Continuing horrific News out of Afghanistan

The Saga of horrific News out of Afghanistan continues.  17 Villagers in the Province of Helmand were beheaded, it is not clear whether before or after having been shot, because they were at a ,,Party'' and listening to Music.

http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/08/27/13499316-seventeen-villagers-beheaded-in-southern-afghanistan-after-music-party?lite

Two American Soldiers were killed (again) by Afghan Troops in Uniform.  President Obama reminded us, Four Years ago, of the horrific Price on ,,Blood and Treasure'' being paid in Iraq.  The War in Iraq has been concluded, not exactly as it was foreseen but the War in Afghanistan remains an Open Wound continuing to extract ,,Blood and Treasure.''

The Administration has a Withdrawal Plan from Afghanistan which may or may not be outgalloped by unfolding Events.  There are Problems with this Plan which are acknowledged by many, not the least of which being, the continuing Casualty Losses which have now taken a particularly sickening Turn with American Soldiers being shot by Afghan Soldiers.  The continuing Costs of Aid to Afghanistan, even after Troop Withdrawal, currently estimated by some to add up to $ 6 Billion annually, present, in View of Budgetary Constraints, a further Problem.

The Republican Presidential Candidate, Mr. Romney, bears, it appears, the Responsibility of presenting in explicit Detail what he intends to do about Afghanistan.  His Position, whatever that may be, will have an Effect both on ,,Blood'' and ,,Treasure.''

Pause for Thought needs to be given by both Candidates to the Fate of the Regime of President Karzai which is, according to general Concensus, not only corrupt but, more worrysome, shaky.

Going into the November Presidential Election requires a refining of the Position going forward on Afghanistan by both Candidates, so that the Conflict does not increasingly become ,,The Forgotten War'' which continues to extract ,,Blood and Treasure.''

The Making of the President 2012: $ 500 Million and counting

Recent News Articles suggest that the two Presidential Campaigns have spent $ 500 Million so far in the Effort.

Numerous other News Articles detail some of the Techniques being used in raising the Money for Presidential Campaigns, not the least, a Report published by The Associated Press today, 24 August 2012:

http://nbcpolitics.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/08/24/13454050-romney-uses-secretive-data-mining-exec-says?lite

One is left to wonder, how the Presidential Campaign would have looked so far and how it is going to go down to the Finish Line if, say, $ 499 Million less would have been spent on it.  One might be further left to ponder just what Kind of Message this sends to the Efforts to reach a Resolution out of the Budget Impasse.

 

An Argument against the Secretary of State's One Dimensional Approach towards the Situation in Syria

News Organizations, including foreign ones, are reporting with more and more Frequency on the complicated Situation in Syria.

Below is a rather typical Example from NBC News and Reuters, which appeared on 23 August:

The Headline reads:

More foreign Fighters join rebels in Syria as regional Crisis deepens

The full Article including Photographs and Video can be seen at:

http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/08/23/13431460-report-more-foreign-fighters-join-rebels-in-syria-as-regional-crisis-deepens?lite

What is difficult to understand, in View of this is the Secretary of State's One Dimensional Position regarding the Crisis which is essentially to expel President Assad.

To put it another Way, when resolving a Problem, it is necessary to consider what other Problem will be created as a Result of the Solution.

Recently, former Presidential National Security Adviser Dr. Zbigniew Brzeziński stated the Opinion that it is a prudent and cautious Policy Approach to have in Place what and who will follow, before toppling someone.  Recently, a Policy similar to the one in Syria, pursued in Egypt, where President Hosni Mubarak was deposed has resulted in totally unpredictable Results which are still in the Process of unfolding.

The Question, must be emphasized, is not who Mubarak or Assad are or might be but what would follow their Places and to acknowledge the simple Fact that not knowing what will follow can be not only an unpleasant Solution but may lead to totally unpredictable Developments.

It occurs to this Writer that Dr. Brzeziński 's Opinion is one which should be considered and not dismissed out of Hand and the President is giving Weight to the Opinion of others, such as Vice President Biden, Dr. Brzeziński (who unfortunately is not serving in the Administration) as well as others who may be able to formulate something other than the One Dimensional Approach being championed by the Secretary of State.

 

The Federal Reserve likely to deliver another Round of Monetary Stimulus

Reuters reported today, 23 August 2012:

Fed ready to help economy 'fairly soon,' minutes show

By Reuters

 

The Federal Reserve is likely to deliver another round of monetary stimulus "fairly soon" unless the economy improves considerably, minutes from the central bank's August meeting show.
While the meeting was held before a recent improvement in the economic data, including a stronger-than-expected July reading for U.S. employment, policymakers were pretty categorical about their dissatisfaction with the current outlook.
"Many members judged that additional monetary accommodation would likely be warranted fairly soon unless incoming information pointed to a substantial and sustainable strengthening in the pace of the economic recovery," the Fed said in minutes to its July 31-Aug. 1 meeting.

 

Fed officials saw significant risks to an already weak economy, which grew at a sluggish 1.5 percent annual rate in the second quarter. The risks include a worsening of Europe's financial strains and the looming U.S. budget cuts and tax hikes, which have become commonly known as a fiscal cliff.

"We have seen some improvement in the data recently but whether it is enough to qualify as a significant upturn is unclear, but certainly these minutes are dovish and will revive hopes for increased Fed easing," said economist David Sloan at 4Cast Ltd.
Many Fed officials supported extending the central bank's guidance for the likely timing of an eventual interest rate hike, currently set at late 2014, further into the future. But they decided to defer the decision to the Fed's Sept. 12-13 meeting, when the central bank will release a new round of economic forecasts.
Officials also actively debated and tested the possibility of developing a consensus Fed forecast.
A couple of policymakers favored lowering the rate the Fed pays banks to park their excess reserves at the central bank, currently at 0.25 percent. But several participants worried that money market funds could run into trouble if their returns are crimped further.

The Queston which arises out of this planned Action is just how the Financial Institutions are using this Stimulus Money.  Is this Money being used to make Loans, create Jobs and build Houses or flowing into enabling Financial Institutions to engage in Financial Transactions which are of little or no Benefit to the General Populace?  Previous Rounds of Monetary Stimuli do not reveal a clear Answer to this Question, if they reveal an Answer at all.

An Examination of the Flow Distribution of such Funds might be useful in establishing a Monetary Policy which can genuinely deliver the Economic Stimulus which would have a more favorable and measurable Result than the enormous Amounts of Stimuli already delivered, which have flown into Financial Institutions over the last Five Years and which, many of us, do not know what they were used for or how they benefitted the Economy, outside of propelling the Stock Market into New Highs.

Some have even made the Argument that if the same Amount of Money were to have been evenly distributed to every Man, Woman and Child in the General Populace, either directly, or in the Form of some Benefit(s) or a Combination of these, the Spending of such Money, while, most likely, would not always have been wise but would have nonetheless resulted in such a Level of Spending that it would have undoubtedly achieved at least a temporary beneficial Result; something which has not been achieved by pumping all this enormous Amount of Mega Dollars into Banks and Financial Institutions.

Facebook Stock Slide and Mark Zuckerberg

The sometimes incredible Saga of News appears to continue without Respite.  Missouri Republican Senate Nominee Todd Akin got himself in hot Water by suggesting that “Legitimate Rape” rarely led to Pregnancy.  He further insisted that Doctors backed up his Position.

(Slightly less offensive was the Revelation that Freshman U.S. Representative Kevin Yoder (R. - Kansas, 36), has not been charged in the August 18, 2011, Incident in which he and about 20 other Lawmakers and Staff Members jumped into the Sea of Galilee after having consumed unreported Quantities of Alcohol...Politico reported Sunday that he was the only one among them who wore no Clothes).

Juxtaposed with these bizarre Incidents is another News Item:  Facebook Stock appears to have hit a New Low of $ 18,75 on Monday Morning (20 August 2012).  Criticism has been mounting on Mark Zuckerberg's ,,Leadership.''

In View of the Incidents happening on Wall Street and the Financial Circles surrounding it, an appropriate Question may be to what Degree the Facebook Initial Stock Offering constituted some Sort of ,,Legitimate Rape'' also.  Enormous Publicity surrounded the Stock Offering along with Suggestions that nobody outside of the ,,Big Boys'' would be able to get the Stock at the Initial Offering Price of $ 38,00; the Implication was that it would be much more; nobody was implying that those outside of the ,,Big Boys'' Circle would be able to get the Stock at $ 38 because a few short Weeks later it could be had for $ 18 or, perhaps, going forward, even less.

Some Banks and Secondary Underwriters not to mention lesser Investors and the General Public were had for Billions.  In the Meantime, Mr. Zuckerberg and his Confederates walked away with, again, Billions.  The  Question is, does this Type of activity not constitute some Form of ,,Legitimate Rape'' in the Financial Sense; at a Time when the Country and World Economies are languishing.

Private Lawsuits for Damages are flying in the Facebook Debacle.  However, considering a more prudent Approach, of seeking to determine whether the Actions of Mr. Zuckerberg and those who engineered the Facebook Initial Stock Offering breached the Borders of Legitimacy and caused an unnecessary and inappropriate Migration of Funds in the Depths of a Financial Crisis which currently engulfs both the United States and the World Economies, might be in Order.