Thursday, March 31, 2011
'No easy answers on nuclear waste'
from politico..............
"After 45 years of nuclear power generation, Japan still lacks a long-term waste disposal plan. But the tragic consequences at Fukushima frame a starker reality: None of the 31 countries with nuclear power plants have a long-term storage facility in operation."
"And the United States — home to more nuclear reactors than any other nation — remains as stymied as ever".............read more here
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
'5 million hectares of Papua New Guinea forests handed to foreign corporations'
from mongobay.com
"During a meeting in March 2011 twenty-six experts—from biologists to social scientists to NGO staff—crafted a statement calling on the Papua New Guinea government to stop granting Special Agricultural and Business Leases. According to the group, these leases, or SABLs as they are know, circumvent Papua New Guinea's strong community land rights laws and imperil some of the world's most intact rainforests. To date 5.6 million hectares (13.8 million acres) of forest have been leased under SABLs, an area larger than all of Costa Rica."............read more here
"During a meeting in March 2011 twenty-six experts—from biologists to social scientists to NGO staff—crafted a statement calling on the Papua New Guinea government to stop granting Special Agricultural and Business Leases. According to the group, these leases, or SABLs as they are know, circumvent Papua New Guinea's strong community land rights laws and imperil some of the world's most intact rainforests. To date 5.6 million hectares (13.8 million acres) of forest have been leased under SABLs, an area larger than all of Costa Rica."............read more here
Pepe Escobar: 'Queen Hillary of Libya'
from asia times online......
"The current stalemate in Libya could last weeks, if not months. In that case, balkanization looms. Think of eastern Libya with Benghazi as capital, oil-rich and with a United States-installed puppet regime (a Libyan Hamid Karzai, like the Afghan president). It would be like a kind of northern Africa Saudi Arabia (the House of Saud would love it)." .....read more here
"The current stalemate in Libya could last weeks, if not months. In that case, balkanization looms. Think of eastern Libya with Benghazi as capital, oil-rich and with a United States-installed puppet regime (a Libyan Hamid Karzai, like the Afghan president). It would be like a kind of northern Africa Saudi Arabia (the House of Saud would love it)." .....read more here
'The GOP and Military Spending'
from the national interest.....
"The Defending Defense crowd has a new reason not to cut military spending: we're at war(again, still). So far, with a government shutdown looming, the GOP House leadership seems to agree that the Pentagon's budget will be largely off limits in the search for spending cuts:........read it here
"The Defending Defense crowd has a new reason not to cut military spending: we're at war(again, still). So far, with a government shutdown looming, the GOP House leadership seems to agree that the Pentagon's budget will be largely off limits in the search for spending cuts:........read it here
'Financial weapons of mass destruction still primed to detonate'
from tribunemagazine.co.uk
"Gambling, or placing bets on the movement of exchange rates, interest rates, price of wheat, oil, gold, commodities and even rates of death, is ingrained in the world of finance. The trade in derivatives has been described by Warren Buffett, the billionaire American investor, as “financial weapons of mass destruction”. Northern Rock, HBOS, Barclays, HSBC, Goldman Sachs and all other banks trade in derivatives. Derivatives are not dissimilar to placing a bet on a horse, where the outcome could be anything from loss of the wager to a large win."..........read it here
"Gambling, or placing bets on the movement of exchange rates, interest rates, price of wheat, oil, gold, commodities and even rates of death, is ingrained in the world of finance. The trade in derivatives has been described by Warren Buffett, the billionaire American investor, as “financial weapons of mass destruction”. Northern Rock, HBOS, Barclays, HSBC, Goldman Sachs and all other banks trade in derivatives. Derivatives are not dissimilar to placing a bet on a horse, where the outcome could be anything from loss of the wager to a large win."..........read it here
'China economist blasts dollar dominance on eve of G20'
from reuters.........
"Dollar dominance is sowing the seeds of financial turmoil, and the solution is to promote new reserve currencies, a Chinese government economist said in a paper published on the eve of a G20 meeting about how to reform the global monetary system.".......read more here
"Dollar dominance is sowing the seeds of financial turmoil, and the solution is to promote new reserve currencies, a Chinese government economist said in a paper published on the eve of a G20 meeting about how to reform the global monetary system.".......read more here
'As deficits balloon, persistent tax cuts under scrutiny'
from the seattle times...........
"Across the country, taxpayers jarred by cuts to government jobs and services are reassessing the risks and costs of tax reductions, exemptions and credits, and the ideology that drives them. States cut taxes in hopes of spurring economic growth, but it hasn't worked in state after state."
.............."A 2008 study by Arizona State University found that state's structural deficits could be traced to 15 years of tax cuts, mainly income-tax reductions that "were not matched by spending cuts of a commensurate size.".......read it here
"Across the country, taxpayers jarred by cuts to government jobs and services are reassessing the risks and costs of tax reductions, exemptions and credits, and the ideology that drives them. States cut taxes in hopes of spurring economic growth, but it hasn't worked in state after state."
.............."A 2008 study by Arizona State University found that state's structural deficits could be traced to 15 years of tax cuts, mainly income-tax reductions that "were not matched by spending cuts of a commensurate size.".......read it here
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
'Waiting Seven Years for Two Answers'
from the NYTIMES.....
"WHEN Zella Mae Green of Georgia filed for bankruptcy to save her home from foreclosure in 2004, she and her lawyer wanted to know two things: Did she actually owe any back payments on her mortgage? And, if so, to whom?
It didn’t seem like a lot to ask. But until last week, those questions had been unanswered for seven years"..........read more here
"WHEN Zella Mae Green of Georgia filed for bankruptcy to save her home from foreclosure in 2004, she and her lawyer wanted to know two things: Did she actually owe any back payments on her mortgage? And, if so, to whom?
It didn’t seem like a lot to ask. But until last week, those questions had been unanswered for seven years"..........read more here
'Few debt hawks willing to pay extra'
from the nashua telegraph
"It sounds like the perfect political gesture for the moment. Congress is getting ready for an epic fight over the national debt, and House rules allow members to give back a portion of their salaries for debt reduction.
Two of them do.
Last year, Americans - elected and un-elected - gave $2.8 million. That kept the debt from growing . . . for 57 seconds".........read more here
'Dying Banks Kept Alive Show Secrets Fed’s Data Will Reveal'
from bloomberg............
"Without identifying them as of yet, Fed officials say all the discount window loans made during the worst financial crisis since the 1930s have been repaid with interest. Cases such as Park National’s show how the lending amounted to a secret public subsidy, with few questions asked."
.................“When it comes to openness and transparency, it is incumbent for the Fed or any agency for that matter that is providing subsidies with taxpayer monies to be accountable for their actions,” he said"......read more here
"Without identifying them as of yet, Fed officials say all the discount window loans made during the worst financial crisis since the 1930s have been repaid with interest. Cases such as Park National’s show how the lending amounted to a secret public subsidy, with few questions asked."
.................“When it comes to openness and transparency, it is incumbent for the Fed or any agency for that matter that is providing subsidies with taxpayer monies to be accountable for their actions,” he said"......read more here
Cotton displaces food crops on US Farms.....
from the NYTIMES..........
Tight supplies of corn, soybeans and wheat have sent prices skyrocketing in the last year, prompting worries of a looming global food crisis.
Tight supplies of corn, soybeans and wheat have sent prices skyrocketing in the last year, prompting worries of a looming global food crisis.
But this spring, many farmers in southern states will be planting cotton in ground where they used to grow corn, soybeans or wheat — spurred on by cotton prices that have soared as clothing makers clamor for more and poor harvests crimp supply.
The result is an acreage war between rival commodities used to feed and clothe the world’s population.
“There’s a lot more money to be made in cotton right now...........read more here
"Ecuador: New Developments and Cyber-Activism in Chevron Case"
from globalvoicesonline...............
"After a historic court ruling against the oil company Chevron, news of the case has returned to social networks. On February 14, an Ecuadorian judge ruled that the oil company had to pay US$9.5 million in environmental damages. Almost a month later, on March 13, BBC World[es] reported that Chevron appealed the sentence. In addition to this news, there was a barring of the payment of the compensation for the environmental damage by a U.S. judge, and accusations [es] regarding the financing of the lawyers from the Ecuadorian communities and of a fraudulent Ecuadorian ruling."........read more here
"After a historic court ruling against the oil company Chevron, news of the case has returned to social networks. On February 14, an Ecuadorian judge ruled that the oil company had to pay US$9.5 million in environmental damages. Almost a month later, on March 13, BBC World[es] reported that Chevron appealed the sentence. In addition to this news, there was a barring of the payment of the compensation for the environmental damage by a U.S. judge, and accusations [es] regarding the financing of the lawyers from the Ecuadorian communities and of a fraudulent Ecuadorian ruling."........read more here
'The New Financial Imperialism'
from the Moral Liberal-Robert Stewart
“Tax havens are engaged in economic warfare against the United States, and honest, hardworking Americans,” Levin said. The implication is that no country should derive a comparative economic advantage from its fiscal policies and that such policies should be harmonized with countries like the United States."......read more here
“Tax havens are engaged in economic warfare against the United States, and honest, hardworking Americans,” Levin said. The implication is that no country should derive a comparative economic advantage from its fiscal policies and that such policies should be harmonized with countries like the United States."......read more here
'Bill Clinton takes on Brazil's megadams, James Cameron backs tribal groups'
from mongabay.com
"Former US President, Bill Clinton, spoke out against Brazil's megadams at the 2nd World Sustainability Forum, which was also attended by former California governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and film director, James Cameron, who has been an outspoken critic of the most famous of the controversial dams, the Belo Monte on the Xingu River."........read more here
from PBS.org...........Jounney into Amazonia.........see it here
"Former US President, Bill Clinton, spoke out against Brazil's megadams at the 2nd World Sustainability Forum, which was also attended by former California governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and film director, James Cameron, who has been an outspoken critic of the most famous of the controversial dams, the Belo Monte on the Xingu River."........read more here
from PBS.org...........Jounney into Amazonia.........see it here
'The failure of shareholder capitalism'
from salon..........
"The verdict is in: The Thatcher-Reagan-Blair-Clinton model of capitalism is a failure".
"By cutting taxes, slashing wages and destroying unions, the U.S. was supposed to lead the world in high-tech industry. But a recent study by the Asian Development Bank found that the majority of the added value of iPhones assembled in China come from high-tech companies in Japan, Germany and South Korea, whose inputs dwarf those from American companies. For a generation we've been told that the European and Asian capitalist countries were doomed by statism and high wages. Instead, they dominate global high-tech industrial production, while the U.S. continues to be deindustrialized.".......read it here
'1 Million Workers. 90 Million iPhones. 17 Suicides. Who’s to Blame?'
from wired.com.....
"In America, we have wrestled with the idea of divine sanction since the country’s inception. Some of us believe we have a God-given dominion over the earth; others argue that we’re bound to a larger Gaian system and are, at our best, caretakers.
My heart is with the caretakers. But I believe that humankind made a subconscious collective bargain at the dawn of the industrial age to trade the resources of our planet for the chance to escape it. We live in the transitional age between that decision and its conclusion.
In this middle age, the West built a middle class. It’s now eroding and may be less enduring than theAmerican Dream itself—a dream we exported to the rest of the world by culture and conquest. Nevertheless, most Americans have food, cars, gadgets. How can we begrudge a single person these luxuries if we want them ourselves?"...............read it here
'Feeding Billions: Food Security in China'
from isn.eth.ch
"China faces severe resource and environmental constraints. For example, population pressure, urbanization and rising prosperity have resulted in the loss of some of China's best farmland. Since the mid-1990s, China has suffered a loss of about 8.3 million hectares of arable land, or about 6.5 percent of the country's total arable area. The implied loss of output is even greater than this contraction implies, since the process of net land contraction conceals the disappearance of disproportionately large amounts of land in the most fertile regions of coastal China, where economic growth and structural change have been most marked. Land degradation, through desertification and the creation of enormous dust bowls, has also become a major problem."..................full story here:
"China faces severe resource and environmental constraints. For example, population pressure, urbanization and rising prosperity have resulted in the loss of some of China's best farmland. Since the mid-1990s, China has suffered a loss of about 8.3 million hectares of arable land, or about 6.5 percent of the country's total arable area. The implied loss of output is even greater than this contraction implies, since the process of net land contraction conceals the disappearance of disproportionately large amounts of land in the most fertile regions of coastal China, where economic growth and structural change have been most marked. Land degradation, through desertification and the creation of enormous dust bowls, has also become a major problem."..................full story here:
'Countering Chinese Influence in Africa'
from global research.ca
"Other than the anti-terrorism motive, commentators have raised the issue of oil. Oil industry analysts predict that by the year 2015, the United States will be getting 25 percent of its imported oil from African sources. The biggest oil producers in Africa are Libya, with 47 billion barrels in proved reserves (and maybe lots more yet undiscovered), Nigeria (37.5 billion barrels), Angola (13.5 billion barrels), Algeria (13.4 billion barrels) and the Sudan (6.8 billion barrels). Smaller African countries, including Gabon and Equatorial Guinea, have large-scale oil production proportional to their size. Writing in 2008, Antonia Juhasz posits an oil politics motive for the creation of AFRICOM. "The concern is that, as it has in Iraq, a larger US military presence in Africa will strain the overburdened military while increasing internal hostilities, regional instability and anger at the United States," he said, adding, "The ultimate objective of the two efforts is the same: securing big oil's access to the region's oil."
"Another reason given by some analysts for the creation of AFRICOM is as a counter to Chinese commercial advances in Africa. AFRICOM is mainly a military entity, but includes civil operations that are supposed to win the hearts and minds of Africans through development projects.".........read more here
for more background on AFRICOM.........read here
"Other than the anti-terrorism motive, commentators have raised the issue of oil. Oil industry analysts predict that by the year 2015, the United States will be getting 25 percent of its imported oil from African sources. The biggest oil producers in Africa are Libya, with 47 billion barrels in proved reserves (and maybe lots more yet undiscovered), Nigeria (37.5 billion barrels), Angola (13.5 billion barrels), Algeria (13.4 billion barrels) and the Sudan (6.8 billion barrels). Smaller African countries, including Gabon and Equatorial Guinea, have large-scale oil production proportional to their size. Writing in 2008, Antonia Juhasz posits an oil politics motive for the creation of AFRICOM. "The concern is that, as it has in Iraq, a larger US military presence in Africa will strain the overburdened military while increasing internal hostilities, regional instability and anger at the United States," he said, adding, "The ultimate objective of the two efforts is the same: securing big oil's access to the region's oil."
"Another reason given by some analysts for the creation of AFRICOM is as a counter to Chinese commercial advances in Africa. AFRICOM is mainly a military entity, but includes civil operations that are supposed to win the hearts and minds of Africans through development projects.".........read more here
for more background on AFRICOM.........read here
'Cheap' bread to cost billions in new Egypt'
from the times of india..............
"The government buys more than half the country's needs on the international market. A decade ago, the basic market cost for those imports was about $700 million a year. This year it could top $3.5 billion for 10 million tons of wheat."..............read more here
"The government buys more than half the country's needs on the international market. A decade ago, the basic market cost for those imports was about $700 million a year. This year it could top $3.5 billion for 10 million tons of wheat."..............read more here
'Nightmare for residents trapped in Spanish ghost towns'
from the guardian.co.uk...
"Sightseers come to Spain for the Alhambra, the Gaudis, the beaches. But Spaniards talk about a new set of landmarks, a kind of tourist anti-attraction. You can find them clustered on the outskirts of big cities and around holiday resorts, in Madrid and Valencia. They are half-completed housing estates, often vast areas of empty flats and foundations and property-developers' hubris. Now they are nearly deserted. The Spanish call them ciudades fantasma: ghost towns."..........read it here
"Sightseers come to Spain for the Alhambra, the Gaudis, the beaches. But Spaniards talk about a new set of landmarks, a kind of tourist anti-attraction. You can find them clustered on the outskirts of big cities and around holiday resorts, in Madrid and Valencia. They are half-completed housing estates, often vast areas of empty flats and foundations and property-developers' hubris. Now they are nearly deserted. The Spanish call them ciudades fantasma: ghost towns."..........read it here
Monday, March 28, 2011
'Food Inflation Kept Hidden in Tinier Bags'
from the NYTIMES
"Chips are disappearing from bags, candy from boxes and vegetables from cans.
As an expected increase in the cost of raw materials looms for late summer, consumers are beginning to encounter shrinking food packages.
With unemployment still high, companies in recent months have tried to camouflage price increases by selling their products in tiny and tinier packages. So far, the changes are most visible at the grocery store, where shoppers are paying the same amount, but getting less"........read more here:
"Despite Japan’s Crisis, Vietnam Aims to Win Region’s Nuclear Race"
from Irrawady.com
"Vietnam’s race to build nuclear power plants has barely skipped a beat despite the troubling scenes unfolding in Japan, where a nuclear nightmare has gripped the country for over a week. It places the Southeast Asian nation at odds with its regional neighbours who have similar plans but are urging caution.".........read more here
"Vietnam’s race to build nuclear power plants has barely skipped a beat despite the troubling scenes unfolding in Japan, where a nuclear nightmare has gripped the country for over a week. It places the Southeast Asian nation at odds with its regional neighbours who have similar plans but are urging caution.".........read more here
On the 20th Anniversary of the Fall of the Soviet Union.....
editorial from The Moscow Times...........
"Since 2011 marks the 20th anniversary of the Soviet collapse, there will inevitably be a spate of articles viewing those two decades from every possible vantage. In fact, they’ve already started. March 17 was the 20th anniversary of the only free referendum ever held in the Soviet Union.".........read more here
"Since 2011 marks the 20th anniversary of the Soviet collapse, there will inevitably be a spate of articles viewing those two decades from every possible vantage. In fact, they’ve already started. March 17 was the 20th anniversary of the only free referendum ever held in the Soviet Union.".........read more here
'The New Liberalism In Global Politics: From Internationalism To Transnationalism'
from Eurasia Review...............
"The final collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 brought a definitive end to the Cold War. It also brought an end to an international system defined by two superpowers and the beginning of a new global system defined by only one, the United States. The prevailing American ideology of international affairs—its literal worldview—had long been liberal internationalism, and the United States promptly proceeded to reshape global affairs according to its precepts. Now, two decades after its beginning, the global ascendancy of the United States and its ideology seems, to many observers, to be approaching its own end. It is an appropriate time, therefore, to review and reflect upon the course of liberal internationalism over the past two decades and, in particular, to discern what its recent transformation into liberal transnationalism may mean for America’s future.".......read more here
"The final collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 brought a definitive end to the Cold War. It also brought an end to an international system defined by two superpowers and the beginning of a new global system defined by only one, the United States. The prevailing American ideology of international affairs—its literal worldview—had long been liberal internationalism, and the United States promptly proceeded to reshape global affairs according to its precepts. Now, two decades after its beginning, the global ascendancy of the United States and its ideology seems, to many observers, to be approaching its own end. It is an appropriate time, therefore, to review and reflect upon the course of liberal internationalism over the past two decades and, in particular, to discern what its recent transformation into liberal transnationalism may mean for America’s future.".......read more here
'Afghanistan agrees to break up fraud-hit bank'
why cant we break up the big bad banks........the country wont heal until we do.....
from Reuters.......
"Under threat of the loss of support from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and billions of dollars of aid, the Afghan government has agreed to break up Afghanistan's biggest private lender after a multi-million dollar fraud scandal"........read it here
from Reuters.......
"Under threat of the loss of support from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and billions of dollars of aid, the Afghan government has agreed to break up Afghanistan's biggest private lender after a multi-million dollar fraud scandal"........read it here
Detroit's Packard Plant: Yesterday and Today
a must see presentation........video's, pictures and text from detnews.com............
"The plant churned out the Packard Motor Car Co.'s best-selling luxury vehicles and even aircraft engines for World War II. But the company stopped making cars at the plant in 1956 when it merged with Studebaker. Over the years, the complex has been home to many small businesses, the scene of legendary rave parties and the backdrop for music videos and films from indie productions to Hollywood's "Transformers 3."
"An eyesore to some and treasure to others, the plant on East Grand Boulevard once housed 47 buildings on its 37 acres. Now, it's 3.5 million square feet of deteriorating brick and steel. The Albert Kahn-designed complex opened in 1903 , was considered revolutionary then and employed 40,000 people at its height"..............read more here
"The plant churned out the Packard Motor Car Co.'s best-selling luxury vehicles and even aircraft engines for World War II. But the company stopped making cars at the plant in 1956 when it merged with Studebaker. Over the years, the complex has been home to many small businesses, the scene of legendary rave parties and the backdrop for music videos and films from indie productions to Hollywood's "Transformers 3."
"An eyesore to some and treasure to others, the plant on East Grand Boulevard once housed 47 buildings on its 37 acres. Now, it's 3.5 million square feet of deteriorating brick and steel. The Albert Kahn-designed complex opened in 1903 , was considered revolutionary then and employed 40,000 people at its height"..............read more here
Sunday, March 27, 2011
'Afghan Official Says Military, Police To Receive Billions In U.S. Aid'
congress is supposed to be cutting spending, not sending taxpayer money overseas...
from Radio Free Europe....
"Afghanistan will receive $20 billion in aid from the U.S. government over the next two years to boost its military competency, RFE/RL's Radio Free Afghanistan reports."...........read more here:
from Radio Free Europe....
"Afghanistan will receive $20 billion in aid from the U.S. government over the next two years to boost its military competency, RFE/RL's Radio Free Afghanistan reports."...........read more here:
"A Rothschild Plan for World Government"
a must read from Foreign Policy Journal..............
"Crisis scenarios are the means by which dictators justify control. The most often cited example is Hitler’s “Enabling Act” in the wake of the Reichstag Fire. Another example is the “Patriot Act” in the aftermath of 9/11. Globalist organizations, behind the usual façade of the most idealistic intentions, such as the Club of Rome, have for decades warned of impending planetary doom unless a world control system of inaugurated. While many of the problems addressed by global control enthusiasts are real, attention is deflected away from the fact of those who are making the suggestions for extensive global controls to deal with problems also happen to be those who created the problems in the first place. These are the plutocrats who run a de facto globalist control system, whose aim is to turn it into a de jure system."..........read it here:
"Crisis scenarios are the means by which dictators justify control. The most often cited example is Hitler’s “Enabling Act” in the wake of the Reichstag Fire. Another example is the “Patriot Act” in the aftermath of 9/11. Globalist organizations, behind the usual façade of the most idealistic intentions, such as the Club of Rome, have for decades warned of impending planetary doom unless a world control system of inaugurated. While many of the problems addressed by global control enthusiasts are real, attention is deflected away from the fact of those who are making the suggestions for extensive global controls to deal with problems also happen to be those who created the problems in the first place. These are the plutocrats who run a de facto globalist control system, whose aim is to turn it into a de jure system."..........read it here:
'Arab Refugees Finding Harsh Welcome In Europe'
United Nations estimates 50 million refugees by 2020.............
from NPR.......
"Refugees fleeing the upheaval in North Africa are running into a different sort of political conflict in Europe".
"Since mid-January, more than 10,000 refugees from countries such as Tunisia and Libya have arrived at the Italian island of Lampedusa."
"Marine Le Pen, who heads France's far-right National Front Party and is a leading contender in next year's presidential election in France, appeared on the island on Monday to let them know they aren't welcome."......read more here
'Ethiopia: The Great Land-Grab Debate'
the saudi's are buying lots of farm land lately...................must be worried about something..
from eurasia review.......
......"In at least one of the deals, a 10,000 hectare rice farm in Gambella leased by Saudi-Ethiopian investor Sheikh Mohamed Al-Amoudi, 40 percent of production will have to be sold on the Ethiopian market."..........read more here
from eurasia review.......
......"In at least one of the deals, a 10,000 hectare rice farm in Gambella leased by Saudi-Ethiopian investor Sheikh Mohamed Al-Amoudi, 40 percent of production will have to be sold on the Ethiopian market."..........read more here
'Georgia: Inflation Pushing Farmers into Debt Trap'
from Eurasianet.org
"The higher prices prompted the government to offer one-time 30-lari ($17.65) food vouchers to families, but such measures appear to have provided scant relief for farming families."
"Nona Obolashvili, an unemployed teacher who opened a small grocery store in the Kakheti farming village of Bakurtsikhe to help subsidize her family’s income, said that more and more village families are going into debt to buy basics like bread. Each day, roughly 25 of Obolashvili’s customers, the bulk of her clientele, buy her one-lari (about 59 cents) bread on credit."
“People are really suffering,” she said. “This is getting worse every day.”...........read more here:
Saturday, March 26, 2011
'Federal Budget Talks Break Down; Government Shutdown Likely'
from firedoglake.............
"Lawmakers have a little over two weeks to resolve all of this, and it doesn’t seem possible to anyone, especially when the GOP House leadership reacts to any hint of compromise with a blistering statement disavowing it. And with members of both parties adamant against any more short-term stopgaps, there doesn’t seem to be any choice other than a shutdown.".......read it here
"Lawmakers have a little over two weeks to resolve all of this, and it doesn’t seem possible to anyone, especially when the GOP House leadership reacts to any hint of compromise with a blistering statement disavowing it. And with members of both parties adamant against any more short-term stopgaps, there doesn’t seem to be any choice other than a shutdown.".......read it here
'German Minister Hints at Libya Mission Hypocrisy'
from spiegel online international.....
.........Are countries involved in the international operation in Libya hypocritical? That, it would seem, is the belief of German Development Minister Dirk Niebel, who criticized participants for continuing to draw oil from Libya. The comments show just how wide the gap between Berlin and its NATO allies has become.........read it here
.........Are countries involved in the international operation in Libya hypocritical? That, it would seem, is the belief of German Development Minister Dirk Niebel, who criticized participants for continuing to draw oil from Libya. The comments show just how wide the gap between Berlin and its NATO allies has become.........read it here
'IMF warns of Latin American overheating and credit bubble risks'
from Reuters.........read it here:
Friday, March 25, 2011
'Britain's £200bn time bomb of debt interest'
from the Telegraph.UK
"Three powerfully negative effects are identified by the OBR. As a result of higher than expected inflation, living standards will fall for longer than previously anticipated, public borrowing will end up higher, and real terms cuts in public spending will have to be deeper"........read more here
"Three powerfully negative effects are identified by the OBR. As a result of higher than expected inflation, living standards will fall for longer than previously anticipated, public borrowing will end up higher, and real terms cuts in public spending will have to be deeper"........read more here
Where's the Beef? 'Meat Inflation Accelerates as Demand Grows for U.S. Beef, Pork'
from Bloomberg.............
"Meat prices are rising in the U.S. at a faster annual rate than forecast a month ago, as increased demand for pork and beef exports erode inventories and high feed costs discourage livestock producers from expanding herds."
"The retail cost of meats will increase 4.5 percent to 5.5 percent this year, including a gain of as much a 7 percent for pork, the most of any major food group, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said today in a report. Beef prices will rise as much as 5.5 percent, or 1 percentage point more than the government forecast on Feb. 24.".............read it here
Pepe Escobar: Endgame: Divide, rule and get the oil
Pepe does not mince his words..........from Asia Times......
"Odyssey Dawn is only happening because the 22-member Arab League voted to impose a no-fly zone over Libya. The Arab League - routinely dismissed in Western capitals as irrelevant before this decision - is little else than an instrument of the House of Saud's foreign policy."
"This is exactly the same GCC, posing for Saudi Arabia that invaded Bahrain to help the Sunni al-Khalifa dynasty to crush the pro-democracy movement. The GCC gang is considered by the West as "our" bastards, while Colonel Muammar Gaddafi - according to the Western narrative - is a terrorist who went to rehab and is now a thug"............ ................read more here:
"Odyssey Dawn is only happening because the 22-member Arab League voted to impose a no-fly zone over Libya. The Arab League - routinely dismissed in Western capitals as irrelevant before this decision - is little else than an instrument of the House of Saud's foreign policy."
"This is exactly the same GCC, posing for Saudi Arabia that invaded Bahrain to help the Sunni al-Khalifa dynasty to crush the pro-democracy movement. The GCC gang is considered by the West as "our" bastards, while Colonel Muammar Gaddafi - according to the Western narrative - is a terrorist who went to rehab and is now a thug"............ ................read more here:
Nepal Quandary: ‘Indian Expansionism, Chinese Capitalism and US Imperialism threatening Nepal’s independence’
from Telegraphnepal.........
“We will lose out battle against Indian expansionists if we fight alone…we need to side either with the Chinese capitalists or the US imperialists” ....read it here
“We will lose out battle against Indian expansionists if we fight alone…we need to side either with the Chinese capitalists or the US imperialists” ....read it here
'Foreign groups snap up South Sudan farmland'
from Reuters Africa
"Foreign interests have snapped up large swathes of land in strife-riven southern Sudan in just a few years, threatening food supplies and the displacement of local people if left unchecked, a report said.
Sudan has emerged as one of the hotspots for the acquisition of African farmland, which has become a target for countries including China and Gulf Arab states, which seek to secure food supplies.".........read it here
'Foreclosure vote could rock the banks'
game on..........take the banks out back and shoot them.........let the country heal.....
from Fortune......
"The votes will come despite much eye-rolling from the banks, which have tended to be less than forthcoming on the subject. Bank of America and Citi petitioned regulators to keep shareholders from voting on the proposal, which is sponsored by the New York City pension funds led by city comptroller John C. Liu. But the Securities and Exchange Commission ruled this month that the votes must go on"................read more here
from Fortune......
"The votes will come despite much eye-rolling from the banks, which have tended to be less than forthcoming on the subject. Bank of America and Citi petitioned regulators to keep shareholders from voting on the proposal, which is sponsored by the New York City pension funds led by city comptroller John C. Liu. But the Securities and Exchange Commission ruled this month that the votes must go on"................read more here
Imperial Cycles: Bucks, Bullets and Bust
'THE RISE AND FALL OF THE GREAT POWERS'... By Paul Kennedy
from 1988 and the NYTIMES book review................read the review here:
from 1988 and the NYTIMES book review................read the review here:
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Fannie report warned of foreclosure problems in 2006
we just got a little more naked.............
from Reuters
"Fannie Mae was warned in a 2006 internal report of abuses in the way lenders and their law firms handled foreclosures"..........read it here
from Reuters
"Fannie Mae was warned in a 2006 internal report of abuses in the way lenders and their law firms handled foreclosures"..........read it here
Shame on you General Electric...........
its no wonder this country is broke...........
from the NYTIMES.....
"The company reported worldwide profits of $14.2 billion, and said $5.1 billion of the total came from its operations in the United States."
"Its American tax bill? None. In fact, G.E. claimed a tax benefit of $3.2 billion".
"While General Electric is one of the most skilled at reducing its tax burden, many other companies have become better at this as well. Although the top corporate tax rate in the United States is 35 percent, one of the highest in the world, companies have been increasingly using a maze of shelters, tax credits and subsidies to pay far less."......read it here
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Video Japan: Crawling out of the Wreckage
lets not forget about Japan....
must see video's from Global Post..........view them here
updated photo page from the nytimes.......view them here:
must see video's from Global Post..........view them here
updated photo page from the nytimes.......view them here:
'In Wake Of Japan Disaster, Safety Of Armenian Nuclear Plant Questioned'
from eurasianet.org.........
"Just a half-hour drive from the Armenian capital, Yerevan, a Soviet-era nuclear power plant sits precariously on an earthquake fault line".........read more here:
"Just a half-hour drive from the Armenian capital, Yerevan, a Soviet-era nuclear power plant sits precariously on an earthquake fault line".........read more here:
'Property Taxes Reach the Breaking Point'
from Bloomberg..........
"It really costs to own a home these days. Not only have home values fallen, leaving nearly one-quarter of residential mortgages under water, but also, local governments around the country have increased property taxes to make up for declining revenue from other sources.".......interactive 51 state slideshow of the highest rates in each state...............view and read here:
"It really costs to own a home these days. Not only have home values fallen, leaving nearly one-quarter of residential mortgages under water, but also, local governments around the country have increased property taxes to make up for declining revenue from other sources.".......interactive 51 state slideshow of the highest rates in each state...............view and read here:
Interactive Earthquake Map of Japan
from New Scientist......3 big ones last night and getting closer to Tokyo.......view here:
"And with so few historical examples of magnitude 9 earthquakes, we are effectively in unchartered territory. It is unknown when – or if – the likelihood of Friday's quake triggering an event in Tokyo will decrease, says Oki "
"And with so few historical examples of magnitude 9 earthquakes, we are effectively in unchartered territory. It is unknown when – or if – the likelihood of Friday's quake triggering an event in Tokyo will decrease, says Oki "
'A global energy war looms'
from The Telegraph............
"We are fast approaching an era when energy will have to be rationed. This can either be done in a peaceful manner, or we can carry on as we are, in which case it is all too likely to end up being settled down the barrel of a gun.".........see the graph and read it here:
"We are fast approaching an era when energy will have to be rationed. This can either be done in a peaceful manner, or we can carry on as we are, in which case it is all too likely to end up being settled down the barrel of a gun.".........see the graph and read it here:
'China and Africa: Colonialism without responsibility'
from somalilandpress.........
"As the Chinese dragon has awoken in recent years it has worked assiduously to court the nations of the African continent. It has realised that not only can it have access and influence in Africa more effectively than any other region on earth, but it has sought to fill the vacuum of influence left by the USA and Russia following the ending of the Cold War. European nations such as Britain have in essence all but retreated and been pre-occupied with other foreign policy issues such as Iraq, Afghanistan and the threat of international terrorism. America’s failed intervention in Mogadishu, Somalia (3rd – 4th October 1993) has ensured that officials at the State Department have become wary and ill at ease about active engagement with Africa. Of the former colonial powers only France has endeavoured to exert influence, invariably in the form of a substantial military presence in its former colonies. The likes of Chad, Mali, Niger and most notably Ivory Coast have all been the victim of continued French meddling. Policy makers in Paris like America have had their fingers burnt, as in the case of the fall-out from what happened in Rwanda and estrangement of Rwanda from the Francophone community".........read the full article here:
"As the Chinese dragon has awoken in recent years it has worked assiduously to court the nations of the African continent. It has realised that not only can it have access and influence in Africa more effectively than any other region on earth, but it has sought to fill the vacuum of influence left by the USA and Russia following the ending of the Cold War. European nations such as Britain have in essence all but retreated and been pre-occupied with other foreign policy issues such as Iraq, Afghanistan and the threat of international terrorism. America’s failed intervention in Mogadishu, Somalia (3rd – 4th October 1993) has ensured that officials at the State Department have become wary and ill at ease about active engagement with Africa. Of the former colonial powers only France has endeavoured to exert influence, invariably in the form of a substantial military presence in its former colonies. The likes of Chad, Mali, Niger and most notably Ivory Coast have all been the victim of continued French meddling. Policy makers in Paris like America have had their fingers burnt, as in the case of the fall-out from what happened in Rwanda and estrangement of Rwanda from the Francophone community".........read the full article here:
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Photo Essay India: 'Holi: The Festival of Colors, 2011'
a fascinating look at Hindu culture from India and several other country's.....
from The Atlanic......view the photo's here:
from The Atlanic......view the photo's here:
AP: 'US spent-fuel storage sites are packed'
from AP........
"The nuclear crisis in Japan has laid bare an ever-growing problem for the United States - the enormous amounts of still-hot radioactive waste accumulating at commercial nuclear reactors in more than 30 states.
"The U.S. has 71,862 tons of the waste, according to state-by-state numbers obtained by The Associated Press. But the nation has no place to permanently store the material, which stays dangerous for tens of thousands of years."..........read it here:
National Radiation Map...updated every minute, keep it handy..............http://radiationnetwork.com/
"The nuclear crisis in Japan has laid bare an ever-growing problem for the United States - the enormous amounts of still-hot radioactive waste accumulating at commercial nuclear reactors in more than 30 states.
"The U.S. has 71,862 tons of the waste, according to state-by-state numbers obtained by The Associated Press. But the nation has no place to permanently store the material, which stays dangerous for tens of thousands of years."..........read it here:
National Radiation Map...updated every minute, keep it handy..............http://radiationnetwork.com/
'Indonesia: Disaster-Prone, But Still Hungry For Nuclear Energy'
90 million people without electricity..............
from Eurasia Review........
"In the hope of bringing electricity to some of Indonesia’s 90 million people who are currently without it, the country is proceeding with plans to build four nuclear reactors, despite growing opposition sparked by the ongoing nuclear crisis in Japan.".................read more here:
from Eurasia Review........
"In the hope of bringing electricity to some of Indonesia’s 90 million people who are currently without it, the country is proceeding with plans to build four nuclear reactors, despite growing opposition sparked by the ongoing nuclear crisis in Japan.".................read more here:
Detroit's Population lowest since 1910
from Freep.com
"Detroit's population plunged 25% in the past decade to 713,777, the lowest count since 1910, four years before Henry Ford offered $5 a day to autoworkers, sparking a boom that quadrupled Detroit’s size in the first half of the 20th Century".........read it here:
some positive news for motown
From Alternet: Vision Urban Gardening and Green Economy Flourish in Detroit......read more here:
"Detroit's population plunged 25% in the past decade to 713,777, the lowest count since 1910, four years before Henry Ford offered $5 a day to autoworkers, sparking a boom that quadrupled Detroit’s size in the first half of the 20th Century".........read it here:
some positive news for motown
From Alternet: Vision Urban Gardening and Green Economy Flourish in Detroit......read more here:
'MAP OF THE DAY: The World Water Crisis'
From Business Insider......
"Today is World Water Day. This marks another year when water gets less attention than oil, and the coming crisis becomes more severe."
"Through the Middle East and parts of America and Asia, water is a physical scarcity".......view the maps here:
World Water Day Web Site...........http://www.worldwaterday.org/
Floating Dollar, Milton Friedman's Contraption''
From The Market Oracle....
"On March 12, David Stockman gave a lecture at the Mises Institute in Alabama. I was in attendance. It was a rousing speech, filled with funny one-liners. It reminded me of Patch Adams' listing of euphemisms for death in the hospital room of the guy with terminal cancer. It got us all laughing."
"The speech had four important points. First, the Treasury-Federal Reserve bailout in October 2008 was not necessary to save the financial markets. It was necessary to save three or four finance companies that had cooked their books and were facing exposure, meaning write-downs.".....read more here:
Monday, March 21, 2011
'Harvesting Every Drop of Water in Singapore'
"With a total area of only a little more than 700 square kilometers and very limited access to fresh water, the island nation of Singapore is forced to do whatever it can to provide potable water to its five million inhabitants."...........from Jakarta Globe.......read it here:
Japan: 'Disaster analysis you may not hear elsewhere'
"Unit (Reactor) 1 of the Fukushima Daiichi (No. 1) Nuclear Power Plant is in a state of meltdown. A nuclear disaster which the promoters of nuclear power in Japan said wouldn't happen is in progress," Philip White, CNIC's international liaison officer, said on its website on Saturday, March 12. "This could and should have been predicted.".........from Japantimes.........read it here:
‘Biblical Exodus’ From Africa Feeds Anti-Immigrant Rhetoric'
the UN estimates 50 million refugees from war and environmental concerns by 2020...................read it here:
from Bloomberg
"As boats carrying hundreds of Africans set sail for a better life inEurope, they were met on Italy’s Lampedusa island with two words by a 5-foot, 8-inch blonde: go away.".........read more here:.....
and from USA TODAY......."Italy warned Monday that it was facing a refugee and humanitarian emergency, with some 15,000 Tunisians having arrived in recent weeks and fears that the start of U.S. and European airstrikes on Libya could unleash even more migrants."....read more here:
from Bloomberg
"As boats carrying hundreds of Africans set sail for a better life inEurope, they were met on Italy’s Lampedusa island with two words by a 5-foot, 8-inch blonde: go away.".........read more here:.....
and from USA TODAY......."Italy warned Monday that it was facing a refugee and humanitarian emergency, with some 15,000 Tunisians having arrived in recent weeks and fears that the start of U.S. and European airstrikes on Libya could unleash even more migrants."....read more here:
Sunday, March 20, 2011
'Secretive Plan For a Global Currency'
"The new book by Global Research Publishers (And Ellen Brown), "The Global Economic Crisis: The Great Depression of the XXI Century."
"Is the Group of Twenty Countries (G20) envisaging the creation of a Global Central bank? Who or what would serve as this global central bank, cloaked with the power to issue the global currency and police monetary policy for all humanity? When the world’s central bankers met in Washington
The answer might already be staring us in the face, in the form of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS)... The IMF tends to couch its warnings about economic problems in very diplomatic language, but the BIS is more independent and much better
placed to deal with this if it is given the power to do so"...............from Global Research................read more here:
'10 Hyperinflation Horror Stories Of The 20th Century'
"Today, we talk about inflation in emerging markets, the rising cost of food and fuel, and money printing like we're experiencing true hyper-inflationary horrors."......From Business Insider........read more here
China: "Desertification treatment needs 300 years"
"Although China has made remarkable achievements in desertification prevention and control in recent years, it still needs 300 years to complete the current desertification treatment due to the overall slow progress, said Zhu Lieke, deputy director of the State Forestry Administration (SFA).".............from People's Daily Online............. read more here:
Desertification (UN Multimedia)
Definition(wikipedia)
Desertification (UN Multimedia)
Definition(wikipedia)
"The Oil-Food Price Shock"
"When future historians attempt to trace the origins of the current turmoil in the Middle East, they will find that one of the earliest of the many explosions of rage occurred in Algeria and was triggered by the rising price of food. On January 5, young protesters in Algiers, Oran and other major cities blocked roads, attacked police stations and burned stores in demonstrations against soaring food prices. Other concerns—high unemployment, pervasive corruption, lack of housing—also aroused their ire, but food costs provided the original impulse"..........From internationviewpoint....read more here:
Saturday, March 19, 2011
'Libya, Hypocrisy And Betrayal By The UN – OpEd'
"The infrastructure will be destroyed. The embargo will remain in place, thus rebuilding will be impossible. Britain, France and the US., will decide the country needs “stabilising”, “help with reconstruction.” They will move in, secure the oil installations and oil fields, the Libyan people will be an incidental inconvenience and quickly become “the enemy”, “insurgents”, be shot, imprisoned, tortured, abused – and a US friendly puppet “government” will be installed.".......From Eurasiareview......read it here:
'Fraud at Kabul Bank is being pinned, not on the Afghans who did it, but on their international advisers.'
"Never face off against a world-class poker player unless you are prepared to call his bluff.That should be one of the main lessons international investors take away from Kabul Bank, which is rapidly transforming itself from a major financial scandal into an Afghan-style morality play.Kabul Bank got caught with multiple and very well connected hands in the till; instead of asking for mercy, the shareholders sought to shift responsibility to their international advisors.The consulting firm Deloitte is likely to end up as the villain. According to Kabul Bank and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), it failed to provide the proper technical assistance to alert the bank’s shareholders that rash loans, outright fraud and illegal money transfers were bound to get them into hot water one day."........From Global Post........
read it here:
A Look Back At World War 2
"World War II brought more suffering to humanity than any other event in the 20th century. Nearly 60 million people died throughout six years of war, which saw atomic bombs, cities flattened and the Holocaust. Out of the war sprung the atomic age, the Cold War, Israel and the division of Germany."
photos, multimedia, opinion and text
a must read from spiegel international:............ read more here:
photos, multimedia, opinion and text
a must read from spiegel international:............ read more here:
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