News New Mexico: 05/06/11

Greece Considers Exit from Euro Zone

Discovering the Trouble with Socialism in Greece

Spiegel - Greece's economic problems are massive, with protests against the government being held almost daily. Now Prime Minister George Papandreou apparently feels he has no other option: SPIEGEL ONLINE has obtained information from German government sources knowledgeable of the situation in Athens indicating that Papandreou's government is considering abandoning the euro and reintroducing its own currency. Alarmed by Athens' intentions, the European Commission has called a crisis meeting in Luxembourg on Friday night.

The meeting is taking place at Château de Senningen, a site used by the Luxembourg government for official meetings. In addition to Greece's possible exit from the currency union, a speedy restructuring of the country's debt also features on the agenda. One year after the Greek crisis broke out, the development represents a potentially existential turning point for the European monetary union -- regardless which variant is ultimately decided upon for dealing with Greece's massive troubles. Given the tense situation, the meeting in Luxembourg has been declared highly confidential, with only the euro-zone finance ministers and senior staff members permitted to attend. Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble of Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and Jörg Asmussen, an influential state secretary in the Finance Ministry, are attending on Germany's behalf. Read full story here: News New Mexico

Kudlow: Are We Done in Afghanistan?

Larry Kudlow

Townhall - In the aftermath of the killing of Osama bin Laden, I found myself agreeing with Charles Krauthammer that this was a global game-changer for American greatness. It was a gutsy and courageous decision by President Obama, brilliantly executed by the Navy SEALs and all the intelligence and support behind them.As Krauthammer put it, after the tough slogs in Iraq and Afghanistan, this amounts to the restoration of unquestioned U.S. military dominance. America has not slipped, nor has our military reach and power. But now I want to ask a more difficult question. With the killing of Osama, is the Afghan mission complete? The original post-9/11 goal was to kill bin Laden and wipe out al-Qaida. Now that we've killed bin Laden and dismantled so much of al-Qaida, do we really need to trudge through an even longer war in Afghanistan?
Ayman Al-Zawahiri is in Pakistan. Perhaps the SEALs can dismantle him. Anwar Al-Awlaki is in Yemen, and perhaps al-Qaida can be dismantled there. But regarding the broader war in Afghanistan, I was taken by a quote from Rep. Peter King on National Review Online. He said, "The enemy is now more of a threat from within than it is from overseas." Read full column here: News New Mexico

Chavez: Reward, Don't Punish Interrogators

Linda Chavez

Townhall - While the Obama administration deservedly revels in the success of the U.S. operation to kill Osama bin Laden this week, one question remains: Why is the Justice Department threatening criminal prosecution of the men who made the mission possible? CIA Director Leon Panetta has acknowledged that the initial information that led to the discovery of bin Laden's hideout in Abbottabad came, in part, from information obtained by "enhanced interrogation techniques against some of those detainees." Yet, Attorney General Holder persists in what appears to be a vendetta against these very CIA interrogators. In August 2009, Holder ordered a continued investigation into "enhanced interrogation" techniques used by the CIA, even though an earlier investigation by career prosecutors concluded that no crimes were committed. The irony in all of this is made worse by President Obama's acknowledgment of intelligence agencies' role when he announced that bin Laden had been killed. Read full story here: News New Mexico

Obama to Visit El Paso on Tuesday

El Paso Times - AUSTIN -- President Barack Obama -- his popularity on the rise after U.S. forces killed Osama bin Laden in a daring mission in Pakistan -- will return to El Paso on Tuesday and presumably discuss border issues. The White House on Friday said the president would deliver a speech on immigration reform during his visit to El Paso. Mayor John Cook said he has been invited to greet the president when he flies into Biggs Army Airfield. The president then will travel by convoy to the Chamizal National Memorial, which is adjacent to the border with Juárez. Read full story here: News New Mexico

Bin Laden "Supporters" Protest U.S. in London

Express.co.uk - HUNDREDS of Osama bin Laden supporters clashed with English Defence League extremists today as a “funeral service” for the assassinated terror leader sparked fury outside London’s US Embassy. Police stepped in to separate the chanting groups amid threats of violence from both sides. US leaders were branded “murderers” by radicals, who warned vengeance attacks were “guaranteed” and shouted: "USA, you will pay." Abu Muaz, 28, from east London, said: "It is only a matter of time before another atrocity - the West is the enemy.” Read full story here: News New Mexico

Ignoring Greatest Threat to Sagebrush Lizard

From legalinsurrection.com -Sure, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service may be about to shut down oil production in a key region of Texas to protect the Dunes Sagebrush Lizard. But the Feds are ignoring the threat from this environmental danger, the Texas Roadrunner, caught here eating a, um, Dunes Sagebrush Lizard.

DLCC: GOP Using the Recession for Radical Social Agenda

The Democratic Legislative Committee has been sending out a mailer recently referencing a survey of its "readers." Here is an excerpt of the cover email: The economy and job creation are still the top legislative priority of our readers in every region of the country, but workers’ rights has become a defining issue unto itself. Support for equal rights and environmental protection also saw major spikes in support. And our supporters overwhelmingly believe that Republicans are using the recession as an excuse to pursue a radical social agenda – while ignoring their 2010 campaign promise to focus on jobs. Part of our mission at the DLCC is to make sure Democratic voters have a voice in their state legislatures, and we were honored to help so many of you make your voices heard. To see the full results for each issue, including a comprehensive regional breakdown click here: News New Mexico

Nikolewski: A Nation of Oliver Stones

Rob Nikolewski

Capitol Report New Mexico - In the wake of the killing of Osama bin Laden, a spate of stories have appeared citing people who doubt whether the mastermind of 9/11 is really dead. But the doubters don’t just include bin Laden’s defenders in the Middle East. In a story published by the Santa Fe edition of the Albuquerque Journal (sorry, you need a subscription to read the entire article), a reporter dropped by a social studies class at Santa Fe High School and discovered that seven of the 13 students there “say they think President Obama is hoodwinking the country with the tale of Osama bin Laden’s death in Pakistan.”

Oliver Stone

Seven of out 13. Welcome to Oliver Stone’s America, where millions almost reflexively assume a conspiracy theory is afoot — whether they’re leftwing, rightwing or have no wings at all. I can’t say I was surprised because just a couple days earlier while at the neighborhood dog park, the conversation quickly turned to the bin Laden killing. “I don’t believe it for a minute,” the owner of a rust-colored retriever said with certainty to a group of about five of us. This was a college-educated woman. And the people around her — who could have been the parents of the kids in the Journal article — listened respectfully. I walked away. Read full column here: News New Mexico

Rising Jobless Claims Damaging Confidence

Bloomberg - Commodities tumbled for a fifth day, led by oil and silver, on concern economic growth is faltering. Treasuries dropped before a U.S. employment report, while most stocks declined. The Standard & Poor’s GSCI index of 24 commodities fell 1.4 percent at 10:25 a.m. in London, bringing this week’s decline to 11 percent, as oil lost 2.6 percent in New York and silver sank 3.4 percent. The MSCI World (MXWO) Index of stocks slid 0.4 percent. S&P 500 Index futures gained 0.3 percent. The five-year Treasury note yield rose almost three basis points.

The yen weakened against all 16 of its most-traded counterparts. An unexpected increase in U.S. jobless claims yesterday, swelling energy inventories and a strengthening dollar are spurring investors to scale back bets that drove up the S&P GSCI index by more than 20 percent this year through the end of last week. American payrolls probably cooled in April as companies curbed spending, economists said before the Labor Department releases figures yesterday. “The broader question in markets is how deep the risk correction will be,” Kit Juckes, London-based head of foreign- exchange research Societe Generale SA, wrote in a report today. “The mood remains edgy and a shock in payrolls, in either direction, could trigger weakness in equities and equity-related currencies. It’s been a long one-way trend and a one-day correction would be very surprising.” Crude oil extended yesterday’s 8.6 percent rout, bringing its loss this week to 15 percent, the most since December 2008. Read full story here: News New Mexico

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