Thread: Latest Newz And Current Affairs.............

Obama's battlefield: New war or New war-owner?



[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2C8TyrRi6Y[/YOUTUBE]

Stay at home: Americans tired of foreign affairs?


[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yMFErlmyiGs[/YOUTUBE]

Fireworks nightmare: Up to 100 reported dead at night party


[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b4zX6b_W9fU[/YOUTUBE]

A Plane You Can Park in the Garage: The ICON A5



[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51qTAbLiziI[/YOUTUBE]

Surprised Kitty Cat cutest ever )


[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WmR55b3hyOk[/YOUTUBE]

Controlled Demolition, Inc.: Ocean Tower


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Wildlife worries


[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihKj1MP3ttI[/YOUTUBE]

Most terrible thing I've seen in a while!



[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aViba4-Efp8[/YOUTUBE]

The White House is considering a tax on financial institutions to ensure that taxpayers who bailed out banks get paid back, a senior administration official said Monday.
The law that created the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program empowered the president to ask Congress to recoup money if bailouts were not paid back in full.
TARP dictates that the Office of Management and Budget consider such action five years after TARP went into effect in October 2008 to prevent the federal bailout from adding to the deficit.
When the TARP bill was hastily debated, the provision was key to winning enough support from wary lawmakers to push the bill through Congress.
Robert Gibbs, the White House press secretary, would not discuss how a possible bank fee would fit into Obama's fiscal year 2011 budget, which is set to be released next month. "When it comes back from Kinko's, we'll be able to talk about it," he said.
But Gibbs said it is the president's "goal" to ensure the "money that taxpayers put up will be paid back in full."
While most of the big banks have started paying back their TARP investments, the government still has a lot of money on the line and is likely to for years to come. Last month, the Treasury estimated that the net cost of TARP to taxpayers would be $41.4 billion.
For example, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner said last month that the bailouts of the automakers and insurer American International Group (AIG, Fortune 500) would not be paid back in full.
"There is a significant likelihood that we will not be repaid for the full value of our investments in AIG, GM and Chrysler," Geithner told an oversight panel.
Yet, the financial industry tax under discussion could impact the entire financial industry, a prospect the banking industry opposes. With few details available about any proposed fee, it's unclear whether banks would be required to pay for losses incurred by GM and Chrysler.
"Imposing new taxes on top of the increased regulatory costs will weaken the industry, just when the industry is helping lead the economic recovery," said Scott Talbott, chief lobbyist for the Financial Services Roundtable, a bank lobbying group.
The federal bailout program has always been a controversial topic, but news of executive bonuses now being awarded for banks' stellar performance in 2009 is throwing new fuel on populist anger.
A spokesman for the White House's budget office would not confirm or deny reports about a possible tax on banks.
"There are - and will be - a lot of rumors about what is in our budget - most of them wrong," said budget office spokesman Kenneth Baer. "We are not going to get into the game of ruling in and ruling out rumors about what is in our budget."

Another mysterious acid attack took place during the weekend in Hong Kong. It was the sixth such incident in the past year.
The target is always a crowded street full of shoppers and the weapon of choice: plastic bottles filled with acid.
The attacker (or attackers) throw the bottles from an upper floor or roof of a building overlooking the crowded street. Police have no suspects and no motive for the attacks.
I went to the scene of the latest attack at the famous Temple Street Night Market -- an area that is usually busy with local families and tourists.
Shopkeeper Khan Mohammed Bilal runs an electronics store, and he was working Saturday night when he heard the commotion. He stepped out into the intersection of Temple Street and Nanking Street and saw chaos.
Someone had just thrown two plastic bottles of acid into the intersection. He saw one person's red bag soaked with acid. He said he couldn't imagine what would've happened if the acid had splashed onto the person's head. He saw injured people crying.
"We do get nervous. We do feel scared. When this happens, it affects our business... I don't know the purpose of this, why this person is throwing this liquid."
Most witnesses believe the attacker was inside one of the old apartment buildings lining Temple Street.
My photographer, producer and I decided to see just how easy it is to get to the top of one of these buildings.
Most of the old apartment buildings have no front door to the entryway that leads into a stairwell.
We walked up 10 flights past individual apartments until we reached the roof. Again, the roof entryway had no door. There was only a line of laundry hanging across the doorway.
It was clear just how easy it is for anyone to walk off the street, get to the roof and throw objects off the top of the building. And the getaway? Easy.
In fact, there are many options: the stairwell we walked up, another stairwell that exits the other side of the building... or the roof of the next building.
The buildings are so close together a daring person can jump from roof to roof and descend another building's stairwell.
Of course, we don't know for sure if the attacker(s) used the roof, but it is a realistic possibility.
Tourists who were strolling through the area seemed either unaware or unconcerned. Ghadjar Siavoche of Geneva, Switzerland, comes to Hong Kong often for business. He already knew about the attack.
"It doesn't disturb me because it's a very isolated incident. It's a pity for Hong Kong because it's a very nice city. People here are so charming and so nice."
The city of Hong Kong is hoping to maintain that image despite the acid attacks. The police have no solid leads at the moment. They're hoping a $40,000 reward will motivate someone to hand over some information that can help them make an arrest.