At New York Times , ” In Europe, Stagnation as a Way of Life “: PARIS — For all the struggles that Greece has gone through to satisfy its demanding lenders, Europe’s troubles are not going away. Because of the various, often incremental, steps European officials have taken during the nearly three-year debt difficulties that began in Greece, the crisis fever has cooled considerably in recent months — including fears that the euro currency union might suddenly fall apart. But crisis has given way to a grinding reality for Europe: economic stagnation and even, for much of the Continent, the specter of another downturn less than three years after the last recession ended. Greek leaders on Thursday agreed to a new set of tough austerity measures, in hopes of receiving a new 130 billion-euro bailout package from the European Union and International Monetary Fund, aimed at avoiding a debt default in March. That agreement, though, is in some ways a microcosm of Europe’s broader quandary, as similar measures are being embraced by other debt-saddled countries in the euro currency union, including Portugal and Ireland. Many analysts say the belt-tightening can only push those and other nations further into recession, sap the economies of their European trading partners and do little to address the systemic weaknesses plaguing Europe’s banks. “We take one problem off the table for the moment,” Carl B. Weinberg, chief economist at High Frequency Economics in Valhalla, N.Y., said. “That still leaves us having to deal with the dramatic destruction of wealth that has taken place.” Continue reading . Also at Der Spiegel , ” German Finance Minister Doubts Deal Will Be Enough .”
Follow this link:
Uncertainties Loom for Europe
At Telegraph UK , ” Syria releases the 7/7 ‘mastermind’ “: The alleged terrorist mastermind behind the July 7 London bombings is reported to have been freed from a Syrian jail by President Bashar Assad’s regime . Abu Musab al-Suri had been held in Syria for six years after being captured by the CIA in 2005 and transported to the country of his birth under its controversial extraordinary rendition programme. But he is now said to have been released as a warning to the US and Britain about the consequences of turning their backs on President al-Assad’s regime as it tries to contain the uprising in the country. Al-Suri, also known as Mustafa Setmariam Nasar, was al-Qaeda’s operations chief in Europe and has been accused of planning the London bombings, in which four British-born terrorists detonated three bombs on the Underground and another on a bus, killing 52 people and injuring more than 700 others in 2005. More at the link .
Read the original here:
Syria Releases Abu Musab al-Suri, Mastermind of London’s 7/7 Terrorist Attacks
AP – U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta is reassuring Europe that it remains central to U.S. defense interests, even as the Obama administration is withdrawing two of the four Army brigades stationed on the continent.
Read more:
Panetta says US military not abandoning Europe
(AP)
Reuters – The Obama administration on Thursday played down Defense Secretary Leon Panetta’s comments that the United States could end its combat role in Afghanistan next year, remarks that surprised allies in Europe and Kabul, as well as U.S. lawmakers.
See original here:
U.S. seeks to play down Panetta’s Afghan comments
(Reuters)
“Three years ago this week, a newly elected President Obama faced the American people and said that if he couldn’t turn the economy around in three years, he’d be looking at a one-term proposition. We’re here to collect.” That was the central focus of GOP front-runner Mitt Romney’s rousing victory speech. He delivered his remarks after enjoying a sweeping victory in the Florida Primary. “There are fewer candidates than when the race began, but the three gentlemen left are serious and able competitors,” he added. “And I congratulate them on another hard-fought contest in this campaign. Primary contests are not easy – and they’re not supposed to be.” “As this primary unfolds, our opponents in the other party have been watching,” Romney said. “They like to comfort themselves with the thought that a competitive campaign will leave us divided and weak. But I’ve got some news for them: A competitive primary does not divide us; it prepares us. And when we gather here in Tampa seven months from now for our convention, ours will be a united party with a winning ticket for America!” He added that leadership is about “taking responsibility, not making excuses.” “In another era of American crisis, Thomas Paine is reported to have said, ‘Lead, follow, or get out of the way.’ Mr. President, you were elected to lead, you chose to follow, and now it’s time for you to get out of the way!” Romney exclaimed to resounding cheers. Watch Romney’s speech below via PBS. A partial transcript follows: Below is a partial transcript of Romney’s speech: My leadership helped build businesses from scratch. My leadership helped save the Olympics from scandal and give our athletes the chance to make us all proud. My leadership cut taxes 19 times and cast over 800 vetoes. We balanced every budget, and we kept our schools first among fifty states. My leadership will end the Obama era and begin a new era of American prosperity! This campaign is about more than replacing a President. It is about saving the soul of America. President Obama and I have two very different visions of America. President Obama wants to grow government and continue to amass trillion dollar deficits. I will not just slow the growth of government, I will cut it. I will not just freeze government’s share of the total economy, I will reduce it. And, without raising taxes, I will finally balance the budget. President Obama’s view of capitalism is to send your money to his friends’ companies. My vision for free enterprise is to return entrepreneurship to the genius and creativity of the American people. On one of the most personal matters of our lives, our health care, President Obama would turn decision making over to government bureaucrats. He forced through Obamacare; I will repeal it. Like his colleagues in the faculty lounge who think they know better, President Obama demonizes and denigrates almost every sector of our economy. I will make America the most attractive place in the world for entrepreneurs, for innovators, and for job creators. And unlike the other people running for President, I know how to do that. President Obama orders religious organizations to violate their conscience; I will defend religious liberty and overturn regulations that trample on our first freedom. President Obama believes America’s role as leader in the world is a thing of the past. He is intent on shrinking our military capacity at a time when the world faces rising threats. I will insist on a military so powerful no one would ever think of challenging it. President Obama has adopted a strategy of appeasement and apology. I will stand with our friends and speak out for those seeking freedom. President Obama wants to “fundamentally transform” America. We want to restore America to the founding principles that made this country great. Our plans protect freedom and opportunity, and our blueprint is the Constitution of the United States. Together, we will build an America where “hope” is a new job with a paycheck, not a faded word on an old bumper sticker. The path I lay out is not one paved with ever increasing government checks and cradle-to-grave assurances that government will always be the solution. If this election is a bidding war for who can promise more benefits, then I’m not your President. You have that President today. But if you want to make this election about restoring American greatness, then I hope you will join us. If you believe the disappointments of the last few years are a detour, not our destiny, then I am asking for your vote. I’m asking each of you to remember how special it is to be an American. I want you to remember what it was like to be hopeful and excited about the future, not to dread each new headline. I want you to remember when you spent more time dreaming about where to send your kids to college than wondering how to make it to the next paycheck. I want you to remember when you weren’t afraid to look at your retirement savings or the price at the pump. I want you to remember when our White House reflected the best of who we are, not the worst of what Europe has become. That America is still out there. We still believe in that America. We still believe in the America that is a land of opportunity and a beacon of freedom. We believe in the America that challenges each of us to be better and bigger than ourselves. This election, let’s fight for the America we love. We believe in America. Thank you. And God bless America.
Read the original:
Romney Recalls Obama‘s ’One-Term’ Proposition in FL Victory Speech: ‘We’re Here to Collect’
At Telegraph UK , ” Costa Concordia will take 10 months to be removed “: The Costa Concordia cruise ship will take up to 10 months to removed from Italy’s coast, according to officials, as rough seas off the Tuscan coast forced the suspension of recovery operations. Officials called off both the start of operations to remove of 500,000 gallons of fuel and the search for people still missing after determining the Costa Concordia had moved an inch and a half over six hours, coupled with waves of more than three feet. A 17th body, identified as Peruvian crew member Erika Soria Molina, was found Saturday. Sixteen crew and passengers remain listed as missing, with one body recovered from the ship not yet identified. Officials have virtually ruled out finding anyone alive more than two weeks after the Costa Concordia hit a reef, but were reluctant to give a final death toll for the Jan. 13 disaster. The crash happened when the captain deviated from his planned route, creating a huge gash that capsized the ship. More than 4,200 people were on board. “Our first goal was to find people alive,” Franco Gabrielli, the national civil protection official in charge of the operation, told a daily briefing. “Now we have a single, big goal, and that is that this does not translate into an environmental disaster.” RTWT.
Follow this link:
Costa Concordia Cruise Ship Will Take Up to 10 Months to Removed From Italy’s Coast
Rep. Allen West (R-Fla.) had a strong message Saturday for President Barack Obama, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz: “Get the hell out.” West made the comments during a speech at a Palm Beach County GOP event in West Palm Beach. “This is a battlefield that we must stand upon. And we need to let President Obama, Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi and my dear friend, chairman of the Democrat National Committee, we need to let them know that Florida ain’t on the table,” West said. The audience was booing by the time West got to Pelosi’s name. “Take your message of equality of achievement, take your message of economic dependency, take your message of enslaving the entrepreneurial will and spirit of the American people somewhere else,” he continued. “You can take it to Europe, you can take it to the bottom of the sea, you can take it to the North Pole, but get the hell out of the United States of America.” As the audience cheered and many rose to their feet, West added, “Yeah I said ‘hell.’” “This is not about 1 percent or 99 percent. This is about 100 percent. It’s about 100 percent America. And I will not stand back and watch anyone defame, degrade or destroy that which my father fought for, my older brother, my father-in-law, myself, my nephew and all my friend still in uniform,” he said. “I will not allow President Obama to take the United States of America and destroy it. If that means I’m the No. 1 target for the Democrat Party, all I got to say is one thing: Bring it on, baby.”
Originally posted here:
Allen West to Obama, Reid, Pelosi: ‘Get the Hell Out of the United States of America’
