Storm over Depardieu's 'pathetic' move






STORY HIGHLIGHTS


  • Russian President Vladimir Putin has bestowed Russian citizenship on actor Gérard Depardieu

  • For Depardieu, a public war of words erupted, with many in France disgusted by his move

  • Depardieu more than anyone, represents the Gallic spirit, says Agnes Poirier

  • Majority of French people disapprove of his action but can't help loving him, she adds




Agnes Poirier is a French journalist and political analyst who contributes regularly to newspapers, magazines and TV in the UK, U.S., France, Italy. Follow her on Twitter.


Paris (CNN) -- Since the revelation on the front page of daily newspaper Libération, on December 11, with a particularly vicious editorial talking about France's national treasure as a "former genius actor," Gérard Depardieu's departure to Belgium, where he bought a property just a mile from the French border, has deeply divided and saddened France. Even more so since, as we have learnt this week, Russian President Vladimir Putin has bestowed the actor Russian citizenship.


Back in mid-December, the French media operated along political lines: the left-wing press such as Libération couldn't find strong enough words to describe Depardieu's "desertion" while right-wing publications such as Le Figaro, slightly uneasy at the news, preferred to focus on President François Hollande's punishing taxes which allegedly drove throngs of millionaires to seek tax asylum in more fiscally lenient countries such as Belgium or Britain. Le Figaro stopped short of passing moral judgement though. Others like satirical weekly Charlie hebdo, preferred irony. Its cover featured a cartoon of the rather rotund-looking Depardieu in front of a Belgian flag with the headline: "Can Belgium take the world's entire load of cholesterol?" Ouch.


Quickly though, it became quite clear that Depardieu was not treated in the same way as other famous French tax exiles. French actor Alain Delon is a Swiss resident as is crooner-rocker Johnny Halliday, and many other French stars and sportsmen ensure they reside for under six months in France in order to escape being taxed here on their income and capital. Their move has hardly ever been commented on. And they certainly never had to suffer the same infamy.



Agnes Poirier

Agnes Poirier



For Depardieu, a public war of words erupted. It started with the French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault, and many members of his government, showing their disdain, and talking of Depardieu's "pathetic move." In response the outraged actor penned an open letter to the French PM in which he threatened to give back his French passport.


The backlash was not over. Fellow thespian Phillipe Torreton fired the first salvo against Depardieu in an open letter published in Libération, insulting both Depardieu's protruding physique and lack of patriotism: "So you're leaving the ship France in the middle of a storm? What did you expect, Gérard? You thought we would approve? You expected a medal, an academy award from the economy ministry? (...)We'll get by without you." French actress Catherine Deneuve felt she had to step in to defend Depardieu. In another open letter published by Libération, she evoked the darkest hours of the French revolution. Before flying to Rome to celebrate the New Year, Depardieu gave an interview to Le Monde in which he seemed to be joking about having asked Putin for Russian citizenship. Except, it wasn't a joke.


In truth, French people have felt touched to their core by Depardieu's gesture. He, more than anyone, represents the Gallic spirit. He has been Cyrano, he has been Danton; he, better than most, on screen and off, stands for what it means to be French: passionate, sensitive, theatrical, and grandiose. Ambiguous too, and weak in front of temptations and pleasures.



In truth, French people have felt touched to their core by Depardieu's gesture. He, more than anyone, represents the Gallic spirit
Hugh Miles



For more than two weeks now, #Depardieu has been trending on French Twitter. Surveys have showed France's dilemma: half the French people understand him but there are as many who think that paying one's taxes is a national duty. In other words, a majority of French people disapprove of his action but can't help loving the man.


Putin's move in granting the actor Russian citizenship has exacerbated things. And first of all, it is a blow to Hollande who, it was revealed, had a phone conversation with Depardieu on New Year's Day. The Elysées Palace refused to communicate on the men's exchange. A friend of the actor declared that Depardieu complained about being so reviled by the press and that he was leaving, no matter what.


If, in their hearts, the French don't quite believe Depardieu might one day settle in Moscow and abandon them, they feel deeply saddened by the whole saga. However, with France's former sex symbol Brigitte Bardot declaring that she too might ask Putin for Russian citizenship to protest against the fate of zoo elephants in Lyon, it looks as if the French may prefer to laugh the whole thing off. Proof of this: the last trend on French Twitter is #IWantRussianCitizenship.


The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Agnes Poirier.






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‘McDreamy’ says he beat Starbucks for coffee chain






SEATTLE (AP) — “Grey’s Anatomy” star Patrick Dempsey may be the real “McSteamy.”


The actor, who was dubbed “McDreamy” as a star of the hospital drama while his co-star was called “McSteamy,” may soon be serving hot, steaming cups of Joe.






Dempsey won a bankruptcy auction to buy Tully’s Coffee, a small coffee chain based in Seattle. Among those he beat out is Tully‘s much bigger Seattle neighbor, Starbucks Corp., which is known for its ubiquitous white cups with a circular green mermaid logo.


Dempsey, whose company Global Baristas LLC plans to keep the Tully’s name, declared victory on the social media site Twitter: “We met the green monster, looked her in the eye, and…SHE BLINKED! We got it! Thank you Seattle!


The win for Dempsey deals a rare setback for Starbucks on its home turf. Starbucks has long been both praised for bringing “coffeehouse culture” to the U.S. and criticized for crushing smaller chains. The coffee giant, which had planned to convert the Tully’s cafes to its own brand, last month announced plans to expand its global footprint to 20,000 cafes over the next two years, up from the current 18,000.


Dempsey said in an interview on Friday that as the underdog in Seattle, Tully’s will need to find its identity.


“It’s a much smaller chain that has a lot of potential that hasn’t been given the proper care,” he said.


But in a statement shortly after the auction on Thursday, Starbucks insinuated that Dempsey shouldn’t celebrate just yet.


Starbucks, which wanted to convert the Tully’s cafes to its own brand, said that a final determination on the winning bid won’t be made until a court hearing on Jan. 11. Starbucks said it’s in a “backup” position” to buy 25 of the 47 Tully’s cafes, with another undisclosed bidder making an offer for the remainder.


The combined bids of Starbucks and the undisclosed bidder come to $ 10.6 million, above the $ 9.2 million Dempsey’s company is offering to pay through his company, which was formed in order to purchase Tully’s. The other investors in Global Baristas aren’t being disclosed.


Tully’s Coffee, which is known for serving Joe with a milder taste than Starbucks brand, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in October, citing lease obligations and underperforming stores. Tully’s wholesale business, which includes Tully’s Coffee in bags and single serve K-cup packs that are sold in supermarkets and other stores, is owned separately by Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc.


TC Global Inc., the parent company of Tully’s, said in a release Friday that it was “encouraged and excited” about Dempsey’s commitment to the chain.


Tully’s President and CEO Scott Pearson called the deal a “great match” and that the goal is to make sure creditors get paid and to keep as many people employed as possible.


A bankruptcy court document signed late Friday by Pearson and Dempsey said TC Global had determined that Global Baristas submitted the successful bid.


“With this court filing, it’s official – our group has been chosen as the successful bidder,” Dempsey said in a statement. “We look forward to the court’s final approval on Jan. 11.”


Earlier in the day, Dempsey said he planned to be very involved in the running of the company, adding that the immediate challenges were to address bookkeeping issues, staff morale and sprucing up the coffee shops. Once the business is stabilized, Dempsey said the long-term goal would be to take the chain national.


“We can pull this off. We just have to take steps that are slow and smart,” he said. “I’m going to get behind the counter. I’m going to serve coffee…I’m going to give the company a boost of energy.”


Although Dempsey lives in Los Angeles, he plans to spend more time in Seattle, the city where “Grey’s Anatomy” is set in. Dempsey said he believed there is room in the city for Tully’s and the much larger Starbucks; he noted there might be people who are rooting for the underdog.


“In a society where there are so many big corporations that swallow the little guy, we thought, let’s not let this happen to this company,” he said.


Dempsey made an appearance Friday morning at a Tully’s near Pike Place Market, shaking hands with workers and greeting customers before visiting other stores. Several dozen people, mostly women, came into the store.


Patrease Estelle, 45, works nearby, and came in with a small group from her office.


“I will take whatever I can get. A photo, a hug, a ‘hey, how you doing,’ a wink,” said Estelle, who got a picture and handshake with the actor.


___


Blankinship reported from Seattle and Choi from New York.


Entertainment News Headlines – Yahoo! News





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“Cliff” concerns give way to earnings focus






NEW YORK (Reuters) – Investors’ “fiscal cliffworries are likely to give way to more fundamental concerns, like earnings, as fourth-quarter reports get under way next week.


Financial results, which begin after the market closes on Tuesday with aluminum company Alcoa , are expected to be only slightly better than the third-quarter’s lackluster results. As a warning sign, analyst current estimates are down sharply from what they were in October.






That could set stocks up for more volatility following a week of sharp gains that put the Standard & Poor’s 500 index <.spx> on Friday at the highest close since December 31, 2007. The index also registered its biggest weekly percentage gain in more than a year.</.spx>


Based on a Reuters analysis, Europe ranks among the chief concerns cited by companies that warned on fourth-quarter results. Uncertainty about the region and its weak economic outlook were cited by more than half of the 25 largest S&P 500 companies that issued warnings.


In the most recent earnings conference calls, macroeconomic worries were cited by 10 companies while the U.S. “fiscal cliff” was cited by at least nine as reasons for their earnings warnings.


“The number of things that could go wrong isn’t so high, but the magnitude of how wrong they could go is what’s worrisome,” said Kurt Winters, senior portfolio manager for Whitebox Mutual Funds in Minneapolis.


Negative-to-positive guidance by S&P 500 companies for the fourth quarter was 3.6 to 1, the second worst since the third quarter of 2001, according to Thomson Reuters data.


U.S. lawmakers narrowly averted the “fiscal cliff” by coming to a last-minute agreement on a bill to avoid steep tax hikes this weeks — driving the rally in stocks — but the battle over further spending cuts is expected to resume in two months.


Investors also have seen a revival of worries about Europe’s sovereign debt problems, with Moody’s in November downgrading France’s credit rating and debt crises looming for Spain and other countries.


“You have a recession in Europe as a base case. Europe is still the biggest trading partner with a lot of U.S. companies, and it’s still a big chunk of global capital spending,” said Adam Parker, chief U.S. equity strategist at Morgan Stanley in New York.


Among companies citing worries about Europe was eBay , whose chief financial officer, Bob Swan, spoke of “macro pressures from Europe” in the company’s October earnings conference call.


REVENUE WORRIES


One of the biggest worries voiced about earnings has been whether companies will be able to continue to boost profit growth despite relatively weak revenue growth.


S&P 500 revenue fell 0.8 percent in the third quarter for the first decline since the third quarter of 2009, Thomson Reuters data showed. Earnings growth for the quarter was a paltry 0.1 percent after briefly dipping into negative territory.


On top of that, just 40 percent of S&P 500 companies beat revenue expectations in the third quarter, while 64.2 percent beat earnings estimates, the Thomson Reuters data showed.


For the fourth quarter, estimates are slightly better but are well off estimates for the quarter from just a few months earlier. S&P 500 earnings are expected to have risen 2.8 percent while revenue is expected to have gone up 1.9 percent.


Back in October, earnings growth for the fourth quarter was forecast up 9.9 percent.


In spite of the cautious outlooks, some analysts still see a good chance for earnings beats this reporting period.


“The thinking is you need top line growth for earnings to continue to expand, and we’ve seen the market defy that,” said Mike Jackson, founder of Denver-based investment firm T3 Equity Labs.


Based on his analysis, energy, industrials and consumer discretionary are the S&P sectors most likely to beat earnings expectations in the upcoming season, while consumer staples, materials and utilities are the least likely to beat, Jackson said.


Sounding a positive note on Friday, drugmaker Eli Lilly and Co said it expects profit in 2013 to increase by more than Wall Street had been forecasting, primarily due to cost controls and improved productivity.


(Reporting By Caroline Valetkevitch; Editing by Kenneth Barry)


Business News Headlines – Yahoo! News





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Pan Global Resources Inc. Completes Non-Brokered Financing






VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA–(Marketwire – Jan 4, 2013) – Pan Global Resources Inc. (TSX VENTURE:PGZ) (the “Company“) today announced that it has completed its previously announced non-brokered private placement (the “Offering“) and issued an aggregate of 2,747,500 units (the “Units“) at a price of $ 0.40 per Unit for gross proceeds of $ 1,099,000. The offering was oversubscribed by nearly 250,000 Units.


Each Unit consists of one common share and one share purchase warrant, with each whole warrant entitling the holder to purchase one additional common share at a price of $ 0.60 for two years from closing of the Offering.






All securities issued with respect to the Offering are subject to a four month hold period expiring April 20, 2013. The Offering is subject to the final approval of the TSX Venture Exchange.


Finder”s fees of cash in an amount equal to 6.0% of proceeds and finder”s warrants (“Finder”s Warrants“) equal to 6.0% of the number of Units issued were paid to one finder on a portion of the offering. Each Finder”s Warrant will be exercisable to acquire one common share for a period of two years from closing of the Offering at $ 0.40 per share.


The proceeds of the private placement will be used primarily to further the Company”s exploration program in the Republic of Serbia undertaken by our exploration partner, Lithium Li Holdings Inc.


Shares Issued and Outstanding: 31,535,521


Marketwire News Archive – Yahoo! Finance





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"Cliff" concerns give way to earnings focus

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Investors' "fiscal cliff" worries are likely to give way to more fundamental concerns, like earnings, as fourth-quarter reports get under way next week.


Financial results, which begin after the market closes on Tuesday with aluminum company Alcoa , are expected to be only slightly better than the third-quarter's lackluster results. As a warning sign, analyst current estimates are down sharply from what they were in October.


That could set stocks up for more volatility following a week of sharp gains that put the Standard & Poor's 500 index <.spx> on Friday at the highest close since December 31, 2007. The index also registered its biggest weekly percentage gain in more than a year.


Based on a Reuters analysis, Europe ranks among the chief concerns cited by companies that warned on fourth-quarter results. Uncertainty about the region and its weak economic outlook were cited by more than half of the 25 largest S&P 500 companies that issued warnings.


In the most recent earnings conference calls, macroeconomic worries were cited by 10 companies while the U.S. "fiscal cliff" was cited by at least nine as reasons for their earnings warnings.


"The number of things that could go wrong isn't so high, but the magnitude of how wrong they could go is what's worrisome," said Kurt Winters, senior portfolio manager for Whitebox Mutual Funds in Minneapolis.


Negative-to-positive guidance by S&P 500 companies for the fourth quarter was 3.6 to 1, the second worst since the third quarter of 2001, according to Thomson Reuters data.


U.S. lawmakers narrowly averted the "fiscal cliff" by coming to a last-minute agreement on a bill to avoid steep tax hikes this weeks -- driving the rally in stocks -- but the battle over further spending cuts is expected to resume in two months.


Investors also have seen a revival of worries about Europe's sovereign debt problems, with Moody's in November downgrading France's credit rating and debt crises looming for Spain and other countries.


"You have a recession in Europe as a base case. Europe is still the biggest trading partner with a lot of U.S. companies, and it's still a big chunk of global capital spending," said Adam Parker, chief U.S. equity strategist at Morgan Stanley in New York.


Among companies citing worries about Europe was eBay , whose chief financial officer, Bob Swan, spoke of "macro pressures from Europe" in the company's October earnings conference call.


REVENUE WORRIES


One of the biggest worries voiced about earnings has been whether companies will be able to continue to boost profit growth despite relatively weak revenue growth.


S&P 500 revenue fell 0.8 percent in the third quarter for the first decline since the third quarter of 2009, Thomson Reuters data showed. Earnings growth for the quarter was a paltry 0.1 percent after briefly dipping into negative territory.


On top of that, just 40 percent of S&P 500 companies beat revenue expectations in the third quarter, while 64.2 percent beat earnings estimates, the Thomson Reuters data showed.


For the fourth quarter, estimates are slightly better but are well off estimates for the quarter from just a few months earlier. S&P 500 earnings are expected to have risen 2.8 percent while revenue is expected to have gone up 1.9 percent.


Back in October, earnings growth for the fourth quarter was forecast up 9.9 percent.


In spite of the cautious outlooks, some analysts still see a good chance for earnings beats this reporting period.


"The thinking is you need top line growth for earnings to continue to expand, and we've seen the market defy that," said Mike Jackson, founder of Denver-based investment firm T3 Equity Labs.


Based on his analysis, energy, industrials and consumer discretionary are the S&P sectors most likely to beat earnings expectations in the upcoming season, while consumer staples, materials and utilities are the least likely to beat, Jackson said.


Sounding a positive note on Friday, drugmaker Eli Lilly and Co said it expects profit in 2013 to increase by more than Wall Street had been forecasting, primarily due to cost controls and improved productivity.


(Reporting By Caroline Valetkevitch; Editing by Kenneth Barry)



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Manziel leads A&M to Cotton Bowl rout of Sooners


ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — At one point early in the Cotton Bowl, with "Johnny B. Goode" blaring through the stadium speakers, Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel peeked up at the accompanying highlights on the huge video board hanging over the field.


Texas A&M's exciting dual-threat quarterback known as Johnny Football sure puts on a show worth watching.


"Best player I've ever played. He does so many good things. He's got magic," Oklahoma defensive coordinator Mike Stoops said. "He'll have a chance to win four (Heismans) if he stays healthy."


Manziel tiptoed down the sideline for a 23-yard TD on the game's opening drive and went on to an FBS bowl record for quarterbacks with 229 yards rushing on 17 carries. He also set a Cotton Bowl record with 516 total yards as the 10th-ranked Aggies beat No. 12 Oklahoma 41-13 on Friday night to wrap up their first SEC season.


With first-year coach Kevin Sumlin and their young star quarterback after leaving the Big 12 for the SEC, the Aggies (11-2) overwhelming won the only bowl game matching teams from those two power conferences. They won 11 games for the first time since 1998, their only Big 12 title season.


The Aggies never trailed while winning their last six games and became the first SEC team with more than 7,000 total yards — 7,261 after gaining 633 in the Cotton Bowl.


"It's huge for this program, and for me especially, with the kind of woes A&M has had over the past decade or however long it's been since they had 11 wins," Manziel said. "For us to get up tonight and watch them battle back, it's good when we strike first. That's what we like to do. It was good to do that and not really look back."


Texas A&M led by only a point at halftime, but scored on its first three drives of the second half — on drives of 91 and 89 yards before Manziel threw a short pass to Ryan Swope on fourth-and-5 that turned into a 33-yard TD and a 34-13 lead.


Oklahoma (10-3), which like the Aggies entered the game with a five-game winning streak, went three-and-out on its first three drives after halftime in what was quarterback Landry Jones' 50th and final career start.


"Feel just disappointed that he's going out this way, getting beat like that," Sooners center Gabe Ikard said.


Jones completed 35 of 48 passes for 278 yards with a touchdown and an interception. He won 39 games and three bowls for the Sooners, in a career that started on the same field in the 2009 season opener when he replaced injured Heisman winner Sam Bradford in the first college game at Cowboys Stadium.


But Jones missed out becoming only the third NCAA quarterback to go 4-0 as a starter in bowl games.


"It was obvious tonight that we didn't play the way we should have played," said Jones, whose frustration was evident when he yelled at a teammate after a failed fourth-down play. "We couldn't run it. We couldn't throw it. It happens, you know."


SEC teams have won the last five Cotton Bowls, all against Big 12 teams, and nine out of 10. That included Texas A&M's loss to LSU only two years ago.


It had been six weeks since the Aggies played their last game, and four weeks since Manziel became the first freshman to win college football's highest individual award.


Manziel got it started with an electrifying 24-yard run on third down on the opening drive. Then on a third-and-10, Manziel rolled to his left and took off, juked around a defender and got near the sideline. He tiptoed to stay in bounds and punctuated his 23-yard score with a high-step over the pylon for a quick lead.


Officials reviewed the play to make sure he did stay in bounds, and the replays showed clearly that he did.


"There is too much talk about how you perform after the Heisman and about the layoff and all of that," said Manziel, who set an SEC record with 4,600 total yards in the regular season. "There wasn't anything holding us back. No rust, there was no nothing. We played as a unit."


The chants of "S-E-C! S-E-C!" began after Swope's TD catch with 4 minutes left in the third quarter. They got louder and longer after that, and Manziel spread both his arms out and ran off the field like he was flying.


Oklahoma was in the Cotton Bowl for only the second time. It was the first bowl matchup between the former Big 12 rivals, but the 17th consecutive season they have played each other.


The Sooners had won 11 of 13 in the series since Bob Stoops became their coach. That included a 77-0 Oklahoma win in 2003 that was the most-lopsided loss in Texas A&M history.


Sumlin was the A&M offensive coordinator in 2002 when the Aggies upset the top-ranked Sooners. The next year, Sumlin was hired by Stoops as an assistant, and he stayed there five seasons before going to Houston as head coach and now the Aggies.


"I think tonight was really indicative of this season," Sumlin said. "It's one of the teams I thought in the country that truly got better every week."


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Myanmar: Evolution, not revolution




Tourists walk around the Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon in April. The tourism industry is set for expansion.




STORY HIGHLIGHTS


  • Myanmar is undergoing incremental change, welcomed by all, says Parag Khanna

  • But he says people still tread lightly, careful not to overstep or demand too much

  • Myanmar has survived succession of natural and man-made ravages, Khanna adds

  • With sanctions lifted, foreign investment is now pouring in from Western nations




Editor's note: Parag Khanna is a Senior Research Fellow at the New America Foundation and Senior Fellow at the Singapore Institute of International Affairs. His books include "The Second World," "How to Run the World," and "Hybrid Reality."


Yangon, Myanmar (CNN) -- Call it a case for evolution instead of revolution. While the Arab world continues in the throes of violence and uncertainty, Myanmar is undergoing incremental change -- and almost everyone seems to want it that way.


The government is lightening up: holding elections, freeing political prisoners, abolishing censorship, legalizing protests, opening to investment and tourists and welcoming back exiles. But the people still tread lightly, careful not to overstep or demand too much. Still, the consensus is clear: Change in Myanmar is "irreversible."


Read more: Aung San Suu Kyi and the power of unity


As the British Raj's jungle frontier, Burma was a key Asian battleground resisting the Japanese occupation of Southeast Asia during World War II. As with many post-colonial countries, the euphoria of independence and democracy in 1948 gave way in just over a decade to the 1962 coup in which General Ne Win nationalized the economy and abolished most institutions except the army.



Parag Khanna

Parag Khanna



Non-alignment gave way to isolationism. Like Syria or Uzbekistan, Myanmar became an ancient Silk Road passageway that almost voluntarily choked itself off, choosing the unique path of a Buddhist state conducting genocide, slavery, and human trafficking.


Watch: Myanmar in grip of economic revolution


The military junta began its increasingly cozy rapproachment with Deng Xiaoping's China in the 1970s, just as China was opening to the world, and used cash from its Golden Triangle drug-running operations to pay for Chinese weapons.


Mass protests, crackdowns and another coup in 1988 led to a rebranding of the junta as the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) and the country's official renaming as the Union of Myanmar.


Terrorized, starving and homeless: Myanmar's Rohingya still forgotten


The 1990 elections, in which Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) won a majority of the seats, were annulled by the SLORC, which continued to rule until 2011 when it was formally disbanded. Most international sanctions on Myanmar have now been lifted.






Read more: Myanmar: Is now a good time to go?


In just the past few years, Myanmar has survived a succession of natural and man-made ravages, from the brutal crackdown on the Saffron Revolution of 2007 (led by Buddhist monks but more widely supported in protest against rising fuel prices and economic mismanagement), to Cyclone Nargis (which killed an estimated 200,000 people in 2008) to civil wars between the government's army and ethnic groups such as the Kachin in the north and Shan and Karen in the east, and communal violence between the Muslim Rohingya (ethnic Bengalis) and Buddhist Rakhine in the west.


There are still approximately 150,000 Karen refugees in Thailand (and over 300,000 total refugees on the Thai-Burmese border) and more than 100,000 displaced Rohinya living in camps in Sittwe. So difficult is holding Myanmar together that even Aung San Suu Kyi, who helps lead the national reconciliation process, ironically advocated the use of the army (which kept her under house arrest for almost two decades) to pacify the rebellions.


Though sectarian conflict between Muslims and Buddhists in Rakhine underscores the Myanmar's tenuous search for national unity, the genuine efforts at religious pluralism are reminiscent of neighboring India: Every religion is officially recognized, and days are given off for observance. Surrounding Yangon's downtown City Hall is not only the giant Sule Pagoda but also a mosque, synagogue, church and Jain temple. The roundabout is therefore a symbol of the country's diversity -- but also the place where protesters flock when the government doesn't live up to promises.


Q&A: What's behind sectarian violence in Myanmar?


Scarred from decades of oppressive and ideological rule and still beset by conflict, it is therefore against all odds that Myanmar would become the most talked about frontier market of the moment, a top Christmas holiday destination and a case study in democratic transitions. Myanmar's political scene is now a vibrant but cacophonous discourse involving the still-powerful army; upstart parliament; repatriated civilian advisers; flourishing civil society, including human rights groups, ambitious business community, the Buddhist religious community, and a feisty media (especially online).


The parliament is pushing for accountability in telecom and energy contracts, and its speaker, Shwe Mann, is already maneuvering to challenge the chairman of his Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) -- current president Thein Sein -- in the 2015 elections.


In the meantime, however, the establishment in Yangon and the new capital of Napyidaw need to focus much more on building capacity. Thein Sein, who traded in his uniform for indigenous attire in 2011, has reshuffled the Cabinet to make room for functional experts in the energy and economic portfolios. He's even spearheaded an anti-corruption drive, admitting recently that Myanmar's "governance falls well below international standards." By many accounts he is also very open to advice on investment and other reforms.


He will need it, as Myanmar faces crucial tests of its international credibility in the coming years. In 2013, Myanmar will play host to the World Economic Forum (WEF) as well as the Southeast Asian Games. In 2014 it will chair the ASEAN regional group, and in 2015 it is expected to enter a new ASEAN Free Trade Area.


The military's power is still pervasive, placing it somewhere on the spectrum between Indonesia, where military influence has been rolled back, and Pakistan, where the military still dominates. On the streets, it's often difficult to know who is in charge.


One numerological fetish led to the driving side being unilaterally changed, making Myanmar the rare place where the steering wheel is (mostly) on the right, and cars drive (mostly) on the right. At least a dozen official and private newspapers (though private daily papers are not allowed yet) are on offer from meandering street hawkers, while you inch through Yangon's increasingly dense daily traffic jams.


At this time of year, visitors to Burma enjoy crisp, smoky morning air and dry, starry nights. Yangon is undergoing a construction boom, with faded colonial embassies turned into bustling banks, the national independence column being refurbished and redesigned with a park, and tycoons building columned mansions near downtown -- and seeking Buddhist blessings by pledging lavish donations for the construction of even more monasteries and pagodas.


By 2020, the population of Yangon could easily double from the current 5 million, at which point it may look like a mix of Calcutta and Kuala Lumpur.


Thant Myint-U, the grandson of former U.N. Secretary-General U Thant and noted historian of modern Burma, now wears several hats related to ethnic reconciliation, foreign donor trust funds and urban conservation. He says that as foreign aid flows grow from trickles into a flood, they have to be systematically focused on sustainable employment creation and infrastructure. USAID has pledged to spend more than $150 million in Myanmar in the next three years.



Myanmar's opening, however, is strongly motivated by an anti-Chinese sentiment that is part of a much wider global blowback against China's commercial and strategic encroachment
Parag Khanna



Outside of Yangon, the pace of Burmese society slows to a timeless pace -- as do Internet connections. On village roads, cycle rickshaws and monks with parasols amble by fruit vendors and car part stalls. Whether at the Dhammayazika Pagoda in Bagan or Mandalay Hill in that city, locals enjoy watching sunrises and sunsets as much as tourists.


Traveling around Myanmar, one observes the paradox of a country that has massive potential yet still needs just about everything. Yangon's vegetable market is a maze of tented alleys overflowing with cabbage, pineapples, eggplant and flowers, but they are still transported by wheelbarrows and bicycles. Ox-drawn ploughs still power farming in much of the country, meaning agricultural output of rice, beans and other staples could grow immensely through mechanization.


Similarly, the British-era light-rail loop circling Yangon takes about three hours to ride once around, with no linking bus services into downtown. But with cars already clogging the city, a major transport overhaul is essential. The communications sector actually needs to be re-invented. At present, the country's Internet and mobile phone penetration are only just growing; both are still governed by India's 1886 Telegraph Act. Mobile penetration is only 3 million but could easily grow to 30 million (half the population) within the next couple of years, as the price of SIM cards come down (so far from $2,000 to about $200), and foreign telecoms are allowed in to provide data coverage.


With sanctions lifted, foreign investment is now pouring in from Western nations, in addition to the players who have been making inroads for years such as China, Thailand and Singapore. The paradox, however, is that Myanmar lacks the infrastructure (physical and institutional) to absorb all the investor interest.


Major nations have thus focused on special economic zones that they themselves effectively run. The way Japan has moved into Myanmar, one would think that its World War II imperialism has been forgotten. After their major bet on the Thilawa special economic zone south of Yangon, Japanese contractors have plans to deepen the Yangon River's estuary so that cargo ships can sail directly up to the city's shores and offload more containers of cars that are already being briskly snapped up at busy dealerships.


Besides natural gas and agriculture, everyone agrees that tourism will comprise an ever-larger share of the country's GDP. Especially with much of the country off-limits to foreigners due to security restrictions and the military's economic operations, tourists already clog all existing suitable hotels in Yangon, Bagan and Mandalay, meaning a massive upgrade is needed in the hospitality sector.


Annual tourist visits are climbing 25% annually to an estimated 400,000 for 2012. Daily flights arrive packed from around the region, with longer-haul routes beginning from as far afield as Istanbul and Doha.


Still, Myanmar is a traveler's dream come true. In Bagan, you can walk or take a sunrise jog around countless pagodas that feel like they haven't been touched in 800 years -- some actually haven't. There is also the sacred and enchanting Golden Rock; the pristine beaches of Ngwe Saung, which rival the best of Thailand and the Philippines; the temperate climate of Inle Lake; the Himalayan foothills near Putao in far northern Kachin state where one can trek; the rich dynastic history of Mandalay; and the languorous Irrawaddy River cruises that harken to George Orwell's "Burmese Days."


Yangon has a pleasant charm and gentle energy, with vast gardens and riverside walks, the grandeur of centuries-old monuments such as the Shwedegon Pagoda, a fast-growing cultural scene of art galleries and music performances, and a melting pot population of all Myanmar's tribes as well as industrious overseas Indians and Chinese, who make up 5% of the nation's population.


Mandalay in particular is where one feels the depth of China's demographic penetration into Myanmar, owing not only to recent decades of commercial expansion from gems trading to real estate but also centuries of seasonal migrations across the rugged natural border with Yunnan province. Some have begun to call the Shan region "Yunnan South."


The combination of the Saffron Revolution, civil strife, sanctions, its economic lag behind the rest of ASEAN, and the status of becoming a captive resource supplier to China all played crucial roles in Myanmar's opening. China has traditionally been a kingmaker in isolated and sanctioned countries and well-placed to capitalize on the infrastructural and extractive needs of emerging economies as well.


For China, Myanmar represents a crucial artery to evade the "Malacca trap" represented by its dependence on shipping transit through the Straits of Malacca. In 2011 China was still far and away the largest foreign investor in Myanmar, bringing in $5 billion (of a total of $9 billion) across their 2,000-kilometer (1250-mile)-long border. The massive ongoing investments include 63 hydropower projects, a 2,400-kilometer (1500-mile) Sittwe-to-Kunming oil pipeline from the Bay of Bengal and a proposed gas pipeline to China's Yunnan beginning at Myanmar's Ramree Island -- not to mention an entire military outfitted with Chinese tanks, helicopters, boats and planes.


Myanmar's opening, however, is strongly motivated by an anti-Chinese sentiment that is part of a much wider global blowback against its commercial and strategic encroachment. Even well-kept generals are fundamentally Burmese nationalists and awoke to the predicament of total economic and strategic dependence on China. The government has taken major steps to correct this excessive tilt, suspending a major hydroelectric dam project at Myitsone and re-evaluating Wanbao Mining company's giant copper mine concession near Monywa.


Myanmar is now deftly playing the same multi-alignment game mastered by countries such as Kazakhstan in trying to escape the Soviet-Russian sphere of influence: courting all sides and gaining whatever one can from multiple great powers and neighbors while giving up as little autonomy as possible.


India sees Myanmar as the crucial gateway for its "Look East" policy and is offering substantial investments in oil and gas as well as port construction and information technology; Europe has become a larger investor, especially Great Britain; Russia is being courted as a new arms supplier; Japan is viewing Myanmar as its new Thailand for automobile production; and of course, U.S. President Barack Obama visited in December, paving the way not only for greater U.S. investment but even for Myanmar to potentially participate in the Cobra Gold military exercises held annually with America's regional allies.


Obama was not only the first U.S. president to visit Myanmar but also the first to call it by that name, conceding ground in a long-running dispute. The administration hopes that North Korea, Asia's still frozen outcast, will learn the lessons from Myanmar's steady but determined opening.


But countries that are playing multi-alignment don't have to thaw domestically -- witness Saudi Arabia and Kazakhstan. Myanmar is simultaneously undergoing political liberalization and international rehabilitation -- a tricky and laudable feat for sure but not one North Korea is likely to emulate entirely. What the two do have in common, however, is the growing realization that having China as a neighbor is both a blessing and a curse.


During my visit to the "Genius Language School," where university students go for professional English tutoring, I asked the assembled round table whether they were happy that Obama came to visit and whether they considered America a friend. All giggled and chanted: "Yes."


Then I asked, "Are you afraid of China?" And the answer came in immediate, resounding unison: "Yes!"


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The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Parag Khanna.






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Codeblack snags next Kevin Hart concert film, Summit plots July 4 release






NEW YORK (TheWrap.com) – Codeblack Films has acquired Kevin Hart‘s concert film, “Kevin Hart: Let Me Explain,” which Summit plans to release in theaters over the July 4 weekend.


Hart’s 2012 tour spanned 10 countries and 80 cities, selling more than 540,000 tickets. He stopped at some of the world’s biggest venues, including Madison Square Garden and London’s O2 Arena.






“Let Me Explain is my best work to date,” Hart said in a statement. “I am beyond excited by how my fans will be able to see my growth as a stand-up comedian from my first special I’m a Grown Little Man until now,” Hart said in a statement.


Hart has built himself into one of the most successful comedians working today, combining stand-up, acting roles and hosting duties at various awards shows.


He starred in 2012′s “Think Like A Man,” which was a surprise box office hit for Sony’s ScreenGems label with a $ 96 million worldwide haul. Codeblack partnered with Hart on his last concert film, “Kevin Hart: Laugh at My Pain,” which grossed $ 7.7 million in limited release.


Lionsgate, owner of Summit, made a deal with Jeff Clanagan in May to bring Codeblack under its corporate umbrella. Clanagan founded Codeblack to make movies, TV shows and other entertainment properties for black or “urban” audiences.


“I am very excited about working with Kevin on his next stand up film,” Clanagan said in a statement. “We laid the groundwork with Laugh at My Pain. Let me Explain will show Kevin’s growth as a comedian and entrepreneur as well as his global appeal.”


Movies News Headlines – Yahoo! News





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Stock futures flat amid caution ahead of jobs report






NEW YORK (Reuters) – Stock futures were little changed on Friday amid caution ahead of a key jobs report and concern the U.S. Federal Reserve may end its asset-buying program.


* The employment reading, to be released by the Labor Department at 8:30 a.m. EST (1330 GMT), is likely to point to modest economic growth despite uncertainty in recent months over a fiscal crisis that continues to dog the U.S. economy.






* U.S. employers likely stepped up hiring in December for the holidays, but the gain will probably not be enough to make inroads in the country’s still-high unemployment rate.


* Payrolls outside the farming sector are expected to have grown by 150,000 last month, a modest increase from November’s 146,000 job gain, according to a Reuters poll of analysts.


* S&P 500 futures added 0.9 point and were in line with fair value, a formula that evaluates pricing by taking into account interest rates, dividends and time to expiration on the contract. Dow Jones industrial average futures lost 11 points, while Nasdaq 100 futures added 3 points.


* U.S. stocks dipped on Thursday as investors pulled back after a two-day rally on signs the Federal Reserve was concerned about its highly stimulative monetary policy.


* The Fed said last month it would keep interest rates near zero until unemployment fell to at least 6.5 percent, and as long as inflation does not rise above 2.5 percent.


* Walgreen is set to report December same-store sales, a day after several major U.S. retailers beat expectations of modest sales increases in December as shoppers wrapped up holiday buying.


* Mosaic Co reported that its quarterly operating profit fell 30 percent as international distributors delayed buying potash and phosphate to avert the price risk associated with the fertilizer producer’s negotiations with China and India.


* Japan’s Nikkei share average climbed nearly 3 percent to a 22-month high on its first trading day of 2013 on Friday, as a deal in Washington to avert fiscal disaster buoyed investor risk appetite and the weaker yen lifted exporters such as Toyota Motor Corp . Japan’s markets were closed Thursday for a holiday.


(Reporting by Angela Moon; Editing by Bernadette Baum)


Business News Headlines – Yahoo! News





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Global Equity Markets Reflected Positive Returns on First Trading Day of 2013 After Russell Global Indexes Post Strong Gains in 2012






SEATTLE, WA–(Marketwire – Jan 4, 2013) – The U.S. equity markets showed positive returns on Wednesday, January 2nd 2013 as reflected by the Russell U.S. Indexes, the day after U.S. Congress passed a resolution to avert the so-called “fiscal cliff.” The Russell 1000® Index of large-cap U.S. stocks reflected a daily return of 2.5%, led by the Technology (3.1%), Financial Services (2.8%) and Consumer Staples (2.7%) sectors. And the Russell 2000® Index of small-cap U.S. stocks reflected a daily return of 2.8%, led by the Materials & Processing (3.6%), Technology (3.5%) and Consumer Staples (3.0%) sectors. In addition, the Russell 2000 Index reached an all-time high on Wednesday in total and price index value.*


Other world equity markets also performed strongly Wednesday, with positive returns for the Russell Eurozone Index, Russell Greater China Index and Russell Emerging Markets Index. This follows positive returns for these indexes in 2012.






“By forging a last minute deal to mitigate much of the immediate impact of the fiscal cliff, the White House, Senate, and the Republican-controlled House of Representatives addressed the first (but by no means only) policy challenge in 2013 — and the short-term reaction has been a rally in global risk assets as shown by equity index returns to begin the year,” said Stephen Wood, Chief Market Strategist for Russell Investments. “An ‘all clear sign’ is premature as unresolved fiscal issues in the U.S. as well as Europe will keep uncertainty alive in the coming months. As a consequence, we expect to see ongoing volatility and a ‘risk-on/risk-off’ investment environment globally, which may increase the need for a dynamic, multi-asset portfolio approach.”




































































































































     
Index / Sector 2012 January 2, 2013
Russell 1000 Index 16.4% 2.5%
Russell 1000 Technology Sector 12.5% 3.1%
Russell 1000 Financial Services Sector 27.2% 2.8%
Russell 1000 Consumer Staples Sector 10.0% 2.7%
Russell 1000 Materials & Processing Sector 17.7% 2.6%
Russell 1000 Producer Durables Sector 16.3% 2.5%
Russell 1000 Utilities Sector 7.8% 2.4%
Russell 1000 Consumer Discretionary Sector 25.3% 2.3%
Russell 1000 Energy Sector 4.1% 2.3%
Russell 1000 Healthcare Sector 19.5% 2.0%
Russell 2000 Index 16.4% 2.8%
Russell 2000 Materials & Processing Sector 26.4% 3.6%
Russell 2000 Technology Sector 9.3% 3.5%
Russell 2000 Consumer Staples Sector 10.9% 3.0%
Russell 2000 Energy Sector -3.9% 2.9%
Russell 2000 Financial Services Sector 21.3% 2.8%
Russell 2000 Healthcare Sector 17.3% 2.8%
Russell 2000 Producer Durables Sector 15.9% 2.8%
Russell 2000 Utilities Sector 5.8% 2.4%
Russell 2000 Consumer Discretionary Sector 23.3% 2.0%
Russell Eurozone Index 20.8% 2.9%
Russell Greater China Index 21.2% 2.3%
Russell Emerging Markets Index 19.1% 2.0%
     

Source: Russell Investments


Please note: Indexes are unmanaged and cannot be invested in directly. Returns represent past performance, are not a guarantee of future performance, and are not indicative of any specific investment. Russell’s publication of the Indexes or Index constituents in no way suggests or implies a representation or opinion by Russell as to the attractiveness of investing in a particular security. Inclusion of a security in an Index is not a promotion, sponsorship or endorsement of a security by Russell and Russell makes no representation, warranty or guarantee with respect to the performance of any security included in a Russell Index.


Disclaimer: http://www.russell.com/indexes/about/index_alerts.asp#disclaimer


Marketwire News Archive – Yahoo! Finance




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Wall Street opens a tad higher after jobs data


NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks opened slightly higher after a key U.S. jobs report showed the pace of hiring by employers had eased slightly in December but gave signals of some momentum in the labor market's recovery since the 2007-09 recession.


Though the data showed lackluster economic growth was unable to make a dent in the still-high U.S. unemployment rate, it calmed fears about the possibility of the U.S. Federal Reserve ending its highly stimulative monetary policy.


The Dow Jones industrial average <.dji> was up 17.12 points, or 0.13 percent, at 13,408.48. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.spx> was up 1.49 points, or 0.10 percent, at 1,460.86. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.ixic> was up 0.75 points, or 0.02 percent, at 3,101.32.


(Editing by Bernadette Baum)



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Oregon runs past K-State 35-17 at Fiesta Bowl


GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — As Oregon coach Chip Kelly was about to receive the massive Fiesta Bowl trophy, Ducks fans inside University of Phoenix Stadium started a chant of "We want Chip!"


Whether he returns or not is up in the air.


If Kelly does head to the NFL, this was a great send off.


Sparked by De'Anthony Thomas' 94-yard touchdown return on the opening kickoff, No. 5 Oregon turned the Fiesta Bowl into a track meet from the start and bolted past No. 7 Kansas State 35-17 Thursday night in what could be Kelly's final game with the Ducks.


"This wasn't going to be a distraction," Kelly said of reports that he was headed to the NFL. "It wasn't a distraction for me — I think it's an honor. But I think it's an honor because of the players we have in this program that people want to talk to me."


Teams that had their national title aspirations end on the same day, Oregon and Kansas State ended up in the desert for a marquee matchup billed as a battle of styles: The fast-flying Ducks vs. the methodical Wildcats.


With Kelly reportedly talking to several NFL teams, Oregon (12-1) was too much for Kansas State and its Heisman Trophy finalist, Collin Klein, who were playing catch-up from the start.


Thomas followed his before-everyone-sat-down kickoff return with a 23-yard touchdown catch, finishing with 195 total yards.


Kenjon Barner ran for 143 yards on 31 carries and scored on a 24-yard touchdown pass from Marcus Mariota in the second quarter. Mariota later scored on a 2-yard run in the third quarter, capped by an obscure 1-point safety that went in the Ducks' favor.


Even Oregon's defense got into the act, intercepting Klein twice and holding him to 30 yards on 13 carries.


"We got beat by a better team tonight, combined by the fact that we let down from time to time," coach Bill Snyder said after Kansas State's fifth straight bowl loss.


Last year's Fiesta Bowl was an offensive fiesta, with Oklahoma State outlasting Stanford 41-38 in overtime.


The 2013 version was an upgrade: Nos. 4 and 5 in the BCS, two of the nation's best offenses, dynamic players and superbly successful coaches on both sides.


Oregon has become the standard for go-go-go football under Kelly, its fleet of Ducks making those shiny helmets — green like Christmas tree bulbs for the Fiesta Bowl — and flashy uniforms blur across the grassy landscape.


Thomas offered the first flash of speed, picking up a couple of blocks and racing toward a not-so-photo finish at the line.


Thomas hit the Wildcats (11-2) again late in the first quarter, breaking a couple of tackles and dragging three defenders into the end zone for a catch-and-run TD that put the Ducks up 15-0.


It's nothing new for Oregon's sophomore sensation: He had 314 total yards and two long touchdown runs in the 2012 Rose Bowl. The Ducks are used to it, too, averaging more than 50 points per game.


And they kept flying.


Oregon followed a missed 40-yard field goal by Kansas State's Anthony Cantele by unleashing one of its blink-and-you'll-miss-it scoring drives late in the second quarter. Moving 77 yards in 46 seconds, the Ducks went up 22-10 at halftime after Mariota hit Barner on 24-yard TD pass.


Alejandro Maldonado hit a 33-yard field goal on Oregon's opening drive of the third quarter and Mariota capped a long drive with an easy 2-yard TD run to the left. Kansas State's Javonta Boyd blocked the point-after attempt, but even that went wrong for the Wildcats. Chris Harper was tackled in the end zone for a bizarre 1-point safety that put Oregon up 32-10.


It was the first 1-point safety in major college football since 2004 when Texas did it against Texas A&M, STATS said.


"There were so many things that could have changed the outcome of this game," Kansas State linebacker Arthur Brown said.


Kansas State needed a little time to get its wheels spinning on offense, laboring early before Klein scored on a 6-yard run early in the second quarter.


Klein kept the Wildcats moving in the quarter, though not toward touchdowns: Cantele hit a 25-yard field goal and missed from 40 after a false-start penalty.


Klein hit John Hubert on a 10-yard touchdown pass early in the fourth quarter, but all that did was cut Oregon's lead to 32-17.


He threw for 151 yards on 17 of 32 passing.


"It wasn't really complicated," Kelly said of slowing Klein. "He's a great player, one of the greats of college football. I had my heart in my throat a couple of times watching him around, but our guys just made plays when they had to make plays."


By doing so, they may have put a nice exclamation point on Kelly's college career.


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Why U.S. lives under the shadow of 'W'




Julian Zelizer says former President George W. Bush's key tax and homeland security policies survive in the age of Obama




STORY HIGHLIGHTS


  • Julian Zelizer: For all the criticism Bush got, two key policies have survived

  • He says fiscal cliff pact perpetuates nearly all of Bush's tax cuts

  • Obama administration has largely followed Bush's homeland security policy, he says

  • Zelizer: By squeezing revenues, Bush tax cuts will put pressure on spending




Editor's note: Julian Zelizer is a professor of history and public affairs at Princeton University. He is the author of "Jimmy Carter" and of "Governing America."


Princeton, New Jersey (CNN) -- Somewhere in Texas, former President George W. Bush is smiling.


Although some Democrats are pleased that taxes will now go up on the wealthiest Americans, the recent deal to avert the fiscal cliff entrenches, rather than dismantles, one of Bush's signature legacies -- income tax cuts. Ninety-nine percent of American households were protected from tax increases, aside from the expiration of the reduced rate for the payroll tax.



Julian Zelizer

Julian Zelizer



In the final deal, Congress and President Barack Obama agreed to preserve most of the Bush tax cuts, including exemptions on the estate tax.


When Bush started his term in 2001, many of his critics dismissed him as a lightweight, the son of a former president who won office as result of his family's political fortune and a controversial decision by the Supreme Court on the 2000 election.



But what has become clear in hindsight, regardless of what one thinks of Bush and his politics, is that his administration left behind a record that has had a huge impact on American politics, a record that will not easily be dismantled by future presidents.


The twin pillars of Bush's record were counterterrorism policies and tax cuts. During his first term, it became clear that Obama would not dismantle most of the homeland security apparatus put into place by his predecessor. Despite a campaign in 2008 that focused on flaws with the nation's response to 9/11, Obama has kept most of the counterterrorism program intact.


Opinion: The real issue is runaway spending


In some cases, the administration continues to aggressively use tactics his supporters once decried, such as relying on renditions to detain terrorist suspects who are overseas, as The Washington Post reported this week. In other areas, the administration has expanded the war on terrorism, including the broader use of drone strikes to kill terrorists.










Now come taxes and spending.


With regard to the Bush tax cuts, Obama had promised to overturn a policy that he saw as regressive. Although he always said that he would protect the middle class from tax increases, Obama criticized Bush for pushing through Congress policies that bled the federal government of needed revenue and benefited the wealthy.


In 2010, Obama agreed to temporarily extend all the tax cuts. Though many Democrats were furious, Obama concluded that he had little political chance to overturn them and he seemed to agree with Republicans that reversing them would hurt an economy limping along after a terrible recession.


Opinion: Time to toot horn for George H.W. Bush


With the fiscal cliff deal, Obama could certainly claim more victories than in 2010. Taxes for the wealthiest Americans will go up. Congress also agreed to extend unemployment compensation and continue higher payments to Medicare providers.


But beneath all the sound and fury is the fact that the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts, for most Americans, are now a permanent part of the legislative landscape. (In addition, middle class Americans will breathe a sigh of relief that Congress has permanently fixed the Alternative Minimum Tax, which would have hit many of them with a provision once designed to make sure that the wealthy paid their fair share.)


As Michigan Republican Rep. Dave Camp remarked, "After more than a decade of criticizing these tax cuts, Democrats are finally joining Republicans in making them permanent." Indeed, the Congressional Budget Office estimates that the new legislation will increase the deficit by $4 trillion over the next 10 years.


The tax cuts have significant consequences on all of American policy.


Opinion: Christie drops bomb on GOP leaders


Most important, the fact that a Democratic president has now legitimated the moves of a Republican administration gives a bipartisan imprimatur to the legitimacy of the current tax rates.


Although some Republicans signed on to raising taxes for the first time in two decades, the fact is that Democrats have agreed to tax rates which, compared to much of the 20th century, are extraordinarily low. Public perception of a new status quo makes it harder for presidents to ever raise taxes on most Americans to satisfy the revenue needs for the federal government.


At the same time, the continuation of reduced taxes keeps the federal government in a fiscal straitjacket. As a result, politicians are left to focus on finding the money to pay for existing programs or making cuts wherever possible.


New innovations in federal policy that require substantial revenue are just about impossible. To be sure, there have been significant exceptions, such as the Affordable Care Act. But overall, bold policy departures that require significant amounts of general revenue are harder to come by than in the 1930s or 1960s.


Republicans thus succeed with what some have called the "starve the beast" strategy of cutting government by taking away its resources. Since the long-term deficit only becomes worse, Republicans will continue to have ample opportunity to pressure Democrats into accepting spending cuts and keep them on the defense with regards to new government programs.


Politics: Are the days of Congress 'going big' over?


With his income tax cuts enshrined, Bush can rest comfortably that much of the policy world he designed will remain intact and continue to define American politics. Obama has struggled to work within the world that Bush created, and with this legislation, even with his victories, he has demonstrated that the possibilities for change have been much more limited than he imagined when he ran in 2008 or even in 2012.


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The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Julian Zelizer.






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Springsteen to be honored as MusiCares person of the year






(Reuters) – U.S. rocker Bruce Springsteen has been named MusiCares‘ 2013 Person of the Year in recognition of his artistic achievements as well as his philanthropic work, the Recording Academy said on Wednesday.


Springsteen, 63, will be honored at a February 8 gala in Los Angeles hosted by comedian Jon Stewart and held in conjunction with the annual Grammy Awards, the recording world’s most prestigious honors which will be handed out on February 10.






“The Boss” has actively supported many charities over the years, including those focused on homelessness, hunger and helping veterans, and last year he participated in benefit concerts to aid victims of superstorm Sandy.


Among top music stars slated to perform at the MusiCares gala are Sting, Neil Young, Jackson Browne, Kenny Chesney, Faith Hill, Elton John, Tim McGraw and Patti Smith.


Past MusiCares Person of the Year honorees have included Tony Bennett, Bono, Phil Collins, Neil Diamond, Aretha Franklin Billy Joel, Elton John, Sting, Paul McCartney, Luciano Pavarotti and Barbra Streisand.


New Jersey native Springsteen, known for hits including “Born to Run,” “Born in the U.S.A.” and “Dancing in the Dark,” has won a string of honors including Grammy, Golden Globe and Academy Awards.


He has often taken inspiration from his home state and used his star platform to highlight both its charms and challenges, most notably in the aftermath of superstorm Sandy which devastated New Jersey’s famous coastline in October.


MusiCares, which was established in 1989 by the Recording Academy, maintains a foundation that provides programs and services to members of the music community such as emergency financial assistance, educational workshops and other support services.


(Reporting by Chris Michaud, editing by Jill Serjeant and Cynthia Osterman)


Music News Headlines – Yahoo! News





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The Fiscal Cliff Deal and the Damage Done






Ordinarily we call a deal in which neither side gets what it wants a victory for democracy. Shared sacrifice produces moderation and probity. But any process in which the Speaker of the House tells the Senate Majority Leader “Go f-‍-‍- yourself,” as John Boehner instructed Harry Reid at the height of fiscal cliff madness, deserves just a bit of examination.


The Jan. 1 deal, which Wall Street cheered, moderates tax increases and spending cuts that would have amounted to more than $ 600 billion in 2013. It’s worth noting, though, that the fiscal cliff was the mooncalf monster-child of Congress itself. The automatic spending cuts (“sequester”) were invented by an act of Congress a mere 17 months ago after the 2011 debt ceiling showdown. To praise this new deal as an accomplishment is to praise an arsonist for extinguishing his own fire.






Congress voted to permanently preserve the Bush tax cuts for roughly 99 percent of taxpaying households, but the rate increase for the 1 Percent has infuriated antitax purists, who vow to exact more spending cuts in a couple of months, when the U.S. faces the triple threat of a debt ceiling, postponed automatic spending cuts, and expiration of the law that keeps the government funded. The arsonists now have a new box of matches.


14879  or02 WasteChart 405 The Fiscal Cliff Deal and the Damage Done


Why have Americans been sentenced to this years-long cycle of pettiness, delay, and zero-sum gamesmanship? You could argue it’s a crisis of leadership—that our elected representatives are examples of our worst, most partisan selves. That seems unlikely. Rather, the budget conflict, at its essence, is a clash over something that rarely lends itself to compromise: morality. Budgetary puritans believe, ferociously, that too much government spending is not just inefficient, but self-indulgent. They view the world’s largest economy as an indebted family that needs to get back to basics. “The federal government needs to tighten its belt just like every hardworking American family has had to do during our economic recovery,” Representative Kurt Schrader, a fiscally conservative Blue Dog Democrat from Oregon, said last year.


The economy-as-family metaphor is familiar, emotionally intuitive—and incorrect. It’s a fallacy of composition: What’s true for the part is not necessarily true for the whole. While a single family can get its finances back on track by spending less than it earns, it’s impossible for everyone to do that simultaneously. When the plumber skips a haircut, the barber can’t afford to have his drains cleaned.


British economist John Maynard Keynes explained the futility of trying to shrink an economy into prosperity via thriftiness in his A Treatise on Money in 1930: “Mere abstinence is not enough by itself to build cities or drain fens,” Keynes wrote. “If Enterprise is afoot, wealth accumulates whatever may be happening to Thrift; and if Enterprise is asleep, wealth decays whatever Thrift may be doing. Thus, Thrift may be the handmaiden of Enterprise. But equally she may not. And, perhaps, even usually she is not.”


So let’s try a different metaphor. The economy is not a family but an engine that’s stuck in low gear. It doesn’t need a disciplinarian; it needs a mechanic.


The primary goal of government should be to get the economy running at full throttle once again. That will restore jobs and wealth and increase tax revenue, which narrows budget deficits. Mark Blyth, a Brown University political scientist with a forthcoming book called Austerity: The History of a Dangerous Idea, says: “Democrats should have said to Republicans, ‘You’re the guys who created the debt. We’ll deal with the debt when we return to growth. Get lost.’”


That’s a slightly kinder way of rephrasing Boehner’s instructions to Reid, but there’s economic wisdom beneath the brushoff. Budgetary puritans may be sincere, but they’re confusing a short-term problem with a long-term one. In the 2020s and beyond, the country risks an explosion of debt caused by the aging of the population and rising health-care costs. That must be dealt with. But in the present, with the economy still operating 6 percent below its potential (chart), it emphatically does not need a big dose of deficit reduction.


If Congress were stacked with 535 centrist macroeconomists, it would have voted to supply more stimulus to the economy immediately while also setting up a mechanism for reducing deficits over the long term. “If stimulus is part of a credible long-term deal, that’s the best of all possible worlds,” says Chris Varvares, co-founder of St. Louis-based Macroeconomic Advisers.


The deal that Congress produced does roughly the opposite. It subtracts stimulus in the short term while worsening the long-term budget picture. George W. Bush’s tax cuts of 2001 and 2003 took a huge bite out of the government’s revenue, but at least they had expiration dates. In contrast, the tax cuts in the budget deal that passed in the Senate are permanent. Theoretically, they can be ended by a future Congress. Politically, though, it’s much harder to raise taxes than to allow cuts to expire.


If it weren’t obvious enough, neither party has a monopoly on fiscal intelligence. At Democrats’ insistence, Congress did nothing to “bend the curve” on spending on Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security. Entitlement spending—mostly on the health-care side—could derail the U.S. economy in coming decades if left unaddressed. A small change in the trajectory of entitlement spending and taxation would have furthered the goal of “gas now, brakes later”—having very little impact in the next few years but becoming increasingly valuable in coming decades, when the deficits begin to explode. Alan Simpson and Erskine Bowles, who co-chaired President Obama’s deficit-reduction commission, lamented in a statement that “the deal approved yesterday is truly a missed opportunity to do something big to reduce our long-term fiscal problems.”


What complicates efforts to get government policy right is that the world has changed in a way that most politicians, and even many economists, fail to grasp. In ordinary times, steering the economy is best left to the monetary policy of the Federal Reserve. The Fed, with its ability to raise and lower short-term interest rates instantly, can act faster and with more finesse than any legislative body. But Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke has taken monetary policy just about as far as it can go. The Fed has pushed short-term interest rates to the “zero lower bound” and yields on long-term Treasuries to historic lows. Each fresh salvo has less impact than the one before. A study by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York points out that mortgage rates haven’t fallen as much as they should have, given the drop the Fed has managed to engineer in rates on mortgage-backed securities. And businesses aren’t using cheap long-term funds to expand, as Jeremy Stein, a Harvard University economist who is a newcomer to the Fed’s Board of Governors, observed in a Nov. 30 speech. They’re more likely to use the proceeds to pay off short-term debt or pay dividends.


For Washington, there’s an opportunity in this unusual situation. Just as monetary policy loses effectiveness, fiscal policy has become more potent than ever. Ordinarily, Congress can’t boost gross domestic product much through deficit spending because its extra borrowing raises interest rates, crowding private borrowers out of the market. Today there’s no risk of crowding out because there are lots of idle resources—labor, machinery, and money. The Fed will keep long-term rates down no matter how much the government borrows.


It pains deficit hawks to hear this, but ever since the 2008 financial crisis, government red ink has been an elixir for the U.S. economy. After the crisis, households strove to pay down debt and businesses hoarded profits while skimping on investment. If the federal government had tried to run balanced budgets, there would have been an enormous economywide deficit of demand and the economic slump would have been far worse. In 2009 fiscal policy added about 2.7 percentage points to what the economy’s growth rate would have been, according to calculations by Mark Zandi of Moody’s Analytics (MCO). But since then the U.S. has underutilized fiscal policy as a recession-fighting tool. The economic boost dropped to just half a percentage point in 2010. Fiscal policy subtracted from growth in 2011 and 2012 and will do so again in 2013, to the tune of about 1 percentage point, Zandi estimates.


It could have been worse. President Obama has been a smarter slump fighter than British Prime Minister David Cameron. The Tory vowed to reduce budget deficits by curtailing spending. But the government’s cuts weakened the economy, clipping 2012 growth to roughly zero. It’s hard to balance the budget when the economy is that weak: For all its painful austerity, Britain’s deficit-to-GDP ratio is no better than America’s. And you say “trillion-dollar deficit” like it’s a bad thing!


5a1e6  or02 GDPChart 405 The Fiscal Cliff Deal and the Damage Done


The Tea Partiers and Blue Dogs who rail against deficits warn that the U.S. risks becoming another Greece. The difference is that for Greece, austerity is a brutal necessity; the International Monetary Fund and other official sources that are providing funds to the country insist on it. The U.S. has no such constraint. Investors are so eager to lend money to the U.S. that the Treasury can issue 10-year inflation-protected securities at an interest rate of –0.75 percent. The U.S. has the breathing room to spend what’s needed to raise the economy’s long-run growth potential, whether it be stepping up government-sponsored research and development, fixing roads and bridges, or fully funding Head Start.


Early in 2012, two prominent Democratic economists argued that when interest rates are at zero, stimulus can actually pay for itself by increasing economic activity. It was the left’s counterpart to the right’s argument that tax cuts can pay for themselves by juicing up growth. The case appeared in a Brookings Institution paper by J. Bradford DeLong of the University of California at Berkeley and Lawrence Summers, who was President Clinton’s Treasury secretary and National Economic Council director for part of President Obama’s first term. Their case for stimulus hinges partly on the danger of hysteresis—the idea that weakness begets more weakness. Laid-off workers lose skills and become unemployable, causing unemployment to remain high. In the presence of hysteresis, there’s a big payoff from bringing unemployment down as quickly as possible. DeLong and Summers also say that in today’s weak economy, increased government spending has a bigger-than-usual bang for the buck. In technical terms, the “multiplier” is high. Valerie Ramey, a University of California at San Diego economist who was designated to comment on the paper, responded that the economists may have used overoptimistic estimates for hysteresis and the multiplier. In a Jan. 1 e-mail, DeLong stood by their paper. He was scheduled to continue his argument for more stimulus in San Diego on Jan. 6 at an American Economic Association session also featuring Ramey and Paul Krugman.


Those who condemned the budget deal, from the left and the right, focused on its mix of tax hikes and spending cuts. Supply-siders regard tax increases as a worse method of budget-balancing than spending cuts because they reduce incentives to work. Keynesians regard tax increases as a better choice because they reduce demand less than an equivalent dollar amount of spending cuts would. Especially at the high end of incomes, people keep spending even when their taxes go up.


As a first cut, though, ideology is irrelevant. What matters most to the economy’s growth rate is the total amount of deficit reduction, not the means of achieving it. On that score, things could have turned out a lot worse. The economy would have fallen into a recession in the first half if the scheduled fiscal cliff measures had gone fully into effect. Assuming House Republicans don’t achieve big spending cuts in March, economists look for 2013 growth of about 2 percent.


Strangely enough, then, congressional gridlock may have kept lawmakers from doing even more damage. Republicans managed to stave off big tax hikes, and Democrats have so far prevented big spending cuts. As a result, the U.S. was spared a British- or Greek-style dose of austerity. What’s normally a recipe for irresponsibility is helpful in this depressed economy, when the greatest danger is being overly virtuous. But the risk of screwing things up remains as long as the recovery is fragile and austerians are fired up. As Senator Joe Manchin III, a freshman Democrat from West Virginia, put it shortly before the new year: “Something has gone terribly wrong when the biggest threat to our American economy is the American Congress.”


Businessweek.com — Top News





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