Nouvelles en Langue Anglaise

Rappel du premier message :

U.S. clamps down on banking transactions; terror group finds new funding

By Robert Windrem and Garrett Haake
NBC News
updated 7:56 a.m. ET Nov. 14, 2008
Seven years after the Sept. 11 attacks, U.S. intelligence officials believe they've won many small victories against al-Qaida's ability to finance its operations, but they remain unable to put a concrete dollar figure on their impact.

That's because they have no reliable estimate of al-Qaida's overall budget, according to current and former U.S. counterterrorism officials, which means the only measures of the organization's economic health are sporadic, anecdotal and fragmentary.

"When you see a cell complaining that it hasn't received its monthly or biannual stipend and it's unable to pay the salaries of the people in the cell, unable to make the support payments to the families of terrorists living or dead, that's a tremendous indicator we have pressured the financial channel," said Adam Szubin, the director of the U.S. Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control and the man in charge of tracking terrorist finance.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27644191

Obama Administration Affirms BUsh Policy on Detainee Rights

Justice Department lawyers filed court papers agreeing that detainees at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan cannot use U.S. courts to challenge their detentions
AP

Friday, February 20, 2009

WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama's Justice Department sided with the former Bush administration on Friday, saying detainees in Afghanistan have no constitutional rights.

In a two-sentence court filing, department lawyers said the Obama administration agreed that detainees at Bagram Air Base cannot use U.S. courts to challenge their detentions. The filing shocked human rights attorneys.

"The hope we all had in President Obama to lead us on a different path has not turned out as we'd hoped," said Tina Monshipour Foster, a human rights attorney representing a detainee at the Bagram Air Base. "We all expected better."

In midyear last year, the Supreme Court gave al-Qaida and Taliban suspects held at the U.S. Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, the right to challenge their detention. With about 600 detainees at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan and thousands more held in Iraq, courts are grappling with whether they, too, can sue to be released.

Three months after the Supreme Court's ruling on Guantanamo Bay, four Afghan citizens being detained at Bagram tried to challenge their detentions in U.S. District Court in Washington. Court filings alleged that the U.S. military had held them without charges, repeatedly interrogating them without any means to contact an attorney. Their petition was filed for them by relatives since they had no way of getting access to the legal system.

The military has determined that all the detainees at Bagram are "enemy combatants." The Bush administration said in a response to the petition last year that the enemy combatant status of the Bagram detainees is reviewed every six months, taking into consideration classified intelligence and testimony from those involved in their capture and interrogation.

After Obama took office, a federal judge in Washington gave the new administration a month to decide whether it wanted to stand by Bush's legal argument. Justice Department spokesman Dean Boyd says the filing speaks for itself.
"They've now embraced the Bush policy that you can create prisons outside the law," said Jonathan Hafetz, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union who has represented several detainees.

The Justice Department argues that Bagram is different from Guantanamo Bay because it is in an overseas war zone and the prisoners there are being held as part of a continuing military action. The government argues that releasing enemy combatants into the Afghan war zone, or even diverting U.S. personnel there to consider their legal cases, could threaten security.

The government also said that if the Bagram detainees had access to the courts, it would allow all foreigners captured by the United States in conflicts worldwide to do the same.

It Is not the first time that the Obama administration has used a Bush administration legal argument after promising to review it. Last week, Attorney General Eric Holder announced a review of every court case in which the Bush administration invoked the state secrets privilege, a separate legal tool it used to have lawsuits thrown out rather than reveal secrets.

The same day, however, civil division attorney Douglas Letter cited that privilege in asking an appeals court to uphold dismissal of a lawsuit accusing a Boeing Co. subsidiary of illegally helping the CIA fly suspected terrorists to allied foreign nations that tortured them.

Letter said that Obama officials approved his argument.

Pentagon Report Concludes Guantanamo Detainees Treated Humanely

The 85-page report by Adm. Patrick M. Walsh, the Navy's second in command, was written in response to Obama's Jan. 22 executive order to close the facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba within a year.



AP

Friday, February 20, 2009


WASHINGTON -- The Pentagon says the Guantanamo Bay prison meets the standard for humane treatment laid out in the Geneva Conventions, according to a report for President Barack Obama, who has ordered the terrorist detention center closed within a year.

The report recommended some changes, including an increase in group recreation for some of the camp's more dangerous or less compliant prisoners, according to a government official familiar with the study. The report also suggested allowing those prisoners to gather in groups of three or more, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the report has not officially been released.

Some of the hard-core prisoners are not currently allowed to meet with other prisoners for prayer or socialization and are kept in their cells for 23 hours a day.

Alleged Sept. 11 mastermind Khalid Sheik Mohammed is among the prisoners who could be affected by the change. Prolonged social isolation has been known to harm mental health among prisoners.

The 85-page report by Adm. Patrick M. Walsh, the Navy's second in command, was written in response to Obama's Jan. 22 executive order to close the facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba within a year.

As a presidential candidate, Obama criticized the detention center that human rights groups and many in the international community widely condemned for harsh treatment of prisoners during the Bush administration. The military has defended its actions, saying prisoners have been treated humanely since the center was set up after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

The report found the camp to be in compliance with the Geneva Conventions Common Article 3, the international rules that require the humane treatment of prisoners taken in unconventional armed conflicts, like the war on terrorism. The camp's controversial force-feeding of prisoners on hunger strikes was also found to be compliant with the Geneva guidelines, a second government official confirmed.


Last month, the military judge in charge of deciding whether to charge Guantanamo detainees with crimes told The Washington Post at least one of the prisoners was tortured in 2002 and 2003, alleged Sept. 11 conspirator Mohammed al-Qahtani.

About 800 prisoners have been held there, many for years and nearly all without criminal charges. There are now around 250, including 17 from China who the United States wants to set free but cannot return to China for fear they will be tortured by the government.

Guantanamo was selected for legal reasons: as a military base, it is sovereign U.S. territory but, according to Bush administration lawyers, was outside the scope of the Constitution. That would allow prisoners to be prosecuted for war crimes using evidence that would be difficult to use in the U.S. civilian court system.

D'un autre president, moins aime, on aurait dit qu'il ne tenait pas ses promesses, mais bon...

FEBRUARY 21, 2009

Campaign Pledges Collide With New Fiscal Reality

By: JONATHAN WEISMAN

As President Barack Obama finalizes his long-range budget road map for release next week, he is finding it increasingly difficult to translate some campaign promises into policy in the face of a complex economic crisis.

Mr. Obama spent Thursday reassuring Canadians that his campaign talk of reopening the North American Free Trade Agreement would not actually impede free trade. His budget writers are struggling to square promises of rolling back George W. Bush's tax cuts with combating the recession. One campaign applause line -- about ending tax quirks that he said encourage U.S. corporations to move jobs overseas -- is facing a wall of opposition from companies pleading for relief in a global downturn.

Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg, speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One returning from Canada, said that "little issues" have fallen by the wayside as the economy rises in importance. NAFTA didn't even come up in the talks he saw in Ottawa.

"There was not a kind of narrow focus on little issues," Mr. Steinberg said. "It was a very strategic discussion...heavily focused on the economy."

The economy has become the prism through which almost all policies are now being viewed. When the president asked Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper where his focus was, "he said it's the economy, the economy, the economy," Mr. Steinberg recalled.

In Mr. Obama's budget blueprint, set for release Thursday, he is almost certain to wait until 2011 to allow tax rates to go up on families earning at least $250,000, according to congressional aides and lobbyists discussing budget matters with the administration. That decision would come despite the urgings of prominent allies, such as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.), who say an immediate rollback of some Bush tax cuts would show resolve on a deficit heading toward $2 trillion.

In his speech to a joint session of Congress Tuesday night, Mr. Obama will stress the decisions that must be made "collectively to get ourselves back on a path toward some sustainable fiscal track," White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said Friday.

But some tax proposals from the campaign, such as immediately taxing the overseas earnings of U.S. companies, are drawing resistance from business. The offshore tax proposal alone could raise about $50 billion over 10 years.

...

"While Europe and Asia are lowering rates to attract investment, we should not be making it harder for our companies to compete globally," said Ralph Hellman, a senior lobbyist for the Information Technology Industry Council.

Arnold se serait donc bel et bien transforme en Democrate

How California Became France

Unable to afford a welfare state and unable to reform it.

By MATTHEW KAMINSKI
Sacramento, Calif.

As California goes, says an old cliché, so goes the nation. Oh my.



These days, the Golden State leads the nation on economic and fiscal dysfunction, from the empty homes spread across the Central Valley to the highest state budget shortfall in the nation's history. Meanwhile, its political class pioneers denial in the face of catastrophe.

The spark for the immediate political crisis was a familiar Californian discovery, a fiscal hole of $41 billion. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger declared an "emergency" in November and took legislative leaders behind closed doors to hammer out a compromise. The budget adopted in a marathon session this week splits the baby, closing the deficit with spending cuts (hated by the left) and tax hikes (ditto the right), all the while largely failing to tackle the state's built-in structural defects.

Some parts of the deal, such as borrowing from future lottery receipts, may yet collapse at the ballot in May, and California could soon be back in line to mark another first -- state bankruptcy. In anticipation, Standard & Poor's this month downgraded its bond rating a notch below Louisiana's.

Even discounting for the impact of global recession, the most populous state's ills are unique and self-inflicted -- and avoidable. In the last three decades, California expanded the public sector and regulation to Europe-like dimensions. Schools, state employees, health care, even dog kennels, benefited from largesse in flush times. Government workers got 16 official holidays, everyone else six. The state dabbled with universal health care and adopted strict environmental standards. In short, California went where our new president and Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco want America to go.

...

J'espère que le "79" mettra du baume au coeur de notre Chère Shansaa...

C'est d'ailleurs en pensant a elle que je l'ai poste; et on dira que je ne suis pas bonne ame.

Si l'on en croit le rapport concernant les conditions dans les prisons francaises, on se demande si les "coeurs saignants" quelques soient leur nationalite ne devraient pas non plus demander a Nicolas d'en ouvrir les portes.

C'est la logique même !

N'est-ce-pas, Biloulou ?

=======

Alors, Hillary, notre Nouvelle Secretaire d'Etat (NNSE: j'ai decide de suivre le mouvement actuel d'utilisation de signes a outrance ), elle au moins, sait calmer les choses (contrairement a Pres. Bush (43) qui comme chacun le sait, n'etait capable que d'antagoniser tout le monde avec son arrogance ).

(Pour rappel: les echanges carottes-baton des derniers jours de NNSE dedies au gouvernement de Coree du Nord, pendant son voyage en Asie. )

North Korea May Be Ready to Test-Fire Missile 'Within Days"

Saturday, February 21, 2009

SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea could be ready to test-fire a missile within days as satellite imagery has shown increased activity at a missile site over the past 48 hours, a defense weekly said.

A significant increase in launch preparations has occurred at the Musudan-ni missile site on the communist country's northeastern coast, said Joseph S. Bermudez Jr., a senior analyst at Jane's Information Group who specializes in North Korean defense and intelligence matters.

Click here for photos.

"The latest satellite images ... indicate that North Korea is preparing to launch either a prototype Taepodong 2 intermediate range ballistic missile or a Paektusan 2 space launch vehicle within a matter of days," Jane's Defence Weekly said in a report issued Friday in London.

The report comes amid growing international pressure on the North to drop its apparent plans to fire a long-range missile believed capable of reaching U.S. territory. Washington, Seoul and Tokyo have repeatedly warned Pyongyang against firing a missile, saying the move would trigger international sanctions.

Bermudez said satellite images show the activation of launch equipment and radars, and the arrival of numerous trucks and support vehicles. Support facilities for the engine test stand were undergoing expansion, the report said.

...

ou "quand les Democrates qui reprochent aux Republicains d'etre puritains, utilisent, que dis-je invente une vie privee a des gens pour tenter les detruire particulierement pendant une campagne electorale".

And all that in a day's work.



Iseman to POLITICO: The Times lied
By MICHAEL CALDERONE | 2/20/09 3:05 PM EST

Vicki Iseman, who sued The New York Times over a story suggesting that she had had a romantic relationship with John McCain, is now accusing the paper of lying about whether it apologized or retracted the story in the course of settlement discussions.

In a memo to Times staff Thursday, Washington Bureau Chief Dean Baquet insisted that, while the paper has settled Iseman’s lawsuit, it “did not apologize” for the story or “retract one word” of it.

But in an interview with POLITICO Friday, Iseman said Baquet’s memo was “calculated” to the point of being false.

“They are absolutely not telling the truth when they say there is no apology,” Iseman said, later adding, “They are striking first blood against me.”

Baquet’s statement is an accurate reflection of what the Times has published in the wake of the settlement. In Friday’s print edition, there’s “A Note to Readers,” and the Times has posted on its website a joint statement from Iseman’s lawyers and the Times, a statement from her lawyers and a response from Executive Editor Bill Keller. None of these documents contains an apology or a retraction.

Iseman insists there’s more to the story than what’s contained in the materials the Times has published, but she said she can’t say more because she’s bound by a confidentiality agreement related to the settlement. After reading Baquet’s memo, she said she has asked the Times to release her from the confidentiality agreement so she can tell her side of the story.

Iseman said that she made that request Friday in a phone message to Times assistant general counsel George Freeman; a Times spokesman confirmed that Iseman left a message for Freeman but said he can’t talk directly with her because she’s represented by her own lawyer.

Iseman said that, because the case is over, she believes she can deal directly with Freeman.

In the meantime, however, she said that she’s “a woman of her word” and therefore will not specify “what took place in these private negotiations” — except to say that Baquet’s claim that the Times did not apologize is “untrue.”

Iseman’s words leave open the possibility that she was offered some kind of generalized private apology by the Times along the way.

Baquet said that he understands that Iseman is “deeply wounded” by the entire ordeal, but he said the paper still believes that “there wasn’t anything wrong with our story.”

...

et vive les media, un organe politique des plus dangereux.

Ca doit etre la faute aux Israeliens quelque part ...

Lebanon Fires 2 Rockets Towards Israel

Saturday, February 21, 2009


AP

Feb. 2: A Palestinian boy looks inside a hole over the entrance to a smuggling tunnel, caused by an Israeli missile strike.
(Aaaah c'est le trou qui a ete cause par un missile israelien pas le tunnel! )

IRUT — Lebanese security officials say two rockets have been fired from southern Lebanon toward Israel. The rockets, however, fell short of their targets and landed in empty fields inside Lebanese territory near the border.

Officials say that Israel retaliated by firing several shells in the vicinity of the Mansouri and al-Qulaila areas from where the rockets had been launched.

No one has claimed responsibility for Saturday's failed attacks, and there was no immediate comment from Israel.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity in line with military regulations.

Rockets from Lebanon have been fired into Israel on two occasions during Israel's Gaza offensive. Palestinian militant groups are suspected of launching the...

Click to view photos from the conflict.

Obama Approcal Index History

Date ............................................. Index Strongly Approve Strongly Disapprove Total Approve Total Disapprove

02/20/2009	+12	38%	26%	59%	40%
02/19/2009	+13	38%	25%	60%	39%
02/18/2009	+14	38%	24%	61%	38%
02/17/2009	+15	38%	23%	61%	37%
02/16/2009	+10	36%	26%	60%	39%
02/15/2009	+11	37%	26%	60%	39%
02/14/2009	+13	39%	26%	60%	39%
02/13/2009	+17	41%	24%	60%	38%
02/12/2009	+19	43%	24%	61%	37%

...

01/22/2009

+30

44%

14%

64%

29%

La raison pour laquelle je continue a utiliser Rasmussen: A Fordham University professor has rated the national pollsters on their record in Election 2008. We also have provided a summary of our results for your review.

...
Following the procedures proposed by Martin, Traugott and Kennedy (see [/size][/size]Public Opinion
Quarterly[size=12][size=12], Fall 2006, pp. 342-369) to assess poll accuracy, I analyze poll estimates from
these 23 polling organizations. Four of these polls appear to have overestimated McCain
support (indicated with a * below), while most polls (17) overestimated Obama strength.
Pre-election projections for two organizations’ final polls—Rasmussen and Pew—were

perfectly in agreement with the actual election result (**).
The following list ranks the 23 organizations by the accuracy of their final, national preelection
polls (as reported on pollster.com).

1. Rasmussen (11/1-3)**
1. Pew (10/29-11/1)**
2. YouGov/Polimetrix (10/18-11/1)
3. Harris Interactive (10/20-27)
4. GWU (Lake/Tarrance) (11/2-3)*
5. Diageo/Hotline (10/31-11/2)*
5. ARG (10/25-27)*
6. CNN (10/30-11/1)
6. Ipsos/McClatchy (10/30-11/1)
7. DailyKos.com (D)/Research 2000 (11/1-3)
8. AP/Yahoo/KN (10/17-27)
9. Democracy Corps (D) (10/30-11/2)
10. FOX (11/1-2)
11. Economist/YouGov (10/25-27)
12. IBD/TIPP (11/1-3)
13. NBC/WSJ (11/1-2)
14. ABC/Post (10/30-11/2)
15. Marist College (11/3)
16. CBS (10/31-11/2)
17. Gallup (10/31-11/2)
18. Reuters/ C-SPAN/ Zogby (10/31-11/3)
19. CBS/Times (10/25-29)
20. Newsweek (10/22-23)

et Rasmussen est loin d'en etre a son coup d'essai.

Ca marrant tout de meme de voir ou se trouvent Newsweek, CBS (les memes que ceux qui avaient utilise de faux documents concernant Bush 43 pour essayer d'influences les elections de 2004), Reuters!!!, Gallup (utilise si souvent par CNN), ABC, NBC (les 2 autres "grandes" et toutes deux presqu'aussi biaisees que CBS.)

Mais bon, heureusement qu'a ce jour, nous avons Rasmussen.

Obama Approcal Index History

Date ............................................ Index Strongly Approve Strongly Disapprove Total Approve Total Disapprove

02/21/2009

10

38%

28%

57%

41%

...

01/22/2009

30

44%

14%

64%

29%

01/21/2009

28

44%

16%

65%

30%

U.S. Officials Outrages at U.N. Over Hamas Letter to Obama

Sen. John Kerry will not be visiting Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal during his trip to Syria Saturday and U.S. officials in Jerusalem are furious at the United Nations Relief and Works agency for its handling of the letter.


FOXNews.com

Saturday, February 21, 2009


U.S. officials are furious with the United Nations for its role in Hamas' attempt to enlist U.S. Sen John Kerry to transfer a letter from the Palestinian militant group to President Obama during Kerry's trip to the Middle East, an official source told FOX News.

The incident also has raised security concerns over how much Hamas knew about Kerry's travel plans.

Kerry turned the letter over to the U.S. consulate in Jerusalem on Friday, saying he was unaware that it was from Hamas until hearing about the letter in media reports, including on the BBC. He told FOX News on Saturday that he will not be visiting Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal during his trip to Syria on Saturday. He is scheduled to meet with Syrian President Bashar Assad.

U.S. officials in Jerusalem are outraged at the United Nations Relief and Works agency for apparently handing the letter off to Kerry.

The official source who spoke to FOX News argued that if the U.N. had a letter from Hamas, it should have given U.S. officials a heads-up before the news was leaked to media organizations.

The Hamas official who wrote the letter confirmed to FOX News that he wrote Obama personally, asking him not to be biased toward Israel in its conflict with the Palestinians and to act fairly. He also said Hamas is ready to talk directly to a new American administration.

This Hamas official insists he had the backing of the group to write the letter, but it appears the official acted alone.
Kerry turned the letter over to the U.S. consulate in Jerusalem on Friday and his spokesman told FOX News that the Democratic senator was not aware that the letter was from Hamas when he accepted it from an official with the U.N. relief agency.

Kerry told FOX News that he never read the letter because it was sandwich among other promotional papers the U.N. gave him. A State Department official confirmed to FOX News that it was from Hamas and is now under review.
A potential concern was whether such a letter would violate the United States' policy toward Hamas. Obama has said his administration will not engage in diplomatic talks with Hamas unless the group renounces terrorism and affirms Israel's right to exist.

In addition, a U.S. official said there were security issues with the letter. The official who spoke to FOX News said there is concern that Hamas had advance notice that Kerry was visiting, which may raise issues of trust with the U.N. on future diplomatic trips.

FOX News' Reena Ninan and Nina Donaghy contributed to this report.



"Bizarre, vous avez dit bizarre?

Canonisation de Rev. Damien de Veuster. D'origine Belge, il a soigne les lepreux en Hawaii au 19eme siecle avant de contracter leur maladie.

Sylvette en 463 a écrit:

U.S. Officials Outrages at U.N. Over Hamas Letter to Obama

Sen. John Kerry will not be visiting Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal during his trip to Syria Saturday and U.S. officials in Jerusalem are furious at the United Nations Relief and Works agency for its handling of the letter.

"Bizarre, vous avez dit bizarre?

Et penser que ce monsieur a été candidat à la présidence des États-Unis...

Mais êtes-vous mieux servis maintenant ?

That is the question...

Biloulou , tout le monde n'a pas le messie comme chef supreme!

467-

Hum....

In God we trust !

Sylvette a écrit:

Biloulou , tout le monde n'a pas le messie comme chef supreme!

Tu sais Zed,

Grâce à la Châtelaine et en famille on parle 7 langues + le créole + les différents wallons.....
Alors avec ou sans accens importe peu.....

¥_zed_¥ a écrit:

Lawrence a écrit:

467-

Hum....

In God we trust !

Sylvette a écrit:

Biloulou , tout le monde n'a pas le messie comme chef supreme!

Lawrence, bravo, ton anglais est parfait, t'as même pas d'accent

The Whiteboard

Last week, America ran up the credit card. This week, the statement arrives.

President Barack Obama is set to deliver the worst fiscal news since the Great Depression.

On Monday, he'll outline a deficit of $1.3 trillion, the largest as a share of the nation's economy since World War II. He'll blame years of runaway budgets, two costly wars, exploding health care costs -- and even the massive stimulus package he signed last week, accounting for fully one-quarter of it.

Then he'll try to convince Americans that he knows how to fix it, with a pledge to slice the deficit in half in four years.

Read full story.

=========

J'ai quand meme de la chance, un messie comme commandant en chef et un genie sur LP. Que demande le peuple.

La, ne vous vexez pas mais il y a erreur sur la personne, je faisais reference a Lawrence (Je n'oserais jamais vous titiller ainsi.)

Ceci dit, je vous trouve excellent (au moins la pluspat du temps) et plein d'humour, sincerement!

Mais non, mais non, ne rougissez pas...

gouverneurs refusent la portion pour leur etat qui menerait a une augmentation des impots.

Handful of Governors May refuse Federal Unemployment Benefits

Some GOP governors say new rules on unemployment benefits would hurt their states so they aren't going to accept a portion of the $787 billion recovery and reinvestment act signed into law this week.



FOXNews.com

Sunday, February 22, 2009


Louisiana Republican Gov. Bobby Jindal is sticking to his position of rejecting part of the federal stimulus money for his state, saying Sunday that accepting an increase in unemployment benefits will lead to higher taxes on businesses in his state.

Mississippi Republican Gov. Haley Barbour, South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford and Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin say they may follow suit. They say the money to be disbursed to the states in the $787 billion spending and tax cuts package comes with too many strings attached.

"The unemployment insurance reform, if you will, would require the state to pay people who are not willing to take a full-time job," Barbour told FOX News, saying his state is not going to expand benefits to part-time workers. "We're not going to change that. ... We're going to give up about $50 million of federal money."

"It would be like spending a dollar to get a dime," Jindal said on NBC's "Meet the Press. "The federal stimulus bill says it has to be a permanent change in state law if you take this money, so within three years, the federal money is gone, we've got now a permanent change in our laws."

Canaillou NNP, hein?

"What we would be required to do would be, for the first time, increase the level of benefit for part-time workers," Sanford told "FOX News Sunday." "We can't pay for the benefits already in the program, but to get the stimulus money, we've got to increase the program's size and scale."

The White House says Sanford's state, which has the third highest unemployment rate in the nation, would be eligible for $8 billion from the spending bill, which administration officials say would create 50,000 jobs. Sanford said that's not how job creation works.

"It sounds like the Soviet grain quotas of Stalin's time -- X number of jobs will be created because Washington says so. And that's not the way that jobs get created," he said.

But Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm, a Democrat, said she'll be happy to take whatever cash Sanford and others reject. Also in line with an open hand are Republican Govs. Charlie Crist of Florida and Arnold Schwarzenegger of California.

Most of the governors are in town for the National Governors Association Winter Meeting. Palin, however, is back at home dealing with her state's legislative session.

On Saturday, Democrats claimed that governors who turn down money from are "fringe" politicians eager to score political points.

"All of us are committed to working with President Obama to pull our nation's economy out of the ditch that George W. Bush ran it into," Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley said at the Democratic Governors Association press conference on Saturday. "If some of the fringe governors don't want to do that, they need to step aside and not stand in the way of the nation's interests."

aaaah aaaaaah!

"I think in this instance I would humbly suggest that the real fringe are those that are supporting the stimulus," Sanford, who is chairman of the Republican Governors Association, said in response. "It is not at all in keeping with the principles that made this country great, not at all in keeping with economic reality, not in keeping with a stable dollar, and not in keeping with the sentiments of most of this country."

But Crist said the bill is good for Florida because it will help children stay in school, pay teachers, help Medicaid program stay solvent and build roads in his state. He said the people elected Obama as their leader and that he's willing to help him and work with him when the nation is in such a dire situation.

Schwarzenegger added that it's time to put the needs of the country over principle.

"Well, Governor Sanford says that he does not want to take the money, the federal stimulus package money. And I want to say to him: I'll take it. I'm more than happy to take his money or any other governor in this country that doesn't want to take this money, I take it, because we in California can need it," he said on ABC's "This Week."
"This to me is not about philosophical theory," Granhold added on "FOX News Sunday." "This is about real people who through no fault of their own, are laid off because of a recession. ... So you better believe I'm going to take every dollar that is coming to Michigan. And if my colleagues here in Minnesota and South Carolina don't get -- don't use theirs, I'm going to be first in line to say for my people, for our citizens, to put people to work and to make sure that they can survive through this, I'll take their dollars, too."

Unemployment benefits are said to total about 2 percent of the stimulus package. Barbour said taking those dollars would force his state to eventually raise taxes when the stimulus money runs out, putting in place what he called an unfair tax on employers.

"There is some (money) we will not take in Mississippi. ... We want more jobs. You don't get more jobs by putting an extra tax on creating jobs," Barbour told CNN's "State of the Union' on Sunday.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, a Republican, said he's going to take the money his state is entitled to receive because it was his constituents who sent it to Washington in the first place.

La, il n'a pas tort!

"In Minnesota's case, we are a major net subsidizer of the federal government, and that's unlike some other states. For every dollar we send in, we only get 72 cents back. So we're paying the bill either way. We're going to take our share of the money," he said, adding that his state won't be hurt by requirements on unemployment benefits because those rules have already been in place for years.

Comme quoi, chaque etat, ayant ses propres lois peut agir de facon differente face a ce plan de relance, ce qui n'est pas mal.

475-

Bonsoir Sylvette,

Sorry but nobody is perfect....

Sylvette a écrit:

La, ne vous vexez pas mais il y a erreur sur la personne, je faisais reference a Lawrence (Je n'oserais jamais vous titiller ainsi.)

Ceci dit, je vous trouve excellent (au moins la pluspat du temps) et plein d'humour, sincerement!

Mais non, mais non, ne rougissez pas...