Six from Truthout:


Friday 27 May 2011
Inviting Chaos: The Perils of Toying With the Debt Ceiling
Ellen Brown, Truthout: "On May 16, The Wall Street Journal published an opinion piece titled 'The Armageddon Lobby,' which claimed that a 'technical default' on the federal debt was just 'political melodrama' and not really a big deal: '[B]ond markets can figure out the difference between a genuine default when a country can't pay its bills and a technical default of a few days if it serves the purpose of fixing America's fiscal mess.' It is not just that the government could be brought to a standstill, with a third of its bills now being paid by borrowing, or that interest rates would shoot up, forcing thousands of homeowners into foreclosure. Failure to pay on the national debt could trigger a default on the global reserve currency."
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William Rivers Pitt | They Love Each Other
William Rivers Pitt, Truthout: "For the first time, a majority of Americans are in favor of same-sex marriage, which may simply be another way of saying they don't give a damn one way or the other. The turgid culture war issues of the last few decades don't appear to be high on most people's priority list anymore, now that wars and unemployment and economic calamity have crowded them out. Jim Daly, president of the holy-rolling Focus on the Family, recently said the fight over same-sex marriage is all but over, and his side did not prevail. My home state of Massachusetts enjoys the honor, thanks to the 2004 ruling in Goodridge v. The Department of Health, of being the first state in this union to legalize same-sex marriage. In Cambridge, just across the river, they lined up around the block at City Hall to make the oath and take the plunge. There were so many smiles, so many hugs, so many tears of pure joy on that day. It was magical, and far overdue."
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Asserting War Powers, House Moves to End Afghanistan, Libya Wars
Robert Naiman, Truthout: "Voting on amendments to the 2012 National Defense Authorization Act, the House of Representatives took action to hasten the end of the wars in Afghanistan and Libya. By a 204-215 vote roll call - six switchers would have passed the amendment - the House narrowly failed to adopt a bipartisan amendment from Reps. Jim McGovern (D-Massachusetts) and Justin Amash (R-Michigan) that would have required the Department of Defense (DoD) to develop a plan for an, 'accelerated transition of military operations to Afghan authorities.' By the spectacular vote of 416-5, the House adopted an amendment initiated by Michigan Rep. John Conyers prohibiting the introduction into Libya of US ground troops (that is, uniformed forces, not Special Forces or CIA agents that are already there)."
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Paul Krugman | For Emerging Economies, a Dilemma Becomes a "Trilemma"
Paul Krugman, Krugman & Co.: "I don't know why I didn't think to put it this way before - and I don't know if anyone else is saying this - but what we have here is a classic example of the Mundellian impossible trinity, also known as 'the trilemma,' which says that you can't simultaneously have free movement of capital, a stable exchange rate and independent monetary policy. So, how does this apply to current issues? Advanced countries, very much including the United States, are weighed down by the aftereffects of the 2008 financial crisis; this has led to low investment returns. Meanwhile, emerging markets are in much better shape, so capital wants to go there."
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News in Brief: Fed Gave Secret Bailout to Foreign Banks, and More ...
The Federal Reserve secretly doled out money totaling at least $30 million to three foreign banks at interest rates as low as 0.01 percent during the 2008 financial crisis; Reagan-appointed Federal District Court Judge James Cacheris ruled late Thursday that corporations have a right to contribute money directly to political candidates; tribal leaders in Yemen warn of a civil war in President Ali Abdullah Saleh doesn't step down, as government war planes are reported bombing fighters linked to a prominent tribal leader; Google Inc. and two of its executives are being sued by the Internet giants eBay and PayPal for stealing trade secrets about mobile payment systems.
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Welcome to the Violent World of Mr. Hopey Changey
John Pilger, Truthout: "A new imperial phase is unfolding in direct response to the Arab uprising that began in January and has shocked Washington and Europe, causing an Eden-style panic. The loss of the Egyptian tyrant Mubarak was grievous, though not irretrievable; an American-backed counterrevolution is under way as the military regime in Cairo is seduced with new bribes and power shifting from the street to political groups that did not initiate the revolution. The Western aim, as ever, is to stop authentic democracy and reclaim control. Libya is the immediate opportunity. The NATO attack on Libya, with the UN Security Council assigned to mandate a bogus 'no fly zone' to 'protect civilians,' is strikingly similar to the final destruction of Yugoslavia in 1999. There was no UN cover for the bombing of Serbia and the 'rescue' of Kosovo, yet the propaganda echoes today."
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