President Obama at the chum line, feeding the Republican Party.

And what is he feeding them? More scraps from the hale and healthy body that used to be Social Security (Soon under new management as the "Lose it All But Possibly Win Big! sweepstakes on Wall Street). What used to be Medicare and Medicaid (Soon also under new management as the "Macrosized, Masshealth Connector Clusterfuck aka RomneyCare").

And still they want more because somehow this chum, however ill-gotten and flayed from our social safety net given to us by better and more compassionate governments, this chum just ain't cutting it. No, the jaws of the GOP and the 50 or 60 dead-enders of the dying Tea Party who still inexplicably find themselves on TV day after day as if they were the Swiftboaters for Truthiness or Balloon Boy dads and other frauds, they want more than chum.

They want those sweet, sweeeeeeet, blubbery otters and seals and walruses, they want those dolphins and sea lions and manatees, whatever they can stuff into those gaping maws because, well, they have lobbyists and tycoons to feed.

So Obama keeps chucking chum in the chum line, thinking those precious nuggets will somehow attract and placate those 25 foot eating machines and thinking he's some Great Communicator or Compromiser or whatever he chooses to call himself when he's standing in front of his full-length mirror in his skivvies at night.

And the Great Feeder of Insatiable Republican Sharks will not listen to the likes of Quint, who tells him horror stories of other Republican sharks of the Nixon era, not even when he ominously begins his stories with, "Argh, the Congress was angry that night, me heartie. There I was, feeding them chum, when suddenly I found myself surrounded by fins a meter high, argh..."

No, Obama will not listen to old salts with vaster experience than him, he will not listen to those who tell him the bloody chunks he offers the Republican sharks will merely arouse their bloodlust and prime their appetites for something more substantial. As with sharks and blood, Republicans can smell the smallest surplus from two miles away. How could they not sniff out and be driven into a frenzy by a $2.6 trillion Social Security surplus which even their world-eating benefactors on Wall Street cannot laugh off as a morsel?

And Republicans will do what Republicans do, which is bang the boat when they don't get what they want, even if the engine room gets filled with bilge water and the whole ship of state stalls, drifts and eventually sinks. If they can shut the government down that quickly simply by saying no, then we need a bigger government, one that cannot be sunk so easily.

But if that happens, if the ship sinks, all that remains to be seen is if Captain Obama goes down with the ship or adroitly escapes, leaving the rest of us to cling to water-logged life preservers that the Republicans will also want to eat.

The Tea Party Caucus, left to right: (Back row) Allen West, Paul Ryan, Dan Webster, Joe Barton, Jeff Duncan. (front row, l-r) Joe Walsh, Louie Gohmert, Michele Bachmann.

President Obama nailed it when he said yesterday that the debt "negotiations" on Capitol Hill was a "three ring circus." What he could've done was clarify which entities made up the three rings: The House and Senate and the White House.

That's not to say the House and Senate Republicans aren't responsible for most of this ginned-up chaos that seemingly overnight has turned into a very real one. The intentions of the radical wing of the GOP are painfully transparent: Cripple Social Security using whatever fraudulent means necessary, and beginning the dismantling and/or privatization of Medicare and Medicaid through equally fraudulent means.

Republicans know as well as Democrats that if we do indeed default on our national debt by not raising the ceiling by Tuesday, the first of two things will happen: The Treasury will empty itself out paying our creditors and those on Social Security, unemployment and those serving our military will immediately stop getting checks.

The manufactured emergency has already resulted in a partial shutdown of the FAA, which has not only placed 70,000 union workers on temporary hiatus and is making millions for the airlines and airports, but $200,000,000 a week in airport taxes are going uncollected. Hm. Union workers out of work, private industry making millions and nearly a billion dollars in uncollected taxes a month. Funny how Republican initiatives do that, huh?

Yet, I think one would be hard-pressed to find even one Republican on Capitol Hill who's thought this far ahead: How will the GOP continue rah-rahing, sis boom-bahing the three war fronts and the troops who are fighting them after being solely responsible for cutting their paychecks?

I remember when Democrats were threatening to stall military appropriations bills during the Bush era and the Republicans were hoarsely screaming like so many elephants with their balls in a vise about. "The troops, the troops, my God, what about the troops?!"

Fast-forward to 2011: The troops may not get their next checks and be able to continue paying their bills starting next week. Yet, where are the Republican calls to continue funding the troops? Crickets.

Sure, it's painfully obvious the Republican Party and the Teahadists who have taken over a large part of the GOP caucus are hell-bent on destroying this country and destroying the biggest progressive legacies of the past 70-75 years, starting with Social Security and Medicare. But Obama must accept ownership for one of the rings of this three-ring circus.

Obama could've simply defused this situation months ago by invoking the 14th amendment to raise the debt ceiling. Former President Clinton said he would've used it. Obama, also a so-called Constitutional law scholar, claims his lawyers are telling him it wouldn't be legal. Obama keeps treating the 14th amendment as if it's a nuclear option but the fact is it would be more like a neutron bomb that would vaporize this sad, sorry clown show on the Hill while leaving the infrastructure intact. And if the Tea Bag Caucus in the House wants to impeach Obama for using what we all know is his constitutional prerogative, they'll have to explain why they're attempting to impeach a President for simply raising the debt ceiling in lieu of a Constitutional Amendment to balance the budget. They'll have to explain to the rest of us who precisely prevented that Constitutional amendment from passing. And the Tea Bag Caucus will lose whatever little credibility they now have.

Yet from the start, it was obvious that Obama was going to do what Obama always does: Capitulate to the fascist, pro-corporate GOP and immediately put Social Security on the table despite it being responsible for not one cent of the national debt (perhaps someone should remind Obama the $2.6 trillion surplus was obtained through something called "payroll taxes"). He's also put Medicare and Medicaid on the buffet table, despite both programs having rock-bottom operating costs of 3%. With a stroke of the pen, Obama could wipe out the prohibition to the government being able to negotiate drug prices with Big Pharma, thereby helping to reduce that burden by hundreds of billions.

But Obama does what Obama has always done: Sell the least fortunate up the river as he did when he froze pay for federal workers for two years at the same exact moment he authorized the continuance of the Bush tax cuts for the same length of time because the minority GOP was holding unemployment benefits hostage in both houses of Congress. At the same time he did that, he also capitulated to the GOP by allowing Social Security taxes to be cut by 2%. This has had an immediate effect: In the first six months, Social Security has lost $100,000,000,000 from its coffers. Six months ago, there was a $2.7 trillion surplus. Now we're hearing it's $2.6 trillion and counting.

To anyone who's ever balanced a checkbook and kept a checking account register, in order to remain solvent and to stay ahead of the game, you need to be bringing in at least as much as you spend, if not take in more. If you spend more than you generate, you're going to be in trouble with someone at some point. How the GOP can convince so many people that the debt can be reduced to nothing over ten years while lowering taxes simultaneously and to be allowed to advance these lies on national TV several times a day without being seriously challenged is a searing and damning indictment on the stupidity, gullibility and apathy of our once-great nation.

Boehner's watered down political theater of a bill passed in the House a few nights ago but it revealed some very interesting things. First off, 23% of the Tea Party Caucus, including Tea Bagger queen Michele Bachmann, voted against the bill, joining all 188 Democrats who also opposed it. And when the perennially-fractious Democratic Party in either chamber stands perfectly united against any Republican proposal, you know they're on the side of the angels. The vote tally also revealed that 22 Republicans in toto opposed the Boehner bill that everyone knew was doomed to failure (sources close to Congress revealed that even many Republicans who'd voted for it did so while holding their noses).

What I'm saying here, people, isn't brilliantly insightful but these thumbtack observations do get to the heart of the matter:

The Republican Party is fractured and split between those who want to destroy this country and those who want to sell the biggest chunks to China. There are many Republicans who are wide-eyed with terror that this game of chicken played by their party leaders will result in economic catastrophe.

But the leadership is plainly insane and terrified they won't get re-elected next year and one doesn't have to squint very hard to see the hands above the curtain of the puppet show pulling the strings: They belong to the Koch Brothers who'd, with Dick Armey, almost single-handedly created the Tea Party. They belong to Lloyd Blankfein and Jamie Dimon and Rex Tillerson and every hedge fund manager on Wall Street.

And then there's our President, who's plainly terrified of teh crazy of the GOP who are willing to shoot their own hostages so they don't incur the wrath of their puppeteers on Wall Street. And, in spite of knowing that Social Security and Medicare and Medicaid has not contributed to the national debt as has lowered taxes and endless wars, Obama will still put all of us who need those programs on the chopping block, including the 2.5 million active duty servicemembers and retired veterans drawing pensions.

He knows fully good and well our creditors will still get paid off and banks, credit card lenders and other predatory entities stand to make billions off jacked-up APRs and foreclosed homes when these innocent victims will no longer be able to pay their bills because of Republican brinksmanship.

Sure, it's all too obvious that the Republican Party is plainly insane and has turned a ginned-up emergency into a very real one. If this debt ceiling debacle doesn't conclusive prove this Tea Bagging 112th Congress isn't the worst one in American history, then nothing will.

But a large measure of the responsibility also has to be laid at the doorstep of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, currently occupied by an administration that seems bound and determined to exceed its predecessor as the worst presidency of all time.

...to gloat over most massive failure in American history. Maybe this time, Bush and Obama will actually stay long enough to hear the reading of all the 9/11 victims' names.

On July 27th, after dramatic last minute arm-twisting on his part, Speaker of the House John Boehner decided there would be no vote on a stopgap deficit reduction bill that would pave the way to raising the debt ceiling by $2.7 trillion before August 2nd. What were the biggest reasons why Speaker Boehner decided not to hold a vote?

10) Boehner couldn't twist enough dicks because fellow Republicans were too busy photographing them with their cell phones.

9) The Drudge Report and Andrew Breitbart said if they sided with Boehner on a compromise, Congressman Barney Frank would fuck their fathers.

8) All 37 remaining Tea Party members camped outside Boehner's office window while repeatedly shouting, "Put your government hands on my Medicare!"

7) Security guards for Koch Industries repeatedly blocked Boehner at Republican office doors, stating he wasn't on their approved list.

6) Tea Party caucus refused to budge on a balanced budget amendment that would require President Obama to change his name to "Toby."

5) Freshman Republicans refused to commit either way until their fax machines spit out something from Rush Limbaugh.

4) Grover Norquist threatened to drown any Republican who sided with Boehner in a bathtub.

3) Joe Walsh's entire office repossessed by Illinois Department of Revenue for back child support.

2) Paul Ryan angry at Boehner for allowing him to be marginalized and forgotten during deficit debate.

1) Because Senators Harry Reid and Chuck Schumer inexplicably said it in Swahili, moderate Republicans translated for Boehner into English, "It will not pass in the Senate and the President will veto it."

BSkyB will hand out 1 billion pounds ($1.6 billion) to soothe shareholders who lost out when public anger over a hacking and police corruption scandal enforced News Corp to fall its offer for the satellite broadcaster.

BSkyB, whose board on Thursday selected collectively to keep James Murdoch as its chairman, will return 750 million pounds to shareholders with a share buy-back and an additional 253 million through a 20% increase to the final dividend.

News Corp settled to join in the buyback to put off its stake from sneak above its current 39%. Any boost would have been politically controversial while the phone-hacking scandal hangs over the company.

The payout was pronounced on Friday beside complete year BSkyB results that hit prospects for sales and profits, though a delay in customer increase showed the shock of the weak British consumer economy and a maturing market.

Also being a consolation prize for shareholders and for News Corp -- which will make 390 million pounds instead of the hoped-for consolidation of BSkyB's substantial cash streams -- the move may signal a shift at BSkyB if increase starts to slow.

"While there's still anxiety about development, they may be more open to share buybacks, and that potentially assists News Corp as well," said Ian Whittaker, media expert at Liberum Capital.

Shares in BSkyB have dropped by in excess of 15% since the News Corp bid premium dispersed and the long-bubbling phone hacking case exploded into a national fury this month.

By 1146 GMT (7:46 a.m. EDT), they were up 0.4 % to 718.5 pence, closer to the 700p News Corp said it was ready to pay a year ago than the 800p per share BSkyB's self-governing directors had asked as a minimum before the deal fell apart.

"We analyze the share buyback declaration as positive especially given News Corp have decided to contribute," one of BSkyB's 10 biggest shareholders told Reuters.

"The 750 million pounds quantum is reasonable and lets a balanced approach between returning cash to investors while maintaining financial elasticity to follow growth chances," the fund manager said.

Accuses of hacking at News Corp's British newspapers, in special reports that journalists analysed the voicemails of murder victims, have set off a judicial investigation and calls from some politicians to cap Murdoch's media ownership.

There have also been claims of payments to police which assisted quick the resignation of two of Britain's most senior officers.

This makes any well-known approach for BSkyB, whose present market value is $20 billion, a far away prospect.

GROWTH PLEASES

BSkyB's request to News Corp was highlighted as the broadcaster reported a 51% mount in adjusted free cash flow to 869 million pounds on the back of a 19 percent boost in core profit to 1.4 billion.

The broadcasters, which offer broadband and telephone services extra to its key premium sports, movies and drama pay-TV offerings, enhanced margins by 16% to 6.6 billion pounds, thrashing analysts' forecasts.

"Given the hard conditions, we're happy with our development this quarter," BSkyB Chief Executive Jeremy Darroch told journalists on a conference call.

In an indication that its subscribers may be reacting the pinch as the British economy combats, the company said average income per user dipped to 539 pounds per year at the end of the fourth quarter from a rate of 544 pounds in the third.

BSkyB said a technological issue associated to less common publishing of a magazine was hugely to accuse, but its number of TV viewers rose by just 40,000, well below the likely 60,000, taking the total TV customer base to 10.2 million.

Rival Virgin Media, which sells TV and telephone services besides UK's quicker broadband, this week said it had lost 36,000 cable users but remove higher expenditure from the ones who remained.

BSkyB has frozen subscription prices till next year and Darroch said he expected the users environment to remain harder. Britain's economy solely boost between April and June, according to statistics released this week.

However, Darroch said BSkyB remained attentive on organic development and the company said on it had won rights to broadcast Formula One racing in an enterprise deal with Britain's state-owned BBC.

The bonus raises BSkyB's payout for the complete year by 20% to 23.28% per share, producing a total dividend pot of 405 million pounds of which News Corp, as 39% investor in BSkyB, will gain about 160 million.

News Corp has observed its stock drop in excess of 10% on concerns of repute ruined to the broader group, wiping billions of dollars off its market worth and trembling Rupert Murdoch's control on the media group.

Also stunning the planned buyout of BSkyB, the scandal forced Murdoch Snr to close the 168-year-old News of the World scandalous and rocked the British political institution.

Asked on Friday why BSkyB's board had determined to keep James Murdoch as chairman while inquiries by police, a top judge and a parliamentary committee carry on, Darroch said: "It's not for me or for Sky to advocate as to the results of those."

Civil servants are using Whitehall computers to make thousands of visits to websites about belly dancing, medieval role play, and cricket, according to new figures.

Bureaucrats are also spending the day with visits to websites likeSexymp.co.uk, which rates the good looks of their political masters, and the Doctor Who fan page.

Amid the stranger of the 1,000 first sites visited by the bureaucrats at the Department for Transport –exposed by a Freedom of Information request – is bearsfaction.org.uk, a page dedicated to a live medieval role playing game.

The welcome page describes visitors: "know to enter this place you are under Bears generosity – conduct yourself as a Bear would and you will locate your questions answered, friendship willingly given and received.

"Let all who see the Bear recognize we are a proud people, we are a respectable people and we are a kind people. Our land is held jointly by the grace, might and wisdom of Anu, combined behind our three Queens."

A Whitehall source recommended that a DFT civil servant may be one of the administrators of the curious group.

In the five months to the end of May there were also 3,170 visits to smallworldbellydance.com, the home page of a company in south London that presents private belly dance tuition.

In a potential sign of the aggravation felt by civil servants, there were also in excess of 121,000 visits to a government website looking for recommendations on how to cut red tape. More everyday internet destinations include Facebook and Wikipedia – with the BBC website approaching top of the list with more than 7.4 million hits.

Gambling website also Bet365 marked on the list, as did numerous cricket sites.

But in proof of the discriminating taste of Britain's Bureaucrats,Telegraph.co.uk was the much visited newspaper website.

Ranked 13 on the overall list, The Telegraph edged out the Daily Mail (31), The Independent (57), The Guardian (144), and The Sun (199).

Matthew Sinclair, Director of the Tax-Payers’ Alliance which got the figures, said: “It seems like several officers at the Department for Transport are passing moist of their time surfing websites that obviously have nothing to do with their jobs.

"Even as many staff duties very hard, there have been enough subjective reports of time wasters within the Civil Service that it is imperative taxpayers are able to scrutinize how time they are paying for is spent. Other Departments need to follow suit and publish this information, there is no practical barrier to proper transparency.”

According to the National Transitional Council, Libyan rebel’s military commander combating to fall Col Muammar Gaddafi has been executed.

Mustafa Abdul-Jalil head of NTC said Gen Abdel Fattah Younes was killed by attackers, and the head of the group responsible had been detained.

He said Gen Younes was called for inquiring about military operations, but never made it to the meeting. Reports said Gen Younes was alleged of fastens to pro-Gaddafi forces.

Two helpers to Gen Younes, Col Muhammad Khamis and Nasir al-Madhkur, were also killed in the assault, Mr. Jalil said, counting that there would be three days of grief in their honor.

The conditions of the killings were not clear. Mr. Jalil did not say who the attackers were or what their inspirations were.

Gen Younes is a past Libyan interior minister who unperfected to the rebel side in February.

He was also part of the group that assisted bring Col Gaddafi to power in 1969.

Some unverified reports said Gen Younes and two helpers had been detained prior on Thursday near Libya's eastern front.

In a while after the pronouncement of Gen Younes' death, gunmen entered the basis of the hotel in the eastern city of Benghazi where Mr. Jalil was talking, reportedly firing into the air before being persuaded to leave.

Prior on Thursday, insurgents said they had captured the strategically crucial town of Ghazaya near the Tunisian border, after sharp fighting with Col Gaddafi's forces.

They reportedly gained control of various other towns or villages in the area.

The rebels are fighting to break a military stalemate five months into the revolt against Col Gaddafi's rule.

Activists capture most of eastern Libya from their base in Benghazi and the western port city of Misrata, while Col Gaddafi keeps much of the west, counting the capital, Tripoli.

Late on Thursday AFP news agency reported blasts trembling the centre of Tripoli, as state TV reported that planes were flying over the Libyan capital.

Nato, acting under a UN mandate allowing military action for the security of civilians, has carried out conventional air strikes in the Tripoli area.

In the mean time, the South African ambassador to the UN, Baso Sangqu, advised that helpers of the activists were in danger of defying UN sanctions.

His remarks came a day after Britain decided the activists diplomatic recognition and said it would unblock £91 million ($149m) in iced up Libyan oil assets for the rebels.

"We have noted the calls for Gaddafi must quit," Mr. Sangqu said. "We preserve that such statements do not bring us any closer to a political solution."

The mounting trend to grant diplomatic gratitude to the Libyan activists is facing opposition on the Security Council, and that moves to back the rebels will more polarize Council members.

Portugal has become the newest of about 30 countries to have recognized the NTC.

The Miami Dolphins desire to add some explosiveness to their offense drove the trade for Saints running back Reggie Bush -- a move that should produce the desired effect.

Bush should allow a once innovative-turned-predictable running game to diversify. He'll be used much like he was in New Orleans as a receiver and a perimeter threat, but he could be a bigger part of the running game.

Bush also gives Miami the big-play potential it sorely lacks. The Saints will miss what Bush brings but his salary of more than $11 million was too costly for him not being a full-time stud.

With the Dolphins, he'll be paired with rookie Daniel Thomas, a big, turf grinder, allowing the Dolphins to change pace more often than the past few seasons. Bush won't deliver the tough yards Ronnie Brown or Ricky Williams did. If the Dolphins think he will, they could be disappointed.

The biggest issue with Bush is durability. If he's on the field, he's a perpetual threat. He's hurt too often though and that's why he was expendable for the Saints.

I like the move because Miami needs playmakers and some sizzle. Bush also will provide options for whomever plays quarterback. I just would not expect sustained production because of his injury history.

My Maserati does one-eighty-five
I lost my license, now I don't drive
I have a limo, ride in the back
I lock the doors in case I'm attacked - Joe Walsh, "Life's Been Good"

Tea Bagger congressman Joe Walsh (R-IL), in a party filled with shiftless hypocrites, bids fair to become the new poster child for Republican shiftlessness and hypocrisy. In spite of being the self-appointed gadfly of the Obama administration and screaming about debts and paying bills, Walsh is himself being sued for over $117,400 in back child support.

When he first took office this year, he said, “I do not want to burden the American taxpayer with any of my health care costs and retirement. Period," by way of explaining why he was shopping for private insurance rather than getting the free health care given to lawmakers. Apparently, however, he doesn't mind burdening his ex-wife Laura with over 100 grand in back child support.

Naturally, in true scumbag Republican fashion, this lawsuit suing him for six figures in back child support is, in his addled mind, politically-motivated. Just recently, he said on CNN's Newsroom, "It’s interesting that it just broke right now as I’m out there trying my best to fight this president and fight the Democrats and solve this debt crisis."

Wah wah.

This dirtbag, during a time when he was stiffing his ex and three kids on child support by crying indigence, loaned his campaign $35,000 and paid himself almost half of it back. Then, after claiming that he has child support problems "like any other guy", when his ex wife's divorce lawyer threatened to have his driver's license taken away (you know, "like any other guy"), Walsh puled, "Have you no decency?"

Hypocritical scumbaggery within the ranks of the Republican Party is nothing new either here or anywhere else in the blogosphere. But what I'd like to address here is the unevenness of the enforcement of child support laws. Granted, we're talking about two different states (Illinois and Massachusetts) but child support became one of those politically-correct hot button issues across the nation.

What I'd like to know is:

1) Why hasn't Walsh's $174,000 salary been garnished as was mine in 2004, despite the fact that I voluntarily paid child support prior to the court order?

2) Why was Walsh's child support arrearage allowed to balloon to over $117,400 over nine years while my bank account got emptied of my rent money and levied last month just nine weeks after my only income was terminated?

3) Why hasn't Walsh's driver's license been revoked after all these years and why hasn't he been arrested on felony counts of nonpayment of child support and contempt of a court order?

Gee, the Illinois family courts wouldn't be cutting him some slack because he's a member of Congress and/or a Republican, would they?

Until these Republican cunts face the same timetables and the same comeuppance as the rank and file, they'll never have any incentive to do the right thing for legal and/or moral reasons. There's a serious disconnect and disproportion between how the law is enforced on the proles and how it's "enforced" on the rich and powerful.

Yeah, Illinois authorities may be going after this shiftless cocksucker Joe Walsh now but it's too little, too late as far as I'm concerned. And if he thinks being hauled into court to pay over $117,000 in back child support nine years after it had begun accruing is politically motivated, it would hugely amuse me to see what his reaction would be if he was undergoing what I am, someone who has to fight tooth and nail just to keep a roof over my head, and was targeted by the Massachusetts DOR after just nine weeks without income. You think Joe worries every month whether he'll have a roof over his pointy little head? Somehow, I doubt it.

You go, Laura. Sue that piece of shit for every wooden nickel he's got.

By Susan Lindauer, former U.S. Asset covering Libya and Iraq at the United Nations during the Lockerbie negotiations

For European bankers, it's a war for Libya's Gold. For oil corporations, it's a war for Cheap Crude (now threatening to destroy Libya's oil infrastructure, just like Iraq). But for Libya's women, it's a fierce, knock down battle over the Abaya— an Islamic style of dress that critics say deprives women of self-expression and identity.

Hillary Clinton and President Sarkozy might be loath to admit it, but the desire to turn back the clock on women rights in Libya constitutes one of the chief goals for NATO Rebels on the Transitional Council.

For NATO Rebels—who are overwhelmingly pro-Islamist, regardless of NATO propaganda (see www.obamaslibya.com) — it's a matter of restoring social obedience to Islamic doctrine. However the abaya is more than a symbol of virtue and womanly modesty. It would usher in a full conservative doctrine, impacting women's rights in marriage and divorce, the rights to delay childbirth to pursue education and employment—all the factors that determine a woman's status of independence.

That makes this one War Libya's women cannot afford to lose. For those of us who support Islamic modernity, there are good arguments that Gadhaffi would be grossly irresponsible to hand over power to a vacuum dominated by NATO Rebels. Given the savagery of their abuses against the Libyan people—and the Rebels’ agenda to reinstate Shariah and retract women's rights, Gadhaffi has an obligation to stand strong and block them for the protection of the people.

Indeed, it's somewhat baffling that France or Italy would want to hand power to Rebels, outside of an election scenario. Elections would be a safeguard that would empower Libyan women to launch a leadership alternative that rejects the Abaya. That's exactly what the Rebels fear, and it accounts for their deep, abiding rejection of the election process. Democracy poses a real threat to NATO's vision of the "New Libya."

The abaya carries so much weight in the battle for Islamic modernity that Gadhaffi pretty much banned Islamic dress from the first days of his government. Getting rid of the abaya was part of Gadhaffi's larger reform package supporting women's rights—one of the best and most advanced in the entire Arab world. The transformation of women's status has been so great that the Ayatollah Khomeini in Iran imposed a fatwa against Gadhaffi years ago, declaring his government blasphemous to Islamic traditions.

To gain insider perspective on Gadhaffi's reforms for women, members of a fact-finding delegation in Libya spoke with Najat ElMadani, chairwoman of the Libyan Society for Culture and Sciences, an NGO started in 1994. They also interviewed Sheikh Khaled Tentoush, one the most prominent Imams in Libya. Imam Tentoush has survived two NATO assassination attempts, one that was particularly revealing.

Tentoush said that he and 12 other progressive Imams were traveling to Benghazi to discuss a peaceful end to the conflict. They stopped for tea at a guest house in Brega--- and NATO dropped a bomb right on top of them, killing 11 of the 13 Imams, who had embraced Islamic reforms that empower women's rights and modernity.

There were no military installations or Gadhaffi soldiers anywhere nearby that would have justified NATO bombing. This was a deliberate assassination of Islamic leaders who give religious legitimacy to Gadhaffi's modernist policies, and therefore pose a great threat to the conservative ambitions of Islamic Rebels. NATO killed them off.

What's got radical Islamists so upset in Libya? Here's a primer on women's rights under Gadhaffi:

No Male Chaperones in Libya
• In Libya, women are allowed to move about the city, go shopping or visit friends without a male escort. Unbelievable as it sounds, throughout most of the Arab world, such freedoms are strictly forbidden. In much of Pakistan, for example, a 5 year old male child would be considered a suitable chaperone for an adult woman in the marketplace. Otherwise she'd better stay home. In Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, women are frequently locked in their apartments while their husbands, brothers or fathers go off to work. Yes, there are exceptions. Some families individually reject these practices. However, before readers protest this characterization, you must be honest and acknowledge that the Taliban in Afghanistan and the Saudis/Kuwaitis aren't the only groups that constrain women's freedoms in the Arab world. This is common social behavior throughout large swaths of Arab society.
• In Libya, women are never locked in their homes, while their husbands, fathers and brothers go to work. Gadhaffi forbids restricting women's mobility.
• In Libya, women have full legal rights to drive cars—unlike their sisters in Saudi Arabia. In a lot of Arab countries, a woman's husband holds her passport. So she cannot travel outside of the country without his approval.

Marriage Rights
• Tragically, in Kabul, Afghanistan, a young woman can be locked in Prison for rejecting her father's choice of husband. Until she changes her mind, her prospective mother in law visits the prison every day, demanding to know why her son is not "good enough" for this girl. Why does she disobey those who know what's best for her? That poor woman stays locked up in Kabul prison until she changes her mind. And it happens right under the noses of American and NATO soldiers. A NATO Occupation won't protect Libyan women, either.
• All over the Arab world—from Yemen to Jordan to Saudi Arabia to Iran— fathers and brothers decide what age a young woman will be given away in marriage, usually as soon as she hits puberty— She has no choice in the most important decision of her life. Frequently a young girl gets married off to one of her father's adult friends or a cousin. Throughout the Arab world, it's socially acceptable for a shopkeeper to ask a young Muslim girl if she has started to menstruate. A good Islamic girl is expected to answer truthfully.
• Not in Libya. To his greatest credit, bucking all Islamic traditions—from the first days of government, Gadhaffi said No Way to forced marriages. Libyan woman have the right to choose their own husbands. They are encouraged to seek love marriages. Under strict Libyan law, without exception no person can force a Libyan woman to marry any man for any reason.
• Forced marriages have been such a problem throughout the Arab world, that in Libya, an Imam always calls on the woman if there is an impending marriage. The Imam meets with her privately, and asks if any person is forcing her to marry, or if there's any reason she's marrying this person other than her desire to be with this man. Both Najat and Imam Tentoush were very adamant on these points.
• In Libya, the Imams are expected to protect the woman from abuse by relatives.

Right to End a Marriage
• Divorce is brutally difficult for a woman throughout the Arab world. A husband can beat or rape his wife, or commit adultery or lock her in a room like a prison. No matter what a woman suffers, as a wife she has no legal rights to leave that marriage, even for her own protection. When her father negotiates that marriage contract, she's stuck for life. A man can divorce a woman in front of two witnesses by repeating three times: "I divorce you. I divorce you. I divorce you." He can text that message on a cell phone, and it's over. The woman has no reciprocal freedom. She's stuck in that marriage until her husband lets her go.
• Not so in Libya. A Libyan woman can leave a marriage anytime she chooses. A woman simply files for divorce and goes on with her life. It is very similar to U.S. laws, in that a man has no power to stop her. It's completely within her control to initiate a divorce.
• In Libya, if a woman enters a marriage with her own assets and the marriage ends, her husband cannot touch her assets. The same is true of the man's assets. Joint assets usually go to the woman. These "abnormal" marriage rights stir deep anger among conservative Libyan men. Rebels particularly hate Gadhaffi's government for granting marriage rights to women. But consider how delaying marriage impacts women's opportunities in society.

Delayed marriage means delayed childbirth, which empowers young women to continue education and gain employment. Not surprisingly then, Libyan women enjoy some of the best opportunities in the Arab world. That might also cause simmering resentments among conservative Libyan men.

Education of Libyan Women
• In Libya more women take advantage of higher education than men, according to Najat. There are professional women in every walk of life. Many Libyan women are scientists, university professors, lawyers, doctors, government employees, journalists and business women. Najat attributes that freedom and the range of choices to Gadhaffi, and his government's insistence that women must be free to choose their lives and be fully supported in those choices. Najat and Tentoush said that some Imams in Libya would like it to be otherwise—especially those Imams favoring the Rebels— but Gadhaffi has always over ruled them. For example there are many women soldiers, and they are very strong and fully capable of contributing to the military defense of the country.
• Women receive education scholarships equal to the men's. All Libyans can go abroad and study if they so desire— paid for by Gadhaffi's government. Single women usually take a brother or male relative with them, and Najat said all expenses are covered for both the woman and her companion.
• In Libya, women are not required to seek a husband's permission to hold a job, and any type of job is available to her. In contrast, many employment opportunities are proscribed in many other Arab countries, because work puts women in daily proximity to men who are not their husbands. That eliminates many types of job opportunities.

Bashing Women's Rights

These are some of the reasons why Rebels consider Gadhaffi an "infidel." They frequently express a desire to reinstate the Shariah. It's an open secret in Arab circles. In ignoring this point, NATO resembles the three monkeys. See no truth. Hear no truth. Speak no truth. But the Arab community understands this dynamic. Rebels are going to pat Hillary Clinton and Sarkozy on the head right up until they capture power. Then they're going to do exactly what they started out to do. Reinstate Islamic law—under the protection of the United States and NATO governments. Conservative social codes will be enforced just like Afghanistan.

Libyans understand this point, even if Americans and Europeans are lost in denial.
It should surprise no one, therefore, that some of Gadhaffi's greatest support comes from Libyan women. Nor should it surprise Libya watchers that Gadhaffi's not exactly "clinging to power" as the corporate media likes to suggest. Quite the contrary, Gadhaffi's support has skyrocketed to 80 or 85 percent during this crisis. President Obama, Sarkozy and Bersculoni would be thrilled to enjoy such intense popular support.

NATO bombing has backfired and alienated the Libyan people from the Rebel cause, destroying community infrastructure that Libyans are truly proud of. Rebels are chasing pro-Gaddhaffi families out of Benghazi, a sort of political cleansing. But they have no street credibility that would give them power in negotiations with other Libyans, because losers don't get to dictate the terms. NATO can propagandize until Sarkozy falls over in a fit, but the people have resoundingly rejected these Rebels.

NATO is pushing a political resolution, because Europe wants off the merry-go-round. In truth, the music is getting uglier every day. NATO never should have jumped on this bandwagon in the first place. There's no sense to it. They're fighting Al Qaeda in Afghanistan, and embracing Al Qaeda and conservative Islam in Benghazi.

Those of us who support Islamic modernity should be relieved that Libya's people are smarter and savvier than NATO bureaucrats. And we should all say a prayer that Gadhaffi holds on.

(This article may be republished in full or part with attribution to the author.)

As a U.S. Asset, Susan Lindauer covered Libya and Iraq at the United Nations from 1995 to 2003, and started negotiations for the Lockerbie Trial. Lindauer is the author of “Extreme Prejudice: The Terrifying Story of the Patriot Act and the Cover Ups of 9/11 and Iraq.”

Sometimes being a mom helps me make sense of the world, because even when the world isn’t sensible, it at least is familiar. Take, for example, spoiled children. We’ve all seen these children, pitching a fit at the grocery store because mommy and daddy won’t purchase that tempting something on display in the check out line. (Not, my kids of course.) 

This is the image that comes to mind when I read about America’s budget impasse between Democrats and Republicans.

Only in this case, something more significant than supermarket embarrassment is at stake. When the Republicans inserted into the Federal Aviation Administration’s operational re-authorization bill, a provision to eliminate subsidies to rural airports, the Democrats said “hold on” and refused to pass the legislation. Without a house and senate agreement, the FAA lost a chunk of its authority to operate. 

It immediately furloughed 4,000 workers and suspended action on a number of projects including the extremely important work moving US airspace to next gen capability. 

Just to be clear, it is a $16 million difference of opinion that is costing the federal government $30 million a day in uncollectable aviation taxes alone. 

Yes, this is a costly game and I’m not only talking about money, I’m talking about a loss of international prestige and leadership.  Let’s just look at the next gen aspects for a minute. Australia and Tibet have more advanced air navigation systems than the USA. The FAA has been plugging along at a pace that is frustrating US carriers and now this forced suspension of FAA spending will further slow progress.

As I travel around the world, the near unanimous impression of the FAA that I hear is that it is a premier aviation organization; Slow-to-act sometimes, sure. Not distant enough from political considerations in its decision-making, undoubtedly. But as an agency effective in achieving and maintaining high levels of safety, it has been and still is a global leader. That’s what I hear anyway.

Until recently the same might be said of American government as a whole. But these days it is looks like the spoiled children have grown up and taken their tantrums to Washington where they are embarrassing themselves, eroding progress in aviation and discrediting the nation.

Oliver and Olivia are the most admired toddler names in England and Wales for the second year running, it was discovered today.

Jack seized on to second position in the boys' name grouping after falling from the first category last year after a 14-year reign.

Sophie jumped three spaces up the positions, making it the second most famous name for girls, according to figures published today by the Office for National Statistics on first names given to toddlers born in 2010.

Emily went up one place to declare the spot as the third most well liked girls' name, while Lily raised four places to be the fourth.

Amelia also jumped four places to make it into the peak five.

Ruby and Chloe both marked in the top five last year but both slid five places in 2010, to be classed seventh and eighth correspondingly.

Harry and Alfie remained on to third and fourth positions respectively in the boys' classes and Charlie jumped two places to absolute the top five.

George replaced Daniel in the top 10, hiking two places from number 11 to number nine. There were no fresh entries in the first 10 girls' names evaluated with 2009, though there were local distinctions with popularity of names.  In spite of Ruby's decline in the national places, it was the top name for baby girls in Wales.

This could perhaps be prejudiced by the reality it is the name of Charlotte Church's three-year-old daughter.

Jack was the most well-liked name for boys born in the North East and amid baby girls Sophie and Lily confirmed the most popular in the East and South West respectively.

Olivia was the apex name in seven English districts.

Within the 100 most liked boys' names given to toddlers born in England and Wales in 2010, there were six new entries: Ollie, Bobby, Caleb, Jenson, Dexter and Kayden.

New entries in the top 100 most popular girls' names were Annabelle, Eliza, Laila, Aisha, Maryam and Maisy.

There were 723,165 live births in England and Wales in 2010.

SomnoMed Limited (ASX: SOM) has once more declared record unit sales for the 4^th quarter to June 2011.  Non-stop growth in SomnoDent® sales quantities in the June quarter by 32% over the same period last year was reproduced in the 7,323 units sold.

This product has been driven by record sales in international communities. The USA and European regions both increased 27% and 69% correspondingly over the same quarter last year. The APAC region has reflected 17% increase over QTR 3, with record sales in the June month bringing whole profits for SomnoMed in the fourth quarter to $3.3 million. The new US office, now based in Dallas-Frisco, Texas, attained record sales in the June month, with the European territory showing the same results.

CEO Mr. Ralf Barschow, SomnoMed’s commented, “The trends achieved in this quarter reiterate our capability to increase unit sales and incomes of the business, especially within the US and Europe, which are above standard within the Sleep Disordered Breathing industry. The record sales accomplished in June for all parts were very heartening; particularly on the back of a very victorious SLEEP 2011 congress in Minneapolis attended by SomnoMed.”

From a international point of view SomnoMed organizes direct operations in three global territories. Following the sustainable growth in Europe, SomnoMed is mounting its business activities, with new offices to be launched in France and Germany, as well as addition new employees to our European headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland. SomnoMed Nordic is moving into new services in Stockholm, with a broader range of clinical training and scientific services. In Israel a special distribution contract with SleepDent Limited has been signed, covering all crucial sleep centers and hospitals in that country.

“I am very conceited for SomnoMed to have shaped the exclusive partnership with SleepDent Limited in Israel. After a widespread clinical trial for over a year linking patients not accepting a CPAP treatment, the consequences once again have shown the clinical success of a SomnoDent® therapy in mild, moderate and severe cases,” said Mr. Barschow.

Mr. Barschow further said, “We keep on setting up our worldwide presence in all territories applicable for a SomnoDent® therapy. With above 70,000 clinically recognized treatments, SomnoDent® is clearly documented and unrivalled as the world’s no.1 oral appliance for obstructive sleep apnea.”

SomnoMed Limited had $3.95 million in cash available at 30 June 2011.

El-Hadji Diouf - Blackburn Rovers has been disqualified from all football-linked actions in Senegal for five years.

The Senegalese Football Federation (FSF) smacked the ban on the forward after statements he made in the media about bribery in African football.

An FSF statement read: "Diouf is banned from performing any football-associated activity for the time of five years."

Diouf responded angrily to the FSF's says that he had failed to come out for a disciplinary hearing last week.

The committee desired to ask the Blackburn striker about comments he had made on Radio France International, alleging that "the entire network of African football is corrupt".

He then told French magazine Stade he would "go to fight" with the FSF if they took additional action.

It remains possible, according to the FSF, that the choice could be inverted if Diouf were to appear before the disciplinary committee.

The news approaches as Diouf's club career hangs in the balance.

He has been fined by Blackburn for not succeeding to report on time for pre-season guiding, and was left out for their pre-season tour to Hong Kong.

Manager Steve Kean said in an interview this week that he considered it was time for Diouf to go away from the club, marking that investigations have been made by other clubs.

How about this blast from the past? Fox "News" quoting Dick "deficits don't matter" Cheney about his rosy economic forecast less than two years before it blew up.


This is how Fox decided to celebrate Martin Luther King Day last January: By slamming a black man using a dead white guy. Kudos, Fox.


Sure they did, Pat. And one of their names was Christopher Columbus.


"But let's ignore the fact that as Hurricane Katrina was destroying New Orleans, Bush did the same thing in San Diego."


And the Republican party is doing its damnedest to ensure the White House can't make that guarantee.






Homeland Security using DNA scans for immigration cases, TSA using DNA scanners at airports... what's the difference?








I guess when Roger Ailes set out to change the world, he literally meant it.