2012 Elections

Disappointing US Jobs Report – Country Needs Bipartisan Reforms – Time To Allow The Centrists In Both Parties To Take The Lead And Enact Laws That Will Recreate Confidence

Posted by on May 4, 2012 at 10:52 pm

By Paolo von Schirach May 4, 2012 WASHINGTON – A really lousy jobs report. Only 115,000 new jobs created in the US in the month of April. And the unemployment ticked down to 8.1% just because 300,000 Americans dropped out, and so they are no longer counted as unemployed. But the really scary item is the percentage of Americans [...]

Obama Did Not Need To Fly To Kabul To Announce New Afghanistan Policy – This Was A Cheap Publicity Stunt – Osama’s Death Changed Little In This Conflict

Posted by on May 2, 2012 at 9:52 pm

By Paolo von Schirach May 2, 2012 WASHINGTON – The connection between the killing of Osama bin Laden and the conflict in Afghanistan today exists only in the mind of Obama’s pollsters hoping to score something here at home on the almost forgotten notion that “9/11 started there and Obama brought it to a close”. Of course, [...]

Debt In Western Nations Is The Outcome Of Expensive Welfare Systems And Weak Economies That Can No Longer Support Them – Yet No New Models, And No Real Change Of Course

Posted by on May 1, 2012 at 9:44 pm

By Paolo von Schirach May 1, 2012 WASHINGTON - In the never ending Greek fiscal debacle saga, everybody’s focus has been on the unfolding drama. Will this Eurozone-IMF rescue package work? Or will it be the next one, until finally something that would stick is cobbled together? But, while not unreasonable, this focus on crisis management and related countermeasures took all [...]

America Abdicated On Syria, Writes Fouad Ajami – All True, But The Real Reason Is Lack of Money – Broke Superpower Does Not Get Involved In New Crises

Posted by on April 25, 2012 at 10:12 pm

By Paolo von Schirach Related story: http://schirachreport.com/index.php/2012/04/08/why-is-obama-so-timid-about-syria-because-there-is-no-more-money-to-get-into-a-confrontation-that-might-escalate-into-another-conflict-pentagon-already-on-a-cost-cutting-path-this-dog-wont-bite/ April 25, 2012 WASHINGTON – Fouad Ajami is a keen observer of key developments in the Middle East and US policy towards them. He just wrote a compelling piece in The Wall Street Journal, (America’s Syria Abdication, April 25, 2012), in which he deplores US lack of leadership in [...]

Obama Pushing The “Buffett Rule” Tax Hike For The Rich, Even Though This Is No Tax Reform – The Point Is To Have A Crowd Pleaser – Romney And GOP Will Also Manipulate Issues – No Serious Policy Debate

Posted by on April 14, 2012 at 11:23 pm

By Paolo von Schirach April 14, 2012 WASHINGTON – Sebastian Mallaby, (The Buffettt rule is a sorry excuse for tax reform, The Financial Times, April 13, 2012), correctly points out that President Obama’s insistence in pushing the idea of tax increases for the rich (the “Buffett rule”) is bogus tax reform. Surely we could and probably [...]

Mercifully Santorum Dropped Out, But His Sentimental Paleo-Conservatism Really Damaged the GOP Brand – It May Be Impossible For Romney To Repair It Before The November Vote

Posted by on April 10, 2012 at 11:13 pm

By Paolo von Schirach April 10, 2012 WASHINGTON – By dropping out of the Republican Party nomination process, Rick Santorum did the only sensible thing he has done in a campaign founded mostly on preposterous, sentimental and hopelessly archaic themes. The scary part is not that another out of step with the modern world  politician wanted to run on family [...]

Why Is Obama So Timid About Syria? Because There Is No More Money To Get Into A Confrontation That Might Escalate Into Another Conflict – Pentagon Already On A Cost Cutting Path – This Dog Won’t Bite: Assad Is Safe

Posted by on April 8, 2012 at 10:14 pm

By Paolo von Schirach April 8, 2012 WASHINGTON – The Wall Street Journal editorial page wonders why the Obama administration is so timid regarding the ongoing repression in Syria. The WSJ is puzzled by how long it took for Washington to publicly state that president Bashar Assad has to go and is even more surprised [...]

Romney Will Get The Republican Nomination – Now He Will Have To Propose An Inspiring Vision Of Growth And Fiscal Discipline, But Also Of Hope And Genuine Inclusiveness – A Revival Of The America Dream

Posted by on April 3, 2012 at 10:48 pm

By Paolo von Schirach April 3, 2012 WASHINGTON – After primary wins in Maryland, the District of Colombia and Wisconsin, it appears that Mitt Romney has turned a corner. It seems now  that the Republicans are finally getting the message that this acrimonious and bitterly contested primary season is not advancing their objective of creating a compelling anti-Obama [...]

Pope Benedict’s Visit To Cuba Is A Reminder Of The Need To End The US Embargo – Time To Recognize That Cuba Is Not The Threat It Used To Be – Normal Trade Relations Would Support Reformists

Posted by on March 26, 2012 at 10:41 pm

By Paolo von Schirach March 26, 2012 WASHINGTON - Pope Benedict’s visit to Cuba put once again the spotlight on the island and on its ancient and now semi-reformist socialist regime run by the Fidel and Raul (since 2008) Castro geriatric duo for over half a century. Of course we have to talk, as we should, about the dissidents and the [...]

Extracting Shale Oil Increased US Domestic Production – This Is About Private Sector Efforts, Nothing To Do With Government Policies, Says The Financial Times

Posted by on March 25, 2012 at 9:50 pm

By Paolo von Schirach March 25, 2012 WASHINGTON- The following is an excerpt from a The Financial Times article, (Once more over a barrel, March 24-25, 2012), that discusses in detail the economic impact of higher oil prices and what governments can do and  have done about them.

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