CARTER MEETS HAMAS!

Jimmy Carter plans to meet a fuel-short Hamas[c]

__________________________
GOOD MORNING FLINT!
BY Terry Bankert 4/15//08
You are invited to join me at Face Book http://www.facebook.com/people/Terry_Bankert/645845362 ___________________________
Full article at http://goodmorningflint.blogspot.com/
SUMMARY [ outline] ON Flint Talk http://flinttalk.com/viewtopic.php?p=27342#27342 __________________________
( for FACE BOOK see full article at link above)

REFLECTION: I do not believe that the U.S. intelligence community does not back the Carter efforts and has probably organized it. Carter plays an important role in international affairs and is our best ex-president.[trb]

CARTER THE DIPLOMAT Heading into talks with Palestinian leaders, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter offered to ferry messages from the militant Islamic Hamas group to the United States and even to Israel[AA] The former president arrived in Israel Sunday as Palestinians in Gaza continued to cope with an Israeli-imposed fuel blockade.[c]

U.S.POLICY IS TO BOYCOTT HAMAS WHILE AN EX-PRESIDENT NEGOTIATES Israeli officials have said the visit has stirred "outrage" while the US State Department has publicly frowned on Carter's freelance diplomacy. The former president is undermining their policy of boycotting Hamas for its support of terrorism and its opposition to recognizing Israel. [c] The new chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Monday criticized fellow Democrat Jimmy Carter for plans to meet with Hamas, saying the former president holds "warped" views on the Middle East.[AP] By meeting with the militant Islamic group that controls Gaza and does not recognize Israel's right to exist, Carter "in effect is undermining a current policy which is not just American but held by many others," Rep. Howard Berman, D-Calif., said in an interview with The Associated Press.[AP] Carter — who brokered Israel's historic peace accord with Egypt in 1979 — on Monday defended his plan to meet Hamas supreme leader Khaled Mashaal, saying that isolating Hamas is counterproductive. He has no plans to visit the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip.[AA] "History will record that a superpower (the United States) has contributed to the repression of a small population (Gaza's residents)", Al-Agha told a press conference at the office of Ramattan News Agency in Gaza City. [IM] The minister said that the world's conscience is now dead, at a time of unprecedented suffering for the Palestinian people, due to a crippling siege that has been in place on the coastal region since June2007[IM]

WHAT IS HAMAS Hamas (ح?ر?ك?ة? ح?م?ا?س?; acronym: ح?ر?ك?ة? ا?ل?م?ق?ا?و?م?ة? ا?ل?ا?س?ل?ا?م?ي?ة?, or Harakat al-Muqawama al-Islamiyya or "Islamic Resistance Movement"[1]) is a Palestinian Sunni Islamist[2][3] militant organization and political party. It currently holds a majority of seats in the legislative council of the Palestinian Authority.[2] Hamas was created in 1987 by Sheikh Ahmed Yassin of the Gaza wing of the Muslim Brotherhood at the beginning of the First Intifada. Best known for multiple suicide bombings and other attacks[4] directed against civilians and Israeli military and security forces targets, Hamas' charter calls for the destruction of the State of Israel and its replacement with a Palestinian Islamic state in the area that is now Israel, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip.[5] The organization is widely described as antisemitic.[6][WI-2]

DOES CARTER MAKE HAMAS LEGITIMATE? Analyst Rony Shaked: 'Jimmy Carter's Decision To MeetHamas Leader Haled Mashal Lends Legitimacy To Terror Organization That Wants To Destroy Israel'[I] "I think it is absolutely crucial that in the final and dreamed-about and prayed-for peace agreement for this region that Hamas be involved and Syria will be involved," Carter told a business conference outside Tel Aviv. [AA] "I can't say that they will be amenable to any suggestions, but at least after I meet with them I can go back and relay what they say, as just a communicator, to the leaders of the United States," he said.[AA]

ENERGY SHORTAGE, THE POLITICS OF FUEL Israel blocked fuel supplies from entering Gaza for a fourth day Sunday, exacerbating a new energy shortage in the blighted coastal territory during a spike in cross-border fighting that has left at least 14 Palestinians dead. [c]

HAMAS INTENTIONALY DISRUPTING PALESTINIAN FUEL What was the goal of the recent Palestinian terror attack on the Nahal Oz fuel depot where Israeli civilians were supplying fuel to the Gaza Strip? Rony Shaked of the Yediot Ahronot newspaper says it's part and parcel of the Hamas strategy to force Israel to react so the Palestinians can play the role of victim as they continue to rocket Sderot.[I]

CARTER TO ENGAGE HAMAS DIPLOMATICALLY And as Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas met again Sunday, for the second time in less than a week, President Jimmy Carter arrived in the region in an effort to try a new approach: engage Hamas diplomatically. [c]

HAMAS:TERROR ORGANIZATION Analyst Shaked also told IsraCast that the meeting of former U.S. President Jimmy Carter with Hamas leader Haled Mashal lends legitimacy to a terror organization that tries to destroy Israel.[i]

CARTER MAKES HAMAS LEGITIMATE 'Former President Jimmy Carter's decision to meet Hamas leader Haled Mashal will be viewed by Hamas as lending legitimacy to their organization' - that's the assessment of veteran analyst Rony Shaked. Hamas will be in 'seventh heaven' seeing it as a sign that the U.S. and Europeans and even Israel will soon have to follow suit.[I]

ISRAELI LEADERSHIP OFFICALLY SHUNS CARTER The former president has been boycotted by Mr. Olmert and Israeli Foreign Minister Tzippi Livni for arranging a meeting with Hamas political chief Khaled Meshal in Syria, but a series of public appearances in Israel both before and after the Hamas meeting marks a gambit of public diplomacy with Islamic militants that could avoid a new Gaza flare-up. [c]

PERES MEETS AND COORDINATES WITH CARTER At the same time as the Olmert-Abbas meeting, Carter was being hosted by Israeli President Shimon Peres. Although Mr. Peres has few powers in the largely ceremonial position, his status as Israel's elder statesman makes it likely that he could be used as a quiet channel of communication between the Israeli government and Hamas. [c] On the other hand, Israeli president Shimon Peres said in an interview published by Financial Times that the political agreement with the Palestinians seems to be hard since they are torn and weak. He also uttered that he is skeptical regarding signing a peace deal before the end of the current year. Peres refused to talk about the time needed to establish an independent Palestinian state discarding holding talks with Hamas “influenced” by Iran he said. [A]


CARTER MAY HELP CHANGE THE ATMOSPHERE "Maybe if he brings back a clear message from [Mr. Mehsal] it will change the atmosphere, and public opinion might change," says Akiva Eldar, a diplomatic commentator for the Haaretz newspaper. "But this government and the US administration aren't inclined to change their attitude. He is going to try to communicate with the Israeli public over their heads, which can be effective." [c]

HAMAS AT WAR WITH ISRAEL But he adds: 'Hamas is Hamas is Hamas' and there has been no change in the terrorist organization's long term goal of annihilating the Jewish state. After taking full control last June, Hamas has turned the Gaza Strip more pro-Iran and Islamist. At the same time, Hamas has smuggled in more weapons as it continues the rocketing and raids against Israel.[i]

PALESTIANS MAKE THEMSELVES VICTEMS The recent attack against the Nahal Oz fuel depot that killed two Israeli civilians supplying fuel to Gaza should be viewed in this context. It was a cynical manipulation designed to force a closure of the depot so that the Palestinian could claim they were the victims rather than the agressors.[I]

HAMAS HARMS THE SILENT PALESTIANIANS This as they continue to rocket the Israeli town of Sderot. The Hamas strategy deliberately harms the Palestinian people, but Palestinian public opinion in Gaza is muzzled by the Islamist dictatorship.[I]

CARTER: INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMAT Mr. Carter will spend most of the week in Israel and the West Bank before moving on to Egypt, Jordan, and Syria, where Mehsal has his headquarters. In addition to meetings with President Shimon Peres and Israeli Trade Minister Eli Yishai, he will also meet with the parents of Cpl. Gilad Shalit, who has been held in Gaza by Hamas for nearly two years. [c] The former president then returns to Israel to debrief his interlocutors before leaving the region.[c]

WHO IS JIMMY CARTER James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. (born October 1, 1924) was the 39th President of the United States from 1977 - 1981, and recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002. Prior to becoming president, Carter served two terms in the Georgia Senate, and was the 76th Governor of Georgia from 1971 - 1975.[1] He and Senator Ted Kennedy were the unofficial leaders of the Democratic Party, excluding unelected presidential nominees, until the nomination and presidency of Bill Clinton (1993-2001). Carter remains an important and relevant national figure today, and has been especially vocal on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.[WI] Carter's presidency was marked by several major crises, including the takeover of the American embassy and holding of hostages by students in Iran, a failed rescue attempt of the hostages, serious fuel shortages, and the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.[WI] After leaving office, Carter founded an institute to promote global health, democracy and human rights. He has traveled extensively to monitor international elections, conduct peace negotiations and establish relief efforts.[6] He is also a key figure in Habitat for Humanity.[7] Carter also became a prolific author, writing 27 books. As of 2008, he is the earliest living president and the second-oldest living president.[WI]

FRACTURED PALISITNIEN LEADERSHIP As for the current contacts between Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Shaked said Abbas represents only one part of the Palestinian people. As such it was hard to see any of their understandings being implemented. Even the Hamasconcept of a 'hudna' cease-fire was only temporary and could not be viewed as a step toward recognizing Israel.The problem wasnot the shape of an Israeli-Palestinian peace accord - that was reached in Oslo in 1993.[I]

PALESTINE POLITICALLY UNSTABLE In Shaked's view the problem is how to implement it no matter what Olmert and Abbas conclude in their contacts.He did not rule out the possibility of a new Palestinian intifada or even a Hamas takeover of the West Bank from President Mahmoud Abbas.[i] Still, the shuttle mission comes at a critical juncture. Pressure on Gaza began rising last Wednesday after two Israelis were killed at the Nahal Oz border gasoline terminal by a group of Palestinian militants who made a rare penetration of the military's security cordon around the strip. [c]

NO GASOLINE,DIESEL OR COOKING GAS FOR PALESTINE Israel has since refused to renew shipments of petrol, diesel and cooking gas to the Gaza Strip, blaming Hamas for allowing militants to target the last lines of supply to a civilian population under a steadily tightening economic siege. [c]

MAIN POWER SATATION COULD COLLAPSE Energy officials in Gaza warned that the power station that supplies the territory of 1.4 million people with 30 percent of its electricity was teetering on the brink of shutting down. Israeli officials pointed out that Hamas has two days of fuel to power the generator. [c]

CATER: OCCUPATION OF PALESTINE IS LIKE APARTHID Although Carter ruffled Israeli sensibilities last year after his book came out in which he compared Israel's occupation of the West Bank and Gaza to South African apartheid, he is remembered fondly for mediating the peace treaty with Egypt, the Jewish state's first-ever normalization of relations with its neighbors[c]

ROCKETS FROM PALESTINE ARE CRIMINAL The Islamic Jihad (Holy War) movement in Gaza has slammed on Tuesday the statements of former U.S. president Jimmy Carter, after he termed the rockets attacks on Israel as "a big crime." [w] Dawood Shihab, spokesman for the Islamic Jihad movement in Gaza, said in response that "Carter's statement of describing resistance as a crime against humanity is in itself an overthrow on the morals of humanity." [W]

BUSH RESPONSE The Bush administration also has criticized Carter's plans to meet in Syria this week with the leader of Hamas, and the plans have angered Israel. There's been less public criticism from other Democrats.[AP] Both the U.S. and Israel consider Hamas a terrorist organization. Carter said Monday he hoped to become a "communicator" between the U.S. and Hamas and said Washington's policy of not meeting with people it labeled terrorists is counterproductive.[AP]


Posted here by Terry Bankert ...
http://attorneybankert.com/

Join my political party of preference,
http://www.michigandems.com/join.html

—WHERE DID THIS STUFF COME FROM---
[I] IsraCast http://www.isracast.com/article.aspx?ID=395&t=Carter_&_Hamas_Terrorism&play=1
[C] Christian Science Monitor http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0414/p01s05-wome.html
[A] ALSUMARIA TV http://www.alsumaria.tv/en/World-News/2-16536-Abbas-to-Blair:-Palestinians-seek-for-those-who-offer-them-hope-and-not-illusions.html
[IM] IMEMC http://www.imemc.org/article/54187
[AP] AP http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5iihUfGqvvx-3JR2f5A_1zmdK0cmgD901TQVO0 [W] China View http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-04/15/content_7981056.htm
[AA] ASHARQ ALAWSAT http://aawsat.com/english/news.asp?section=1&id=12424
[TRB] Comments of Terry Bankert to include unattributed cap headlines http://attorneybankert.com/
[WI] WIKIPEDIA http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_Carter
[WI-2] WIKIPEDIA http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamas


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FOOD COSTS KILL PEOPLE CRUMBLE GOVERNMENTS!

FOOD COSTS ; STARVE PEOPLE CRUMBLE GOVERNMENTS

U.S. policy is on a diet, stay tuned.

__________________________

GOOD MORNING FLINT!

BY Terry Bankert 4/14//08
You are invited to join me at Face Book http://www.facebook.com/people/Terry_Bankert/645845362 ___________________________
Full article at http://goodmorningflint.blogspot.com/
SUMMARY ON Flint Talk http://flinttalk.com/viewtopic.php?p=27313#27313 __________________________
( for FACE BOOK see full article at link above)

The head of the International Monetary Fund is warning that spikes in food costs around the world could lead to starvation and the crumbling of governments.[I]

Hillary..do you think people are not bitter...heres what we fear is coming..and we are bitter about it..we will pray for help and grab our guns.[trb]

The rapid rise in food prices could push 100 million people in poor countries deeper into poverty, World Bank head, Robert Zoellick, has said. [b]

DOUBLING OF FOOD PRICES "Based on a rough analysis, we estimate that a doubling of food prices over the last three years could potentially push 100 million people in low-income countries deeper into poverty," Mr Zoellick said.[b]

RESULTING STARVATION His warning follows that from the leader of the International Monetary Fund, who said hundreds of thousands of people were at risk of starvation. [b]

OUR NEXT PRESIDENT WILL HAVE TO DEAL WITH INTERNATIONAL FOOD RIOTS Finance ministers gathered this weekend to grapple with the global financial crisis also struggled with a problem that has plagued the world periodically since before the time of the Pharaohs: food shortages.[w]

POLITICAL TURMOIL COMING The world’s economic ministers declared on Sunday that shortages and skyrocketing prices for food posed a potentially greater threat to economic and political stability than the turmoil in capital markets.[ny]

GLOBAL SOCIAL UNREST TO RESULT "It is becoming starker by the day that unless we act fast for a global consensus on the price spiral, the social unrest induced by food prices in several countries will conflagrate into a global contagion, leaving no country -- developed or otherwise -- unscathed," he said.[r]

83% INCREASE PUSHED BY COMMODITY PRICES Surging commodity prices have pushed up global food prices 83% in the past three years, according to the World Bank -- putting huge stress on some of the world's poorest nations. Even as the ministers met, Haiti's Prime Minister Jacques Edouard Alexis was resigning after a week in which that tiny country's capital was racked by rioting over higher prices for staples like rice and beans.[w]


FAULT PARTIUALLY GIVEN TO US ECONOMY AND BIO FUEL POLICY The ministers, conferring in the shadow of a slumping American economy that threatens to pull down the economies of other countries, turned their attention to the food crisis and called on the wealthiest countries to fulfill pledges to help prevent starvation and disorder in Asia, Africa and Latin America.[ny] Prices of wheat and rice have more than doubled in the past year, with rice — a staple in Asian diets — surging by 75 percent in the past two months, according to the World Bank, the IMF's sister organization.[I] Food prices have risen sharply in recent months, driven by increased demand, poor weather in some countries that has ruined crops and an increase in the use of land to grow crops for transport fuels. [b] In just two months, rice prices have closed in on historic highs, rising by around 75 percent globally and by even more in some markets. Meanwhile, the cost of wheat has climbed by 120 percent over the past year, more than doubling the price of a loaf of bread in most poor countries, the World Bank said.[r]

POLITICAL INSTABILITY..WHEN WILL IT HIT HOME? World Bank and I.M.F. officials noted that political instability had already hit countries as disparate as Haiti, Egypt, the Philippines and Indonesia because of food shortages, forcing some countries to limit food exports.[NY] The IMF is often the lender of last resort for countries in trouble.[I]

HATI VIOLENCE In Haiti, protests last week turned violent, leading to the deaths of five people and the fall of the government. [b]

FOOD EXPORT RESTRICTION IN INDIA AND OTHERS Restrictions on rice exports have been put in place in major producing countries such as India, China, Vietnam and Egypt. [b] Importers such as Bangladesh, the Philippines and Afghanistan have been hit hard. [b]

AGRICULTURE PRICES ARE UP-RIOTS A RESULT? com·mod·i·ty - Pronunciation: \kə?-ˈ'mä-də?-tēe\ Function: noun Inflected Form(s): plural com·mod·i·ties Etymology: Middle English commoditee, from Anglo-French commoditee, from Latin commoditat-, commoditas, from commodus Date: 15th century [m] 1: an economic good: as a: a product of agriculture or mining b: an article of commerce especially when delivered for shipment c: a mass-produced unspecialized product [m]

RIOTING STARTING Rioting in response to soaring food prices recently has broken out in Egypt, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Senegal and Ethiopia. In Pakistan and Thailand, army troops have been deployed to deter food theft from fields and warehouses. World Bank President Robert Zoellick warned in a recent speech that 33 countries are at risk of social upheaval because of rising food prices. Those could include Indonesia, Yemen, Ghana, Uzbekistan and the Philippines. In countries where buying food requires half to three-quarters of a poor person's income, "there is no margin for survival," he said.[w]

RIOT-2 a: public violence, tumult, or disorder b: a violent public disorder; specifically : a tumultuous disturbance of the public peace by three or more persons assembled together and acting with a common intent[M2]

PEOPLE RIOT COUNTRIES GO TO WAR Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the managing director of the International Monetary Fund, said the food crisis posed questions about the survivability of democracy and political regimes. “As we know in the past, sometimes those questions lead to war,” he said. “We now need to devote 100 percent of our time to these questions.”[NY]

U.S. POLICY AT FAULT. “ Pushing fuel alternative” or we get fuel you starve![trb] Many policy makers at the weekend meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank agreed that the problem is severe. Among other targets, they singled out U.S. policies pushing corn-based ethanol and other biofuels as deepening the woes.[w]

STOP GLOBAL WARMING STARVE A CHILD Some ministers from poor countries, for example, are growing impatient with the way the West is addressing global warming by subsidizing and encouraging conversion of corn, sugar cane and other food products into substitutes for oil. The shift is helping to drive up prices, they say.[NY]

FUEL POLICY CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY Mr. Strauss-Kahn said he had heard from many financial officials this weekend that the West’s focus on fuel, at the expense of food, was a “crime against humanity.” Though he noted that the I.M.F. is primarily a monetary and financial agency, he said it would try to “review its tools” to help countries pay for food imports.[NY]

DIVERTING FOOD TO BIO FUEL IS A CRIME ITS EVEN APPALLING SAY THEIR TURKS WHO HAVE MASSACRED MILLION OF PEOPLE IN THE LAST 200 YEARS "When millions of people are going hungry, it's a crime against humanity that food should be diverted to biofuels," said India's finance minister, Palaniappan Chidambaram, in an interview. Turkey's finance minister, Mehmet Simsek, said the use of food for biofuels is "appalling."[w]

THE WORLD IS WARNING U.S. The World Bank has warned that the rise in food prices is not a temporary phenomenon and has said prices are likely to remain elevated this year and next before moving lower, and that they will likely remain above 2004 levels through 2015.[R] One of the biggest factors behind the sharp rise in food prices is the increased use of crops for biofuels as an alternative energy source. Almost all of the increase in global corn production from 2004 to 2007 went to biofuels in the United States, where farmers are heavily subsidized.[R]

WE HAVE A COUNCIL ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY? IN THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION? ....DARN! OH...THESE GUYS BLAME IT ON CHINA...THERE GOES THAT DALA AGAIN. James Connaughton, chairman of the White House's council on environmental quality, said biofuels are only one contributor to rising food prices. Rising prices for energy and electricity also contribute, as does strong demand for food from big developing countries like China.[w]

HALF YOUR DAILY INCOME TO FEED YOU FAMILY But beyond taking shots at the U.S., there was little agreement this weekend on what should be done. Mr. Zoellick pushed the ministers to focus on the food issue in a dramatic Thursday news conference at which he held up a 2-kilogram (4.4-pound) bag of rice, which he said would now cost poor families in Bangladesh half their daily income. He kept up the pressure over the weekend. In a Sunday news briefing, he said, "We have to put our money where our mouth is now -- so that we can put food into hungry mouths."[w]

THEY TALK THE TALK BUT DO NOT WALK THE WALK But the weekend's meeting produced few concrete results. Mr. Zoellick recently urged rich nations to contribute another $500 million to the United Nation's World Food Program, but he said that the U.N. has received commitments for only about half the money.[w] Integrated Response [w] Meanwhile, the IMF's board of governors -- basically, the world's finance ministers, who run both the IMF and World Bank -- urged the IMF to work with the World Bank for "an integrated response through policy advice and financial support."[w]

RICH COUNTRIES CALLED TO ACTION. DOES THAT STILL INCLUDE THE U.S.? On Sunday, the committee that oversees the World Bank noted that "large groups of poor people are severely affected by high food and energy prices across the developing world." The committee echoed the IMF committee's call for "timely policy and financial support to vulnerable countries" and urged rich countries to be more generous in "immediate support for countries most affected by the high food prices."[w]


WORLD BANK: LEND,RAMP, CUT US SUBSIDIES, BOOST PRICES FOR POOR COUNTRIES! The World Bank plans to nearly double its agricultural lending to Africa next year to $800 million, and is urging members to ramp up relief for hard-pressed nations. The World Bank, IMF and big industrialized nations also are pushing for the completion of the Doha global trade talks, though cutting food subsidies in the U.S. and Europe under a trade deal would boost prices of food for impoverished importing nations.[w]

G7:NEED POLICY Last week, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown urged the G7 nations -- the U.S., Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan -- to develop a comprehensive strategy for the food problem, encompassing trade, agricultural productivity, technology, biofuels and short-term aid for poor countries. In the past, Britain has taken the lead in pushing the G7 to write off the debts of the world's poorest nations.[w]

HUNGRY PEOPLE SEE FOOD THEY CANNOT AFFORD The situation in Haiti underscored some of the problems afflicting the world's poorest countries. Haiti has enough food in the marketplace to feed its populace, but prices have increased beyond the means of many of the urban poor to pay for it, said Michael Hess, an administrator in the U.S. Agency for International Development's Bureau for Democracy, Conflict and Humanitarian Assistance. "People are making two bucks a day," he said. "And we're seeing food prices go up around the world."[w] Wave of Protectionism[W]

HERE A UNIQUE THOUGHT: STOP COMMERCIALLY AND RESIDENTIALLY CONVERTING FARM LAND In the Philippines, the world's biggest importer of rice, a shortage of the grain has become acute. The government is considering a moratorium on converting agricultural land to construction of housing developments and golf courses. [W] STOP SUPER SIZING The government also is urging fast-food restaurants to offer half-portions of rice to slash the country's rice bill.[w]

HERE WE GO THE LIB’S AND THEIR PROTECTIONISM SAY THE REPUB’S Aggravating the problem, in some countries food inflation has prompted a wave of protectionism. Countries usually impose trade barriers to imports to protect local industries and try to boost exports. But food-trade protectionism works the opposite way. Recently at least a dozen of 58 countries surveyed by the World Bank have reduced tariffs to food imports and erected barriers to exports in hopes of restraining food prices domestically and moving toward "self-sufficiency."[w]

WHY IS THIS NOT JUST AN INDIA PROBLEM? India, home to more than half the world's hungry, is restricting grain exports, including a ban on the export of non-basmati rice. Taxes on edible oils, corn and butter have been decreased or eliminated.[w] Indian Finance Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram said rising food and energy costs threatened to stir more social unrest.[r]

WELL INCLUDE EGYPT ALSO... DID YOU KNOW THEY HAVE BREAD LINES Egypt similarly halted rice exports for six months as of April 1. The price of cereals and bread there has climbed by nearly 50% over the past 12 months. Eleven people have died in the past two months in incidents related to lengthening bread lines. The shortage compelled President Hosni Mubarak to order the army to bake additional loaves.[w]

RESTRICT FREE TRADE AND PRICES GO UP The global effect of export barriers, however, is to drive food prices even higher than they would be otherwise. Such policies "distort global prices," said Mr. Simsek, the Turkish finance minister, in an interview. Rather than erect barriers, he said, Turkey plans to pick up the pace of constructing irrigation canals near dams in Anatolia, in southeastern Turkey.[w] JUST INCREASE SUPPLY Arvind Subramanian, a former senior IMF researcher, said that when countries adopt restrictive trade policies regarding food, "it becomes a bizarre kind of beggar-thy-neighbor. You're not trying to sell more to the other guy; you're trying to keep more in your own country."[w]

WHAT LAND FOR GAS DEALS -UKRAINIAN LEADERSHIP With the international financial institutions working on a slow track, countries have been cutting their own deals. Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko said on Tuesday that he had agreed to let Libya grow wheat on 247,000 acres of land in the Ukraine. In exchange, Libya promised to include the former Soviet republic in construction and gas deals.[w]

DEALS BEING CUT. WITHOUT U.S. Brazil recently invited Egypt's minister of commerce to discuss a possible trade deal which would have a strong agriculture component. China also cut its first free-trade deal with a rich country, picking New Zealand, a major food exporter, and is talking about a pact with Australia, another big agricultural producer.[w]

UGANDA HAS TOO MUCH FOOD..HEY ...CALL HAITI Meanwhile, Uganda plans to sell more coffee, milk and bananas to India. "Our problem is too much food and little market," Uganda President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni told reporters, according to news reports,[w]

NO TO CONSUMER (YOU) SUBSIDIES SAYS THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION About 18 of the countries sampled by the World Bank also are boosting consumer subsidies and instituting price controls. That prompted a warning from U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson to "resist the temptation of price controls and consumption subsidies that are generally not effective and efficient methods of protecting vulnerable groups." He said, "They tend to create fiscal burdens and economic distortions while often providing aid to higher-income consumers or commercial interests other than the intended beneficiaries."[w] Better-Targeted Subsidies[W]

FOOD THE NEW MONEY Instead, the World Bank's Mr. Zoellick urged countries to look at better-targeted subsidies -- such as providing food in exchange for work, or increasing school-lunch programs for poor families, so that children can take food home to their families.[w]

U.S. POLICY ON BIO FUELS HURTS THE HUNGRY During informal conversations and interviews, ministers mainly agreed that the U.S. policies on biofuels were especially harmful. U.S. ethanol is made from corn, which, ministers said, could be exported to feed the hungry, and benefitted from tariffs that block Brazilian ethanol, which is produced much more efficiently from sugar cane.[w]

GRASS ANYONE- PUT THAT IN YOUR TANK AND LET YOUR ENGINE SMOKE IT! The White House's Mr. Connaughton said the U.S. is working on developing "second generation" biofuels that would use varieties of grass or agricultural wastes -- not food -- as source material. "That's where we need to get to go," he said.[w]

SUGAR IS THE ANSWER The World Bank also has blamed the boom in biofuels for the rise in global food prices. That has put Mr. Zoellick in a ticklish position. Before taking his job at the World Bank, he was U.S. Trade Representative, and defended U.S. agricultural positions. In his Thursday news briefing, he didn't mention the U.S. by name, but he praised sugar-based ethanol of the sort made in Brazil and questioned whether tariffs to block the fuel -- such as the U.S. uses -- make "economic sense."[w]

START YOUR HUMMER AND STARVE A CHILD! “Every country sitting around the table was focused on it,” [FOOD POLICY] Mr. Paulson said of the Group of Seven’s concern about food, adding that Mr. Zoellick “made an impassioned plea.” But Treasury officials said they had no details of what aid the United States was prepared to commit.[NY]

STARVATION, WAR “,PESTILENCE ?”...JUST WHEN WILL THIS GET OUR ATTENTION On Saturday, the head of the IMF, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, warned of mass starvation and other dire consequences if food prices continue to rise sharply. [b] "As we know, learning from the past, those kind of questions sometimes end in war," he said.[b] Despite heavy security precautions around the IMF and World Bank headquarters in downtown Washington, near the White House, there were few demonstrations.[I] This time![trb]


Posted here by Terry Bankert ...
http://attorneybankert.com/
Join my political party of preference, http://www.michigandems.com/join.html

—WHERE DID THIS STUFF COME FROM---
[w] Wall Street Journal http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120813134819111573.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
[M] Merriam- Webster- http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/COMMODITY
[M2] http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/RIOT
[b] BBC http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7344892.stm
[NY] The New York Times http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/14/business/14finance.html?ref=business
[TRB] Comments of Terry Bankert to include block headlines http://attorneybankert.com/
[I] International Herald Tribune http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/04/14/business/NA-FIN-US-Finance-Meetings.php
[r] Reuters-Africa http://africa.reuters.com/top/news/usnBAN426920.html

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MOVE YOUR CHILD AND LOSE CUSTODY, ALSO SPOUSAL SUPPORT DISCUSSED

Move your child you may lose custody, and discussion on spousal support
__________________________
GOOD MORNING FLINT!
BY Terry Bankert 4/12//08
You are invited to join me at Face Book http://www.facebook.com/people/Terry_Bankert/645845362 ___________________________
Full article at http://goodmorningflint.blogspot.com/
SUMMARY ON Flint Talk
http://flinttalk.com/viewtopic.php?p=27264#27264
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WFLT 1420 AM 9 AM 4/12/08- PROGRAM “ KNOW THE LAW” CALL IN! On Saturday 4/12/08 from 9:am until 9:30 am We will talk about Changes in residence of a child and custody followed by reviewing a case on spousal support on my radio program “ Know the Law” WFLT 1420 am radio.

This is a call in program and you may ask question on the air by calling 810-239-5733.
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CHANGE IN CHILDS RESIDENCE

Issues: Custody; Proposed change of the parties' minor child's residence;

When the plaintiff-mother's move was less than 100 miles and was the move alone insufficient to constitute a change in circumstances warranting an evidentiary hearing on the best interest factors under MCL 722.27(1)(c); Mason v. Simmons; MCL 722.27(1)(c); Vodvarka v. Grasmeyer;

Proposed modification of parenting time amounting to a change in the established custodial environment; Brown v. Loveman;

Whether the trial court properly placed the burden of proof on plaintiff to prove the move was in the child's best interests; Sinicropi v. Mazurek;

Whether plaintiff met her burden of proof 1. Court: Michigan Court of Appeals (Published) 4/8/2008 Case Name: Powery v. Wells Mason Circuit Court Family Division e-Journal Number: 38998 04-000326 DM Judge(s): Saad, Wilder, and Smolenski

see: http://www.michbar.org/opinions/appeals/2008/040808/38998.pdf

Concluding any modification of "parenting time" based on the plaintiff-mother's move from Ludington to Traverse City would amount to a change in the established custodial environment and thus, an analysis under the best interest factors framework was required, the court held the trial court properly conducted an evidentiary hearing. The Michigan Law MCL 722.27(1)©) and the controlling case called ; Vodvarka v. Grasmeyer; require that when a parent asks for a change in custody they must show a change of circumstances that materially affect the child. Mother/Plaintiff argued her move was less than 100 miles and thus, insufficient to constitute a change of circumstances warranting an evidentiary hearing.

The court disagreed. While plaintiff contended the move only required a modification of parenting time, the evidence at the motion hearing showed if she moved to Traverse City, either she or the defendant-father "would be relegated to the role of a 'weekend' parent," amounting to a change in the established custodial environment.

The trial court also did not err in placing the burden of proof on plaintiff to prove the move was in the child's best interests.

While defendant filed the motion to change custody after plaintiff told him she planned to make the move, she requested a modification to the existing parenting time arrangement based on her move. Since plaintiff made the move necessitating the modification of parenting time, she had the burden of establishing the existing custody arrangement should be disrupted. The court held plaintiff failed to establish the move was in the child's best interests.

There were only two possible outcomes - one or the other parent would become a weekend parent. The trial court expressly found removing the child to Traverse City, where she would lose her regular mid-week contact with defendant, did not promote her best interests.

This meant of the two available options, weekly custody with defendant was the one in the child's best interests. The trial court clearly found the continuity of remaining in Ludington was preferable to the uncertainty of the move.

The court affirmed the trial court's order ruling the child's residence not be changed and granting defendant weekly physical custody during the school year in the event plaintiff remained in Traverse City.
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SPOUSAL SUPPORT

Issues: Spousal support; Moore v. Moore; Olson v. Olson; McNamara v. McNamara;

Whether the award of spousal support should be modifiable; Staple v. Staple; Alimony in gross; MCL 552.28;

Whether the trial court properly divided the marital property; Sparks v. Sparks; Gates v. Gates; The 2003 tax refund; Insurance proceeds; The parties' vehicles; Attorney fees; Omdahl v. West Iron County Bd. of Educ. Court: Michigan Court of Appeals (Unpublished) 4-3-08

SEE
http://www.michbar.org/opinions/appeals/2008/040308/38960.pdf

Case Name: Hagen v. Jones-Hagen Wayne Circuit Court Family Division 04-403829-DO e-Journal Number: 38960 Judge(s): Per Curiam - Whitbeck and Zahra; Concurring in part, Dissenting in part - White

The trial court properly awarded the defendant-wife $1,000 a month in spousal support for two-and-a-half years, which was designated as nonmodifiable, and the court held she was not entitled to spousal support for life.

The trial court based the award on the parties' incomes at the time, their lack of assets, and the amount of debt accrued during the marriage.

The parties were married for seven years when they separated and were married for nine-and-a-half years when the divorce judgment was finally entered. Plaintiff earned $96,000 a year at GM.

The parties amassed significant debt during the marriage and plaintiff accepted the burden of the debt in the divorce and his Chapter 13 bankruptcy proceedings.

Plaintiff pays $750 in child support monthly, $1,000 in spousal support, $368 for defendant's health insurance premiums, and $2,200 on his Chapter 13 repayment plan in addition to the outstanding debt on one house, the library fine, and his current monthly bills for utilities, car insurance, food, and other necessities.

Although defendant claimed a physician had placed her on medical leave and she was dependent on pain medication for chronic back pain, she presented no evidence to support this contention. Defendant was able to attend nursing school despite her alleged disability.

The parties lived together for only seven years and had no children together. Defendant testified she was not a housewife and had no one to care for in the home. She owned her own home and raised two children before she married plaintiff.

The court held the two-and-a-half year limit on the spousal support award was appropriate to allow her to finish nursing school and find a job.

Given the parties' financial condition at the time of their separation and divorce, the amount of spousal support was fair and equitable.

The court affirmed, but remanded for administrative correction of the divorce judgment to reflect the award of spousal support is modifiable.

Posted here by
Terry Bankert ... http://attorneybankert.com/
Join my political party of preference, http://www.michigandems.com/join.html

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