statism watch

Steven Chase, Globe and Mail
January 21, 2009

OTTAWA — Canada’s new parliamentary budget watchdog has grim news for Ottawa’s financial future.

New projects projections Kevin Page released today show that over the next half decade, the federal government is at risk of racking up as much new debt as it had paid off over the past 11 years — effectively wiping out what Ottawa has achieved since 1998.

The parliamentary budget officer warns the federal government is heading into deep deficit over the next five years and will rack up at least $46-billion of new debt — and possibly as much as $105-billion — over this period.

By comparison, Ottawa has paid down about $105-billion in federal debt since 1998.

What’s more, Mr. Page’s forecasts don’t take into account the massive additional spending in next week’s stimulus budget. The Harper government has said it’s planning a $20-billion to $30-billion stimulus package. That money isn’t factored into Mr. Page’s estimates because it’s not clear yet exactly how much the Tories will spend or over what period.

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Paul Joseph Watson, PrisonPlanet.com
January 21, 2009

Riots over economic crisis to escalate from March-May as Icelandic government teeters on brink of collapse

2009 heralds the start of a “new age of rebellion” according to an editorial in the highly influential London Times newspaper, and the year in which masses of people will take to the streets to riot in response to drastically falling standards of living.

Riot police were again deployed to combat demonstrators in Iceland last night after protesters all but stormed the parliament building in Reykjavik during its first session of chamber after the Christmas holiday. Icelandic Prime Minister Geir Haarde also became the target of an angry mob today who pelted his car with eggs.

According to a London Guardian report, the Icelandic government is now on the verge of collapse as “the first revolution in the history of the republic” unfolds.

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Eirikur Bergmann, The Guardian
January 21, 2009

Iceland’s government is on the point of collapse as angry protesters stake out the parliament in Reykjavik

While Barack Obama was being sworn in to office on Capitol Hill yesterday, the people of Iceland were starting the first revolution in the history of the republic. The word “revolution” might sound a bit of an overstatement, but given the calm temperament that usually prevails in Icelandic politics, the unfolding events represent, at the very least, a revolution in political activism.

Four months after the collapse of Iceland’s entire financial system, no one has accepted any responsibility. Our currency has lost more than half its value, rampant inflation has already eaten up most people’s savings, property values have dropped by more than a third and unemployment is reaching levels never seen before in the life of our young republic.
The fault is clearly shared between the business elite and the government, which failed to regulate the newly privatised financial sector, allowing a few incompetent and egotistical business tycoons to gamble with the nation’s fortune. And yet neither the government nor the bankers – who, by the way, seem to have disappeared into the cold thin air – see anything wrong with their own behaviour.

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Well, isn’t that special. “He’s the only man for the job.” Flashback: Bilderberg Seeks Bank Centralization Agenda

Martin Crutsinger, Associated Press
January 21, 2009

WASHINGTON — U.S. Treasury Secretary-designate Tim Geithner said Wednesday he was careless in failing to pay $34,000 (U.S.) in Social Security and Medicare taxes earlier this decade and apologized to Congress.

He told the Senate Finance Committee he was sorry that his past transgressions were now an issue in his confirmation at a time of deepening economic crisis. He urged Congress to act quickly and forcefully to deal with the crisis. A top administration priority is to foster economic recovery and “get credit flowing again,” Mr. Geithner testified.

As to his failure to pay the payroll taxes from 2001 to 2004 while he worked for the International Monetary Fund, Mr. Geithner said: “These were careless mistakes. They were avoidable mistakes.”

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Noted: The US and Israel have also taken this opportunity to ‘expand intelligence cooperation’ throughout a wide area stretching from the Mediterranean to the Indian Ocean.

Amy Teibel, Associated Press
January 21, 2009

JERUSALEM – Israel withdrew the last of its troops from the Gaza Strip before dawn Wednesday, the military said, and pursued diplomatic efforts to stanch the flow of arms into the Hamas-ruled territory.

The timing of the pullout reflected Israeli hopes to defuse the crisis in Gaza before President Barack Obama entered the White House. The military said troops remain massed on the Israeli side of the border, prepared to take action in the event of renewed militant fire. Israeli navy ships shot rounds of machine-gun fire at the beaches of northern Gaza.

The military had no immediate comment on the gunboat fire.

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+1

Matthew Weaver, The Guardian
January 21, 2009

Military judges to consider motion filed ‘in the interests of justice’ within hours of new US president taking office

The US president, Barack Obama, has ordered a suspension of the controversial Guantánamo Bay military tribunals in one of his first actions after being sworn in, yesterday.

Within hours of taking office, Obama’s administration filed a motion to halt the war crimes trials for 120 days, until his new administration completes a review of the much-criticised system for trying suspected terrorists.

The motion, which will suspend cases against 21 men, was filed at the direction of Obama and Robert Gates, George Bush’s defence secretary, who has kept his job in the new administration.

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There were also allegations of Dense Inert Metal Explosives (DIME) weapon use. Both are just the thing for densely populated civilian areas. What will the apologists have to say about this?

Peter Beaumont, The Guardian
January 21, 2009

Amnesty warns Israel could be guilty of war crimes

Israel has admitted – after mounting pressure – that its troops may have used white phosphorus shells in contravention of international law, during its three-week offensive in the Gaza Strip.

One of the places most seriously affected by the use of white phosphorus was the main UN compound in Gaza City, which was hit by three shells on 15 January. The same munition was used in a strike on the al-Quds hospital in Gaza City the same day.

Under review by Colonel Shai Alkalai is the use of white phosphorus by a reserve paratroop brigade in northern Israel.

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