From Denny: Seems like everyone is angry at Prez Obama these days - even the Russians. Sounds like they good reason too. America just can't win this drug war in Afghanistan without the cooperation of the Afghan people. As a result, the drug dealers have gone across the border into Russian territory, peddling their crime. Russia has enough to deal with considering the huge Russian mob factor as a parallel government to the official one. Russia is pressuring NATO to get serious and put some teeth into prosecuting a drug war effort to prevent cheap heroin from escaping over the borders, plaguing their country.
On another front, the Saudi Arabian monarchy seems eager to please the American government by declaring the funding of terrorism to be un-Islamic. Like the terrorists are actually going to take that seriously. Even the people of Saudi Arabia don't take it seriously and just roll their eyes at their monarchy. If the war of terrorism is going to succeed then countries like Saudi Arabia have to get serious and start executing those who fund terrorism at home and abroad. Until they do violence will continue unabated. It's really in the best interests of Saudi Arabia's government and monarchy to survive to deal with terrorists before they take down their government.
And the folks running the SEC are as tone deaf and clueless as ever. They claim to have some security fixes to prevent more wild cards like the last 1,000 point crash. Yet they claim they also still don't understand exactly what happened. Would it not go to logic that if you don't understand the process of how a crash came to be that you would not also not know how to put in place a firewall to prevent it? Somebody fire these incompetent government employees. How many are former Bush appointees set in place to sabotage the Democrats?
As to the Iran uranium swap with Turkey, Christian Science Monitor, who does some of the more detailed straight forward agenda-less news writing these days, had a detailed story about this international mess with Iran provoking the United Nations over nukes.
Check it out that our own American chef, a huge promoter of Mexican cuisine, turned out to be the chef of the hour at the White House when Mexico's President visited for the State Dinner. Talk about pressure for the chef! See what Rick Bayless chose to serve the visiting Mexican head of state. It sure wasn't Taco Bell fare. :)
Moscow furious, says US not pushing drug war in Afghanistan (CSMonitor)
Moscow's new drug czar, Viktor Ivanov, claims Russia is being flooded with cheap heroin and charges that the US and its NATO allies in Afghanistan are reluctant to pursue a drug war that could drive poppy farmers into the arms of the Taliban.
*** Click on the story link for the rest of the article.
Saudi Arabia religious leaders call terrorism financing un-Islamic (CSMonitor)
A government-appointed council of senior religious scholars in Saudi Arabia condemned terrorism financing and said it is forbidden by Islamic law.
Saudi Arabia’s top religious leaders have condemned terrorism financing as forbidden by Islamic law, giving added religious weight and potentially larger punishments to existing civil statutes.
*** To read the rest of the story just click on the title link.
SEC unveils 'flash crash' fixes, but Dow plunge still mysterious (CSMonitor)
A report on the May 6 stock market 'flash crash' released by regulators Tuesday is thin on answers for why the Dow took a 1,000-point dive.
Regulators have issued a long report on the May 6 "flash crash" in stocks, but much of it boils down to this: We still don't know what happened. (There's a PDF file of the report if you click on the title link.)
The two agencies that oversee key US financial exchanges said several steps are being pursued or considered to reduce the risk of such crashes, including new "circuit breakers" when individual stocks become unusually volatile.
*** To read the rest of the story just click on the title link.
Rick Bayless brings Mexico to the White House kitchen, by way of Chicago (CSMonitor)
Chicago chef Rick Bayless is a Decoder favorite, and Wednesday night he'll feed Obama and Mexico President Felipe Calderón at a White House state dinner.
How do you get to be the guest chef at a White House state dinner? Easy – run popular restaurants in the president’s home town......
It’s an unenviable task, really. Think about it – a US-born cook whipping up Mexican food for a powerful Mexican native. If President Obama went to Mexico, would they get the best US-style chef in the country to cook burgers and apple pie? It would be hard to top what Obama can get at home........
*** To read the rest of the story just click on the title link.
Iran nuclear fuel swap deal: What it involves, and how it will affect US push for sanctions (CSMonitor)
The Iran nuclear fuel swap deal, brokered by Turkey and Brazil, was cast by many as a confidence-building measure. But Iran would still continue enriching uranium, in defiance of the UN Security Council.
Tehran has agreed to ship the bulk of its enriched uranium to Turkey, in an Iran nuclear fuel swap brokered by Brazil and Turkey that is certain to complicate American efforts to impose new United Nations sanctions on Iran.
Under the deal, Iran would ship 1,200 kg (2,640 lbs) of low-enriched uranium (LEU) to Turkey, where it would be held. In exchange, it would be entitled to 120 kg of uranium enriched to 20 percent for its medical reactor, likely to be provided by France and Russia.........
*** To read the rest of the story just click on the title link.
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