This morning’s key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com:
- German press criticizes the ‘fiscal cliff’ bill as ‘tiresome farce’
- Pakistan has measles surge as health workers are murdered
- West Bank Palestinians riot over electricity bills
- More left wing violence, this time over gun control
German press criticizes the ‘fiscal cliff’ bill as ‘tiresome farce’
The German press, normally slavishly admiring of President BarackObama, are hailing the fiscal cliff bill as a big “victory”for the President, because he got the tax increases and spendingincreases he wanted, despite Republican opposition.
The conservative Frankfurter Allgemeine called the negotiation “atiresome farce that no one is interested in seeing any longer.” Theleft-leaning Die Tageszeitung writes:
Precious little has been gained, particularly when itcomes to implementing the platforms for which Barack Obama wasre-elected in November — even if the Republicans don’t want tobelieve it. … In Washington today, the main mission of politicsis obstruction. All sides are acting as though the onlyconceivable form of politics is constantly relying on emergencymeasures in a panic…
It will be a small political miracle if other means were used toresolve the next stage over the next two months, the deferredbudget cuts and increase in the debt ceiling. Perhaps falling overthe cliff could have helped matters there. But politicians knew toprevent that from happening.
The left-leaning Berliner Zeitung writes:
Sure, Obama managed to save unemployment benefits forthe long-term unemployed and avoided cuts to social and healthbenefits for the time being with the fiscal cliff compromise. Butthe ultimate decision over the cuts is far from being made. A yearof endless negotiations over the debt ceiling and the unresolvedbudget issues awaits. The still fiscally conservative and resoluteRepublicans remain pitted against the still hesitant president,who remains hopeful of bipartisan cooperation. But even if Obamais now finally determined to fight their obsession with spendingcuts, he’ll still have to adjust to governing with less moneysoon.
Other commentators have pointed out that the bill will:
- Substantially raise taxes for every working American, through the payroll tax.
- Raise $600 billion revenue in new taxes.
- Add $4 trillion to the debt (over 10 years), thanks to increases in spending programs, and massive amounts of “pork” in the new bill.
However, there’s no need for concern, since the bill won’t have mucheffect on the million-dollar bonuses that bankers awarded themselves.
The bill is 154 pages long, and senators were given three minutes toread it before they voted on it. Der Spiegel and CNS News
Pakistan has measles surge as health workers are murdered
A Pakistan charity organization, Support With Working Solution, hassuspended its operations in Pakistan after seven members of its staff,six women and one man, were ambushed and shot dead on Tuesday afterleaving a local community center. Taliban and other al-Qaeda-linkedmilitant terrorist groups have been critical of the activities of suchorganizations because they provide education for girls, and becausethey provide polio and measles immunization vaccinations, which theTaliban claims is a secret plot to sterilize Muslims and prevent moreMuslim children. This comes as the World Health Organization (WHO) isreporting that Pakistan had a record high number of measles cases in2012, and a record number of deaths from measles. Most of thechildren who died from measles were from the districts affected by themassive floods of the last three years. Pakistan Tribune and Daily Times (Pakistan)
West Bank Palestinians riot over electricity bills
More than 50 Palestinians were hospitalized after hundreds of angryPalestinians demonstrated and threw stones and empty glass bottles atPalestinian security forces, who responded by firing live bullets inthe air and throwing tear gas bombs. The riots were triggered becausethe Palestinian government forgave the electricity debts of thePalestinians living in refugee camps, but did not do the same forPalestinians living in municipalities. “All Palestinian residentsshould be treated equally and fairly — this is a social must,” saidone municipality mayor. The demonstrations are spreading city by cityand village by village, and thousands of Palestinians are expected totake part. Gulf News
More left wing violence, this time over gun control
As we’ve been reporting left-wing violence and threats of war,especially by union thugs acting on behalf of President Obama, hasbeen increasing, and President Obama has silently supported it. (See “26-Dec-12 World View — Andrew Sullivan and the Gun Control Fantasy”)
Now we have a new threat of violence from left-wing columnistDonald Kaul, who retired last year, but has now returned inorder to threaten more violence against people he dislikes:
“Then I would tie Mitch McConnell and John Boehner,our esteemed Republican leaders, to the back of a Chevy pickuptruck and drag them around a parking lot until they saw the lighton gun control.”
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