The US antiwar movement has apparently managed to have a spectacular circular firing squad, as witness the collapse of agreement about having an antiwar march in DC on March 15.

ISO details the players and the history. United for Peace and ANSWER haven’t spoken for years. UFP favors influencing Democrats while ANSWER says get in the streets. Cindy Sheehan tried to build for a march but didn’t have a base. She and ANSWER pitched the idea of March 15 apparently without consulting with Iraq Veterans Against the War, who then balked. IVAW has always been always a bit uneasy about associating with lefties anyway and finally asked (demanded?) that no other groups have protests during their Winter Soldier in DC on March 13-16.

Well, why don’t we all just go shoot ourselves in the foot to make sure the job is done. Sigh.

Part of the problem is that giant sucking sound, dragging all energy and light towards the presidential campaign and away from activism. Then there’s the all too familiar problem of Left sectarianism. Also, the majority of the populace now opposes the war but aren’t going to march in a protest because it’s too left-wing for them. So where will the new people come from?

Maybe the antiwar movement has done as much as it can in terms of mass protest and needs to look at other methods. Because this brouhaha indicates an antiwar movement that is either falling apart or changing leadership, I’m not sure which.

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Iran’s international trade has grown dramatically since the imposition of US sanctions against Iran in 1987.

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From LongorShortCapital, the de-saintifying of Alan Greenspan continues, as well it should.

1. Become Fed Chairman
2. Lower interest rates until you create an asset bubble. Hold them low until stagflation is in the air and a real estate bubble is floating
3. Stop being Fed Chairman and release a book on how you didn’t do anything wrong and have no regrets. If possible, time it perfectly with the worst real estate market in generations
4. Join the hedge fund which has profited more in % and dollar terms than anyone else has from your mess (which you didn’t create)
5. Build a platinum statue of your muse, Ayn Rand, and sleep with it every night

It also helps if you are mostly unethical.

But wait, there’s more.

Bernanke: Fed must avoid Greenspan errors

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The WSJ has a superb investigative article on how South American drug cartels launder drug money from Europe. It comes back to South America in large denomination euros that is then often channeled into the US via foreign-exchange companies.

Hundreds of millions of dollars speeds in and out of bank accounts in multiple countries via bank wire or sometimes even in cash, and nobody has a clue what’s going on. “Goodness, we were shocked, just shocked, to learn that cash transactions of that size could possible be linked to - what was that you called it, officer? - drug dealing. You can be assured that we are taking major steps to hide the money better stop this from happening again.”

How could the corruption not be everywhere and at all levels? It’s not just drug cartels that benefit from drug money.

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Even among upper-income buyers, 54.4 percent of blacks and 48.9 percent of Hispanics used high-cost loans. By contrast, just 16.4 percent of higher-income white buyers received such loans.

Were the mortgage agents overtly racist? No, probably not. But this does imply a systemic bias against people of color that resulted in them only being offered expensive mortgages. Else how to explain that upper-income people of color (who presumably weren’t buying  in dicey areas and who have financial resources)  had virtually the same percentage of high cost loans as did low-income people of color?

Notices of default jumped 45.4% in California in December compared to November.

“We have yet to see the real impact from the ARM resets,” [said a company that tracks California foreclosures.]

That is genuinely scary.

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