new Cabinet.It's anything but clear whether these steps will placate the Jordanian people, or whether even more drastic steps will need to be taken to prevent the protests from turning into riots that spiral out of the king's control.
King Abdullah's move comes after thousands of Jordanians took to the streets -- inspired by the regime ouster in Tunisia and the turmoil in Egypt -- and called for the resignation of Prime Minister Samir Rifai who is blamed for a rise in fuel and food prices and slowed political reforms.
The Royal Palace says Rifai's Cabinet resigned on Tuesday.
Abdullah also nominated Marouf al-Bakhit as his prime minister-designate. No other details were immediately available.
Demonstrators inspired by mass protests in Tunisia and Egypt had called for Rifai's dismissal.
"(Bakhit) is a former general and briefly ambassador to Israel who has been prime minister before. He's someone who would be seen as a safe pair of hands," said Rosemary Hollis, professor of Middle East policy studies at London's City University.
"I wouldn't see it as a sign of liberalization. With his previous premiership, he talked the talk of reform but little actually happened," she said.
Under fire from an enraged public over high food prices, Rifai announced wage increases two weeks ago to civil servants and the military in an attempt to restore calm.
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