Obama Lied: Taliban Did Not Refuse to Hand Over Bin Laden

Obama slipped past a real doozy Tuesday night when he said the Taliban refused to hand over bin Laden. It just ain't so. They tried three times to open negotiations for this, but Bush refused each time. He wanted to bomb people so bad it hurt.

UK Guardian:

A senior Taliban minister has offered a last-minute deal to hand over Osama bin Laden during a secret visit to Islamabad, senior sources in Pakistan told the Guardian last night...

For the first time, the Taliban offered to hand over Bin Laden for trial in a country other than the US without asking to see evidence first in return for a halt to the bombing, a source close to Pakistan's military leadership said.

The Taliban have offered to hand over Bin Laden before but only if sufficient evidence was presented. Bin Laden is wanted both for the September 11 attacks and for masterminding the bombings of two US embassies in East Africa in 1998 in which 224 people were killed. He is also suspected of involvement in other terrorist attacks, including the suicide bombing of the USS Cole in Yemen last year.

But until now the Taliban regime has consistently said it has not seen any convincing evidence to implicate the Saudi dissident in any crime.

"Now they have agreed to hand him over to a third country without the evidence being presented in advance," the source close to the military said."

Combined with so unhesitatingly waving the Al Qaeda boogey-man to make his case, in a fashion Bush would have been proud of, (Al Qaeda isn't in Afghanistan) it all makes me mighty suspicious. The Taliban wasn't declared an enemy until after 9/11, even as we had evidence that bin Laden was behind the bombing of the USS Cole. That's because Bush's buddies were still hoping to get the contract for the oil pipeline, which the Taliban government was refusing to give them. These are just facts, I'm not even trying to make an argument here. But someone has to call them on these things.

The history is at the classic essay by Richard Behan which went viral on the internet soon after it was published (re-printed at Afterdowningstreet.org ):

From its first days in office in January of 2001 the Administration of George W. Bush meant to launch military attacks against both Afghanistan and Iraq. The reasons had nothing to do with terrorism.

This is beyond dispute. The mainstream press has either ignored the story or missed it completely, but the Administration's congenital belligerence is fully documented elsewhere.

Attacking a sovereign nation unprovoked, however, directly violates the charter of the United Nations. It is an international crime. The Bush Administration would need credible justification to proceed with its plans.

The terrorist violence of September 11, 2001 provided a spectacular opportunity. In the cacophony of outrage and confusion, the Administration could conceal its intentions, disguise the true nature of its premeditated wars, and launch them. The opportunity was exploited in a heartbeat.

Within hours of the attacks, President Bush declared the U.S. "...would take the fight directly to the terrorists," and "...he announced to the world the United States would make no distinction between the terrorists and the states that harbor them." [1] Thus the "War on Terror" was born.

The "War on Terror" is patently fraudulent, but the essence of successful propaganda is repetition, and the Bush Administration has repeated its mantra endlessly:

The War on Terror was launched in response to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. It is intended to enhance our national security at home, and to spread democracy in the Middle East.

This is the struggle of our lifetime; we are defending our way of life from an enemy intent on destroying our freedoms. We must fight the enemy in the Middle East, or we will fight him in our cities.

The Administration's campaign of propaganda has been a notable success. The characterization of today's war as a "fight against terrorists and states that support them" is generally accepted, rarely scrutinized, and virtually unchallenged, even by opponents of the war.

The fraudulence of the "War on Terror," however, is clearly revealed in the pattern of subsequent facts:

1. In Afghanistan the state was overthrown instead of apprehending the terrorist: Osama bin Laden remains at large.

2. In Iraq, when the U.S. invaded, there were no terrorists at all.

3. Both states have been supplied with puppet governments, and both are dotted with permanent U.S. military bases in strategic proximity to their hydrocarbon assets.

4. The U.S. embassy nearing completion in Baghdad is comprised of 21 multistory buildings on 104 acres of land. It will house 5,500 diplomats, staff, and families. It is ten times larger than any other U.S. embassy in the world, but we have yet to be told why.

5. A 2006 National Intelligence Estimate shows the war in Iraq has exacerbated, not diminished, the threat of terrorism since 9/11.[2] If the "War on Terror" is not a deception, it is a disastrously counterproductive failure.

6. Today two American and two British oil companies are poised to claim immense profits from 81% of Iraq's undeveloped crude oil reserves.[3] They cannot proceed, however, until the Iraqi Parliament enacts a statute known as the "hydrocarbon law."

7. The features of postwar oil policy so heavily favoring the oil companies were crafted by the Bush Administration State Department in 2002, a year before the invasion.[4]

8. Drafting of the law itself was begun during Paul Bremer's Coalition Provisional Authority, with the invited participation of the oil companies.[5] The law was written in English and translated into Arabic only when it was due for Iraqi approval.

9. President Bush made passage of the hydrocarbon law a mandatory "benchmark" when he announced the troop surge in January of 2007...

FULL ESSAY Richard Behan (re-printed at Afterdowningstreet.org)

9-11 Was an Inside Job Perpetrated by Elements of the U.S. Government

"In a Time of Universal Deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act." George Orwell Featured Videos Ron Paul: Obama Is Preparing for Perpetual War Obama's Position on Iraq Troop Surge CIA Veteran Doubts the bin Laden Story Challenging Bush-Bama on 9/11 Featured Articles Taibbi: Obama’s sellout to Wall Street creates ‘permanent bailout’ If passed as it is, the financial reform bill winding its way through Congress will create a “permanent bailout mechanism,” and will give complete control over future bailouts to the White House, says columnist Matt Taibbi. In a video preview of an upcoming Rolling Stone article, Taibbi explained how the Obama administration started selling out to Wall Street interests almost as soon as the 2008 election was over. Obama Orders 30-35,000 More Troops for Afghanistan, Surge to Begin by Christmas After months of debate, President Barack Obama will spell out a costly Afghanistan war expansion to a skeptical public Tuesday night, coupling an infusion of as many as 35,000 more troops with a vow that there will be no endless U.S. commitment. His first orders have already been made: at least one group of Marines who will be in place by Christmas. John Farmer's "The Ground Truth": A Deeply Flawed Book By: David Ray Griffin Although John Farmer's "The Ground Truth" has attracted a lot of favorable attention, it is a deeply flawed book, containing misleading claims and providing an extremely one-sided account of 9/11. Much of the attention received by the book has been prompted by misleading claims made by Farmer and his publisher. The book's dust-jacket calls it the "definitive account" of 9/11, but it actually deals almost entirely with only one question about that day: why the airliners were not intercepted. The Israeli Occupation of America: How Israel Gained Control of American Foreign Policy and Public Opinion As all know, in 1961 John Kennedy became the 35th President of the United States, a presidency cut short as a result of his assassination in Dallas on November 22, 1963. Robert Kennedy, the president’s younger brother was Attorney General of the United States and therefore the head of the Department of Justice. What is little-known is that the Kennedy’s realized early on that indeed the country was in trouble and that something needed to be done about it. The trouble in this case was the influence slithering its way into American political life from a far-away state only about 12 years old known as Israel. The History of the House of Rothschild You will find that approximately 90% of people in the world today who call themselves Jews are actually Khazars, or as they like to be known, Ashkenazi Jews. These people knowingly lie to the world with their claims that the land of Israel is theirs by birthright, when in actual fact their real homeland is over 800 miles away in Georgia. History of Rothschilds and Central Banks 1913: The Rothschilds set up the Anti Defamation League (ADL) in the United States designed to brand as, “antiSemitic,” anyone who questions or challenges the Global Elite. Strangely enough, the same year that they do this they also set up their last and current central bank in America, the Federal Reserve
Webmaster's Top Videos by Topic
Federal Reserve Bank Scam Videos
The Money Masters Explains How Fed Runs its Debt Scam	The Great Banking Scam Must Watch
For More Videos on the Bail-out Click on this Link
Obama's Presidency
Webster Tarpley on Obama	Fall of the Republic The Obama Presidency
More Obama Videos
9-11 Was an Inside Job
9/11 Truth: Steel Buildings Don't Collapse From Fire	Building 7 - Gone in 7 - WHAT YOU ARE NOT SUPPOSED TO KNOW ABOUT 9-11
For More 9-11 Videos Click on This Link

Fake War on Terror

lberman Thinks War on Terror Fake 1	Olberman Thinks War on Terror Fake 2
Gary Webb on C.I.A. Trafficking of Cocaine	The Secret Government Bill Moyers PBS Documentary
The Power of Nightmares, (Part 3/3), “The Shadows in the Cave” BBC Production	BRZEZINSKI PREDICTS “DEFENSIVE WAR” IN IRAN
Terror Storm-History of False Flag Attacks	The Category of Terror Long Plan to Control Arab Oil
Iraq's Decision to Shift from Petro Dollar to Petro Euro-Real Reason for Iraq Occupation	Ron Paul on North Korea
Deja vu Iran-Scott Ritter New President, Same Lies	Terror Storm-History of False Flag Attacks
Cheney Admits He Personally Authorized Waterboarding (i.e., Torture)
Webster Tarplay's Talk on 9-11 Author of "Synthetic Terror" Click on Title Above
War on Terror = A cash cow The only growth area left in the economy
The Category of Terror Long Plan to Control Arab Oil
The Underlying Politics of 9/11 (Part I)
The Underlying Politics of 9/11 (Part II)

Taibbi: Obama’s sellout to Wall Street creates ‘permanent bailout’

Taibbi: Obama’s sellout to Wall Street creates ‘permanent bailout’

David Edwards and Daniel Tencer
Raw Story
Friday, Dec 4th, 2009

If passed as it is, the financial reform bill winding its way through Congress will create a “permanent bailout mechanism,” and will give complete control over future bailouts to the White House, says columnist Matt Taibbi.

In a video preview of an upcoming Rolling Stone article, Taibbi explained how the Obama administration started selling out to Wall Street interests almost as soon as the 2008 election was over.

“The really big thing that’s in these bills that’s really, really scary is that it kind of outlines a permanent bailout mechanism,” Taibbi said. “If it survives in the way that it was originally conceived, it’s basically going to formalize an arrangement whereby the government is expected to bail out the top 20 to 25 largest financial companies. … It will be entirely up to the White House to determine whether or not these companies are in trouble in the future, so there won’t be any congressional role in deciding when and when not to give a bailout.”

Taibbi’s words echoed the concerns of some in Congress that, far from ensuring that America’s financial system will be healthy, the financial reform being proposed will make Wall Street more dependent on taxpayers than it is already.

US House Rep. Spencer Bachus, the ranking Republican on the House Financial Services Committee, said in October that the financial reform plan would create a “permanent bailout authority.” And Paul Volcker, the Jimmy Carter-appointed former head of the Federal Reserve who is widely credited with successfully fighting off inflation in the 1980s, said the Obama administration’s proposed financial reform would maintain the “too-big-to-fail” mentality and could lead to further bailouts.

Taibbi: Obama’s sellout to Wall Street creates ‘permanent bailout’ 121109banner2

Taibbi also said that President Barack Obama gave key economic positions away to Wall Street insiders instead of keeping on progressive voices from his presidential campaign.

During the campaign, Obama was primarily advised by people like Austan Goolsbee from University of Chicago and Karen Kornbluh who is a well known progressive economist. Obama gets elected, the very day he gets elected those people are basically off the team and he brings in a whole bunch of people from Wall Street.

Primarily he brings in his former college buddy Michael Froman who is a Harvard classmate of Obama’s. Froman was a high-ranking Citigroup executive. He puts Froman in charge on November 5th of running the economic transition team. He was in charge of hiring people for the White House to run economic policy.

Froman also brought in Jamie Rubin to be his number two. Rubin is the son of Bob Rubin who is a big Citigroup executive as well.


Rubin probably more than any other person — single person — was responsible for the financial crisis by deregulating the economy in the White House. He also had a major role in helping to destroy one of the world’s biggest companies. You know, Citigroup. He has like one of the worst track records you can possible find in the country and yet he was the guy who was basically the architect of the entire Obama policy. Obama put him in charge of everything. The crew that’s running the policy in the White House is basically all tied to Bob Rubin.

A couple of weeks after he hires these Citigroup people to run all those hires, they announced the Citigroup bailout which is a massive $300 billion giveaway to Citigroup…

Watch all of Matt Taibbi’s comments below. His full story is expected in the January edition of Rolling Stone.

Pay cut for two million Britons causes collapse in tax revenue

Almost two million Britons have accepted pay cuts or reduced hours to stave off unemployment, causing government income tax receipts to collapse by almost one fifth.

The Government is now facing the biggest peacetime deficit in history, and ministers will next week confirm they are likely to borrow close to £180 billion this year – the equivalent of the entire NHS and education budgets combined.

Alistair Darling, the Chancellor, will say in his pre-Budget report that the deficit is higher than expected because income tax receipts have been directly hit by the fall in wages.

Between April and October, the amount the Treasury received in income tax fell by 16 per cent – more than £17 billion – compared with the same period in 2008.

The Treasury calculates that 1.7 million people who might have been made redundant in the recession have been saved from the dole queue by taking a pay cut or shorter hours.

"This wage restraint is the reason why, in bald terms, there has been lower unemployment," one Treasury official said. "But the price we have paid is we have had less money coming in and therefore higher borrowing."

Officials have calculated that in the past year a third of all pay settlements between workers and their companies, affecting up to 10 million employees, were for pay freezes or below-inflation increases of a mere 1 per cent.

This proportion has never been so high: in the years preceding the recession, only one in 50 pay settlements was in that range.

Independent research has shown that, on top of this, around seven per cent of businesses were this year preparing to cut their workers' pay.

In addition to reduced full-time salary agreements, a number of major companies such as BT and KPMG have offered their workers sabbaticals in return for pay cuts.

Mr Darling will cite the shift to "more flexible working" next week as he declares that the Government's policies have helped prevent unemployment – currently 2.5 million or 7.8 per cent of the workforce – from reaching the peaks it did in previous recessions. However, the Treasury still expects unemployment to continue to increase next year.

Yesterday the steelmaker Corus announced that it was to axe 1,700 jobs as it cuts production at its Teesside plant.

John Philpott, of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, one of Britain's leading employment economists, said: "This is a shared pain recession, with the impact of the downturn spread throughout the workforce rather than falling solely on the jobless.

“Although the number of pay freezes will be moderate, it will be a continuing phenomenon right into next year, and perhaps beyond.”

The Chancellor will use Wednesday’s pre-Budget report to give warning that although the economy is expected to start growing again before the end of the year, Britain will this year record its biggest slide in economic output since comparable records began. He will forecast a fall in gross domestic product of 4.75 per cent, and only weak growth of 1.25 per cent next year.

He will risk causing instability in the markets by announcing that, far from drawing up more ambitious plans to cut the deficit as the Treasury had suggested in previous months, he will borrow more this year than originally expected.

But he will take just as long to start paying it back as was laid out earlier this year in the Budget. In a set-piece which is likely to kick off six months of campaigning ahead of next year’s general election, the Chancellor will focus on the extent to which the Government’s policies have prevented a Great Depression in Britain.

He will emphasise that Conservative plans to cut the deficit more dramatically would risk sending the country into a longer-lasting recession.

A spokesman for the Conservatives said the Government’s lack of a credible plan to deal with the deficit “will mean higher taxes and higher interest rates, undermining the recovery”.

The PBR is likely to opt for political positioning over good government,” the spokesman added.

AmTrust, Five Other U.S. Lenders Shut as 2009 Toll Reaches 130

Dec. 5 (Bloomberg) -- AmTrust Bank, a Cleveland-based lender with $12 billion in assets, joined five other U.S. banks in being seized by regulators as companies buckle under the weight of commercial real estate losses.

Closely held AmTrust collapsed alongside three banks in Georgia and one each in Virginia and Illinois, according to statements issued yesterday by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., which was named receiver. The failures will cost the FDIC’s deposit fund $2.38 billion, the agency said.

“The commercial real estate market is the big problem,” said James Barth, a former chief economist at the Office of Thrift Supervision. Office vacancy rates climbed to 13.3 percent nationally in the second quarter from 12.3 percent in the prior period, according to a CB Richard Ellis index.

With the closings, 130 U.S. lenders have collapsed this year. Banks are failing at the fastest pace in 17 years even as the U.S. economy shows signs of pulling out of the recession. The unemployment rate fell to 10 percent from 10.2 percent in October, according to figures from the Labor Department. The number of failed banks reached 179 in 1992.

“The unemployment rate is quite high, so unless there is a turnaround in sales you will see commercial real estate continue to suffer,” Barth said.

The following table lists the banks seized yesterday. Asset and deposit figures are in millions of U.S. dollars.

Failed Bank Buyer Assets Deposits

AmTrust Bank N.Y. Comm. Bank 12,000 8,000 Cleveland Westbury, N.Y.

Buckhead Comm. Bank State Bank & Trust 874 838 Atlanta Macon, Ga.

Greater Atlantic Bank Sonabank 203 179 Reston, Va. McLean, Va.

Benchmark Bank MB Financial Bank 170 181 Aurora, Ill. Chicago

First Security NB State Bank & Trust 128 123 Norcross, Ga. Macon, Ga.

Tattnall Bank HeritageBank 49.6 47.3 Reidsville, Ga. Albany, Ga.

A deeper look behind the jobless numbers

WASHINGTON - Within the vast pool of 15.4 million unemployed workers, a split is emerging: The number of long-term jobless — those out of work six months or longer — is growing, while the number of short-term unemployed is declining.

The trend highlights a considerable challenge for the economy and policymakers: finding a way for the millions of Americans laid off last fall and early this year to get back to work.

The data, buried in Friday's unemployment report, are stark: The number of Americans out of work for 27 weeks or more reached 5.9 million last month, the most on records dating from 1948. That's 18 percent more than just three months ago, when the total was just below 5 million.

The tally of those out of work for 14 weeks or less, however, has dropped to 6.3 million from 7.1 million in August, a decline of about 11 percent.

Looking at it another way, the long-term jobless now make up 38.3 percent of the unemployed population, not that far from the 41.1 percent accounted for by those out of work for 14 weeks or less. (The rest are in the 15-to-26 weeks bracket.)

That's a sharp change from August, when the short-term unemployed made up nearly half the total, while the longer-term jobless were only a third.

In some ways, the dichotomy is good news, in that it reflects a slowdown in layoffs. The Labor Department said Friday that employers cut a net total of 11,000 jobs in November, down from 111,000 the previous month. The unemployment rate dropped to 10 percent from 10.2 percent in October, the first decline since July.

That gives analysts hope the economy could begin generating jobs in the next few months, after shedding 7.2 million in the past two years.

Still, "new hiring may not be picking up all that much," said Lawrence Mishel, president of the Economic Policy Institute, a liberal think tank. "So what you're seeing is less people thrown into unemployment."

And without more jobs, the long-term unemployment problem is likely to linger. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke has expressed concern that people caught in long spells of unemployment could see their skills atrophy.

"It really is the most difficult challenge facing us," he said in testimony to a Senate panel Thursday.

Here, by the numbers, are some more details you can find deep in the employment report.

Less than zero, but getting closer

• 11,000: The net total of jobs lost in November
• 111,000: Jobs lost in October
• 139,000: Jobs lost in September
• 691,000: Average monthly loss in first three months of this year
• 7.2 million: Total decline in U.S. payrolls since recession began in December 2007

Unemployment still high

• 10 percent: November's unemployment rate, in double digits for only the second time in 26 years
• 10.2 percent: October's jobless rate, the highest since April 1983
• 10.8 percent: Unemployment rate in December 1982, the highest since World War II

Where the jobs are

• 52,400: The number of temporary jobs added in November, the biggest increase in five years
• 11,100: Jobs added in education
• 21,000: Jobs added in hospitals, nursing and other health care sectors
• 1,000: Jobs added in computer services
• 5,600: Jobs added in management and technical consulting
• 7,500: Jobs added in department stores

Underemployed

• 9.2 million: Number of part-time workers who would have preferred full-time work last month
• 2.3 million: People without jobs who want to work but have stopped looking
• 17.2 percent: "Underemployment" rate in November if you include the above two categories
• 17.5 percent: Underemployment rate in October, the highest in records dating to 1994

The 'he-cession'

• 10.5 percent: Unemployment rate for adult men
• 7.9 percent: Unemployment rate for adult women

November unemployment rate by group

• 11.4 percent: Female heads of households
• 7.3 percent: Asians
• 9.3 percent: Whites
• 12.7 percent: Hispanics
• 15.6 percent: Blacks
• 26.7 percent: Teenagers

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

N.Korea military on guard against unrest: reports

SEOUL (AFP) – North Korea's military was on guard as public anger grew over the communist country's shock currency revaluation, reports said Thursday.

The revaluation implemented Monday has sparked fury and frustration as some citizens saw much of their savings wiped out, according to reports and observers.

They said the North had tightened security against possible agitation, with a curfew reportedly imposed in a border region and shops closed across the country during the changeover period to a new currency, which ends Sunday.

Military authorities have strengthened vigilance and are monitoring people's movements to forestall unrest, South Korea's Yonhap news agency said, citing North Korean merchants in China.

Media reports and embassies in Pyongyang said people had been given a week to exchange money at the rate of 100 old won for one new won -- but the total they can change is heavily restricted.

Reports said authorities initially limited the total sum that an individual can exchange for new currency to 100,000 won. The limit was later raised to 150,000 won in cash and 300,000 won in bank savings.

DailyNK, an online newspaper with informants in the North, said the rule has now been changed a second time.

It said the exchange rate is still 100:1 for the first 100,000 old won. But people can now change the rest of their money at a rate of 1,000:1.

The official exchange rate for the old currency was 135 to the dollar but the black market rate was between 2,000 and 3,000.

Analysts said the move, still not announced by official media, appears aimed at clamping down on burgeoning free markets in an attempt to reassert the regime's control.

"This move is part of Pyongyang's broader effort to curtail the rise of market activities and the development of pathways to wealth -- and potentially power -- beyond state control," Marcus Noland of the Peterson Institute for International Economics wrote in the Asian Wall Street Journal.

South Korea's Chosun Ilbo newspaper said North Koreans are publicly voicing their anger despite the increased presence of security agents on the streets.

"There are accounts of people loudly cursing the government in the markets in major cities," it said.

Prices of goods have soared but it is still unclear whether authorities will cut prices to match the new currency, the daily said.

The regime has already taken steps to curb free street markets. These sprang up after the national food distribution system collapsed during famines in the 1990s, but are now seen as threatening the state's grip.

"Residents are lamenting bitterly that this was the disaster they were talking about when people mentioned that this is the year of disaster," Kim Keun-Soo, a fruit trader in the northern border city of Sinuiju, told Good Friends.

The Seoul welfare group has extensive contacts in the North.

"I would not complain about it if they provided food rations. Nothing can stop people after starving for three days. I get depressed when I think of the bleak future."

台灣‧三合一選舉‧宜蘭變天‧國民黨政權敲警鐘

（台灣‧台北）台灣縣市長“三合一”選舉結果週六（12月5日）晚出爐，17個舉行選舉的縣市中，國民黨原有13席，此次拿下12席，各縣市得票亦普遍衰退，被認為是選民對馬英九政府投下不信任票。

民進黨原有3席，今次拿下4席，包括讓關鍵的宜蘭縣成功由藍變綠，算是小贏；無黨籍則由傅崑萁在花蓮縣拿下1席。

今次選舉被視為對馬英九總統上台後的中期民意測試，作為重大指標意義的主戰場宜蘭縣變天，國民黨守土失敗，給國民黨執政帶來重大警訊！

綠營重掌此縣的控制權，重振民進黨士氣。民進黨更視宜蘭縣為第3次政黨輪替的第一張骨牌。

面對國民黨今次選舉表現不如預期，兼任國民黨主席的馬英九總統在選舉結果出爐後，神色凝重地在中央黨部召開新聞發佈會。

馬：會虛心檢討

馬英九表示，得票不如預期，是給國民黨的警訊。他拒絕說明會否黨務人事改組。

對於民進黨主席蔡英文表示這次選舉結果，表示人民對目前大陸政策不滿，馬英九表示對人民的心聲，政府會虛心檢討。

面對“馬英九光環褪色”，馬英九表示選舉成敗不能歸因為單一因素。

蔡英文：得票率達46%
民進黨走出谷底

民進黨黨主席蔡英文則表示，民進黨得票率在45至46%之間，有所成長。她強調，宜蘭縣的勝選意義重大，代表民進黨已經逐步贏回選民的信任，這一次結果也代表民眾對馬政府執政的不信任投票，民進黨站穩腳步，走出谷底！

選舉投票於週六下午5時結束後即進行算票，結果於晚間9時左右即全部出爐。

今次縣市長選舉，被視為是2012年總統大選前哨戰的上半場，下半場是明年5大直轄市長選舉。民進黨今次選舉得票率與國民黨差距不到3%，顯示民進黨已獲選民給的再一次機會，國民黨則為執政不佳付出代價。

17縣市長選舉結果

國民黨：12席
民進黨：4席
無黨籍：1席

宜蘭縣―民進黨林聰賢（奪回）
嘉義縣―民進黨張花冠（連任）
雲林縣―民進黨蘇治芬（連任）
屏東縣―民進黨曹啟鴻（連任）
花蓮縣―無黨籍傅崑萁
澎湖縣―國民黨王乾發（連任）
苗栗縣―國民黨劉政鴻（連任）
新竹縣―國民黨邱鏡淳（守土）
彰化縣―國民黨卓伯源（連任）
南投縣―國民黨李朝卿（連任）
桃園縣―國民黨吳志揚（吳伯雄兒子）
台東縣―國民黨黃健庭（守土）
金門縣―國民黨李沃土
連江縣―國民黨楊綏生
嘉義市―國民黨黃敏惠（連任）
基隆市―國民黨張通榮
新竹市―國民黨許明財

尼泊爾‧暖化加劇‧喜馬拉雅冰河融解‧亞洲10億人將失水源

（尼泊爾‧加德滿都）受到氣候暖化的影響，喜馬拉雅山的冰河正在逐漸融化當中，將導致亞洲超過10億的人口失去水源。

喜馬拉雅的冰河綿延2400公里，橫跨巴基斯坦、印度、中國、尼泊爾、不丹等亞洲多個國家，為亞洲9大河流的源頭，也是在下游生活的大約13億人口賴以為生的水源。

聯合國一個跨政府的氣候變遷小組也警告，喜馬拉雅山冰河可能在“2035年以前全部消失”，而專家表示，當地民眾已能感受到地球暖化的影響。（圖：法新社）

有科學家深入冰河的冰穴中發現，冰河內部到處都是冰層融解的痕跡，甚至還有冰層崩塌。

冰層融化後出現水坑

雄偉高聳的珠穆郎瑪峰常年處在酷寒的氣候中，但在氣候暖化之下，山脊上厚厚的冰層也開始融化。至今，山峰上的冰河地表坑坑巴巴，甚至還有冰層融化後出現的水坑。過去30年間，此地區的氣溫每10年都增加了攝氏0.15度到0.6度，已加速了冰河融解的速度。

環保份子警告，一些喜馬拉雅山的冰河可能在未來數十年內消失。

大部份冰河40年內消失

世界自然基金會（WWF）生命運動的負責人辛格說：“受氣候變暖影響，科學家預測，（喜馬拉雅山）大部份的冰河將在40年內消失。”

他說：“在哥本哈根達致的新協定，將對生活在喜馬拉雅山排水系統區內的數億萬人的生活產生難以預料的後果，這些人目前已飽受生活貧困之苦了。”

聯合國一個跨政府的氣候變遷小組也警告，喜馬拉雅山冰河可能在“2035年以前全部消失”，而專家表示，當地民眾已能感受到地球暖化的影響。

冰河加速融解更多洪災

在中國，官方新華社也報導，研究顯示，冰河加速融解，將在短期內引發更多的洪災。

在尼泊爾及不丹，冰河消融已經形成了大湖，隨時都會暴漲，已對下游的村莊構成威脅。

氣候暖化的痕跡除了在喜馬拉雅山，在南極地區也是清楚可見，由於南極西部大陸冰層融解快速，專家估計，在2100年海平面將上升1.4公尺，各國如果再不正視氣候暖化的問題，南極的冰層將會永遠消失。

意大利‧35萬人要求總理下台

（意大利‧羅馬）約35萬人週六（12月5日）在意大利首都羅馬遊行，不滿總理貝盧斯科尼貪污和搞婚外情，要求他下台。

今次示威遊行由多個民間組織號召，示威人龍長達數公里，示威人士包括作家、諾貝爾文學獎得主達里奧福。

當地法院早前裁定，貝魯斯科尼不能獲得豁免起訴的特權。貝盧斯科尼被控告涉及幾項貪污案，但他否認指控。

意大利‧破產案搜出1億歐元名畫

（意大利）意大利稅務警察搜獲了前牛奶富豪坦茲破產前秘密收藏的19幅名畫，總值約1億歐元。

這19幅作品包括畢加索、梵高等巨匠的名作，藏於牛奶集團帕瑪拉公司（Parmalat）創辦人坦茲（Calisto Tanzi）的親屬家中。這批名畫早在帕瑪拉公司於2003年倒閉之前，就秘密收藏起來，因此公司清盤時並未紀錄在冊。

警方表示，坦茲近日正在秘密聯絡買家，希望將這些名畫出手，警方非常幸運地在成交前取得了消息，搜獲這批名畫。

帕瑪拉公司曾經是意大利最大的上市公司，它的倒閉是歐洲最大的欺詐破產案。後來，這間公司被重組。帕瑪拉的倒閉涉及金融舞弊，坦茲因此而於2008年被判刑十年。

印尼‧疑疏忽引發火患‧酒吧3員工被扣

（印尼‧棉蘭）印尼棉蘭市卡拉OK酒吧失火案的調查出現進展，警方今日（週日，12月6日）透露，當局已扣留3名懷疑因疏忽而引發火患的員工。

這場大火於週五（12月4日）在蘇門達臘棉蘭市中心一棟3層樓建築物發生，火勢在一小時內迅速蔓延到建築物其他樓層，奪走了20條寶貴的性命。

蘇門達臘省總警長阿古斯表示，根據目擊者的口供，3名男子當時正為酒吧內舖上新的墻紙和地毯，其中一人利用打火機焚燒多餘的地毯時不慎引起火患。

他也透露，涉案者將在疏忽導致人命傷亡的罪名下，面對5年或以上的監禁刑罰。

據指出，大部份的死者都是因為吸入濃煙導致死亡。

台灣‧2012總統大選‧藍綠提早備戰

（台灣‧台北）“三合一”縣市長選舉才落幕，明年五都之爭的號角即已提前吹響。對朝野而言，5大直轄市長選舉，因其勝負將直接牽動2012年的總統大選，才是真正的主戰場，明年初將全力佈局備戰，兩黨內部角力也將浮上台面。

國民黨形容明年的五都之戰是“馬政府下半場的期中選，秘書長詹春柏今日（週日，12月6日）也表示，黨中央最快本週展開作業，包括徵詢、推薦人選，最遲明年5、6月完成提名。

“誰拿下新北市誰就贏”

明年的五直轄市選戰，將打破“南綠北藍”的固有藩籬，“藍取南、綠取北”對決展開。一般認為，誰攻下敵營的灘頭堡，誰就能在2012年大選領先插旗！

詹春柏分析，國民黨在台北市、台北縣、台中市執政，綠營則擁有台南市、高雄市優勢，表面看是藍綠三比二，但台北縣明年升格後的新北市最具關鍵，“藍綠誰拿下新北市，等於贏得這場選舉。”

黨內更憂慮，綠營若拿下新北市，藍營丟掉近400萬的大票倉，對馬英九連任總統之路將是重大威脅。

多次點名蔡英文選台北市

民進黨內評估，五都民進黨至少要拿下3席，才有重返執政基礎。

據報導，綠營醞釀“天王親征”，已多次點名蔡英文選台北市、謝長廷選大台中市。

至於前行政院院長蘇貞昌，黨內認為他已佈局2012年，應直取2012年總統大選，因為一張好牌只能用一次。

2012年大選前3重要選舉

2010年12月：台北市、台北縣、台中縣市、台南縣市、高雄縣市5大直轄市長選舉

2012年1月：（預定）立委選舉

2012年3月：總統大選

新加坡‧少女A流感父母嚇到搬家‧怕傳染不敢上門送飯

（新加坡）15歲少女患A型流感，父母怕被傳染竟搬離住家，也不敢上門送飯，少女只好每天煮快熟面果腹。

11月22日，少女勞拉發高燒，家庭醫生給了她普通感冒藥。2天後，她接受血液檢查，報告還未出爐，父母就怕得搬離位於宏茂橋三房式組屋到親戚家住。

少女後來被證實患上A型流感，高燒攝氏39.3度。少女的母親是一名家庭主婦，父親在政府機構當熱線電話服務員。

原本女兒患病需要細心照顧，父母卻更擔心被傳染流感，就連送飯到家門口也不敢，只是每天通過電話和女兒保持聯絡。

流感可預防及治療

另外，醫生指出，流感既能預防又能治療，少女的父母其實反應過度。

康威醫療集團醫療副總監說︰“當女兒需要關懷和照顧的時候，父母卻搬出去住，這是反應過度。”

這名醫生也說，A型流感不應和沙斯相提並論，因為流感既能預防又能治療。只有65歲或以上、5歲以下的兒童、孕婦和有哮喘、糖尿病等病症的人，患上流感的幾率較高。

醫生也說，少女的父母其實只要注射疫苗，並維持良好衛生習慣如勤洗手和戴口罩，就能繼續和女兒同住。

衛生部網站指出，病人感染流感後，應盡可能留在一個房間裡，避免共用廁所，和避免和別人同桌用餐。如果有必要和他人近距離接觸，應戴口罩和保持至少2米距離。

少女體諒父母擔心健康

另一方面，生病卻沒得到父母細心照顧的勞拉表示，她能體諒父母因年紀大，害怕感染A型流感的擔憂。

“以他們的年齡（母親45歲、父親52歲），我能理解他們比較擔心健康。他們原本想去注射疫苗，但他們看到有關疫苗的一些副作用的新聞後，感到害怕。”

少女患病期間，每天都自行在家量體溫。她也有兩盒口罩，以備高燒不退時可以戴口罩出門看醫生。不過，除此之外，她因擔心傳播病毒，都沒有踏出家門半步。

新加坡‧網絡電視比賽橄欖球‧主持人輸球被踢“命根子”

（新加坡）網絡電視主持人比賽橄欖球玩“命”，輸家被踢“命根子”高達3次，讓他痛不欲生！

網絡電視“Clicknetwork.tv”兩名男主持人麥克和海之又出新招，這次和12名南洋理工大學橄欖球隊員比賽橄欖球，輸家就得被橄欖球員飛腿踢陽具。

主持人麥克和海之對橄欖球並不熟悉，但他們還是被要求分別和6人組成的橄欖球隊比賽，看誰最快取得進球分數。

被6名橄欖球員踢陽具

麥克個子較小，動作敏捷靈活，輕易就躲過6名身材健碩的橄欖球員，取得進球。反觀另一名主持人海之則因操場太滑，未戰就頻頻在操場跌倒。比賽最後由麥克勝出，輸了球賽的海之，其懲罰就是要被6名橄欖球員踢陽具。

他在短片中表示︰“製作人說，為了讓內容更有趣。她決定讓我跟球員以拋硬幣，來決定我的陽具的‘生死’。硬幣拋到圖案那一面，球員就不踢我，但是一拋到字的那邊，我就得接受懲罰。”

海之雖然輕易躲過第一個球員的懲罰，不過，第2和第3球員則狠狠地“懲罰”了他的陽具。

下體被踢痛不欲生

每次懲罰，他雖然都用雙手緊緊護著下體。但球員們身材健碩，腿部的力量也不小，就算是輕輕地飛腿一踢，也讓他痛得臉部抽蓄，撲倒在草地上，久久不能起身。

強忍著疼痛的海之這時對著鏡頭喊道︰“我辭職不幹了！我棄權！”

不過，製作單位似乎還不放過他，叫他挑選最後一位球員來“懲罰”他。他則挑選了橄欖球隊的隊長。

豈料，隊長的最後一踢，則把他踢得向上飛跳，過後立即跪倒在地，趴在草地上不能起身。

醫生：陽具容易被踢傷
將影響生育能力

新加坡男性健康診所楊志鏗醫生指出，就算是以雙手蓋著陽具，還是會有被踢傷的可能性，將影響男性的生育能力。

一般而言，陽具被踢後，還是會持續疼痛長達3至5天。患者這時候可以服用一些止痛藥，或是敷冰來紓解疼痛，還有儘量休息和放鬆自己。

假如下體在這幾天仍感覺不適的話，也應該儘量避免行房。

他說，大部份運動員，如球類運動，發生睪丸被踢傷的幾率較大。嚴重的話會引起較劇烈的疼痛、出血、血腫等，不進行治療的話則會影響精子的素質，進而影響生育。

Seoul has own fears over US surge

SEOUL - United States President Barack Obama set off a wave of speculation in the South Korean capital when he declaimed before American troops at Osan Air Base, south of Seoul, last month that "many of you served in Iraq", "others served in Afghanistan", "others among you may deploy yet again" - and "every American appreciates what you are trying to do".

The troops, gathered in a large warehouse facility at the end of Obama's recent swing through Northeast Asia, cheered at the tributes to service in the Middle East, but remained politely silent at the mention of deploying "yet again". Where and why, some asked as the president took off on Air Force One, waiting nearby, to return to Washington.

South Korean politicos and planners were asking the same questions after Obama on Tuesday told another crowd of young American military people, the cadets at the United States Military Academy at West Point, that he was ordering another 30,000 troops to Afghanistan early next year. Would soldiers from US forces in South Korea be joining them, and did the Pentagon plan to replace them - or reduce American troop strength in the South from the current level of 28,500?

Neither the Americans in Korea nor Koreans in positions of power and influence quite believed the assurance from the Pentagon, made to top officials of South Korea's Defense Ministry before Obama's speech, that the US would not be sending troops from Korea to Afghanistan. They had heard that one several years ago, before the US deployed a brigade of the US Second Infantry Division to Iraq from the historic invasion route to Seoul, reducing US troop strength in the South to about 37,000.

Obama's remarks resonated in other ways too. Could he really be serious when he said the US would be withdrawing its forces from Afghanistan in a year and a half? He took care to argue that Afghanistan was not like Vietnam, where the US-backed South Vietnamese government fell to defeat two years after the Americans had pulled out. He did not, however, allude to Korea, where US troops have been guarding the South since the signing of the Korean War armistice in July 1953 ended the bloodiest conflict in northeast Asian history.

The future of the US in Afghanistan appears if anything as clouded as it ever was, and still is, in Korea. The two cabinet secretaries who should know the answers, Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, both waffled when members of a US congressional committee asked them how firm was that 18-month commitment. Talk about "review" and "circumstances" permeated their vague responses.

Similar responses would dominate the US position in South Korea, where almost any scenario seems possible. Special envoy Stephen Bosworth is preparing to visit North Korea next week on a mission that's superficially intended to draw North Korea back into six-party talks on its nuclear weapons program, but here are two things that nobody in his (or her, thank you, Hillary) right mind is about to believe.

The first is that North Korea, in yet another carefully wrought "agreement", will honestly do away with its nukes. Please. Dear Leader Kim Jong-il's pride, power, even his position, rest on his boast that he's made North Korea a nuclear power. Whatever else emerges from six-party talks, it will not be a "nuclear-free" North Korea.

Second, is that Bosworth, while in Pyongyang, will spend his whole time there saying that North Korea must attend six-party talks or else.

Bosworth's visit was originally to have been for only one night, from December 8 to December 9, but now the State Department is saying that he will stay there until December 10. The last place Bosworth will stop off before going to Pyongyang is Seoul, and the first capital he'll visit after the trip will also be Seoul.

He will have a lot of explaining to do about what he's actually said in all that time there. Clearly, in the context of six-party talks, Bosworth is going to remind the North Koreans of all the good things they can count on, on the sidelines of six-party talks, if they'll only live up to their previous agreements on giving up their entire nuclear program.

Bosworth may even find a way to hint at the "peace treaty" that North Korea wants in place of the Korean War armistice and the possibilities of diplomatic relations between Pyongyang and Washington. Such talk is anathema in Seoul, where everyone from think-tank analysts to government officials will tell you North Korea is engaging in one great con game to get the US to pull out all its troops without giving up a thing, notably its weapons of mass destruction.

North Korean gamesmanship is extremely hard to figure. While appearing to soften its position in recent weeks, in the run-up to the Bosworth mission, Kim Jong-il late last month received Chinese Defense Minister Liang Guanglie.

Presumably, Liang was armed with more than vague declarations about how China and North Korea were bound as close as "the lips to the teeth", to use one hoary phrase from Chinese propaganda. He may have come with promises of military equipment to replace some of North Korea's outdated, broken-down gear, and he may also have discussed what to do to match the shiny new stuff that South Korea is acquiring from the US or making on its own for its increasingly modern defense establishment.

Memories of Chinese support for North Korea during the Korean War have faded, but they explain why South Korean policy-makers worry whenever there's another sign of an American pullback - or concessions in talks with North Korea that everyone knows will go nowhere.

The fact that Liang's trip followed closely on that of China's Premier Wen Jiabao certainly suggested ongoing Chinese support for Kim Jong-il's rule, despite United Nations sanctions imposed after North Korea's second nuclear test on May 25.

No way is China going to do anything that might precipitate the North's collapse.

Kim Jong-il, however, faces problems at home that go beyond the hunger and disease that never go away - or even his apparent commitment to establish his third son as his successor.

Redenomination of the North Korean currency - it was announced this week that two zeros have been cut from the value of banknotes - has, according to reports spread in Seoul, panicked a small but rising middle-class that hoped to one-day change the near-useless North Korean won they had hoarded into Western currency or Chinese yuan. There were reports, not substantiated but widely quoted in the absence of any harder evidence, of suicides, protests, even killings in Pyongyang.

North Korea's upper-upper class, the elite around Kim Jong-il and his top aides, are assumed to have squirreled away hard-currency for years, while most North Koreans have so little money that currency devaluation means nothing. However, a restive middle-class of low-level traders and officials, living off a black-market that the regime wants to wipe out, poses a challenge that cannot be curbed so easily by mass arrests.

North Korea said nothing about the currency change, but Pyongyang's Korean Central News Agency praised the Korean people, "demonstrating their mental power of self-regeneration and fight against hardships" for "strenuous efforts to build a strong, prosperous and powerful socialist nation". The commentary made an unusual acknowledgement, saying there were "quite a few things that are still in shortage" but "nothing is impossible for the Korean people".

Bosworth, in his two days in Pyongyang, may hear about some of the problems, indirectly, by inference, in official talks and perhaps directly from diplomats from other countries if he's able to spend time with them. North Korea will doubtless want to drag out talks with the US, perhaps calling for a second round, but is not exactly negotiating from a position of strength.

Under the circumstances, it's always possible, as the US extends and extends again its presence in Afghanistan that Obama's words to the troops here about deploying "yet again", reducing the American troop presence in the South, will prove to have been a serious portent. Certainly, North Korean strategists and mind-readers of US policy-makers would hope so as they gird to make Bosworth the next victim of their skills.

By Donald Kirk

17 million Americans have no bank account

And another 18% that do still use non-traditional banking services like pawn shops and payday lenders, according to FDIC survey.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- New York State is known as the nation's financial capital, yet nearly one in 10 of its residents do not have a checking or savings account.

And while Texas is densely populated with banks, nearly a quarter of households in the Dallas-Forth Worth area have gone to a pawn shop or check cashing company recently to carry out a simple financial transaction.

Those were just a few of the findings of a new government survey released Wednesday on Americans' access to basic banking services.

The survey, which tallied responses from roughly 54,000 U.S. households, marks the first time that the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. has published such data.

Perhaps one of the biggest revelations of the study was that approximately 7.7% of all U.S. households, or 17 million Americans, were considered "unbanked," meaning they did not have any sort of a checking or savings account.

The most common reason cited, according to the study, was a lack of funds. More than a third of those considered "unbanked" said they did not have enough cash to warrant having a bank account.

In fact, nearly 20% of all U.S. households earning $30,000 or less per year did not have a bank account.

The study also found that almost a quarter of all households headed by someone who didn't finish high school were considered "unbanked." Meanwhile, nearly one of every five African-American or Hispanic households do not have a checking or savings account, according to FDIC data.

Another key finding of Wednesday's survey, was that many Americans that actually have bank accounts still look elsewhere to cash their checks or borrow money.

In fact, nearly 18% of all U.S. households have relied on payday lenders, pawn shops or check-cashing outlets at least once in the past five years.

Such businesses have often been criticized for charging consumers rates that would even make loan sharks blush. In some instances, borrowers pay the equivalent of an annualized interest rate as high as 500%.

Americans living without a bank: See a state-by-state breakdown

People who were polled, however, said they continued to use these services simply because they were convenient or because it was easier to get a loan from them.

Hoping to migrate consumers away from such expensive options, the FDIC has enacted a number of initiatives including a short-term loan pilot program it launched in February 2008.

As part of the program, a select group of banks have agreed to offer short-term loans of up to $2,500 to low-income Americans.

Wednesday's survey report was yet another effort to expand consumers' access to basic financial services, agency officials said.

"By better understanding the households that make up this group -- who they are and their reasons for being unbanked or underbanked, we will be better positioned to help them take that first step," FDIC Chairman Sheila Bair said in a statement.

Who Really Are The Rothschild Family

Click this link ...... http://eclipptv.com/viewVideo.php?video_id=8756

Americans Financially Unable to Meet Current Debt Payments. 85 Percent of Chapter 7 Filings are Classified as No-Assets.

The U.S. Courts released data last week closing out the 2009 fiscal year. In the release we find that bankruptcy filings are up 100+ percent from 2007. No other economic vehicle shows deeper signs of financial strain than bankruptcy. Bankruptcy is the end of the road for many Americans. Although businesses file for bankruptcy as well the vast majority of filings come from individuals simply not able to meet the demands of their monthly payments. Average Americans are looking at the recovery talks but the reality on the street is much different.

Bankruptcy isn’t a new concept. In fact it has its roots in English law dating back to 1542 under the reign of Henry the VIII. The first laws of bankruptcy were designed to protect the creditor, not the debtor. The creditor had the right to seize all the possessions of the debtor and the debtor also lost his freedom by imprisonment if he failed to pay his debt. Families were left struggling to pay for this debt over multi-generations. Many in the 1700s that were released from debtors’ prison left England and immigrated to places like Georgia and Texas in what came to be known as debtors’ colonies. We have come a long way from that point in history.

Bankruptcy happens for a variety of reasons including loss of job, divorce, medical, and simply being unable to meet the new terms of onerous debt. Many credit card companies jacking rates up to 79.99 percent or suddenly setting up traps for consumers only help to accelerate the growing trend in bankruptcies.

In 2005, the bankruptcy code was redesigned by the banking oligarchs to stick it to the average American yet again. That is why if we look at quarterly filings, we see an enormous spike in 2005 before the modern debtors’ prison made its way back:

The spike above is enormous because this happened in a supposedly booming economic time. Since bankruptcy always involves debt, this bubble decade induced by debt was a perfect breeding ground for bankruptcy. Many unable to pay their debts saw the writing on the wall and filed before the new law took effect in 2006. Even with the new stringent measures bankruptcy filings have been soaring and are now up 104 percent from 2007. This is happening because 27 million Americans are unemployed or underemployed and it is hard to squeeze any payment out of someone with no income.

65 percent of all U.S. consumer filed bankruptcies are Chapter 7 cases. In a Chapter 7, the individual surrenders their non-exempt property to a trustee that then liquidates the unsecured property. Usually a home is protected in a Chapter 7 bankruptcy. That is, unless a home is underwater and is the financial reason for bankruptcy. In that case, many homeowners will simply allow the home to go into foreclosure and with 300,000 foreclosure filings a month this is what is happening. After the unsecured property is liquidated, the debtor usually has much of the debt discharged.

But what happened in 2005 was a “means test” was added to the bankruptcy process. Someone that failed to meet the means test would have their case dismissed and possibly have their case converted into a Chapter 13. With Chapter 13, the debtor still holds onto the property but needs to allocate a portion of their income to debt repayment. If you want to look at the HAMP program that is trying to rework hundreds of thousands of mortgages, this is a mini Chapter 13. On the surface it sounds good. But in reality, this is only a method of siphoning off more money from struggling debtors by the banking oligarchy. The average American in many of these cases is simply unable to pay their debts. A large reason for our economic problems stems from too much debt given to too many people. On a yearly basis bankruptcy filings are still rolling up:

Now if things were recovering why would bankruptcies still be going up? The fact of the matter is that many Americans are seeing nothing of the recovery. The fact that many of the cases are Chapter 7 means that even with the more stringent means tests, many simply do not have the means to pay their debts. A program like HAMP, in states where housing has fallen by 30, 40, or even 50 percent is a Chapter 13 for a home. On the surface it looks like a helping hand to a homeowner in distress. But in reality, it is a way for banks to protect their bottom line without confronting the massive onslaught of foreclosures that would result. The borrower in many cases is still struggling but the banks at least have a little bit of cash flow from the place and can claim the home is still worth the inflated asset value they secured a note with.

Things are so tough, that you have people asking if they don’t have to pay bills to companies that have filed bankruptcy:

“(Cleveland) The fact that the retailer went broke does not mean that its credit customers get to keep the merchandise they have not yet fully paid for,” says Cleveland bankruptcy attorney Richard Nemeth.

He says that, if you haven’t already, you can expect to hear from the court-appointed trustee, who will request you pay the loan as agreed.

You should, however, be able to reduce the loan balance by the cost of the soon-to-be-worthless extended service plan.

These kinds of extended service plans usually involve simple maintenance like cleanings and prong-tightenings, and they may cover lost stones.”

I know some think that people that file for bankruptcy at times are trying to game the system. This is just another myth perpetuated by the corporate welfare banking system. In fact, according to the ABA over 85 percent of Chapter 7 filings are “no-asset filings” meaning there are no assets for creditors to go after to recover the debt. Average Americans are still struggling with the real problems of the real economy.

So it should come as no surprise that bankruptcy filings are still trending up. Without employers hiring and unemployment still high, we can expect more and more Americans to reach the end of their rope. But also, with $3 trillion in commercial real estate coming due in the next five years starting in 2010 we will expect many businesses to also file for bankruptcy protection. The real economy is telling us something very different from the stock ticker.

Al Gore Should LOSE HIS OSCAR! - ClimateGate with Hannity & Sen Inhofe

Click this link ...... http://eclipptv.com/viewVideo.php?video_id=8759

Jesse Ventura - "Afghanistan is Vietnam all over again"

Click this link ...... http://eclipptv.com/viewVideo.php?video_id=8742

WeAreChange NYC confronts Al Gore

Click this link ...... http://eclipptv.com/viewVideo.php?video_id=8760

9-11 Inside Job

9-11 Videos
Obama Warns Not To Challenge Official 9/11 Story
Good Morning America Learns that Bin Laden is CIA
Osama Bin Laden on 9-11
9/11 Commissioner Bob Kerrey Confesses 9-11 Commission Could Not Do it's Job and 9-11 Was a 30 Year Conspiracy
Richard Gage AIA on New Zealand National Television
David Ray Griffin Radio Interview on Boston College Radio
Evidence at Pentagon Supports Global Hawk Hitting Pentagon Not Commercial Jetliner CNN Live Report- No Airplane at Pentagon
Charlie Sheen Demands Obama Reopen 9/11 Investigation In Video Message
Charlie Sheen on Alex Jones Tv: Cowardly Corporate Media Refuses to Debate 9/11 Facts Click Here for Rest of Interview
David Ray Griffin-Time for a Second Look at Official 9-11 Conspiracy Theory Part I of 8 Go to www.youtube.com for Remaining 7 Segments
Richard Gage, Professional Architect on Controlled Demolition of WTC 7
Richard Gage, Architect, Talks about the Controlled Demolition of WTC 1,2 & 7 on KMPH Fox 26 in Fresno, CA
Bush, 2000 Stolen Election, 9-11, Iraq and Afghanistan One of 34 Sequential Videos on Youtube
Key Witness to WTC 7 Explosions Speaks Out
NORAD Audio Suggests Officers Believed 9/11 Attacks To Be Part Of A Drill
Danish Scientist Niels Harrit, on Nano-thermite in the WTC Dust
David Ray Griffin on National Religion
David Ray Griffin on the Bush/Cheney 9-11 Myth
NIST Report on WTC7 Debunked and Exposed!
9/11 Cheney Connection
WTC Towers-First Explosive, Not Implosive Controlled Demolition
New Collapse Footage of WTC7 and North Tower
Series of 19 Videos Looking at Numerous Aspects of the 9-11 Official Conspiracy Theory Click on Title Above
9/11 Truth: Steel Buildings Don't Collapse From Fire Firemen Report Many Explosions
The Pentagon Security Camera on 911-Exhaust Can Only Be from a Missile
WTC-7-Obvious Controlled Demolition
Flight 93 Crash Site-No Plane, Engines, Bodies nor Bags
Total Proof That Bombs Were Planted in WTC 1 & 2
Dan Rather Reports on Controlled Demo of WTC 1, 2 & 7
CNN Live Report-No Airplane at Pentagon Hunt Boeing-Shanksville Edition
What Happened to WTC 7-You Decide
Key 9/11 eye witness "commits suicide"
NIST WTC7 Report Parody Video
Richard Gage, AIA wakes up an American citizen
Watch Live TV on 9-11 Show Nose of Plane Go Thru WTC
Who Ran the Government on 9/11? Click on Title Above to Watch Video