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THURSDAY,  APRIL 9,  2009

DOW CLOSE - AT 4:23 P.M. ET:  The Dow closed up 246 points, to 8083, after a spectacular day.  Some bank profits were good.  Financial people caution, however, that many other banks are in trouble. 

April 9, 2009

OH DEAR, OH DEAR - AT 2:58 P.M. ET:  We criticize the mainstream media often here, but sometimes a piece of journalism comes along that is so bad it must be reported.  Consider this, from Reuters:

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Ragtag teams of modern-day Blackbeards are posing an annoying distraction for Barack Obama, forcing him to add Somalia to an already long list of foreign policy challenges.

Add?  Earth to Reuters:  Somalia is a major center for Al Qaeda activity in Africa and was already high on the list.  We've had a naval presence in the region for years.

American presidents are told to expect the unexpected, and Obama is seeing that this week. First it was a North Korean test of a ballistic missile last weekend. Now comes a swashbuckling high-seas standoff with armed renegades.

The unexpected?  The North Koreans have been announcing their test for months.  It was entirely expected.  And there was nothing swashbuckling about this latest, seedy act of piracy.

Obama so far has sent U.S. Navy ships to protect an American-flagged freighter that managed to repel a pirate attack but whose captain was taken hostage.

America's recent experience with Somalia has not been good, making caution a key element of U.S. policy in dealing with the country.

When is caution not a key element in foreign policy?  Name an instance.

COMMENT:  This isn't journalism.  This is padding.  Think before you write.  And research helps as well.

April 9, 2009   Permalink

BLOOMBERG WARNS - AT 2:46 P.M. ET:  From AFP:

Sweeping layoffs of government employees are needed to prevent New York going bankrupt, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said Thursday.
Bloomberg, who is in tense negotiations with municipal workers' unions, said an extra 7,000 jobs would have to go unless major reductions are made in employee benefits.

"We cannot continue. Our pension costs and health care costs for our employees are going to bankrupt this city," he said in comments broadcast on NY1 television.

Bloomberg, running for a third mayoral term at the end of this year, said that proposals from unions so far were "nowhere near what is adequate."

COMMENT:  There was a time, in the sixties, when one in eight New Yorkers was on the public rolls, in one way or another.  It's better now, but conditions in New York are deteriorating.  The city depended heavily on Wall Street for its tax base, and that's been badly damaged.  I would trust Bloomberg on this.  He isn't an alarmist.  If New York goes bankrupt, the psychological effect on the economy could be substantial.

April 9, 2009   Permalink

DOW SOARS - AT 2:40 P.M.:  The Dow is up 211 points, to 8048, even as the latest retail-sale report proved discouraging.  Apparently, "investors," at least today, were encouraged by some bank earnings.  Tomorrow these same "investors" will be sour on something else.  Look, as we've said before, the market is a casino.  Serious, thoughtful investors don't jump around from day to day.

April 9, 2009

NOTHING TO SEE, NOTHING TO SEE - AT 1:50 P.M. ET:  From The Times of London:

A triumphant President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad opened Iran's first plant for producing nuclear fuel today, marking a significant leap forward for his controversial nuclear programme and sparking international fears that the Islamic Republic may be closer than ever to acquiring an atomic weapon.

Just two months before crucial elections in which he is pitted against a powerful moderate candidate, the hardline Iranian leader celebrated the breakthrough in his country's pursuit of nuclear technology, saying that Iranian scientists have tested two new types of enrichment centrifuges with a higher capacity for producing uranium. The President has insisted that the nuclear fuel will be used only for generating electricity, but the international community fears that it could also be used to build nuclear warheads.

COMMENT:  And our tough response?  Asking Iran to talk to us, pretty please.  Any great sense of urgency about Iran's nuclear program left with President Bush.

Oh, and please note the use of "moderate" to describe Ahmedinejad's opponent in June's presidential election.  He is not a moderate.  He just sounds more moderate.  This is an old game in that part of the world, but the American and European left will herald his election, if he's elected, as a breakthrough, and a tribute to Obama's diplomacy.  It will be nothing of the kind.  He will continue the nuclear program unimpeded.

April 9, 2009   Permalink

MARRIAGE UPDATE - AT 1:30 P.M. ET:  From London's Daily Mail:

A Saudi Arabian man has set a new legal precedent by divorcing his wife by text message.

The man was in Iraq when he sent the SMS informing his wife they were no longer married.

In Saudi Arabia a man can divorce his wife simply by saying 'I divorce you' three times.

However this is the first known divorce in Saudi Arabia by text message.

The kingdom practices a strict form of Islamic Sharia law, and clerics preside over Sharia courts as judges.

The unnamed man followed up with a telephone call to two of his relatives, the daily Arab News reported.

COMMENT:  And our president bowed down deeply to this man's king. 

But, after all, who are we to question another culture?  Why, that would be cultural imperialism, insensitivity.  It would be BUSH. 

No, it would be our right and responsibility as civilized human beings, living in the 21st century.  This is another disgraceful example of what our president genuflected to when meeting the Saudi king last week.  And this is a mild example.

Don't expect much from American "women's" organizations on this.  They have become what they claim to hate most - meek followers, beholden to a leftist party line that someone sets for them.

April 9, 2009   Permalink   

OH, WE'RE JUST SO RELIEVED - AT 8:31 A.M. ET:  From AFP: 

Iran poses no threat to the United States, Russia said Tuesday, rebuffing a key argument of President Barack Obama on whether to go ahead with a European missile shield bitterly opposed by Moscow.

Former president George W. Bush had infuriated Russia by striking a deal to install 10 missile interceptors in Poland and related radar stations in the Czech Republic, saying they were needed to counter "rogue states" such as Iran.

The Obama administration says it is reviewing the shield project, studying whether it is militarily justified and cost effective.

But Sergei Kislyak, the Russian ambassador to the United States, said that the Iran threat was a myth.

"I don't see any threat to the United States coming from Iran anytime soon," Kislyak told a conference of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

COMMENT:  Well, now that settles that, doesn't it?  I think we should all thank Russia for its concern with our security.  I love the ambassador's statement:  "I don't see any threat to the United States coming from Iran anytime soon."

How soon is soon?  Do we get a notice?  An e-mail?  I'll try to get the information so we can all mark our calendars.

April 9, 2009   Permalink 

QUICK - OUT! - AT 7:53 A.M. ET:  From London's Telegraph:

Bob Quick, Britain's most senior anti-terrorist policeman, has resigned after making a major security blunder that caused an operation against a suspected al-Qaeda cell to be brought forward.

Mr Quick tendered his resignation to Boris Johnson, the London mayor and chairman of the Metropolitan police authority, after admitting that he "could have compromised a major counter terrorism operation".

The Assistant Commissioner was photographed entering Downing Street carrying a secret briefing note on which details of the undercover operation – codenamed Pathway – could be seen.

Mr Johnson told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that he did not pressure Mr Quick to quit, and said that the counter terrorism head decided to leave of his own volition.

COMMENT:  The comedian Steve Landesberg once did a hilarious routine on the British tradition of resigning.  It's a tradition we ought to adapt here.  You make a serious error, you go.  You don't "reflect."  You don't meet with "spiritual advisers."  You don't call for an "independent, fair-minded investigation."  And you don't declare yourself a victim of "Gestapo tactics."  You go, and do so quickly.

One thing about the Brits, and many Europeans - the best of them take internal security more seriously than we do, despite their softer image.  And yet they maintain free societies.

April 9, 2009   Permalink   

LATEST FROM THE WORLD OF "SCIENCE" - AT 7:44 A.M. ET: 

WASHINGTON (AP) - The president's new science adviser said Wednesday that global warming is so dire, the Obama administration is discussing radical technologies to cool Earth's air.

John Holdren told The Associated Press in his first interview since being confirmed last month that the idea of geoengineering the climate is being discussed. One such extreme option includes shooting pollution particles into the upper atmosphere to reflect the sun's rays. Holdren said such an experimental measure would only be used as a last resort.

"It's got to be looked at," he said. "We don't have the luxury of taking any approach off the table."

COMMENT:  Holdren's appointment was a bow to ultra-environmentalists.   He is a member of the royal family of global-warming alarmists.  We need to hold this man down until other scientists examine what he's doing.  I don't want anything shot into our atmosphere because of someone's theory.

April 9, 2009   Permalink

LEFTIST REVOLT - AT 7:42 A.M. ET:  We must remember that the Democratic Party has a sizable contingent in Congress that is to the left of President Obama.  They like to call themselves "progressives," but they often have a very un-progressive way of cozying up to dictators.  From The Wall Street Journal:

WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama plans to request new funding from Congress for the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, but he risks a backlash from antiwar lawmakers.

Mr. Obama is expected to seek congressional approval of $75.5 billion for the wars, perhaps as soon as Thursday. The issue is already raising tensions on Capitol Hill, especially among liberals who are sympathetic to the president's broader agenda but voice concerns about his timeline for withdrawal of troops from Iraq and his plans to beef up forces in Afghanistan.

"I can't imagine any way I'd vote for it," said Rep. Lynn Woolsey, a California Democrat and leader in the 77-member congressional Progressive Caucus. It would be her first major break with this White House.

Ms. Woolsey fears the president's plan for Iraq would leave behind a big occupation force. She is also concerned about the planned escalation in Afghanistan. "I don't think we should be going there," she said.

COMMENT:  Other dissenters are mentioned - John Conyers, Maxine Waters, Barbara Lee, Jim McGovern.  These people are not progressives or liberals.  They are leftists.  They represent a branch of the Democratic Party that was unceremoniously expelled by Harry Truman in 1948, but who came back through the civil rights and "anti-war" movements of the 1960s.  Some of this group recently returned from Cuba where they met with, and extended love to, the Castro boys.  If Democrats had a Truman today, he'd toss them out again, no matter what the political risks.  But there is no Truman.

April 9, 2009   Permalink

PIRATE LATEST - AT 7:04 A.M. ET:  From The New York Times:

WASHINGTON — A U.S. Navy destroyer kept close watch Thursday on a lifeboat holding four Somali pirates and their hostage — an American ship captain — one day after the pirates briefly seized a United States-flagged cargo ship off the coast of Africa.

The pirates boarded and seized the unarmed container ship, Maersk Alabama, taking 20 American sailors hostage on Wednesday. Although the crew managed to retake the ship within hours, the pirates were still holding the ship’s captain as they fled the ship in an unpowered lifeboat.

The captain was identified as Richard Phillips, of Underhill, Vermont.

COMMENT:  We'll let you know if Hillary Clinton offers to exchange places with the captain.

April 9, 2009   Permalink

WEDNESDAY,  APRIL 8,  2009

LATEST PIRATE UPDATE - AT 10:30 P.M. ET:  From The New York Times:

WASHINGTON — A high-seas drama unfolded off the coast of Africa on Wednesday, as Somali pirates seized a United States-flagged cargo ship and held 20 American sailors hostage. The crew managed to retake the ship within hours, but not before the pirates had spirited away the ship’s captain and held him for ransom.

The unarmed container ship, the Maersk Alabama, was the first American vessel to be captured in a wave of pirate attacks off the Horn of Africa, one of the most notoriously lawless stretches of international waters.

COMMENT:  It's reported that ransom talks are going on.  A U.S. destroyer is now on the scene.

This is just musing, and I stress that I have no direct evidence to back up the thought.  However, this is the first American-flagged ship to be seized by pirates in 200 years.  Do you think it would have happened if George Bush were still in the White House?  After all, pirates have been operating off Somalia for years.  But I must share the idea that, when the president of the United States goes abroad and flashes weakness, weakness, and more weakness, this is bound to happen.  Even pirates can assess risk factors.  Now let's see what this government actually does.

April 8, 2009   Permalink

ANOTHER FAMOUS VICTOY - AT 10:04 P.M. ET:  From The Hill:

U.S. envoys met with Pakistani leaders on Tuesday to ensure that the $7.5 billion that President Obama plans to send their way over the next five years will be used to achieve common goals in the fight against extremism.

But according to a Pakistani newspaper, regional envoy Richard Holbrooke and Joint Chiefs Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen came up empty-handed and received a "rude shock" when a proposal for joint operations against al Qaeda and Taliban forces in the volatile tribal regions was rejected.

Dawn newspaper reported that Pakistan also asked the U.S. to turn over the unmanned drone missions over the territory to them, saying that the drone strikes were fueling extremism.

COMMENT:  Why should anyone do anything for the United States when our president goes around groveling, apologizing, and showing such weakness?  The results are starting to come in.

April 8, 2009   Permalink

CHINA WHEELS - AT 4:46 P.M. ET: 

SHANGHAI (AP) - Preliminary figures show auto sales in China reached about 1.03 million in March, exceeding U.S. sales for the third month in a row, state media reports said Wednesday.

Data from 14 major auto makers, accounting for roughly 90 percent of total sales, totaled 1.026 million, the Shanghai Securities News and other state-run newspapers said, citing Chen Bin, head of the Department of Industry at China's main economic planning agency.

COMMENT:  Don't worry.  Obama Motors is roaring into action with cars powered by apple seeds.  Incredible performance, and they taste good too.

April 8, 2009   Permalink

DOW CLOSE - AT 4:37 P.M. ET:  The Dow closed up 48, to 7837, after an indifferent day. 

MORE "ENGAGEMENT" - AT 3:12 P.M. ET:   From AP:

WASHINGTON -- The Obama administration said Wednesday it will participate directly in group talks with Iran over its suspect nuclear program, marking another shift from former President George W. Bush's policy.

State Department spokesman Robert Wood said the United States would be at the table "from now on" when senior diplomats from the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council and Germany meet with Iranian officials to discuss the nuclear issue. The Bush administration had generally shunned such meetings, although it attended one last year.

COMMENT:  So let's see:  We go to these meetings, which have produced nothing.  At these meetings are members of the Security Council, two of which, Russia and China, are friends with Iran.  Germany - which has huge business deals with Iran - also attends. 

And our attendance will produce...?

Will someone in the administration please answer.

The only thing that will move Iran, short of military action, may be cutting off their fuel supplies, because they have such a small refining capacity.  Otherwise, these talks will just drag on through Iran's perfection of a nuclear warhead.  Does anyone in the White House really care?

April 8, 2009   Permalink

PIRATE UPDATE - AT 3:06 P.M. ET:  From the BBC:

There are conflicting reports about whether the US crew of a container ship seized by pirates off Somalia have regained full control of the ship.

Relatives of the Maersk Alabama's 20 crew and Pentagon sources were quoted in the US media as saying the ship was back under control after a struggle.

But more recent reports suggested the captain of the vessel might still be in the hands of the hijackers.

It was the sixth ship seized off Somalia in recent days.

It is reportedly the first time in 200 years that a US-flagged vessel has been seized by pirates.

COMMENT:  We'll watch for updates.  Certainly takes the White House off the hook if it's true.  Of course, again if true, it took a struggle to regain control, which may tell the president something about the value of strength.

April 8, 2009   Permalink

GOP CONGRESSIONAL SUPPORT GAINS - AT 9:40 A.M. ET:  We should remember that there's a major congressional election in 19 months.  Rasmussen takes a look at where matters now stand: 

Republicans have pulled within one point of Democrats in the latest edition of the Generic Congressional Ballot.

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found that 40% would vote for their district’s Democratic candidate while 39% would choose the Republican. Support for Democratic congressional candidates fell two points this week, while support for GOP candidates gained one point to tie its highest level this year so far.

COMMENT:  Republicans have a real chance next year if they would get their act together and come up with a positive, attractive program.  They must also be constantly in the news, pointing out the disturbing aspects of Obama's domestic and foreign policies.

April 8, 2009   Permalink

GUN CONTROL SUPPORT AT NEW LOW - AT 9:35 A.M. ET:  From The Politico:

The heavy coverage of mass shootings in Binghamton, N.Y., North Carolina, Washington state and the cop killings in Pittsburgh has had little apparent effect on the nation's appetite for new gun laws.

A Gallup Poll out this morning shows support for a ban on private hand gun ownership at an all time low, with 29 percent of respondents saying they support such a law. It's the smallest percentage since Gallup started asking this question 50 years ago. Interestingly, gun control advocacy hit its all time high in 1959, according to this poll. It's important to note that the poll was taken before the massacre in Binghamton, but other mass shootings have been in the news for a few weeks.

The poll may show why virtually nobody in Congress is rolling out new gun control legislation.

COMMENT:  There has also been a run on ammunition and guns in some parts of the country.  It seems that many people predict a period of danger and instability, possibly because of the economy, possibly because of fear of Obama.

People generally understand, I think, that gun control cannot prevent the kind of senseless killings we've seen in the last week.  The mass murderer is not going to be held back by laws. 

April 8, 2009   Permalink

BULLETIN - AT 8:20 A.M. ET:

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) -- Somali pirates on Wednesday hijacked a U.S.-flagged cargo ship with 21 crew members aboard, a diplomat and a U.S. Navy spokesman said.

The Kenya-based diplomat identified the vessel as the 17,000-ton Maersk Alabama and said all the crew members are American. The diplomat spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

The U.S. Navy confirmed that a U.S. flagged ship with 21 members of crew was hijacked early Wednesday off the eastern coast of Somalia.

COMMENT:  If the Americans aren't released immediately, this will blow into a major incident, possibly requiring the use of American force.  Now let's see how President Engagement handles this.  These are American citizens.  They've been taken prisoner on the high seas by a hostile regime.   This is an open-and-shut case.  Calling the White House.

April 8, 2009   Permalink

QUOTE OF THE DAY - AT 8:03 A.M. ET:  From that great intellect and visionary:

Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi, in a speech broadcast on state radio, compared Obama to "a beacon of light in the obscurity of imperialism."

"So far his political discourse has been reasonable, breaking with the arrogance that was prevalent in statements by former US presidents," he said.

COMMENT:  Don't you feel warm and fuzzy all over? 

April 8, 2009   Permalink

BRILLIANT STRATEGY - NOT - AT 7:46 A.M. ET:  Will someone please shut Joe Biden up.  CNN reports on its interview with the vice president:

Also not a concern for Biden: the possibility of an Israeli strike on Iran's nuclear facilities. The vice president said he was not worried that Israel's new government, under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, would order such an attack.

"I don't believe that Prime Minister Netanyahu would do that. I think he would be ill-advised to do that. And so my level of concern is no different than it was a year ago."

COMMENT:  Joe, why wouldn't he do it?  Why shouldn't he do it?  The Obama administration is in high grovel, and is beginning to make Jimmah Carter look like a tough guy.  Maybe you should spend more time being rough on enemies, and less time pressuring allies.  Start with leaving some ambiguity about possible military action against Iran.  Keep the pressure on.  By saying that Netanyahu shouldn't do it, you're openly saying that America won't.  Not a good strategy when dealing with thugs.  It's a strategy for failure.

April 8, 2009   Permalink

UNBELIEVABLE - AT 7:40 A.M. ET:  Could this possibly be true?  This story is running in Britain's Telegraph, and seems well sourced:

Barack Obama, concerned about offending Britain and Germany, rebuffed strenuous attempts by President Nicolas Sarkozy of France to persuade the new American president to make a trip to Normandy this week.

White House officials travelled to France at the start of March to discuss a visit by Mr Obama to Omaha Beach, the site of the American Cemetery, established in 1944 just after D-Day and where 9,387 American personnel are buried. Among them is Theodore Roosevelt Jr, the eldest son of the 26th US President.

French officials and senior American military officers walked with White House staff through the cemetery discussing how the two presidents might follow the same route. But even before their trip, the White House had decided that Mr Obama would not travel there this week.

COMMENT:  Incredible.  An American president refuses to visit the military cemetery at Normandy because it might offend...the Germans?  Someone might inform this ill-prepared White House that Germany long ago accepted responsibility for Hitler's war, and has no problem with visits to Allied cemeteries.

Oh, it gets worse.  The story says that the White House declined to confirm that Obama will visit Normandy in June to mark the 65th anniversary of D-Day.  If he doesn't go, it would be an absolute scandal.  Of course, if he does go, every word he speaks will be compared to Ronald Reagan's stellar performance during the 40th anniversary in 1984.  So I can understand why Obama might bow out.

April 8, 2009   Permalink