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	<title>If Bush Did It &#187; government</title>
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		<title>Report: Syrian General Assassinated in Damascus</title>
		<link>http://www.ifbushdidit.com/2012/02/12/report-syrian-general-assassinated-in-damascus/</link>
		<comments>http://www.ifbushdidit.com/2012/02/12/report-syrian-general-assassinated-in-damascus/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 12 Feb 2012 18:11:16 +0000</pubDate>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.ifbushdidit.com/2012/02/12/report-syrian-general-assassinated-in-damascus/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[ (The Blaze/AP)Gunmen assassinated an army general in Damascus Saturday in the first killing of a high ranking military officer in the Syrian capital since the uprising against President Bashar Assad's regime began in March, the country's state-run news agency said. The attack could be a sign that armed members of the opposition, who have carried out attacks on the military elsewhere in the country, are trying to step up action in the tightly controlled capital, which has been relatively quiet compared to other cities. SANA news agency reported that three gunmen opened fire at Brig. Gen. Issa al-Khouli Saturday morning as he left his home in the Damascus neighborhood of Rukn-Eddine. Al-Khouli was a doctor and the chief of a military hospital in the capital. Capt. Ammar al-Wawi of the Free Syrian Army, a rebel group that wants to bring down the regime by force, denied involvement in the assassination, which came a day after two suicide car bombers struck security compounds in Aleppo. Such assassinations are not uncommon outside Damascus and army officers have been killed in the past, mostly in the restive provinces of Homs and Idlib. Violence in other parts of the country left at least 17 people dead as regime troops pushed into rebel-held neighborhoods in the central city of Homs and seized parts of the mountain town of Zabadani, north of Damascus. The U.N. estimates that 5,400 people have been killed in Syria since the uprising began in March. But that figure is from January, when the world body stopped counting because the chaos in the country has made it all but impossible to check the figures. Hundreds are reported to have been killed since. Syria's turmoil began with peaceful protests against Assad's rule, sparking the fierce regime crackdown. But it has since grown more militarized as army defectors and armed protesters formed the Free Syrian Army. After Russia and China last weekend vetoed a Western and Arab attempt at the U.N. to pressure Assad to step down, the FSA's commander said armed force was the only way to oust the president. Western and Arab countries are considering forming a coalition to help Syria's opposition, though so far there is no sign they intend to give direct aid to the FSA. Arab foreign ministers were to meet in Cairo on Sunday to decide their next step. An Arab League official said the ministers were likely to consider calling for a joint Arab-U.N. team of observers to be sent to Syria to investigate Assad's adherence to past promises to halt the violence. Damascus allowed in Arab League observers in December, but the mission was halted amid the accelerating bloodshed. The Syrians would be unlikely to accept a new observer team. The ministers in Cairo also may discuss formally recognizing the main opposition Syrian National Council in a show of support, but such a step does not yet have full agreement among the ministers, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the press. Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad warned that "he who bets on the collapse of Syria is betting on failure," and said the government will "overcome difficulties" through its program of reforms and dialogue with opponents. The opposition has rejected the regime's reform promises and offers of dialogue, saying they will settle for nothing less than Assad's ouster. Speaking to reporters in Damascus, he gave a vehement defense of the regime, denying it was shelling residential areas in Homs or other cities and laying out the state's stance that it faces armed terrorists who reject attempts at reconciliation. He denounced the Free Syrian Army as "reminiscent of criminals, drugs addicts and people who have come out of prison." He said attacks by the group had killed 1,500 members of the military and security forces since March, and accused Arab countries of "encouraging armed groups to launch terrorist attacks.". Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, one of Assad's top allies, warned Arab countries on Saturday not to give aid to the opposition. Speaking to tens of thousands of supporters in Tehran on the anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Ahmadinejad said countries in the region that have never held free elections are trying to write a "prescription for freedom and elections for others" with the help of the United States. "This is the most bitter and ridiculous joke of history," Ahmadinejad said. On Saturday, Damascus gave Tunisian and Libyan diplomats 72 hours to leave the country, Foreign Ministry spokesman Jihad Makdissi told reporters. The move was in retaliation to the north African Arab nations' eviction of Syrian ambassadors earlier this month. For the past week, Syrian forces have been bombarding rebel-held neighborhoods in Homs, aiming to regain control of one of the main cities involved in the uprising. Activists say more than 400 people have been killed in the campaign. On Saturday, Syrian troops shelled the Baba Amr district in Homs, killing at least nine people, and another in the Bab Sbaa area, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Another activist group, the Local Coordination Committees said 15 people were killed in Baba Amr on Saturday. The Observatory also reported that regime troops moved into parts of Zabadani, north of Damascus, after intense shelling and after rebel soldiers pulled back to spare residents' property from further damage. Three people were killed in the bombardment, the group said. Troops and rebel soldiers battled in Douma, a suburb of Damascus, said Mohammed Doumany, an activist there. The Observatory said troops stormed the Grand Mosque in Douma and detained a number of people who were inside. The Observatory also reported a rare clash between troops and defectors late Friday in the northern Damascus neighborhood of Qaboun but had no details. It said troops shot dead an activist in the area. In Idlib, where rebels control some areas, army defectors detonated roadside bombs and hand grenades against military vehicles near the village of Kfar Oweida Friday night, killing at least 10 soldiers, the Observatory said. CNN reports on the continued violence in the region:]]></description>
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		<title>Inequality: An Unavoidable Byproduct of Capitalism?</title>
		<link>http://www.ifbushdidit.com/2012/02/12/inequality-an-unavoidable-byproduct-of-capitalism/</link>
		<comments>http://www.ifbushdidit.com/2012/02/12/inequality-an-unavoidable-byproduct-of-capitalism/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 12 Feb 2012 15:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>arlenschumer</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Health Care]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[america]]></category>
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		<description><![CDATA[A CNN segment with Ali Velshi. Mostly of interest here are the comments by Harold Meyerson, who is introduced as a columnist at the Washington Post , but who is in fact a hard-line leftist and Vice-Chair of the Democratic Socialists of America (via Discover the Networks ). And from the DSA website, " Where We Stand: The Political Perspective of the Democratic Socialists of America ": Socialists have historically supported public ownership and control of the major economic institutions of society -- the large corporations -- in order to eliminate the injustice and inequality of a class-based society, and have depended on the the organization of a working class party to gain state power to achieve such ends. In the United States, socialists joined with others on the Left to build a broad-based, anti-corporate coalition, with the unions at the center, to address the needs of the majority by opposing the excesses of private enterprise. Many socialists have seen the Democratic Party, since at least the New Deal, as the key political arena in which to consolidate this coalition, because the Democratic Party held the allegiance of our natural allies. Through control of the government by the Democratic Party coalition, led by anti-corporate forces, a progressive program regulating the corporations, redistributing income, fostering economic growth and expanding social programs could be realized. With the end of the post-World War II economic boom and the rise of global economic competitors in East Asia and Europe in the 1970s came the demise of the brief majoritarian moment of this progressive coalition that promised--but did not deliver--economic and social justice for all. A vicious corporate assault on the trade union movement and a right-wing racist,populist appeal to downwardly mobile, disgruntled white blue-collar workers contributed to the disintegration of the liberal wing of the Democratic Party in the 1970s and 1980s. Today, the mildly redistributive welfare state liberalism of the 1960s, which accepted the corporate dominance of economic decision-making, can no longer be the programmatic basis for a majoritarian progressive politics. New Deal and Great Society liberalism depended upon redistribution at the margins of an ever-expanding economic pie. But today corporations no longer aspire to expand production and consumption by raising global living standards; rather, global capital engages in a race to increase profits by "downsizing" and lowering wages. With the collapse of the political economy of corporate liberalism came the atrophy of the very institutions upon which the progressive politics of the New Deal and Great Society had been constructed. No longer do the social bases for a majoritarian democratic politics -- strong trade unions, social movements and urban, Democratic political machines -- simply await mobilization by a proper electoral appeal. Rather, a next left must be built from the grassroots up. Given the globalization of economic power, such grassroots movements will increasingly focus upon building a countervailing power to that of the transnational corporations. A number of positive signs of this democratic and grassroots realignment have emerged. New labor leadership has pledged to organize a workforce increasingly constituted by women, people of color, and immigrant workers. Inner-city grassroots community organizations are placing reinvestment, job creation, and economic democracy at the heart of their organizing. The women's movement increasingly argues that only by restructuring work and child care can true gender equality be realized. And the fight for national health care -- a modest reform long provided by all other industrial democracies -- united a broad coalition of activists and constituencies. But such movements cannot be solely national in scope. Rather, today's social movements must be as global as the corporate power they confront; they must cooperate across national boundaries and promote interstate democratic regulation of transnational capital. If socialism cannot be achieved primarily from above, through a democratic government that owns, control and regulates the major corporations, then it must emerge from below, through a democratic transformation of the institutions of civil society, particularly those in the economic sphere -- in other words, a program for economic democracy . As inequalities of wealth and income increase and the wages and living standards of most are either stagnant or falling, social needs expand. Only a revitalized public sector can universally and democratically meet those needs. In other words, a socialist revolution. Freakin' Harold Meyerson, damned Marxist asshole. ]]></description>
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		<title>Limbaugh on So-Called HHS ‘Accommodation’: There‘s no ’Compromise,‘ It’s all BS!</title>
		<link>http://www.ifbushdidit.com/2012/02/11/limbaugh-on-so-called-hhs-accommodation-theres-no-compromise-its-all-bs/</link>
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		<pubDate>Sat, 11 Feb 2012 07:16:57 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator></dc:creator>
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		<category><![CDATA[abortion]]></category>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.ifbushdidit.com/2012/02/11/limbaugh-on-so-called-hhs-accommodation-theres-no-compromise-its-all-bs/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Earlier today, The Blaze’s Billy Hallowell reported the following: This afternoon, President Obama announced the “accommodation” his administration plans to offer church-affiliated groups. Speaking from the White House, he explained that, under the new plan, universities and institutions connected with faiths that oppose contraception and associated services will not have to directly offer them. Obama said that the new-and-improved birth control, sterilization and abortion-inducing drug policy will protect religious liberties, while assuring women’s access to contraception  reports the AP . And although major media outlets were calling the president’s decision a “cave,” some critics believe that he's simply applying the unconstitutional mandate to a different entity, namely, insurance companies. “Everybody's reporting that Obama's caving on this mandate that the Catholic services provide abortion and all. There's not a cave here!” conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh said Friday afternoon. “There may be an accommodation, but there's no big cave-in here. It's still the government mandating this stuff happen. They're just changing the provider. It's not done by the church. He says he gave them a way out of it by mandating the insurance companies do it, but that's not the point here.” He continued: So everywhere I'm reading that Obama is caving on the mandate in Obamacare that Catholic churches -- well, not churches, but the schools and hospitals are mandated to provide contraceptives and abortion-related services that they religiously disagree with. "What's happened here is that Obama's caved! He has seen, he has heard, and now he's gonna shift that burden to the insurance companies!" … My point here is, ladies and gentlemen, we are losing freedom and liberty inch by inch. It's not being taken -- well, in some cases it is, but in most cases it's not being taken from us in giant grabs. It's little by little by little such that people don't even see it. It doesn't even register. Limbaugh then addressed an AP report that claimed religious employers would not have to cover birth control for their employees. "The administration instead will demand that insurance companies will be the ones directly responsible for providing free contraception," the AP reported. Limbaugh was beside himself. “And we're supposed to applaud this? We're supposed to think that we have emerged with a big victory here? Obama can mandate that we buy insurance, and now Obama can mandate what insurance companies must offer -- and after mandating what insurance companies must offer, then Obama can mandate what insurance companies can charge for it?” Limbaugh asked. So what was his take away from this supposed “cave”? “Freedom doesn't mean anything to this guy! Freedom doesn't mean anything to this regime or this administration. To me, this is breathtaking. This is an incredible sight to behold here,” Limbaugh said. “Since when does a president have the power to threaten to issue a rule gutting religious liberty? That's the first thing.” Limbaugh then went on to explain that he believes all of this “kerfuffle” between the Catholic Church and the Obama administration has been by design. “And, by the way, I don't think any of this a mistake. I don't think this religious kerfuffle is something that they overreached on,” Limbaugh explained. “I think roiling this country and distracting people, setting up these extreme things like this and then walking them back to create the illusion, ‘Okay, you know what? We're not gonna take your freedom,’ it's all BS, folks.” Hear Limbaugh explain the so-called "compromise" via Daily Rushbo : “So here we have again from the top,” Limbaugh continued, “Obama's gonna offer a compromise proposal said to be respectful of religious concerns. He started this. He started it by demanding that Catholic organizations provide birth control and other abortion-related services.” “That's unconstitutional. He cannot do it. There is an appropriate uproar. The regime says, ‘Okay, we'll walk it back and then we'll make the insurance companies do it.’ He's still getting everything he wants! He's getting mandated federal funding of abortion services -- and, in the process, trampling all over the Constitution. The right to religious liberty in this context is unequivocal in our country. It's in the Constitution!” Read the full transcript of Limbaugh’s opening monologue here. ]]></description>
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		<title>Obama’s fraudulent abortion mandate “accommodation” Updated: Prez condemns “cynical” opposition</title>
		<link>http://www.ifbushdidit.com/2012/02/10/obamas-fraudulent-abortion-mandate-accommodation-updated-prez-condemns-cynical-opposition/</link>
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		<pubDate>Fri, 10 Feb 2012 20:05:39 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>bt5iek</dc:creator>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.ifbushdidit.com/2012/02/10/obamas-fraudulent-abortion-mandate-accommodation-updated-prez-condemns-cynical-opposition/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[ File under: &#8220;How to fake a walkback.&#8221; With its unconstitutional, coercive, discriminatory Obamacare abortion mandate under fire, the White House announced&#8230;nothing today. A supposed &#8220;accommodation&#8221; to the policy will result in no compromise in the impact of the HHS edict forcing religiously affiliated health care providers and employers to provide insurance coverage for contraceptives, abortifacients, and related services that violate the religious principles and freedom of the mandate&#8217;s targets. In fact, close observers say today&#8217;s announcement will make things worse. The deets : With the White House under fire for its new rule requiring employers including religious organizations to offer health insurance that fully covers birth control coverage, ABC News has learned that later today the White House — possibly President Obama himself — will likely announce an attempt to accommodate these religious groups. The move, based on state models, will almost certainly not satisfy bishops and other religious leaders since it will preserve the goal of women employees having their birth control fully covered by health insurance. Sources say it will be respectful of religious beliefs but will not back off from that goal, which many religious leaders oppose since birth control is in violation of their religious beliefs. White House officials are likening it to the so-called Hawaii compromise. Phony baloney, say Catholic bishops: It&#8217;s difficult to know what people may mean by the &#8220;Hawaii compromise.&#8221; But a central feature of the Hawaii law is that every religious organization that is eligible for the exemption has to instruct all employees in how they can access all methods of contraception and sterilization locally &#8220;in an expeditious manner.&#8221; Just a few days ago the White House was saying that this is just about coverage, that no one has to be involved in getting people to the actual services they object to. It would be no improvement to say: &#8220;Sure, you don&#8217;t have to include the coverage, you just have to send all your lay employees and women religious to the local Planned Parenthood clinic.&#8221; The Administration&#8217;s press release of January 20 hinted at such a requirement. That would not be a compromise. In some ways it would be worse. As usual, this defiant administration keeps digging itself deeper. *** The Hill calls Obama&#8217;s announcement a &#8220;retreat.&#8221; The White House will announce a retreat from its controversial rule requiring religious organizations like charities and hospitals to include contraception in their healthcare plans. President Obama has come under heavy criticism from the Catholic Church and other religious organizations, Republicans and even some Democrats over the issue, and Vice President Biden has suggested a compromise could be worked out. A White House official on Friday confirmed an announcement on changing the rule would be made Friday. The White House is referring to the change as an accommodation. It&#8217;s not a retreat. It&#8217;s a re-trick. It&#8217;s not an accommodation. It&#8217;s an abomination. *** Update 11am Weekly Standard reporter John McCormak is on a conference call with White House officials providing background on the policy head fake. He tweets &#8230; Sr. admin off.: &#8220;the insurance company, not the hospital, not the charity will be required to reach out&#8221; to women to provide contraception So religious groups will still be mandated to offer plans that cover contraception, and the abortion drug ella. Reporter asks if WH even consulted bishops before announcing &#8216;accommodation.&#8217; Sr admin official won&#8217;t say. To clarify, religious groups have to contract with INSURERS who do offer the pills, then the insurers offers free pills to women. Update 12:26pm EST &#8211; From his brief press conference, Obama attacks &#8220;cynical&#8221; opponents of abortion mandate. He says &#8220;principle&#8221; of &#8220;access to free preventative care including contraceptive services&#8221; will stand. &#8220;Religious liberty will be protected.&#8221; Translation: You&#8217;re still screwed. *** Update: On Fox News, Kathleen The Shredder Sebelius attempts to defend the policy as a &#8220;no-cost strategy&#8221; by citing &#8220;actuaries&#8221; who claim that contraceptive coverage will actually &#8220;save money.&#8221; You know who she&#8217;s citing? The pro-abortion Guttmacher Institute. She repeatedly invokes &#8220;women&#8217;s health&#8221; to defend the edict. Sanger&#8217;s grim reapers have the rhetoric down pat. *** More from Steven Ertelt at Life News: Pro-Life Advocates Blast Revised Obama Pro-Abortion Mandate : Jonathan Imbody, Vice President for Government Relations for the Christian Medical Association, called the revisions “offering a distinction without a difference to mute opposition.” He said the revision fits a pattern of contempt for conscience that includes how Obama “has gutted the only federal regulation protecting the exercise of conscience in health care, denied of federal grant funds for aiding human trafficking victims because a faith-based organization refused to participate in abortion; lobbied the Supreme Court to restrict faith-based organizations’ hiring rights; and issued a coercive contraceptive mandate that imposes the government’s abortion ideology on every American.” ]]></description>
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		<title>Extinguishing Government Dependency Starts with You â€¦ Er, Me 
    (ContributorNetwork)</title>
		<link>http://www.ifbushdidit.com/2012/02/09/extinguishing-government-dependency-starts-with-you-ae%c2%a6-er-me-contributornetwork/</link>
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		<pubDate>Thu, 09 Feb 2012 23:54:38 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Barry Munz</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
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		<description><![CDATA[ContributorNetwork - COMMENTARY &#124; The Heritage Foundation's 2012 Index of Dependence on Government draws the unsurprising conclusion Americans are more dependent on government than ever before. While the conservative think tank's report is cited by sources such as Investor's Daily as evidence of failed Obama administration policies, such political manipulation detracts from the report's essential message.]]></description>
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		<title>Sheila Jackson Lee: Privatizing TSA Screeners Would Be Asking for Another 9/11</title>
		<link>http://www.ifbushdidit.com/2012/02/08/sheila-jackson-lee-privatizing-tsa-screeners-would-be-asking-for-another-911/</link>
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		<pubDate>Wed, 08 Feb 2012 09:07:57 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>JuanGetalty</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[barack obama]]></category>
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		<description><![CDATA[ **Written by Doug Powers Texas Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee believes that the only thing standing between America and another horrific day like 9/11 is an army of blue-gloved unionized government employees . From Politico : Handing airport screening duties to private companies could result in another terrorist attack like Sept. 11, Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee said Tuesday afternoon. The Federal Aviation Administration authorization bill awaiting President Barack Obama’s signature directs the Transportation Security Administration to let more airports privatize their screening areas. “My comment: we are looking forward to returning to 9/11,” Jackson Lee (D-Texas) said at a House Homeland Security subcommittee hearing. You know who I wouldn&#8217;t want working airport security? A sizable chunk of Congress, starting with Sheila Jackson Lee &#8212; and she&#8217;s a government employee&#8230; go figure. Note to SJL: It&#8217;s not as if the government-run TSA is without its little glitches . (h/t Weasel Zippers ) **Written by Doug Powers Twitter @ThePowersThatBe ]]></description>
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		<title>Greece Finally Begins to Layoff Public Employees</title>
		<link>http://www.ifbushdidit.com/2012/02/07/greece-finally-begins-to-layoff-public-employees/</link>
		<comments>http://www.ifbushdidit.com/2012/02/07/greece-finally-begins-to-layoff-public-employees/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 07 Feb 2012 07:33:48 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[european]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[nicolas-sarkozy]]></category>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.ifbushdidit.com/2012/02/07/greece-finally-begins-to-layoff-public-employees/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[ Greece's coalition government has finally agreed to cut civil service jobs, announcing 15,000 positions would go this year, amid mounting international pressure to agree on austerity measures needed to secure major new debt agreements. The announcement Monday signals a shift in Greece's policy, as state jobs have so far been protected during the country's acute financial crisis, which started about two years ago. Public Sector Reform Minister Dimitris Reppas said the job cuts would be carried out under a new law that allows such firings. Naturally, this hasn’t gone over well with the unions. Unions have called a 24-hour general strike for Tuesday, in response to the new austerity measures, while about 4,000 protesters joined protest rallies organized in central Athens by left-wing opposition parties. Greece is racing to push through the tough reforms - which have yet to be agreed to by Greece's coalition partners - to clinch a €130 billion ($170 billion) bailout deal from its European partners and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and avoid a March default on its bond repayments. Creditors involved in the bailout negotiations have demanded spending cuts in defense, health and social security, a cut in the minimum wage, as well as the civil service layoffs. The government has promised to reduce the 750,000-strong broader public sector by 150,000 by the end of 2015, but has so far insisted it could reach that target through staff attrition. "We are opposed to indiscriminate firings," Reppas said. "The work force reduction is strictly connected with the restructuring of services and organizations at each ministry." Officials at the Public Sector Reform Ministry gave no details of the new plan, nor would they say how many of the job cuts would be compulsory. European Commission spokesman Amadeu Altafaj Tardio said Greece is already "beyond the deadline" to end the talks. After talks in Paris with French President Nicolas Sarkozy, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said there can be no bailout deal unless Athens implements creditors' proposals. "(The proposals) are on the table," she said. "And time is pressing. Therefore something has to happen quickly." "Time is pressing and for the entire eurozone much is at stake," Merkel added. In Athens, talks between the government and debt inspectors from the EU, IMF and the European Central Bank - known as the troika - dragged into early Tuesday. "The negotiations with the troika are ongoing for the new loan program. It is clear that there is a lot of pressure being put on the country. A lot of pressure is being placed on the Greek people," Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos said during a break in the talks. He called on coalition parties to end the bickering and work more closely together. "No one is as strong as Hercules on his own to face the Lernaean Hydra," a swamp monster in Greek mythology, he said. "We must all, together, fight this battle, without petty party motives and slick moves." Greece is in its fifth year of recession, while unemployment has hit record highs of about 19 percent - following a spate of austerity measures in return for the rescue loans, that included significant cuts in pensions and salaries coupled with repeated tax hikes and an increase in retirement ages. "The current policy of austerity ... is turning workers into pariahs, jobless people and pensioners into paupers and deprives our youth of any hope," a statement from the main civil servants' union ADEDY said. "This policy has already pushed Greeks beyond their limits and must be stopped at any cost." Yiannis Panagopoulos, leader of Greece's largest union, the GSEE, said the creditors' demands were certain to lead to more hardship. "What is going on is not a negotiation," he said. "It's blunt, cynical blackmail targeting an entire people." The Associated Press contributed to this story. ]]></description>
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		<title>How to Make a Liberal Politician Stand Up Against Intrusive Government</title>
		<link>http://www.ifbushdidit.com/2012/02/06/how-to-make-a-liberal-politician-stand-up-against-intrusive-government/</link>
		<comments>http://www.ifbushdidit.com/2012/02/06/how-to-make-a-liberal-politician-stand-up-against-intrusive-government/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 07 Feb 2012 02:28:29 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>AlexisChristensen28</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Health Care]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[avoid-unhealthy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[education]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[make-selections]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[michelle obama]]></category>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.ifbushdidit.com/2012/02/06/how-to-make-a-liberal-politician-stand-up-against-intrusive-government/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[ **Written by Doug Powers Before the payoff, here&#8217;s a brief set-up : Florida&#8217;s poor can use food stamps to buy staples like milk, vegetables, fruits and meat. But they can also use them to buy sweets like cakes, cookies and Jell-O and snack foods like chips, something a state senator wants stopped. Sen. Ronda Storms, R-Valrico, also wants to limit other welfare funds, known as Temporary Assistance For Needy Families, from being used at ATMs in casinos and strip clubs and anywhere out of state. The bill comes after reports that the debit cards welfare recipients now receive were used in those places, as well as locations in Las Vegas and the Virgin Islands in a small percentage of cases, but the state does not track what items were purchased. The bill recently passed a committee. A companion bill in the state House companion is being considered by a subcommittee. You&#8217;d think the food police would be thrilled. If there&#8217;s anything they should get behind, it&#8217;s an initiative designed to encourage lower income people to avoid unhealthy eats&#8230; right? But instead, one Democrat gives us our chuckle of the day by denouncing (albeit selectively) the notion of food police &#8212; and maybe even things like health care mandates. Get a load of this : But critics say the government shouldn&#8217;t dictate what people eat . &#8220;What I choose to ingest even though I may be on food stamps, that&#8217;s at my discretion. I don&#8217;t need government telling me what I can and cannot purchase ,&#8221; said Rep. Gwyndolen Clarke-Reed, a Pompano Beach Democrat who voted in committee against the bill (SB 1658). She said the bill is demeaning and invasive and she worries the education campaign would imply to &#8220;minorities and low-income folks that they&#8217;re not intelligent enough to make selections on the foods they want.&#8221; How many calories are burned by doubling over in laughter for several minutes? Maybe this is part of the &#8220;Let&#8217;s Move&#8221; program and people are being tricked into exercising. It wouldn&#8217;t be the first time . **Written by Doug Powers Twitter @ThePowersThatBe ]]></description>
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		<title>Obama tightens Iran sanctions over bank &quot;deception&quot; 
    (Reuters)</title>
		<link>http://www.ifbushdidit.com/2012/02/06/obama-tightens-iran-sanctions-over-bank-deception-reuters/</link>
		<comments>http://www.ifbushdidit.com/2012/02/06/obama-tightens-iran-sanctions-over-bank-deception-reuters/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 07 Feb 2012 01:52:49 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>LowekKohatsu683</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[barack obama]]></category>
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		<description><![CDATA[Reuters - President Barack Obama tightened sanctions on Iran another notch, the White House said on Monday, targeting its central bank and giving U.S. banks new powers to freeze assets linked to the government.]]></description>
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		<title>Egypt Putting 19 Americans, Including Transportation Sec’s Son, on Trial Over Funds</title>
		<link>http://www.ifbushdidit.com/2012/02/05/egypt-putting-19-americans-including-transportation-secs-son-on-trial-over-funds/</link>
		<comments>http://www.ifbushdidit.com/2012/02/05/egypt-putting-19-americans-including-transportation-secs-son-on-trial-over-funds/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 06 Feb 2012 01:29:02 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator></dc:creator>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.ifbushdidit.com/2012/02/05/egypt-putting-19-americans-including-transportation-secs-son-on-trial-over-funds/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[[caption id="attachment_236995" align="alignleft" width="303" caption="Sam LaHood, son of Transportation Secretary Ray Lahood, is one of 19 Americans Egypt will put on trial over funds. (AP)"] [/caption] CAIRO (AP) -- Ignoring a stern U.S. threat, Egypt on Sunday referred 43 NGO workers, including 19 Americans, to trial before a criminal court for allegedly using illegal foreign funds to foment unrest. (Related: Transportation Sec. LaHood: Son Feels ‘Safe’ Despite Being Detained in Egypt ) The decision marked a sharp escalation of the dispute between Cairo and Washington over Egypt's crackdown on U.S.-funded groups promoting democracy and human rights. The two countries have been close allies for more than three decades, but the campaign against the organizations has angered Washington, and jeopardized the $1.5 billion in aid Egypt is set to receive from the U.S. this year. On Saturday, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton warned Egypt's foreign minister that failure to resolve the dispute may lead to the loss of American aid. The Egyptian minister, Mohammed Amr, responded Sunday by saying the government cannot interfere in the work of the judiciary. "We are doing our best to contain this but ... we cannot actually exercise any influence on the investigating judges right now when it comes to the investigation," Amr told reporters at a security conference in Munich, Germany. Among the Americans sent to trial is Sam LaHood, the head of the Egypt office of the Washington-based International Republican Institute and the son of U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood . Five Serbs, two Germans and three non-Egyptian Arab nationals are also among those referred to trial. All 43 have been banned from leaving the country. A date has yet to be set for the start of the trial. The Egyptian investigation into the work of NGOs in the country is closely linked to the political turmoil that has engulfed the nation since the ouster nearly a year ago of Hosni Mubarak, a close U.S. ally who ruled Egypt for nearly 30 years. The generals who took power after Mubarak's fall have accused "foreign hands" of being behind protests against their rule and frequently depict the protesters as receiving funds from abroad in a plot to destabilize the country. Those allegations have cost the youth activists that spearheaded Mubarak's ouster support among a wider public that is sensitive to allegations of foreign meddling and which sees a conspiracy to destabilize Egypt in nearly every move by a foreign nation. But Sunday's decision to refer the 43 to trial raises questions about the Egyptian military's motive to allow the issue to escalate so much that the valuable $1.3 billion it gets annually be placed in jeopardy. Washington also is set to give Egypt $250 million in economic aid this year. The U.S. assistance has allowed the Egyptian military to replace its relatively antiquated Soviet-era weaponry with modern and sophisticated arms, ranging from fighter-bombers and transport aircraft to tanks and personnel carriers. The aid is closely but informally linked to Egypt's continued adherence to its 1979 peace treaty with Israel, Washington's closest Middle East ally. Already, Egyptian authorities are preventing at least six Americans - including LaHood - and four Europeans from leaving the country, citing a probe opened last month when heavily armed security forces raided the offices of 17 pro-democracy and rights groups. Egyptian officials have defended the raid as part of a legitimate investigation into the groups' work and funding. Also Sunday, security officials said Mubarak, 83, would shortly be moved to a prison for the first time since his arrest last April. Mubarak has since his arrest been kept in custody in a hospital at the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh and later at an army's medical facility east of Cairo. They said Interior Minister Mohammed Ibrahim pledged in a meeting on Sunday to upgrade the medical facility in Tora prison south of Cairo in "record time," but did not set a date for the move. Mubarak is on trial on charges of complicity in the killing of hundreds of protesters during the 18-day uprising that forced him to step down. The officials also said that around 50 former regime insiders held at Tora would be dispersed to five different jails in the greater Cairo area within the next 48 hours. They include Mubarak's two sons, businessman Alaa and one-time heir apparent Gamal, two former prime ministers and the former speakers of parliament's two chambers. The decision to move Mubarak and spread the regime officials appeared to be a concession by the military to pro-reform activists who complain that the ruling generals led by Mubarak's defense minister for 20 years were treating the ousted leader with reverence and turning a blind eye to former regime officials clustered in Tora to use supporters to undermine security.]]></description>
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