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Purveyor's JournalIsrael Would Strike Iran to Gain a Delay, Oren Says
By Tony Capaccio and Nicole Gaouette - Aug 16, 2012
Israel would be willing to strike Iran’s nuclear facilities, even if doing so only delayed its ability to produce nuclear weapons for a few years, Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Michael Oren said.
“One, two, three, four years are a long time in the Middle East -- look what’s happened in the last year” in terms of political change, Oren said yesterday at a Bloomberg Government breakfast in Washington. “In our neighborhood, those are the rules of the game.”
Israeli leaders have stressed this month that time is running out for a diplomatic solution to the nuclear program that Israel regards as an existential threat.
“Diplomacy hasn’t succeeded,” Oren, 57, said yesterday. “We’ve come to a very critical juncture where important decisions do have to be made.”
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http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-08-15/israel-would-strike-iran-to-gain-a-few-years-oren-says.html
Housing Starts in U.S. Fall as Permits Reach Four-Year High
By Shobhana Chandra - Aug 16, 2012 8:45 AM ET
New-home construction in the U.S. fell in July, while the number of building permits jumped to the highest level in four years, indicating the industry will keep improving in the second half of the year.
Starts fell 1.1 percent to a 746,000 annual rate from June’s 754,000 pace, Commerce Department figures showed today in Washington. The median estimate of 79 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News called for 756,000. Building permits, a proxy for future construction, rose to an 812,000 pace, the most since August 2008.
Less costly properties combined with record-low mortgage rates are reviving demand, helping builders like PulteGroup Inc. (PHM) boost profits. A drop in foreclosures, increased hiring and easier access to credit may be required to foster a more pronounced and sustained rebound in the industry that triggered the recession.
“It looks like things have turned up for housing,” said Brian Jones, a senior U.S. economist at Societe Generale in New York, whose permits forecast of 805,000 was the highest in the Bloomberg survey. “We are moving in the right direction. We are coming off such a low base that we still have a long ways to go.”
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http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-08-16/housing-starts-in-u-s-decline-as-permits-reach-four-year-high.html
Ecuador To Let Assange Remain In Its Embassy In London Indefinitely
CARACAS, Venezuela — The government of Ecuador is prepared to allow Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, to remain in its embassy in London indefinitely under a type of humanitarian protection, a government official said in Quito on Wednesday night. Mr. Assange has been holed up in the embassy for two months seeking asylum.
Amid an escalating confrontation with Britain over Mr. Assange, Ecuadorean officials said they would announce the decision of the country’s president, Rafael Correa, on Thursday. The official said that the British government had made it clear it would not allow Mr. Assange to leave the country to travel to Ecuador, so even with a grant of asylum or similar protection, he would probably remain stuck in the embassy.
Earlier Wednesday, Ecuador’s foreign minister, Ricardo Patiño, said that the British authorities had threatened to barge into the country’s embassy in London if officials did not hand over Mr. Assange. “Today we have received from the United Kingdom an explicit threat in writing that they could assault our embassy in London if Ecuador does not hand over Julian Assange,” Mr. Patiño said at a news conference in Quito, adding defiantly, “We are not a British colony.”
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http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/16/world/americas/ecuador-says-britain-threatened-to-enter-embassy-to-get-assange.html
Assange Faces Arrest Even If Ecuador Grants Asylum
Source: Reuters
LONDON, Aug 15 (Reuters) - WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has no way of leaving his refuge in the Ecuadorean embassy in London without being arrested, even if Quito grants him asylum shortly, lawyers say.
The Australian has been in the embassy for eight weeks since losing a legal battle to avoid extradition to Sweden, where he is wanted to stand trial for rape.
Assange denies the accusations made by two female WikiLeaks supporters. He fears Sweden could send him on to the United States, where he believes authorities want to punish him for publishing thousands of secret U.S. diplomatic cables on WikiLeaks in 2010 in a major embarrassment for Washington.
President Rafael Correa, who is openly sympathetic to Assange, is expected to decide on his asylum request this week. However, approval would offer no legal protection in Britain where police will arrest him once they get a chance.
Read more: http://in.reuters.com/article/2012/08/15/wikileaks-assange-idINL6E8JF79220120815
Pawlenty Suggests That Soledad O’Brien Doesn’t Understand English
By David Edwards
Wednesday, August 15, 2012 10:51 EDT
Romney surrogates going up against CNN host Soledad O’Brien clearly haven’t learned their lesson.
A day after former New Hampshire Gov. John Sununu angrily told O’Brien to “put an Obama bumper sticker on your forehead,” former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, Mitt Romney’s national campaign co-chair, suggested that the CNN host didn’t understand English.
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“But, sir, it’s not a cut in Medicare, right?” O’Brien observed. “Let me just read from the CBO. It’s a ‘permanent reduction in the annual updates to Medicaid’s payment rates.’ It’s a cut in the spending — future spending. And it’s cut that actually goes to insurers, right? I mean, it’s not cuts to individuals.”
“No matter how you say this, it’s a cut to Medicare,” Pawlenty insisted. “You can’t even with a straight face, look your viewers in the eye and tell [them] that it’s not a cut to Medicare.”
“Well, I can’t look viewers in the eye from where I am,” O’Brien pointed out. “I’m saying the way the CBO puts it. … That is a savings.”
“Do you know what that is in English?” Pawlenty quipped.
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http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/08/15/pawlenty-suggests-that-soledad-obrien-doesnt-understand-english/
Bob Beckel Drops F-Bomb While Threatening Fox News Co-Host
By Stephen C. Webster
Wednesday, August 15, 2012 14:38 EDT
On Tuesday night’s episode of “The Five,” Fox News personality Bob Beckel, the show’s sole token Democrat, shouted at co-host Eric Bolling for wagging a finger in his face and slapping his arm, warning: “You know, if you do that again you’re fucking toast.”
For Beckel, that marks the second time he’s dropped an f-bomb on Fox News this year. He told a female guest on an April 2012 broadcast of “Hannity” that she didn’t “know what the fuck” she was talking about, then refused to apologize on the mistaken assumption that they were on a commercial break. And just last week he called RNC Chairman Rince Preibus “free pussy” in an apparent slip of the tongue while criticizing presumptive Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney.
Bolling’s panel on Tuesday was discussing whether the selection of Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) as Romney’s running mate will harm the Republican Party’s chances to retake the White House.
“Why do you take a guy who’s taken the most controversial subject [of ending Medicare], put him on the ticket with you and you disappear and he becomes the focal point of the campaign?” Beckel asked.
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http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/08/15/bob-beckel-drops-f-bomb-while-threatening-fox-news-co-host/
Ann Romney: ‘No More Tax Releases’ But ‘There’s Nothing We’Re Hiding’
By David Edwards
Wednesday, August 15, 2012 12:01 EDT
Ann Romney, the wife of presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney, recently said that there will be “no more tax releases given” by the wealthy couple, but she also insisted that “there’s nothing we’re hiding.”
During an interview that’s scheduled to air on Thursday, NBC’s Natalie Morales noted that people were still calling for the Romneys to release more than two years of tax returns.
“Have you seen how we’re attacked?” Ann Romney said, leaning forward in her chair. “Have you seen what’s happened?”
“Are you angry that it’s been in the press?” Morales wondered. “I mean, should you not be questioned about your finances?”
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http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/08/15/ann-romney-no-more-tax-releases-but-theres-nothing-were-hiding/
Paul Ryan Mocked With Internet Meme At Campaign Event
By Arturo Garcia
Tuesday, August 14, 2012 15:10 EDT
Vice-presidential candidate Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) ran into his own meme at an event in Colorado Tuesday, as an online campaign designed to expose his record on women’s health issues infiltrated his speech from above.
Members of the Choose Ryan, Lose Choice campaign managed to fly a banner while Ryan was speaking in Lakewood, Colorado. CNBC reporter Eamon Javers tweeted a picture of the banner, which read, “Hey girl, choose me, lose choice – P. Ryan.”
The campaign’s tumblr page features pictures of a smiling Ryan juxtaposed with “feminist-sounding” affirmations of his policy, like “Hey girl, got birth control? Not for long.” and “Hey girl, you’ll love my choices for your body.” Both it and the non-affiliated @PaulRyanGosling twitter account are based on a popular blog, Feminist Ryan Gosling, created by University of Wisconsin-Madison grad student Danielle Henderson.
The sign wasn’t the only protest against Ryan Tuesday; Politico posted a picture of an admission ticket for “Fertilized Egg.” On Monday, another group of protesters interrupted Ryan’s speech at the Iowa State Fair, accusing him of engaging in “a war on the middle class.”
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http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/08/14/paul-ryan-mocked-with-internet-meme-at-campaign-event/
Homebuilder Confidence in U.S. Increases to Five-Year High
Confidence among U.S. homebuilders climbed in August to the highest level in more than five years, affirming the improvement in residential construction.
The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo builder confidence index rose to 37, higher than projected and the best showing since February 2007, according to figures from the Washington-based group released today. The median forecast in a Bloomberg survey of economists called for no change from July’s 35. Readings below 50 mean more respondents said conditions were poor.
Builders such as PulteGroup Inc. (PHM) are benefiting as less- expensive properties and record-low mortgage rates entice buyers. At the same time, faster hiring and fewer foreclosures are needed to bring about bigger gains for the industry that precipitated the worst recession in the post-World War II era.
“The outlook appears to be brightening,” Barry Rutenberg, chairman of the NAHB and a builder from Gainesville, Florida, said in a statement. At the same time, “there is still much room for improvement.”
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http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-08-15/homebuilder-confidence-in-u-s-increases-to-five-year-high-1-.html
Industrial Production in U.S. Rises 0.6% on Autos, Utilities
By Michelle Jamrisko - Aug 15, 2012 10:26 AM ET
Industrial production in the U.S. increased in July, propelled by a pickup in motor vehicle output and a rebound in utility use during the hottest month on record.
The 0.6 percent increase last month at factories, mines and utilities followed a revised 0.1 percent gain in June that was smaller than previously reported, Federal Reserve data showed today in Washington. Economists forecast a 0.5 percent rise, according to the Bloomberg survey median. Manufacturing, which makes up about 75 percent of total production, rose 0.5 percent for a second month.
The pickup in industrial production, the most in three months, may ease concerns that the industry is faltering. At the same time, recessions in parts of Europe, a building of inventories and the prospect of fiscal tightening in the U.S. are hurdles for American factories.
“The auto industry is probably responding to something they didn’t expect when the year started, and that was a pretty impressive bounce-back in demand,” said David Resler, chief economic adviser at Nomura Securities International Inc., who correctly forecast the gain. Still, “there’s nothing in the indicators we’ve seen recently that suggests growth in the next year or so is going to be noticeably different” from the average pace of the expansion, he said.
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http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-08-15/industrial-production-in-u-s-rises-0-6-on-autos-utilities.html
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