Thursday, February 17, 2011
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Scott Brown Was Mole
Scott Brown Was Molested and Assaulted as a Child
The news that Scott Brown, the new senator from Massachusetts, was molested by a camp counselor is getting a lot of attention. It’s a sickening revelation, of course. But what was more painful for me to listen to and read about is that he was regularly beaten and abused by his stepfathers. Yes stepfathers, plural. What goes on in a mother’s mind when she brings men into her home – when she marries more than one of them! – who assault her son? How many times did young Scott have to try to come “rescue” her, only to be beaten himself, before she got a clue that her job was to protect her son, not vice versa. I don’t know what kind of relationship Brown has with his mother. I hope she’s abjectly apologized to him. But often such parents think of themselves as victims, too, and never do confront their own culpability.
Egypt: Iran asks for
AFP: New York oil re
AFP: New York oil rebounds amid Middle East jitters
New York oil rebounds amid Middle East jitters(AFP) – 11 hours ago
NEW YORK — Oil prices in New York sharply rebounded Thursday in volatile trade once again dominated by concerns about spreading unrest in the oil-rich Middle East.
New York's main contract, West Texas Intermediate (WTI), light sweet crude for March, surged to $86.36 a barrel, adding $1.37 from Wednesday's closing level.
In London, Brent North Sea oil for delivery in April moved in the opposite direction, losing $1.19 to settle at $102.59.
"WTI had been depressed for a long time," said Tom Bentz of BNP Paribas, adding "so we have a kind of adjustment."
The price difference between the sinking WTI and the rising Brent contracts had spread to about $20 dollars since anti-government protests erupted in Egypt in late January.
Traders bought up Brent amid worries that any disruptions to Middle East supplies would affect the main European market.
On the other hand, the WTI had fallen, weighed down by abundant crude supplies in the United States that raised concerns about weak demand.
Thursday, the trajectories switched: prices rose in New York and fell in London.
The action was accentuated by technical factors, Bentz said: the approach of the expiration of the March WTI contract, next Tuesday, prompted traders to adjust their positions.
In addition, "we've still got worries about the Middle East," the analyst said.
Demonstrations against autocratic regimes under way in the region were met with sharp clampdowns, which left three people dead in Bahrain, at least two dead in Libya and two in Yemen.
Unlike Egypt, Libya is a major crude oil producer and a member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries cartel.
"With unrest now escalating in Bahrain, Yemen, Algeria and Libya, there is a greater concern for a disruption of oil supply as these countries are net exporters of oil -- supplying roughly four million barrels a day of oil to global markets," analysts at JPMorgan Global Commodities Research said in a client note.
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Egypt: Iran asks for warships to pass Suez Canal
Ministry spokesman Hossam Zaki said Egyptian authorities have received the request to grant the vessels passage, while a Suez Canal official said the Defense Ministry would process the application.
In Tehran, Iran's official English-language Press TV cited an Iranian naval official saying the two warships are to pass through the canal. The official said Tehran was in contact with Egypt about the ships.
Earlier, a canal official had said the Iranians had withdrawn a request to transit the waterway, without giving an explanation for the application's withdrawal. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief the media.
It was not immediately clear why there were contradictory reports over the transit request.
Earlier, a canal official had said the Iranians had withdrawn a request to transit the waterway, without giving an explanation for the application's withdrawal. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief the media.
Ahmed al-Manakhly, a senior Suez Canal official, said international agreements regulate the traffic through the canal. He said that only in the case of war with Egypt may vessels be denied transit through the waterway.
Al-Manakhly noted that Iran and Egypt are not at war, and said the final decision on whether to grant the vessels' passage lies with the Defense Ministry.
He said he will not allow any warships to transit the canal without approval from the Defense Ministry.
The Suez Canal official identified the two vessels as the Alvand, a frigate, and the Kharq, a supply ship, and said they were en route to Syria. He said they were now in an area near Saudi Arabia's Red Sea port of Jiddah.
Syria's official news agency carried a statement Thursday from Iran's ambassador to Syria, who said the two Iranian warships plan to travel to Syria for training and that the visit would be "carried out according to international laws and norms."
Spokesmen for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Foreign Ministry refused to comment.
Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said Wednesday that Iran was about to send two naval vessels through the Suez Canal for the first time in years, calling it a "provocation."
Israel considers Iran an existential threat because of its disputed nuclear program, ballistic missile development, support for militants in the region and its threats to destroy Israel. While Israel has pressed for international sanctions to stop Iran from developing nuclear weapons, it has not taken the possibility of a military strike off the table.
On Wednesday, U.S. State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley confirmed the presence of the two Iranian ships in the area of the canal but would not say whether that was considered provocative.
"There are two ships in the Red Sea," he said, "What their intention is, what their destination is, I can't say."
Vessels intending to transit the canal, which links the Red Sea and the Mediterranean, must give the waterway's authority at least 24-hour notice before entering the canal.
Only ships that don't meet safety requirements are banned from using the canal.
In the case of naval vessels, clearance from the Egyptian defense and foreign ministries is required in advance, but is rarely withheld.
Tea party out to def
Tea party out to defeat 3 longtime GOP senators - Yahoo! News
WASHINGTON – What does a longtime Republican senator with a national reputation for working well with Democrats do in the face of a potentially career-ending tea party challenge? If you're Richard Lugar of Indiana, you tell them to "get real."
If you're Olympia Snowe of Maine, you fight off the "Snowe Removal" effort by making key alliances with tea party activists and highlighting your record of fiscal conservatism.
And if you're Orrin Hatch of Utah, you woo them.
Lugar, Snowe and Hatch are all on notice that their approach to governance may no longer be welcome.
