Translation: We got our asses kicked on the last shutdown battle, and we’re not eager to do that again right before we have to run for re-election.

Robert Fisk, London Independent:

In the most profound financial change in recent Middle East history, Gulf Arabs are planning – along with China, Russia, Japan and France – to end dollar dealings for oil, moving instead to a basket of currencies including the Japanese yen and Chinese yuan, the euro, gold and a new, unified currency planned for nations in the Gulf Co-operation Council, including Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi, Kuwait and Qatar.

I think this is less important a development than Fisk does. But it’s a sign that Obama’s statement that America is not in decline is pure bravado.

Anyone care to divine how many male Senate staffers became ex-Senate staffers during the period starting December 16th, 2011 and ending January 23, the date of the interview that forms the basis for the KARE story on Senator Koch?

Reblogged from Mercury Rising 鳯女:

There have been some changes in the statuses of various figures mentioned in the first edition of the Field Guide, so I figured it was time for a new edition. Some may wonder why I see the Brodkorb-Koch imbroglio as just another phase of the Fall of the House of Sutton. The relationships detailed below — relationships that are seldom if ever openly delineated by most local Establishment media journalists ever fearful of losing their precious access to GOP powerbrokers — should make my position clearer. …

Third edition, revised to update Dave Thompson’s and the TCF Coopers’ info.

Follow me past the jump for a chart, by no means complete, of the players, their factions, their relationships, and their desires. Feel free to tell me about any I missed.

Player	Faction	Friends	Enemies	Agenda	Noted For
Tony Sutton	Sutton/Seifert	Michael Brodkorb, TCF Coopers*, Ben Golnik, Mike Parry	Tom Emmer, Allen Quist	Whatever enriches Tony	Thuggery as RPM Chair, being bad with money (Like, really bad)
Bill Cooper Sr. & Jr. (TCF Coopers)	Sutton/Seifert	Tony Sutton*, Bridget Cronin Sutton*, Michael Brodkorb*, West Metro business types	Tom Emmer, Allen Quist, TheoCons in general	To dominate in politics and general business as they do in banking (Bill Sr. claims he’s no longer interested in politics, but he’s sung that song before)	TCF empire (which is seemingly on the skids now), bankrolling Suttons at Baja Sol, being the longtime 800-pound gorilla of the RPM
Michael Brodkorb	Sutton/Seifert	Tony Sutton, Amy Koch, Mike Parry, Luke Hellier, Ron Carey, Ben Golnik	Tom Emmer, Allen Quist	Oozing his way to the top	“independent” blogger pose, launching smears, mistreating his wife and kids, being Tony Sutton’s deputy chair and communications director, being Amy Koch’s Senate employee
Amy Koch	Sutton/Seifert	Michael Brodkorb, Tony Sutton	Tom Emmer, Allen Quist	Defending marriage from gay people	Getting Majority Leader gig mainly because of RPM’s 2010 dissatisfaction with Senjem as Minority Leader; tool of Sutton and Brodkorb, wrecking her own marriage by dallying with a male Senate employee
Annette Meeks, Jack Meeks	CAGE/Freedom Foundation/ CAE	Tony Sutton, Bridget Cronin Sutton	Tom Emmer	Opposing gambling	Rumors that they’re Minnesota’s own micro Abramoff; Annette was Emmer’s running mate but they did and do NOT get along
Michael Wigley	Varies; backed Emmer in 2010, but friendly with Sutton/Seifert	Tony Sutton, Bridget Cronin Sutton, TCF Coopers, Tom Emmer	Anyone wanting to make rich people pay taxes	Getting richer through tax dodging and Baja Sol franchise	Founded anti-tax Minnesota Taxpayers League, had now-defunct Baja Sol franchise
Robert Cummins	Emmer/Quist	Tom Emmer, Allen Quist	Tony Sutton, Michael Brodkorb, gay people	Using his Primera money to turn Minnesota into a Evangelical Christian theocracy	Dumping tons of money into RPM and anti-gay group coffers
Jeff Larson, Daniel Puhl	Sutton/Seifert	Tony Sutton, Marty Seifert, Ben Golnik, Mary Igo	Tom Emmer, Allen Quist	Cash on the barrelhead	Feeding from the RNC 2008 trough well into 2011, then getting cushy Republican National Committee gigs in DC
Ben Golnik	Sutton/Seifert	Tony Sutton, John Gilmore, Mary Igo, TCF Coopers	Tom Emmer (with a passion)	Taking money from Emmer’s 2010 campaign and spending it without oversight, “espionage“?	Former RPM Executive Director during its last major brush with scandal, founded Count Them All Properly with Tony Sutton, a group ostensibly devoted to pushing Emmer’s campaign in the 2010 recount, but whose accounting remains murky to this day
Mary Igo	Sutton/Seifert	Tony Sutton, Bridget Cronin Sutton, Ben Golnik, TCF Coopers	Tom Emmer	To run a slush fund with no accountability	Involved with Count Them All Properly (see entry for Ben Golnik)
Jon Richard Schroeder	Unknown; presumed Sutton/Seifert	(Presumed) Tony Sutton, Bridget Cronin Sutton, Ben Golnik, TCF Coopers, Mary Igo	Unknown; no prior indication of political activity	Unknown; is interested in plumbing	New CEO of Count Them All Properly (see entry for Ben Golnik)
Gregg Peppin	Sutton/Seifert	Marty Seifert, Tony Sutton, John Gilmore	Tom Emmer	MNGOP powerbroker, Sutton/Seifert consigliere	Running GOP candidate consulting firm P2B Strategies, being married to Joyce Peppin, being a Sutton/Seifert consigliere
Andy Brehm	Sutton/Seifert	Marty Seifert, Tony Sutton, John Gilmore	Tom Emmer	Sutton/Seifert consigliere	Founding the Churchill Society, being a Sutton/Seifert consigliere
Jen DeJournett	Sutton/Seifert	Tony Sutton, Marty Seifert, John Gilmore	Tom Emmer, Twila Brase	Being a female powerbroker in the RPM	Director of conservative women’s group VOICES, backstabbing Twila Brase
John Gilmore (aka @shabbosgoy on Twitter)	Sutton/Seifert	Tony Sutton, Ben Golnik, Gregg Peppin, Jen DeJournett	Tom Emmer	Powerbroker and leader within RPM	Drunken harassment of Muslim women
David FitzSimmons	Emmer/Quist	Tom Emmer	Tony Sutton, Michael Brodkorb, breathalyzers	Religious Right powerbroker	Running Emmer’s gubernatorial campaign, getting busted for drunk driving
Bill Walsh	Emmer/Quist	Tom Emmer, Allen Quist	Tony Sutton, Michael Brodkorb, weathervanes	Burrowing into state bureaucratic machinery, wrecking Department of Education	former RPM executive director, on-again off-again tenure on Emmer’s 2010 campaign
Mark Buesgens	Emmer/Quist	Tom Emmer, Allen Quist	Tony Sutton, Michael Brodkorb, breathalyzers	Serving as Emmer’s consigliere	SD 35 representative, being one of Emmer’s 2010 campaign chiefs, drunken driving
Dick Day	Emmer/Quist	Tom Emmer, Allen Quist	Tony Sutton, Michael Brodkorb, Mike Parry (his Senate District 26 successor). Latinos	Bringing racino to Minnesota, walking in Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s bigoted footsteps	Hating Latinos, duking it out with the Seifert-Brodkorb faction
Chris Johnson	Emmer/Quist	Tom Emmer, Allen Quist	Tony Sutton, Michael Brodkorb, Ted Boosalis (anti-racino Republican)	Bringing racino and other gambling to Minnesota	Duking it out with anti-gambling Republicans
Dave Senjem	Sutton/Seifert (Seifert more than Sutton); Gang of Four	Marty Seifert	As of 12/14/11: Michael Brodkorb, Amy Koch, and their allies	As of 12/19/11: Backing gambling, replacing Koch as Senate Majority Leader	Former Minority Leader and current Majority Leader; powerful state Senator from Rochester; lowering the boom on Koch and Brodkorb with fellow Gang of Four members
Geoff Michel	nominally Sutton/Seifert; Gang of Four	Varies; Marty Seifert	As of 12/14/11: Michael Brodkorb, Amy Koch, and their allies	As of 12/19/11: replacing Koch as Senate Majority Leader	(former) Deputy Majority Leader and Acting Leader; powerful state Senator from Edina; lowering the boom on Koch and Brodkorb with fellow Gang of Four members, then lying about it
David Hann	nominally Sutton/Seifert; Gang of Four	Varies; Marty Seifert	As of 12/14/11: Michael Brodkorb, Amy Koch, and their allies	As of 12/19/11: replacing Koch as Senate Majority Leader	Powerful state Senator from Eden Prairie; lowering the boom on Koch and Brodkorb with fellow Gang of Four members
Chris Gerlach	nominally Emmer/Quist; Gang of Four	Varies; Tom Emmer	As of 12/14/11: Michael Brodkorb, Amy Koch, and their allies	As of 12/19/11: (maybe) replacing Koch as Senate Majority Leader	Powerful state Senator from Eden Prairie; lowering the boom on Koch and Brodkorb with fellow Gang of Four members
David Thompson	His own little world; received lucrative favors from Tony Sutton	Varies	Sane people, educated people, scientists (apparently especially biologists, as evolutionary theory is the cornerstone of biology), non-greedy people	Becoming RPM Chair, which he’s wanted for quite some time	Right-wing radio gadfly, formerly of KSTP, now state Senator
Pat Shortridge	Varies, but has friends in both camps and national connections	Dick Armey (via FreedomWorks), Joe and Cindy Westrup, Kurt Daudt, David FitzSimmons, Ted Lovdahl, Phil Krinkie, Ben Golnik, Harry and Jen Niska, Bill Walsh, Linda Runbeck, Rhonda Sivarajah, John Gilmore, Andy Aplikowski, Derek Brigham, Bill Guidera, Mark Kennedy, David Strom, Mike Osskopp, Mark Giga, Tom Emmer, Randy Gilbert, Barbara Malzacher	People opposed to the Tea Party agenda (most civilized humans, in other words)	To deliver Minnesota into the hands of the TheoCon Dick Armey faction of the Tea Party; helping Republicans nationwide; hoping nobody notices the Enron part of his résumé	Enron lobbyist; working for Dino Rossi in Washington state and Marco Rubio in Florida state
David Sturrock	Who knows?	Varies	Varies; as of 12/30/11, Tony Sutton, his predecessor as RPM treasurer	Being the kingmaker (or at least a kingmaker)	Current Former (as of late Friday night, 12/30/11) RPM Secretary-Treasurer (who resigned his post, blaming Sutton, hours after the party’s $1.92 million debt was leaked); has ties to national Republicans
Sarah Janacek	Whoever seems the strongest at any given moment	Varies	Anyone who tells or values the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth	To be the female Brodkorb: To say anything, true or not, and get away with it	Co-running Politics in Minnesota mag; using Facebook page as smear conduit; lying about Paul Wellstone’s Williams Arena memorial event and not paying a price for it

*The TCF Coopers, while still being involved in the RPM, appear to have permanently washed their hands of the Suttons and Brodkorb in the wake of the Baja Sol fiasco and the RPM’s debt debacle (hey, Tony! Where did all the money go?).

HTML Tables

If you’ve been wondering where Palin has disappeared to, I can reveal the truth: Gingrich has eaten her. And by eating her, he has absorbed her shtick….
…
Perhaps Gingrich shouldn’t be so coy. While one could point out the inherent ridiculousness in his thinking that legalising gay marriage threatens the “sanctity of the institution” far more than, say, a man who has ditched two ailing wives for healthier ones, others take a different tack. A “Dr Keith Ablow” writes on Fox News’s website that Gingrich’s marital history proves his desirability: “I worry,” says Ablow, “whether we’ll be clamouring for a third Gingrich term.” Newt wants to marry America! But what if he then ran off with a younger, hotter country? Back off, Croatia, you hussy!

Now, this is not to disparage the Muslim Brotherhood. They are some of the canniest and most tenacious players in Egypt. They aren’t puppets, and they will be trying to use and co-opt the military as strenuously as the military will try to use and co-opt them. But for the moment, the military controls not just the streets, but the economy. That’s a powerful combination.

Cam McGrath, IPSNews:

CAIRO, Jan 25, 2012 (IPS) – When Egypt’s dictator was ousted during a popular uprising last February, the military leaders who assumed control of the country pledged to “protect the revolution” and ensure a swift transition to civilian rule within six months. One year later, the ruling generals appear to have hijacked the transition to preserve the military institution’s economic autonomy and secure their own political future.

Cam McGrath, IPSNews:

CAIRO, Jan 25, 2012 (IPS) – When Egypt’s dictator was ousted during a popular uprising last February, the military leaders who assumed control of the country pledged to “protect the revolution” and ensure a swift transition to civilian rule within six months. One year later, the ruling generals appear to have hijacked the transition to preserve the military institution’s economic autonomy and secure their own political future.
…
“The military controls many economic sectors, and now it controls the government that regulates these sectors,” says Ahmed Sakr Ashour, professor of management at Alexandria University. “You can see why it wouldn’t want to give that up.”

Cam McGrath, IPSNews:

CAIRO, Jan 18, 2012 (IPS) – For three decades Western governments and lending institutions bankrolled a corrupt regime in Egypt that trampled human rights and stifled democracy. Now they appear ready to do it again, say critics of the military council that has ruled since removing president Hosni Mubarak last February.
…
The popular uprising that unseated Mubarak had a deep impact on Egypt’s economy. Foreign reserves plunged over 50 percent in 2011 to reach 18 billion dollars as the vital tourism industry and other business sectors continue to suffer from political instability and labour unrest. The government is anticipating a budget deficit of 11 percent of GDP this year unless it can successfully implement austerity measures to save over 3 billion dollars.

The West was quick to offer a lifeline to battered Arab Spring economies. Group of Eight (G8) finance chiefs meeting in Deauville last May said international banks could provide up to 20 billion dollars to post- revolution Tunisia and Egypt. Officials said the funding would be distributed in stages to reduce the risk of national institutions, including the military, misusing the aid or simply syphoning it off.

Adam Morrow and Khaled Moussa al-Omrani, IPSNews:

CAIRO, Jan 19, 2012 (IPS) – The Islamist landslide in recently concluded parliamentary polls has led to fears in some quarters of an impending paradigm shift in Egyptian foreign policy. Most local analysts, however, dismiss the likelihood of any sea changes, especially when it comes to the sensitive issues of Palestine and the Camp David peace agreement between Egypt and Israel.

Mitch: Private enterprise blew up the American economy, so it should be given all power to fix it.

Everything else is commentary.

I suspect that Tony Sutton’s (former?) patrons, the TCF Coopers are about to lose their position as the 800-pound gorillas of Minnesota Republican politics — if they haven’t lost it already. Is this why the evangelical Emmer-Quist crowd, with backing from Primera’s Bob Cummins, seems to be ascendant again barely a year after Emmer’s defeat in a race that Sutton ally Marty Seifert would likely have won?

(image from WalesOnline)

Martin Shipton, WalesOnline:

It is most usually known for its unsung work developing the international standards that underpin everything from agricultural equipment to construction tools or medical devices.

Yet the Geneva-based International Organisation for Standards (ISO) has now changed a name that has infuriated many in Wales – it has officially reclassified the nation as a country instead of a principality.