Pence: I’m A Main Street Republican
Indiana Republican Rep. Mike Pence, who is considering a bid for president, will seek to position himself as a tried-and-true fiscally conservative sharply critical of both government growth and Wall Street excesses in a speech on Monday.
The speech at the Detroit Economic Club marks Pence’s first major address since resigning from his post at House Republican Conference chair to focus on pursuing another political office. Pence has yet to say whether he’ll mount a long-shot presidential run or seek to be Gov. Mitch Daniels‘ (R-Ind.) successor.
In his prepared remarks, Pence espouses taking strong action to reduce the size of government and opposes any government action into the private sector. He also outlines his support for a flat tax in the speech.
“To restore American exceptionalism, we must end all this Keynesian spending and get back to the practice of free market economics,” Pence will say. “The free market is what made America’s economy the greatest in the world, and we cannot falter in our willingness to defend it.”
The speech sounds awfully like a candidate preparing for a presidential run, and shows where Pence may see an opening in the 2012 field – as the leading fiscal conservative without Wall Street ties (a la Romney). In the speech, he touts his support of tax and spending cuts and reminds the audience of his opposition to bailouts during his tenure in the House – framing his decisions to back Main Street over Wall Street.
“In September 2008, when the Bush Administration proposed that Congress give them $ 700 billion to bail out Wall Street, I was the first Member of Congress to publicly oppose it,” Pence will say. “I didn’t think we should do nothing, I just thought it was wrong to take $ 700 billion from Main Street to bailout bad decisions on Wall Street.”
NPR: Fat Lip Gives Obama Street Cred
Yes, because this sure wasn’t doing the trick:
Leave it to NPR to pick up the tingles where Chris Matthews left off:
It took 12 stitches to close The First Fat Lip, if you please. I’m not sure that Joe Frazier needed 12 stitches after the Thrilla in Manila, though the White House stressed that a smaller filament was used, which increases the number of stitches, but leaves a smaller scar.
I wonder if having a larger scar wouldn’t actually fortify President Obama’s profile, as he contends with Kim Jong Il, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad or Vladimir Putin.
It gets even better, if that could possibly happen.
As recent presidential injuries go, President Obama’s is almost valiant. His immediate predecessor, President George W. Bush, famously choked on a pretzel. President Bill Clinton tore a tendon stumbling on the steps of Greg Norman’s house after a round of golf.
I’m glad that in the storm of record high unemployment and economic instability the media finds valiance not in action, but in sports injuries.
Your J Street Factsheet
November 23, 2010Overview· Founded in 2008 in opposition to AIPAC, J Street calls itself “pro-Israel, pro-peace”; claims to support a peaceful, two-state solution, and aims to “redefine… what it means to be pro-Israel.”· Consists of three independent organizations: J Street, a 501(c)(4) registered lobbying group; JStreetPAC, a political action committee that donates to candidates; and J Street Education Fund, a 501(c)(3).· Also launched the ObamaSmearBusters.com website, “dedicated to fighting smears on President Obama’s sensible policy in the Middle East.”
Controversies· On Israel’s Gaza policy (February 4, 2010): “due to Israel’s policy of severely limiting passage of essential goods and materiel through its crossings, the suffering in Gaza continues. We believe this policy is strategically unsound, harms Israel’s security, and exacts an unacceptable toll on innocent Palestinians. It offends American humanitarian values, and is collective punishment that violates international law.”· On Gaza War (December 2008): “While this morning’s air strikes by Israeli Defense Forces in Gaza can be understood and even justified in the wake of recent rocket attacks, we believe that real friends of Israel recognize that escalating the conflict will prove counterproductive, igniting further anger in the region and damaging long-term prospects for peace and stability… only diplomacy and negotiations can end rockets and terror… We call for immediate, strong diplomatic intervention by the United States, the Quartet and allies in the region to negotiate a resumption of the ceasefire…” (emphasis added)· In February 2010, J Street co-sponsored a congressional mission to Israel with Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP). CMEP’s website features the “KAIROS Palestine Document,” which explicitly promotes BDS. CMEP also quotes Bishop Mark Hanson of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, referring to the document as “a word of hope in a time of pessimism that could lead to despair.”· On the “Free Gaza” Flotilla (June 15, 2010): Directly opposed “letters to the President now circulating in the House regarding the Gaza flotilla” that J Street claimed expressed “a simplistic statement that supports Israeli policy and actions.” J Street encouraged “more nuanced views” that acknowledged the “impact” and “gravity” of the “present closure of Gaza on the civilian population.”· J Street supports the UN-Goldstone “war crimes” indictment:o A Washington Times investigation revealed J Street’s role in facilitating meetings between Judge Goldstone, author of the UNHRC report about the 2009 Gaza War, and members of Congress.o The Washington Times also reported that J Street Israeli liaison Colette Avital (a former Labor Party MK and Consul General in NY) resigned, in part, “because of the group’s connection to Judge Goldstone.”o Refused to support House Resolution 867, “Calling on the President and the Secretary of State to oppose unequivocally any endorsement or further consideration” of the Goldstone report. J Street was concerned, in part, that the resolution did not consider the suffering caused by “both the military operation and the ongoing blockade of Gaza” and that it did not acknowledge that “the Commission’s original mandate was adjusted by Judge Goldstone himself and accepted by the Human Rights Council to include a focus on the conduct of both sides.”· Iran Sanctionso Opposed sanctions, claiming that preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons “will best be realized through diplomatic engagement.” A later statement (July 2, 2009) recognized that “it is very likely that Iran’s nuclear program and support for terror against Israel will continue,” but “diplomatic engagement remains the most likely road to success.”o In October 2009, J Street declared that it “does not oppose the imposition of sanctions per se.”o However, in December 2009 Ben-Ami expressed support for the passage of Iran Refined Petroleum Sanctions Act, recognizing “Iran’s continued defiance of the international community.”· J Street U vs. Israelo J Street’s student branch removed the phrase “pro-Israel” from the organization’s slogan, in order “to avoid alienating students.” Individual affiliates were also permitted to replace it with “pro-Israel, pro-Palestine.” Ben-Ami claimed that this was a marketing decision.o In November 2010, J Street and J Street U organized a “number of events around the country featuring UNRWA’s Gaza Director John Ging.” (See factsheet on Ging’s role in political warfare targeting Israel.)· The 2009 J Street conference hosted a panel of “progressive” bloggers, including hard-core anti-Zionists Max Blumenthal and Helena Cobban. Ben-Ami explained, “I’m not giving them any approval whatsoever, and there’s no sanction to their beliefs…I’m not going to say, ‘No you can’t eat lunch together.’”Affiliations with politicized Israeli NGOs· Ben-Ami is the founder of an Israeli firm, Ben-Or Consulting, whose clients include Jimmy Carter, New Israel Fund (NIF), and a number of leading groups involved in politicized campaigns, such as Bimkom, Physicians for Human Rights-Israel, Yesh Din, Keshev, OCHA, and Amnesty-Israel.· Representatives from the following Israeli organizations participated at J Street’s 2009 conference include: NIF, Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI), B’Tselem, Breaking the Silence, and Rabbis for Human Rights. Some of these groups also receive funding from Soros’ Open Society Institute.· NIF sent emails promoting the 2011 J Street conference and offering discounts to NIF supporters.Funding controversies:o In September 2010, media reports revealed that J Street “secretly received” donations worth $ 750,000 from George Soros, founder of the Open Society Institute, and his family.o Previously, Ben-Ami had implied that J Street did not receive support from Soros, dismissingreports to the contrary. After the donation was exposed, Ben-Ami apologized, saying that his comments had been “less than clear” and “misleading.”o Half of J Street’s funding in 2008-2009 came via a $ 811,697 donation from Consolacion Esdicul, a mysterious businessperson from Hong Kong and friend of another J Street supporter Bill Benter. Ms. Esdicul’s involvement and motives have still not been revealed.o Funders of J Street’s Political Action Committee include directors of the National Iranian American Council and the Arab American Institute; a lawyer who represented the Saudi embassy in Washington; a former foreign agent for Saudi Arabia, and former CIA station chief in Saudi Arabia, Ray Close (reported to have worked for the former head of Saudi intelligence).
Technorati Tag: J Street.
Your J Street Factsheet
November 23, 2010Overview· Founded in 2008 in opposition to AIPAC, J Street calls itself “pro-Israel, pro-peace”; claims to support a peaceful, two-state solution, and aims to “redefine… what it means to be pro-Israel.”· Consists of three independent organizations: J Street, a 501(c)(4) registered lobbying group; JStreetPAC, a political action committee that donates to candidates; and J Street Education Fund, a 501(c)(3).· Also launched the ObamaSmearBusters.com website, “dedicated to fighting smears on President Obama’s sensible policy in the Middle East.”
Controversies· On Israel’s Gaza policy (February 4, 2010): “due to Israel’s policy of severely limiting passage of essential goods and materiel through its crossings, the suffering in Gaza continues. We believe this policy is strategically unsound, harms Israel’s security, and exacts an unacceptable toll on innocent Palestinians. It offends American humanitarian values, and is collective punishment that violates international law.”· On Gaza War (December 2008): “While this morning’s air strikes by Israeli Defense Forces in Gaza can be understood and even justified in the wake of recent rocket attacks, we believe that real friends of Israel recognize that escalating the conflict will prove counterproductive, igniting further anger in the region and damaging long-term prospects for peace and stability… only diplomacy and negotiations can end rockets and terror… We call for immediate, strong diplomatic intervention by the United States, the Quartet and allies in the region to negotiate a resumption of the ceasefire…” (emphasis added)· In February 2010, J Street co-sponsored a congressional mission to Israel with Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP). CMEP’s website features the “KAIROS Palestine Document,” which explicitly promotes BDS. CMEP also quotes Bishop Mark Hanson of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, referring to the document as “a word of hope in a time of pessimism that could lead to despair.”· On the “Free Gaza” Flotilla (June 15, 2010): Directly opposed “letters to the President now circulating in the House regarding the Gaza flotilla” that J Street claimed expressed “a simplistic statement that supports Israeli policy and actions.” J Street encouraged “more nuanced views” that acknowledged the “impact” and “gravity” of the “present closure of Gaza on the civilian population.”· J Street supports the UN-Goldstone “war crimes” indictment:o A Washington Times investigation revealed J Street’s role in facilitating meetings between Judge Goldstone, author of the UNHRC report about the 2009 Gaza War, and members of Congress.o The Washington Times also reported that J Street Israeli liaison Colette Avital (a former Labor Party MK and Consul General in NY) resigned, in part, “because of the group’s connection to Judge Goldstone.”o Refused to support House Resolution 867, “Calling on the President and the Secretary of State to oppose unequivocally any endorsement or further consideration” of the Goldstone report. J Street was concerned, in part, that the resolution did not consider the suffering caused by “both the military operation and the ongoing blockade of Gaza” and that it did not acknowledge that “the Commission’s original mandate was adjusted by Judge Goldstone himself and accepted by the Human Rights Council to include a focus on the conduct of both sides.”· Iran Sanctionso Opposed sanctions, claiming that preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons “will best be realized through diplomatic engagement.” A later statement (July 2, 2009) recognized that “it is very likely that Iran’s nuclear program and support for terror against Israel will continue,” but “diplomatic engagement remains the most likely road to success.”o In October 2009, J Street declared that it “does not oppose the imposition of sanctions per se.”o However, in December 2009 Ben-Ami expressed support for the passage of Iran Refined Petroleum Sanctions Act, recognizing “Iran’s continued defiance of the international community.”· J Street U vs. Israelo J Street’s student branch removed the phrase “pro-Israel” from the organization’s slogan, in order “to avoid alienating students.” Individual affiliates were also permitted to replace it with “pro-Israel, pro-Palestine.” Ben-Ami claimed that this was a marketing decision.o In November 2010, J Street and J Street U organized a “number of events around the country featuring UNRWA’s Gaza Director John Ging.” (See factsheet on Ging’s role in political warfare targeting Israel.)· The 2009 J Street conference hosted a panel of “progressive” bloggers, including hard-core anti-Zionists Max Blumenthal and Helena Cobban. Ben-Ami explained, “I’m not giving them any approval whatsoever, and there’s no sanction to their beliefs…I’m not going to say, ‘No you can’t eat lunch together.’”Affiliations with politicized Israeli NGOs· Ben-Ami is the founder of an Israeli firm, Ben-Or Consulting, whose clients include Jimmy Carter, New Israel Fund (NIF), and a number of leading groups involved in politicized campaigns, such as Bimkom, Physicians for Human Rights-Israel, Yesh Din, Keshev, OCHA, and Amnesty-Israel.· Representatives from the following Israeli organizations participated at J Street’s 2009 conference include: NIF, Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI), B’Tselem, Breaking the Silence, and Rabbis for Human Rights. Some of these groups also receive funding from Soros’ Open Society Institute.· NIF sent emails promoting the 2011 J Street conference and offering discounts to NIF supporters.Funding controversies:o In September 2010, media reports revealed that J Street “secretly received” donations worth $ 750,000 from George Soros, founder of the Open Society Institute, and his family.o Previously, Ben-Ami had implied that J Street did not receive support from Soros, dismissingreports to the contrary. After the donation was exposed, Ben-Ami apologized, saying that his comments had been “less than clear” and “misleading.”o Half of J Street’s funding in 2008-2009 came via a $ 811,697 donation from Consolacion Esdicul, a mysterious businessperson from Hong Kong and friend of another J Street supporter Bill Benter. Ms. Esdicul’s involvement and motives have still not been revealed.o Funders of J Street’s Political Action Committee include directors of the National Iranian American Council and the Arab American Institute; a lawyer who represented the Saudi embassy in Washington; a former foreign agent for Saudi Arabia, and former CIA station chief in Saudi Arabia, Ray Close (reported to have worked for the former head of Saudi intelligence).
Technorati Tag: J Street.
J Street Hypocrisy: Group That Whines “We Will Not Be Silenced” Had No Problem Silencing Sarah Palin 2 Years Ago
Last week J Street was spreading the the word to its followers about their new persona as martyr:
This week a small number of motivated activists convinced Temple Beth Avodah outside Boston to cancel an event at the synagogue at which I was to speak.
I know many of you were as outraged as I was and together we leaped into action by circulating a “We Will Not Be Silenced” petition that garnered over 10,000 signatures in ten hours yesterday.
As happens whenever our opponents try to shut us out, we simply used this opportunity to grow bigger and to reach more people with our pro-Israel, pro-peace message.
This of course is just one more in a growing stream of misrepresentations that we have become used to hearing from J Street.
The simple fact of the matter is that J Street is not being silenced. What is happening is that J Street is just being told that the synagogue in question did not want to listen to what they’re saying.
While this might bruise their delicate egos, people should not be forced to listen to what J Street says.
More to the point, J Street is oddly selective when it comes to the right to be heard.
Remember 2 years ago, when Sarah Palin was supposed to speak at an anti-Ahmadinejad rally, and J Street, in one of their first attempts to gain national attention protested-not against Ahmadinejad, but against Palin:
Stop Sarah Palin at non-partisan Iran rally
Sarah Palin is scheduled to headline Monday’s rally in New York of Americans Jews concerned about the threat Iran poses to the United States and Israel.
Sarah Palin at a rally to unify American Jews on Iran? Really?
Palin stands diametrically opposed to the majority of American Jews on nearly all issues – including on Iran. With just a few days left before the rally, we have no time to lose.
Click here right now to tell rally organizer Malcolm Hoenlein that Monday’s rally is no place for partisan politics.
Dealing with Iran is an issue of major concern in the American Jewish community, and we believe that the best to way to deal with the Iranian nuclear program and support for terror is smart, tough U.S. led diplomacy. But even if we disagree on the best way to deal with Iran, Sarah Palin is the wrong choice to speak at a unity rally.
She doesn’t represent the American Jewish community’s views on Israel or any other issues.
Based on J Street’s past in deciding for others whether Palin should be allowed to speak, their current tears of martyrdom fairly reek of hypocrisy-especially considering:
- Despite their repeated denials to the contrary, J Street really is getting funded by George Soros.
- While J Street presents itself as representative of the the real American Jewish voice, the group’s voice is actually made in Hong Kong-thanks to the $ 811,697 donated by Consolacion Esdicul
- Mort Halperin, a senior adviser in Soros’s Open Society Institute (OSI) is also on the J Street advisory council
- Halperin also wrote the letter that Goldstone circulated as his own on Capitol Hill last year, defending himself against HR 867 condemning his Report.
- J Street cofounder Daniel Levy publicly stated that establishing Israel is “an act that was wrong”
J Street is hardly the arbiter of what reflects the Jewish voice in America-but they did need to get national attention.
Now, J Street is turning around and trying to get attention by decrying those whom J Street claim are doing precisely what they in fact did.
What we need is a group to counter J Street’s “We Will Not Be Silenced”
I think a group entitled “We Will Not Be Lied To” sounds about right.
Technorati Tag: J Street.
Downing Street was right to force Lord Young’s resignation
Wall Street Journal Profiles Calif. Nurses’ Political Success
The California Nurses Association’s (CNA’s) summer and fall battle to defeat Meg “Wall Street” Whitman’s bid for the California governorship and elect Jerry Brown, got the attention of the Wall Street Journal.
In a recent profile, the Bible of business news called the CNA, “One of California’s most powerful political players.”
The CNA isn’t one of the biggest unions, but is considered one of the more effective. Its tactics are high-profile and often theatrical, with the union typically directing nurses to hound politicians. For example, CNA conceived the idea of hiring an actress to portray Ms. Whitman as “Queen Meg,” and to show up at campaign appearances around the state to parody her as monarchal.
Across California, members of the California Labor Federation successfully exposed the lies and hypocricy of Whitman and former Hewlett Packer CEO Carly Fiorina, another corporate-backed candidate, who lost her bid to replace Sen. Barbara Boxer. The state federation launched a TV ad urging Californians to “Protect Yourself from a Meg Moment” by voting and used Whitman’s own words to expose her failure to vote for much of her adult life, while at the same time urging people to get to the polls.
Now that the election is over, CNA leaders told the Journal’s Jim Carlton that they are looking forward to working with Brown, but will “fight for our agenda” which includes improved working conditions for nurses and improving the state’s health care system. CNA Executive Director Rose Ann DeMoro says she is hopeful about working with Brown
Although we fully understand that there are no ‘political messiahs’ who can right all wrongs, we also know that Jerry Brown is a seasoned, compassionate intellectual with undeniable leadership qualities
Click here to read the full article.
Click here for a look at the CNA from Time.com and here for a profile from Bloomberg Businessweek.
Tea Partiers Eat Crow As GM Becomes The New Wall Street Darling
Obama has decided to take this over. He now owns it. ~ GROVER NORQUIST
I was all over the place on the Obama administration’s decision to bail out General Motors because the executives who had thunk up the years of butt-ugly, rust-prone and unreliable crapmobiles that had pushed the once mightiest automaker to the brink of insolvency did not deserve a cent of my money. Or yours. But I eventually decided that the workers who made those cars didn’t deserve to be thrown out into the cold, anti-union Republican rhetoric notwithstanding, nor could the Rust Belt stand another belly blow.
And so 16 months after Obama took over ownership of the General’s shaky future, GM is the new Wall Street darling with an initial public offering expected to raise at least $ 16 billion.
But while tens of thousands of assembly line workers will be celebrating, the IPO is a bittersweet turn of events. This is because while you and I have recouped about $ 7 billion of the $ 49 billion bailout from the Troubled Asset Relief Program, will get back billions more in the coming months and make billions in interest on those billions, the entirety of the original bailout will never be repaid.
Although GM sales are way up, its product line is dramatically improved after it took the ax to several of its redundant model lines and it is the leading automaker in China, the world’s biggest emerging market, the automaker has still has not completely turned the corner. But I too will be celebrating as Tea Partiers, Grover Norquist and their no-bailout ilk chow down on a big plate of crow.
UK: Jihadists demand release of Omar Bakri, vow “The black flag of Islam will fly above Downing Street”
As the now-jailed Bakri himself declared while he was still in Britain a few years back. “We’ll Fly Black Flag Of Islam From No10: Hate Mob In Threat Over Jailed Cleric,” by Keir Mudie for the Daily Star, November 16 (thanks to Weasel Zippers):
HATE-filled Muslim extremists vowed: “The black flag of Islam will fly above Downing Street.”
The protesters, supporters of jailed cleric Omar Bakri Mohammed, made the threat while demanding his release from a life sentence in Lebanon.
Abu Saalihah, a student of Bakri’s, said: “We will not rest until the black flag of Islam is flown over the White House and 10 Downing Street.” Bakri, who was banned from Britain in 2006, was sentenced in his absence to life for training and fundraising for al-Qaida. He was then detained at gunpoint by Lebanese security services after refusing to recognise the court.
The 52-year-old has referred to the hijackers behind the 9/11 attacks as the “Magnificent 19″.
At the demonstration outside the Lebanese embassy in London, supporters clutched placards reading: “Release all Muslim prisoners” and used a megaphone to chant: “Lebanese burn in hell.”…
Are Obama and Congress Set To Screw Homeowners and Give Wall Street Mortgage Banksters a Retroactive Immunity Bailout?
There are rapidly emerging signs the Obama Administration is actively, quickly and covertly working furiously on a plan to retroactively legitimize and ratify the shoddy, fraudulent and non-conforming conduct by MERS on literally millions of mortgages.
When Congress comes back into session next week, it may consider measures intended to bolster the legal status of a controversial bank owned electronic mortgage registration system that contains three out of every five mortgages in the country.
The system is known as MERS, the acronym for a private company called Mortgage Electronic Registry Systems. Set up by banks in the 1997, MERS is a system for tracking ownership of home loans as they move from mortgage originator through the financial pipeline to the trusts set up when mortgage securities are sold.
Just to make clear the implications of this craven action, the White House and Congress are conspiring to give a get out of jail free bailout card to the biggest banks and finance companies in the country to cover up and mask their illegal behavior and behavior that did not conform with state, county and local laws throughout the United States. On at least sixty (60%) percent of the existing mortgages in America.
There are dozens of implications to individuals and both private and public entities. At a root minimum, it will likely decimate, if not bankrupt, most counties in every state of the union.
If courts rule against MERS, the damage could be catastrophic. Here’s how the AP tallies up the potential damage:
Assuming each mortgage it tracks had been resold, and re-recorded, just once, MERS would have saved the industry $ 2.4 billion in recording costs, R.K. Arnold, the firm’s chief executive officer, testified in 2009. It’s not unusual for a mortgage to be resold a dozen times or more.
The California suit alone could cost MERS $ 60 billion to $ 120 billion in damages and penalties from unpaid recording fees.
The liabilities are astronomical because, according to laws in California and many other states, penalties between $ 5,000 and $ 10,000 can be imposed each time a recording fee went unpaid. Because the suits are filed as false claims, the law stipulates that the penalties can then be tripled.
Perhaps even more devastatingly, some critics say that sloppiness at MERS—which has just 40 full-time employees—may have botched chain of title for many mortgages. They say that MERS lacks standing to bring foreclosure actions, and the botched chain of title may cast doubts on whether anyone has clear enough ownership of some mortgages to foreclose on a defaulting borrower.
Why would the Obama Administration and Congress be doing this? Because the foreclosure fraud suits and other challenges to the mass production slice, dice and securitize lifestyle on the American finance sector, the very same activity that wrecked the economy and put the nation in the depression it is either still in, or barely recovering from, depending on your point of view, have left the root balance sheets and stability of the largest financial institutions on the wrong side of the credibility and, likely, the legal auditory line. And that affects not only our economy, but that of the world who is all chips in on the American real estate and financial products markets.
What does that mean to you? Everything. As quoted above, even the most conservative estimate (and that estimate is based on only a single recording fee per mortgage, when in reality there are almost certainly multiple recordings legally required for most all mortgages due to the slicing, dicing and tranching necessary to accomplish the securitization that has occurred) for the state of California alone is $ 60 billion dollars. That is $ 60,000,000,000.00. California alone is actually likely several times that. Your county is in the loss column heavy from this too.
Where will the roads come from? Where will the county courts, judges and prosecutors come from? The Sheriffs? Who will build and maintain the bridges, parks and public works entities? Removal and obviation of this funding mechanism may literally kill any and every county.
That is without even going into the real and myriad effects on individuals, families and communities. This is a death knell to the real property system as we have always known it and the county structure of American society as we have known it. And millions of people will have lost the ability to benefit from the established rule and process of law that they understood and relied on. After the fact. Retroactively. So Obama and Congress can once again give a handout and bailout to the very banks and financial malefactors that put us here.
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