2nd UK bank bailout comes with strings

What a crazy idea. Who would ever think of attaching strings to billions? In this case, nobody wants to add to the problems of banks by forcing bad loans but so far there is ample evidence in the US (and UK) that the banks are gladly accepting the billions but not extending loans which was the purpose of the bailout. Too bad the new US Treasury team looks like the outgoing Treasury team so hopefully Congress is awake.

Britain's treasury chief says British banks can only expect to receive funds in a second round of bailouts if they pledge to pass the money on to borrowers.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown has said he will on Monday annouce new measures to help Britain's ailing banks survive the credit crunch after a massive bailout in October failed to jump-start lending.

Treasury chief Alistair Darling told Sky News television on Sunday that banks would only have access to extra cash if they "enter into binding agreements to make sure that ... it goes to the people and businesses it is designed to support."

Darling said he was trying to deal with "blockages in the system" that continue to paralyze lending despite massive infusions of capital over the past six months.

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Royal Bank of Scotland: UK banks "technically insolvent"

Not to worry though, because they say it's typical during such economic periods and besides, it's only "theoretical". That ought to make everyone feel much more at ease.

Britains biggest banks are "technically insolvent", Royal Bank of Scotland said yesterday, as the global banking industry was rocked by another day of turmoil, including the announcement of $23bn (£16bn) of new losses from Merrill Lynch and Citigroup, the giant US institutions.

Analysts working for RBS, one of several British banks to have received emergency funding from the UK Government last year, told the City that "the domestic UK banks are technically insolvent on a fully marked-to-market basis".

The warning does not mean British banks are about to go bust, because the assessment is purely theoretical, and RBS said the position was "not unusual at this stage in the economic cycle".

However, it will add to pressure on the Government to provide more support for the country's banks. Treasury officials are now set to spend this weekend in talks about a fresh round of measures, which could be unveiled as early as next week, to free up lending to households and major corporations hit by the credit crunch.

The value of Barclays fell by a quarter in stock market trading yesterday, amid a series of wild rumours about its finances, although the bank said it saw no need to comment on the drop. Its board said in a statement last night that it knew "no justification for the fall".

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This land is your land. This land is my land. Again. Finally.

Bruce, Pete Seeger and Seeger's grandson sang one of the classics at the Lincoln Memorial today. Everyone sang along, including Obama:



Also, here's an excerpt of Obama's speech:

And yet, as I stand here tonight, what gives me the greatest hope of all is not the stone and marble that surrounds us today, but what fills the spaces in between. It is you - Americans of every race and region and station who came here because you believe in what this country can be and because you want to help us get there.

It is the same thing that gave me hope from the day we began this campaign for the presidency nearly two years ago; a belief that if we could just recognize ourselves in one another and bring everyone together - Democrats, Republicans, and Independents; Latino, Asian, and Native American; black and white, gay and straight, disabled and not - then not only would we restore hope and opportunity in places that yearned for both, but maybe, just maybe, we might perfect our union in the process.

This is what I believed, but you made this belief real. You proved once more that people who love this country can change it. And as I prepare to assume the presidency, yours are the voices I will take with me every day I walk into that Oval Office - the voices of men and women who have different stories but hold common hopes; who ask only for what was promised us as Americans - that we might make of our lives what we will and see our children climb higher than we did.

It is this thread that binds us together in common effort; that runs through every memorial on this mall; that connects us to all those who struggled and sacrificed and stood here before.

It is how this nation has overcome the greatest differences and the longest odds - because there is no obstacle that can stand in the way of millions of voices calling for change.

That is the belief with which we began this campaign, and that is how we will overcome what ails us now. There is no doubt that our road will be long. That our climb will be steep. But never forget that the true character of our nation is revealed not during times of comfort and ease, but by the right we do when the moment is hard. I ask you to help me reveal that character once more, and together, we can carry forward as one nation, and one people, the legacy of our forefathers that we celebrate today.

And, check out this quick interaction after Obama spoke. He checked with Malia to make sure he did okay:
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HBO censors gay bishop during inaugural invocation at national mall today

UPDATE: Joe's sister was there today (I'm home with the flu), and she says that Bishop Robinson gave the invocation, then they took about a ten minute break, THEN the HBO production started with the introduction of Obama and the rest of the show. So, big surprise that Gene Robinson wasn't shown on HBO - who in their right minds thought HBO would start broadcasting live for Robinson's invocation, then just sit there with ten minutes dead air time until the "real" show began. If the gay Bishop - the man who was basically chosen to offset homophobic bigot Rick Warren - wasn't intentionally slighted today, then the Obama people sure have some of the worst luck ever.

Why do I doubt the same thing will happen when anti-gay bigot Rick Warren does his invocation on Tuesday.

Here is the text of Bishop Robinson's prayer that HBO censored:

By The Rt. Rev. V. Gene Robinson, Episcopal Bishop of New Hampshire

Opening Inaugural Event
Lincoln Memorial, Washington, DC
January 18, 2009

Welcome to Washington! The fun is about to begin, but first, please join me in pausing for a moment, to ask God’s blessing upon our nation and our next president.

O God of our many understandings, we pray that you will…

Bless us with tears – for a world in which over a billion people exist on less than a dollar a day, where young women from many lands are beaten and raped for wanting an education, and thousands die daily from malnutrition, malaria, and AIDS.

Bless us with anger – at discrimination, at home and abroad, against refugees and immigrants, women, people of color, gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people.

Bless us with discomfort – at the easy, simplistic “answers” we’ve preferred to hear from our politicians, instead of the truth, about ourselves and the world, which we need to face if we are going to rise to the challenges of the future.

Bless us with patience – and the knowledge that none of what ails us will be “fixed” anytime soon, and the understanding that our new president is a human being, not a messiah.

Bless us with humility – open to understanding that our own needs must always be balanced with those of the world.

Bless us with freedom from mere tolerance – replacing it with a genuine respect and warm embrace of our differences, and an understanding that in our diversity, we are stronger.

Bless us with compassion and generosity – remembering that every religion’s God judges us by the way we care for the most vulnerable in the human community, whether across town or across the world.

And God, we give you thanks for your child Barack, as he assumes the office of President of the United States.

Give him wisdom beyond his years, and inspire him with Lincoln’s reconciling leadership style, President Kennedy’s ability to enlist our best efforts, and Dr. King’s dream of a nation for ALL the people.

Give him a quiet heart, for our Ship of State needs a steady, calm captain in these times.

Give him stirring words, for we will need to be inspired and motivated to make the personal and common sacrifices necessary to facing the challenges ahead.

Make him color-blind, reminding him of his own words that under his leadership, there will be neither red nor blue states, but the United States.

Help him remember his own oppression as a minority, drawing on that experience of discrimination, that he might seek to change the lives of those who are still its victims.

Give him the strength to find family time and privacy, and help him remember that even though he is president, a father only gets one shot at his daughters’ childhoods.

And please, God, keep him safe. We know we ask too much of our presidents, and we’re asking FAR too much of this one. We know the risk he and his wife are taking for all of us, and we implore you, O good and great God, to keep him safe. Hold him in the palm of your hand – that he might do the work we have called him to do, that he might find joy in this impossible calling, and that in the end, he might lead us as a nation to a place of integrity, prosperity and peace.

AMEN.

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After failing to hold Bush accountable for eight years, CNN plans to keep Obama's administration "honest"

CNN is running an ad right now which states "A new administration takes over and CNN keeps them honest. The best political team on television asks the tough questions." This image appears in the ad:


Um, okay. There's so much wrong with that ad. First, CNN, like the rest of the traditional media, gave Bush and his cronies a free pass for most of the past eight years (except for Anderson Cooper during Katrina.) John King's face also flashes across the ad. Read this excerpt from his CNN bio:

King also contributed to CNN's Emmy-winning 2006 mid-term election coverage as well as to coverage of the 2004 presidential race, the Iraq War, the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the tax-cut debates of 2001 and 2003 and the war on terrorism. In 2006, he reported an hour-long special on executive authority, "Power Play." He has conducted one-on-one interviews with an array of senior officials, including President George W. Bush, first lady Laura Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney, former Secretary of State Colin Powell and current Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

King traveled with Cheney to the Middle East in March 2002 as the administration began to build support for confronting Saddam Hussein.

Yes, King was right in the thick of things when the Bush administration was spewing its lies. And, King, like so many in the corporate media, dutifully regurgitated their spin.

Then, there's the assumption that somehow we should assume that the Obama administration won't be honest. That's a tough charge considering almost no one in the traditional media would ever acknowledge that Bush wasn't honest. He was a liar. Read the rest of this post...

In DC, the games have begun

Today, the inaugural festivities are in full swing. Obama has been to Arlington Cemetery and church already today.

The "We Are One" concert is just starting down on the Mall. I opted out of that one, although my parents are there with my sister (a Bono/Springsteen fanatic) so I'll get a full report later.

I did go to the EMILY's List lunch over at the Washington Hilton. They had a powerhouse lineup including Hillary Clinton, Nancy Pelosi, Janet Napolitano and new Senators Kay Hagan (NC) and Jeanne Shaheen (NH). Also, speaking was Ellen Moran, who used to run EMILY's List but is now the Director of Communications at the White House. Lots of politicos over there. I got a chance to say hello to Congresswoman Donna Edwards and the New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn. Here's a photo of Chris and her partner, Kim Catullo. They're great (and fellow dog lovers):



Also, I've determined that the most prevalent sign in DC is this one:


One other random thing. All the trash cans in my neighborhood are gone. As a dog owner, I know where all of the trash cans are. And, they're gone.

UPDATE @ 3:29 PM: I snagged this photo from HBO's concert coverage. I thought it was pretty cute. The girls are taking pictures when Hal Penn was speaking:

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Headlines I like to see on FOX: Pelosi Open to Prosecution of Bush Administration Officials

I don't make it a practice to link to FOX News. But, today, the Speaker was on FOX and she made some news:

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is receptive to the idea of prosecuting some Bush administration officials, while letting others who are accused of misdeeds leave office without prosecution, she told Chris Wallace in an interview on "FOX News Sunday."

"I think you look at each item and see what is a violation of the law and do we even have a right to ignore it," the California Democrat said. "And other things that are maybe time that is spent better looking to the future rather than to the past."

Rep. John Conyers, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, announced Friday he wants to set up a commission to look into whether the Bush administration broke the law by taking the nation to war against Iraq and instituting aggressive anti-terror initiatives. The Michigan Democrat called for an "independent criminal probe into whether any laws were broken in connection with these activities."

Letting high ranking officials get away with crimes is what happens in dictatorships. It cannot and should not happen in the United States. That is un-American at its core.

Conyers is right. And, Pelosi's words today are a step in the right direction. Read the rest of this post...

Americans are supporting the new President -- and willing to cut him some slack to get the job done

The very impressive poll numbers continue for Obama. But, the New York Times found something else: The American people are willing to give Obama time to turn things around:

Most Americans said they did not expect real progress in improving the economy, reforming the health care system or ending the war in Iraq — three of the central promises of Mr. Obama’s campaign — for at least two years. The poll found that two-thirds of respondents think the recession will last two years or longer.

As the nation prepares for a transfer of power and the inauguration of its 44th president, Mr. Obama’s stature with the American public stands in sharp contrast to that of President Bush.

Mr. Bush is leaving office with just 22 percent of Americans offering a favorable view of how he handled the eight years of his presidency, a record low, and firmly identified with the economic crisis Mr. Obama is inheriting. More than 80 percent of respondents said the nation was in worse shape today than it was five years ago.

By contrast, 79 percent were optimistic about the next four years under Mr. Obama, a level of good will for a new chief executive that exceeds that measured for any of the past five incoming presidents. And it cuts across party lines: 58 percent of the respondents who said they voted for Mr. Obama’s opponent in the general election, Senator John McCain of Arizona, said they were optimistic about the country in an Obama administration.

The American people have really had it with George Bush. As much as I loathe the guy -- and have loathed him for over eight years, it's still hard to grasp just how much damage he's done to our nation. It's good to know we can still be optimistic after the Bush debacle. Says a lot about the American people. Read the rest of this post...

Sunday Talk Shows Open Thread

No surprise, but it's an Obama-a-thon on the shows this weekend. As it should be.

Obama is on CNN and a slew of his advisers (Axelrod, Summers, Emanuel, Gibbs) are also getting some face time. The Speaker will make an appearance on FOX. For some reason, CNN also thinks it's necessary to foist Bush staffers upon us. Haven't those people done enough damage? Can't they just go away? Knowing they are just about to be former Bush staffers is the only consolation.

This is one of the few times when Democrats actually outnumber Republicans on the Sunday shows.

Anyway, here's the lineup:

ABC's "This Week" — David Axelrod, senior adviser to President-elect Barack Obama.

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CBS' "Face the Nation" — Lawrence Summers, Obama's choice for director of the National Economic Council.

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NBC's "Meet the Press" — Rahm Emanuel, Obama's choice for chief of staff.

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CNN's "State of the Union" — President-elect Barack Obama; Axelrod; Dana Perino, press secretary to President George W. Bush; Bush White House counselor Ed Gillespie.

"Fox News Sunday" _ House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.; Robert Gibbs, Obama's choice for press secretary.

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Pick your poison: federal, state or local taxes

The tax cut game that Obama has decided to join to appease the Republicans (who won't join him regardless) is shortsighted and ignores the looming state and local funding problems. California, anyone? For decades the GOP has played this game and sure, you can cut taxes at one level but everyone knows that the money will still be spent for services that people want so the money has to come from somewhere. Cut state taxes - hooray! - and surprise, local taxes go up. In this case, cutting or continuing federal tax cuts will still leave enormous deficits at the state level so sooner or later, that money is going to have to be found.

Pretending as though it's not an issue is irresponsible and it's likely taxes will go up considerably very soon. The alternative is going to be even more slashing of budgets but besides the Republican states who prefer trolling at the bottom, who wants to cut important services such as education or basic infrastructure? It's not entirely clear where the Obama team thinks the money is going to come from but then again, Republicans never have grasped such ideas. Obama seems stuck in a pre-credit crisis mindset with economics despite that old system collapsing. He is more progressive than McCain, but hardly progressive.

Why is his team directed by the old guard who guided us into this mess? Where are the progressive economists who predicted this economy or who detailed why the old system was failing the majority and benefiting the minority? Obviously Obama was our best option in the election but he is going to have to come around very quickly on the economy or else he will be a one and done. Running the economy is not the same as making campaign promises.

But President-elect Obama, faced with the biggest financial and economic crisis since the Great Depression, has pledged to go slowly on tax hikes, which he fears would take consumer demand off life support and put it in the morgue. He's made some tax cuts a cornerstone of an economic-stimulus package Congress will debate in coming weeks.

No, the real danger to your wallets comes much closer to home -- from cash-strapped states and municipalities, which are in their worst shape fiscally in decades.
Though they may resist at first, governors and state legislatures could be forced to raise income taxes, sales taxes, state university tuitions, transit fees and whatever else will help pay the freight.

That may mute the impact of any federal stimulus package, because if one government takes while another gives, you'll still have less money to spend at the mall.

The situation is dire. The recession and the housing crash have landed body blows to local governments, severely reducing tax revenues. The National Governors Association projects fiscal 2009 budget shortfalls may reach $60 billion, and fiscal 2010 deficits could top $80 billion.

The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a Washington, D.C.-based liberal think tank that focuses on state and local finances, says: "Combined budget gaps for the remainder of the fiscal year and state fiscal years 2010 and 2011 are estimated to total more than $350 billion."

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As economy declines, Eastern Europe eyes violent protest

Already there have been street violence in a few countries and as the economy declines, the violence is expected to increase. Just as many in Western Europe feared and protested factory closings a few years ago as business moved to the East, now the East is on the losing side of such movement plus they are saddled with too much easy credit. (China is also experiencing some of this along with factory closings due to lack of demand from the West.) As long as governments allow if not encourage business to move so casually - impact be damned - the story will never change. Give business whatever they want, because they know best and they act in the best interest of society, right?

Eastern Europe is heading for a violent "spring of discontent", according to experts in the region who fear that the global economic downturn is generating a dangerous popular backlash on the streets.

Hit increasingly hard by the financial crisis, countries such as Bulgaria, Romania and the Baltic states face deep political destabilisation and social strife, as well as an increase in racial tension.

Last week protesters were tear-gassed as they threw rocks at police outside parliament in Vilnius, capital of Lithuania, in a protest against an austerity package including tax rises and benefit cuts.

In Sofia, Bulgaria, 150 people were arrested and at least 30 injured in widespread violence. More than 100 were detained after street battles between security forces and demonstrators in the Latvian capital, Riga.

According to the most recent estimates, the economies of some eastern European countries, after posting double-digit growth for nearly a decade, will contract by up to 5% this year, with inflation peaking at more than 13%. Many fear Romania, which joined the European Union with Bulgaria in 2007, may be the next to suffer major breakdowns in public order.

"In a few months there will be people in the streets, that much is certain," said Luca Niculescu, a media executive in Bucharest. "Every day we hear about another factory shutting or moving overseas. There is a new government that has not shown itself too effective. We have got used to very high growth rates. It's an explosive cocktail."

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