AFDI'S VICTORY AGAINST MTA

Pamela Geller's group scored a victory against the MTA in NYC over their refusal to run her pro-Israel ads in the subway system to counter anti-Israeli ads also being run there (Hat tip: Jihad Watch).

Surprisingly, the NY Times was fairly even-handed in their coverage too, acknowledging that the MTA violated their free speech rights. Well, I hope now that they're going to run the AFDI's ads without one single objection now, and show that they can respect pro-Israel and anti-jihad movements properly.

SENATOR CHUCK SCHUMER: "NO AMENDMENT IS ABSOLUTE"

Schumer commenting on the First Amendment in relation to the DISCLOSE Act:

OBAMA'S AND WARREN'S INFRASTRUCTURE ARGUMENT FOR SOCIALISM IS A STRAW MAN

BARACK HUSSEIN OBAMA JR AND ELIZABETH WARREN BOTH ARGUE THAT INDIVIDUALS OWE THEIR SUCCESS TO "THE COMMONS" BECAUSE WITHOUT RULE OF LAW, INFRASTRUCTURE, ETC AMERICA WOULDN'T BE A HOSPITABLE PLACE TO DO  BUSINESS.

BOSTON HERALD:

Elizabeth Warren yesterday came to the defense her former boss President Obama’s controversial statement that businesses’ owners can’t take credit for their success, repeating her own campaign line that, “nobody got rich on their own.” 

Warren’s reiteration of her statement — which became an iconic and controversial cornerstone of her campaign — comes as conservatives have leapt on Obama for saying “If you’ve got a business — you didn’t build that. Somebody else made that happen.” 

Warren said during a campaign stop in Dorchester yesterday, “I think the basic notion is right. Nobody got rich on their own. Nobody. People worked hard, they build a business, God bless, but they moved their goods on roads the rest of us helped build, they hired employees the rest of us helped educate, they plugged into a power grid the rest of us helped build,” she said. 

“The rest of us made those investments because we wanted businesses to flourish, we wanted them to grow, we wanted them to create opportunity for all of us. That’s what we do together. We get richer as a country when we make those investments.”

THIS IS A HOLLOW STRAW MAN ARGUMENT:

NOBODY ON THE RIGHT WANTS TO ERADICATE THE RULE OF LAW OR INFRASTRUCTURE. NOBODY ON THE RIGHT WANTS TO END ALL "THOSE INVESTMENTS".

IT'S NOT THE PHYSICAL ENGINEERING WE OBJECT TO.

IT'S THE SOCIAL ENGINEERING WE OBJECT TO.

AND THE NOTION THAT BECAUSE WE ALL BENEFIT FROM THE RULE OF LAW AND INFRASTRUCTURE THAT THE GOVERNMENT IS ENTITLED TO TAKE AS MUCH AS THEY WANT OF WHAT INDIVIDUALS EARN.

THIS NATION WAS FOUNDED UPON THE NOTION THAT GOVERNMENT SHOULD BE LIMITED AND OPERATE ONLY WITH THE CONSENT OF THE GOVERNED - AND THAT INCLUDES TAXES.

THE UNREAD, 2000+ PAGE OBAMACARE LAW AND THE 2000+ PAGE DODD-FRANK LAW - AND EVERY PENNY OF THE SO-CALLED "GREEN ECONOMY" LOANS - ALL VIOLATE THAT COMPACT.

THEY DIMINISH OUR LIBERTY AS THEY INCREASE THE SIZE AND POWER OF THE GOVERNMENT, AND - IN THE CASE OF THE "GREEN" LOANS AND "GREEN LAWS" - DECREASE THE GENERAL WELFARE BY HURTING THE GENERAL POPULACE - (BY WASTING DEAR FUNDS AT A TIME WHEN WE ARE ALREADY IN TOO MUCH DEBT, AND INCREASING THE COST OF ENERGY FOR EVERYONE) - IN ORDER TO ASSIST A FEW OF THEIR CRONIES AND FINANCIAL SUPPORTERS.

OBAMA AND WARREN ARE INTELLECTUALLY DISHONEST WHEN THEY MAKE THESE STRAW MAN ARGUMENTS.

OBAMA AND WARREN CANNOT ARGUE FROM THE TRUTH AND WITHOUT EMPLOYING LOGICAL FALLACIES - LIKE THE STRAW MAN ARGUMENT - BECAUSE THEIR TRUE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY IS ANTI-AMERICAN AND COMPLETELY DISCREDITED AND MORALLY AND POLITICALLY BANKRUPT.

YES: ANTI-AMERICAN: SOCIALISM REQUIRES AN INVASIVE AND POWERFUL AND ANTI-LIBERTARIAN CENTRAL GOVERNMENT, AND THAT TYPE OF GOVERNMENT IS DIAMETRICALLY OPPOSED TO THE TYPE OF GOVERNMENT OUR FOUNDERS FOUGHT FOR AND DESIGNED.

VOTE ACCORDINGLY. VOTE ROMNEY.

Major free speech victory

HERE.

A WORLD REVERTING TO BARBARISM

Mark Steyn talks about how barbarism is returning in this world:

...halfway across the world, the Arab Spring was also hailed as the voice of youth, tweeting its universal message of hope and change. A year on, it's proved to be rather heavier on change, and ever lighter on hope. Egypt's first freely elected head of state is a Muslim Brotherhood man. In the parliament of the most populous Arab nation, the Muslim Brotherhood's party and its principal rival, the Even More Muslim Brotherhood, between them won nearly three-quarters of the seats. In traditionally relaxed and secular Tunisia and Morocco, elections have been won by forces we are assured by the experts are "moderate Islamists" – which means that, unlike the lavishly bankrolled American protectorate of Afghanistan, they won't be executing adulterous women in the street, or at any rate not just yet.

But they will soon, tragically enough. Not that this kind of barbarism had ever vanished; if you know where to look, you'll likely find that it took place right under everybody's noses back in the 50s and 60s too. It's just that a pretentious MSM never wanted to let anyone know about it. And many governments would not research the root cause of the problems or make demands that the RoP be abolished by the regimes where it reigns, so we can see how it continued unchallenged till this day.

And that's why Islamic barbarism is now resurging in the worst ways possible.

UK MUSLIM COUPLE CONVICTED FOR PLOTTING TO MURDER JEWS IN MANCHESTER

There've been individuals among the Muslims and there've been gangs, but not often do I officially hear of husband-wife plotters who planned to do horrific things like these:

A Muslim couple from the Manchester region of Britain has been convicted for plotting to murder Jews. The two will be sentenced Friday.

Mohammed Sajid Khan, 33, confessed to engaging in conduct in preparation for acts of terrorism. Shasta Khan, 38, denied involvement in the plan, but a jury found her guilty of preparation for acts of terrorism and possessing information useful for committing or preparing for an act of terrorism.

The two had read Al-Qaeda propaganda and were learning to prepare bombs. Data taken from Shasta Khan’s satellite navigation device showed that the two had made multiple trips to Jewish neighborhoods in Manchester in order to look for targets.

But who knows if they'll remain in prison for a suitably long time? I've seen how unclear their law enforcement is regarding their ability to keep convicts in jail properly, and won't be surprised if they don't serve enough time, which should be forever.

Update: here's more from the Yorkshire Post (via Atlas Shrugs).

Obama has spent 600 hours playing golf and just 412 hours in economic meetings of any kind throughout his presidency

PERHAPS THIS IS ONE REASON OBAMA HAS BEEN A CRAPPY PRESIDENT.

SMEAR TACTIC DEBUNKED

An attempt by the Wall Street Journal - yes, that allegedly conservative newspaper - to demonize "settlers" with a misleadingly captioned picture has now been debunked:

A photo taken near the Shimon Hatzaddik neighborhood during the FlagDance on on Jerusalem Day, 2010, is making the rounds on the internet again, and has given rise to an avalanche of responses on the Reddit website.

The photo initially appeared on a Wall Street Journal blog with the following explanatory text:

"A Palestinian woman whose house has been occupied by Jewish settlers argued with Israelis who came to celebrate Jerusalem Day in the mainly Arab neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah, East Jerusalem."

The photo appears to show several young Jewish men mocking a lone Arab woman, who has her back to the camera.

Thousands of comments have been posted, most of them denouncing the Jewish men, many of them vile, some calling them "racists" and even posting photos comparing them to Nazis.

HolesintheNet, an Israeli website devoted to online world, published the story behind the picture Thursday, based on an explanation posted by a Reddit user. Several Arab families were expelled from homes in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood after the High Court found, in 2009, that the homes belonged to Jewish families and the Arabs were illegal squatters.

The Reddit user said that he spoke to one of the young men in the photo. The young man told him:

"This is false propaganda. This is a case of a good photographer who documented our faces, mostly mine, at the right second. As we sang and celebrated in Sheikh Jarrah, the Arab woman came out of a house, banging on a pan, and tried to disturb our celebrations, so we raised our voices and sang louder as she came nearer. We did not yell at her or mock her. We simply tried to keep on celebrating and she tried to disturb us. The picture does not show several other women who banged on pots and tried to interfere with our celebrations."

HolesintheNet contacted the photographer, Ahmad Gharabli, and said it would bring his reaction when it receives it.

As reported in Arutz Sheva at the time, FlagDance marchers in 2010 received specific instructions to avoid confrontations with Arabs. Rabbi Yaakov Meidan, head of the Har Etzion Hesder Yeshiva, wrote an article for youth before the celebrations on avoiding incidents in the Hebrew Makor Rishon newspaper.

Since WSJ's current owner Rupert Murdoch has been such good friends with Saudi prince bin Talal, one can only wonder if this blood libel they committed was a product of that partnership that's uncalled for.

DESPERATE OBAMA TELLS SUPPORTERS TO USE MUTE BUTTON WHEN A ROMNEY AD COMES ON THE TV

DESPERATE OBAMA TELLS SUPPORTERS TO USE MUTE BUTTON WHEN A ROMNEY AD COMES ON THE TV (1 MINUTE VIDEO).

THE LEFT CAN'T STAND FOX FOR THE SAME REASON:

THEY KNOW THAT IF AMERICANS HEAR BOTH SIDES THAT THERE'S A BETTER THAN EVEN CHANCE THEIR EYES MIGHT OPEN AND THEY MIGHT SEE THE LIGHT AND VOTE GOP AND VOTE ROMNEY.

WHAT THEY ARE TELLING THEIR FOLLOWERS IS TANTAMOUNT TO TELLING JURORS NOT TO LISTEN TO BOTH SIDES OF A CRIMINAL CASE.

HOW CAN A JUROR MAKE A JUST DECISION IF (S)HE ONLY HEARS ONE SIDE? THEY CAN'T.

AND THAT'S WHY VOTERS NEED TO LISTEN TO BOTH SIDES BEFORE AN ELECTION.

OBAMA HAS NO CONFIDENCE IN HIS SIDE SO HE DOESN'T WANT HIS POTENTIAL VOTERS TO HEAR ROMNEY'S CASE.

IF HE HAD CONFIDENCE IN HIS OWN CASE, THEN HE'D IMPLORE HIS BASE TO WATCH FOX AND LISTEN TO ROMNEY COMMERCIALS.

ROMNEY HAS CONFIDENCE IN HIS CANDIDACY SO HE QUOTES OBAMA LIBERALLY; IN FACT, ONE OF THE MOST EFFECTIVE TOOLS ROMNEY HAS IS USING QUOTES OF OBAMA.

VOTE ACCORDINGLY. VOTE ROMNEY.

BELIEVE!

REMEMBER OCTOBER 17TH!

THE BOLSHIES TOOK EVERYTHING FROM THE WEALTHY IN 1917.

THEY DIDN'T JUST TAKE HIGHER TAXES FROM THE TOP 1 OR 2%; THEY TOOK EVERYTHING.

AND WHAT DID IT GET THEM?

A ONE WAY TICKET ON THE ROAD TO SERFDOM; LAST STOP: GETTING FLUSHED DOWN THE TOILET OF HISTORY.

SO, DON'T BE DUPED:

TAKING FROM ONE SEGMENT OF SOCIETY TO GIVE TO ANOTHER SEGMENT OF SOCIETY CANNOT IMPROVE THE GENERAL WELFARE.

HURTING ONE GROUP OF PEOPLE TO HELP ANOTHER CANT IMPROVE THE GENERAL WELFARE.

ESPECIALLY WHEN WHAT THE CAREER POLITICIANS ARE REALLY DOING IS TAKING AWAY FROM THOSE THEY SEE AS PART OF THEIR OPPONENTS GROUP TO GIVE TO PEOPLE THEY SEE AS PART OF THEIR OWN GROUP.

GOVERNMENT MEDDLING IN TE ECONOMY IS ALMOST ALWAYS BAD BECAUSE YOU CAN'T REALLY SEPARATE THE GOVERNMENT FROM POLITICS.

BESIDES, THERE IS ALREADY FAIR WAY TO DISTRIBUTE WEALTH: IT'S CALLED EARNINGS!

ECONOMIC JUSTICE IS LETTING PEOPLE KEEP AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE OF WHAT THEY EARN.

IS ERIC HOLDER AN ACCOMPLICE TO TERROR AMD MURDER?

IN A WAY, HE IS.

USE THE LINK!

AND THEN REMEMBER:

WHILE SOME LIKE HOLDER AND HIS COMRADES WORKED DILIGENTLY TO FREE ISLAMO-TERRORIST FROM GITMO... POLLARD ROTS IN JAIL.

MICHELLE AND BARRY WATCHIN' B-BALL

BETTER CAPTIONS HERE.

UPDATE: THE MORNING AFTER:

BOSNIAN MUSLIM ARRESTED IN VIRGINIA FOR WAR CRIMES ON SERBIAN CHRISTIANS

The Roanoke Times (via Atlas Shrugs) has details on a Bosnian Muslim arrested for committing horrific atrocities against Serbs in the former Yugoslavia:

A former Bosnian prison camp guard now living in Roanoke County was led in handcuffs to a federal courtroom Tuesday, where he was told he faces extradition to his native country on charges of committing war crimes.

Almaz Nezirovic was ordered held without bond during a brief hearing in U.S. District Court in Roanoke.

Court papers unsealed late in the day accuse Nezirovic of torturing Serbian civilians who were sent to a prison camp during the civil war in the former Yugoslavia, now known as Bosnia-Herzegovina.

The prisoners were beaten with rifles and batons, starved, ordered to crawl naked on the ground and forced to eat grass soaked with urine, a seven-page complaint charges.

"In these and other ways, the Fugitive participated in torturing and inflicting cruel, inhumane and humiliating treatment on multiple prisoners at the Rabic camp," the complaint states.

Nezirovic -- who had been living quietly as a welder and soccer coach in Roanoke County since immigrating to the United States about 15 years ago -- appeared stunned and defiant during his hearing.

"I was very surprised," he told Magistrate Judge Robert Ballou in broken English.

Either this so-called surprise stems from how monstrously backwards Islamic education is, a pure distorted reflection of reality, or he's putting on a pretend act. He should definitely be extradited for the horrors he took part in. This is another telling issue that shows that any claim the Bosnians were the "victims" in that war is an obscene lie.

ISLAMO-TERRORIST IN BULGARIA HAD MICHIGAN I.D.

The attack on a tour bus carrying Israeli vacationers outside the airport here was carried out by a suicide bomber carrying fake American identification, officials said on Thursday. There were conflicting reports on the number of dead. The Bulgarian interior minister said the toll was seven, including six Israelis. Officials in Israel said, however, that only five Israelis had been killed. The Bulgarian driver of the bus was also killed along with the bomber when the vehicle exploded in a fireball on Wednesday. Dozens more were injured in what Bulgaria, Israel and the United States called a terrorist attack. Israel quickly blamed Iran and promised a firm response. 

There was no immediate claim of responsibility but Israeli officials blamed Hezbollah, the Lebanese militant group, and Iran.

Speaking to reporters at the airport at this Black Sea resort on Thursday morning, Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov said the bomber was carrying a fake Michigan driver’s license at the time of the blast. One of the six Israeli victims died overnight, along with the 36-year-old Bulgarian bus driver. 

Mr. Tsvetanov described the bomber as a man with long hair wearing a backpack. The man looked like a tourist and blended in with the travelers from Israel, security footage showed. The bomber was a white male wearing glasses and the driver’s license was “more or less intact,” according to a Bulgarian official with knowledge of the investigation. 

“He either had turned with his backpack toward the bus when he exploded it or pretended he was one of the group putting his backpack in the baggage compartment under the bus,” the official said. “Video footage clearly shows him in the airport earlier wandering back and forth, following the group, looking nervous.”

MICHIGAN.

THAT'S WHERE DEARBORNISTAN IS.

WHICH MEANS MAYBE HIS ID WASN'T FAKE - OR HE HAD ACCOMPLICES HERE.

JUST SAYING.... THEY COULD STRIKE HERE... THE SAME WAY... SIGH...

AND - IN AN UNUSUAL MOVE, PEACENIK SHIMON PERES THE PRESIDENT OF ISRAEL - (AND THAT'S A  CEREMONIAL JOB IN ISRAEL AND THEIR PRESIDENT USUALLY STAYS IN THE BACKGROUND) - HAS PROMISED ISRAEL WILL GET REVENGE GLOBALLY AGAINST MULTIPLE LOCATIONS.

STAY TUNED...

SPAIN NOT OUT OF THE CRAPPER BY A LONG-SHOT - AND NEITHER IS THE EURO

NYTIMES: EURO WATCH 

Spanish Borrowing Costs Surge, Reviving Worries About Euro Zone 

LONDON — The Spanish government had to pay more to sell its medium-term debt Thursday, while yields on its 10-year bonds crept above the symbolically important 7 percent threshold — a worrying development for the euro zone, which had hoped that recent accords would help put a two-year-old sovereign debt crisis behind it.

THE EURO IS KAPUT.

THE SOONER THE EUSSR APPARATCHIKS ACCEPT THAT AND THE SOONER EUROPE ABSORBS THE SHORT TERM LOSSES GETTING RID OF THE EURO WILL CAUSE, THE SOONER EUROPE'S NATIONS WILL MOVE FORWARD WITH REAL GROWTH AND MORE DEMOCRACY.

IT WILL HAVE TO GET WORSE FIRST - NO MATTER WHAT.

SIGH...

WITHOUT A DOUBT, THE BEST POLITICAL TV AD IN 30 YEARS

UPDATE: WELCOME POWER LINE AND LUCIANNE READERS! PLEASE CHECK OUT THE REST OF THE BLOG!


UPDATE: WELCOME BILL O'REILLY FANS! THANKS BILL!


THIS IS THE BEST POLITICAL TV AD SINCE REAGAN'S MORNING IN AMERICA:


I BELIEVE ROMNEY JUST WON THE ELECTION:





AWESOME.

VERY MOVING.

GREAT.

AMERICA.

I BELIEVE.

GOD BLESS AMERICA.

GOD BLESS AMERICANS.

UPDATE: 

A COMPLETE TAKE DOWN OF THE OBAMA COUNTER-ARGUMENT THAT MITT IS TAKING THE COMMENT OUT OF CONTEXT HERE.

UPDATE:

MITT DISPENSES WITH THE FALSE "OUT OF CONTEXT" ARGUMENT:

 KUDLOW: Why do you think President Obama, what did he mean, if you've got a business, you didn't build it, someone else made that happen? He claims it's being taken out of context. What do you think it means? Do you think this is Obama anti-business, anti-entrepreneur? Or do you think maybe he has been treated unfairly? 

Gov. ROMNEY: Well, just read the whole speech. I found the speech even more disconcerting than just that particular line. 

The context is worse than the quote. 

The context, he says, you know, you think you've been successful because you're smart, but he says a lot of people are smart. You think you've been successful because you work hard, a lot of people work hard. 

This is an ideology which says hey, we're all the same here, we ought to take from all and give to one another and that achievement, individual initiative and risk-taking and success are not to be rewarded as they have in the past. 

It's a very strange and in some respects foreign to the American experience type of philosophy. We have always been a nation that has celebrated success of various kinds. The kid that gets the honor roll, the individual worker that gets a promotion, the person that gets a better job. And in fact, the person that builds a business. 

And by the way, if you have a business and you started it, you did build it. 

And you deserve credit for that. 

It was not built for you by government. 

And by the way, we pay for government. Government doesn't come free. The people who begin enterprises, the people who work in enterprises, they're the ones paying for government. 

So his whole philosophy is an upside-down philosophy that does not comport with the American experience.

RIGHT ON!

THE MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD'S "ARAB SPRING": OBAMA, YOU BUILT THAT!

AND THIS IS WHERE IT ALL BEGAN.

Obama has obviously got a lot on his plate

A fired-up Mitt Romney enlisted small-business owners at a town hall on Wednesday in his reenergized offensive against President Obama, arguing that Obama is so disinterested in job creation that he hasn’t met with his jobs council for six months. 

“You know what he's been doing over the last six months?" Romney asked in a crowded gymnasium at a community center here. “In the last six months he has held 100 fundraisers. And guess how many meetings he has had with his jobs council? None. Zero. Zero in the last six months.”  

It was a reference to a Politico article that said that the President’s Council on Jobs and Competitiveness had not met publicly since January. Asked why, White House press secretary Jay Carney said on Wednesday that Obama “has obviously got a lot on his plate”

YES, HE DOES:

WHEN HE EATS NOSTALGICALLY...

OR TO RAISE MONEY AT ONE OF THOSE 100 FUNDRAISERS...

VOTE ACCORDINGLY. VOTE ROMNEY.

VIDEO: ROMNEY PROMISES TO PICK A CONSERVATIVE AS VEEP

I HOPE IT'S JINDAL. OR KASICH. OR PETRAEUS. AND RIDGE IS A SLEEPER. 

YEAH BABY! TAB GRAPHICS AT POWER LINE

TODAY AT THE GREAT AND BRILLIANT POWER LINE:

ROMNEY LAYS THE WOOD TO OBAMA [UPDATE: ROMNEY LIGHTS UP BOWLING GREEN]

After his strong speech in Pennsylvania yesterday, Mitt Romney continues to pour it on. In a little while he will speak at a town hall event in Ohio, and he isn’t giving Obama any quarter. Here are excerpts from his prepared remarks: We have a jobs crisis in this country, a real emergency. Yet President Obama seems to have just given up on the economy. He hasn’t convened a meeting »

• READ MORE...
• 15 THREADS

TAB MADE THE GRAPHIC AND POSTED IT SIX WEEKS AGO:

I MAKE THESE GRAPHICS FOR EVERYONE TO USE - FREE - TO SPREAD THE WORD.

(Use the graphics! And hat-tip when possible.)

TERRORIST ATTACK ON ISRAELIS IN BULGARIA

A very horrible tragedy has occurred in Bulgaria:

At least three Israelis were killed and 20 others injured Wednesday in a terror attack an Israeli tourists' bus traveling in Burgas, Bulgaria.

Bulgarian media reported of that the explosion took place while the bus was still in the terminal of Sarafovo Airport in the city.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry has set up a special team in its situation room to monitor the events.

“An explosion occurred in a passenger’s bus with Israeli citizens at the Burgas Airport,” Mayor of Burgas Dimitar Nikoliv confirmed to a local radio station. Bulgarian security forces and emergency medical teams have blocked off the area.

Burgas is the second-largest city on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast and a favorite summer destination for Israeli tourists.

This is all the info that's available so far, but already it's clear that what did happen is abominable.

Update: there's more info available now on Yahoo News:

Although it was not yet certain what caused the blast, Israeli tourists have been targeted in attacks before before, namely in India, Thailand and Azerbaijan. Israel foe Iran is suspected of being behind these assaults.

Yes, it wouldn't surprise me if they had any connection to this monstrosity.

Here's more from the Jerusalem Post.

Update 2: seven people dead. The prime minister's vowed a forceful response.

JORDAN'S FM: JORDAN TAKING MEASURES TO DEFEND AGAINST SYRIAN WMD

Jordan has taken precautions to ward off a possible Syrian chemical attack, Jordan’s foreign minister said Tuesday, reflecting concern that Syria might use such weapons if the uprising there threatens the regime. 

“The matter is of grave concern to us, and we have taken all necessary measures to confront that,” Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh said. He declined to say what measures were taken.

UNDER OBAMA, ALL OF UR ALLIES ARE MORE THREATENED THAN EVER BY JIHAD, NOT SAFER.

VOTE ACCORDINGLY. VOTE ROMNEY.

UK MET OFFICE: JUNE THE COOLEST AND WETTEST IN DECADES

FROM THE ALARMISTS AT THE MET OFFICE:

It is also the second dullest June on record with just 119.2 hours of sunshine, narrowly missing out on the record of 115.4 hours set in 1987. To complete the disappointing picture, it has also been the coolest June since 1991 with a mean temperature of 12.3 deg C.

IOW: AGW = TFBS - AND EVEN THE MET OFFICE HAS TO ADMIT IT, (BUT THEY DON'T!).

BTW: IT AIN'T JUST THE UK: AUSTRALIA AND NORTHERN EUROPE ARE PRETTY DANG COOL FOR MONTHS.

SOUTHERN EUROPE'S REAL ESTATE MARKET COLLAPSING

Spain's banking crisis shattered confidence in southern Europe's property market last quarter, pushing the value of transactions to below half that seen in the aftermath of the collapse of Lehman Brothers, property consultant CBRE said on Wednesday. A total of 725 million euros ($885 million) of deals for shops, offices and warehouses was done in Italy, Portugal and Spain in the three months to June, compared with 1.6 billion in the first quarter of 2009 when world markets were still reeling from the collapse of the U.S. bank in October 2008. 

It was the lowest figure since CBRE began tracking deals on a quarterly basis in 2006.

IT WILL GET WORSE UNTIL THE EURO IS DUMPED.

JIHADISTS BLOW UP 22 TANKERS IN AFGHANISTAN

Taliban 'blow up' 22 Nato tankers NEW 

A bomb planted by the Taliban in northern Afghanistan destroys 22 Nato fuel tankers carrying supplies to coalition forces, local officials say.

SINCE OBAMA WAS INAUGURATED GLOBAL JIHAD HAS EXPANDED AND STRENGTHENED.

• BESIDES KILLING OSAMA, OBAMA HAS NOT ADVANCED OUR CAUSE ONE IOTA.

• AFGHANISTAN, IRAQ, EQYT, LIBYA, SYRIA, TUNIS - THEY'RE ALL MORE JIHADIST.

• EVEN TURKEY IS MORE HOSTILE TO THE WEST NOW THAN UNDER BUSH.

• PAKISTAN - A DIVIDED NATION, NEVER ENTIRELY HELPFUL - IS EVEN LESS HELPFUL.

• AND JIHADISTS IN EUROPE ARE MORE AGGRESSIVE TOO.

• RUSSIA AND CHINA ARE MORE UNHELPFUL THAN EVER TOO.

ALL IN ALL: UNLESS HIS GOAL WAS WEAKENING THE USA AND THE WEST, OBAMA'S FOREIGN POLICY HAS BEEN A MISERABLE FAILURE.

NYTIMES: JIHAD IN MALI

GOOD ARTICLE DESCRIBING JIHAD IN MALI.

JIHAD IN MALI ONCE AGAIN PROVES THAT JIHAD AND SHARIAH HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH JEWS, THE GOP, BAIN, OR THE WEST.

EXCEPT THAT WE EXIST.

IT'S THE ISLAM, STUPID!

COULD SICILY BRING DOWN THE EURO HOUSE OF CARDS??

MAYBE:

Sicily, which has a special autonomous status, has debts of about 5bn euros (£3.9bn) and faces annual interest payments of between 500m and 600m euros, Reuters reported. Mr Monti - an economist - took over as head of a government of technocrats last year after his predecessor Silvio Berlusconi resigned amid a mounting national debt crisis.

Italy's public debt is equal to about 120% of its gross domestic product (GDP) and the economy is in its fourth recession of the past 10 years.
Earlier this month, the government agreed spending cuts of 26bn euros (£21bn, $32bn) over three years to tackle the deficit. Rome is struggling to keep the faith of investors who are increasingly asking for higher rates of return for lending to the country.

STAY TUNED: THE EURO CRISIS IS FAR FROM OVER.

MITT ROMNEY: BRAVEHEART

STORY AND 2 VIDEOS HERE.

THE REAL OBAMA: an effeminate privately schooled cocaine user who seemed completely white and who defended Communism

AMERICAN THINKER HAS A GOOD MUST READ ARTICLE ON OBAMA. EXCERPT:

I am asking myself, why would Obama delete a vivid white girl from his autobiography and replace her with a big, dark composite character from Chicago? 

As a political scientist, I think the best theory is that my girlfriend's story would not have scored Obama many points among his potential black constituents in Chicago.   

Acknowledging the influence of a white Swiss-American would have called attention to Obama's politically incorrect attachments to a series of wealthy white females including Caroline Boss, Alexandra McNear, and Genevieve Cook.  It would have reminded readers that Obama picked Occidental College, in part, because of the advice of a white girl from the wealthy Brentwood area of Los Angeles.   

Ultimately, I think the story of the real white Regina would have led readers to the uncomfortable realities of the real young Obama -- the Punahou graduate who seemed completely white, the cocaine user who benefited from affirmative action, and the angry dude who got in my face to defend his naïve faith in an inevitable Communist revolution. [UMPH ADDED]

I FOUND THIS OLD ONE BY THE AUTHOR OF THE ARTICLE AS A RESULT:

MONDAY, JULY 5, 2010

Glorious Leader Gap: Newly Released Photo Illustrates My Take on Young Marxist Obama

I was skimming the new Occidental College magazine (Summer 2010) and saw they found a new photo of the young Obama. I also went through the class notes and found that Hasan Chandoo has been in touch with my old girlfriend Caroline Grauman-Boss and her friend Susan (Keselenko) Coll over the years.

I expect that this will give additional credibility to my statements that I knew the young Obama and can affirm that he was a Marxist socialist in 1980-1981. Obama and I used to be part of a strong, committed group of revolutionaries. The only difference, as far as I can tell, is that I aged out of that obnoxious ideology in my mid-20s.

Also, this photo illustrates other themes I've communicated regarding the young Obama including the fact that I never saw him with a girl and that he was strikingly effeminate at the time. The larger point, of course, is that the picture of himself that he created in Dreams from My Father is very different from the real Obama that I knew during the 1980-1981 school year. [UMPH ADDED]

John C. Drew, Ph.D. is an award-winning political scientist.

OBAMA WANTS TO KNOW: ARE YOU NOW OR HAVE YOU EVER BEEN A CAPITALIST?

OBAMA WANTS TO KNOW:

• ARE YOU KNOW OR HAVE YOU EVER BEEN A CAPITALIST?

• ARE YOU KNOW OR HAVE YOU EVER BEEN A CARD-CARRYING MEMBER OF AMERICAN EXPRESS OR VISA OR MASTERCARD OR EVEN DINER'S CLUB?

• IF YOU HAVE A BUSINESS, DID YOU CHARGE YOUR CLIENTS MORE THAN YOUR COSTS AND OVERHEAD AND TAXES AND DID YOU SELFISHLY POCKET THE DIFFERENCE?

• AND WHAT DID YOU DO WITH THESE "OVERCHARGES", DID YOU SELFISHLY SPEND IT ON YOURSELF, STASH IT IN A PRIVATE ACCOUNT, OR INVEST IT WITH OTHER CAPITALISTS?

IF YOU ANSWERED YES TO ANY OF THESE QUESTIONS THEN YOU ARE A CAPITALIST AND PART OF THE PROBLEM - ACCORDING TO OBAMA AND HIS COMRADES.

VOTE ACCORDINGLY. VOTE ROMNEY.

What Kind Of Company Would Pay Their Highest Producers Less Money Than Their Lowest Producers? A Barack Obama Company, That's Who

Barack Obama said:

If you were successful, somebody along the line gave you some help. There was a great teacher somewhere in your life. Somebody helped to create this unbelievable American system that we have that allowed you to thrive. Somebody invested in roads and bridges.   

If you've got a business -- you didn't build that. Somebody else made that happen. 

The Internet didn't get invented on its own. Government research created the Internet so that all the companies could make money off the Internet.   

The point is, is that when we succeed, we succeed because of our individual initiative, but also because we do things together. There are some things, just like fighting fires, we don't do on our own.

Pastorius response:

I am a successful salesperson for a large corporation. 

To help me sell, the company I work for provides me with a good product, prevalent and persuasive advertising, and beautiful marketing materials.

Because I am successful, they also pay me a higher commission than the less successful salespeople.

And, because I am successful, they make far more money off me, than they do off some of the less successful people.

If my company penalized me for my success - by paying me a lower commission, the more sales I made - I would quit, 

as would anyone in their right mind.

OBAMA: STEVE JOBS, STEVE WOZNIAK AND APPLE OWE THEIR SUCCESS TO THE STATE

ADAPTED FROM A BRILLIANT IDEA BY BFH AT IOTW:

UPDATE: Punditarian:


Who ever thought that a sitting President of the United States would run for re-election against the creators and producers? Against the people whose hard work, genius, and risk-taking guts make the future happen?


Who ever thought that the President of the United States would disparage, demean, and attempt to discourage the entrepreneurs, inventors, leaders, movers and shakers who drive the economy so we can all thrive?


Everything that "the public sector" did and does was paid for by taxes taken from the producers, entrepreneurs, and creators. Without "the private sector" there is only poverty, oppression, tyranny, and war.


Barry Soetoro has NEVER made ANYTHING happen -- anything useful, that is. 


He is not a maker, he is a taker. He exemplifies the parasitic government, sucking the life out of the private economy, and sharing the spoils with its privileged cronies.


Mitt Romney has a proven track record of creating jobs, building wealth, and turning failed public enterprises around.


I don't know why anyone would hesitate over this choice for a New York Minute.



RELIAPUNDIT: OBAMA IS A FASCIST.

COMMITTEE CONFIRMS: JUDEA/SAMARIA IS NOT "OCCUPIED" TERRITORY

Another news report I'm late in writing about, this one is very impressive and can help tremendously (via The Jewish Press):

Retired Supreme Court Justice Edmond Levy, who heads a committee tasked with examining the legality of Jewish construction in Judea and Samaria, declared on Tuesday that Israelis have a legal right to settle the region.

"According to international law, Israelis have a legal right to settle all of Judea and Samaria, at the very least the lands that Israel controls under agreements with the Palestinian Authority," Levy stated. "Therefore, the establishment of Jewish settlements [in Judea and Samaria] is, in itself, not illegal."

The committee was established by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in efforts to determine and cement the legal status of the outposts in Judea and Samaria, with an emphasis on communities that were not built on privately owned Palestinian land but their status was still in doubt due to legal bureaucracy.

The committee issued its report on Tuesday, which was subsequently handed over to Attorney-General Yehuda Weinstein. In the report, Levy wrote that "upon completing the committee's tasks, and considering the testimonies heard, the basic conclusion is that from an international law perspective, the laws of 'occupation' do not apply to the unique historic and legal circumstances surrounding Israel's decades-long presence in Judea and Samaria."

"Likewise," the report said, "the Fourth Geneva Convention [relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War] on the transfer of populations does not apply, and wasn't intended to apply to communities such as those established by Israel in Judea and Samaria."

This news has predictably gotten the left in a tizzy, to which I can only reply that they should ashamed of themselves for going the cliched route of accusing the retired judge of being a "rightist tool".

Steven Plaut says:

A fascinating development this week in Israel was the release of the report of a governmental commission whose assignment had been to define the legal status of the “occupied territories” for purposes of government policy. The commission was headed by Edmond Levy, an interesting former Supreme Court justice and one of the only ones who is not a judicial activist leftist.

The Obama people are upset with the report (an indication of how good it is) and Israel’s moonbat Left is positively wetting itself in anguish.

Basically the report says that the West Bank – Judea and Samaria – are not occupied territories at all but, at most, disputed territories, something like the US-Canadian border areas were during parts of North American history.

As such, there is no reason why Israel cannot build there and even seize land there under eminent domain.

There is nothing in international law that would make settlements “illegal.” And they should thus be proclaimed by Israel to be completely legal. Whether or not Israel builds settlements then becomes a matter of Israeli interests and policy, not legal obstacles.

And Tzipi Hotovely says:

Several historical opportunities stand before the Netanyahu government.
The issue of enlistment is one, but no less important is the opportunity to completely overhaul the management of Judea and Samaria.

The Levy Report established de facto that it is no longer possible to treat the legitimate settlement of Judea and Samaria as a misbegotten stepchild, a wild west twilight zone in which the Jordanian and Ottoman registries are recorded willy-nilly while the secretive veil of the Defense Ministry hovers above, ruling the territory through the civil administration.

After almost half a century of settlement in Judea and Samaria, it is impossible to continue building without a systematic and reliable Israeli land registry. Rather than depend on the goodwill of the defense minister, who can currently prevent the building of public institutions and new neighborhoods with his signature, it is imperative to restore responsibility to the government so that it can build according to its desire. This will be possible once the government has before it a systematic land registry that will allow for settlements to expand and not be blocked due to political factors unrelated to land purchases.

The legal battle is the last stronghold of the leftists, who understand they cannot simply overrule the majority of the public who support the settlement enterprise. When the public votes the Likud into power, it expresses its desire to continue the pioneering and Zionist enterprise in Judea and Samaria. We cannot allow “Peace Now” the right to control the building process. This responsibility is entrusted to the government alone.

However, without a systematic registry, residents time and again fall victim to the legal traps set by the Left’s attorneys.

The latter fight against the settlements by means of the Jordanian registry, mostly fictitious, allowing them to falsely claim ownership in the name of petitioners who never knew they were the proprietors and never claimed ownership for over 40 years.

Read the rest, and see also this article that tells she's going to submit a bill for adopting the report's findings. This is something the government must definitely work on adopting as part of the legal structure so that Israel's citizens can find a decent residence without legal/political problems.

LIBYAN OLYMPIC CHIEF'S KIDNAPPING IS A SECURITY BREACH FOR LONDON

I THINK THAT THEY KIDNAPPED HIM TO GET LONDON OLYMPICS SECURITY INFO.

IN LIEU OF THIS AND THE SECURITY SCANDAL, THEY SHOULD POSTPONE THE OLYMPICS.

The false attacks on Romney reveal a deeper problem with Obama

The false attacks on Romney reveal a deeper problem with Obama:

Obama is deeply dishonest.

He is attacking Romney and Bain dishonestly and he dishonestly doled out BILLIONS to green companies - like Solyndra - which were run by people connected to his campaign and administration. 

Obama is deeply dishonest. 

The first volume of his memoirs is filled with dishonesty.

He unfit for the office he holds.

Vote Accordingly. Vote Romney.

BREAKING: US NAVY FIRES ON SMALL BOAT IN GULF

CNN: A U.S. military supply ship fired Monday at a small boat in the Persian Gulf after it came too close, apparently killing one person on board, two U.S. officials said. 

The USNS Rappahannock, a fuel resupply ship, fired on what the officials called a "small, white pleasure craft" 10 miles from the Dubai port of Jebel Ali. The small boat appeared to be headed for that port, the officials said, adding that their information was preliminary. The U.S. ship verbally warned the smaller boat when it was 1,200 yards away and fired at least one warning shot before the decision was made to fire shots to disable the boat, the officials said. 

"In accordance with Navy force protection procedures, the sailors on the USNS Rappahannock ... used a series of non-lethal, preplanned responses to warn the vessel before resorting to lethal force," the Navy said in a statement. "The U.S. crew repeatedly attempted to warn the vessel's operators to turn away from their deliberate approach. When those efforts failed to deter the approaching vessel, the security team on the Rappahannock fired rounds from a .50-caliber machine gun." Officials described the course of events as standard procedures when a small boat gets too close to a U.S. Navy ship.

JUST IN TIME FOR OBAMA'S REELECTION CAMPAIGN.

WAG. THE. DOG.

WILL NYC LIBS GET THE MAYOR THEY DESERVE? MAYBE.... DISGRACED DEMOCRAT ANTHONY WEINER MAY RUN!

IF HE WINS THEN NYC LIBS WILL HAVE THE LEADER THEY DESERVE.

WHY DO THE REST OF US HAVE TO SUFFER!?!?!?!

ISRAEL AGAIN EXCLUDED FROM USA-SPONSORED COUNTER-TERRORISM FORUM

Rabbi Marvin Hier, the founder and dean of the human rights group the Simon Wiesenthal Center, charged the US-sponsored Global Counterterrorism Forum of deliberately excluding Israel from a second meeting of the group that took place in Spain last week. 

In a strongly worded letter to US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Hier wrote that “when there was criticism following your announcement of the creation of the Global Counterterrorism Forum, which excluded Israel, I accepted the administration’s assurances that a way would be found to involve Israel. But after reading the Victims of Terrorism comments from the undersecretary of civilian security democracy and human rights, I’m prepared to believe that Israel is being left out intentionally.” 

A telling example was the presence of Saudi Arabia at the meeting. The kingdom’s government embraces and spreads the radical Wahhabist ideology to which many terrorists adhere. 

In June, the Global Counterterrorism Forum’s first formal meeting in Istanbul excluded Israel and invited countries with a history of sponsoring radical Islamic ideology.

The lack of Israel’s presence at the Istanbul event raised eyebrows, largely because Israel has a long track record of combating terrorism.
Critics chalked up the absence of Israel to the opposition of Turkey and its influence on the Obama administration. 

Rabbi Marvin Hier wrote, “I am well aware that Turkey, one of the L of the forum is in opposition to an Israeli presence, but with all due respect to Turkey or any other country, the forum was created by the United States and Israel is amongst the United States’ most reliable and trusted allies.”

THOSE THAT EXCLUDE ISRAEL ARE EVIL OR INSANE.

OBAMA AND HILLARY ARE ALLOWING IT.

VOTE ACCORDINGLY. VOTE ROMNEY.

THE SUBTEXT OF OBAMA'S ATTACK ON ROMNEY AND BAIN: "ARE YOU NOW OR HAVE YOU EVER BEEN A CAPITALIST?"

JUST SAYING...

VOTE ACCORDINGLY. VOTE ROMNEY.

ROMNEY AND OBAMA HAVE THEIR FIRST DEBATE

EGYPT'S ISLAMISTS REVEAL THEIR TRUE SELVES TO HILLARY: THROWING SHOES AND TAUNTING HER WITH CALLS OF "MONICA! MONICA!"

Hillary's motorcade pelted with tomatoes and shoes as Egyptian protesters shout 'Monica, Monica'

Hillary Clinton was targeted by protesters who threw tomatoes and their own shoes at her motorcade during a visit to Egypt on Sunday. Demonstrators also mockingly chanted 'Monica, Monica' in reference to Bill Clinton's extra-marital affair. 

The Secretary of State was on her first trip to Egypt since the election of the country's new Islamist President, Mohammed Morsi.   

This is Mrs Clinton's first trip to Egypt since the country's historic presidential election. During the protests in Alexandria, a tomato struck an Egyptian official in the face, and shoes and a water bottle landed near the armoured cars carrying Mrs Clinton's aides. A senior State Department official said that neither Mrs Clinton nor her vehicle, which were around the corner from the incident, were struck by any of the projectiles. 

As well as the shouts of 'Monica', some demonstrators chanted, 'Leave, Clinton.' The assault on her motorcade came on the day Mrs Clinton spoke at the newly re-opened U.S. consulate in Alexandria, addressing accusations that the U.S., which had long supported former president Hosni Mubarak, was meddling in Egyptian politics.

I THINK THIS AWFUL TREATMENT OF HILLARY HAS SHOCKED AND UPSET A LOT OF LIBERALS DESPITE THE FACT THAT THESE ISLAMISTS AND THEIR ALLIES ROUTINELY TREAT COPTS THIS WAY - AND WORSE, AND ATTACK ISRAEL WITH NEAR CONSTANT ROCKET ATTACKS AND ABSOLUTELY CONSTANT THREATS OF GENOCIDAL ANNIHILATION.

AND THESE EVIL SCUMBAGS CAME TO POWER BECAUSE OBAMA AND HILLARY. THEY AIDED AND ABETTED THE RISE OF THE MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD IN EGYPT AND ELSEWHERE.

FOR THIS ALONE OBAMA DESERVES TO BE THROWN OUT OF OFFICE.

THE ASCENT OF THE MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD IS NOT A BUG OF OBAMA'S INEPT FOREIGN POLICY; IT'S A FEATURE OF HIS ANTI-ISRAEL FOREIGN POLICY

THE INSTAPUNDIT GLENN REYNOLDS TODAY:

WASHINGTON POST: Where Obama failed on forging peace in the Middle East. “The way Obama managed the Israeli-Palestinian issue exhibited many of the hallmarks that have defined his first term. It began with a bid for historic change. But it foundered ultimately on his political and tactical misjudgments, on a lack of trusted relationships and on an outdated view of a conflict that many of his closest advisers imparted to him. And those advisers — veterans of the Middle East peace issue — clashed among themselves over tactics and turf.”

Posted at 8:59 am by Glenn Reynolds   

POWER LINE ALSO POSTED ON THE ARTICLE ON OBAMA'S "FAILURE" IN THE MIDDLE EAST:

In fact, those who read the entire Post article will see Obama’s claim about the Bush years exposed as false. The Post points to the unilateral withdrawal from Gaza during Bush’s presidency. 

And Obama himself says that his policy regarding Israeli settlements is the same as the stated policy of the Bush administration. 

Given Obama’s willfully ignorant understanding of the Middle East, he was destined to make a fool of himself the minute he injected himself into this area of the world. Unfortunately, the same thing is true about many of his other foreign policy initiatives.

ALL THREE - THE WASH POST, INSTAPUNDIT AND POWER LINE MISS THE REAL POINT: 


OBAMA HASN'T FAILED AT ALL.

THE ASCENDANCY OF THE MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD WAS HIS GOAL AND HE SUCCEEDED!

IN FACT, HELPING THE MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD WAS JOB ONE.

OBAMA HASNT BEEN TO ISRAEL AS PRESDIENT BUT HE MADE HIS FIRST BIG FOREIGN SPEECH IN CAIRO AND IN TURKEY.

AND IN CAIRO, HE INCONTROVERTIBLY AIDED THE MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD. EXCERPT FROM THE ATLANTIC ARTICLE POSTED AT THE TIME:

A sign that the Obama administration is willing to publicly challenge Egypt's commitment to parliamentary democracy: various Middle Eastern news sources report that the administration insisted that at least 10 members of the Muslim Brotherhood, the country's chief opposition party, be allowed to attend his speech in Cairo on Thursday. 

The brotherhood is a Salafist/ Islamist party with branches in many countries, and it does not have a reputation for liberalism and has supported violent campaigns against Israel (and Egypt's own government). 

It has deep roots in the region and traces its intellectual lineage to Sayyid Qutb, a top American-educated Islamic intellectual who was executed -- or martyred -- by the Egyptian government in 1966. 

The Brotherhood has direct links with Sunni groups like Hamas in the Palestinian territories. 

IOW:

THE ASCENDANCY OF ISLAMISM IN NORTHERN AFRICA AND ALL AROUND ISRAEL - AS IRAQ (WHICH OBAMA HAS ABANDONED) LIVES UNDER INCREASING IF NOT CONSTANT AL QAEDA TERROR ATTACKS ONCE AGAIN AND AS AFGHANISTAN (WHICH OBAMA HAS PROMISED TO ABANDON) TEETERS - IS A DESIGN FEATURE, AND NOT A BUG.

REPEAT:

THE ASCENDANCY OF THE MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD AND ISLAMISM IS NOT A BUG OF OBAMA'S FOREIGN POLICY; IT'S A FEATURE - ONE TAB PREDICTED BEFORE THE 2008 ELECTION - MORE THAN ONCE - IN FACT AT LEAST 3 TIMES.


VOTE ACCORDINGLY.


VOTE ROMNEY.

WHEN WILL OBAMA ORDER HOLDER TO ARREST ROMNEY FOR BEING A CAPITALIST?

JUST ASKING.

CUZ THAT'S WHAT OBAMA'S ATTACKS ON ROMNEY AMOUNT TO.

AN ATTACK ON CAPITALISM.

OBAMA AND HIS COMRADES SOUND MORE LIKE CASTRO AND CHE AND CHAVEZ AND MUGABE THAN JFK OR LBJ OR EVEN BJ CLINTON.

VOTE ACCORDINGLY. VOTE ROMNEY.

PATRICIA SAID SHOULD BE INDICTED FOR COMPLICITNESS IN MURDER OF DAUGHTERS

Pamela Geller has some more details on how the mother of Sarah and Amina Said, Patricia, was just as guilty as her filthy husband Yaser in murdering them (H/T: Jihad Watch). The mother did nothing on her part to help them, was apparently addicted to this monster, and assisted him in drawing them back to their deaths, and for that, she should be prosecuted and sentenced to prison for the rest of her life.

Until then, whereever she is, Patricia Said should be ostracized and banned from public spaces like supermarkets and resturants for her obscene behavior and being complicit in the murder of her own offspring.

IS GEITHNER ABOUT TO BE INDICTED?

MAYBE:

NYTIMES TODAY:

As regulators ramp up their global investigation into the manipulation of interest rates, the Justice Department has identified potential criminal wrongdoing by big banks and individuals at the center of the scandal. [UMPH ADDED] 

The department’s criminal division is building cases against several financial institutions and their employees, including traders at Barclays, the British bank, according to government officials close to the case who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the investigation is continuing. The authorities expect to file charges against at least one bank later this year, one of the officials said. 

The prospect of criminal cases is expected to rattle the banking world and provide a new impetus for financial institutions to settle with the authorities. The Justice Department investigation comes on top of private investor lawsuits and a sweeping regulatory inquiry led by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.  

Collectively, the civil and criminal actions could cost the banking industry tens of billions of dollars.

WASH POST LAST WEEK:

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York said Tuesday it had received word as early as 2007 from the British bank Barclays about problems with the benchmark interest rate that underpins much of global lending. 

Barclays has admitted to rigging Libor, an interest rate that sets the standard for lending in a wide variety of markets — from corporate bonds to credit cards and some mortgages.

On Tuesday, the New York Fed said that it had received “occasional anecdotal reports from Barclays of problems with Libor” in late 2007, as the financial crisis was starting. The disclosure came as Washington policymakers began to increase their scrutiny of the role of regulators in the scandal surrounding the London interbank offered rate, or Libor. 

Every day, major banks around the world submit their borrowing costs, which are then used to compute an interbank rate. Barclays was accused of concealing its borrowing costs — in an effort to drive up profits and send signals that the bank was healthier than it might have been. 

The bank agreed to pay $453 million to American and British regulators to end investigations into the scandal, although other banks’ actions are being reviewed.
In testimony last week before the British Parliament, former Barclays chief executive Robert E. Diamond said the bank had repeatedly brought to the attention of U.S. regulators — as well as U.K. regulators — the problems that the bank was experiencing in the Libor market. He said the bank’s warnings to regulators that Libor was artificially low did not lead to action.

BLOOMBERG:

Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner, who headed the New York Fed at the time, and Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke will be questioned about Libor at regularly scheduled Congressional hearings this month. Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Johnson, a South Dakota Democrat, said July 10 he is “concerned by the growing allegations of potential widespread manipulation of Libor and similar interbank rates.”

GEITHNER WAS NEGLIGENT AND DERELICT IN HIS DUTIES.

HE SHOULD RESIGN EVEN IF HE'S NOT AMONG THOSE INDICTED.