The Path Less Taken

2012-01-28T16:20:00.002Z

Yet another of the interminable Scottish days, when the slate of the sky seems to weigh as heavily as do those on the roof of a swaybacked cottage.. This is the time of year that brings on the feeling that one can almost sense the true isolation a closed sky affords..
It would appear that public opinion has, for once, had an effect on at least one of our bankers.. The Chairman of the Royal Bank of Scotland has decided not to accept his bonus for last year's work.. Sir Philip Hampton announced he would forgo the £1.4million the Board had opted to award him.. Now this RBS statement came amid continued controversy over the bank's decision to award Stephen Hester, its Chief Executive, a £963,000 bonus.. a bone caught in the public throat when the fact the bank is %82 owned by the taxpayer.. Hester has not declined his whack of the pie..

Now this was only to have been expected..
As Spanish unemployment breaks through the 5 million barrier, the new government of Mariano Rajoy has begun to put pressure on the European Union to ease Spain's deficit targets, which are sending the country tumbling back into recession..
Rajoy's government is demanding greater 'realism' from Brussels as it struggles to rein in a deficit that ended more than two percentage points, or €20billion, above its EU-set 6% target last year..
EU officials are unlikely to greet his message with enthusiasm after continued wrangling in Athens over a deal with private creditors and a torrid day on the bond markets that pushed Portugal closer to needing a Greek-style rescue.. Brussels indicated that talks in Greece would take at least another 48 hours..
Just what they might manage to come up with before Monday's EU Ministers conference, is moot..

Might be interesting to keep an eye on Nigeria..
An Islamic fundamentalist group calling itself 'Boco Harum' has killed over a thousand in it's fight to force the country into a 'true Islamic State', governed my strict Shari'a Law.. Spokesman, Abu Qaqa, says "We will consider negotiation only when we have brought the government to their knees.. Once we see that things are being done according to the dictates of Allah, and our members are released [from prison], we will only put aside our arms.. but we will not lay them down. You don't put down your arms in Islam, you only put them aside."
Now there's a statement which we in the West would do well to remember..
Shari'a law is already in place across 12 states in the Muslim-majority north.. But few believe the group's radical ideology has traction in Nigeria's mainly Christian south, which is also home to millions of Muslims, yet has so far been out of the group's reach.

2012-01-27T20:12:00.004Z

Seems that Greece is getting closer to some sort of an accommodation with it's creditors.. the European Union's Economic Commissioner, Olli Rehn, said 'they were very close'.. Of course, the last thing the EuroZone wants is Greece to default..again.. Such a scenario would almost certainly rattle the house of cards the European Union has become.. We should know by the weekend whether or not a deal can be reached.. at least by the time EU Ministers meet next Monday..
It would seem the only solution to this problem would be to drastically reduce the amount of interest Greece is paying on the trillion or so € it has 'borrowed'.. and should that come to pass.. watch Ireland, Portugal, Spain and Italy looking for a similar concession..
In fact, Spain's unemployment figures show there are some 5 million Spaniards on the dole.. That's 22.8%, the highest figure in 17 years.
Not encouraging..

Now.. in the States.. there are figures that would seem to indicate their economy grew by just over 2% this past quarter.. But let's not start thinking their problems are beginning to shrink.. These 'growth figures' are a direct result of manufacturers stockpiling their product, instead of offering them for sale.. This cannot be kept up, and we'll be looking at much lower figures in the very near future.. New car sales were up some 14%.. but that has to do with Pre-orders finally being filled following the tsunami in Japan. Don't look for GM or Chrysler to be posting higher sales figures..

Just yesterday we mentioned the public was entirely unhappy with the £million bonus handed the man at the helm of the Royal Bank of Scotland.. Now, it's become an issue for the Commons, and yet another bone for Labour to chew..
Mind you, this 'bonus' is not due to be paid for three years, and will be determined by the share price of the bank at that time.. But still, for those on fixed incomes who are struggling to maintain their utilities bills with their grocery bills.. such an 'incentive' is preposterous..

Grey. It's still grey.

2012-01-27T00:13:00.002Z

Interesting to note, that while crime seems to be on the increase.. the number of Bobbies in England and Wales has fallen, and will continue to fall 'til 2015..
This due of course to government funding cuts, and truth be told, it's the old coppers who are taking the brunt of the redundancies.. Those who have served for 30+ years, and quietly being shuffled out the door..
Still.. they're keeping the numbers up in Scotland and Northern Ireland.. Might be an indication of where they're needed most..

Now what's really rankling the man on the street today, is the announcement from Royal Bank of Scotland.. That Chairman of the Board Steven Hester is to get almost a £million for his part in 'strengthening the banks position and bringing it back to, almost, respectability..
Yet, RBS is owned by the public, at least 82% of it is..
The public is wondering why that million wasn't used to pay down the bank's debt..
Needless to say, banking institutions are not well thought of these days on this Island..

2012-01-26T00:14:00.002Z

Not that much has changed.. there's an ice warning out for most of the Island this morning..
We've been expecting to hear from the government.. and we're not that overwhelmed with the expected announcement that our economy will shrink slightly, or to be more precise, that it had shrunk over this past quarter..
Seems we're at the point, where we just want the government to do something that would show us at least a glim of the light at the end of the trouble. But it would seem that most are canny enough to realize that it wouldn't matter which Party had the reins.. we would still have to endure what fumbling economists come up with to recommend to the Exchequer and hope for the best.
It is of no help, that we're reminded at least three times a week, that emotionally, we're close to the edge.. We're still surprised that we hear, regularly, that some husband has run amok..killing his wife and children before turning the weapon on himself.. People are aware the trick is to walk the tightrope without looking down..
The problem being that there are those who have been walking the high wire for years, and who now find what was once a short fall, has now become an abyss..
We're becoming more insulated. News filters through from the US when Barack does something extraordinary.. We still get reports on what's happening in the EuroZone.. But for the most part, our news consists of local or national stories.. written with the decided twist towards inspiring some brief relief, however fleeting..
There are fewer gathering along the rail at the local these days, with pensions buying less and less for more and more.
But this is Great Britain.. and for the vast majority, it's still an attitude of a 'stiff upper lip'..
There's always the Queen's Diamond Jubilee and the Olympics to look forward to..
Bread and circuses..

2012-01-02T21:15:00.002Z

A new year.. and we face the same problems. In fact, things are going to get worse before they improve..
As our Prime Minister looks to the upcoming Olympics and the Queen's Diamond Jubilee to help boost our prospects, reports from think-tanks around the country paint a somewhat gloomier future for some.. Caps being set on housing benefits will leave some of those who depend on the social safety net out in the cold..literally. These changes to the system come into effect over the next few months.
Happy new year.
Mind you, the effects will be phased in as Council tenants come up for their annual rent review.. small comfort for those, especially in Scotland, where those on benefits outweigh those in gainful employment..
And for those who have work and use rail transport to get them to and fro.. will find their fares 11% more expensive, as of today. Passenger Focus Chief executive Anthony Smith points out "report after report.. the government's own McNulty review into the rail industry's costs.. show we have a very inefficient rail industry. The industry costs a lot to run. Those costs are being dumped on passengers, year after year, and we can't keep on doing this.."
Ahhh.. but we will..

2011-12-29T16:19:00.006Z

One might wonder why..there have been such sporadic entries of late..
Simply put.. there has been so little of substance to record..
We have entered a period of almost worldwide ennui.. The political and diplomatic machines grind away.. Europe breathes for the moment with no change in the underlying problem, perhaps with a few anxious eyes towards the next default date for Greece, Portugal, and Ireland..
Mind you.. all in all it's become a situation that we.. those of us on this island.. are inured to.. We have a Prime Minister who has distanced us from the substance of the Euro crisis.. and while this has prompted some anti-British rhetoric from some French Ministers.. this taken with a smile.. They're only French, after all..
This is the center of the cyclone.. the calm between the anxiety of Christmas and the unbridled binge which is Hogmanay..
People aren't talking much about 2012.. We're walking blind into a fog of uncertainty and seem to be managing with some aplomb.. it's all exceedingly British, and one would truly have to observe it for a while, to make out the 'attitude' which imbues Brits.. from football hooligans to investment bankers.. there is this ineffable intangible sense of the ability to take whatever will come.
They may well be grey.. and will certainly turn greyer yet..
But despair doesn't seem to be on the agenda.

There is one international story which jumps out..
Now Canada's a pretty tolerant nation, as nations go.. and SouthWestern Ontario, the area stretching from Toronto to Windsor, is usually a paragon of stereotypical Canadian good manners and reservation..
But.. An issue is about to make a tempest in a teapot..
Bluewater, or Sarnia-Lambton County.. has raised an 'issue'..
The decades-old routine of handing out free Gideon Bibles in public schools has sparked renewed passions amid complaints the practice is discriminatory and no longer has a place in a secular education system.. This, after after a parent's objection led to the discovery the board had no policy on the issue...
Word that Bluewater officials were reviewing the practice in order to come up with a policy provoked a torrent of support for continuing the tradition..
“I'm not even a Gideon.. I'm just a concerned Christian parent in a country that's still 70 per cent Christian,” said Rev. Mark Koehler, pastor at First St. Matthews Lutheran Church in Hanover, Ont.. He continues.. “We've taken prayer out of school. We can't say certain greetings at Christmas time. We don't want further erosion of our Christian faith and heritage to happen.”..
Surely to whatever God there might be.. this particular 'issue' diminishes to insignificance when all the rest of the problems we face are considered..
Sometimes, you just have to shake your head..

2011-12-03T18:22:00.007Z

It's becoming glaring evident.. the grey.. grey infusing the weather.. the landscape.. the faces of those on the bus..
Xmas is nearly upon us.. and already the desperation is beginning to
overshadow the some what forced outward show of increasing bonhomie and peace among men..
Those who might actually be content with their upcoming celebrations are rolling past those in the queues for their damp ride home.. comfortable in their particular peculiar existence, complete with at the very least, a BMW..
This Europe situation actually has the man on the street worried.. the extent varies from each to each.. but we know that should Europe disintegrate both financially and as a coherent entity tied by the €.. then the financial upheaval would be a virtual European Fukashima quake.. with the epicenter in France.. utter chaos..
Now there are some saying that this is not yet irretrievable.. the the European Central Bank could support bond issues.. But judging by the response of a German offering which sold something like 60% of the issue.. keeping in mind these were offering only 1.9% over ten years.. what economic gain is going to be gleaned by buying paper that could well be useless well before maturity..?
Grey.
The quiet resignation that what will need to be done, will be done.. even if it's a night out once a week.. a dinner with the girlfriend every fortnight.. they can be replaced with an evening cuddling on the couch in front of the telly..
It's that obvious.. the dimming of the ambition.. the preparation to accept what one has and what's more, to be damned happy to at least have that..
Britain is assuming yet another 'wartime mentality'..
We know, to put it bluntly, the excreta is about to hit the fan, and we are equally aware we are, each of us, individually, are powerless to stop it..
Time to find pleasures in the simpler things again..
Grey.
The faces on the bus, that is.. or the Tube.. or the commuter train..

2011-11-26T00:46:00.003Z

This peripatetic journal, over the past few years, has been dedicated for the most part with matters political and/or economic.. and indeed these topics have been worthy of note. But the ball that was set rolling in the 1970's is still lumbering along.. and recent events have been reported on almost ad nausiam, with results already noted becoming fact..
Yet it remains to take a closer look at the attitude of the members of the silent majority.. Those who rise every morning, according to their individual schedules, make their ways to their various jobs within the light blue to the white collar, count the hours 'til they can either pick up a takeaway to be eaten in front of the television or head home to a wife, perhaps a family..
These are those who could well forget to exercise their franchise, perhaps with a fatalism which firmly believes if matters little which of the major powers forms the government, that either will face the Herculean task of repairing our economy, and our increasingly fractured society.. and at the moment is moot as to whether there is a palatable solution..
It's expected more than a million members of various unions will 'down tools' at the end of the month.. pensions at issue here..
But..bacl to those who still pay taxes, albeit with a vague sense of injustice as inflation passes 5% and petrol sets you back £1.34/l..
These are those who will wait patiently in a queue, in the rain, at the buss-stop, letting older folks board first..
Those among whom Edward George Bulwer-Lytton would have called 'the great unwashed'.. although applied in a non-pejorative sense.. The Urban Dictionary defines those defined by the term thus: "Can also be applied to a person who follows 'the crowd' and doesn't have a mind of their own." This might well apply to many who's lives are almost rigidly bound by routine..
And that, defines most of today's workforce..
When the news.. politics shows.. economic reports and the like are presented.. the average person is baffled at numbers in the trillions.. and likely has little to support an informed opinion on the collapse of the Euro.. trade checks and balances are not the stuff of common conversation..
And with good cause.. These are the people who are being hit hardest by ever increasing electricity and heating fuel costs.. These are the people who see their weekly shop costing £10 more.. despite supermarket adverts which claim you're actually saving.. These are those who would far sooner concentrate on their own economic squeeze..
This attitude of quiet resignation can be seen any day of the week by walking the High Street, especially this time of year. So many more out preparing for the holiday..
This attitude is stereotypically British.. Perhaps Dudly Moore and Peter Cooke said it best in one of their skits from 'Beyond the Fringe'.. When wife comes out to the garden to tell husband that .."war has been declared, with all the horrors it entails.." And husband answers "Never you mind the war.. just put on the kettle and we'll have a nice cup of tea.."

Indeed..

2011-10-26T00:49:00.005Z

Yet another end to an era..
The last of the Cold War atomic 'bunker-busters' is in the process of being dismantled on a Texas Army base.. These bombs were designed to land softly on a target, then detonate on the surface.. simulating an earthquake.. This final relic was 600 times more powerful than the one dropped on Hiroshima..
But.. as human nature demands..
That bomb, and those of it's ilk.. have been superseded by bombs that burrow into the ground and then explode..
Someone in the MoD must be wearing a wry smile..

2011-10-24T15:47:00.006Z

Let's see now..
EU Finance Ministers have voted to give Greece the next tranche in their bailout loans.. flagrantly tossing cash down the loo..
And as this is written, the debate goes on in Parliament concerning a referendum on whether or not Britain should become a full member of the EU..
If this should come to pass, one would only hope that there be included a choice to return to Thatcher's 'single market'..
Now, it appears this is a major rebellion, perhaps the first of Cameron's Premiership.. as many as 70 Conservative members may refuse the whip, and vote for this issue to be brought before the people..
Should this referendum decide that this country should not only be in Europe, but in the heart of Europe, this diarist, for one, will look for residence in Canada..

Cameron and French President Sarkozy have had words over Britain's involvement in Wednesday's meeting of EuroZone Finance Ministers..
Sarkozy wanted attendance to be confined to those 17 countries which actually use the uro.. in fact.. the French Head of State said, somewhat bluntly.. "We are sick of you criticising us and telling us what to do."
The infighting between France, Germany, and Britain.. should we apply for full membership and take on the Euro.. would render the group impotent through endless debates on bailout payments..
And, are we willing to give that much power, legislative, judicial, financial, to a group which can only be compared to a sinking ship..?
The EuroZone’s debt crisis might already have pushed the bloc’s economy back into recession, according to business surveys that showed China’s economy taking a stride forward in October..
Purchasing managers’ indexes (PMIs) today.. only served to underscore why Europe’s leaders are scrambling to identify substantial and lasting measures to contain a sovereign debt crisis that knocked EuroZone businesses into a second month of decline in October..
Not encouraging.. although there are those who would argue that the current situation is not a 'double-dip' recession, but merely a continuation of the damage caused in the US with the collapse of Fannie Mae and Freddy Mac..
This worldwide problem, excluding China apparently, brings fond memories of 1988, when the situation was bad, but not nearly as bad as they are today.. or will be tomorrow..
British inflation is up to 5.2%.. if there is more quantitative easing, watch that figure climb..
The flash Markit EuroZone composite PMI, which measures business activity at thousands of manufacturers and service sector companies, sank to 47.2 this month from 49.1.. some way below the 50 mark that divides growth from contraction..
That was below every forecast from 19 economists polled by Reuters, to say nothing of the consensus for 48.8.. Survey compiler Markit said it was consistent with a 0.5% rate of quarterly decline in GDP..
“All in all this is a miserable report, highlighting the fact that the euro zone is falling into recession again,” said Peter Vanden Houte, chief euro zone economist at ING Financial Markets..
“The snail-like progress in the resolution of the European debt crisis is unlikely to alter this picture soon.”..

2011-10-20T15:28:00.001Z

And so it comes to an end..
Mohammar.. out, not with a bang, but a whimper..

More later..

2011-10-11T17:04:00.003Z

Yet another dinner party discussion which led us into dissecting our current worldwide situation..
Now.. as has been written here before.. figures which describe our National Debt.. are far and beyond comprehension.. Financial experts toss about sums which the man on the street cannot possibly imagine, and thus, in incomprehension, a certain comfort is associated with 'trillions' of Pounds Sterling.. of American dollars..
The latest reports have the UK public sector net debt in July 2011 at £940.1 billion.. or 61.4% of GDP.. Now, if all financial sector intervention is included..such as the Royal Bank of Scotland.. Lloyds.. et al.. , the Net debt in July 2011 was £2266.3 billion.. or 148.0 per cent of GDP.. This is known as the unadjusted measure of public sector net debt..
Now lets break that down into something perhaps a bit more understandable..
If we say, that taking all those at work into account and the various incomes they earn.. we could strike a mean amount for 'work hours'.. Lets set that at say, £30 an hour.. we get something close to 75 billion work hours, and that is the true measure of our debt..
This is the depth of the hole our particular government is looking at climbing out of.. Finding some 75 billion hours of productive work.. and that which it pays to each individual worker.. to be applied to an intangible electronic debtor against an equally intangible debt..
And further.. the cost of National debt is the interest the government has to pay on the bonds and gilts it sells.. In the first six months of 2010, the debt interest payments were £21.6billion, suggesting an annual cost of around £43bn.. or 3% of GDP..
And perhaps more disturbing.. it is estimated National debt will could rise close to 100% of GDP by 2012.. It is far and away above the government’s sustainable investment rule of 40% maximum..
But tell the man on the street, that what's needed is 75 billion of his and her hourly wage.. and a light might begin to come on..
Food for thought..
And more on this as the concept is digested..

2011-10-06T22:04:00.004Z

Quantitative easing has hit Britain..
It must be said, that printing money to hand to the banks, so more is available for loans to small businesses.. is an insane solution..
While some jobs may be created.. this will do nothing for us in the long run.. as has been evidenced in the US..
Barack himself took some shots, in preparation for next years election campaign..
Obama spoke at a White House news conference after thousands of anti-Wall Street demonstrators protested at New York’s financial district and in several U.S. cities this week against economic inequality and the power of American financial institutions..
“I think people are frustrated and the protesters are giving voice to a more broad-based suspicion about how our financial system works,” Obama told reporters..
This from a man who can't seem to get his national unemployment figures below 9%..
But back here..
It's not hard to imagine what this will do to our ageing population as they claim their pensions for their 'golden years'.. annuity payments for those still working will continue to rise..
We are seeing big industry laying off workers by the thousands.. even the venerable BBC is cutting staff by 2 thousand.. and the Gods alone what those journalists.. presenters.. actors.. will find new employment..
What we can look for now, is inflation to begin rising.. despite the Bank of England holding interest rates at 0.5% until 2013, at least..
This situation as it stands today.. has the EuroZone in utter financial turmoil.. Britain not far behind.. the US imploding.. Japan struggling under the weight of shrinking world markets and the cost of natural disasters.. the entire world playing electronic Monopoly with sums of money which defy imagination..
One must wonder how long it will take to repair this worldwide problem..
Our grandchildren will still be struggling.. and what history will have to say concerning the first decade of this new millennium will reflect the fumbling manner in which our leaders have dealt with this situation..

2011-10-02T22:39:00.004Z

And as the world continues to turn..

The Greek Finance Ministry has announced that they won't be able to meet the deficit-cutting moves, as stipulated implicitly in the terms of their 'bail-out loans'..
No surprise there..
The country’s deficit this year is expected to reach 8.5% of GDP, or €18.69-billion ..$25.2-billion U.S.. higher than the targeted €17.1billion.. $23.1-billion.. That would have called for a reduction to 7.8%.. And, there's more.. They have a €2billion hole in their budget.. and yet even more.. that next years recovery rates won't be reached either..
Since May 2010.. Greece has been reliant on regular payouts of loans from a €110billion .. $150billion.. bailout from other Euro Zone countries.. Germany for the most part, but French Banks are heavily exposed as well.. and the International Monetary Fund.. It was granted a second €109billion package in July.. but details of that deal remain to be worked out..
The 2012 budget is projected to reduce the deficit to €14.68billion..$19.82billion, or 6.8% of GDP..
Excluding serving Greece’s debt, the budget is projected to have a primary surplus of €3.2billion, or 1.5% of GDP, meaning that Greece’s debt will stop growing, as a percentage of GDP..
Or so they'd like to think..
But with the government 'suspending' some 28 thousand public sector workers on partial pay, and an unemployment rate closing in on 15%.. they are simply creating yet more of a social vacuum..
Already, there have been sometimes violent demonstrations against the current 'austerity cuts' in most major Greek cities..
But in truth.. what has Greece to offer it's people in the way of employment..? There is no heavy industry.. in fact, beyond shipping, wind and water generated electricity and tourism.. Greece brings nothing to the table..
Once again, let us pose, as a possible solution.. true integration of the European Zone.. take those with practical skills who cannot seem to find work in Spain and Italy.. those who have been turned away from closing factories.. and rather than pouring money into maintaining a debt which cannot feasibly ever be paid.. And instead offer incentives for big business to build manufacturing plants.. employing those unemployed Europeans with work in Greece.. Simultaneously, Greek unemployed would work alongside, learning the trade so to speak..
The establishment of new industry is an absolute necessity for any economy.. and it seems only too obvious that the solution for economies the likes of Greece.. Portugal.. Eire.. Spain.. Italy.. is to attract foreign investment.. To provide true growth means expanding the tax base and reducing State expenditures.. and that means jobs.. and this is a course of action which must be made with some expediency.. for we have spawned a truly 'Lost Generation'..
The alternative is something thoroughly unpleasant to imagine.. Literally millions throughout the West living just at, or just below, what would be considered the poverty line.. The end of any vestige, if any remains now, of a 'work ethic'.. simmering unrest with any government elected to power, as the rich still get richer while the poor get poorer, accompanied by a general malaise.. ennui..
Admittedly, that's not the end of the story..
This has happened before..
Ahh.. Laetus Agricola..

Natural disasters abound..
The Philippines has been battered.. Rescuers scrambled today to deliver food and water to hundreds of villagers stuck on rooftops for days because of flooding in the the north.. where back-to-back typhoons have left at least 59 people dead..
Typhoon Nalgae slammed ashore in northeastern Isabela province Saturday.. then barreled across the main island of Luzon's mountainous north and agricultural plains.. still sodden from fierce rain and winds unleashed by a howler just days earlier.. Nalgae left at least three people dead Saturday..
Typhoon Nesat killed 56 others and left 28 missing in the same region before blowing out Friday..

2011-09-29T20:31:00.002Z

It is a matter for some thought.. the lengths the Eurozone will go to prop up what must eventually become yet another grand gesture..
To all intents and purposes, the one economy that is in the black, is being dragged down by 16 other member countries who are struggling to fight off impending bankruptcy..
The German Parliament has voted, by some majority, to the establishment of a 780bn Euro 'bailout fund'.. something short of the €3trillion that was suggested as necissary by the US Treasury Secretary..
The problem has been, and remains, the lack of productivity endemic in the countries which have already recieved emergency loans, and those which teeter on the brink of needing funds to stave off bankruptcy..
It appears Greece will get it's next tranche of loans, and that should hold off the wolf at the door for another few months, but, the question remains, what can be done in the short term to improve the situation..?
And the answer is glaringly obvious..
Nothing.
We are caught in a carolsel.. where bankrupt countries are being kept afloat without any significant changes to their economic situations..
This can end with only one scenario.. That being the end of the Euro, and that will be accellerated by the German people's dissatisfaction with the loaning of their capital to prop up failures..

2011-09-26T13:54:00.005Z

This impending switch in roles between Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladmir Putin has some senior Russians a tad wary..
Former leader Mikhail Gorbachev says this could set Putin up for another..possibly..12 years in the drivers seat..
Saturday was the day Putin announced his plans to run for the Presidency again, and barring some kind of revolution, this amounts to the prospect of another Kremlin leader for life.. a tradition that stretches back 450 years to the reign of Ivan the Terrible, Russia's first Czar..
No matter how popular or effective a leader may be, that seems like a long commitment, and Putin's ruling party, United Russia, made every effort over the weekend to cast it as the shining path to the glory of the nation. "The return of Vladimir Putin to the post of President is totally logical, because he remains our national leader,".. said Andrei Isaev, a senior Party boss..
The concern is.. that this could lead to another 12 years of the status quo, of political stagnation. Alexei Kudrin, one of Putin's most trusted advisers, who has served as Russia's Finance Minister for 12 years, said on Sunday that he wanted no part of it. "I see no role for myself in the new government," Kudrin told reporters during a trip to Washington..
Now there is a small cadre within the Kremlin.. a small faction of Kremlin liberals who have lobbied for President Dmitri Medvedev.. a self-styled Westernizer and reformer, to stay on for six more years. But his re-election would have required a reversal of Putin's grand political strategy.. In 2008, when the constitution barred Putin from taking a third consecutive term as President, he chose a successor from among his most loyal lieutenants.. the weakest and least independent among them was Medvedev, and when he was chosen, it seemed clear that he would be little more than a placeholder President, warming Putin's seat until he could legally return in 2012.
This is a situation that should be closely watched, for if Putin returns, it could well mean a reversal of the relaxation of Russian relations with the West.. and a reversal of the new freedoms the Russian peoples now enjoy due to Medvedev's more liberal moves.. greater freedom of the press, fewer restrictions on the political opposition and the easing of state control of the economy..
Given the unstable position Europe is presently in, a more restrictive Russia would only deepen the depression generally felt throughout the Eurozone..
As said, this bears our attention..

Another situation which will bear our scrutiny..
China's top security official visited Pakistan today in an effort to strengthen ties with a country whose relationship with the United States is growing more tenuous by the day..
Pakistani officials and commentators have been talking up their country's relationship with Beijing, with some suggesting it could one day replace the United States as Islamabad's main foreign benefactor..
China's Public Security Minister Meng Jianzhu was met by his Pakistani counterpart, Interior Minister Rehman Malik, who brushed aside questions on the timing of the visit..
"Lets not talk USA here. I am here with my friend China," he told reporters. "China is always there for us in the most difficult moments."..
You bet they are.. now..
There was a time not so long ago, that the only country which supported Pakistan was the US.. pumping money directly into their economy, and maintaining strong diplomatic ties..
But, it seems the US support has had too many price-tags.. the likes of the killing of Osama..
The last thing we need, is to lose the status we now have with Pakistan, relinquishing it to China.. who's ultimate goals are as shrouded as that country is large..

And with the United States..
It appears to be a case of 'here we go again'..
Congress is once again allowing shutdown politics to bring the federal government to the brink of closing..
For the second time in nine months, lawmakers are bickering and posturing over spending plans.. The difference this time is that everyone agrees on the massive barrel of money to keep the government running for another seven weeks..
"It is embarrassing," Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., admitted Sunday.. Warner asked: "Can we, once again, inflict on the country and the American people the spectacle of a near government shutdown?"..
At issue is a small part of the almost $4 trillion budget intended for an infrequent purpose, that being federal dollars to help victims of floods, hurricanes, tornadoes and other natural disasters and whether some of the expense should be offset by cuts in other government spending..
This sort of crisis management has cost Congress credibility in the eyes of the electorate, with about eight in 10 Americans disapproving of the institution's performance after this summer's debt crisis.. this is the reason Moodys downgraded the nation's ratings as a result, unnerving the world's financial markets..
And here we go again..
And there is yet another pressing problem on Barack's plate.. Unemployment in the South is losing him votes by the hundreds of thousands.. The South has gone from having the lowest unemployment rate, to the highest..
Several Southern states.. including South Carolina, whose 11.1 percent unemployment rate is the fourth highest in the nation.. have higher unemployment rates than they did a year ago.. Unemployment in the South is now higher than it is in the Northeast and the Midwest.. which include Rust Belt states that were struggling even before the recession..
And with Congress playing it's self-serving game.. the White House needs what can be done to be done now..
But again, what good does it do the GOP to get them to play ball.. what concessions before the end of this term..
At what cost, Barack..?

That financial 'black hole' we've spoken of for years is becoming a reality..
Meetings of the IMF in the US are suggesting discounting.. forgiving.. forgetting completely.. Greece's overall debt by 50%.. The plan also envisages an increase in the size of the Eurozone bailout fund to 2 trillion Euros..
When will we learn that tossing our cash into a futile attempt to prop up any economy that cannot support itself, is as much as flushing it down the loo..
Should this keep up, we will soon find us all in a never ending circle of 'quantitative easing'.. profligate printing of specie by our own Treasury.. leading to massive inflation.. growing unemployment.. and what will amount to a global depression..
Now, 'global' might not quite be accurate.. Russia and China have the internal resources to lose international markets.. their populations alone could keep them afloat, and while even with those two countries the water may lap at the gunnel's, they will not suffer to the depth the West will..
Their populations are already inured to what we would consider 'intolerable' living conditions, and restrictions through State regulation..
But, as we said, the 'black hole' solution appears to be in motion..
Over the weekend, the G20 reasserted its commitment to "a strong and co-ordinated international response" to the crisis, but analysts warned this would not be enough to satisfy investors..
And that's a harbinger of things to come..

2011-09-25T20:39:00.003Z

A couple of items of note..

Perhaps the most influential of the Arab nations, Saudi Arabia, has finally entered the modern world.. King Abdullah has granted the franchise to women.. and further, to their right to sit on the highly influential Shura Council..
To date, the kingdom has been enforcing a strict version of Sunni Islamic law..
This 'Westernisation' process through North Africa and Asia has sprung up with amazing rapidity, and in fact, flies directly in the face of centuries of tradition..
Just goes to show what incentives cars, larger salaries, education, and in no small part, the Internet, has been..
Betimes the old Chinese saying comes to mind though..
"May you not live in interesting times.."

Now, private talks have been ongoing, to allow Greece to default on next months interest payments, while still remaining in the Euro.. But one must question the wisdom of this course of action.. Christine Laguard has admitted, that should those who have had 'bail-out' loans begin to default, or should another country declare themselves as in need, the IMF would not have the means to pull more fat from the fire..
However, It is believed that policymakers feel they need to concentrate on recapitalising banks and boosting the funds of the European Financial Stability Facility.. the plan to increase the EFSF's financial firepower could see the money available to bail out EU banks and member states rise from 440bn Euros to about 2trillion Euros..
He added that the plan could also enable the European Central Bank (ECB) to buy more Italian and Spanish bonds to prevent those two countries needing a full bailout..
There appears to be little point to continuously bemoan the good money being tossed after bad.. it is a course the EU appears doggedly set on, to preserve the tattered integrity of this grand experiment..
And meanwhile, there is not a nation on this earth that's not watching with some trepidation.. for if.. when..the European Union ends.. we'll need all those bureaucrats which have been made redundant..

And, the next area of conflict to keep the engine of war turning over, could well be Pakistan, especially with the growing tensions at the Afghani border..
Afghan defense officials warned Pakistan on Sunday to stop firing rockets and heavy artillery into the northeast of the country or the military will respond with force.. Pakistan denied it was responsible..
Separately, a U.S. official confirmed an attack on a facility used by American officials in Kabul..
"The situation is fluid, and the investigation is ongoing," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation..
It's been ten years since the combined forces of Britain and the US drove the Taliban from power..

2011-09-19T22:15:00.002Z

Just a couple of brief notes..
It was a combative President Obama today, as he demanded that the richest Americans pay higher taxes to help cut soaring U.S. deficits by more than $3 trillion.. He promised to veto any effort by congressional Republican to cut Medicare benefits for the elderly without raising taxes as well..
"This is not class warfare. It's math," Obama declared, anticipating Republican criticism, which was quick in coming..
House Speaker Boehner, whom Obama singled out in his speech for having "walked away" from a "grand bargain" during the debt-ceiling debate in July, said the president's approach was unhelpful..
"This administration's insistence on raising taxes on job creators and its reluctance to take the steps necessary to strengthen our entitlement programmes are the reasons the president and I were not able to reach an agreement previously, and it is evident today that these barriers remain," he said..
Indeed.
And this is the problem Barack's going to face for the remainder of his tenure.. battling the GOP who today called Barack's plans to 'tax the rich' out and out 'class warfare'..
This may be the template we see for the remainder of Obama's term in office.. a constant fight with a Republican House.. and obstacles constantly being thrown in the path of a smooth passage of any bills..

Our own Business Secretary Vince Cable told this years LibDem Conference, that we are in the equivalent of an 'economic war'.. In a bleak assessment of the future, he said the era of ever-rising living standards had ended and people were just worrying about "how to survive"..
Now he's taken a page from this blog..
Vince also has called for higher taxes on the higher earners.. taking a page from Barack's speech..
The sad fact of the matter is, that we, the middle class, are in for quite a while of hand-to-mouth living, as prices rise and jobs disappear..
To suggest anything else, would simply be a Pollyanna view on the current situation..
And the least we can expect from government these days.. is accurate and honest assessments..

2011-09-17T14:36:00.003Z

While not offering anything in the way of a concrete solution, our Chancellor, George Osborne has announced that things are dire within the EuroZone, and has urged those countries involved to get a grip on things..
Nothing like stating the obvious..
US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner attended the Warsaw meeting of Finance Ministers yesterday.. and has some rather scathing things to say about the state of European finances, but he too, had nothing in the way of concrete suggestions to remedy the situation..
It is an unfortunate fact that Europe is our major market for exports, and with the extent of the decay, it is uncertain just how many countries will be able to maintain dealing with a strong Pound Sterling.. This is a major concern, for while we in Britain might have a tenuous hold on our particular situation, that would change dramatically should French and German banks continue to expose themselves to unrecoverable debts.. loans made to Greece.. Ireland.. Portugal..
And if the situation deteriorates further, with the possibility of major EuroZone countries the likes of Italy and Spain needing bailouts.. we will find ourselves knee deep in someone else's privy..
A few days ago we posted a breakdown of what the situation is today, for those dependent on Government Social Services.. If the Euro falls, and well it might, we will find ourselves in a position wherein our only hope is to devalue our own currency, to improve it's chances of maintaining a place in the global marketplace..
That would not be good for Cameron and the Tory Party, but indeed, we would be reduced to frantically grasping at straws, electing perhaps Labour back into power, with, once again, no palliative solutions to keep this island afloat..
It would seem, that we must inure ourselves to the pain of paying for the past 50 years of profligate borrowing, regardless of who's running the country..
There doesn't seem to be many alternatives..
Even Canada thrown it's oar into the fray.. Finance Minister Jim Flaherty says world leaders will continue to push Europe to tackle its debt crisis in order to prevent a ripple effect on economies around the globe..
"It's imperative that the Europeans deal with the sovereign debt situation, and deal with their banking situation, make sure that banks are adequately capitalized. Otherwise we run the risk of a large shock emanating from Europe," Flaherty said in an interview with CBC Radio's 'The House'.. broadcast today..

Meanwhile, back in the States.. Obama is keeping up his appeal for public support of his $447 billion proposal to boost jobs and consumer spending by urging Americans to press Congress to pass the legislation. "No more division or delay," he said..
In his weekly radio and Internet address today, he focused on a message that has become central to a presidency struggling to address stubbornly high unemployment numbers and dipping approval of his handling of the economy..
The president announced his jobs legislation to a joint session of Congress last week and has since gone outside Washington to build a case for its passage. He has been to Virginia, Ohio and North Carolina..
"The No. 1 issue for the people I meet is how we can get back to a place where we're creating good, middle-class jobs that pay well and offer some security," he said..
A laudable sentiment, but again, it begs the question..'How..?'
His address came in the face of sobering public opinion ratings for the president..
A New York Times/CBS News poll released yesterday.. showed nearly half of those surveyed worried the economy was headed for another recession.. and nearly three out of four said they believe the country is on the wrong track..
Mind you, four out of four have no idea whatsoever, as how this mess might be sorted out..

The American Ambassador to Pakistan said in remarks broadcast today.. that there is evidence linking the Haqqani insurgent network to the Pakistani government.. a charge that could raise tensions in an already strained anti-terror alliance between Washington and Islamabad..
The U.S. and NATO blame the Haqqani network for many of the attacks in Afghanistan, including this week's strike on the U.S. Embassy. The group.. affiliated with both the Taliban and al Q'aida and its army of several thousand fighters is widely assumed to be based just over the Afghan border in Pakistan..
U.S. officials have long suspected links between the Pakistan military and the Haqqani network..
But needing Pakistani cooperation to beat al Q'aida and stabilize Afghanistan.. they rarely say so publicly and as directly as Ambassador Cameron Munter did in his interview with Radio Pakistan..
Meanwhile, floods in that country have displaced millions of people, and left them stranded.. homeless.. and without aid of any kind, so far..

2011-09-16T15:40:00.004Z

The storm clouds are gathering over Greece..
The American Treasury Secretary, Tim Geithner, has flown to Poland to throw his two cents in concerning the EU debt crisis.. Now as for the next tranche of bailout payments to Greece, European Finance Ministers will wait until October to decide whether the situation can be saved by pouring cash into a leaking bucket.. the majority of analysts agree Greece will default on it's next interest payments.. which leaves few options for that beleaguered country..
The one solution, as we mentioned some months ago, is for Greece to leave the EU temporarily, lose the Euro and return to the Drachma, and devalue the currency as low as the markets will bear..
But, what then of all the billions already loaned..? French and German banks are dangerously exposed.. and investors in those countries could see their own house of cards wobble should none of this cash come home..
The markets have closed here.. but investors seem uncertain.. with the exception of France's Cac, which closed down about 1% on the heels of uncertainty in the banking sector, the rest ended the day flat..

In perhaps an optimistic moment.. at a campaign fundraiser last night in Washington, President Obama said he believes his chances of being reelected in 2012 are “much higher” than they were in 2008..
“Over the last couple of months there have been Democrats who voiced concerns and nervousness about, well, in this kind of economy, isn’t this just.. aren’t these just huge headwinds in terms of your reelection?” Obama said..
“And I just have to remind people that, here’s one thing I know for certain: the odds of me being reelected are much higher than the odds of me being elected in the first place.”..
Obama made the remarks before a gathering of 50 donors to his reelection campaign and the Democratic National Committee who each paid $35,800 to attend..
Yet history cannot be ignored.. No American President has ever been re-elected, with an unemployment level over 7.2%..
As we write, it stands a full two points above that level, with the private sector unable to keep up with the layoffs in the Public Service..
That, does not look as though it will change much in the next 15 months or so..
Obama attended two intimate $35,800-per-couple fundraisers last night, assuring donors that he will push Congress to pass his economic initiative and expressing confidence in his ability to win a second term.. Comparing his drive to get the public behind his $447 billion jobs proposal to a political campaign, Obama declared.. "We intend to keep the pressure up," he said. "Folks are ready for action.".. Now, there's an understatement if ever there was one..
Best of luck with Congress.. the GOP has no great desire to pass legislation that could reflect well on the President, regardless of the good it may do their constituents.. The general view is, that this 'recession' will last longer than the run-up to the next election, and if the Republicans can use this to their advantage, they will..
We've already seen how 'playing politics' is indeed a game in the US..
They appear to have lost their way in the overall Game..

2011-09-15T15:36:00.003Z

We've all been concerned.. preoccupied.. with international economic events.. Numbers the likes of 'trillions' have been tossed about with gay abandon, none of which is, in real terms, intelligible to the average man on the street..
But.. this is how it's affecting those on fixed incomes.. state pensions, be they reflective of lifetime earnings, or disability contributions.. The average basic state pension amounts to some £400/month.. those collecting disability can add another £500/month.. giving a basic gross monthly income of £900.. for those collecting both benefits that is..
Now those in Canada or the US immediately jump for their conversion tables, and say 'that works out to some $1350/month, give or take.. But it must be stressed, that what costs a dollar in North America, costs a Pound here..
Electricity will cost a pensioner a minimum of £40/week.. or £120/month..
Gas will run about the same, on a yearly average.. that's for heating.. we're now at £240/month for basics.. Council tax and Water and Sewerage will cost another £80/month.. Petrol, for those who can still afford to keep a car on the road, is at £1.50/l.. £30 minimum for a weeks driving around town.. when a loaf of bread weighs is at £1.50.loaf.. an average weeks shop will come to £70.. another £280 per month..
Then, back to the car, insurance will run you £340/annum.. or say £28/month.. Road tax is at £150/annum.. £14/month.. Telly License another £25/month..
Now all this adds up to £787..roughly speaking.. and leaves the pensioner with £113/month disposable income.. just over £25/week.. And if you're among the generation that smokes and always has.. a pack of 20 will cost you £7.35.. and there goes your excess..
Not to mention any payments an individual might be making on catalogue purchases or credit cards..
This will be an exceedingly rough time for all in this country.. in fact, for all, everywhere..
But this is the reality, today, for those who's incomes will not increase after strike action.. for those who have worked all their lives for a State Pension, only today to find themselves in a position of virtual poverty..
And, as inflation creeps up, this situation will only get worse. It stands at 4.5% this month.. and expect it to rise despite the efforts of the Bank of England to keep interest rates down..
Now this is just a keyhole look into someone on State Benefits.. which in most cases includes Housing Benefits.. Those on a private pension may make more through a Public Sector or Private Sector pension, but they're looking at rent, and on the average, a 2 bedroom flat will run you £850/month..
Take that off their total..

It makes one wonder..
To look around the elegant city of Antwerp, you wouldn’t know that Belgium has now gone longer without a government than any country in modern history..
The trains still run on time, the teachers show up in their classrooms, museums are packed, taxes are collected, welfare is paid, and the country’s F-16 fighter jets are dropping bombs in Libya.. even though Belgium has now gone a year and a quarter without a federal government, after the 2010 elections produced no majority and the feuding parties became locked in perpetual disagreement over coalition plans..
For some, this might sound like a libertarian’s idea of Utopia.. A country with nobody to raise taxes.. to slash spending.. to introduce major new government programs..
And indeed, Belgium has just managed, despite having only a largely powerless caretaker government, to post a second-quarter economic growth rate.. 0.7%.. that exceeded those of neighbouring Germany, France and Britain.. The assessment of analysts is the country’s world-leading beer industry has remained aloft as the world drinks away its financial sorrows.. And the government deficit has even been cut somewhat..
But beneath the surface, the cracks are beginning to show..
Without anyone at the rudder, tiny Belgium is in danger of colliding with some of the world’s more dangerous currents, and the next few weeks could be decisive..
The problem is drugs, and those who traffic heroin.. When Dutch authorities moved to clean up Rotterdam, which was rife with heroin trafficking.. those dealing death simply moved their operations a couple of hours south, to Antwerp..
A police official with the Antwerp force said.. “Our crime problem now requires the kind of major solution that can only come from the federal government – but it looks like we can’t do anything until we get one..”
“We have a pension crisis that is threatening to overwhelm us, for which we don’t have the means, we haven’t put aside any money, and nobody has decided how to pay all those pensions,” said Yves Desmet, Political Editor of the Flemish newspaper 'De Morgen'.. “And you have a gigantic public debt of almost 100 per cent of GDP and growing..”
Yet it is not at all clear that these problems can be solved, even with a government.. The Flemish parties would like to seize their province’s share of the tax revenue and use it to fund their own, separate programs.. Most of the French speakers would prefer it stay national.. And as the country has gone through 10 attempts to form a government without success, the parties have become even more entrenched in their positions and less compromise-oriented..
As a final insult, it seems that the fiscal problems will strike Belgium at precisely the moment when it forms a government.. assuming it is able to do so by 2012, which is not at all certain.. In that case, the awkward years without a government may be remembered as an economic and political Golden Age..
“It’s not for nothing,” Desmet said, “that Belgium is the birthplace of surrealism.”
How true..

2011-09-14T07:51:00.006Z

Is this the beginning of the end..?
As fears grow that Greece will default on it's next round of interest payments.. the word is that that country will be bankrupt by October..
An interjection here.. the markets clawed their way back into positive figures yesterday, and this morning in early trading the FTSE is up almost 38 points..
But this Greek situation is not going to allow investor confidence to recover.. German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Sarkozy, and Greek Prime Minister Panandreou will meet this afternoon to discuss this problem of over-extension..
Moody's has downgraded two French banks because of their exposure to this Greek debt..Credit Agricole was cut from Aa1 to Aa2 and Societe Generale from Aa2 to Aa3..
A third bank, BNP Paribas, was kept on review for a possible downgrade.. All three banks' ratings have been on review since the 15th of June, and Moody's decision had been widely anticipated by the markets..
Moody's said all three banks were strong enough to absorb the losses emanating from any Greek debt default..
But, this has led to widespread speculation on the future of the Euro, and in fact, on the future of the EuroZone itself..
As we stated years ago, this European experiment was fraught with dangers.. with all member States tying their economies to the weakest member..
And there is still Italy and Spain to be considered.. while the major problem of Greece remains..
There are some saying that talks over the next few weeks could allow Greece to have the next tranche of bail-out money.. but with that country looking at debts totalling 130 to 140% of it's GDP.. there are real concerns that once again, handing that country more loans is simply forestalling the inevidable..
The question remains.. what can Greece concievably do to reduce it's debt load without driving up inflation and putting the Greek man on the street in an untenable position.. It would seem that this great experiment in an united Europe is heading for failure..
The President of the EU.. Jose Manuel Barroso.. says the entire future of the EuroZone is now in question..

Here in Britain.. Unemployment figures released this morning indicate those out of work rose by 80,000 to 2.51 million in the three months to July..The jobless rate now stands at 7.9%..
Youth unemployment also rose sharply, by 78,000 to 973,000..
The total claiming Jobseeker's Allowance rose by 20,300 in August to 1.58 million..
And perhaps even more disturbing.. the number of people in employment fell in the three months to July.. by 69,000 to 29.17 million..
This is a trend the government is having kittens over.. as our tax base decreases.. so does our ability to maintain social services..
The sad fact is, that in some parts of the country, unemployment has topped those figures seen in the last 'recession'.. indicating that those areas are already presaging that which will be seen throughout the Kingdom in the very near future..
And to add to our problems.. the Trades Union Council is meeting over the next few days, and it's leaders are calling for serious strike action in the coming months.. This could indeed be our 'winter of discontent'.. as literally hundreds of thousands of public sector workers prepare to walk off the job.. The issue for these people, is pensions.. The government has legislated higher pension payments for public sector workers, and this does not sit well with Union leaders..
Unison.. Unite.. the GMB.. and the Fire Brigades' Union.. will consult members about co-ordinated industrial action starting in November.. This will affect such services as garbage collection.. even filtering down to grave diggers.. all the services the public needs to maintain a functioning society..
Now, as the government has warned, this will not bring the public in line with the cause of the workers.. The pensions these public workers are fighting for are on the whole, much more than those outside the umbrella of the TUC..

And in the US.. Another 2.6 million people slipped into poverty last year, the Census Bureau reported yesterday.. and the number of Americans living below the official poverty line, 46.2 million people, was the highest number in the 52 years the Bureau has been publishing figures on it.. And in new signs of distress among the middle class, median household incomes fell last year to levels last seen in 1997..
Economists pointed to a telling statistic.. It was the first time since the Great Depression that median household income, adjusted for inflation, had not risen over such a long period.. that, according to Lawrence Katz, an economics professor at Harvard..
Katz said..“This is truly a lost decade.. We think of America as a place where every generation is doing better, but we’re looking at a period when the median family is in worse shape than it was in the late 1990s.”..
More as the day progresses..

And in India.. People are sick and tired of MPs for causing frequent disruptions of parliament and point out that they take salaries for work not done. The little over month-long monsoon session that just ended saw unceasing bedlam in both the houses over a variety of issues, ranging from the frivolous to the Anna Hazare anti-corruption campaign..
With only 11 bills passed and 14 introduced during the Aug 1st through Sep 8th sitting.. the number of Bills, especially those relating to important economic reforms, awaiting parliamentary passage on their way to becoming the law of the land has risen to an astromical 86..
Vice President and Rajya Sabha chairman M.H. Ansari has decried the loss of productive time of parliament to frequent disruptions.. He called it 'a sad commentary on the right and duty of members to participate meaningfully in the proceedings of the house'..
The middle class is disgusted.. and rightly so..
'So many hours were lost... so few bills passed, I wonder what is the point of having a month-long session for work which can be done in a week and a half,' asked Aashish Khanna, a law student of Delhi University..
India boats the second best growth figures among the industrialised nations, and it, as a market, is something that deserves close attention..

It's typhoon season in the Far East.. and with more rain in the forecast, Thailand has been hit hard..
More than a million people have been displaced by flooding.. and Bankok itself is now in danger from the rising waters..
And the Camper Countdown continues..

2011-09-11T22:58:00.002Z

This was the day.
Ten years ago our world changed, and it will never be the same again.

2011-09-10T15:15:00.004Z

Tensions are rising between Israel and Egypt.. again..
The unrest began after Friday prayers, when thousands converged on Cairo's Tahrir Square to demand faster political reforms following the ousting of former President Hosni Mubarak in February..
From there, hundreds marched on the Israeli embassy.. They smashed through a security wall around the building before a group of about 30 broke in and threw documents out of windows..
Now..Egypt has declared a state of alert.. and Israel has withdrawn all of it's Embassy staff..
One protester is quoted as saying "We've been brought up to hate Israel but now we can express this openly. Since the fall of Hosni Mubarak, no Egyptian blood will go unavenged."..
Disturbing..
A brief history is perhaps called for..
Israeli War of Independence.. "al-Nakba".. or 'The Disaster'.. came days after Israel became a sovereign State back in 1948-1949..Upon independence, Israel was invaded by the armies of six Arab nations.. Egypt, Syria, Transjordan (later Jordan), Lebanon, Iraq and Saudi Arabia. In addition, local Arab Palestinian forces also fought the Israelis..
Following the short Suez War of 1956 between Israel and Egypt which resolved nothing.. only setting the stage for a future war between the Jewish nation and its Arab neighbors.. In the 1956 war, Israeli forces fairly easily defeated the Egypian military and occupied the Sinai Peninsula and Gaza Strip, only to give it back to Egyptian control in the cease-fire agreement.. In the years after 1956, Egypt and the other Arab powers, Syria and Iraq, more closely became aligned with the Soviet Union, which supplied them with large amounts of modern military weaponry and Soviet advisers and trainers..
Likewise, Israel moved closer to the United States in those years, to the point where the Arab- Israeli Conflict became a part of the larger and very dangerous Cold War between the U.S. and its allies on one side, and the Soviets and their allies and satellites on the other..
The introduction of the American-Soviet competition and arms sales in the region only accelerated the likelihood of a Middle Eastern war evolving into a Cold War confrontation..
The immediate cause of war in 1967 came out of Egypt's decision to expel United Nations troops from the Sinai peninsula and blockade Israel's port of Eilat.. The UN forces were intended to form a buffer between the border separating Israel and Egypt, and their expulsion led the Israeli government to fear an imminent attack by Egypt..
It should be pointed out that ever since the start of the first war in 1948, Israel had existed in a continued legal state of war with all of its Arab neighbors, including Iraq and Saudi Arabia.. The first two wars were ended with cease-fires, but with no lasting peace.. not unlike the conclusion of the 1950-1953 Korean War, in which an armistice ended the fighting, but did not bring a legal end to war.. Thus, when the military forces of Egypt, Syria, and Jordan, as well as Iraq, began to mobilize and make obvious preparations for war, Israel felt forced to act in self-defence.. On June 5, 1967, Israel launched a pre-emptive ground attack on Egypt, along with coordinated air strikes that effectively destroyed the air forces of Egypt, Syria, Jordan, and Iraq on the ground..
The 1979 Egypt–Israel Peace Treaty was signed in Washington, D.C. on the 26th of March 1979, following the 1978 Camp David Accords, which were signed by Egyptian President Anwar El Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin, and were witnessed by US President Jimmy Carter..
This Accord has lasted.. until now..
There have been protests outside the embassy since the deaths on 18 August of five Egyptian policemen on the border with Israel.. the incident marked a sharp escalation in tensions between Israel and Egypt.. Their 30-year-old peace treaty was already being tested after Egyptian leader Mubarak was forced from office..
Herein the basic problem with this 'Arab Spring'.. With long-time leaders the like of Assad and Mubarak now absent.. It is anyone's guess what faction will replace them..
And as we stated some time ago.. the last country the West wants to see involved in any more Middle Eastern conflicts, is Israel.. There are problems enough with Gaza and the West Bank.. To add other Arab States into the equation, could open yet another front for Western involvement, and frankly, we can neither afford it monetary.. nor can it be ignored and left to Israel to once again take on the combined weight of the Arab League..
Troubling times..

Just as brief note on Barack's 'jobs' address to the nation.. 17 times he told Congress to "Pass this Legislation now.." But it was, as many had feared, a cream-puff speech.. recommending nothing we hadn't been expecting.. and putting the onus on his 'Super Budget Committee' to pare yet more from their cost-cutting plans, to pay for his programs..
Yet the truth of the matter is, that indeed, while doing nothing for the next 14 months or so will not help the American man on the street.. Republicans gain notning by adding their stamp of approval to Barack's plans.. And it's exceedingly doubtfull partisan politics would be discarded, to help the Democrats..
While the options were few for Barack, we had hoped he would have had something more robust to say.. Something to swing that man on the street towards the belief his government is doing all it can to help both the country, but it's individuals..
Underwhelming, to say the least..

2011-09-08T19:49:00.010Z

Tonight's the night..
At midnight GMT.. Barack will address his nation to outline a 'new' job creation program designed to reduce the horrendous problem a 9% unemployment rate poses.. and deliver his plan to get America back on it's feet..
Frankly, expectations are not optimistic.. He's not even got the full support of his own Party.. Republicans are so certain he won’t offer anything new that some aren’t attending.. Democrats are questioning why the White House is pouring so much of its capital into another big speech.. And both parties are skeptical that any concrete action will come of it in Congress..
But for Obama, the speech is not only likely to be his last, best chance to take a serious stab at jolting the economy.. it’s also an opportunity to rebalance the debate in Washington, where Republicans have been steering the agenda since the November midterm elections.. His task is nearly impossible.. appease liberals.. appeal to independents.. win over some Republicans.. and make a compelling case to Washington-weary voters..
Progressives want Obama to ignore practical political considerations,that is, Republicans control the House.. and offer a package on par with the magnitude of the problem.. That means a plan worth at least $300 billion, with few tax cuts and lots of money for government-financed jobs, direct state aid and infrastructure projects..
They are way past viewing the GOP as a willing partner, and they’re wondering whether the president will agree and pitch a package that appeals to voters, not Capitol Hill Republicans..
The Obama who shows up tonight may be different than the one who hits the road Friday, heading to Richmond to campaign for the package..
Standing in front of Congress, Obama will be urgent and insistent, challenging lawmakers to put the economy ahead of their respective parties and to act on his proposals before the end of the year..
The question is whether Obama will go after Republicans more directly in the speech, as he tends to do on the stump. In essence, whether he will name names as they sit before him and put them on the spot. They are the party of tax cuts. So why are they signaling opposition to extending the payroll tax for workers.?
A partisan tone won’t sit well with Republicans, who are already casting the speech as political, particularly after the White House’s fumbled attempt to schedule it on the same night as the Republican presidential debate.. In a pre-emptive strike, House Speaker John Boehner and House Majority Leader Eric Cantor positioned themselves this week as arbiters of compromise..
Obama has tried for months to make a double-edged, seemingly contradictory argument.. The economy needs a short-term government stimulus and a long-term plan to cut government spending..
But for tonight, at least, Obama won’t dwell on the nuanced approach, which makes sense to economists and close observers of the Washington debate but can get lost in translation to the broader public..
Obama will challenge the 12-member congressional supercommittee to exceed its $1.5 trillion goal for budget savings.. setting a higher target that would allow additional money to fund tax breaks and other stimulus spending..
Obama speaks during the dinner hour on the East Coast and during the workday on the West Coast, and the broad outlines of the package are already known.. not exactly a recipe for big Nielsen ratings..
In Washington, a handful of Republican lawmakers are boycotting it, including Rep. Joe Walsh of Illinois.. Rep. Paul Broun of Georgia.. and Sen. Jim DeMint of South Carolina.. Even some Democrats are cynical about the prospect of another whip-cream speech.. tasty but not filling..
According to a Democratic aide.. “The question isn’t, what will the speech say. The question is, what does he do after the speech is over..”
As they say, the proof of the pudding, is in the eating.. And the sad truth is, there is effectively nothing Barack can do other than offer a quick fix.. As said before, this is a global situation, one in which the economies of all countries are either in bankruptcy, or close to it..
Barack's one solution to reduce unemployment figures is to institute FDR's prototype 'New Deal'.. but once the American infrastructure is intact, the problem of these huge debts will still dangle like a Sword of Damocles over that country..
In this, the US is no different from any other country in these disturbed times.. It will take decades of education for the masses to accept the consequences of the sequences which led us here.. and educated they must be..
That, will not be in tonight's speech..
It is interesting to note, that analysts are universally pessimistic.. All our conditions for a recession are already in place.. The horrid connotation of the word 'Depression' has kept it out of sight.. Yet, in the classical sense, we have already filled all the criteria for that label..
But again, that won't be part of tonights speech..

2011-09-06T10:04:00.002Z

A brief note to start the day..
Europe’s austerity initiatives are beginning to show signs of backfiring, even as governments prepare to tighten their belts further..
Waning growth in two key sectors of the European economy.. another poor election showing by German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s pro-bailout party and plunging bank shares heightened fears that a new recession cannot be avoided.. Those fears gained momentum when Christine Lagarde, the new head of the IMF, warned that the global economy is on the brink of a fresh crisis..
Efforts to rein in spending are hurting growth just when it is needed most to shake off the debt crisis, boost employment and restore consumer and business confidence.. High growth rates allowed Canada to overcome its 1990s debt crisis relatively quickly.. In contrast, European deficit-busting efforts are coming when growth is low to non-existent, implying there will be no quick fix to the debt problems..
“We see that there has been, particularly over the summer, a clear crisis of confidence that has seriously aggravated the situation,” Largarde, France’s former Finance Minister, said in an interview published Sunday in the German newsmagazine Der Spiegel.. “Measures need to be taken to ensure that this vicious circle is broken.”..

Our Justice Secretary, Ken Clarke, has laid the blame for last months riots on a 'broken penal system'.. Apparently three quarters of those either convicted of riot related offences, or are awaiting trial, have existing criminal records, some of those for 'serious crimes'..
He said the "hardcore" of those involved were known criminals whose behaviour had not been changed by previous punishments..
Clarke lays the blame for such recidivism on the penal system, saying there was not nearly enough emphasis put on rehabilitation..
Clarke argued that this made his efforts to reform the penal system and cut reoffending even more important..
The government is piloting payment-by-results schemes for private firms who successfully rehabilitate offenders.. an incentive program, so to speak..
Clarke has argued that fewer criminals should be sent to prison, suggesting that tough community punishments would be more effective at reducing reoffending..
And this is a stance that we have taken for years.. that those convicted of minor infractions who are given custodial sentences are merely being enrolled in a 'school for scoundrels'..

With Colonel Muammar Gaddafi all but gone, Libya's prospects can be summed up in one word.. oil..
Far different from the revolutions in Tunisia or Egypt, or the rebellions in Yemen, Bahrain or Syria, the possibilities of Libya's new leaders either forging a new democracy or being forced to fight a lingering insurgency could depend heavily on how they kick-start the oil sector, which accounts for about 95% of Libya's earnings and which will finance virtually every penny of Libyans' public services..
How easily the oil industry can piece itself together is unclear, however. Listening to Ali Tarhouni, the Oil and Finance Minister for the rebels' National Transitional Council, it sounds simple enough.. That the six-month war appeared to have damaged only "about 10%" of the oil infrastructure, and also said he was astonished to discover that Gaddafi's forces had not blown up or burnt key facilities.. the likes of the oil refinery in Zawiyah, 30 miles west of Tripoli.. as they faced a devastating defeat.. Libya's oil production has plummeted since the revolt erupted in February to an all-time low last month of about 60,000 barrels a day.. That's a trickle compared to the production of 1.6 million barrels a day last January.. Tarhouni claims that gas pipelines will reopen almost immediately.. which is good news for Italians, who import 25% of their gas from Libya, and that his country could pump about 500,000 barrels of oil a day within four months and return to prewar levels within a year..
With the NTC overwhelmed with securing the country, defeating the last Gaddafi holdouts and hunting down the colonel himself, Tarhouni's team could delay renegotiating oil contracts for years..
Take Iraq, for example.. there, the government waited six years after Saddam Hussein's regime collapsed in 2003 before signing its first new oil contract.. The Libyan council has said it will honor the current contracts signed with big oil companies, including deals with BP, ConocoPhillips, Marathon Oil and many others.. But they also insist Libya's oil industry will work very differently once a new government is in place, and that they could open up bids to new players like China and Malaysia..

Asian stocks fell but Europe regained its balance this morning after several tumultuous sessions of trading sparked by the bleak U.S. jobs picture.. Swiss shares soared after the country's central bank moved to control the strong franc..
Oil slid below $84/barrel amid expectations that continued weakness in developed economies will crimp demand for crude.. The greenback gained against the Euro but was lower against the Yen..
European shares headed higher in early trading after a steep sell-off..
Worrisome American employment figures and the possible spread of Europe's sovereign debt crisis from small economies like Greece to major ones like Italy are stoking investor fears.. Greece, Ireland and Portugal have already needed to be rescued with loans from the IMF and Europe, but Italy is regarded as too large to bail out..
Gold shares were among the gainers this morning.. as prices for the precious metal hovered near record highs.. Hong Kong-listed Zijin Mining Group, China's largest gold miner, rose 2.3%.. Newcrest Mining Ltd., Australia's No.1 gold miner, rose 0.9%..

We'll see what develops as the day goes on..

2011-09-05T17:32:00.008Z

Ahh well.. it's a development we've been awaiting for months..
Stock market indices fell around the world today, with a report of flat U.S. job growth in August spooking investors in Europe and North America..
In Toronto, the S&P/TSX declined 98.33 points, or 0.77%, to 12602.41, led by selloffs in industrials, energy and basic materials.. Shares of Silvercorp Metals dropped almost 10%, Sherritt International more than 6% and Precision Drilling by 5%.. Gold producers showed the best gains.. Golden Star Resources surged 12%, NovaGold Resources gained 7% and Barrick Gold added 3%.. as investors scramble to find a safe haven for their money.. Gold prices climbed by $55/ounce to $1,884.10 while crude oil prices dipped by $2.33, or almost 3%, to $86.60..
In New York, the Dow Jones lost 253.31 points, or 2.2%, to close at 11240.26.. The Dow is now back into negative territory for the year, off 2.9%..
Financials and industrials led the selloff in the U.S.. Bank of America fell more than 8% after a report that a dozen U.S. banks will be sued by the Federal Housing Finance Agency for allegedly misrepresenting the quality of mortgage securities they assembled and sold at the housing bubble’s peak..
This has all the earmarks of a cold winter..
The greatest fear is.. that the US is rapidly falling into recession again..
The lack of hiring in the U.S. last month surprised economists, who were expecting about 93,000 jobs to be added.. Previously reported hiring figures for June and July were revised lower.. The unemployment rate held steady at 9.1%, the U.S. government reported today..
In Asia, indexes closed sharply lower.. Japan's Nikkei 225 stock average sank 1.9%..with sentiment also undermined by the persistent strength of the yen, which hurts exporters..
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 fell 2.4%, and South Korea's Kospi slid 4.4 %.. Hong Kong's Hang Seng slid three%.. Benchmarks in Singapore, Taiwan, New Zealand and the Philippines also were down..
Mainland Chinese investors worried about the economic outlook dumped shares, dragging Shanghai's benchmark Composite Index down two%, its lowest close in 13 months.. The Shenzhen Composite Index lost 2.4%..
Traders waited for signs that the U.S. Federal Reserve might take action at its September meeting to support the economy.. perhaps a third round of bond purchases, dubbed 'Quantitative Easing III'.. or QE3..
"Right now the possibility has increased," said Linus Yip, a strategist at First Shanghai Securities in Hong Kong. "I think they have to do something. The markets are expecting QE3."..
An international debt inspectors' review of Greece's finances was interrupted today amid disagreements over the country's deficit figures.. The review will be resumed in about 10 days and must be completed in order for the country to receive the next tranche of bailout loans at the end of the month..
Signs that the Italian government's commitment to its austerity program is wavering have also shaken investors.. Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's government has backtracked on some deficit-cutting measures, prompting EU economic officials to urge it to stick to its promised plan..
Ex-Chancellor Lord Lawson has thrown in his tuppence here.. he says David Cameron should use the EuroZone crisis as an opportunity to tear up the Lisbon Treaty..
The Tory peer accuses the architects of the Euro of "grotesque irresponsibility" for embarking on a "misbegotten and predictably disastrous venture"..
And he urges the Prime Minister to tell them "enough is enough"..
And that's the best advice offered of late.. Lord Lawson was chancellor under Margaret Thatcher in the 1980s..
And truth be told, we've built entire economies on nebulous computer generated unimaginable figures.. Sums utterly beyond comprehention, even to those who administer the 'money'.. Such has been the depth of our follies, that it has come down to affecting us all..
While it is difficult to get a mortgage without a sizeable downpayment.. there are those who will never have the wherewithall to save ten or fifteen thousand.. and who's income is taken entirely for the simple basics..
We will watch this play out, as the next tranche for Greece approaches.. but nations aside, we're all in for hard times ahead.. Interest rates are being kept low to rein inflation, yet we still have a rate of 5% and rising.. Unemployment is going to bankrupt us, and that includes the EuroZone and the US..
Barack has to follow the plan we set out some months ago.. a new 'New Deal'.. or as one Nobel Lauriate said, 'restructure the nations infrastructure'..
American highways are notoriously bad..

In the early days of the Obama administration, organized labor had grand visions of pushing through a sweeping agenda that would help boost sagging membership and help revive union strength.. Now labor faces this reality: Public employee unions are in a drawn-out fight for their very survival in Wisconsin, Ohio and other states where GOP lawmakers have curbed collective bargaining rights..
Also, many union leaders are grousing that the president they worked so hard to elect has not focused enough on job creation and other bold plans to get their members back to work..
"Obama campaigned big, but he's governing small," said Larry Hanley, president of the Amalgamated Transit Union..
Labor remains a core Democratic constituency and union leaders will stand with Obama in Detroit this Labor Day, where he will address thousands of rank-and-file members during the city's annual parade Monday.. But how long this support will last, is entirely dependant on the next moves by the President.. It is of paramount importance that he get unemployment down, and not a little, but a lot..
And to add to Baracks woes..
The United States Postal Service has long lived on the financial edge, but it has never been as close to the precipice as it is today.. the agency is so low on cash that it will not be able to make a $5.5 billion payment due this month and may have to shut down entirely this winter unless Congress takes emergency action to stabilize its finances.. According to the Postmaster General, Patrick R. Donahoe..“Our situation is extremely serious..If Congress doesn’t act, we will default.” In recent weeks, Donahoe has been pushing a series of painful cost-cutting measures to erase the agency’s deficit, which will reach $9.2 billion this fiscal year.. They include eliminating Saturday mail delivery, closing up to 3,700 postal locations and laying off 120,000 workers.. nearly one-fifth of the agency’s work force.. and this in the face of a no-layoffs clause in the unions’ contracts..
The post office’s problems stem from one hard reality.. it is being squeezed on both revenue and costs..
As any computer user knows, the Internet revolution has led to people and businesses sending far less conventional mail..

It was a brief lesson from American history that served as a not so subtle suggestion for contemporary Europe.. When an official from a European central bank met recently with a financial official in Washington, his host pulled out the Articles of Confederation, the 1781 precursor to the U.S. Constitution, to use as talking points..
The message was clear.. join together in a stronger union, or risk collapse..
The story of America’s failed early effort to operate as a loose confederation of 13 states is increasingly relevant for many European officials who are grappling with the drastic problems of their own flawed 17-nation currency union.. The lack of strong central coordination of the EuroZone’s debt and spending policies is a key reason Europe has been unable to resolve its financial crisis despite more than 18 months of trying..
And that is why, despite all the political obstacles, Europe appears to be inching closer to a more centralized fiscal union that would eventually turn the Euro Zone into something resembling a United States of Europe..
Now.. where have we read that before..
With the new bailout for Greece that was agreed upon by European leaders in July still awaiting approval from each country in the EuroZone, the fractionalized way that Europe runs fiscal decision-making risks setting off yet another crisis at each step along the way.. Every plan requires agreement among finance ministers and the Parliament of any member country can veto the deal..
Many economists say that the Continent’s debt crisis, which began in early 2010 with the threat that Greece might have to default on its loans, could have been resolved far more quickly if there were some sort of central financial body, akin to the Treasury Department in the United States..
What is it we have come to.. and how fortunate Britain has kept the EuroZone at arms length..

Japan braced for more heavy rain and floods come Monday as the death toll from the worst typhoon to hit the country in seven years climbed to 34.. Rescuers searched for 55 others who remained missing, and tens of thousands of families struggled without power or telephone service..
Typhoon Talas.. which was later downgraded to a tropical storm.. lashed coastal areas with destructive winds and record-setting rains over this past weekend before moving offshore into the Sea of Japan.. Thousands were stranded as it washed out bridges, railways and roads..
The destruction added more misery to a nation still reeling from a catastrophic earthquake and tsunami six months ago.. In one of his first acts in office.. Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda, sworn in just one day before Talas made landfall.. vowed the government would provide as much assistance as quickly as it could..
Still with weather.. Gulf Coast residents from Texas to Florida braced for a third day of severe weather as the remnants of Tropical Storm Lee continued to lash the region as it moved inland..
The National Weather Service indicated flood and flash flood watches and warnings were in effect from coastal Texas into the Gulf states, with 10 to 15 inches of rain expected..
Heavy rains will continue to expand northeastward into the Tennessee Valley and southern Appalachian mountains through next week, with rainfall amounts of 4 to 8 inches expected and isolated amounts of 12 inches possible..
"These may cause life threatening flash floods and mudslides," the weather service said..

2011-08-30T18:14:00.005Z

Okay.. back to the stories of the day..
Libya's interim leader gave forces loyal to deposed ruler Muammar Gaddafi a four-day deadline today to surrender towns they still control, or face a bloody end to a war that the new leadership said has so far killed 50,000 people..
As the hunt for Gaddafi himself goes on, Libyan officials accused Algeria of an act of aggression for giving refuge to his fleeing wife and three of his children, as well as, it turned out, to a new grand-daughter, born this morning..
Algeria's Foreign Ministry said Gaddafi's wife Safia, and his sons Hannibal and Mohammed had entered Algeria yesterday, along with their children..
But what the rebels want to bring a definitive end to this, is Mohammar himself.. and again, until he's found, the struggle will continue..
Anti-Gaddafi forces have converged on Sirte from east and west, but have stopped short of an all-out assault in hopes of arranging a negotiated surrender of Gaddafi's birth-place..
Mustafa Abdel Jalil, head of Libya's interim council, told a news conference.."By Saturday, if there are no peaceful indications for implementing this, we will decide this matter militarily. We do not wish to do so but we cannot wait longer.."

Meanwhile, in the States.. Consumers' confidence in August dropped almost 15 points to the lowest level since April 2009 as worries about the economy fueled the wildest stock market swings since the financial meltdown in 2008..
At a time when Americans are increasingly worried about a weak job market, higher costs for food and clothing and recent stock market turmoil, the falling confidence numbers raise new concerns about their willingness to spend and jump start the economy.. That's particularly important since consumer spending accounts for 70% of U.S. economic activity..
The Conference Board said Tuesday that its Consumer Confidence Index fell to 44.5, down from a revised 59.2 in July.. The number was the lowest level since April 2009 when the reading was 40.8.. It also is far below the 53.3 that analysts had expected..
A reading above 90 indicates the economy is on solid footing.. above 100 signals strong growth..
Today's figures do not bode well.. Besides debt talks and market fluctuations, Americans are still plagued by old economic worries.. The nation's unemployment rate is stuck at 9%.. Home values remain weak.. And shoppers are facing rising costs for everything from food to clothing as retailers try to offset their higher costs for labor and materials..

And, closer to home.. There has rarely been a gloomier bunch of central bankers and other top-level finance officials than the ones who gathered at Jackson Hole last week for their annual August gabfest.. It’s not as if most of them are a load of laughs at the best of times, but as part of their job, they can usually be counted on to find some ray of sunshine on even the darkest days..
Now, most of them acknowledge.. at least privately.. that they have pretty much run out of options if the sputtering global economy slides back into reverse and the financial system starts to come unglued again..
Then we had newly minted IMF Chief Christine Lagarde spelling out the problem for anyone willing to listen.. essentially warning that the European banks can’t be held together with Crazy Glue and paper clips much longer and that if they aren’t fixed soon, we’re heading for another whopper of a financial and economic crisis.. Freed of her government shackles, the former French finance minister pulled no punches in her first major speech to the August audience.. Lagarde declared flatly that European banks “need urgent recapitalization. They must be strong enough to withstand the risks of sovereigns and weak growth. This is key to cutting the chains of contagion. If it is not addressed, we could easily see the further spread of economic weakness to core countries, or even a debilitating liquidity crisis.”
Now just where this recapitalization is going to come from, is anyone's guess..
Her proposal amounts to basically this.. “mandatory substantial recapitalization.. seeking private resources first, but using public funds if necessary.” and that means adopting the much-criticized but largely effective U.S. policy that forced major banks to accept capital infusions from Washington whether they wanted the money or not.. Lagarde suggested the European Financial Stability Fund or some other form of European-wide financing could be used to pump money directly into the banks and hence ease pressure on vulnerable governments facing bond market assaults..
The response, predictably, has been howls of outrage in European political and banking circles. A Reuters headline summed up the attitude: “Europe snubs IMF call to force-feed bank capital.”..
European policy-makers and bankers insist they have done more than enough to cushion the banks from major blows. They said her remarks only served to undermine confidence in the international financial system..
That begs the question.. what confidence..?

Back to the international picture for a moment..
He should be a member of the Federal Reserve Board.. Peter Diamond, the MIT professor who shared the Nobel Prize in economics last year for his work on labour markets, failed to convince some stubborn Republicans that he was qualified to work at the central bank..
Alabama’s Richard Shelby, the ranking Republican on the Senate Banking Committee, was adamant that Prof. Diamond was ill-suited for the Fed because he lacked a background in monetary policy. Few thought Mr. Shelby’s refusal to clear Prof. Diamond’s nomination was anything more than crass partisan obstructionism. The Fed, after all, has a legislative mandate to maintain maximum employment..
Forget the debt-ceiling debate.. the failure of the President to put a Nobel laureate at the central bank was the moment when it became clear something was seriously wrong in Washington. But if there’s a silver lining to this episode, it’s that Prof. Diamond is free to air his views on economic policy at an important time..
Here's a rough sketch of the package Diamond would have put in place..
It would recapitalize smaller banks and it would allow bankruptcy judges to rewrite mortgages.. The former are the primary lenders to entrepreneurs, who create jobs faster than established companies; the later would create an incentive for banks to avoid foreclosures..
Prof. Diamond’s centrepiece would be a “big” infrastructure program.. But not for the reasons you are thinking.. “This is not Keynes, let’s dig holes.”.. Diamond dislikes infrastructure spending as a stimulus in a normal recession because it takes too long to get the money in the system..that's the the “shovel-ready” problem..
The persistent problem, even with this plan, remains.. And that would be the raising of new capital.. With this being a global problem, traditional markets will shrink.. “Absent another insanity over the debt limit, we’ve got a decade before anyone is going to worry about the U.S.’s ability to pay for these things,” Diamond said. “What I worry about is we have an elephant sized problem and I hope we don’t just get flea-sized proposals.”..
In the flea-sized camp is the current Obama administration proposal to create an infrastructure bank.. “The government should just up and do it,” Diamond said, explaining that creating a new entity that would use tax money to leverage private funds would only waste time.. A bank might bring private-sector expertise into the lending process, and it might help keep politicians’ hands off the money, but “it seems like something that will slow down something that is inherently slow anyway,” says the Professor..
He's got a point, but still, even though the analysis is essentially correct, the solution is anaemic.. It's going to take much more than getting workers back in the old jobs.. It's going to take the creation of an entirely new industry, and the education of those collecting benefits to work in this 'new industry'..
But the U.S. isn’t fighting a recession.. it’s fighting a protracted period of weak economic growth that will condemn millions of people to welfare.. An infrastructure program works in the present context because the goal is to reduce long-term unemployment.. The U.S. needs to upgrade its roads, bridges and schools, so why not do so now?
“This is a real problem widely acknowledged to exist,” Prof. Diamond said of the U.S.’s crumbling infrastructure. “In so far as we do now something that we are going to do in a few years because the American economy needs infrastructure upgrading, we’re not hurting the long-run debt position..
So essentially, what we're looking at is a new 'New Deal'.. and that's not new at all..
And to bring today's look to an end..
President Obama has discovered how serious the recession is..
That's what he told an audience in Chicago last week.. To be fair, he was referring to revised data from the Commerce Department showing that the falloff in GDP was larger than originally reported..
But a little ridicule is appropriate..
He and we knew all along how many people were out of work.. the employment numbers told us the size of the hole and the desperate need for government action..
This sort of ridiculous comment, and President Obama's weak response to the recession over the first two and a half years of his presidency, explains the tidal wave of scepticism facing his widely hyped upcoming speech on jobs after the Labor Day weekend..
The list of remedies leaked ahead of time does little to inspire hope..
We'll discuss these points after Barack's speech..

Flooding across parts of the East Coast is still a major issue after Hurricane Irene as the death toll rises to 40 across 11 states.. Thousands still find themselves stranded and without electricity for days to come..
The death toll, which extended from North Carolina to Vermont, rose sharply as bodies were pulled from floodwaters and people were electrocuted by downed power lines..
Eighteen of the 40 Irene-related deaths were in the New York tristate area and New England.. 7 in New Jersey, 6 in New York, 2 in Connecticut and 3 in Vermont..
In Vermont, where a number of towns remained cut off by flood-damaged roads and bridges, National Guard helicopters on Tuesday were delivering food and water..
About a dozen towns in the southern part of the state were rendered inaccessible by road after the torrential rainfall from the remnants of Hurricane Irene..
Deputy state Transportation Secretary Sue Minter said state crews hope to re-establish ground contact with all isolated communities some time today..

2011-08-29T20:10:00.002Z

Once again.. a dinner conversation brought about several views on a number of topics.. with again, at the end, the obvious simply being supported by our numerous points of view..
Worried about the ecology..? The ice caps may well melt away to nothing.. it's happened before.. and if the extreme weather we've seen of late is a concern, it is to be expected as this earth goes about the process of being itself.. If we destroy our environment, it can only be said that this particular strain in the evolutionary process is by far the most willfully self-destructive.. man may die, but whatever we do.. even if it came to nuclear situations.. the earth will survive..
Worried about the state of affairs in the Middle East.. These conflicts have been going on for millennia.. Inter-tribal conflicts were replaced with Imperialistic conflicts which were replaced by economic conflict which has been replaced with sociological conflict.. And the outcome will be, as it always has been, a diplomatic nightmare.. Perhaps in ten years time, we'll be planning to overthrow the next 'elected' governments..
Worried about the conditions some live in, in our own Western societies..? The result in the long run will be either a collapse of the social order, seeded in the late 1940's by the 'beat generation' and finally coming to a climax over 60 years later.. Or, to take the extreme optimist and his argument that mankind could come to it's senses, support those who cannot contribute..maintain those who won't.. and allow the rest to get on with their Game.. It's always been a case of cream rising to the top.. Yet it can be said that feces float as well.. Never has Wilde been so apt.."While we are all of us in the gutter, there are some who look at the stars.."
Concerned about the economy..? It's worldwide, this house of cards.. There is not a single country that isn't hip deep in effluvia and realistically, there is no way out..It will take a societal change on a scale unprecedented, to turn us around..It's a case of getting in the Game, if for no other reason than simple self-preservation.. and most either haven't the inclination.. or the imagination to actually see what these massive numbers mean.. The world of economics with all it's twists and turns is a guessing game even for those trained..the import of say, Greece defaulting on it's next series of interest payments, or of Italy or Spain needing a bailout from the IMF.. This is foreign territory for most.. And the only duty of those in the Game is, to keep those who are not, happy..
Concerned about the ability of those we've elected.. There's no point in spending much time discussing this.. In all popularity polls, the one with the most pleasant smile is the one who'll win.. We cast our vote as a matter of duty, knowing full-well that whoever wins, will face the same problems.. And of course, the best smile doesn't always mean the most capable..
One memory will remain clear for quite a while about this dinner..
We laughed, a lot..
We'll start on this new week, tomorrow..

2011-08-26T15:03:00.009Z

An update on the day..
A gruesome discovery in a Triploli hospital.. more than 200 decomposing bodies have been found abandoned at a hospital in a district of the Libyan capital that has seen fierce fighting..
Reports tell a hideous story.. corpses of men, women and children on beds and in the corridors of Abu Salim's hospital..
Doctors and nurses fled after clashes erupted nearby between rebel forces and those loyal to Col Muammar Gaddafi..
Some residents accused the regime of murdering those at the hospital, but it is not yet clear how exactly they died..
Meanwhile, rebel forces faced stiff resistance as they advanced on Sirte, Col Gaddafi's birthplace and the town regarded as his last stronghold..
And so the fight continues.. with the rebels consolidating their hold on Ras Lanuf and it's oil distribution center..

The long awaited word from the Chairman of the Fed.. has offered nothing to markets which have been bouncing around the zero growth level for a couple of weeks..
Ben offered no new stimulus for the American economy today, disappointing analysts and economists who had been hoping for measures to counter a slowing in growth.. what they'd been looking for was another round of 'quantitative easing'.. but that was not to be..
In a speech during the bank's annual meeting.. Bernanke did hint that Congress may need to act to stimulate hiring and growth..
The Fed Chairman said record low interest rates will promote growth over time but that the weak economy requires further help in the short run..
His speech followed the release of a government report that the economy grew at an annual rate of just one per cent this spring and 0.7 per cent for the first six months of the year..
The report predicted only slightly healthier expansion in the second half..
Most U.S. stocks fell sharply after the speech but recovered from their deepest lows.. At mid-morning the Dow was down 1%, the S&P 500 was 0.7% lower and the Nasdaq was 0.3% higher..
Bernanke's speech comes at a critical moment for the economy..
Consumer spending has slowed.. home prices are depressed.. workers' pay is barely rising.. household debt loads remain high..
All that, compounded by Europe's debt crisis, has spooked the stock markets and unnerved consumers.. Congress is focused on shrinking deficits and seems unlikely to back any new spending to try to energize the economy..

Problems abound in Japan as well.. Prime Minister Naoto Kan announced today.. that he was resigning after almost 15 months in office, amid plunging approval ratings over his government's handling of the tsunami disaster and nuclear crisis..
In a nationally televised speech, Kan said he was stepping down as chief of the ruling Democratic Party of Japan, effectively ending his tenure as leader of the country. The decision was widely expected because in June, Kan had promised to quit once lawmakers passed three key pieces of legislation. The final two bills cleared the parliament earlier today..
This leaves Japan in vote mode again..The Democrats will vote Monday for a new leader, who will almost certainly become Japan's next PM..the 7th since 2006..

And here.. our Office for National Statistics has announced the number of people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance also rose, by 37,100 in July to 1.56 million, its biggest increase since May 2009..
The claimant count has now risen for five months in a row to its highest level since February 2010..
The increase in unemployment between April and June came as a surprise to some economists, as most had predicted these figures would show a slight fall in the number of people out of work..
figures also showed that between April and June.. The youth unemployment rate rose to 20.2%, up from 20% in the quarter to March.. there were 949,000 16 to 24-year-olds without work, a rise of 15,000.. the number of unemployed men increased by 18,000 to 1.45 million.. the level of unemployed women rose by 21,000 to 1.05 million, the highest figure since May 1988.. The number of employees working part-time because they could not find a full-time job increased by 83,000 to 1.26 million - the highest figure since comparable records began in 1992.. the unemployment rate remained the highest in the north-east of England, at 10%.. the south-east of England still had the lowest rate of unemployment, with a rate of 5.8%.. the unemployment rate in Scotland was unchanged at 7.7%, in Wales it jumped to 8.4%, and in Northern Ireland it crept up to 7.3%.. average weekly earnings, including bonuses, were 2.6% higher than a year ago.. But inflation more than wipes that gain out..

And on the weatherwatch..
Hurricane Irene was lumbering toward North Carolina this morning, heading for a destructive march up the East Coast in an unusually broad path that could affect 55 million people.. Hurricane watches were posted for North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, New York and New England, putting residents on notice to prepare for the worst and in some cases begin evacuations..
“The storm is moving a little bit faster than we thought,” said Josh Weiss of the National Weather Service at a briefing for local emergency management workers and other government officials in the southeastern part of North Carolina.. where rain was starting to pummel the coast.. Tropical storm conditions are expected by early afternoon..local time..
And as the day has progressed.. Barack has warned that Hurricane Irene, currently looming off the east coast of the US, could be a "historic" storm..
Seven states from North Carolina to Connecticut have declared emergencies ahead of Irene's arrival.. and mandatory evacuations have been ordered in parts of four states..
The storm has weakened slightly to Category 2, with winds up to 100mph, and this is the strength at which it is expected to make landfall..
Irene, which has already caused havoc in the Caribbean, is expected to hit the coast of North Carolina on Saturday before barrelling north.. to Washington and New York City a day later..

One has to wonder.. if those who tote up the cost of the riots in British cities take the maintenance of a man in custody into account..
In this case.. we're talking about 86,821 people locked up in jails, young offender institutions and immigration removal centres..
Granted.. only 13 hundred of them are serving time because of riot related charges.. but this increase, at this time of the year, is stretching the prison service to the point the seams are about ready to burst..
Mind you.. Prisons Minister Crispin Blunt said there will be no 'long-term effect' on inmate numbers..
Blunt said the disturbances earlier this month were a "one-off" event and the justice system could cope in the short-term..
And the government expects prison numbers to fall to about 83,000 in 2012..
Now one might assume this figure takes into account all those who will be released by the end of this year.. as well as all those who have yet to be jailed.. and there were 797 suspects on remand, almost two-thirds of all those to have so far come before the courts.. they may or may not face prison terms, but are taking up space the now..
The speed with which the prison population is rising following the riots appears to have slowed, with an increase of 167 this week compared with 723 last week..
This, of course, would reflect an easing of temperament in the Courts, as the immediacy of the riots slips away..
The same is reflected in the public attitude.. while there are those who still suffer from the effects of the insanity which swept some of our major towns.. the majority have simply filed it away as something to be spoken of later.. In coming years, it will be asked many a time.. '..you remember the riots of 2011..?'

As a final note.. there's a disturbing proposal been put forward..
Industrialists.. wealthy businessmen/women.. philanthropists.. those who rank high among the 'haves' in our society.. are being asked to buy 'Social Impact Bonds'..
The money raised from this sale will be spent on helping the worst of the poor and underprivilaged.. in providing better living conditions and educational opportunities for those at the very bottom of the ladder..
The Government has put the annual bill for assisting the UK's most deprived families at more than £4billion a year, representing an average of nearly £100,000 per family..
Now the hope is, that these 'Bonds' will yield a profit for the investor..
Civil Society Minister Nick Hurd said it would focus on delivering concrete, measurable outcomes.. "We want to restore a stronger sense of responsibility across our society and to give people working on the front line the power and resource they need to do their jobs properly.. Social Impact Bonds could be one of many Big Society innovations that will build the new partnerships between the state, communities, businesses and charities and focus resources where they are needed."
An initial evaluation of the scheme, published in May, found there was demand from the voluntary sector for the idea and it had helped to generate new sources of funding.. But it also warned that the contractual relationships underpinning the scheme were "complex".. to say the least.. "If they achieve a reduction of more than 7.5% in the rate of reoffending by these prisoners for a period of six to eight years, then the government pays the capital back," he said..
"Below that, the capital is lost, and above that the capital gets a yield of 2.5% to 13%."..
It's schemes the likes of this, that have Ayn Rand turning in her grave..

2011-08-25T00:02:00.014Z

And as a note to end this day..
Foreign Secretary William Hague has said it may take time to negotiate a United Nations resolution to release frozen Libyan assets..
Hague said British, French and US diplomats were trying to get agreement from Russia and China.. both of whom hold a UN Security Council veto.. and Russia and China both refused to endorse the UN resolution allowing NATO's military intervention in Libya..
Hague said it was "important for the world to come together".. a typical British understatement.. For it's the reaction of the West to this coup in Libya that will set the tone, in the Arab mind, for what will soon be needed in Syria.. this is a chance to ease inbred distrust..
The UK government's National Security Council met for the fourth consecutive day this afternoon.. Billions of pounds of Libyan assets - including £12bn in London alone.. have been frozen in recent months to prevent them being used by the Gaddafi regime..
The US, UK and France want to unfreeze them to provide funds for the NTC and for humanitarian efforts..
Meanwhile, in Libya, rebels are continuing to fight running battles with pro-Gaddafi forces in Tripoli, while Colonel Gaddafi himself remains on the lam..
To add an afternoon update.. Gaddafi has addressed his followers on State television and radio, calling on this 'invasion' to be washed from the streets of Tripoli with the blood of women and children..
The rebels are now concentrating on the Colonels hometown of Sirte.. where many who still support the old regime continue the fight..
There are some calls now for UN troops to take over.. to patrol the roads and open a corridor through Tripoli.. And there will be meetings this weekend by Ministers from countries which have frozen Gaddafi accounts.. meetings designed to release some of those funds to the Revolutionary Council..
While Muhammar continues to elude those searching for him.. The head of the National Transitional Council.. Mustafa Abdel Jalil.. has upped the stakes..
They're offering any of those still close to Gaddafi an offer of amnesty, and a cash reward of a million Pounds..
This is a 'dead or alive' deal..
Rebel spokesman Guma el-Gamaty reports that those around Col Gaddafi were "heavily implicated with him in crimes against humanity and crimes against the Libyan people.. Now there is a huge psychological incentive for them.. If they don't want to go down with him and save their skin, they will be immune from prosecution if they hand him over.. or kill him..".
There are still reports of gunfire from and into the last remaining faithful in the Compound..
But there are no crowds celebrating.. sniper fire is keeping the rebels at bay, for the moment..
For the time being.. the focus will remain on the search for Gaddafi.. But soon, the National Transitional Council will need to pay serious attention to getting the country's finances back in order..
There are some tangible assets frozen in the US.. Britain.. France.. Germany and South Africa.. which could total close to £115 billion.. those assets, along with loans and outright gifts from Western governments.. should keep the government working.. civil servants paid.. money available to rebuild small businesses.. repair the damage done by NATO bombs and government tanks and rockets..
And while there are those warning of a 'humanitarian crisis' in the offing.. if the Council can keep order among tribal factions and ensure there's a plan to distribute foreign imports.. the situation need not escalate into a full-blown disaster..
There are reports of a shortage of medical supplies.. although that's understandable considering the nature of this coup.. Much of Tripoli is without electricity and running water.. and rumours of a poisoned water supply aren't helping matters..
But again.. we'll now see Western money flowing into Libya.. The transition.. with NATO help.. should flow freely..
All going well.. of course..
The Council must ensure a return to normalcy, as quickly as possible.. Get oil exports up and running again.. and sustainable markets encouraged to come into the country to fulfill existing contracts..
We'll have more as the day progresses..

A flash slide in Germany's stock market dragged down indexes across the world.. erasing earlier gains and shaking the confidence of investors who were cheering a $5 billion investment by Warren Buffet in Bank of America.. Buffet announced his support for BofA early this afternoon..
Germany's main index, the DAX, fell about 250 points in a matter of minutes to trade down more than 4 percent on the day, before recovering somewhat.. By mid afternoon in Europe it was down 2.4 percent..
Analysts and traders could not immediately identify a reason for the slump, but its impact was immediate on financial markets around the world..
But perhaps it is simple to understand.. Investors are waiting for tomorrows meeting in Wyoming.. and as mentioned in previous posts.. there are those who will be in this market for simple short-term gain.. and are now taking what profit they can..
At the close.. Britain's FTSE 100 was pulled 1.2% lower to 5,143.48.. while France's CAC-40 was down 0.5 percent to 3,124..

Something to keep an eye on..
Hurricane Irene has been upped to a Category 3 hurricane, as it swept across the Bahamas.. on a course that will see the US Eastern Seaboard affected by tomorrow..
Irene's packing winds of 120mph.. and forecasters say it's going to get worse..
The Outer Banks islands off North Carolina are being evacuated and people are stocking up on supplies in coastal areas of the US state..
The storm has brought flooding and power cuts across the Caribbean..
The National Hurricane Center said it expected Irene to grow into a Category 4 storm today.. with winds of 135 mph..
This afternoon.. Thousands were fleeing an exposed strip of coastal villages and beaches off North Carolina as Irene approaches.. Irene could hit North Carolina's Outer Banks on Saturday afternoon with winds around 115 mph.. It's predicted to work it's way up the East Coast, dumping rain from Virginia to New York City before a much-weakened form reaches land in Connecticut..

There was a time this record dealt with issues reflected through discussions held in chatrooms.. A time there was much less reporting of world affairs.. and much more observation.. speculation perhaps.. on the human condition..
When this began, it was meant primarily to be a record of the world as seen through the eyes of one man who'd spent his life reporting on, and discussing the news.. a record of world affairs which both affect us directly, or will in the future..
But whereas there used to be the old regulars around the bar at the local pub.. they seem to have melted away either through a lack of disposable income.. or normal attrition..
Whereas there was coherent thought to be found in the chatrooms.. that medium these days has deteriorated to the level of mere social sites, where 'friends' exchange a never ending stream of 'hellos' and 'goodbyes'.. and little of substance being written.. It's always a shame to lose a source.. but what chatrooms there are remaining, are inconsequential..
This has become a condensed news report.. but it is a reflection of at least one man's view on the important issues of the day.. and what's reported in these posts is meant to be pieces of the puzzle in the ongoing Game..
When the world allows us time to return to introspection.. we will be happy to get back to it..
In the meantime.. this will remain a portable analysis.. History as it happens, so to speak..

A brief mention on a couple of new discoveries..
A newly discovered alien planet that formed from a dead star is a real diamond in the rough.. no pun intended..
A a new study suggests..the super-high pressure of the planet, which orbits a rapidly pulsing neutron star, has likely caused the carbon within it to crystallize into an actual diamond..The composition of the planet, which is about five times the size of Earth, is not its only outstanding feature..
The planet's parent star is a special kind of flashing star known as a millisecond pulsar, a rapidly rotating neutron star formed from a supernova. The entire system, which is only the second of its kind ever discovered, is located about 4,000 light-years from Earth in the constellation of Serpens.. or The Snake..
And here on earth.. Brazilian scientists have discovered an underground river some 4,000 meters, which flows from west to east like the country's famous waterway..
A statement this week from Brazil's National Observatory named the underground river Hamza and said it represents one of two different draining systems for the large rainforest region..
A team of scientists led by Elizabeth Pimentel came to the conclusion from studying 241 wells drilled by the state oil giant Petrobras in the Amazon region..
Even though the two rivers cover a similar path they have differences.. The underground river flows at a far slower pace and empties into the ocean deep underground..
The report from Pimentel writes "It is likely that this river is responsible for the low level of salinity in the waters around the mouth of the Amazon.."

2011-08-24T00:22:00.020Z

We'll start with the markets..
After weeks of uncertainty, traders seemed to seize the day..
Stock indexes powered ahead yesterday as investors saw profit to be made on some cheap stocks.. as they bet that weak economic data would support the possibility of further stimulus from the Federal Reserve.. It was at the Fed’s annual symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming last year that Ben Bernanke, the Fed Chairman, signaled further stimulus in light of a similar slowdown of the American economy..
'Quantitative easing' was entered into the economic lexicon..
“The market is down so much in the last week or two,” said Brian M. Youngberg, an energy analyst at Edward Jones.. “When the risk seems to come down a bit, many investors get back in it.”..
The broader market rose more than 3% and represented the second consecutive day of gains in stocks this week.. Mind you, that has merely rearranged the value of stocks.. making up for the losses of last week.. Many analysts say investors are waiting for policy makers to lay out plans for their response to the European sovereign debt issues and the economic headwinds in the United States..
One more day of rising indexes.. we might see a dip towards Thursday as some take their profit and wait for the announcement Friday from Ben..
Early trading along the Pacific Rim reflects the tone of the markets and investors in general.. Some profit taking already in evidence.. The Hang Seng and the Nikkei are very slightly up in early trading.. while Australia and New Zealand opened to slight losses..
That trend mentioned above seems to show signs of being the tone of the day.. A few hours into trading.. Japan.. Hong Kong.. have slipped into the red..
Chalk it up to minor profit taking..
We'll follow through the trading day.. But it's doubtful we'll see anything of note until the end of the week..
And as the day came to an end.. stocks in Europe rose today, defying declines in the U.S. and Asia, as investors awaited potential new action from the Federal Reserve to kick start the world's largest economy..
In a sign of the wild movements seen on financial and commodities markets in recent weeks, the price of gold, which had surged in recent weeks as investors fled into save-haven assets, plummeted 4.4% to $1,779, more than $100 below a new record reached just days ago..
Markets are likely to continue fluctuating ahead of Friday's speech.. Investors hope Bernanke will signal a third round of massive bond-buying to boost the faltering U.S. recovery..
With the goal of significantly lowering the country's debt.. the French government has announced a 3% tax hike for those earning above 500,000 euros.. that's £440,000, or $721,000..
This tax hike follows some of France's wealthiest people calling on the government to tackle its deficit by raising taxes on the rich..
Some might say this seems to be an outcry from the turkeys for an early Christmas.. but in fact, it's a brilliant strategy to quiet some of the resentment and unrest fomenting in France.. This allows high earners to say 'we're doing what we can..'
Paris has also reduced its economic growth forecast for 2012 to 1.75% from a previous 2.25%.. Prime Minister Francois Fillon said the new tax would remain in place until France reduces its budget deficit back under the EU's intended limit of 3% of GDP.. with analysts saying that could come to pass by 2013..
"This is a rigorous policy that will allow France to remain relaxed," Fillon announced.. "Our country must stick to its [deficit] commitments. It's in the interest of all French people."..
Sixteen executives, including Europe's richest woman, the L'Oreal heiress Liliane Bettencourt, had offered in an open letter to pay a "special contribution" in a spirit of "solidarity"..
It appeared on the website of the French magazine Le Nouvel Observateur..
It was signed by some of France's most high-profile chief executives.. including Christophe de Margerie of oil firm Total.. Frederic Oudea of Bank Societe Generale.. and Air France's Jean-Cyril Spinetta..
Big names.. and a gesture some of our banking executives could well take note of..
Especially the banking sector..

After hours of pounding battle yesterday, Libya's rebels smashed through the fortified perimeter of Muammar Gaddafi's compound in western Tripoli.. the nerve center of the old regime.. sending huge plumes of black smoke over the city.. perhaps dealing a fatal blow to Gaddafi's ability to cling to power..
Footage apparently shot by rebels and aired on al-Jazeera showed armed rebels deep inside the Bab al-Aziziyah complex, rejoicing as they clambered upon the ruins of Gaddafi's old house, which was bombed by U.S. jets in 1986 and had been left by Gaddafi as a memorial to the West's evils..
But the man himself.. and his eldest son.. remain at large..
And this has led to a host of speculation on where they might be.. Some analysts are sure Mohammar's still in Libya.. others are sure he's taken what he has, and left for friendlier surroundings..
The fight for Tripoli appears to be virtually over.. but so far, there's no indication of where the Gaddafi's might be.. and until he's found.. the Revolutionary Council will not consider their achievements as a success..
As of this afternoon.. Libyan diplomats and students smashed portraits of Moammar Gadhafi, shouted "Game over!" and raised the rebel flag at their Manila embassy today as part of defections at missions worldwide underscoring the leader's rapid fall..
As rebels stormed the Libyan capital and Gadhafi's power and influence abroad crumbled, Libyan Consul Faraj Zarroug in the Philippine capital said about 85% of his country's 165 diplomatic missions now recognized the interim rebel government, the National Transitional Council.. Libyan diplomats abroad have been pledging allegiance to the rebels gradually after the rebellion erupted nearly six months ago.. but defections surged this week as rebels entered Tripoli in a stunning breakthrough..
While missions to Switzerland and Bangladesh, for example, switched early on, Libyan embassy officials in Japan and Ethiopia replaced the government flag with the rebel's tricolor the beginning of the week.. A spokesman for the rebels in Dubai, Edward Marques, said today.. the defections had turned into a "cascade," but declined to list the locations of rebel supporters.. The Libyan government could no longer be reached for comment..

A look into the internal goings on in Japan..
As Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan spends his final days in office before his party holds an internal vote Monday to choose his successor.. it's easy to be glib.. The man was in office only 14 months after all, and whoever replaces him will become the country’s seventh Prime Minister in five years..
Yup.. the 7th in 5..
But Kan’s departure deserves longer reflection than the resignation of his predecessor, the oddball Yukio Hatoyama, or any of the other four men who have held the office since Japan’s last memorable leader, Junichiro Koizumi, who stepped aside in September of 2006..
As the revolving door at the top illustrates.. the problem goes far beyond Kan and speaks to a crippling illness in Japanese politics.. a disease that compounds the already enormous threats to the country’s future..
Kan recognized the harm being done by the vacuum at the top and seemed more determined than any of his recent predecessors to hang on to the office, if only to change the perception that it no longer matters who the Prime Minister of Japan is..
But Japan’s political system, which allows reviled backroom operators to wield enormous power over their putative leaders, coupled with the natural and nuclear disasters that hit the country on March 11, ensured that he never stood a chance of succeeding..
Kan came to office last summer vowing to tackle the country’s debilitating financial mess.. Japan’s debt soared past $11-trillion earlier this year, more than double the size of the country’s GDP..
But the former finance minister’s bold proposal of increasing revenues by doubling the national sales tax to 10 per cent was defeated.. largely due to fierce opposition from within his own Democratic Party of Japan that was led by Ichiro Ozawa.. the party’s 'dark prince' of behind-the-scenes politics..
Realizing that he was doomed to be just another short-term leader unless he unified the DPJ behind him, Mr. Kan courted and won a head-to-head battle against Ozawa last fall.. For the first time since Koizumi, Japan seemed to have a leader who wanted to lead..
Then the world, quite literally, fell apart..
Kan’s government was derided by a largely hostile Japanese establishment.. which is largely loyal to the Liberal Democratic Party, which is now in opposition but led the country almost without interruption from 1955 to 2009.. for what's been called a 'tentative response' to the massive earthquake and tsunami that obliterated entire cities in the northeast of the country and unleashed the still-unfolding crisis at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant..
Yet another body blow to the government this morning.. as Moody's downgrades it credit to 'Double 'A'3.. They have effected the downgrade due to large government deficits.. and the inability to come to an agreement on taxation..
However, the rating agency's forecast for Japan's economic outlook was 'stable'..

More oddities concerning this earth of ours..
As we mentioned.. The largest natural earthquake in Colorado in more than a century struck Monday night in the state’s southeast corner, but there were no reports of damage or injuries.. The quake, with a preliminary magnitude of 5.3, was centered about nine miles from the city of Trinidad and hit at 11:46pm local time..
It was felt as far away as Greeley, about 350 miles north, and into Kansas and New Mexico..
Now yesterday.. A strong earthquake rattled the East Coast, sending tremors as far as Canada, damaging well-known buildings in the nation's capital and sending scared office workers into the streets..
There were no reports of major damage or serious injuries from the 5.8 magnitude quake, which was centered in Mineral, Virginia..
It was the largest quake in Virginia since 1897 and struck at a shallow depth, increasing its potency..
Nuclear safety fears grew when one of four emergency diesel generators at the North Anna nuclear power plant in Virginia stopped working due to the quake..
But the plant's safety systems remained powered by three operating generators.. The plant was built to withstand a quake of 6.1 magnitude..
The Pentagon, White House and Capitol were evacuated in Washington.. and thousands of alarmed workers scurried into the streets up and down the East Coast as the lunchtime quake sent items crashing down from store and office shelves..
There were no reports of deaths or serious injuries..
The National Cathedral said its central tower and three of its four corner spires were damaged, but the White House said advisers had told President Obama there were no reports of major damage to the nation's infrastructure.. airports, nuclear facilities.. all major arteries remained open and functioning..
Still earthquakes down the Eastern Seaboard.. under Lake Ontario.. felt in Toronto...
As mentioned.. odd..

Just a point to ponder..
Reports indicate that since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.. the NYPD has become one of the country's most aggressive domestic intelligence agencies..
These reports revealed that the NYPD operates far outside its borders.. and targets ethnic communities in ways that would run afoul of Civil Liberties rules if practiced by the federal government..
And it does so with unprecedented help from the CIA in a partnership that has blurred the bright line between foreign and domestic spying..
Neither the City Council.. which finances the department.. nor the Federal Government.. which contributes hundreds of millions of dollars each year, is told exactly what's going on..
The department has dispatched teams of undercover officers, known as "rakers," into minority neighborhoods as part of a human mapping program.. according to officials directly involved in the program.. They've monitored daily life in bookstores, bars, cafes and nightclubs.. Police have also used informants, known as "mosque crawlers," to monitor sermons, even when there's no evidence of wrongdoing. NYPD officials have scrutinized imams and gathered intelligence on cab drivers and food cart vendors, jobs often done by Muslims..
Many of these operations were built with help from the CIA, which is prohibited from spying on Americans but was instrumental in transforming the NYPD's intelligence unit..
Now if there is any credence to these reports, it hits at the underbelly of the Intelligence Community.. It's the stuff conspiracy buffs live for..
They continue.. A veteran CIA officer, while still on the agency's payroll, was the architect of the NYPD's intelligence programs..
The CIA trained a police detective at the Farm, the agency's 'school' in Virginia, then returned him to New York, where he put his new espionage skills to work inside the United States..
And just last month, the CIA sent a senior officer to work as a clandestine operative inside police headquarters..
While the expansion of the NYPD's intelligence unit has been well known.. many details about its clandestine operations.. including the depth of its CIA ties.. have not previously been reported..
The NYPD denied that it trolls ethnic neighborhoods and said it only follows leads.. In a city that has repeatedly been targeted by terrorists, police make no apologies for pushing the envelope.. NYPD intelligence operations have quietly disrupted terrorist plots and put several would-be killers in prison..
According to a spokesman for the NYPD.. "The New York Police Department is doing everything it can to make sure there's not another 9/11 here and that more innocent New Yorkers are not killed by terrorists.. and we have nothing to apologize for in that regard."
One of the enduring questions of the past decade is whether being safe requires giving up some liberty and privacy.. The focus of that debate has primarily been Federal programs the likes of wiretapping and indefinite detention..
The question has received less attention in New York, where residents do not know for sure what, if anything, they have given up..
But one would be exceedingly naive to think abrogation of responsibility, costs nothing.. If these clandestine machinations are in New York.. one can reasonably expect then to be in place in Washington.. Boston.. all down the Eastern Seaboard..
And if in the States.. what of the tactics of the authorities here in Britain.. throughout the Eurozone..?
And once again, it begs the question 'at what price freedom..?'

2011-08-23T17:24:00.003Z

While it seems certain that Muhammar's regime is exceedingly close to being overthrown.. it's impossible to sort fact from fiction from the reports coming from Tripoli.. it could well be days before all is confirmed..
Yesterday, the eldest son was in rebel custody.. last night, he appeared in Tripoli saying the fight would continue.. Saif al-Islam sought to rally regime forces earlier on Tuesday by making a defiant stand and claiming the regime had "broken the backbone" of their advance..
But Foreign Secretary William Hague has said the regime of Gaddafi is in its "death throes".. Hague said the battle for Tripoli was "not over yet", but claims that forces to loyal to Gaddafi were regaining ground were a "fantasy".. "He is not roaming freely through Tripoli.. He, and indeed the remaining pro-Gaddafi forces, are now cornered.. They are making their last stand and it's only a matter of time before they are finally defeated.. About that we are very confident indeed."
And.. Taking inspiration from the rapid unraveling of the regime in Libya, thousands of Syrians poured into the streets and taunted President Bashar Assad with shouts that his family's 40-year dynasty will be the next dictatorship to crumble..
Assad, who has tried in vain to crush the 5-month-old revolt, appears increasingly out of touch as he refuses to acknowledge the hundreds of thousands of people demanding his ouster.. according to analysts.. Instead, he blames the unrest on Islamic extremists and thugs..
But many observers say Assad should heed the lessons of Libya.. Turkey, a former close ally of Syria and an important trade partner, has grown increasingly frustrated with Damascus over its deadly crackdown.. The violence has left Syria facing the most serious international isolation in decades, with widespread calls for Assad to step down..
Human rights groups say more than 2,000 people.. most of them unarmed protesters.. have been killed in the government's crackdown on the uprising..

The latest figures show that More than 1,400 people have appeared in court in connection with the riots that spread across England's towns and cities two weeks ago..
The latest data from the Ministry of Justice show that, of these, 157 have been convicted.. 327 bailed.. and almost 800 remanded in custody..
This rate of 62% being held in custody compares with the usual rate of 10% of those appearing before a magistrate..
The new figures come as the Metropolitan Police have been defending themselves against reports that officers were told to hold everyone arrested in custody and bail no-one..
'The Guardian' has published a leaked document, called 'Operation Withern: Prisoner Processing Strategy', which was circulated among Met officers investigating the disturbances at their height..
It suggested using certain phrases to help secure a charge, including: "A strategic decision has been made by the MPS [the Met] that, in all cases, an application will be made for remand in custody both at the police station, and later in court."..
It also appears to show police had been using their powers to charge suspects before gathering all the evidence because of the time required to examine CCTV footage..
The Met has denied guidance for officers suggested that everyone arrested should be held in custody.. or that cautions or other similar penalties were inappropriate..

Meanwhile.. as this economic crisis continues..
Stocks rose around the world today as investors shrugged off indicators pointing to more economic troubles in Europe and the U.S. and hoped the Federal Reserve will act to keep the U.S. from sliding back into recession..
Trading is expected to remain volatile this week as markets await a key speech by U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke during an annual economics conference in Wyoming on Friday..
The Fed already pledged to maintain its super-low interest rates until at least 2013, but some economists are calling for a third round of massive bond-buying to pump money into the faltering U.S. economy..
But there are those who look at the long term effects of 'quantitative easing'.. and express concern that we're mortgaging our grandchildren's future..
Major European stock markets ended the day in positive territory.. although gains were less pronounced than earlier in the day..
Britain's FTSE 100 rose 0.7% to 5,129.4.. Germany's DAX and France's CAC-40 both gained 1.1% to 5,532.3 and 3,084.3, respectively..
Wall Street traders were also in an optimistic mood, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average rising 1.7% to 11,042.6.. and the broader S&P 500 adding 2% to 1,146.8..
The rise.. the second in a row for most major indexes.. came despite negative economic indicators both in the U.S. and in Europe.. demonstrating how high hopes have risen on new action from the Fed..
Again.. it's a case of pinning it all on 'if when's'.. putting the weight squarely on the shoulders of Ben Bernanke..
Economic indicators published in Europe, meanwhile, showed that failing efforts to resolve the Eurozone debt crisis are cutting into economic activity and sentiment in the currency union's core..
Markit's composite purchasing managers index for the Eurozone was unchanged at 51.1 in August.. signaling stagnation in the manufacturing sector and negligible growth in the services sector.. the index also showed output in Germany expanded at its weakest rate since the Eurozone's largest economy began to recover two years ago..
While analysts at Capital Economics had expected the index to deteriorate further from its 22-month low in July.. they warned that "the index is still dangerously close to recession territory."..
And, apparently, getting closer and closer..

Still keeping an eye on the weather.. It's a national preoccupation..
Hurricane Irene posed a potential threat to the entire U.S. East Coast from Florida to New England, as forecasters tried to predict where the powerful storm might hit over the next week..
U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Administrator Craig Fugate.. and National Hurricane Center Director Bill Read.. issued the warning as Irene swept up from the Caribbean on a northwest track toward the United States..
"We're going to have a very large tropical cyclone move up the Eastern Seaboard over the next five to seven days," Read told a conference call in which he spoke along with Fugate..
The FEMA chief said residents all along the East Coast should be alert not only to a potential direct landfall but also to the risk of torrential rains, high winds and flooding that Irene could bring..
"We're saying the entire East Coast," Fugate announced..
Irene, now a Category 2 storm, was heading on Tuesday over the Turks and Caicos Islands and southeastern Bahamas.. It was expected to become a major Category 3 storm with winds over 111 mph today and could possibly intensify further to a Category 4 as it neared the southeast U.S. coast by Friday..
For those unfamiliar with the scale forecasters use.. The 'Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale' was developed to help classify the destructive potential of any individual hurricane.. which gives hurricanes a rating from one to five.. increasing as the storm becomes more dangerous..
Category 1 Hurricanes have sustained winds of 74 to 95 mph that are classified as very dangerous.. and capable of causing some damage.. the main damage to people and livestock from a hurricane of this magnitude is from flying debris, but mobile homes built before 1994 standards can be destroyed..
Category 2 has sustained winds of 96 mph to 110 mph.. and are categorized as extremely dangerous and will be expected to cause extensive damage.. All the risks and expected damage from a Category 1 storm can be expected with extent and probabilities of those types of damages increasing.. Additionally, even newer mobile home models may be shredded by flying debris or destroyed by the winds..
Category 3 on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale says that when hurricanes have sustained winds of 111 mph to 130 mph. devastating damage will occur..
The risk of death or severe injury to humans and livestock is high and nearly all pre-1994 mobile homes will be destroyed.. Newer mobile homes and framed homes built to lower standards may be destroyed as the roof is torn off and walls collapse.. Metal and masonry buildings face a risk of collapse and even well-built framed buildings may experience extensive damage as roofing and siding materials are stripped off by powerful winds.. Expect electricity and clean drinking water to be unavailable for days or weeks after the hurricane passes. Extensive road blockages may also persist for days as crews work to clean up the damage..
As for a Category 4.. Sustained wind speeds of 131 mph to 155 mph will cause catastrophic damage.. The risks and intensity of damage from lower level hurricanes are all increased dramatically when a hurricane gets this strong.. Even well-built homes may be destroyed as the roof is ripped off and walls torn open.. Almost every window on windward sides of buildings in the path of a Category 4 hurricane will be broken by flying debris if unprotected.. Even plywood coverings may be torn away from windows.. Windows will be blown out of high-rise buildings creating a very dangerous falling glass hazard.. Most telephone poles will be broken resulting in power outages across the entire region that may take weeks or months to be totally restored.. Lack of water and basic services, may make the entire area uninhabitable for weeks after the passage of a hurricane of this intensity..
And with a Category 5.. When a hurricane's sustained winds exceed 155 mph, a high percentage of even well-built homes and commercial buildings will receive extensive damage or be completely destroyed.. Nearly all windows will be blown out of high-rise buildings.. Again, lack of electrical power, water, and other basic services may make the area uninhabitable for weeks or months..
Hurricane Andrew in 1992 had some sustained winds at the Category 5 level as it swept across parts of Cutler-Ridge, Florida.. According to information from the University of Arizona's Geosciences Department, Hurricane Andrew killed only 25 people in Florida..thanks to advance warnings and evacuations.. but it left more than a quarter of a million more homeless.. Property damage exceeded $25 billion in the United States alone as it completely destroyed more than 600,000 buildings..
Irene, the first hurricane of the busy 2011 Atlantic season, looks set to be the first hurricane to hit the United States since Ike pounded the Texas coast in 2008..

To continue with the theme of natural disasters.. it's been reported today that the largest earthquake to strike Colorado in almost 40 years has shaken hundreds of people near the New Mexico border..
The magnitude 5.3 earthquake was recorded at about 11:46 p.m. local time Monday night.. about nine miles southwest of Trinidad, Colorado.. and about 180 miles south of Denver.. according to the National Earthquake Information Center in Golden, Colorado.. The quake followed two smaller ones that hit the area earlier in the day..
U.S. Geological Service geophysicist Amy Vaughn said.. the quake is the largest in Colorado since a magnitude 5.7 was recorded in 1973.. That one was centered in the northwestern part of the state.. about 50 miles north of Grand Junction..
A few homes have been damaged and deputies were investigating reports of rockslides along a highway, a Las Animas County Sheriff's Office dispatcher reported..
And the Camper Countdown continues..

2011-08-22T14:47:00.004Z

Libya faces a turbulent future as the successors to Moammar Gadhafi inherit a broken society.. forcing tough choices for the United States and its NATO allies about what comes next.. and who's going to step in to fill the power vacuum..
Gadhafi's regime teetered early today as rebels, backed by NATO air support, surged through the streets of Tripoli..
The legacy of Gadhafi's repressive regime is an unstable economy.. vastly unequal distribution of the country's oil wealth.. and the lack of political parties..
The country has also been at war since March, with NATO airstrikes pounding away at its infrastructure.. such as it was to begin with..
And to further complicate the issue.. According to Anthony Cordesman, an expert on the Middle East and international security at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a non-partisan think tank in Washington.. "Very rapidly, people are going to be put in charge of governing who have had no experience.. That doesn't mean there can't be success, but it won't happen immediately.. The history of these things is generally whoever takes power initially can't keep it.. It can take years to make progress.."..
That will complicate the U.S. response but should not preclude it from acting.. The U.S. and its NATO allies should be prepared to offer Libyans immediate economic aid and offer help in developing government agencies and political parties..
In other words.. NATO, and especially the US, is going to be lumbered with yet another moral obligation..
And an update on the revolution in Libya.. this evening's reports indicate the end is near for Mohammar.. for 42 long years, from the moment he came to power in a bloodless coup, Muammar Gaddafi did all he could to become an ubiquitous presence in the minds of his people.. making his 'Green Book' of political philosophy required reading and ensuring his portrait was hung in a place of prominence in homes.. plastered on the sides of buildings.. and engraved on the gold watches he gave as gifts..
Today, however, the "brother leader and guide of the revolution" was nowhere to be seen.. Nor was he heard, unlike yesterday when he issued a series of audio messages calling on supporters to fight back against rebels..
"We have no confirmation of Gaddafi's whereabouts," said our PM David Cameron.. who has returned from holiday for the second time this summer to deal with the rapid pace of change in Tripoli..
As details emerged of the arrests of three of his sons, including his erstwhile heir, Saif al-Islam Gaddafi.. the million-dollar question remains.. 'Where is the elder Gaddafi?' has sparked a series of conflicting rumours and reports..
A rebel spokesman in London was reported to have claimed that Gaddafi, who was last seen in public in May, could have fled to neighbouring Algeria, which opposed Nato intervention in Libya..
South Africa was forced to refute rumours it had sent planes to fly the 69-year-old to an undisclosed location..
There was no mention of Venezuela.. Hugo Chávez and Gaddafi are old buddies.. It's a good thing to have friends the likes of Hugo, when you're on the run from an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court.. Small issues the likes of extradition treaties would be of some interest to Mohammar.. it would certainly limit his choice of destinations..
While the man himself remained elusive, his previously all-powerful family.. seven sons.. a daughter.. and an adopted son.. was rapidly fragmenting. According to a spokesman for the rebels' National Transitional Council.. Gaddafi last week asked neighbouring countries, including Algeria, Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia, to offer shelter to his family..
This could not be confirmed, but what was certain was that his efforts were too little, too late for some of his sons..
One of the most startling events this afternoon.. was the arrest of Saif al-Islam, the second son and the man widely seen, until several months ago, as the heir in waiting.. Saif's detention was first announced by rebels and later confirmed by the ICC, which has it's own warrants for him..

It's a tad presumptuous.. pompous..
But Democratic spin doctors are calling it 'The Obama Doctrine'.. That being Barack's stance vis a vis Libya..
But in these difficult days, the Obama camp can certainly use a positive.. a promise kept and a policy that worked..
When President Obama announced military intervention in Libya in March, he was criticized by liberals for injecting the United States into a third war, and by conservatives for doing it too slowly..
As the mission dragged on, from "days and weeks" to months, the bipartisan criticism only grew, with charges that Obama was "leading from behind" and violating the War Powers Act in the process..
Now, the impending downfall of Moammar brings one of Obama's key foreign policy objectives closer to fulfillment, and signals that the President's strategy was at least partly, a success..
"As of today, I think it is a partial vindication of the so-called 'Obama Doctrine', at least for certain kinds of cases," said Michael O'Hanlon, a military and foreign policy analyst at the Brookings Institution..
Almost vindication for Barack there.. and as mentioned, reasons to say 'We did that.. just like we said we would..' ..are few and far between..

And as if Barack hadn't enough on his plate..
Laid-off workers and aging baby boomers are flooding Social Security's disability program with benefit claims, pushing the financially strapped system toward the brink of insolvency..
Applications are up nearly 50% over a decade ago as people with disabilities lose their jobs and can't find new ones in an economy that has shed nearly 7 million jobs..
The stampede for benefits is adding to a growing backlog of applicants.. many waiting two years or more before their cases are resolved.. and worsening the financial problems of a program that's been running in the red for years..
New congressional estimates say the trust fund that supports Social Security disability will run out of money by 2017.. leaving the program unable to pay full benefits, unless Congress acts.. Social Security's much larger retirement fund is projected to run dry as well.. in about 20 years..

While the markets are still as volatile as spit on a hot griddle.. Stocks rose sharply in early trading today, shaking off a four-week losing streak..
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 124 points, or 1.1%, to 10,942 in trading this morning.. Mind you.. the Dow lost 4% last week as worries deepened that the U.S. economy could slip back into a recession..
Many traders are looking ahead to a speech by Ben Bernanke, the Federal Reserve chairman, at an annual meeting in Jackson Hole, Wyoming on Friday.. Last year, Bernanke's speech set the stage for a $600 billion program to stimulate the economy through buying Treasury bonds.. Some analysts believe the Fed may make another move to help the flagging U.S. economy.. Stocks have been sliding over the past four weeks on worries that the U.S. might enter another recession. The S&P 500 index lost 4.7 percent last week. The sharpest drops came Thursday with news of weaker manufacturing in the mid-Atlantic states and an increase in the number of people who applied for unemployment benefits..
No major economic reports are due out today.. But, later in the week, traders will be sorting through figures on new home sales.. durable goods orders.. and weekly claims for unemployment benefits.. trying to gauge just how quickly we'll be sliding back into recession..
Spot gold surged more than 1% to a third consecutive all-time high on today, as investors fled to the safety of bullion amid fears of another U.S. recession and the Eurozone debt crisis.. U.S. gold jumped more than 2% to an unprecedented $1,895.30/Troy ounce.. And we're looking at the $2 thousand mark, perhaps by the end of next week..
A murky economic outlook given a persistent flow of weak macro data out of the United States and fears about the euro zone’s fiscal health have propelled gold up by more than a quarter since July..
“We are not expecting anything supporting the U.S. economy or the macro data for at least a couple of months,” said Tom Price, Global Commodity Analyst at UBS..
“Europe we regard as even weaker.. We are thinking $1,900-$2,000 over a very short period of time as a likely target.”
Referring back to Ben Bernanke's speech.. Additional bond purchase by the Fed could raise the inflation outlook and further boost gold.. but many view the chances of a third round of quantitative easing as limited and expect the Fed to take gradual measures to boost the economy..
Technical analysis suggested that gold could pierce through $1,900 over the day, said Reuters market analyst Wang Tao..

And as the day came to a close.. Stocks in Europe and the U.S. remained volatile..as investors gyrated between fears of a double-dip recession and hopes that the Federal Reserve will soon take action to revitalize the U.S. economy..
After rallying earlier in the day, European stocks erased much of their gains in late trading..
The FTSE 100 closed 1% higher at 5,092.8, after having risen above 2%.. France's CAC 40 gained 1.1% to 3,051.3, but Germany's DAX fell 0.1% to 5,473.7 on the day..
Now as mentioned earlier.. the markets are going to be wary, while we wait for Friday's speech by the Fed's Ben Bernanke.. The Fed has promised to keep interest rates low for the next couple of years.... and there could be some mention of further 'quantitative easing'.. But there is a feeling of unease worldwide as we watch the world's largest economy side inexorably down the drain..
"Given the absence of deflation risk, we do not expect him to announce QE3," analysts at UniCredit in Milan wrote in a note.. referring to a new round of bond buying.. "But he is likely to reiterate that the Fed is prepared to ease monetary policy further if needed."..
The European Central Bank confirmed this afternoon that it was taking on a more active role in fighting the Eurozone debt crisis, disclosing that it spent €14.29 billion on buying the bonds of struggling countries such as Italy and Spain last week..
That's below the €22 billion it doled out the previous week.. but has kept the yields, or interest rates, on Italian and Spanish 10-year bonds below 5%.. more than a percentage point below record levels seen in the week before the ECB resumed its bond buying program..
However, most economists see the ECB's purchases as only a temporary bandage in the Eurozone's fight against the debt crisis.. Over the weekend, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and EU President Herman Van Rompuy both ruled out the introduction of EuroBonds.. debt backed by all 17 euro countries.. anytime soon.. effectively squashing investor hopes that a more lasting solution to the currency union's debt troubles may be in the works..
Markets in the Far East and Asia.. The recent rise in the yen contributed to losses ..most markets ended the day in negative territory..
Japan's Nikkei 225 index lost 1% to close at 8,628.13.. a five-month low.. on the back of the strong yen and it's impact on the cost of exported goods..
Japan intervened in currency markets earlier this month to try to reverse the yen's climb.. The decision to sell the yen and buy the dollar worked initially.. sending the greenback toward 80 yen.. But the dollar has been weighed down by the dimming outlook for the U.S. economy and is back down to mid 76-yen levels..
With resistance to EuroBonds in the currency union's rich states remaining firm, analysts warn that any stabilization in stock prices is likely temporary, especially amid growing worries about banks' funding levels..

We mentioned this recently..
Prosecutors in the office of Cyrus R. Vance Jr., the Manhattan district attorney, have filed papers requesting that all charges be dropped against Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the former head of the International Monetary Fund..
The papers, known as a dismissal on recommendation, were filed this afternoon in Manhattan Supreme Court..
At about the same time, the lawyer for Nafissatou Diallo, the hotel housekeeper who accused Mr. Strauss-Kahn of sexual assault, emerged from a brief meeting with prosecutors to offer harsh criticism of Mr. Vance..
Presumably the meeting was held to inform Ms. Diallo and her lawyer, Kenneth P. Thompson, of the office’s intention to drop the charges in the case..
This clears the way for Strauss-Kahn to return to French politics.. and to stand against Sarkozy for the right to represent the Socialist Party into the upcoming elections..
With this concession from the American authorities, Domenique now has an excellent chance in unseating Sarkozy.. His record as head of the IMF is exemplary.. and his contacts worldwide in political and economic circles is 'non pareille'..
And, he now has the sympathy of a nation behind him as well..
And, he's a viable alternative to French voters to Domenique le Pen.. the ultra-right contender..

Keeping an eye on the weather.. Tropical Storm Irene has turned into a hurricane ..the first of the Atlantic hurricane season.. over Puerto Rico..
Haiti, where hundreds of thousands of people still live in tents after last year's earthquake, is in Irene's projected path.. according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami..
It is next set to hit the Dominican Republic, and may also hit Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas in the US..
And as the day has progressed.. Hurricane Irene swept just north of the Dominican Republic this afternoon after pummeling Puerto Rico.. and forecasters saw the storm strengthening to a major hurricane off the Southeast American coast by the weekend..
The U.S. National Hurricane Center's forecast showed the first hurricane of the 2011 Atlantic season swinging up Florida's east coast on Thursday, for a possible landfall in South Carolina early on Saturday..
Irene, the ninth named storm of the busy 2011 Atlantic season.. could be the first hurricane to make landfall in the United States since Ike savaged the Texas coast in 2008..
The last hurricane to hit the South Carolina coast was in 2004.. the busiest season on record in the state.. That year, seven named storms affected South Carolina and two hurricanes made landfall between Charleston and Myrtle Beach.
And the Camper Countdown continues..

2011-08-21T02:01:00.004Z

Reading a constantly changing national prospectus is a difficult game, at the best of times.. But when it comes to some issues, there appears to be consensus..
Issues the likes of the future of the Eurozone, and the single currency, usually will spark arguments pro and con.. but these days there are few who can find positive notes to sound concerning Continental economics..
Even when the leaders of the only two countries with a positive growth forecast.. those being Germany and France.. meet to discuss the possibility of 'Eurobond' issues..
Now that may well have been a misguided.. in fact a downright stupid.. attempt to raise money for a 'EuroBank'.. But, even though they may be trying..they have to face headlines lambasting 'The Fourth Reich'..
At this time, in this place, it's going to be a case of 'damned if you do.. damned if you don't..'..

Leaving Europe for a moment.. we have a President in the White House, who is frankly, the wrong man for the job..
Barack is not a 'war time President'.. He's not the type.. the personality.. to deal with this ongoing conflict in Afghanistan.. the economic meltdown at home.. unprecedented unemployment.. dissent even among those within his own Party on his domestic plans..
While he will address the nation early next month.. likely after Labour Day, which is the first Monday in September.. it's uncertain what policies he can bring into effect that will show results within the 15 months before Americans next exercise their franchise..
There are rumours of a 'Public Works Project'.. wherein the Federal Government would bear the lions share of wages paid to those presently among the unemployed to do maintenance work.. something along the lines of the old 'Three 'R's'.. a new slant on 'Relief, Recovery, and Reform'.. perhaps road reconstruction and repair..
This, coupled with a dash of Reaganomics.. supply-side.. buy American and be proud to do whatever you do..
If a University graduate can only find work as a bin man, then let him be the best bin man he can until there is refreshed demand for his particular speciality..
Barack's going to have to re-create the American work ethic.. reinstill American pride.. re-create the spirit immigrants brought with them to 'the new world'..
And that's a lot to expect to be conveyed in one television address.. or indeed in the 15 months he has left..
And it took a man the likes of FDR to make all the aspects of his 'New Deal' come into being.. and from what we've seen of Barack and his ability to fight for his programs so far.. the kindest that could be said is.. "He's no Franklin Delano Roosevelt.."

And while the job market for University graduates is still recruiting here.. The numbers leaving with their Higher results is at record levels..
And with A-level passes up for the 29th year running.. The overall pass rate is up slightly, but for the first time in 14 years there has been no increase in the total proportion getting A or A* grades.. Just over 27% of entries scored these grades, with a small rise in the proportion awarded A*..
Places at universities have become precious commodities.. especially when it's taken into consideration that those who miss out this year, will be looking at University fees increasing to between £9 thousand and £12 thousand a year.. From next year, many UK students will face tuition fees up to a maximum of £9,000 a year at English universities, compared with the present level of just over £3,000 a year..
Fees at Scottish Universities will not be affected..

2011-08-20T20:19:00.003Z

It's been quite the week on worldwide markets..
But before starting on what was.. there is a story unfolding in the Middle East which could have had serious consequences..
Diplomats scrambled to avert a crisis in relations between Egypt and Israel this afternoon, and the Israeli government issued a rare 'statement of regret' for the killing of three Egyptian security officers by an Israeli warplane..
Tensions between the two countries.. which yesterday led Egypt to announce that it would recall its ambassador from Tel Aviv.. reached the worst point since the historic Camp David peace accords three decades ago..
All this spurred by a burst of violence along their shared border in the Sinai Peninsula.. A series of attacks there killed eight Israelis on Thursday.. the Israeli government then retaliated against Gaza-based militants, and the three Egyptians died in the crossfire..
After Egypt’s announcement about its ambassador early yesterday, diplomats from other nations rushed to broker an end to the impasse between the Egyptians and the Israelis.. this, from a Western diplomat.. speaking on condition of anonymity because of the delicacy of the continuing talks..
And while these talks went on, the statement disappeared from an Egyptian cabinet Web site, and unidentified officials suggested in the Egyptian news media that it might have been released by mistake..
Then, breaking silence on the Sabbath, the Israeli Defense Minister, Ehud Barak, released a statement saying, “We regret the deaths of members of the Egyptian security forces during the terror attack on the Israeli-Egyptian border.”..
Barak.. who had seemed on Thursday to blame lax Egyptian security for allowing the attacks near the border.. said that after an internal inquiry, an Israeli/Egyptian Committee would investigate.. And he went on to note the importance of the peace treaty with Egypt and his admiration for the judgment and responsibility of the Egyptian people..
A brief historical recap of the Egyptian/Israeli relationship..
1964.. Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) established..
1967.. Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser closes straits of Tiran to Israeli shipping.. 'Six Day War' leads to reunification of Jerusalem under Israeli rule..
Khartoum Conference.. Arab summit states: No peace or negotiations with Israel..
November 1967 United Nations Security Council Resolution 242.. establishes principles to guide the negotiations for future Arab-Israeli peace settlements..
1967-1970.. Egypt's War of Attrition against Israel..
1968.. Jews return to Gush Etzion for first time since capture by Jordan in 1948.. Jews return to Hebron, abandoned after the Hebron massacre in 1929..
For decades, there has existed a situation wherein all parties are aware of their mutual dislike, but all are equally aware of the consequences of stepping beyond the Pale.. And it is certainly no surprise that Foreign Diplomats would descend like a flock of doves all bearing olive branches..
The last thing the Middle East needs now, is to involve Israel in any conflict.. The Palestinian question.. the West Bank and Gaza.. is essentially an internal problem.. and with Hammas in the West Bank, and Hezbollah in Gaza.. any move from Egypt towards an aggressive stance would only add fuel to the Middle Eastern equivalent of a massive tire fire..

Still with the Middle East..
As rebels continued to advance on the battlefield.. The rats appear to be leaving the good ship Mohammar..
It's reported that Abdel-Salam Jalloud.. one of those who helped propel Gaddafi to power in 1969 and was for decades his powerful deputy.. flew out of Djerba airport in Tunisia early on Saturday yesterday.. The Rebel Council claimed he had defected to their side, though this could not be independently confirmed..
Jalloud's apparent departure follows the reported defection earlier this of oil minister Omrane Boukraa and a senior security official, Nasser al-Mabruk Abdullah, who fled to Cairo from Tunisia on Monday with his family..
A swirl of rumours now circulates concerning the intentions of Gaddafi and his family, as rebel forces continue operations on three fronts to cut off the capital, Tripoli..
In Zlitan.. a town formerly largely loyal to Gaddafi that was captured on Friday.. rebels continued with street-to-street searches.. while rebel forces also claimed another 'final capture of Brega', which has changed hands on a number of occasions..
The territory remaining under Gaddafi's control has been shrinking dramatically in the past three weeks, with opposition fighters moving closer to Tripoli, a metropolis of two million people, from the west.. south.. and east..
Nato's bombing campaign has made it difficult for the regime to send massive reinforcements to Zawiyah, the rebels' biggest prize in months..
An odd piece of the puzzle has been tossed into the mix.. Tunisia's army clashed overnight with an armed group of Libyans who had infiltrated into Tunisia, according to a Tunisian military source ..that overnight fighting between Tunisian forces and the armed men had caused several casualties.. Apparently the Libyans were intercepted in vehicles with weapons, in the desert in the south-east of Tunisia.. No explanation has been supplied for the clash..

Let's get on then, with a look at our economy..
It doesn't take a Degree in Economics to say next week's markets, will be worse than anything seen so far.. There's nothing on the cards to even slow this slide we're on.. and government's are going back to their holidays in the aftermath of the riots which brought them all flocking home..
Let's take last week as a template..
After starting out the week with hopes of new found stability.. investors ended up experiencing another ugly week as worries about the global economy resurfaced..
On Monday, stock indexes had finally recovered from the huge sell-off of the previous week.. that prompted by the downgrade of United States long-term debt by Standard & Poor’s late on Aug. 5, which unleashed days of painful market turmoil..
But.. by midweek, stocks were falling again.. as investors worried about Europe’s debt crisis and the possibility of recession in the United States intensified..
The S&P’s 500-stock index slid 1.5% on Friday, and closed down more than 4% for the week..
It was the fourth consecutive week of market declines as investors remained rattled.. The latest signs of strain came from some European banks laden with debt from the region’s troubled economies.. strains that could quickly spread across the Atlantic..
Despite a meeting in Paris earlier in the week between Germany's Markel and France's Sarkozy.. ending in a pledge greater economic coordination between nations sharing the Euro.. confidence quickly eroded in the markets over whether Europe’s policy makers have solutions to the Eurozone debt crisis..
In the United States, dismal economic data on Thursday pointed to an unexpectedly abrupt slowdown in manufacturing and a pickup in inflation.. Just what Barack needed..
Now.. what we can expect this coming week..
The market’s attention will turn to the Federal Reserve’s annual symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.. for signs of how confident the chairman of the Fed.. Ben S. Bernanke.. is about the strength of the American recovery..
At last year’s symposium, faced by a similar midyear slowdown, Bernanke paved the way for a second round of large-scale bond purchases, or quantitative easing..
Might also be called short selling our grandchildren's pensions.. but that might prove a less popular name..
But after the Fed this month already promised to keep short-term interest rates close to zero for the next two years, few economists expect further stimulus from the Fed..
On Friday, markets closed sharply lower in Asia and Europe.. and that sentiment then carried over into the United States.. Stocks had been briefly higher in the morning hours, but then slipped.. Some analysts attributed the slide to technical factors and thin volume.. others to a general sense of uncertainty permeating the entire system..
At the close, the S.& P. 500 was down 17.12 points, or 1.5%, at 1,123.53..
The Dow Jones closed down 172.93 points, or 1.57%, to 10,817.65..
The Nasdaq composite lost 38.59 points, or 1.62%, to 2,341.84..
For the week, the S.& P. was down 4.6%, the Dow fell 4% and the Nasdaq slid 6.6%.. The steepest declines were on Thursday, when the indexes slipped more than 3% on persistent worries about the economy and Europe’s debt problems..
Stocks of companies most susceptible to slow growth and those related to banks have been hit..
Technology, financials and industrials were among the sectors down more than 1% on the day..
Gold continued the sharp ascent it has seen over the last months, demonstrating that nervousness remained intense..
Gold futures were up $30, to $1,848.90/Troy ounce..

It's that time of year again.. monsoons leading to typhoons in the Far East and Asia.. hurricanes in the West.. Tropical Storm Harvey is expected to bring high winds and several inches of rain to the coast of Honduras this afternoon before making landfall in Belize.
The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said yesterday that Harvey was located about 65 miles east of Belize City, moving west at about 12 mph. Maximum sustained winds were 60 mph..
Tropical storm warnings were issued for the northern coast of Honduras from Punta Sal westward, as well as coastal Belize and Guatemala.. Warnings for the Yucatan Peninsula and the Bay Islands of Honduras were canceled..
And on the other side of the world..
The death count in West Bengal floods soared to 47 Saturday with 11 more deaths reported since Friday evening, while several major rivers continued to flow above the extreme danger mark..
An official release said that with the water level rising, the Damodar Valley Corporation discharged 70,000 cusecs from its dams and barrages on Damodar, Kangsabati and Mayurakshi rivers..
The dead included 18 women.. people spread over 251 blocks and 81 municipalities were affected in the deluge caused by the torrential rains..
Those affected.. according to reports.. said 413 camps opened in the flood-hit districts, and have around 68,000 people taking shelter in them..
The weatherman predicted rain or thundershowers in several places in north Bengal and coastal districts today..

And if the thought might be, that the weather isn't something to keep an eye on around the world..
The US alone, as a microcosm.. The weather this year has not only been strangely destructive in self.. It holds the dubious distinction of being as destructive in terms of economic loss as any on record.
Normally, three or four weather disasters a year in the US will cause at least $1 billion in damages each.. This year, there were nine such disasters..
They included the huge snow dump in late January and early February on the Midwest and Northeast, the rash of tornadoes this spring across the Midwest and the more recent flooding of the Missouri and Souris Rivers.. The disasters were responsible for at least 589 deaths, including 160 in May when tornadoes ripped through Joplin, Missouri..
These nine billion-dollar disasters tie the record set in 2008.. according to a report by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration..
The total damage done by all storms, tornadoes, flooding and heat waves so far this year adds up to about $35 billion..
The National Climatic Data Center says it estimates the costs in terms of dollars and lives that would not have been incurred had the event not taken place..
Insured and uninsured losses are included in damage estimates, and are likely to change as assessments become more complete..
With four months to go in 2011, this year’s total amount of damage is likely to rise.. Forecasters are already predicting further meteorological mayhem as hurricane season intensifies..
Still watching the Camper Countdown...

Rick Perry..
This is a man who deserves some attention.. He might well have been the next President of the US..
And for the most part, he rings a bell common with his fellow Americans..
He has written a book.. One which lays out how he, were he given the chance, reform the American political system, re-design the Constitution.. and provide legislation designed for the good of the American people, and their way of life..
Rick Perry has many ideas about how to change the American government's founding document.. From ending lifetime tenure for federal judges, to completely scrapping two whole Amendments.. the Constitution would see a major overhaul if the Texas governor and Republican Presidential Candidate had his way..
Perry laid out these proposed innovations to the founding document in his book, "Fed Up! Our Fight to Save America from Washington".. He has occasionally mentioned them on the campaign trail.. Several of his ideas fall within the realm of mainstream conservative thinking today, but, there are also a few surprises..
He has proposed seven ways the Constitution should be changed..
He would abolish lifetime tenure for federal judges by amending Article III, Section I of the Constitution.. "The Judges," reads Article III, "both of the supreme and inferior Courts, shall hold their Offices during good Behavior, and shall, at stated Times, receive for their Services a Compensation which shall not be diminished during their Continuance in Office."..
Perry makes it no secret that he believes the judges on the bench over the past century have acted beyond their Constitutional bounds.. The problem.. Perry reasons.. is that members of the judiciary are "unaccountable" to the people.. and their lifetime tenure gives them free license to act however they want..
In his book, the Texas Governor speaks highly of plans to limit their tenure and offers proposals about how to accomplish it..
Further.. Congress should have the power to override Supreme Court decisions with a two-thirds vote.. Giving Congress the ability to veto their decisions would be another way to take the Court down a notch.. according to Perry..
Perry would scrap the federal income tax by repealing the Sixteenth Amendment.. The Sixteenth Amendment gives Congress the "power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, from whatever source derived, without apportionment among the several States, and without regard to any census or enumeration." It should be abolished immediately, Perry writes..
He would end the direct election of Senators by repealing the Seventeenth Amendment.. Overturning this amendment would restore the original language of the Constitution, which gave state legislators the power to appoint the members of the Senate..
Calling this next reform the 'most important' of all his plans.. Perry would require the federal government to balance its budget every year.. A campaign to pass a balanced budget amendment through Congress fell short by just one vote in the Senate in the 1990s..
He takes a stance which is a pure reflection of his Texan Evangelical Christian roots.. and would that the Federal Constitution should define marriage as between one man and one woman in all 50 states.. This one will cost him when it comes down to the Republican Party deciding whether or not it can afford to alienate so many, by putting forth a candidate with an ethic that is simply outside the Pale of political correctness..
And in what might be the final nail in the coffin of his Presidential nomination aspirations.. Perry writes that abortion should be made illegal throughout the country..
Like the gay marriage issue, Perry at one time believed that abortion policy should be left to the states, as was the case before the 1973 Supreme Court case Roe v. Wade..
But in the same Christian Broadcasting Network interview, Perry said that he would support a federal amendment outlawing abortion because it was "so important...to the soul of this country and to the traditional values [of] our founding fathers."
And herein the problem with Perry..
While five of his seven changes to the Constitution are excellent, there remain two which blot his political copybook..
One cannot allow 'faith' to become issues for legislation.. Long has the old adage held true, that good government does not allow rule by faith.. that Church and State must remain entirely separate..
The issues of marriage and abortion are not subject to legal judgement.. They have been tried in the Courts already, and decisions have been made of the State level..
Perry's ultra-right stance, if he holds firmly to it.. could cost the GOP a man who otherwise, might stand a chance against Barack..

And.. to end on another matter of faith..
Pope Benedict XVI has complained that modern society has a certain "amnesia" about God as he lamented the dwindling of the faith during a visit to Spain.. a once staunchly Catholic country that has seen the church's grip on society fall dramatically since the end of the Fascist dictatorship of Francisco Franco..
Benedict was speaking Friday in general terms about the secularization that has taken hold in much of the West in a speech to a few hundred adoring young nuns gathered in El Escorial monastery.. a UNESCO world heritage site about 30 miles (50 kilometers) northwest of the capital..
Benedict, in Spain to celebrate the church's World Youth Day, told them their decisions to dedicate their lives to their faith was a potent message for today's world..
"This is all the more important today when we see a certain eclipse of God taking place, a kind of amnesia which albeit not an outright rejection of Christianity is nonetheless a denial of the treasure of our faith, a denial that could lead to the loss of our deepest identity," he said..
Benedict's main priority as pope has been to try to reawaken Christianity in places like Spain.. He has traveled here three times as pope.. an indication that he views it as a key battleground in his bid to remind Europe of its Christian heritage and the need for God to retake a place in daily life..
Like in much of Europe.. the church in Spain has seen its influence wane in recent decades.. its stance on women, equality, gay rights and abortion have alienated an increasingly educated and sophisticated middle class..
But Spain's religious apathy also stems from the memories of its 1936-1939 civil war and aftermath.. when the church was tightly linked to Franco's repressive government, which ended in 1978..
But the Church has much to atone for, and Spaniards have long memories..

2011-08-19T01:29:00.010Z

While it's still early Friday morning.. a few notes to start the day..
After just a few days of calm, stock markets heaved again yesterday, sending major American indexes down as much as 5% on persistent worries about the economy and Europe’s debt problems..
The turmoil of last week returned with a vengeance as investors dumped stocks of companies that would suffer if worldwide growth slowed and the United States.. in particular.. slipped into another recession..
Of all the disappointing U.S. economic news released on yesterday.. it was a drop in factory activity in the mid-Atlantic region that most unnerved investors.. Data from the Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank.. viewed as a forward-looking gauge of U.S. manufacturing.. dropped to the lowest level since March, 2009.. The survey of factories showed declining expectations for a range of activities, including employment, shipments and prices.. The poll was conducted Aug. 8 to 16, a period of wild stock market volatility..
But the declines yesterday began in Asia and in Europe.. where an 'unidentified' bank had resorted to borrowing from the European Central Bank.. hinting of strains in the banking system that some fear, could ripple to the United States..
Europe’s chronic debt problem continues to plague the Continent’s banks because so many of their assets are invested in the region’s troubled countries..
Investors rushed into United States Treasuries as a safe haven, despite unease about how the government will address its deficit and economic slowdown. Bond prices rose and the yield on the 10-year bond fell below 2 percent for the first time since at least the early 1960s..
Stock markets in Australia and New Zealand have opened lower in early trading
Australia's benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index was down 117.2 points, or 2.8% at 4,134.1 this morning..
New Zealand's NZX 50 fell 36.35 points, or 1.1 percent, to 3,249.86 in early morning trading..

And as this day's progressed.. Stock market turmoil continued to sweep markets worldwide again, in the face of the same problems and questions about slowing economic growth and the ability of banks and governments to cope with debt repayment..
But after steep declines in Asia and Europe.. stocks on Wall Street found their footing in the first hour of trading, ahead of the weekend and on a day when analysts expect low volumes..
The Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index, which lost 4.5% yesterday, was up 0.7% in today’s morning session..
With deep concerns about the Eurozone and global economic growth overshadowing the financial markets.. it is not at all clear whether any gains will stick throughout the trading session..
All of Europe’s major stock indexes were down in mid-afternoon trading, though they had recovered somewhat from the session’s lows.. The Euro Stoxx 50 index was off 1.0%.. Banks were among the biggest losers once again..
Asia.. which had missed the worst of the selling Thursday.. suffered painful losses today.. The Nikkei 225 index in Japan closed down 2.5%, and the key market indices in Singapore and Hong Kong closed down more than 3%..
The losses reflected an accumulation of bad news, including feeble economic data in the United States and Europe.. and signs that some banks were having trouble borrowing on the interbank market.. Tension on money markets.. which some analysts said was overblown.. awoke unpleasant memories of the seizure in interbank lending that followed the collapse of Lehman Brothers in 2008..
“It is specifically risk on, risk off,” said George Rusnak, National Director of fixed income for Wells Fargo.. “Everybody is taking risk off the table.. This is probably going to be a trend over the next several weeks,” adding “There is not a lot of robust trading going on right now.”..
Rusnak and other analysts again noted that concerns have mounted related to the banking sector, especially with respect to the exposure of American banks to European counterparts..
“Really what it boils down to is ripple effects,”..
JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered its growth forecast early today.. One analyst said business sentiment.. household wealth.. and global growth all look worse than just a few weeks earlier.. Other economists warn that a global recession looks increasingly likely..
Gold set a record high Friday on safe-haven buying but U.S. stocks and commodities rebounded after the Greenback plunged to a record low against the Japanese yen on speculation authorities will not halt the yen’s surge..
U.S. stocks, after paring early losses, turned lower, as crude oil and other commodities rebounded on the dollar’s slump..
The dollar fell as low as 75.941 yen on trading platform EBS.. It last traded at 76.245 yen, down 0.4%..
Traders were emboldened by a Wall Street Journal report citing Japan’s top currency official as saying that Japanese authorities do not plan to intervene in the market often..
The dollar’s slump galvanized commodity markets, where crude oil prices rose almost 2%.. ICE Brent October crude rose $1.93 to $108.92 a barrel.
And while it becomes tedious to be the harbinger of bad, then worse news.. we cannot see, at the moment, anything that can concievably be done to improve this outlook.. And we're nowhere near the bottom, yet..

Keeping an eye on Asia..
The Indian government eased its latest political crisis, but while all eyes were on the circus in the streets of the capital, a problem that may in the end prove far greater lurked unaddressed in the background..
The Indian National Congress-led government has struck a deal that will see anti-corruption activist Anna Hazare leave prison today and begin a 15-day fast for a new anti-graft law.. Street protests are expected to die down as a result..
But the issue once more dominated parliament, and consumed the energy of senior political figures Thursday at a critical time when, many in the Indian business community say, the economy ought to be the focus..
India has been somewhat protected from recent global economic gyrations because of the huge role domestic consumption plays in driving its growth.. But recent events in the West have caused a slowdown of foreign-capital inflows, as nervous investors shun emerging markets.. And that, combined with persistent near-double-digit inflation and a series of interest-rate hikes.. have Indian business leaders worried that growth will not hit the 8% to 9% target that government envisioned for the year.. and paralysis over the Hazare crisis, and other political issues.. has sidelined the reform legislation that was their hope for economic salvation..
The current session of parliament was slated to pass a number of bills seen as critical to the health of the economy.. including laws to streamline investment, land acquisition and foreign partnerships..
Now it seems that few if any of these will make it through the house before this session ends on the 8th of September..
The next session begins in November..

The aftermath of four nights of mindless violence and thievery.. the prison population has increased by more than 100 a day over the past week as Courts process cases of rioting and looting.. and the word from the Prison Governors Association is, that if this goes on for much longer.. there'll be no room for any more..
Normally.. the prison population actually decreases this time of year.. with those finishing their sentences exceeding those starting off..
But not this year..
There are those who are looking at those being prosecuted.. at their backgrounds.. their general education.. who are disagreeing with the bare assessment that this was a 'simple expression of hopelessness.. a sign of the collapse of British society's framework of ethic and community..'..
There are those who were on the streets, protecting their properties.. and if some can cherish a sense of propriety.. then all can..
It is a deliberate choice, not to..
In the meantime, our prisons are filling up..

The word from our Immigration Minister this afternoon is, that those convicted of crimes related to the riots and who are here on visas.. student or work.. will serve their time here and then be sent home immediately..
Yet another bone for the Asian and Muslim communities to worry..

We've not heard much about the American charges Domenique Strauss-Kahn is still facing.. The spotlight, for the time being, has swept away from this issue.. at least for the most part..
When a French magazine reported on the leaked medical records of Dominique Strauss-Kahn's accuser earlier this week, lawyers on both sides of the case scrambled to provide competing interpretations..
But legal analysts say that.. despite its incendiary language.. the report is unlikely to be a game-changer in either a criminal or civil trial..
The medical report.. as described by L'Express.. contains two areas of evidence that could bolster Nafissatou Diallo's account of the incident.. observations about her physical condition, and the story she told doctors about the alleged assault..
According to the magazine, the report gives "rape" as the cause of her injuries.. But that statement reflects only her account to doctors..
"That's not a medical conclusion," said Matthew Galluzzo, a former sex crimes prosecutor in Manhattan..
"If I fell off my bicycle and hit my head on the sidewalk, and I tell the doctor that it was the result of someone hitting me with a wrench, they're going to put down.. 'Cause: assault.'.. They're not investigators in that sense.".
Strauss-Kahn's lawyers said in a statement that the report did not document any injuries "at all," but showed "common conditions consistent with many possible causes other than a sexual assault."
Strauss-Kahn.. should this issue be dealt with quickly, could still be considered as an alternative for the Socialist Party to Nicholas Sarkozy.. who's popularity in the polls is at an all time low.. with elections coming up next Spring..

2011-08-18T19:08:00.005Z

Stock traders around the world might be wishing they had some of what Tim Hudak had, as this day progressed.. anything to bring a smile to some exceedingly dour faces.. Tims story will finish up this entry..

But to begin..more signs of economic weakness triggered a global selloff in stocks today.. The Dow Jones fell more than 400 points in a return to the wild swings which typified the market last week..
Figures released in the United States.. show that more people joined the unemployment line last week than a week earlier.. gasoline prices contributed to higher inflation and manufacturing slowed in the mid-Atlantic..
In Europe, bank stocks slid on worries about the region's debt problems.. In Asia, Japan's exports fell for the fifth straight month..
The U.S. and European economies are "dangerously close to recession," Morgan Stanley economists reported.. "It won't take much in the form of additional shocks to tip the balance."..
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 456 points, or 4%, to 10,954 at 1:55 this afternoon in New York.. about a half-hour into trading.. it was down 528 points
The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 55 points, or 4.6%, to 1,138..
All but three of the 500 stocks in the index fell..
The Nasdaq composite fell 127, or 5%, to 2,383..
"This is yet another stage of panic selling," said Gene Peroni Jr., a portfolio manager with Advisors Asset Management.. they handle some $7.3 billion in client assets.. "Investors are reacting first and asking questions later."..
Last week was one of the wildest in Wall Street history.. The Dow moved more than 400 points on four straight days for the first time in the history of the exchange..
While stocks had been relatively stable earlier this week because investors were calmed by strong earnings reports and a flurry of corporate acquisition deals.. The Dow had fallen 76 points Tuesday and risen four points yesterday.. the first time that the average rose or fell by less than 100 points on two straight days in nearly three weeks..
That came to an end today..
And with stocks down big, money flooded into U.S. Treasurys and gold, both considered safer investments.. Gold rose to a record of $1,829.70/troy ounce before falling back to $1,821.80.. That's up from $1,400 at the start of the year.. and more than double the price several years ago.. The price of gold has set one record after another, with some investors looking for stability and others simply looking to cash in..
The U.S. and European economies are “dangerously close to recession,” Morgan Stanley economists reported.. “It won’t take much in the form of additional shocks to tip the balance.”..
We're teetering on the edge of a full-blown Depression.. and perhaps it's time for our economists, and politicians, came clean with us..
Among today’s disappointing U.S. economic news.. 408,000 people applied for unemployment benefits last week, up from 399,000 the week before and the most in four weeks.. Inflation at the consumer level rose 0.5% in July, the highest since March.. It had fallen 0.2% in June.. Manufacturing has sharply weakened in the Philadelphia region, according to a report from the Federal Reserve.. Manufacturing had been one of the economy’s strongest industries since the recession ended in 2009, but its growth has slowed this year.. and the National Association of Realtors said the number of people who bought previously occupied homes dropped in July for the third time in four months..

Something to take note of.. for the first time the US explicitly called today for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to step down.. and imposed new economic sanctions likely to be followed up by the European Union..
Obama delivered his ultimatum after five months of a brutal Syrian government crackdown against protesters seeking an end to the 41-year reign by the Syrian president and his late father, Hafez al-Assad..
The fresh U.S. sanctions would freeze Syrian government assets under U.S. jurisdiction.. bar U.S. individuals or companies from transactions with Assad's government.. and ban U.S. imports of Syrian petroleum..
The U.S. sanctions are likely to have limited impact because of the low level of U.S.-Syrian trade and the minimal U.S. imports of Syrian oil.. but will likely be followed by European nations with greater economic leverage..
Britain, France and Germany also demanded that Assad go.. as did the EU.. whose Foreign Policy Chief, Catherine Ashton, said the bloc's 27 members were preparing to target more Syrian entities and looking at ways to broaden their sanctions..

Here, we'd call it 'reality TV'.. In China, it's a diplomatic debacle..
A bench-clearing brawl at an exhibition game between American and Chinese basketball teams today.. marring the orchestrated harmony of U.S. Vice President Joe Biden's visit to China..
The fight between the Georgetown University men's basketball team and the Bayi Rockets last night in Beijing forced the game to end early.. Biden did not attend the game.. However, on Wednesday he watched the Georgetown team beat the Shanxi Zhongyu Brave Dragons 98-81..
Georgetown Hoyas head coach John Thompson III said in an emailed statement that the team regretted the incident..
"Tonight, two great teams played a very competitive game that unfortunately ended after heated exchanges with both teams," he said. "We sincerely regret that this situation occurred."..
The brawl Thursday was the latest instance of on-court fighting by China, whose players have been fined tens of thousands of dollars by the world and Asian Federations for scrapping with opponents..
Photos from the game circulating on China's popular microblog Sina Weibo show players from both teams pushing one another..
The Washington Post said the melee broke out in the fourth quarter as members of both teams tackled and threw punches at one another.. Chairs and water bottles were also thrown as the Georgetown players left the court with about nine-and-a-half minutes remaining..
Makes the prospect of the upcoming Olympic basketball games just that little bit more exciting..

But.. back to Tim..
It's rare these days, to get an honest answer to a question posed to a politician.. but it seems Canadian politics isn't as jaded as that in other countries..
Ontario Premier Tim Hudak says he smoked dope in his youth..
And.. he inhaled!
Hudak made the admission on today in response to questions from reporters about his latest campaign pledge to get tough on crime.. He said he would set up a registry of homes that are used as grow-ops and meth labs..
“I was wondering if this would come up,” Hudak said, when asked if he ever inhaled.. “Listen,” he said, “I lived a pretty normal life growing up as a kid.. So.. yes I have.”..
When it comes to politicians’ past drug use, Hudak is in good company..
Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty admitted during the 1999 provincial election campaign to having tried pot..
And former U.S. President Bill Clinton admitted during his first White House campaign in 1992 to trying marijuana but.. he said.. he did not inhale..
And we, both those who reported his comment, along with those who read it.. had the same thought..
Yup.

2011-08-17T10:35:00.010Z

Prime Minister Cameron has come out in support for the Courts Draconian sentencing procedure.. but there now seems to be a public outcry against 'knee-jerk' terms being handed out..
Case in point.. two men in their teens were handed 4 years apiece, for inciting riot on Facebook.. while today another, charged with the same offence, was sentenced to a years curfew.. Two days ago, a man was sentenced to two years for stealing a bottle of water during the riots..
Now of course, the appeals against these sentences will see many of them reduced.. but at a casual glance, the Courts could save time, and millions of Pounds, by meting out a sentence which will stand..
The outrage of the country is still fresh.. but let us take a realistic stance when dealing with those involved.. Issues the likes of pleading guilty, thus saving the Courts time.. showing remorse.. offering compensation.. should be taken into consideration before we start swelling the numbers of those in custody, already at record levels..

Some unexpectedly bad figures concerning UK unemployment were released this morning..
The UK unemployment total rose in the three months to June, by 38,000 to 2.49 million.. This puts unemployment figures at their highest rate since February last year.. the jobless rate has risen to 7.9%.. according to the Office for National Statistics..
The number of people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance rose by 37,100 in July to 1.56 million, its biggest increase since May 2009.. and this makes it three months consecutively that the claimant count has risen..
The increase in unemployment came as a surprise to most economists, as many had predicted a further fall in the number of people without work..
The official figures also showed that between April and June.. the youth unemployment rate rose to 20.2%, up from 20% in the quarter to March.. there were 949,000 16 to 24-year-olds without work, a rise of 15,000.. the number of unemployed men increased by 18,000 to 1.45 million.. and the level of unemployed women rose by 21,000 to 1.05 million.. the highest figure since May 1988..
The number of employees working part-time because they could not find a full-time job increased by 83,000 to 1.26 million.. the highest figure since comparable records began in 1992.. and the unemployment rate remains the highest in the north-east of England, where it now stands at 10%.. the south-east of England still has the lowest rate of unemployment, with the rate now standing at 5.8%..
Employment Minister Chris Grayling admitted that the latest unemployment data was disappointing, saying the road to recovery "would be choppy..Clearly this has been a difficult few months, with a range of one-off factors and a slowdown in the world economy having an impact on the UK.."..
The unemployment rate in Scotland is 7.7%, in Wales it is 8.4%, and in Northern Ireland it is 7.3%..

London's police force says 1,000 people have now been charged in connection with the violence and disorder that rocked the capital for four days..
Acting commissioner Tim Godwin says while the milestone is significant, the investigation is ongoing.. and further charges will be forthcoming..
Godwin issued a statement today in which he said the public had been coming forward with information.. He urged people to turn in anyone involved in the disorder. As he put it.. "Don't let them get away with it."..
The authorities have arrested more than 3,000 people over riots that erupted Aug. 6 in north London and flared for four nights across the capital and other English cities..
Just what the effect of these charges and concomitant jail sentences will have on an already stretched inmate population, has yet to be noted..

World stocks ticked lower while top-rated government bonds rallied today as investors grew concerned that French and German plans for closer fiscal integration may be insufficient to stop the regional debt crisis from spreading further..
The Swiss franc surged against the euro after fresh measures announced by the Swiss National Bank to counter the franc strength did not contain drastic moves such as an exchange rate target which some had expected..
France and Germany unveiled far-reaching plans for closer Eurozone integration on yesterday.. but stopped short of increasing the size of the region's rescue fund and rejected for now the idea of a common 'EuroBond'.. Support for a common bond had been growing as it is increasingly seen as a way to allow highly indebted Eurozone countries to regain access to commercial markets while providing investors a safeguard through joint liability..
This, to all appearances, was a desperation move designed to give foreign investors a sense of security, when buying Bonds issued by particularly Germany and France..

Looking for something that will jolt this wilting economy, Barack will give a major speech in early September.. likely soon after Labour Day.. to unveil new ideas for speeding up job growth and helping the struggling poor and middle class..
The president's plan is likely to contain tax cuts, jobs-boosting infrastructure ideas and steps that would specifically help the long-term unemployed.. It's being emphasized that all of Barack's proposals would be fresh ones.. not a rehash of plans he has pitched for many weeks and still supports.. including his “infrastructure bank” idea to finance construction jobs..
On a significant and related front, Obama will also present a specific plan to cut the suffocating long-term national debt and to pay for the cost of his new short-term economic ideas..
His debt proposal will be bigger than the $1.5-trillion package that a new “supercommittee” of Congress must come up with by late November..
The President will then spend his Fall publicly pressing Congress to take action as the economic debate roars into its next phase.. Both the economic ideas and the plan to pay for them will be part of Obama's speech, although the address will focus mainly on the jobs components..
Best of luck with that issue..
It is amazing how we can pin our economic future on 'if-whens'.. Hoping against hope that some miraculous solution will present itself to lift us out of this economic hole we've dug ourselves into.. That industry will recover to the point it can begin significant hiring..
Good for a 'wish list'.. but not practicable in the light of today's economic prospects..

Still with North America.. this time it's Canada..
Quebec’s fertile political ground may be about to sprout yet another party.. one that threatens to further fracture the 'Independence Movement' and the ailing Parti Québécois..
Three of the four former PQ members of the provincial legislature who bolted from the party in the spring have signed up to attend next Sunday’s founding assembly of a new hard-line sovereignty movement..
The movement published a manifesto by 77 sovereigntists on Tuesday declaring the PQ worn out and confused under the leadership of Pauline Marois. Ms. Marois fired back, saying the new movement is showing nothing but disdain for committed sovereigntists and PQ members..
Quebec has spawned many such upstarts in the past 50 years..
What’s unusual this time is four sitting independents are openly shopping for a new home after rejecting the PQ and the go-slow approach to independence of Ms. Marois..
If the former PQ heavyweights support a new party.. they would create a fifth credible alternative in the crowded ranks opposing the ruling Provincial Liberals.. Four of the opposition movements profess varying degrees of support for Quebec independence..
One former péquiste independent, Lisette Lapointe, has expressed support for the new movement founded under the name 'Le Nouveau Mouvement pour le Québec'..
Bon chance..
The feeling throughout the rest of the country.. is that Quebec wouldn't be missed should it simply float away into the Atlantic..

Still with Canada.. an issue has been raised which will affect us all..
Canada's labour force continues to grow but retiring baby boomers will slow the rate of growth to a crawl over the next 20 years.. according to Statistics Canada..
The agency estimates there could be as many as 22.5 million people working by 2031.. up from 18.5 million last year..however, projections indicate the rate of growth will slow to between 0.2% and 0.7% a year from 2021 to 2026.. When the boomers were entering the job market in the 1970s, the labour force increased at an average rate of just over 4 per cent a year..
In 1981, there were roughly six people working for each retiree..
By 2031, the ratio will be three to one, according to StatsCan forecasts..
By that time, the entire baby-boom generation will have reached the age of 65..
The agency also projects that the participation rate in the labour force by 2031 could be as low as it was in the 1970s.. with less than 63% of Canadians over the age of 15 at work..
The 'Baby Boom' was a worldwide phenomina.. and the effects StatsCan has projected, will be equally applicable to any Western economy..
It is a subject causing our government particular concern.. as we have seen in the changes to come into effect for those working today..

2011-08-16T00:10:00.005Z

We've not paid much attention of late, to the goings on in the Middle East..
And for the most part, the relative situations in Libya and Syria have been see-sawing back and forth, with nothing near a resolution to hand..
But, looking at Libya.. we see rebel forces making important inroads in their movements towards Tripoli.. Two towns which supply Tripoli are now in rebel hands..
And why we still see crowds in their hundreds in Tripoli, rallying to a telephone broadcast from Mohammar.. calling on his supporters to supply the "..river of blood.." that will flow, to quench the fire of this insurrection..
But slowly,, the 'freedom fighters' are taking strategic towns, and recruiting to their cause as they move on..
NATO continues with it's bombardment of Tripoli.. and the tactics taught by the fifty or so French, British, and American 'advisers has been learned well..
A matter of time.. is what it comes down to..

Now in Syria, Assad's government troops and rebel forces have both been censured by the UN Human Rights commission.. neither side is too particular on how they get information from their prisoners..
But the government troops are in a class of their own..
To join a protest in any of the main cities in Syria, is deliberately putting one's self in harms way.. And still, they're out there..
The government's Draconian response to these protests has been condemned not only by the UN, the West in general, but by influential Arab States including the Arab League..
But.., this seems to have little weight with Assad..
Sanctions will be next.. but it's unfortunate these actions percolate down to those who can least afford it.. And in fact, strict sanctions could lead to problems down the road.. when finally Assad is brought down..
Syria is pivotal in that all the rebel factions active in the Middle East, have lived in general harmony under Assad's dictatorship.. When finally he is brought down, it will be of some concern whether Hammas..Hezbollah..al Q'aida.. and all the others.. will form a government which could be an immanent threat to Israel..
For the protesters in Syria.. it's a fight to choose.. For all those looking on, it's a frantic scrabble for intelligence that might help predict a 'popular' Syrian government..
However.. Assad can count on one firm ally.. Iran..
In a country that knows a thing or two about diplomatic isolation, Iran's politicians and media describe the Damascus government as an outpost of resistance to Israel that has been set upon by Washington and its lackeys in the region..
While several Gulf Arab countries have withdrawn their ambassadors in protest at the violence, and countries once close to Damascus.. Russia and Turkey.. have turned harshly critical.. Iran is the only big country still backing Syria, arguing anything else would spell disaster..
Alaeddin Boroujerdi.. the head of the Iranian Parliament's Foreign Affairs committee.. said "In regard to Syria we are confronted with two choices.. The first is for us to place Syria in the mouth of a wolf named America and change conditions in a way that NATO would attack Syria.. That would mean we would have a tragedy added to our other tragedies in the world of Islam.. The second choice would be for us to contribute to the termination of the clashes in Syria, the interests of the Muslim people command that we mobilize ourselves to support Syria as a center of Palestinian resistance.."..
A senior cleric pressed the message home.. "It is the duty of all Muslims to help stabilize Syria against the destructive plots of America and Israel," to quote Grand Ayatollah Naser Makarem Shirazi..
We are still thoroughly involved in Jihad..

A sentiment in Canada that should afford we Britons a touch of pride..
This story in a major Toronto newspaper..
"The Conservative government's decision to restore the traditional designations of the Canadian Forces; the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN), Canadian Army and Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) is a welcome move that recognizes a reality that has been long ignored by officialdom: The decades-long attempt to erase the historic designations, and unique identities, of the RCN, Canadian Army and RCAF was a failure..
Who would, given the choice, wish to refer to the Canadian Army as “Land Forces Command” or the Royal Canadian Navy as “Maritime Command”? The restoration of the names hard won in battle during the last century, and in countless operations since, can only serve to reinvigorate pride of service in the Canadian Forces. It represents a mark of respect for the men and women who serve in the defence of our country and its values.."
Hear hear..

While our immediate attention may well be directed towards that which directly affects us at home.. the economy.. public unrest here at home.. politicians who to all appearances should be set in the ranks of the terminally bewildered..
It always does us well to take a wider view from time to time..
And more on the economy, as this day unfolds..

2011-08-15T02:09:00.003Z

While there are those who are breathing easier, with stock markets around the world on the rise today.. But their relief may well be short lived..
Asia-Pacific stock markets opened strongly in this mornings trading, after stocks in the U.S. and Europe closed higher last week following a volatile few days..
Japan's Nikkei 225 index climbed 145.86 points, or 1.63 percent, to 9,109.58 in early morning trading..
In Australia, the country's benchmark S&P/ASX 200 rose 58.3 points, or 1.4 percent, to 4,230.9..
New Zealand's benchmark NZX50 index was up 24.4 points, or 0.76 percent, to 3240.9..
However.. Traders in the past have complained about the lack of price movement in the summer, as it means that there are fewer decent price swings to trade, therefore fewer opportunities.. This had started to change over the past few years…but should not be heard often after last week’s action..
There were so many factors that buffeted the market.. in addition to the downgrade by S&P and the FOMC announcement.. that it was tough even for seasoned professionals to keep up..
The most dramatic swing was in reaction to the Fed’s announcements. Futures rallied initially on the prospects of lower rates until 2013, but then plunged below 1,100 when they realized the Fed’s pessimistic view of the economy. Of course, futures quickly recovered, and closed the day sharply higher..
The stock market’s sharp drop over the past few weeks seems due to the opinion of many that that the U.S. economy will get even weaker, and that another recession is now more likely..
If this view is correct, stocks are likely to decline below last week’s lows by a significant amount. If not, it is remotely possible that the worst of the selling may be over..
Of course there is a myriad of factors which could affect any optimistic stance..
Keep a close eye on the Eurozone.. and any indication the American 'recovery' is faltering..
This week will see a number of statistics released which could again send a breeze through this economic house of cards..
Later today we'll see the Empire State Manufacturing Survey and Housing Market Index..
Tuesday brings Housing Starts and Industrial Production..
Wednesday brings the all-important Producer Price Index..
Thursday brings the Consumer Price Index.. Jobless Claims.. and the Philadelphia Fed Survey..
The verdict on the stock market is still out, and the market is likely to take a rest this week unless the news from the Eurozone debt crisis gets worse. Since meetings are scheduled next week, and several countries have now prohibited naked short selling, this is somewhat less likely..
Clearly we have a very split market.. as those averages that have a large percentage of financial stocks.. the likes of the S&P 500.. look the weakest, while those with very few.. such as the Nasdaq-100.. look the best..
By many measures, the market is as oversold as it was in October 2008… and even though stocks still went lower, many sectors bottomed at the end of that year..

Barack launches a political counteroffensive this week.. weighed down by a stunted economy.. wilting support among some of his most ardent backers.. and a daily bashing from the slew of Republicans campaigning for his job..
"We've still got a long way to go to get to where we need to be. We didn't get into this mess overnight, and it's going to take time to get out of it," the President told the country over the weekend, all but pleading for people to stick with him..
A deeply unsettled political landscape.. with voters in a fiercely anti-incumbent mood.. is framing the 2012 presidential race 15 months before Americans decide whether to give Obama a second term or hand power to the Republicans..
Trying to ride out what seems to be an unrelenting storm of economic anxiety, people in the United States increasingly are voicing disgust with most all of the men and women, Obama included, they sent to Washington to govern them..
And no wonder.. after the dog-and-pony show played out in both Houses as they wrangled this last borrowing extention..
With his approval numbers sliding.. the Democratic President will try to ease their worries and sustain his resurrected fighting spirit when he sets off later today on a bus tour of Minnesota, Iowa and Illinois.. The trip is timed to dilute the GOP buzz emanating from the Midwest after Republicans gathered in Iowa over the weekend for a first test of the party's White House candidates.. The state holds the nation's first nominating test in the long road toward choosing Obama's opponent..
"You have just sent a message that Barack Obama will be a one-term president," Minnesota Representative Michele Bachmann told elated supporters minutes after winning Saturday's Iowa straw poll.. essentially a fundraising event that also tests a candidate's organizational and financial strength.. She spent heavily and traveled throughout the state where she was born.. casting herself as the evangelical Christian voice of the deeply conservative small-government, low-tax Tea Party wing of the GOP..
While the voting was under way in Ames, Iowa, Republicans also had to keep an eye on South Carolina, where Texas Governor Rick Perry made a cleverly timed entrance into the race..
Like Bachmann and all the other candidates.. Perry ravaged Obama..
He said the president was presiding over an "economic disaster," in a declaration that stole some of Bachmann's political thunder and undercut the front-runner status of former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney.. who didn't compete in the Iowa test vote..
Perry clearly cast a broad shadow across the Republican contest.. A man to keep an eye on..

2011-08-13T20:10:00.006Z

The Courts have been working round the clock this weekend.. the number charged with riot related offenses has passed a thousand.. and more than 25 hundred have been arrested, and are awaiting charges..
They're pulling out all the stops on this one.. developments related to last week's rioting in London, the East and West Midlands, Manchester, Liverpool and Gloucester, include US "supercop" Bill Bratton, the prime minister's new crime adviser.. who says communities cannot "arrest their way out" of gang crime..
Two men have been arrested over the death of Trevor Ellis, who was found with bullet wounds in a car in Croydon, south London, during Monday night's rioting..
Families of three men killed when hit by a car in Birmingham during the riots have praised people for their response, as police arrest two more suspects and are given more time to question three people who were already arrested..
Images of suspects continue to be displayed to shoppers on a large city centre screen in Birmingham.. Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has been in Manchester, where more than 100 premises in the city and in nearby Salford were looted during disturbances.. and Merseyside Police have released CCTV images of suspects thought to be involved in rioting..
And while the Courts can hand out sentences the likes of 9 months for stealing £1.85 worth of bottled water in the vain hope stiff jail terms will stop looting in the future, those sentences are simply going to cause more resentment towards the Law and those who enforce it..

We might take a page from an Indian approach to the Law.. The 'Lok Adalat'.. or the People's Court.. is gaining popularity among locals in Tangmarg town of Baramulla district in India's northern Jammu and Kashmir state with its quick redressal of their grievances..
The Legal Services Committee of Tangmarg recently conducted a mega Lok Adalat and resolved approximately 500 pending cases..
Speaking to the media, Mohammad Abdullah Pal, a beneficiary from Srinagar, highlighted the importance of the Lok Adalat for the poor..
"We are very happy that the Lok Adalat (People's Court) has been convened here (in Tangmarg). People are not aware about the cases and courts. A lot of money is consumed during the trial of cases.. in the general courts.. and it involves many other things as well.. But this thing does not happen in the Lok adalat.. The judges lay down the Law as they see it and the cases are solved in front of the concerned parties in a dignified manner.."
Some might say a return to feudalism.. others might say empowering the community..

Many times we have mentioned, and decried the lack of 'ethic' in this country.. The common attitude that big ticket items, the likes of a house, are the 'right' of the working class, We have devalued our own worth, through decades of false expectation..
A lesson we should have learned well, some 70 years ago when last our economic house of cards collapsed.. And perhaps the worst of this situation is the expectations we have passed willy-nilly to the population of countries which never had them before..
A Serbian, 30 years ago, would consider himself lucky to have, say, a car. That same man may have willingly put his name of a two-year waiting list for that car.. and have accumulated a sizable down payment..
That same Serbian today, is waiting to be among the ranks of those in the Eurozone.. at which point Western Capitalism will sweep through the country. Those who saved for a 50% down payment on that car.. will be looking at 5% down and the rest spread over 5 years..
Mind you, that same Serbian, having been likely raised by the USSR, will likely have a saleable skill.. and skilled machinists, lathe operators, millwrights, welders, carpenters.. will be in demand in the rest of Europe, and indeed, in North America..
But we, the overindulged.. must re-evaluate our own mindsets.. and encourage our youth, those among the terminally bewildered, to take pride in having earned a days wage.. in having produced something tangible at the end of an eight hour shift..
And we must get a firm grip on the reality of what a job is worth.. What has actually been accomplished..
The fact is indisputable, that in a Capitalist system, there are going to be the rich, the middle class, and the lower class. The problem arises, when the lower class wants, without any effort on their own part, that which the middle and the rich have.. It is far too easy to stand and shout 'I'm as good as anyone else'.. when the fact of the matter is simply that many are not..
Talent comes in many forms, and should be rewarded according to their relative contribution to society as a whole..
But we make a mockery of this, and stockpile fuel for uprisings the likes seen across this country, when we see Bank Executives being gifted a million or more, while their business lost money on the year.. When we allow trading mechanisms the likes of short-selling to direct our markets.. And when we throw good money after bad, raising our taxes and cutting our social services.. to fund foreign markets..
And this brings us to the impracticality of the Eurozone, and the single currency..
That type of partisan wrangling which we saw in the States a fortnight ago, is magnified by the machinations of member countries in confederations the likes of the Eurozone.. When the financial health of the group depends upon that of it's weakest member, all are dragged down.. German, French, British taxpayers are expected to gift money they themselves don't have.. so Greece, Eire, Portugal, and possibly Spain and Italy can meet both their government payrolls, but the interest payments on the loans already accrued..
This is no way to run a United States of Europe..

Texas Governor Rick Perry entered the Republican presidential race today and jolted the crowded field gathered for an old fasioned 'GOP Barbeque' seeking to unseat President Barack Obama.. casting a shadow all the way back to the Midwest.. site of an important early test of his rivals' strength..
Perry told voters in a conference call yesterday from Columbia, South Carolina, that he wants to take on Barack.. and said that “I full well believe I'm going to win.”
About an hour later, he outlined his principles in a speech at a conservative conference in Charleston, South Carolina, declaring that if elected president, he would work to make Washington as “inconsequential” to Americans' lives as possible..
He accused Obama of providing “rudderless” leadership at home and abroad.. He declared that he wants to cut taxes and free businesses from the shackles of regulation to spark an economic recovery.. Perry spoke only a few hours before the release of results from a straw poll in Iowa, the state which holds the first nominating contest next year..
Voting started at 11 a.m. EDT..1500 GMT.. and was to run until 5 p.m. EDT.. 2100 GMT..
Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney leads national polls and many states' surveys for the chance to challenge Barack, who is considered vulnerable in next year's election due to lingering high unemployment and the sputtering economic recovery.. But there is no shortage of rivals looking to emerge as the top alternative to Romney, who lost the nomination in 2008 to Arizona Senator John McCain..
Even before he officially entered the race.. polls of Republican voters showed Perry running only a few percentage points behind Romney.. who has been emphasizing his business background to persuade voters he can turn the economy around..
But many conservatives have not embraced him because of his past support as Massachusetts governor.. for abortion and gay rights and a health care reform package used by Obama as a model for legislation that Republicans loathe.. Evangelical Christians, a key part of the Republican base, also look askance at Mr. Romney's Mormon faith..

It must be noted..
Fidel Castro marked his 85th birthday.. outside of the public spotlight today.. with little fanfare around the aging revolutionary icon who is rarely seen in public these days but still casts a long shadow over Cuban society..
There were no announced celebrations of Castro's birthday, though the previous night two dozen musical acts from across Latin America held a concert in his honor..
"What we say in the songs of our invited artists will be little next to what he deserves," Alfredo Vera, one of the organizers, said late Friday.. "Congratulations, beloved and eternal comandante."..
The former president didn't make it to his own birthday bash.. hardly a surprise since he appears infrequently since he stepped down in 2006.. at first temporarily, and then permanently in 2008..
A gregarious public speaker as president, Castro is seen publicly these days in official still photographs and video footage, such as recent images showing him with Raul and a convalescing Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez..
Castro seemed unsteady on his feet when he made a surprise showing at a Communist Party Congress in April.. walking to his seat with the help of an aide.. It was at that same gathering that the party for the first time named a Leadership Council without him on it, as Fidel left his last official position..

2011-08-10T11:46:00.027Z

Three men who were patrolling their neighbourhood in Birmingham, were run down and killed last night.. during the 4th straight night of riots in London and the larger cities across England.. The men, from the Asian Muslim community, were run over and killed as they protected property.. as the unrest spread to cities including Manchester, Salford, Liverpool, Nottingham and Birmingham..
Prime Minister David Cameron has bolstered the number of police to be on duty tonight.. and this time, he has water cannon at his disposal.. He also has the go-ahead to issue police with plastic bullets..
He promised a 'fightback' on those who have run amok.. looting, and destroying buildings throughout the country.. He told the nation this afternoon.. that over 750 arrests have been made in London alone.. with more than 167 of those already charged.. This has necessitated the Courts calling in more staff to deal with those facing Court appearances for their part in these riots..
And, police are still sifting through video evidence, identifying others not yet in custody.. but who soon will be.. Cameron said police had the legal backing to use any tactics necessary to bring the rioting across England under control, including using baton rounds..
Speaking after a meeting of the government's Cobra emergency committee, he said: "This continued violence is simply not acceptable, and it will be stopped.."We will not put up with this in our country. We will not allow a culture of fear to exist on our streets."
While London itself was relatively quiet, likely due to the presence of 16 thousand police on the streets.. It was felt in Birmingham, Bristol, Newcastle, Manchester and Liverpool.. and in those cities, more than 200 have been arrested..
Cameron continued to say our British society was 'sick'.. that the attitude of many reflects their inability to distinguish between 'rights' and 'privileges'.. and that 'phony Human Rights' issues will not be considered as a defence..
Parliament will re-sit tomorrow.. and it will be of exceeding interest to see what measures the government will enact to deal with the possibility of such civil insurrection continuing..
And to add more fuel to this fire.. London Mayor Boris Johnson.. himself a Tory.. is now at odds with Cameron on proposed cuts to London's policing budget.. The Prime Minister says he did not blame Boris for wanting more money but said there would be no reduction in "visible policing".. Just how that's defined, is as yet unclear..
Downing Street has said the violence would not change police funding plans.. but London Labour MPs are demanding a "moratorium" on police cuts in the City..
Speaking ahead of the Cobra meeting this morning, Boris said "robust policing" was needed and, with the Olympics being held in London next year, people had to be "absolutely confident in our policing.."
Boris went on to say "If you ask me if I think there is a case for cutting police budgets in light of these events then my answer to that would be 'no'.. I think that case was always pretty frail and it has been substantially weakened..This is not a time to think about making substantial cuts in police numbers."..

The Bank of England has cut its UK growth forecast for 2011 from 1.8% to about 1.5%.. warning that the "headwinds are growing stronger by the day"..
Bank governor Mervyn King said Europe's debt crisis and fears of contraction in the US overshadowed the world economy..
King told a press conference that the UK economy had weakened since May, adding that inflation was still on course to hit 5% this year..
And while this is hitting those on fixed incomes.. those dependant on dividend payments.. it must be said that the Bank of England's maintaining it's low 0.5% rate is keeping inflation at bay, at least for the time being..
A recent survey of the Consumer Index indicates that the normal British family, after taking care of bills the likes of mortgages.. electricity.. gas.. petrol.. groceries.. is left with something more than £50 a month..
European and US stock markets suffered more large falls.. led by steep declines in banking shares..
In nervous trading, the focus turned to France.. where the French government denied it would follow the US and lose its top-grade AAA credit rating..
Societe Generale bank, whose shares fell up to 20%, was also forced to deny it was under financial pressure..
France's Cac share index ended down 5.5%.. The UK's FTSE lost 3%.. and Wall Street's Dow Jones had fallen 3.2%..
The FTSE fell by 158 points to 5,007, taking £41bn off the value of the index. It has now lost almost 15% in the last nine trading sessions..
Italy's FTSE MIB was down 6.7%..
Shares in Societe Generale ended 14.7% lower..
UK banking shares were also hit, with Barclays down 8.7%, Royal Bank of Scotland 7.3%, and HSBC 5.3%..
"The banks have all got exposure of some degree or another to sovereign debts," said David Buik, of BGC Partners..
"And none of the banks are going to get away scot-free. There are going to be writedowns."..

The USA is bigger.. older.. more Hispanic and Asian.. and less wedded to marriage and traditional families than it was in 1990.. It also is less enamored of kids.. more embracing of several generations living under one roof.. more inclusive of same-sex couples.. more cognizant of multiracial identities.. more suburban, less rural and leaning more to the South and West..
Results of the 2010 Census have been pouring out all year.. an avalanche of statistics detailing the population characteristics of states.. counties and cities..
But the Census represents more than just a current snapshot..
The end of the first decade of the 21st century marks a turning point in the nation's social, cultural, geographic, racial and ethnic fabric..
It's a shift so profound that it reveals an America that seemed unlikely a mere 20 years ago.. one that will influence the nation for years to come in everything from who is elected to run the country.. states.. and cities.. to what type of houses will be built and where..
The metamorphosis over just two decades stuns even demographers and social observers..
"It was always predicted that we would be diverse, but it's happened faster than anyone predicted," says Cheryl Russell, former Editor in Chief of American Demographics magazine.. now Editorial Director of New Strategist Publications..
The black-white racial dynamics that have dominated much of the nation's history have been scrambled by the explosive growth of Hispanics.. In most southern states where the black-white legacy has deep roots.. Hispanics have accounted for most of the population gains during the past decade..
"An entire Venezuela's worth of Hispanics was added in just those two decades.." says Robert Lang, an urban sociologist at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas.. That's about 30 million, or half of the nation's growth since 1990..
"By 2050, Americans will look back at the controversies around immigration, controversies about diversity and wonder what the big deal was..".

The rally that lifted stocks on Wall Street and in Asia began to lose steam this afternoon in Europe, in the aftermath of a sobering message from the U.S. Federal Reserve..
The Euro Stoxx 50 index of Eurozone blue chips moved in and out of positive territory, and was up 0.3 percent in afternoon trading.. while the FTSE 100 index was up 0.7 percent.. BNP Paribas, the French bank, fell 3.4 percent, dragging on the European market..
French President Nicolas Sarkozy cut short his vacation and promised to pare down huge debts to try to allay rising concerns that France could be the next triple A-rated economy to suffer a ratings downgrade following the United States..
Some analysts have warned that France — the world's fifth-biggest economy and a driver of the eurozone.. can't afford to keep bailing out poorer European states.. especially at a time when its own growth rates are moderating..
Sarkozy.. who, along with other European leaders, has come under criticism for staying on holiday as the markets were gripped by fear.. cut short his vacation on the French Riviera with his pregnant wife to summon key government ministers for an emergency meeting on the financial crisis.. Sarkozy said he's asked Finance Minister Francois Baroin to prepare a list of measures to guarantee the government attains its deficit-reduction targets.. He'll take a decision on which measures to implement at an Aug. 24 meeting with Prime Minister Francois Fillon.. Baroin and Budget Minister Valerie Pecresse will be in attendance.. He also reiterated his call for a constitutional change requiring balanced budgets..
France has for years failed to deliver on its deficit reduction promises..
No new measures were announced, but Mr. Sarkozy insisted that “commitments to reducing the deficit are inviolable and will be maintained.”

Roger Martin.. the dean of the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto.. has a bone to pick with rating agency Standard & Poor’s.. and he took to the Internet last night to air out his frustration..
In an online column posted on Reuters’ website.. Martin unleashed his fury.. arguing that no one should take S&P seriously because it got so much wrong leading up to the financial crisis..
That line of thinking has been heard before, but Martin took it to another level.. arguing that S&P shouldn’t be taken seriously because the people who work for the rating agency are sub-standard analysts..
“If you are any good at all at rating the riskiness of debt instruments, you will not be working for a couple hundred thousand a year at S&P.. you will be working for yourself.. or for the bond trading desk of an investment bank or a bond hedge fund making tens of millions of dollars per year.. or a lot more if you are running the hedge fund..” he wrote in his post..
But this wasn’t just an enraged rant.. He covered his bases and took the time to negate some rebuttals before someone could use them against him..
“Some may argue that no.. these people are public servants..
Like teachers or judges, those who rate bonds business think it is a higher calling...” he wrote..
“That is a pretty difficult argument to make.. S&P is a subsidiary of publicly-traded corporation McGraw-Hill.. S&P is driven to help McGraw-Hill march its quarterly earnings ever forward lest bad things happen to both subsidiary and parent.. This is hardly the environment in which we are likely to find a huge agglomeration of public servants.”..
The whole thing is worth a read.. But in case you don’t get around to taking a look, it should be noted that Martin admits he agrees with S&P on the downgrade.. “I am, by the way, not saying that the circus in Washington didn’t deserve an immediate smack-down, before the real one it will be getting in 15 months time..”.

Trading in U.S. equity index futures suggested Wall Street stocks would open modestly lower, hardly surprising considering the 4.7 percent rise in the Standard & Poor’s 500 index yesterday, which came a day after the market bombed..
The Fed’s pledge to hold short-term interest rates near zero for at least two more years to support the faltering U.S. economy.. “has helped to stabilize sentiment in equities and other risky asset markets.. at least for now,” analysts at Standard Chartered wrote in a research commentary..
But.. they added.. “The heavy emphasis on downside risks to growth suggests the pendulum of investor sentiment can quickly rotate back to a more risk-averse stance in coming days.”..
It's a sure sign the market's volatility is not settling down.. Stress indicators suggested that the turmoil would continue..
European markets are down this afternoon right across the board.. with France warned it could lose it's Moody's rating, down to double-A.. the Cac is down more than 200 points..
One has to wonder when Paris will see a repeat of it's student riots.. this time with the contentious point being the economy..

China launched its first aircraft carrier for a maiden run today, a step likely to boost patriotic pride at home and jitters abroad about Beijing's naval ambitions..
The long-awaited debut of the vessel.. a refitted former Soviet craft.. marked a step forward in China's long-term plan to build a carrier force that can project power into the Asian region, where seas are spanned by busy shipping lanes and thorny territorial disputes..
"Its symbolic significance outweighs its practical significance," said Ni Lexiong, an expert on Chinese maritime policy at the Shanghai University of Political Science and Law..
"We're already a maritime power, and so we need an appropriate force, whether that's aircraft carriers or battleships, just like the United States or the British empire did.."..

2011-08-09T00:26:00.013Z

Well.. it would appear the mob has yet to be sated..
And not just London.. violence and looting in Birmingham, a police station set alight in that city..Liverpool.. Bristol as well.. A Sony distribution center in Essex.. some half an hour from the City, is at this moment burning out of control.. eclipsing any blaze yet in London.. Not to minimize those buildings and businesses in the City which are burnt out shells..
But by far the worst is being played out in London.. the Boroughs of Croydon.. Hackney.. Ealing.. Peckham..
It is literally unbelievable.. kids in their early teens to men with dollys.. breaking into and looting shops right down their respective High Streets..
A four storey furniture store burning so fiercely, it can only be compared to the Blitz..
Police are saying, and quite rightly so, that this thievery is the driving force behind these riots.. That the mob, in any of the cities affected, is driven by nothing more than loot.. The average member of the crowds on the streets this morning couldn't even tell you who Mark Duggan was..
We can only hope that this insanity will burn itself out.. no pun intended..
But not tonight..

An update.. Cameron met with his major players in a COBRA meeting this morning.. and has recalled Parliament to deal with this countrywide phenomena..
This starts with a warning.. that the police will 'vigorously' enforce the law tonight.. 16 thousand police will be patrolling London.. and after three nights running riot, they're fed up..
And so too, is the silent majority.. Communities in Liverpool have instituted a voluntary curfew and plan on patrolling their own streets.. And while this might be seen as a return to vigilante mentality, these locals walking their beat will be armed with mobile phones..
This civil unrest.. this enormous display of mob mentality.. should be close to collapsing under it's own weight.. But if we see thousands on the streets of our major cities tonight.. the odds are we'll begin to see more fatalities..
One man was shot in his car last night.. Police were not involved in that one..

And in the early hours of the evening.. violence has broken out in Manchester.. Reports indicate crowds of youths in their hundreds have attacked a major shopping center..
Nothing yet from the City, but there will be as this fourth night of violence kicks off..

We mentioned yesterday, that Barack was going to address the nation, with the focus to be the economy.. He did his best to issue assurances that we'll all pull through this.. but other than platitudes, he had nothing to add.. He even found time to comment on the US withdrawal from Afghanistan.. about the only bright light left on his tree..
The didn't impress the markets though..
The Dow closed more than 600 down.. the FTSE down 187.. losses posted across the board in all European markets..
Fears were were also reflected in the price of gold and oil..
Gold.. always seen as a safe investment in times of economic uncertainty.. jumped to a new record high of $1,697/troy ounce..
Meanwhile.. the price of oil slipped further.. reflecting concerns that weak global growth could lead to a fall in demand..
If the Western markets follow those in the Far East.. they'll open down in the morning.. And the question rears it's ugly head.. 'How long will this sell-off continue and how far will it go..?'
As for the opening markets along the Pacific Rim.. Asian equity markets were sharply down early Tuesday as investors fearing a possible global economic slowdown continued to flee stocks..
Japan's Nikkei 225 index plunged 4.4% to 8,699.52 in the morning session, while Australia's benchmark S&P/ASX-200 index lost 5.1% to 3,782.20. New Zealand's benchmark NZX 50 index was down 3.7% to 3,069.08..
Michael McCarthy, chief strategist at Sydney-based stockbroker CMC Markets, said a major concern was that the U.S. economy was slowing down..
Confidence in the future of the worlds largest economy is of grave concern to Asian business, which is to a large extent.. export based.. And the US buys more than any other trading partner..
It remains to be seen what Barack might decide to slap an import duty on.. and what with the state of the Greenback.. the value of their contracted goods diminishes on a daily basis..

A record was set today on Wall Street.. four consecutive days of losses exceeding 100 point per..
The sell-off hasn't stopped yet.. and as Asian markets closed down across the board.. European markets opened to a trend that couldn't seem to be shaken..
Bank shares remained among the worst hit with RBS down 8%..
HSBC was down 5%.. Barclays by 4.8% and Lloyds by 3%..
However, there was better news on the bond markets where the yield on both Spanish and Italian government bonds fell for the second day..
Mind you, the intervention of the European Central Bank is the reason Spain and Italy were, for the second day running, able to reduce the rates of their government bonds.. and investors understand that a bailout call comes from either Italy or Spain, this whole house of cards could collapse..
It will be interesting to see the report of the meeting of Eurozone Finance Ministers.. just what can realistically be done, without deviating from austerity measures and risking a credit downgrade, is what will doubtless be mooted..
One more factor these Ministers must take in, are the riots in the UK..
The underlying causes are common to all Europeans.. and what is sweeping London could just as easily be Rome.. or Paris, again.. or Berlin..

The U.S. Federal Reserve Board sketched a dim outlook for the economy today, suggesting it will remain weak for two more years.. As a result, the Fed said it expects to keep its key interest rate near zero through mid-2013..
It's the first time the Fed has pegged its “exceptionally low” rates to a specific date.. The Fed had previously said only that it would keep its key rate at record lows for “an extended period.”..
Stocks plunged after the statement was released, but then shot up shortly after.. The Dow Jones industrial average.. sank more than 176 points, then recovered its losses and gained more than 120 points in late-afternoon trading..
Investors shifted money into the relative safety of long-term Treasurys, whose yields fell.. The Fed's two-year time frame for any rate increase underscored a stark reality: A sluggish economy and painfully high unemployment have become chronic..
The Fed did hold out the promise of further help down the road but did not spell out what else it might do.. and analysts are left scratching their heads, wondering just what magic federal financiers might have up their sleeves..

2011-08-08T14:09:00.005Z

Thoughts to close the day.. and what tomorrow might bring..
The situation in London serious.. this makes three days of riots in the City.. The violence is skipping through the Borough, with cars set alight in Lewisham.. and a bus and shop were set ablaze in Peckham.. A large furniture shop in Croydon is also burning fiercely..
In Hackney, police sealed off an area after police car windows were smashed..
The Prime Minister has cut short his holiday.. and is due to land this evening.. He'll be having immediate talks with Home Secretary Theresa May and Acting Metropolitan Police Commissioner Tim Godwin..
We've mentioned the spark which ignited this inferno earlier.. But it must be noted that this is no longer a protest for a Police bungling the treatment of the man they shot last Friday.. This is an expression of fear and despair..
Those who vandalize.. those who attack police lines.. those who toss bricks at policemen.. are there for two reasons..
One, which should be addressed by the government regardless of the cost as quickly as possible.. is because they're utterly fed up with their representatives in Government..
They're fed up with promises of 'outreach programs'.. as Community Centers close in their scores..
They're fed up with an educational system which prepares them for nothing..
They're fed up to the point that the typical British 'stiff upper lip' is risible..
And two.. of course there is that element bent soley on chaos and anarchy.. those who's prime objective is the diversion a riot affords for theft.. As of late this afternoon and early this evening.. Police have been deployed in force in Hackney.. Peckham.. and Lewisham..
And this sentiment is not confined to the City.. there were fears trouble may spread further afield.. as police in riot gear were deployed in Birmingham City Centre after scores of youths rampaged through the shopping area, smashing windows..
London Mayor Boris Johnson has cancelled his holidays.. as mentioned earlier, Home Secretary Theresa May returned, and is holding talks with senior officers at the Met..

An update on the markets..
A terrible day in New York.. as the Dow dropped 600 points in selloffs through the session.. its biggest point loss in a single day since December, 1 2008.. Obama spoke this afternoon.. saying the United States knew well before the S&P downgrade that it had a debt problem..
He said "The U.S. will always be a triple-A country despite what rating agencies say," .. Brave talk from a man who's floundering.. reminiscent of Pierre Trueau's comment when asked by a repoerter what he thought of his drop in the polls.. Trudeau turned, and answered "Polls are for dogs.."
The good news, according to the President, is the debt is a "solvable" problem that can be addressed through tax reform and spending cuts..
But not the one he recently signed into Law..
Investors don't seem to agree. The Dow plunged another 100 points to hover around 500 after the president's speech..
As stocks reeled, gold surged today by $68 to a record $1,720/troy ounce..

Global markets are reflecting international sentiments on the state of the American and European 'recoveries'..
When trading started this new week in the Far East.. Japan's Nikkei and Hong Kong's Hang Seng indexes lost 2.2%... while South Korea's Kospi dropped 3.8%..
Last week saw trillions of dollars wiped from the value of global markets, with the Dax losing about 13% of its value, the FTSE 100 dropping almost 10% and the Dow ending the week 5.8% lower.. This morning in London and Paris the FTSE 100 and Cac 40 indexes lost more than 2%, while Frankfurt's Dax was down almost 3%.. The Dow Jones was down 1.6% in early trading..
Yesterday, the European Central Bank announced it would be buying up Italian and Spanish bonds, in an effort to shore up those flagging economies and lower the yield rates.. and indeed Yields on Spanish and Italian bonds fell sharply after the bank's move..
The yield on Spanish 10-year bonds.. an indication of the risk associated with lending Spain money.. fell from more than 6% to about 5.2%.. Yields on Italian bonds fell by a similar amount..
However, investors seem underwhelmed by this move from the ECB.. Confidence in this 'recovery' is fading fast, and it would appear the smart money's being put into commodities, much to the dismay of industrialists..
Essentially, bonds are essentially IOUs issued by governments or companies, to raise cash.. Governments issue new bonds to help pay maturing bonds.. which is why it is so important that investors continue to buy them.. If demand falls off.. governments are unable to pay their outstanding debts..
This may seem to any normal person, to be an exceedingly tenuous manner in which to run a country's economy.. being dependant on future sales to pay the interest on that bought in the past.. But it's this system which has allowed the US, and Eurozone countries, to amass trillions of dollars in debt..
The figures themselves.. the likes of $14.2 trillion.. are incomprehensible not only to the man on the street, but to traders, industrialists.. and Finance Ministers alike.. It's all 'electronic money'.. never seen.. rarely backed by tangible assets..
What a way to run a 'global economy'..
This intervention by the ECB is seen as a short-term measure to help calm stock markets.. but what investors want to see most of all is highly-indebted countries reducing their levels of debt, by spending less and raising more in revenues..
And in this economic climate and social condition.. that is impossible..
Other debt crises over the past three decades have typically involved smaller countries.. including Canada in the early-to-mid-1990s.. that were able to lean on the larger economies of the world to drive growth while they took steps to clean up their own books..
But unlike earlier predicaments, this one is not borne of a normal, cyclical recession, where the economy expands and then contracts when supply exceeds demand and business inventories get too high..
Rather, the U.S. and Europe.. still by far the world’s two most important economic blocs.. are mired in a so-called balance-sheet recession, where the combination of too much debt and too little confidence suppresses demand for a long period of time. These kinds of recessions are much harder to pull out of, as Japan has discovered since its real-estate crash two decades ago..
Finance Minister Jim Flaherty says the recent stock market turmoil may cause some turbulence for the Canadian economy..
But Flaherty says Canada is well-positioned to withstand the “global headwinds.”..
He says Canada is “not an island” and may eventually be affected by the uncertainty about U.S. growth and Europe's continuing debt problems..
But Flaherty notes that Canada's budgetary position is among the strongest in the world and its financial systems remain strong..
Mind you.. Canada has, to a large extent, a 'work ethic'.. and it's education policies lead students into subjects they have a talent for..
It's a country which should get more attention than it does.. but perhaps it is to Canadians advantage.. to be nothing more than a substantial shadow in this global Panto..
Lets them get on with dealing with their own problems..

For three nights running, there have been crowds rioting in the streets of London's poorer boroughs.. They've started early this afternoon, with Hackney High Street in north London seeing running confrontations between the police and crowds of youths.. Since Saturday night, more than 215 people have been arrested in Tottenham, with some 30 facing charges related to the Riot Act and looting..
Just to remind us of what began this civil disobedience.. a Tottenham man, Mark Duggan, was shot and killed by police when he was stopped to answer for weapons charges.. The family and all the uncles and aunts appeared at the main police station asking questions concerning this killing.. When this began, it was a peaceful request for information.. but the police did not appear to talk to the original group.. and this was the spark that ignited a plethora of issues, leading to this violence..
As mentioned, these riots are taking place in the poorest sections of the City.. Unemployment is rife.. education levels are low.. and the prospects for many in those affected boroughs are realistically nil..
It is to be noted, that the population of the areas destroyed, is mainly black.. They feel, perhaps with some justification, that they are not being protected by the police, but are rather targets for police abuse of powers..
We'll see if this escalates again this evening, but realistically, while the underlying problems remain, so will those disenchanted continue to vent their frustrations..
And unfortunately, in this economic situation.. there is little the government can afford to do to relieve the basic causes of this unrest..

2011-08-07T22:08:00.002Z

Another short note to start the day..
Riots are in full swing in London.. not the entire city mind you.. just a couple of the poorest Burroughs.. Tottenham in particular.. However, Enfield is feeling it tonight..

What is disturbing is the numbers calling talk shows.. saying they want the army sent in..
As it is.. there have been more than 50 arrests since last night's fracas.. and if the full weight of the Law falls on them, they could be sentenced to up to 20 years.. It appears that this is no deterrent though to those who are out on the streets..
This originally kicked off with the Police shooting a suspect.. but seems to have turned into an outlet for all those disenchanted with our economic situation..
It's much the same situation Sarkozy faced this year, with the riots that swept Paris..
The Met says it's investigating that shooting of a suspect.. and no doubt it will take some time before any conclusions are publicly released..
In the meantime.. Tottenham High Street looks as though it's a victim of the Blitz.. and looters are running amok..

Meanwhile, the economic situation continues to worsen..
Asian markets opened with the Nikkei 225 index falling 0.9%.. and South Korea's Kospi down 1.5%...
The consensus is that this market uncertainty will last several weeks.. But considering more than a trillion dollars were wiped off stock holdings last week.. With an increased sense of economic risk, investors were making changes to their asset holdings..
As a result, they sold crude oil on Monday, with the main US contract down almost 3%, on concerns demand would slide..
Gold, meanwhile, gained in Asian trading as investors looked to buy assets that offered less risk..
However.. some analysts said that declines in the stock markets were overdone and the better growth outlook for Asia's main economies meant that investors would use the slump in share prices as a buying opportunity..
One can only hope..
In a letter to European governments, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso called on them to give their "full backing" to the euro currency zone..
He also said governments should rapidly re-assess the European Financial Stability Fund (EFSF) to reduce the risk of contagion in the Eurozone..
His comments further rattled the markets, which closed sharply lower..
The main London and Frankfurt indexes closed 3.4% lower, while the Cac 40 in Paris ended down 3.9%..
In the US, the Dow Jones index was down 3%..
It's difficult not to feel somewhat sorry for Barack.. His star has lost it's shine..
Although perhaps a few misdirected priorities at the beginning of his term has contributed to the lack of confidence he now enjoys..

More, as the Western markets ring their opening bells..

2011-08-06T01:46:00.006Z

A few updates to follow on.. and a couple of issues which cropped up later in the day..
Standard and Poors issued a report late yesterday afternoon.. downgrading the credit rating of the US to AA+ from the triple-A rating it's always held..
And this is a direct result of the cavalier manner their recent loan extension legislation..
It's also a direct hit on Obama, and his fiscal policies.. this downgrade will have major resonance until November next year..
The Americans have lost face, and they know it.. It will take a minor miracle for Barack to regain a fraction of the national confidence which swept him to power..
It also reflects the problems his administration can have, should a contentious issue need to pass legislators quickly..
S&P said in its report issued late on Friday..
"The downgrade reflects our opinion that the fiscal consolidation plan that Congress and the administration recently agreed to falls short of what, in our view, would be necessary to stabilise the government's medium-term debt dynamics.. More broadly, the downgrade reflects our view that the effectiveness, stability, and predictability of American policy making and political institutions have weakened at a time of ongoing fiscal and economic challenges.. The political brinkmanship of recent months highlights what we see as America's governance and policy making becoming less stable.. less effective.. and less predictable than that which we previously believed.."
If there is one trait these fragile global economies cannot endure, it is hubris.. and the American legislative process held the world to ransom for nearly nine days..
Now, there are those who say the American economy can absorb this downgrade.. that S&Ps have 'misinterpreted' the figures.. But others are concerned with the warning from S&P, intimating this would be under review in two years time, and again, this, too, will reflect directly on Barack.. His response was painful platitudes.. "We can come through this.. we will come through this, together.."
Truth is.. that Obama's merely the unfortunate President, to have problems of this magnitude.. He has inherited five decades of profligate spending...
Now the following is a quote from Wikkipedia.. and is perhaps the best in describing economic spirals..
"The usual explanations include numerous factors, especially high consumer debt, ill-regulated markets that permitted overoptimistic loans by banks and investors, the lack of high-growth new industries.. and growing wealth inequality, all interacting to create a downward economic spiral of reduced spending, falling confidence, and lowered production.."
This described the conditions which led to the Great Depression.. which took the world ten years to recover from..
And with the serious concerns about the stability of the Eurozone compounding the effects of the collapse of the world's largest economy.. we, here in Britain, stand somewhat insulated.. but still between a rock and a hard place..
Our two largest trading partners are taking economic bodyblows.. France is looking at an election in 2012.. and uncertainty concerning Sarkozi's future is directly influencing the 'consumer confidence index' in that country..
Italy is carrying a debt load of more than 3 trillion Euros.. and an economy that could well need a bailout of unprecedented size, with terms either Italy or possibly Spain, could accept..
The entire world has mortgaged it's grandchilden's future to pay for a short 50 years of over-indulgence and profligate lending.. and all those economies already salvaged, along with those waiting in the wings.. will need terms that at least show a glim of light at the end of the tunnel..
There has to be a timeframe, even if it be say, thirty years, for the reduction of the principal to the point where it no longer has a direct impact on the man on the street.. To deny that hope, would be to admit the real consequences of our credit society which would only exacerbate the situation..
What hurts.. the unpleasant measures some might call Draconian.. is felt most keenly by those who can least afford it.. Those on pensions and other fixed-income schemes..
When the price of a chocolate bar is 80 pence.. when all the household basics begin costing just that bit more everytime they go out.. pensioners notice..
When electicity and gas bills go up by 16% and 12% respectively.. pensioners notice.. The popular phrase bandied about in the media.. '..eat or heat..' is not an issue to smile about..
It's going to be a reality for some..

As previously mentioned.. there will be a meeting early in the week of the G7 Finance Ministers.. Their primary concern will be the problems Spain and Italy will soon be facing.. It would be catastrophic for both the Eurozone, and the single currency, should either of those countries find themselves needing a bailout..
But this is a global problem.. and Deputy Finance Ministers from the Group of 20 leading economic powers held a conference call on today to discuss the crises in Europe and the United States.. This, according to a Brazilian Finance Ministry official..
Investors are eager to see signs of a coordinated policy response among major economies, which might prevent the crises from spreading or getting worse..
Deputies routinely prepare the ground ahead of meetings by top officials..
A European source said G7 Finance Ministers and central bankers from the largest developed economies could confer by telephone later today.. perhaps tomorrow..

Now.. something to take note of..
Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said earlier this afternoon.. that India is the second fastest-growing large economy in the world, and is widely expected to be among the top three economies in the next two decades..
Addressing the National Conference of Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in New Delhi, Mukherjee said: "The global economy has just witnessed one of its worst crises in recent history and is still suffering from its aftermath. It is a matter of pride for us that the Indian economy experienced only a brief pause in its rapid growth and could recover with an average of over eight percent growth in the years following the out-break of crisis.. In the past two decades, the Indian economy has rapidly globalised.. and from around 2003-04.. it has moved on to a higher trend GDP growth rate of 8.5% to 9% per annum," ..
Not bad.. considering we're looking at a gain of what.. 0.5%..?

A brief mention here..fears over the EuroZone debt crisis spiralling out of control sent Italian bond yields to 14-year highs and the Milan bourse to more than two-year lows this past week.. But those who might be looking for something to stabalise the market will have to consider options which do not include the calling of a snap election.. While Spanish Prime Minister Socrates decided he needed a fresh mandate for his austerity program.. Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi today ruled out calling early elections to stem market panic that has pounded Italian assets and forced his government to bring forward austerity measures..
Berlusconi's conservative government has been weakened by infighting, and the Leftist Opposition has called for a government of technocrats to restore credibility in the country's finances..
Italy is due to go to the polls in 2013..

We mentioned a few days ago.. that the US had 'lost face'..
China.. the largest foreign holder of United States debt.. said earlier today that Washington needed to “cure its addiction to debts” and “live within its means,”.. this diplomatic slap on the wrist came just hours after the rating agency Standard & Poor’s downgraded America’s long-term debt..
The sternly worded commentary, which was released by China’s official Xinhua news agency, was Beijing’s latest effort to express its displeasure with Washington..
Beijing’s reaction to the downgrade was the harshest among foreign leaders though..
Officials in Japan and France said their faith in the United States government remained strong.. The Australian Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, warned against overreacting.. while the Indian Finance Minister, Pranab Mukherjee, said the downgrade had created a “grave” situation, one that would require some time to analyze..
Beijing has a limited field of options though.. it must continue to buy United States Treasury bonds just to protect the value of their investment.. China holds $1.1trillion in US debt.. but, Chinese officials are clearly concerned that the country’s substantial holdings of American debt are being devalued.. The commentary, which was televised throughout the country, was vitriolic in it's assessment of the US.. “The U.S. government has to come to terms with the painful fact that the good old days when it could just borrow its way out of messes of its own making are finally gone,” was part of the story as published in the Chinese press, and reported by the State media..
“China, the largest creditor of the world’s sole superpower, has every right now to demand the United States address its structural debt problems and ensure the safety of China’s dollar assets.. International supervision over the issue of US dollars should be introduced and a new, stable and secured global reserve currency may also be an option to avert a catastrophe caused by any single country,” .. the Xinhua news agency reported..
A 'global reserve currency'.. an interesting, and somewhat threatening thought from such a powerful nation..

A group known as Anonymous announced this afternoon that it has hacked some 70 law enforcement websites across the Southern and Central United States.. in retaliation for the arrests of its sympathizers in the U.S. and Britain..
The group also claimed to have stolen 10 gigabytes of data, including emails, credit card details, and other information from local law enforcement bodies..
"We are releasing a massive amount of confidential information that is sure to embarrass, discredit and incriminate police officers across the U.S..." said the group.. adding that it hoped the leak would "demonstrate the inherently corrupt nature of law enforcement using their own words" and "disrupt and sabotage their ability to communicate and terrorize communities."
And they want to trust this medium, to prompt issues to be raised on the floor of the House..?

In the deadliest day for American forces in the nearly decade-long war in Afghanistan.. insurgents shot down a Chinook transport helicopter on today, killing 30 Americans and 7 Afghan commandos on board..
American officials said later this evening that 22 of the dead were members of a Navy SEAL unit, along with other American servicemembers and the Afghan unit.. The helicopter was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade in the Tangi Valley of Wardak Province to the west of Kabul, one coalition official said, though others said the exact weapon remained in question..
Now if ever there was doubt the Taliban posed a threat to the stability of Afghanistan, it has surely been dispelled..
The war against the Taliban is one which has no forseeable end.. There are simply too many of them, and the terrain is not only vast advantage they posess..
As evidenced by the destruction of the Chinook and all aboard..
Russia eventually had to say 'enough' and walk away..
The time for us to see whether the pro-Western government of Karzai sinks.. or swims.. on it's own..
We can't afford not to..

2011-08-05T00:26:00.007Z

A note to start the day..
Markets across the Far East including Australia have started sharply down..
This is less profit taking, and more to do with fears concerning the state of Italy and Spain.. and the crises looming over those two economies..
The Nikkei opened down two percent, and as this is written is down more than 4..
It's the same story in Australia, and the rest of the Pacific Rim..
This, in anticipation of unemployment figures from the US..
As it was, the Dow closed down following a record losing day..

And as this trading day begins.. we're watching the FTSE losing more than 0.5% every fifteen minutes in early trading.. The Asian markets closed down on average 4.5%.. and this trend is looking as though it will continue..
Italy opened down 4%, which forced suspension of trading on some stocks.. That, apparently, has been lifted for the time being..
And keep in mind, American unemployment figures will be released later this morning.. The effects of another rise in those out of work, will reverberate around the world..
An update on those unemployment figures..
Hiring picked up slightly in July and the unemployment rate dipped to 9.1%. The modest improvement may.. emphasis on 'may'.. quiet fears of another recession after the worst losses on Wall Street in nearly three years..
Employers added 117,000 jobs last month, according to Labor Department figures.. That's better than the past two months, which were also revised higher..
The gains gave the stock market a small lift a day after the Dow Jones industrial average fell more than 500 points..
Stock futures turned positive this afternoon after the report was released.. The report "should lessen fears that the recovery is truly faltering," said Jim O'Sullivan, chief economist at MF Global.. The emphasis on 'should'..
Still, the economy needs twice as many net jobs per month to quickly bring unemployment figures.. The rate has topped 9% in every month except two since the recession officially ended in June 2009..
Businesses added 154,000 jobs across the industrial sector.. But State governments cut 37,000 jobs last month.. Still, 23,000 of those losses were almost entirely because of the shutdown of Minnesota's state government..
But again, the worldwide consequences caused by the state of the American economy continue to be manifest.. Almost £50billion was wiped off the value of the FTSE 100 yesterday, with the listing for the UK's top 100 companies closing at 5393, down 191 points or 3.43%.. wiping out nearly £50billion from its value..
It was the biggest fall on the index for more than two years.. Since last Friday morning, £124.97billion, or 8.17%, has been wiped off its value..
The banking sector has suffered the greatest falls in London - including a 14% drop for state-owned Royal Bank of Scotland, whose half-year results revealed a £1.4billion loss..
But there are those suggesting the relief may only be temporary..
"When markets get into one of these negative sentiment spirals, it will take more than one good set of numbers to offset that," according to Nomura economist Peter Westaway..

The Liberal Democrats have their annual Party Conference slated for next month.. and one of the issues to be raised, is the decriminalisation of many 'recreational' drugs..
There is a significant number of delegates who would sooner see the money spent on prosecuting those who use drugs the likes of cannabis, put instead towards rehabilitation and education..
Delegates will debate a motion which would become party policy if it wins support at the Birmingham conference..
But they would still need the agreement of the Conservatives before an official government inquiry could be set up..
This motion will urge the government to set up an expert panel to consider the decriminalisation of personal drug use.. insisting that current drugs laws are "harmful" and "ineffective"..
Drug users would no longer face a prison sentence or a fine but would be required to go for treatment or counselling. Penalties for drug dealing would remain the same as they are now..
The motion states that there is "increasing evidence that the UK's drugs policy is not only ineffective and not cost-effective but actually harmful, impacting particularly severely on the poor and marginalised"..
It continues.. "Individuals, especially young people, can be damaged both by the imposition of criminal records and by a drug habit, and... the priority for those addicted to all substances must be health care, education and rehabilitation, not punishment..
Finally, something eminently sensible to be debated.. with the possibility of real and positive change for this depressed and bewildered society..

While tropical storms are starting to build up in the Caribbean.. China warned residents and alerted emergency relief centers today to prepare for a powerful typhoon forecast to hit the country's heavily populated eastern coast..
Forecasters report that Typhoon Muifa should hit the mainland late tomorrow or early Sunday close to Shanghai.. a commercial hub with a population of 23 million.. the The website of the Shanghai Daily newspaper warned residents to take precautions to prevent injuries and losses..
More than 9,000 fishing vessels were called back to ports in Zhejiang and Fujian provinces while officials in charge of disaster relief centers in the region were told to get ready to disperse their materials, according to the official Xinhua News Agency..
Zhejiang's flood headquarters told authorities in coastal areas to prepare for evacuations, Xinhua said..
An emergency message from the U.S. government to Americans living or traveling in East China suggested they "stock up on emergency supplies of food, water, and cash in case of storm-related power outages."..

We've not paid that much attention to the Middle East of late.. For the most part, it had become a non-story.. with the same protests continuing what was the 'Arab Spring'.. But..tens of thousands of people marched across Syria on the first Friday of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.. stepping up defiance of President Bashar al-Assad's bloody crackdown on unrest as his tanks again shelled Hama and massed outside another restive city..
This is one conflict that is problematic for the West.. There is certainly no chance of any intervention the likes of that seen in Libya, yet it reflects badly on our politics, which appears to favour freedom fighters in one Arab country, while ignoring another completely..
It took 'til last night, for the UN to even issue a formal condemnation of the violence against civilians in Syria.. a move that should have been made weeks ago..
Ramadan started this past week.. and still al Assad's tanks and soldiers shoot and kill unarmed protesters..
Our entire strategy in the Middle East needs a re-think here.. If we can justify intervention in one theater.. we must be prepared either to support this movement as a whole, or pull out entirely..
Hama residents feared higher casualty figures than the 135 estimated killed.. since the military assault began on Sunday on the city of 7 hundred thousand people in central Syria..

Something else to watch, is the investigation into the dealings of Christine Laguard when she was France's Finance Minister.. The IMF was aware this investigation was imminent, but at the time she was still thought to be the best for the job..

2011-08-04T17:11:00.002Z

And as we mentioned.. now attention is turned away from the American legislative nonsense.. it has returned with a vengeance to the Euro, and the problems facing the Eurozone..
New York's Dow Jones index fell more than 3% in early trading, while Frankfurt's Dax and London's FTSE 100 indexes dropped almost 3.5%..
European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso's warning that the sovereign debt crisis is spreading spooked the markets.. and 'spooked' may well be an understatement..
And gold as an investment, something we have touted for years now.. sees the value of that advice evidenced by the metal hitting a new all-time high at $1,677/troy ounce..
One can safely bet Gordon Brown wishes he hadn't sold off this country's gold reserves some 5 years ago..
Banks were hit particularly hard, with Lloyds Banking Group down 9.9% and Royal Bank of Scotland falling 7% in London.. Societe Generale losing 6.9% in Paris.. and Commerzbank dropping 6.8% in Frankfurt..
Miners also suffered, with Vedanta Resources slumping 9.5% and Xstrata and Eurasian Natural Resources falling more than 8% in London..
The oil price also slumped on fears that a weaker global recovery would hit demand.. US light crude fell by more than $4 a barrel, or almost 5%, to $87.63. London Brent fell by almost $5 a barrel to $108.85..
Barroso warned that the eurozone debt crisis was spreading beyond the so-called periphery nations of Greece, Portugal and the Republic of Ireland..
He said markets "remain to be convinced that we are taking appropriate steps to resolve the crisis"..
Now the question arises.. 'what can possibly be done, to reverse the damage caused by the collapse of our 'credit society'.. The public is going to take some convincing that legislators have even a glimmer of an idea, following this past week in the US..
Mind you, it's not all bad news today.. Ten years after the Sept. 11 attacks, the American psyche has bounced back better than psychologists predicted.. But that doesn't mean the terrorist attacks didn't leave scars that are only now coming to light..
Psychologists already know that those who experienced loss or personally witnessed the devastation, such as those in New York.. Washington, D.C... and Pennsylvania, were, and continue to be harder hit emotionally than those around the country who were not personally involved.. But a small army of researchers who for a decade have been exploring the emotional wreckage of 9/11 say psychologists overestimated the number of people who would suffer long-term effects — and underestimated the resilience humans can muster in the wake of tragedy..
"The problem with a catastrophic collective trauma like 9/11 is it's not just the place and the buildings that were destroyed.. Many aspects of our social lives have also been distorted and altered," according to psychologist Billie Pivnick of New York, who is among an expected 12,000 psychology professionals in Washington as the American Psychological Association opens its annual meeting today..
It will be of more interest to see what 'long-term effects' this financial debacle has caused.. Unintended consequences are a fact of life in Washington.. as policymakers intent on accomplishing one thing through changes in law or policy fail to anticipate other ways that markets.. businesses.. and consumers might react.. And big actions can sometimes have big negative effects..
The enactment of Prohibition in the 1920s was meant to enhance America's probity, for instance, but it also drove legitimate liquor merchants out of business and opened a lucrative new black-market business to organized crime.. Social Security has saved many seniors from poverty, but many economists also believe it discourages people from saving as much as they should for retirement..
For all the rancor and partisan opportunistic plans.. there were good intentions behind the recent deal to cut government spending and start reducing the national debt, which stands at about $14.3 trillion.. That figure, by the way, reflects nearly the size of the entire U.S. economy..
The debt problem is a real issue, not a partisan one.. if it keeps growing unchecked, America's debt will become unsustainable, requiring far too much taxpayer money just to pay interest on all the money the government borrows.. The Budget Control Act that President Obama signed on August 2 will begin to address the problem, with widespread spending cuts that will be modest over the next two years, then intensify..
Intensify to what degree is the question.. We could be looking at a slowing economy which will do nothing to reduce unemployment..
There will certainly be more pressure on the national debt as unemployment rises and the tax base shrinks..
More quantitative easing by the Fed.. Nobody wants to see a third big bond-buying program..already dubbed QE3..and that includes Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and most of his central bank colleagues.. Even though the Fed has done more to stave off financial calamity than any other government agency, it's become a whipping boy for government-bashers.. and Tea Partiers in particular who want Washington to keep its hands off the economy.. Plus, the Fed has exhausted its most effective monetary-policy tools..since it has already driven interest rates as low as they can go..leaving it dependent upon more arcane measures to shore up the economy..
Just as a side note here.. our Bank of England has once again kept the base interest rate at 0.5%.. an attempt to stave off inflation..
But back to the States.. Even more uncertainty. For a while, there was hope that all the ugly bickering might produce a decisive debt deal that cleared the way for agreement on several contentious issues, so the government could turn to other pressing matters..like the jobs crisis.. Instead, the final deal left all of the toughest matters to be decided later, beginning with a "supercommittee" of an equal number of Republican and Democratic lawmakers that has to come up with $1.5 trillion in spending-cuts-to-be-named-later by the end of this year..
Best of luck to them..

Almost £50bn has been wiped off the value of the FTSE as the EU president warned the eurozone crisis is spreading..
The FTSE ended at 5393, down 191 points or 3.43%, taking £49.8bn from its value..
It's the biggest fall on the FTSE for more than two years..
Since last Friday morning, £124.97billion, or 8.17%, has been wiped off the value of the FTSE 100...The biggest fallers were Inmarsat, down 19.3%, Lloyds Banking Group down 10.19% and Vedanta down 9.39%..
The falls come amid concern about American debt and the state of the eurozone countries..
Must admit, those concerns have a firm basis in fact.. Thie figures today show global stock markets plunging today as investors panicked at the thought that America could slide back into recession and Italy and Spain may need bailouts..
The Dow Jones in the US was down nearly 3 per cent in early trading.. Germany’s Dax and the French Cac fell 3.4 per cent and 4 per cent respectively..
The fears were exacerbated after the President of the European Commission warned that the Eurozone debt crisis is spreading and suggested that future bailout funds may need to be larger..

Now to any normal person, the knowledge we had a Freedom of Information Act passed into law, that freedom of information is what we would get..
Apparently not..
The government says its plans to make more data publicly available will usher in a new era, dubbed "Freedom of Information 2.0"..
This new government The consultation aims to come up with a list of roles and responsibilities for a new Public Data Corporation, responsible for handling transparency..
Issues include how public bodies can be held accountable if they fail to open up.. how data can be most efficiently collected and presented to the public.. and how far information should be made available to businesses to potentially profit from..
Just goes to show.. what a Bill is named, does not reflect the manner in which it will be enacted..

If there were any still wondering what effects this worldwide net would have on the man on the street.. MPs could be forced into a landmark vote on the restoration of the death penalty because of a new e-petitions scheme..
Commons leader Sir George Young has already said they should not ignore voters and shy away from debating the issue..
Sir George warned it would damage democracy to ignore strong opinions among members of the public "or pretend that their views do not exist"..
He spoke out ahead of the publication of the first submissions to the new e-petitions scheme, which could see the most popular appeals discussed in Parliament..
Among the most prominent is one calling for legislation allowing child killers and those who murder on-duty police officers to face execution..
The next logical step, would be to allow registered voters to be issued a code, to allow them to cast a ballot without leaving for comfort of their easy chair..
In light of the recent hacking stories.. this expansion of the franchise to laptops might be the daftest move yet..

2011-08-03T00:14:00.003Z

Finally.. the idiotic drama we've been watching in the US for the past week, has fizzled to an end..
Barack signed a new deal into law last evening.. finishing a Passion Play that has brought the United States into an entirely new light in the eyes of the world..
It raises the debt limit by up to $2.4trillion (£1.5trillion) from $14.3trillion, and makes savings of at least $2.1trillion in 10 years..
The deal was struck after negotiations between Republicans, Democrats and the White House went down to the wire.. a process of one upmanship that came close to bringing world confidence in the US as a leading economy into doubt..
This issue, as in the form it was finally agreed upon.. could have been signed, sealed, and delivered.. without causing 9 days of losses on markets around the world.. and without casting ridicule on American legislators..
And the issues remain.. The bipartisan leaders of Congress, who argued and negotiated for months to cut spending and raise the nation's borrowing limit in the nick of time, eagerly moved on yesterday to what they hope will be a more popular cause..
The almost singular focus on measures that might create jobs, was recognition that voters care far more about their own finances than the $14.3 trillion hole the nation is in.. No matter how much of either party's agenda gets passed before the 2012 elections.. they both hope the debate improves their chances of re-election..
"Anything that moves is going to be called a jobs agenda pretty soon," quipped Bruce Josten, chief lobbyist for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce..
Even before signing the debt bill.. Barack came to the White House Rose Garden to promote his jobs agenda..
'First things first' would seem to be the message.. but the incessant sound of both foreign and domestic sniggering, is going to take a while to drown out..
If they can't agree on a budget to save their own skins.. what possibility exists for agreement on a measure that will put at least 2% of the nations unemployed back to work..? And that 2% is a minimum requirement..
And as for the more immediate effects of this dithering..
The S&P 500 turned negative for the year on Tuesday as the wrangling over the U.S. debt ceiling faded and investors turned their attention to the stalling economy..
The broad-based index fell for a seventh day and crashed through the key 200-day moving average in an ominous sign for markets. The seven days of losses mark the longest losing streak since October 2008..
The selloff accelerated into the close as volume jumped well above average. The fall was broad-based, with four stocks falling for every one rising on the New York Stock Exchange..
The index also broke through its 2-1/2 year uptrend line from its bear market low in March 2009. Thursday was the index's worst day in a year..
Moody's Investors Service on Tuesday confirmed its Aaa rating of the United States, citing the decision to raise the debt limit, but assigned a negative outlook that could pressure lawmakers to cut the U.S. deficit..
Moody's decision came a few hours after rival Fitch Ratings upheld its AAA rating of the United States. Fitch also warned the world's largest economy must cut its debt burden to avoid a future downgrade..
Standard & Poor's, which many predict will cut its rating, has yet to give its opinion of the deficit reduction and debt ceiling deal..
The falls worsened this afternoon after data indicated that the US services sector, which employ nearly 90 per cent of American workers, recorded its weakest growth in 17 months in July..
The Institute for Supply Management said that its index for services companies fell to 52.7 from 53.3 in June.. although that figure still indicates expansion rather than contraction..
In New York the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 160 points, or 1.3% in morning trading.. If the index closes down today it will be the ninth consecutive day of falls.. the first time such a record has been set since 1978..
As he signed the compromise legislation.. Obama complained that Washington has been "absorbed" by the crisis of a looming default.. but American families are still facing a "quiet crisis" of persistently high unemployment..
He promised to make job-creating measures his top priority when Congress returns from vacation.. including pending trade deals.. extending payroll tax cuts.. and overhauling patent laws..

And as Washington finally signed off on the last-minute deal to raise the U.S. debt ceiling, investors turned their attention back to the serial debt woes in Europe.. and they did not like what they saw..The grand European plan that came together barely two weeks ago, aimed at once again bailing out Greece and preventing its ills from spreading to bigger European economies, no longer seems so reassuring. Suddenly, the wolves are back at Europe’s door..
Yesterday, traders renewed their attacks on Italy and Spain, the third and fourth largest economies in the 17-nation Eurozone, pushing their borrowing costs.. at least for now.. to the tipping point that led Greece, Ireland and Portugal to apply for bailouts..
Some now fear that Italy and Spain could run out of cash to meet their debt obligations in a matter of months if, like the others, they are shut out of international markets..
The latest 'Marshall Plan' for Europe was supposed to keep those nations safe from the spreading fire and.. by extension.. cushion the many European and American banks that hold their debt..
While the economies of Greece, Ireland and Portugal are relatively small.. European leaders, noteably Germany and France, would face challenges of a different magnitude if Italy and Spain were swamped by the same forces..
Overshadowed by the US for the past week or so.. the spotlight will now turn back on Europe..
And in an update here..
n the early 1990s, the pound and the Italian lira both suffered speculative attacks that forced them out of the European Exchange Rate Mechanism.. Italy is now enduring more turmoil in financial markets, but with a big difference..
Unlike the UK, Italy adopted the Euro when it was launched in 1999, giving the Lira the heave ho.. Its inability to leave an inflexible monetary arrangement is compounding a crisis that threatens to overwhelm the European economy.. Italy has no option but to act directly on the cause of investor concern.. the high level of national debt..
The global economy is only fitfully recovering from the collapse of the Western banking system under a cascade of bad debts in 2007-09. The remedial measures that governments adopted included a massive increase in public borrowing. It made sense for them to try to sustain domestic demand rather than risk a repeat of the Great Depression. But some governments had spent so much in the boom years that they were ill equipped to allow a necessary additional expansion of public borrowing in the recession..
The consequences are now obvious in the economies of southern Europe. Greece has a huge budget deficit. Portugal has high levels of private debt. Spain has both of these elements. Italy has a mountain of government debt, amounting to some 120 per cent of GDP..
But whereas Greece and Portugal are peripheral economies within the Eurozone, Spain is significantly bigger and Italy is among the world’s seven largest advanced industrial economies..
When Italy falls, the ripples will be something akin to a tsunami on world markets..
Yields on Italian 10-year government bonds rose yesterday to 6.25%.. The difference between Italian and equivalent German government bond yields is almost 4 percentage points..
This is the widest spread since the Euro was established.. International investors are bidding down the price of Italian bonds (which causes the yield to rise) because they are worried that Italy will be unable to pay its debts..
This is a scenario we'll see again and again, until the austerity measures set in place by those governments threatened with bankruptcy come into play..
While gold continues to rise.. the metal's at an all time high today, above the $US160/troy ounce.. and while there are some analysts saying the gold standard should be revised.. they're well in the minority..

We mentioned the problems in defining 'insanity' in a case the likes of Anders Breivik..
He has added some icing to that defence.. presenting a list of completely unrealistic demands in exchange for his cooperation..
Geir Lippestad says his client has two lists of demands.. One consists of requests common among inmates such as for cigarettes and civilian clothing..
The other is "unrealistic, far, far from the real world and shows he doesn't know how society works," according to Lippestad..
Although Breivik has agreed to be examined by local psychiatrists, he also wants to be investigated by Japanese specialists.. "He claims the Japanese understand the idea and values of honor and that a Japanese (specialist) would understand him a lot better than any European would."
Lippestad said his client has also demanded complete political reform, in which he wants to be assigned a key role..
"His demands here includes the complete overthrowing of both the Norwegian and European societies," he said, noting it includes the resignation of the Norwegian government but declined to give further details. "But it shows that he doesn't understand the situation he's in..".
This is an issue that will take months to even come close to a resolution, or a trial.. The examinations alone could take a year or more..

Security experts have discovered the biggest series of cyber attacks to date, involving the infiltration of the networks of 72 organizations including the United Nations, governments and companies around the world..
Security company McAfee.. which uncovered the intrusions.. said it believed there was one “state actor” behind the attacks but declined to name it, though one security expert who has been briefed on the hacking said the evidence points to China..
The long list of victims in the five-year campaign include the governments of Canada.. the US.. Taiwan.. India.. South Korea.. and Vietnam.. the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).. the International Olympic Committee (IOC).. the World Anti-Doping Agency.. and an array of companies, from defense contractors to high-tech enterprises..
In the case of the United Nations, the hackers broke into the computer system of the UN Secretariat in Geneva in 2008, hid there unnoticed for nearly two years, and quietly combed through reams of secret data, according to McAfee..
Makes technology a bit of a joke when it comes to security.. For as long as the files are out there.. there will be cyber-geeks only too willing to hack into them for whatever purpose they might have..
Seems there is still an argument for certain matters to be confined to paper and pen..

A note on what's happening in India..
The upcoming Uttar Pradesh elections and its importance for Rahul Gandhi have prompted the Centre to try and speed up the land acquisition bill's introduction and passage..
The government is keen to introduce the bill in the current session of Parliament, which ends on September 8, though rural development minister Jairam Ramesh had earlier indicated that the consultation process would take some time..
The bill will go to the standing committee after introduction and so, unless it is introduced in the monsoon session, it would be impossible to pass the bill in the winter session. However, the Congress realises the importance of enacting the bill by the winter session ' that is, before the Uttar Pradesh elections early next year..
Uttar Pradesh politics is now dominated by debates over land acquisition and rehabilitation, and these could become key issues during the Assembly polls..
Besides, Rahul, who has been directly involved in the land agitation in the heartland state, has promised a new law at the earliest. It will be a huge embarrassment for him if the government fails to pass the bill before the election, which is crucial for his political career..
The Bahujan Samaj Party is already trying to corner the Centre in Parliament over its failure to amend the archaic Land Acquisition Act. Its intention is to dilute Rahul's onslaught on the Mayavati government over forcible land acquisition in western Uttar Pradesh..
Therefore, the Centre is working on a plan to introduce the bill at least on the last day of the monsoon session so that it can be forwarded to the standing committee for study..

2011-08-02T01:53:00.003Z

While the deal doesn't please right wing Republicans.. Congress was poised to send President Obama a compromise deficit-reduction package topping $2 trillion.. just hours before the nation would run out of borrowed money to pay its bills..
After months of bitter partisan wrangling, the House easily approved the landmark measure raising the nation's $14.3 trillion debt limit by a 269-161 vote.. The Senate is expected to approve it at noon today, and Obama is prepared to sign it almost immediately, averting the prospect of an unprecedented default..
The carefully crafted compromise was swept through the House by lawmakers who wanted to sidestep a fiscal calamity that has spooked stock markets.. put foreign investors right off.. and threatened the nation's triple-A bond rating.. The Dow Jones industrial average rallied early yesterday, but closed down 11 points..
The deal achieves two major goals sought by Obama and congressional leaders.. staged increases in the debt ceiling that will extend past the 2012 elections.. and a first step toward cutting annual deficits that have topped $1 trillion three years in a row..
It also leaves out what each political party most wanted to avoid.. tax hikes sought by Obama but opposed by Republicans.. and major cuts in entitlement programs such as Medicare and Social Security that were opposed by Democrats..
As a result, White House press secretary Jay Carney acknowledged that "the can is kicked a little bit down the road" on those major issues.. which are likely to play an outsized role in next year's Presidential and Congressional elections..
Obama, Congressional leaders and outside commissions had sought to cut deficits by $4 trillion or more over 10 years.. the deal includes only a tenuous promise to seek half that much..
So the issue of a recovery.. or lack of it.. is still going to loom large in next years election. And Barack's going to need a miracle to pull this one out of the muck.. Already his popularity ratings are at an all time low.. and we're not through the worst of this.. not by quite a shot..

Us/Pakistani relations are themselves at unprecedented lows..
The U.S. has forced Pakistan to ease travel restrictions on its diplomats after it threatened to reciprocate by invoking international law, officials from both sides tell TIME. Washington hit back against unusual limits on the movements of U.S. diplomats that had been set by Pakistani authorities on the instructions of their country's top spy agency, the Directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI)..
American officials say that US diplomats in Pakistan have suffered harassment at the hands of the country's authorities, citing instances of midnight searches.. tip-offs to local media about the movements of U.S. officials.. and lurid tales planted in the local press of diplomats conspiring with Pakistani politicians.. Pakistani officials' most recent move was to restrict the ability of U.S. diplomats to travel freely within the country, citing "security reasons.."..
The squeeze on the activities of U.S. diplomats in Pakistan is the latest chapter in the ISI-CIA spy war that has been slowly escalating since the arrest of CIA contractor Raymond Davis after an incident in which two Pakistanis were killed.. reaching a fever pitch following the American military raid that killed Osama bin Laden on Pakistani soil..
The dispute over travel restrictions comes on the heels of the departure of the CIA's second Islamabad station chief in just seven months.. an unnamed official was evacuated for "medical reasons" a fortnight ago as well.. but will not be returning to the Pakistan post..
The CIA declined to comment..
In its easing of the travel restrictions, Pakistan furnished the U.S. embassy in Islamabad with blanket "no objection certificates," allowing the diplomats to move unimpeded within the country for a month. Despite the waiver, the restrictions remain formally in place.. U.S. diplomats may still be asked to demonstrate that they have permission to travel and will have to seek extensions of their no-objection certificates on a monthly basis.. Under the Vienna Convention governing rules for diplomats, one official said, any restrictions imposed by Pakistan on U.S. diplomats could be followed by reciprocity by Washington.. and should that come to pass.. it could lead to a domino effect.. straining already tenuous relations..
Mind you, having said that, Pakistan still wants the money the US pumps into it's government coffers.. This game of one-upmanship could fizzle out when public sentiment cools..

2011-08-01T18:17:00.004Z

The vote comes later today in the States.. but Barack seems confident Republican and Democratic leaders have struck a deal to raise the US debt limit.. Under the proposal, which is set for debate and votes in Congress today, the US debt ceiling would rise by up to $2.4trillion from the current $14.3trillion..
The US government deficit will be cut by a similar amount over 10 years, and a special bipartisan committee will also be set up to agree on future spending cuts..
Party leaders are explaining this compromise deal to their membership this afternoon.. and while this is still likely to be a tough sell.. with some Republicans and Democrats in the House remaining opposed to different aspects..
A number of conservative Republicans, including first-time Congressmen, are likely to vote against the plan, while some liberals in the Democratic party will be disappointed by the prospect of cuts to benefits..
But this is still likely to be a tough sell, with some Republicans and Democrats in the House remaining opposed to different aspects..
A number of conservative Republicans, including first-time Congressmen, are likely to vote against the plan, while some liberals in the Democratic party will be disappointed by the prospect of cuts to benefits..
But.. according to analysts.. Democratic House leader Nancy Pelosi is expected to ensure enough Democrats vote for the bill to help smooth its passage..
We'll know whether Barack's managed to strike a deal later today..
One thing for sure, it's not going to be the deal that Obama originally was aiming for.. The original plan was to strike a deal allowing a borrowing limit rise until at least the next election..
But as it stands, it would appear the economy.. the recovery.. unemployment.. will all be active issues when next politicians start the hustings..
And that does not bode well for Obama's chances at a second term..
This agreement is a bit like the Fire Department trucks arriving after a home's roof has been engulfed in flames.. It's encouraging that a deal is in the offing, but the damage caused already in the debate over raising the government's debt ceiling, Obama has seen his approval rating fall to a new low.. his political adeptness questioned.. and his liberal base enraged over compromises he made on line-in-the-sand issues such as protecting Medicare from cuts..
House Speaker John Boehner.. a Republican representing Ohio.. has been weakened as well.. He not only was forced to retreat from a legacy-making grand bargain, but he also had to pull his own plan from the House floor for revisions demanded by conservative Tea Party members..
Washington itself has looked to many American voters and international investors like a bickering, dysfunctional family.. unable to address the nation's considerable and looming problems in a timely way..
And the question is now being asked by many.. 'is this any way to run a country..?'

Assessing whether Norway's confessed mass killer Anders Behring Breivik is insane, as his lawyer asserts, will take months of observation.. interviews.. and analysis ..and experts say it's hard to fake mental illness..
Forensic psychiatrists who analyze the minds of murderers point to clear patterns of behavior that can date far back into the man's past, and may give vital clues to Breivik's mental state when he killed at least 76 people in a shooting spree and bomb attack on July 22..
Breivik's lawyer Geir Lippestad has already said "this whole case indicated that he is insane," but experts point to some key factors that might suggest a different view.. "The insanity defense is about whether someone understands what they're doing, and if they do, whether they realize it is legally wrong," according to Seena Fazel, a clinical senior lecturer in forensic psychiatry at Oxford University..
"If you think when you're attacking somebody that you're actually attacking a piece of bread...and if you had no idea what you did was legally wrong...then people would consider that as part of an insanity defense," he told a briefing in London..
And while this metaphor might be somewhat obscure.. it indicates Breivik was likely quite sane when he committed his attacks..
Breivik's copious writings -- some of which appear in diaries and a 1,500-page "manifesto" in which he wrote of himself as a righteous crusader on a mission to save European "Christendom" from a tide of Islam -- suggest he planned his attacks months in advance, gradually gathering the tools and the expertise he needed..
His diary entry on April 27 reads.. "I made the order for the fertilizer which were to be delivered a week later. Prior to making this order I had officially registered my company as an agricultural entity..".
The ability to plan his movements and his attacks, is going to make an insanity defence somewhat difficult.. Premeditation is usually a sign of coherent thought.. and his statements following his capture would indicate he was well aware of the effects of his actions..
Fin Larkin, a consultant psychiatrist familiar with making assessments of offenders' minds, said they "have to be pretty patently mentally unwell" to successfully claim insanity..
"It's not impossible...but it's actually quite difficult to fake,"..
Larkin, who works in the personality disorder section of Britain's Broadmoor high-security psychiatric hospital, which has housed and treated some of its most notorious killers, said psychiatrists making such assessments take as their starting point that everything the defendant says is a lie..
"They've often got strong motivation not to tell the truth, they may be very well researched, they may have planned things for quite a while, they may be good mimics who have spent time with mentally ill people," he said..
Experts say that while there are some common factors that often crop up in the backgrounds of mass killers.. a difficult childhood.. a lack of empathy.. sadistic behavior and difficulties forming and maintaining relationships.. these on their own offer few clues for a mental illness diagnosis..
It's going to take some time before it's decided whether or not Breivik was insane when he made his plans and carried them out..
But to a casual observer, the man was as sane as any Jihadist..

According to a numbber of MP's.. Turkey must get a firm handle on it's immigration policies before it can be seriously considered for membership in the EU..
The Home Affairs Committee said thousands of migrants were entering the EU illegally through Turkey into Greece - many of them aiming for Britain..
It was also concerned about human trafficking and drug smuggling..
Should Turkey be admitted to the EU.. the Eurozone would border on Middle Eastern countries the likes of Libya.. Syria.. Iraq..
And that is a source of some concern.. Turkey could become a conduit for immigrants from known terrorist regimes..

The Workplace Retirement Income Commission says 14 million people in Britain are not saving into a workplace pension scheme at all.. Millions of people face a "bleak old age" because they are falling through the cracks of private sector pension provision.. Pensions Minister Steve Webb described the report as "a wake up call"..
Lord McFall, the Labour former chairman of the House of Commons' Treasury Committee, was commissioned to investigate the state of the sector by the National Association of Pension Funds..
The review, which was funded by, but independent of the NAPF, found that workers would not bother to save for a pension unless they were getting a better deal..
"Too many people are stuck in a complex, costly and inefficient system that relegates the consumer's interest to second place. On top of that, they simply are not saving enough to secure a decent retirement," said Lord McFall..
"People need to get more bang for their buck or they are not going to bother with a pension. Instead, they will end up spending today, ignoring tomorrow and scraping by in poverty on the state pension. The complacency of many in the pensions industry is alarming.."..
The review did not study public sector pensions, which are subject to plans for significant changes by the government which will come into effect next year..

2011-07-31T22:23:00.003Z

Senator Harry Reid, the majority leader, has tentatively signed off on the budget deal being negotiated with top Republicans by the White House.. moving Congress closer to taking up a measure that could pass both the House and Senate with bipartisan support and be signed by President Obama, averting a fiscal calamity.. A fragile compromise agreement, reached by a handful of senior negotiators during late-night talks at the White House, must now be returned to the turbulent US Congress for approval before it can be enacted..
Democrats warned that the scale of the concessions granted by the White House meant that some liberal Congressmen were likely to join colleagues on the conservative wing of the Republican Party in voting to block the deal, which must be passed before the federal government runs out of money at 11.59pm tomorrow night..
Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said the two sides were “really, really close” to a deal after months of partisan fighting..
A deal contemplated in talks that McConnell and Vice President Joe Biden were negotiating, the federal debt limit would rise in two stages by at least $2.2-trillion, enough to tide the Treasury over until after the 2012 elections..
Big cuts in government spending would be phased in over a decade..
Thousands of programs.. the Park Service.. Internal Revenue Service and Labor Department accounts among them.. could be trimmed to levels last seen years ago..
Without legislation in place by Tuesday, the Treasury will not be able to pay all its bills, raising the threat of a default that administration officials say could inflict catastrophic damage on the economy..
If approved, though, a compromise would presumably preserve America's sterling credit rating, reassure investors in financial markets across the globe and possibly reverse the losses that spread across Wall Street in recent days as the threat of a default grew..
Meanwhile.. Barack's top ally in the Senate has signed on to a long-delayed agreement to raise the government's borrowing cap and cut spending.. subject to approval by his fellow Senate Democrats..

Thailand's new parliament is to officially open on Monday, faced with the daunting challenge of bringing stability to the kingdom after five years of political turmoil..
Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn will preside over the opening ceremony in the capital Bangkok in late afternoon, the palace has said, allowing the 500-seat lower house chamber to set to work later in the week..
Within days, MPs are expected to vote in the country's first female prime minister, Yingluck Shinawatra of the Puea Thai party, which on July 3 won a crushing electoral victory to take power from the pro-establishment Democrats..
Yingluck will take to the helm almost five years after her brother, the deeply divisive Thaksin Shinawatra, was ousted as premier in a military coup. He now lives abroad to escape a jail term for corruption..

2011-07-30T16:54:00.002Z

t's been a brutal week on Wall Street.. investors lost hundreds of billions of dollars as the markets lost ground every day.. pressure is intense to produce an accord on a borrowing ceiling before the opening bell on Monday..
The Democrat-controlled US Senate is seeking a vote on its plan to raise the nation's $14.3trillion (£8.7trillion) debt limit, which could determine whether a deal to avoid government default is possible..
Senate leaders want a prompt vote so the plan can be passed on Sunday..
The debate comes a day after the Senate rejected a rival Republican bill passed in the GOP controlled House of Representatives..
Barack backs Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's proposal, which would cut $2.2tn from deficits and raise the debt ceiling by $2.7trillion..
The Senate plan calls to raising the debt ceiling until after the 2012 elections.. but Republicans have sought a plan which raises the ceiling for just a few months..
Perhaps the best hope to avoid default is for the Senate to pass an amended bill tomorrow which can be put to the House on Monday, ahead of the deadline..
Democrat leaders in the Senate are said to be seeking agreement with Republicans to avoid procedural obstacles which could delay the Senate vote until Monday..
Reid accused the Republicans of trying to filibuster.. or delay.. proceedings..
"Unless there is a compromise, or they accept my bill, we're heading for economic disaster," according to Reid..
Now.. this has been tempered by figures released yesterday.. US economic growth is much weaker than first thought according to government analysts..
The economy grew at an annualised rate of 1.3% in the second quarter, the Commerce Department said.. Economists had forecast growth of 1.8%..
And in a surprise move, first-quarter growth was revised down sharply from 1.9% to 0.4%..
This evidence of economic weakness increases the pressure on the government as it attempts to increase its borrowing limit..
And the word from those who are veterans of this type of political wrangling have a clear message for the man on the street..
'This time, be afraid. Be very afraid.'..
The seemingly unbridgeable impasse between the two parties as the deadline for raising the nation’s debt limit approaches has Tom Daschle losing sleep, as he never did when he was a Senate Democratic leader in the mid-1990s and Congressional Republicans forced government shutdowns rather than compromise on spending cuts..
“That was nothing compared to this. That was a shutdown of the government.. this could be.. in reality.. a shutdown of the entire economy.. You can’t be too hyperbolic about the ramifications of all this.”
Democrats and Republicans with legislative experience agree that even if both sides decided today to raise the $14.3 trillion borrowing ceiling and to reduce future annual deficits.. it would be extremely difficult for the compromise measure to wend its way through Congress before Tuesday’s deadline, given Congressional legislative procedures..
Any possibility of avoiding an economy-shaking default seemed to rest on hopes of a so-far nonexistent compromise in the Senate.. between the majority leader Harry Reid..A Democrat representing Nevada, and the Republican minority leader.. Senator Mitch McConnell representing Kentucky.. that could pass by Tuesday and then be sent to the House..
That would force Speaker John Boehner to decide at the 11th hour whether to hold a House vote on a bill that would not get many Republican votes, forcing him to rely on Democrats and perhaps further weaken his leadership, or to risk blame for an economic crisis..
And yet another factor is the reaction of analysis groups the likes of Standards and Poors and Moodys come Monday morning.. If the US sees it's credit rating fall below triple-A.. the long term effects on borrowing both by the government and the private sector could be exceedingly damaging.. Tom Davis, a former House Republican leader from Virginia commented “The stakes are much higher here. If interest rates start spiking up, it’s going to cost us a lot more than anything you could save. They’re playing brinkmanship with our credit rating. That’s not very smart.”
Typical American understatement..
Barack’s position in the battle over the debt limit was strengthened by chaos among Republicans in Congress.. but slack growth.. tumbling markets..and a weakening dollar suggest that he may be losing the longer-term economic struggle on which his chances of re-election depend..
On Capitol Hill, the normal business of legislation has been eclipsed by raucous posturing.. Yesterday, farce gave way to desperation as Republicans in the House of Representatives gave ground to the Tea Party on a Debt Bill that they already knew was doomed in the Senate..
Time for Americans to take a close look at those they've elected.. and for a voice to be heard from the man on the street..

It's a human reflex, like breathing or sobbing..
As dust from the bombed buildings still clogged the air and paramedics searched for survivors of the twin massacres in Oslo and the nearby island of Utoya, Norwegians and the wider world began trying to make sense of the senseless..
An early template had to be discarded after the arrest of Anders Behring Breivik.. The horror couldn't be pinned on the familiar lunacy of Islamic jihadism..
So another narrative began to emerge, of a rarer form of madness.. These had been the actions of a psychopath, a lone wolf..
And yet this lacks credibility as well..
Leading members of the European far right have been quick to disassociate themselves from Breivik and to reinforce the idea that he was driven not by ideology but insanity..
"The manifesto of the perpetrator makes clear that this is the work of a madman. That the struggle against Islamization is misused by a psychopath is disgusting and a slap in the face of the global anti-Islamic movement," wrote Geert Wilders.. Chairman of the Partij voor de Vrijheid (PVV).. in a statement published on his party's website..
Founded in 2005, the PVV has swelled to the third largest party in the Dutch parliament on a platform calling for a halt to immigration from non-Western countries..
This, in itself, regardless of any disclaimers made by others who share some of the core ideals of Breivik.. is indicative of a growing sentiment of anti-Islamic thought..
"Neither the PVV nor I are responsible for a lone idiot who violently distorted the freedom-loving, anti-Islamization ideals, no matter how much some people would like that.."..
Yet, it seems there is a significant number of Eurozone members who are fed up with sitting back, and listening as radical Imams rail against the West, and call for the formation of a 'worldwide Caliphate under Sha'ria Law..'
The unfortunate truth of the matter is, that while the Oslo killings have been condemned by all right across the political spectrum.. there are those who would fervently wish for a curb on the numbers emmigrating from the Middle East..
A dangerous situation.. highlighted by the actions of a madman..

2011-07-29T01:20:00.007Z

Seems the GOP and the Democrats love dicing with death.. there will be a vote tomorrow in both Houses on the revised borrowing limits.. and should Barack fail to get some kind of plan in place, the US will default next Monday on it's debt load..
The devalued dollar is already holding up world markets.. as the Greenback falls so does confidence in the United States..
This is the only story that has any real impact at the moment.. Until we know that Obama's got to play with, the whole game stands still..

And as of late this afternoon, there appears to be no change in the hard-line stances taken by both the GOP and the Democrats.. No new vote has been called in either House as yet, and to complicate the matter, there's dissension in the ranks of the Republicans..
The Dow has fallen for the fifth day running, as slack-jawed Americans watch as their elected representatives play party politics with the country's future..
The default date is the 2d of next month, and while there are those who're saying this is just another crisis that will be averted at the last moment.. it's not completely sure what the Republican Tea Party will do here.. They've disregarded entirely the plan put forth by John Boehner, the leader of the Republican House of Representatives, with the hard-liners looking for gods know what in the way of concessions from Barack and his boys..
Time is running out though.. and if the US is downgraded by Moody's, Standard and Poors, et al.. their Treasury Bonds will plummet along with the country's AAA credit rating..
Hard to imagine what's going through the heads of those who're standing in the way of a compromise deal.. It's not just the US that will slip into an inflationary spiral should a deal not be reached.. but the world itself would be hit by an American default..
One would think there have to be some economists on both sides who see the consequences of devaluation.. and who care more about the long run than short-term advantages bought at the expense of American credibility..
And while Barack can say he's doing the best he can with an inherited situation.. he's only echoing the words of all the Western governments..
The problem remains, and a solution must be settled on..
More on this to come, as hopefully while the day progresses in the US.. legislators come to their senses and settle down with partisan politics set aside, and a viable solution is hammered out..

And as this day has progressed, it appears things might be happening in the US..
The House of Representatives has passed a Republican bill proposed by Speaker John Boehner to increase the nation's debt ceiling..
Boehner's plan passed the House by a vote of 218-210, with 22 Republicans and every Democrat voting against..
It includes $900bn of spending cuts and is not expected to pass the Democratic-controlled Senate in its current form..but it is a beginning..
Legislators will be working through the weekend to try and find a formula for fiscal regeneration.. Boehner appeared heated in front of his colleagues in the House.. slamming his fist on a podium on last evening and calling for lawmakers to pass his proposal..
His plan calls for a vote on an amendment to the US constitution.. a move Democrats say is certain to be rejected by the Senate..
Boehner said Republicans had tried their "level best" to reach a deal..
A vote on the Republican plan was originally set for Thursday but was rescheduled for Friday evening after Mr Boehner suspected the proposal lacked support within his own party..
The US government will start running out of money to pay all its bills unless a $14.3tn (£8.79tn) borrowing limit is increased by Tuesday..
Democrats have said the Republican bill as passed would cause immeasurable damage to the economy.. that it would force Congress to vote on another extension of the debt ceiling early in 2012, a time when presidential election campaigns will be in full swing..
Boehner's plan would reduce spending by about $900bn and raise the debt limit by nearly the same amount..
Democrats have vowed to reject the Republican bill the moment it hits the floor of the Senate..
And while this compromise may make some American voters think 'at least the Republicans are trying here..', it's not the long-term solution the Democrats want to take into the next election campaign..
Meanwhile.. roll on Tuesday..

Just a brief note here..the U.S. debt ceiling stalemate and the worsening Eurozone debt crisis have failed to trigger the relentless demand for gold seen during the global financial turmoil of two to three years ago. Today, it hit a fresh all-time high of $US1,632.16 per troy ounce.. But the momentum is flagging..
“The panic buying of previous sovereign debt crises is missing,” says Tom Kendall, precious metal analyst at Credit Suisse in London, echoing a sentiment widely shared within the gold industry. “Demand has been steady, but is not nearly as big as in the spring of 2010 or in early 2009, when debt concerns triggered panic buying.”
The precious metals market experienced a surge in demand during the worst of the global financial crisis, between January and April 2009 when stock markets hit their crisis lows, and again between April and July 2010 when Greece had to be rescued..
Mind you, should the US default.. the demand for the metal could go through the roof again.. and with it already being at a ridiculously high level.. it's hard to say how high that demand will get..

2011-07-26T01:02:00.002Z

Bad news to be released later today by the Treasury..
Our growth rate figures have slowed.. with some analysts predicting a contraction.. following growth of 0.5% in the first quarter..
Chancellor George Osborne has said that it is important for the government to stick to its economic plan "in a world of very great uncertainty"..
"We have brought stability to the British economy, we have brought interest rates down and we are creating private sector jobs.. that is all evidence that our economic plan is working and on track," he told a press conference..
Analysts are warning one-off factors such as April's extra bank holiday for the royal wedding and the effects of the Japanese earthquake and tsunami in March could have affected growth..
Even if the figure for the second quarter of 2011 is negative, it will still not mean a return to recession or the so-called double-dip.. at least that's what we're being told by some Pollyannas wearing rose-tinted glasses..
A recession is commonly defined as two consecutive quarters of negative growth, and there would have been a positive quarter in-between the two negative ones..
"The UK economy might as well still be in recession, even if technically it isn't," said Nick Pearce, director of the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR)..
And this is the idiotic non-information we're being fed these days..
People don't expect eminent analysts, to speak in double-talk, and push misinformation..
They expect.. they deserve the truth..
We're hip deep in trouble, and it will be decades before we see a light at the end of the tunnel..

And it's worse in the US..
Senate Democrats and House Republicans have unveiled competing plans to cut the US budget deficit and raise its debt limit to avoid a default..
Despite weeks of negotiations, the two parties remain at odds over the size of spending cuts and tax increases..
Even the threat of a general depression, American politicians can't come to an agreement to save their economy..
Barack took to the airwaves yesterday evening.. trying to reassure an increasingly nervous population..
But it will take far more than promises.. smoke and mirrors..
Take all the trouble we're in here in Britain, and triple it.. That's about what the US man on the street is looking at..
Case in point.. More than 10,000 veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.. are homeless or in programs aimed at keeping them off the streets.. this is a number that has doubled three times since 2006, according to figures released by the Department of Veterans Affairs in the US..
The rise comes at a time when the total number of homeless veterans had declined from a peak of about 400,000 in 2004 to 135,000 today..
As of May, there were 10,476 Iraq and Afghanistan veterans either living on the streets, in temporary housing or receiving federal vouchers to help pay rent for an apartment..
About 13% are women.. says the VA...

More later..

2011-07-24T16:22:00.004Z

The sole difference between Oslo and Baghdad last Friday, was that there was no 'martyrdom'..
Norway today mourns 93 people killed in a shooting spree and car bombing by a Norwegian fundamentalist.. who saw his attacks as "atrocious, but necessary" to defeat liberal immigration policies and the spread of Islam..
In his first comment via a lawyer since his arrest.. 32 year old Anders Behring Breivik.. said he wanted to explain himself at a court hearing on Monday about extending his custody..
"He has said that he believed the actions were atrocious, but that in his head they were necessary," Geir Lippestad, his lawyer.. said..
He said Breivik had admitted to Friday's shootings at a Labour party youth camp and the bombing that killed seven people in Oslo's government district a few hours earlier..
However, "he feels that what he has done does not deserve punishment," Lippestad told NRK public television..
"What he has said is that he wants a change in society and in his understanding, in his head, there must be a revolution."
Oslo's acting police chief Sveinung Sponheim confirmed to reporters that Breivik would be able to speak to the court. It was not clear whether the hearing would be closed or in public..
"He has admitted to the facts of both the bombing and the shooting, although he's not admitting criminal guilt," Sponheim said, adding that Breivik said he acted alone..
Breivik posted a 1,500-page anti-Islamic manifesto, written in English, on Friday, describing his violent philosophy and how he planned his onslaught and made explosives..
The killings would draw attention to the manifesto entitled "2083-A European Declaration of Independence.." Breivik wrote..
"Once you decide to strike, it is better to kill too many than not enough, or you risk reducing the desired ideological impact of the strike," he added..
Now this all is of significant import..
Lets start briefly with the history of the Scandinavian countries.. There are more suicides in these countries, than anywhere else in the world.. Always have been..
This reflects an underlying lack of 'respect' for the 'right to life'..
That the first religious killing spree took place is Norway, is a factor that's been mentioned before.. and the fact the 'crusader', as this man sees himself, would be appalled at the thought of killing himself.. His case.. his cause.. his voice.. will now be heard..
Add to that the Calvinist strictures concerning the preservation of the faith, and it's not that much of a leap to see this backlash against the Islamic violence we've become saturated with..
Time for some Christian deaths.. for a Christian cause.. perpetrated by one who, for a short while, associated himself with a British Group calling themselves 'Knights Templar'.. no association with the quasi-Masonic Order.. but left that British group saying they were not 'committed enough' to violence..
The 'Poor Fellow Soldiers of Christ and the Temple of Jerusalem'..the Templar's.. were chartered originally, to protect Christian pilgrims travelling to and coming from Jerusalem.. They were the original 'warrior-monks'.. but too much has been written, both nonsense and disinformation, to go too far into their history..
Regardless.. Breivik sees himself as a man with a mission.. a true 'Crusader'..
Thanks to our gremial conditioning against violence in general, and our over-protective attitude regarding the 'sanctity of life'.. We rarely see atrocities the likes of that last Friday..
But.. there have always been those who have, for whatever reason, run amok..
And there always will be.

Something to watch closely here..
Vince Cable.. our Business Secretary..says there should be "clear" rules on how powerful media groups can be..
There should be market share limits and a "presumption against" media groups owning both newspapers and TV stations.. according to Vince.. This is the man who was responsible for media ownership rules until he was recorded saying he had "declared war" on Rupert Murdoch in December..
Following that undercover recording by the Daily Telegraph,Vince was stripped of his responsibility for overseeing Mr Murdoch's bid to take full control of broadcaster BSkyB.. that bid's been withdrawn in the wake of this phone tapping fiasco..
Cable said he accepted that Mr Murdoch had made "positive contributions" to the British media landscape.. but said plurality, diversity and choice were needed.. and had to come from wider ownership..
And all that requires are those capable of filling the shoes Vince is going to start emptying, if he dismantles Rupert's machine..
You can't just give a newspaper to an Editor In Chief, who, if he or she had talent, would already be working, and say "..there you go.. take a shot.." You can't fill reporters desks with typewriters.. computer screens these days.. and hire those who can't find work anywhere else, hoping they'll make a go of it..
Competition is the key to this media.. Those who can write, do.. Those who can't, find themselves working at Canadian Tire..
It's of great concern when the government begins to dip it's fingers into the rights of the Press..
Too easily can those in debt to the government for their existence through legislated diversification.. become mouthpieces for that government..
With all it's failures and flaws, journalism is as it always has been..
It's a stupid man who gets his picture of the world and that which turns it, by reading the pages of a single newspaper or magazine..
And even though it might if it could, abolish general stupidity.. Our legislators should keep completely clear of limiting the Media..
Stiffen the Laws and increase the fines for those who blatantly disregard either the truth or who manufacture their own, certainly..
But change not a jot or tittle of the freedom this media enjoys..

2011-07-22T02:06:00.010Z

A massive bomb blast has hit government buildings in the Norwegian capital Oslo this afternoon.. killing at least seven people and injuring several others..
Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg described the situation as "very serious"..
The bomb was followed by a fatal shooting incident near Oslo at a youth meeting of the Labour Party, which Mr Stoltenberg leads..
Norwegian media said at least four people were killed when a man opened fire indiscriminately..
Police said the suspected gunman had been arrested..
People across Oslo and Norway itself were in shock..
Stoltenberg announced .."We have never had a terrorist attack like this in Norway.. if that's what it is.. but of course this has been a great fear for all Norwegians when they have seen what has been happening around the world.".
The United States has condemned the "despicable acts of violence" in Oslo, while the President of the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy, said he was "deeply shocked" by "these acts of cowardice for which there is no justification"..

An update on this story..
The Senate on Friday rejected a House plan to substantially cut government spending and raise the federal debt limit contingent on a balanced budget proposal.. leaving Congress up in the air about how to resolve its impasse over the federal debt ceiling, and avoid a government default..
Senators voted 51 to 46 along party lines to set aside the measure, known as the “cut, cap and balance” bill.. which was sent to the Senate by the House this week and seen by conservative House members as their preferred option for increasing the debt ceiling.. For many House Republicans, the legislation was their best offer in the continuing standoff with Barack and Congressional Democrats..
Barack and the Republican House speaker.. John A. Boehner.. once again struggled against resistance from their respective parties yesterday.. as they tried to shape a sweeping deficit-reduction agreement that could avert a government default in less than two weeks..
And new hope of one ran instantly into old resistance.. from Republicans opposed to higher taxes.. and Democrats loath to cut benefit programs..
While talks on a major, long-term agreement continued, a fresh, shorter-term backup plan appeared to be gaining momentum. Under discussion among some House Republicans, that proposal would cut spending by $1 trillion or slightly more immediately and raise the debt limit by a similar amount.. enough to postpone a final reckoning until early in 2012..
But then, with an election looming later that year.. all this will have to start again, with Democrats fully understanding their candidate could stand or fall on an economic recovery of some substance..
Both sides maneuvered for political advantage and for leverage in negotiations about which little was publicly known.."At the end of the day, we have a responsibility to act," said Boehner of Republican lawmakers..
Across the Capitol, however, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Democrat, blamed some of the same Republicans.. "Tea Party Extremists," he called them — of blocking a deal..
The sometimes-conflicting information underscored the frenzied final days before a threatened default, when the Treasury would no longer be able to pay all its bills in full and the economy could go into a tailspin as interest rates spiked..
Some Democrats confided they were worried Obama would sign off on an agreement that cuts benefit programs without raising tax revenue.. and they peppered Budget Director Jack Lew..in a closed-door meeting in the Senate.. with questions about the high-level negotiations..
Democratic officials familiar with Obama's talks with Republicans said that while some cuts could be agreed upon and even enacted relatively quickly, there were major differences on taxes and savings from benefit programs like Medicare and Social Security..
As an example, there is no agreement on how much additional revenue would be raised through an expected overhaul of the tax code, or how to require Congress to enact cuts to benefit programs..
Now recall.. these are issues which have not needed to be raised for decades.. since Hoover was voted out of office by FDR..
Barack's going to have to come up with something of his own.. a new 'New Deal'.. because considering the other problems facing the country, and if the Republicans can come up with their own 'Hughie Long' agenda..
Barack will find himself hog-tied by the economy.. unemployment.. and the real possibility of spiralling interest rates..

European markets have reacted favourably to the news Greece is not yet going under..
But the more details of this financial bailout that appear, the worse, and in fact, how blatantly false the deal is..
UK, French and German markets gained more than 0.5% in early trading, while Japan's Nikkei closed up 1.2%. The Euro also rose further against the $Am.. Eurozone leaders pulled the single currency back from the brink of disaster last night as they agreed a second plan to bail out Greece and ambitious proposals to overhaul the embattled Euro area..
This deal amounts to this..
109bn euros in new loans to Greece..
Various options to extend Greece's repayment terms and reduce the amount it repays on existing loans..
Voluntary private sector participation in these options, so that banks share taxpayers' burden..
Doubling the length of repayment terms for the Irish Republic and Portugal, both of which have received financial assistance previously..
Additional powers granted to the 'European Financial Stability Facility' to buy up bonds and to make credit available to countries such as Spain and Italy that are not at immediate risk of insolvency..
Now, todays' market rally followed as the 17 leaders hammered out an agreement that economists said marked a step forward in Eurozone co-ordination and gave comfort to European banks.. but still fell far short of full economic integration..
After months of dithering, a second huge rescue deal was agreed for Greece of €109 billion.. £95 billion.. including €37 billion from the private sector and a significant lowering of interest rates..
Christine Lagarde, the IMF Managing Director, described the decision at the emergency summit to support a country in difficulty until it could return to the markets to raise finance.. as “game-changing”.. She was implying, that to prevent such catastrophic economic flatlines such as pushed Greece to a state close to insolvency.. that we're now one step closer to a Euro Bank..
The powers of the Euro’s bailout fund were also enhanced in a move hailed by French President Nicolas Sarkozy .. who emphasized private lenders would contribute a total of 135bn euros of financing to Greece..
This is expected to provide some 50bn euros of debt relief..
Three of the four options offered to lenders to swap or relend existing debts would extend Greece's repayment terms by 30 years, while the fourth would do so by 15 years..
They all offer a much lower interest rate than Greece's current 15%-25% cost of borrowing in financial markets..
Sarkozy of France sees this as a key step towards the creation of an EU treasury in the form of a “European monetary fund”..
He said: “By the end of the summer, Angela and I will be making joint proposals on economic government in the Eurozone.. Our ambition is to seize the Greek crisis to make a quantum leap in Eurozone Government.. We have done something historic. There is no European monetary fund yet.. but nearly.”
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said: "We have sent a clear signal to the markets by showing our determination to stem the crisis and turn the tide in Greece, thereby securing the future of the savings, pensions and jobs of our citizens all over Europe".
Be Afraid.. be very afraid..

Mere days after Energy Ministers met in Alberta in Canada to lay the foundations for a national energy strategy.. an accord is already running into roadblocks..
Quebec is pledging its opposition to a national plan.. there's no surprise there.. while Ontario and Alberta openly bicker about endorsing the oil sands as a sustainable supplier of energy..
Quebec’s defiance is likely to slow momentum that has been building over the past few years, with corporate and politic leaders increasingly making the case for a co-ordinated national effort on energy.. A national approach is needed.. according to supporters.. to streamline regulations.. pursue Asian oil and gas exports.. and support energy research..
Federal, provincial and territorial energy ministers met in Kananaskis, Alberta this week to begin work on what they'd like to see as a unified national energy plan.. The goal of those meetings, Alberta Energy Minister Ron Liepert said, was to “set in place some general principles, goals and objectives that will ultimately lead us to a National Energy Strategy..”.
But it has not taken long for cracks to appear in that nascent effort..
The day an initial “action plan” was released, Ontario said it did not support language describing the “responsible and sustainable” development of the oil sands..
And now Quebec is saying it wants no part of such a plan..
“Quebec doesn’t want a federal energy strategy because first of all, energy is a provincial competence,” said Marie-France Boulay, director of communications for Nathalie Normandeau, Quebec’s Minister of Natural Resources and Wildlife..
The province will support some collaboration on energy, but does “not want a coast to coast” plan, Ms. Boulay said in an e-mail, pointing out that Quebec already has its own strategy emphasizing hydro, wind and energy efficiency..
In fact, Quebec as a Province only has two main sources of export income.. one being lumber, the other hydroelectricity.. Quebec supplies a large part of the Eastern Seaboard of the States with their power, and any move by a Federal initiative that could reduce Quebec's income, would be met with defiance..
History has shown that even the most ambitious efforts at creating a unified national voice often founder among regional differences in Canada. And if Quebec is only prepared to support some collaboration, other political leaders may have to scale back their expectations to something less ambitious than a national strategy, warned Jack Mintz, executive director of the University of Calgary’s School of Public Policy..
“It’s going to be very hard to have a single strategy that applies to the whole country because the provinces do have certain of their own responsibilities.. and individually they may want to do some things that are different..” he said..
The Canadian penchant for understatement is at much the same level of the English and Scots who formed the country, it would seem..

Still in Canada here.. New statistics show the national crime rate is continuing its 20-year decline.. reaching levels not seen since 1973.. even as the Federal Conservative Government prepares legislation that would put more Canadians behind bars for longer periods of time..
It is a juxtaposition of politics and reality that has prompted critics to accuse the government of ignoring facts at taxpayers’ expense as it pursues a criminal-justice agenda focused on punishment, rather than prevention..
Statistics Canada released it’s annual survey of police-reported crime on Tuesday. It shows the overall volume of criminal incidents fell by 5 per cent between 2009 and 2010, and the relative severity of the crimes took a similar dive..
Homicides, attempted murders, serious assaults and robberies were all down last year from the year before. Young people were accused of committing fewer offences. Even property crime was reported less frequently with reductions in both break-ins and car thefts..
“These are police-reported statistics so they don’t necessarily reflect all the type of crime that’s taking place in society..” said Steve Sullivan, Executive Director of Ottawa Victims Services, and former Federal Ombudsman for 'victims of crime'..
“However, if the government is telling taxpayers it is going to spend millions and billions of dollars on getting tough on crime, I think the government at least has to have some evidence that they are addressing a real problem. And neither these statistics nor the other surveys that we have would suggest that we are in some kind of crime wave..”
In fact, the figures would indicate the exact opposite..
It's excellent news that crime is at it's lowest levels since the 70's in Canada.. but touting a program which would spend billions on addressing crime, would appear to any casual observer, to be a waste of money..
The system's not broken.. why fix it..?

A seismic event occurred on the Senate Floor this past Monday night.. By an 80-13 vote, the Senate confirmed the appointment of J. Paul Oetken to serve as a Federal Judge for the U.S. District, for the Southern District of New York, one of the most influential benches in the nation with primary judicial oversight over Wall Street..
The action was seismic not because an Obama appointee actually made it through the confirmation process relatively quickly.. that would amount simply to a rarity..
It was seismic not because the appointee garnered the unanimous support of Democrats despite the appointee’s very pro-business credentials as the head litigator at Cablevision.. a much-maligned cable, entertainment, and sports behemoth..
The Senate’s action was seismic because the Senate confirmed, for the first time, an openly gay man to serve on the federal bench. There already is an “acknowledged” lesbian on the federal bench, but her sexuality was a carefully avoided issue when she was confirmed during the Clinton Administration..
There were no floor objections, no apocalyptic warnings of the homosexual agenda, and perhaps most surprisingly, no accompanying fundraising drive by social conservatives to cash in on what has been lucrative red meat in the past..
Nobody seemed to care that the dude likes to bed down with the guy Oetken introduced as his partner to the Senate Judiciary Committee during his March confirmation hearings..
That in itself is pretty seismic..

India's had a wake up call from the next monsoon season..
Met office sources identified a low-pressure zone across Gangetic West Bengal as the trigger for the heavy showers predicted in the next 24 hours.. Weathermen said the monsoon trough, which had shifted towards the south.. keeping Jharkhand away from rain for more than a week, had been restored..
So far, areas normally affected by the rains have had just about the average for this time of year.. but 'just about' suggests there has been close to a meter more of rain in some areas..
Not what India needs at this point.. shifting monsoon patterns upon which the country depends upon for it's agriculture..

Pakistan's exiled former President Pervez Musharraf said on Thursday that "absolute negligence and not complicity" was behind his country's Osama bin Laden fiasco and Washington and Islamabad must put that episode behind them and rebuild trust..
"We must convince the world and the United States that the issue of Osama bin Laden was not complicity..but negligence of a very monumental order," he said in a speech in Washington.. He might as well have said 'This whole debacle was due to the stupidity of some Pakistani security sources.. Sorry..'
U.S. special forces' killing of the al Qaeda leader in Pakistan on May 2 soured relations between the two countries over U.S. suspicion Pakistan knew he was living in a town not far from the Pakistani capital for about five years..
"Two years of that five years was during my time. I confidently and surely say that there was not complicity because I am very sure of one thing: that I didn't know, whether one believes it or not," said Musharraf..
Believe it or not...? Flip a coin, and both sides will likely turn up heads..

A brief notice of what's taken place in a Canadian Court..
The Federal Court of Canada cleared the way on Thursday for the extradition of China's most wanted man, dismissing concerns that he could be tortured or executed back home..
Judge Michel Shore refused a request to stay the deportation of Lai Changxing.. accused by Beijing of running a multibillion-dollar smuggling operation in China in the 1990s..
Lai fled to Canada with his family in 1999 and claimed refugee status, saying the allegations against him were politically motivated. Canada rejected his refugee claim, and after years of legal wrangling government lawyer Helen Park said on Thursday he could be sent back early as Saturday..
China says Lai bribed Chinese officials to avoid paying taxes and duties on everything from fuel to cigarettes that were shipped into China's southeastern Fujian province..
One must wonder what the 'quid pro quo' will amount to.. Chinese holdings on Canada's West Coast run the gamut from real estate, to logging companies..
Odds are Lai will face a bullet once back in China..

2011-07-20T19:37:00.003Z

It was only a matter of time..
Serbia arrested the last major war crimes suspect from the 1990s Yugoslav conflicts on today, closing what its president called a "burdensome" page in the country's history .. while incidentally boosting its hopes of joining the European Union..
Goran Hadzic, a Croatian Serb wartime leader indicted for crimes against humanity during the 1991-95 Croatian war.. was seized by Serb forces in the Fruska Gora National Park region north of Belgrade..
The arrest of the 52-year-old is key for the European union future of Serbia because it removes the shadow of war crimes that has plagued Belgrade's bid for membership..
"I will be looking our European counterparts in the eye and seeing whether they make good on what they have promised.." Serbian President Boris Tadic told reporters..
Again, nothing really unexpected here..

Obama summoned top Democratic lawmakers back to the White House today to resume negotiations on averting a potentially crippling government default.. as attention focused on a new bipartisan budget plan emerging in the Senate..
The White House also indicated Obama would be willing to sign a short-term debt limit increase.. an option he's turned away from up to this point ..as long as it's seen to be a temporary stop-gap measure to allow time for a much broader, long term plan to be worked out.. something to at least keep the dogs at bay..
Barack's desperate to get something in the works, which will give him something solid to campaign on in a years time.. something that obviously couldn't be finished by the August 2d deadline to increase the government's borrowing limit.. but could offer a framework for the future..
The announcement Tuesday of a possible deal by the Senate "Gang of Six" was seized on by Obama as a possible breakthrough. Now the job ahead for the President, if he is to build momentum behind the plan, includes overcoming GOP opposition to tax hikes involved and selling members of his own party on the cuts to entitlement programs that it embraces..
"We are in the 11th hour," said White House press secretary Jay Carney, repeating what Obama had said Wednesday.. "We need to meet, talk, consult and narrow down in fairly short order what train we're riding into the station.."
Carney also indicated that the President would be willing to support a short-term extension as a stop-gap measure...
Carney said Obama would not support a short-term extension, "absent an agreement on a larger deal..
"If both sides agree on something significant we will support the measures necessary to finalize the details," Carney said..
And all going well, that's basically the deal done..

"Hackgate.."
Just doesn't have quite the right ring to it.. But give the journalists who specialise in such keywords another few days..
Regardless of what you call it.. has battered Rupert Murdoch's media empire, rocked Scotland Yard to its foundations and dominated the UK news agenda for weeks.. Today.. the scandal came knocking on the door of 10 Downing Street as Prime Minister Cameron attempted to extricate himself from the web of scandal that is threatening to seriously undermine his Premiership..
And what a picayune little clench of a scandal to do such damage..Cameron cut short a trip to Africa in order to rush back to Britain to deliver an emergency statement to Parliament and ready to offer the closest he has yet come to an apology for appointing Andy Coulson, the former editor of 'The News of the World' at the center of the phone hacking affair, as his Communications Chief in 2007.. and taking him into Downing Street after the election in 2010..
Coulson quit the job in January 2011 as the scandal and questions over his alleged role in it refused to die down despite his persistent denials he was aware of the practice..
A highly-unusual sitting of the House of Commons, which should have closed for legislators' Summer Break the day before, the Prime Minister faced an opposition Labour party which smells blood.
"With 20/20 hindsight and all that has followed," said Cameron, "I would not have offered [Coulson] the job and I expect he wouldn't have taken it. But you don't make decisions in hindsight you make them in the present. You live and you learn and, believe me, I have learnt." He added.. "Of course I regret, and I am extremely sorry, about the furore it has caused..".
For two weeks Opposition Party Leader Ed Miliband has made as much hay as can possibly be made while this political sun shines.. boosting his own wobbling leadership by focusing on the scandal.. and demanding action and answers from the government..
One of his key political demands.. beyond calls for judicial inquiries and a media and police clean-up.. has been for Cameron to confess to a "catastrophic error of judgement" in appointing Coulson, and ignoring a series of warnings from colleagues and advisers over the appointment..
This 'Mea Culpa.. Mea Maxima Culpa' came close today..
"If it was found Coulson had lied about his ignorance of hacking.." said Cameron.. "that would be a moment for a profound apology and in that event I can tell you I will not fall short."
Coulson was one of several individuals arrested by the police over recent days and questioned over the affair..
What an immense tempest in a tiny teacup..

An amazing technology being used these days in China.. the micro societies which have sprung up dealing with China's waste..
In fact.. China's capital has grown so huge that it now has seven peripheral roads.. It is also becoming encircled by garbage..
This is both a poignant metaphor and serious dilemma..
Wang Jiuliang, a photographer, was the first to expose the city's little-known Seventh Ring Zone garbage dumps in his documentary video and photos entitled 'Besieged by Garbage..'
Wang illustrates the scope of the problem by marking the 400 sites in yellow on a Google map, forming a dense ring, effectively encircling Beijing.. The image is shocking, of a city besieged..
Wang has visited all 400 refuse heaps.. "When you walk around these landfills, you can hear the sound of money flowing everywhere.. Behind each dumping site lies interests," he says, his voice charged with emotion.. one of these dumping grounds near Xiaozhangwan village, 3km south of Beijing's Sixth Ring Road..
Scavengers were separating cloth, metal and plastic out of the garbage, then putting the remaining waste into a more distant pit..
According to villagers, the pit with an area of about 300 acres, was formerly a sandpit around 6 to 7m deep. It has been contracted to private individuals since 2009, and is now almost completely full. A thin layer of earth covers the pit. Above it are lines of shanties for those who work on the site..
The illegal dump is not within Beijing's sanitary-monitoring system..
Contractors have simply paid the village to operate their garbage-recycling business..
Heading west from Xiaozhangwan village for another 2km.. to find, sheltered behind a forest, another bigger refuse dump housing much of the same activity..
One of the subcontractors, from Xinyang in Henan province, said he moved here from another dump last year, and that most of the people working here were his compatriots from Xinyang.. "The operators are all local people. They rent the pits from their village and then subcontract them to us.." .
Wang encountered serious trouble while making his documentary.. Some people chased him with knives or dogs. Others would warn him.. "You are looking for trouble..".
He was once encircled by a dozen young men who threatened to break his camera. Finally they let him go after deleting the images he had taken..
After the release of his documentary, Wang revisited the dumping sites he had seen. Fifty percent of them had been dealt with by the city government. Some had been cleaned up, only for people to restart the dumping. Thirty percent of them are not yet dealt with..
One has to wonder, how much of this, our garbage, is being recycled and resold to us in any number of ways..
It may well be, that to have one's Capital City surrounded by rubbish.. is unpalatable at say the least.. But the salient point is, that there are those working.. making money.. off the sorting and re treatment of this waste..
That micro-socieities have grown up around a world bounded by garbage, and recycling..
It also brings the immensity of China, and the numbers of people populating it, into focus.. That they have such a huge wordforce willing to do which to us would be 'odious', and that they have an internal market.. beyond the global.. to sell that which they re-claim..
There's an old Yorkshire saying.. "Where's there's muck, there's money"

Muammar could stay in Libya if he gives up power, France said today.. this signaling a new effort to find a diplomatic solution to a five-month-old war that has failed to oust the resilient leader..
The United States said Gaddafi must quit, but whether he remained in Libya after that would be up to the Libyan people..
"He needs to remove himself from power ... and then it's up to the Libyan people to decide.." White House spokesman Jay Carney said when asked if Washington shares France's view..
However, Gaddafi's Foreign Minister swiftly dismissed the French proposal, saying Gaddafi's departure after 41 years in power was not a matter for discussion..
Not yet, and not without the factor of his frozen assetts raised, and dealt with..
And to add for that, is the possibility of the eventual martyrdom of his youngest son in a move to re-establish his eldest in any political race..
An Old Arabic saying.."when you kill your enemy, kill his family.. otherwise his granchildren will be a threat.."

2011-07-20T01:43:00.011Z

What will it possibly take for an economic leader, a national leader, to finally stand up and tell us the truth that's been staring us in the face for years now..
This world has changed, and the changing back, if at all ever fully possible.. will take decades..
The number of issues involving a plethora of Alpha personalities.. each looking for the advantage..
We play with Monopoly Money, rather than in firm stocks and commodities..
We speculate.. gamble.. use gilts for bargaining chips, and junk bonds to pull us down..
There's to be yet another meeting early this week between the Eurozone Economics Ministers.. in the hopes whatever this latest flimsy accord they may forge, and that hardly seems an appropriate word in this case.. can delay the inevitable..
There was such a gathering yesterday, and another slated for later this morning.... Angela Merkel told a news conference that there would not be anything as "spectacular" as a restructuring of Greek debt.. She has made it plain, that if any more German money goes into 'restructuring' Greece, it had better be worth the effort .. not only in the short run, but should reflect significant moves leading towards a 'positive' future..

The meeting will attempt to agree a second bail-out of Greece that battered country in a hope of calming financial markets and stop the cancer spreading..
What's the old adage.. 'getting the horses out before the barn burns..?
At the weekend Angela indicated that she may not attend the meeting unless there was a likelihood of a concrete deal on a second Greek rescue..
Germany has been at odds with the European Central Bank over its insistence that private investors in Greek Bonds share the pain of another rescue deal..
The ECB believes that forcing private investors to take losses on their loans is effectively a default by Greece on its debts.. which is a pretty accurate assessment.. Nearly everything that Eurozone leaders have done in response to the Euro Crisis has been done in the name of preventing contagion of epidemic proportions..
The main problem is, we have seen the enemy, and it is us..
Germany, Finland and the Netherlands are in the forefront of calls for private investors to share the burden rather than just leave it to the taxpayer..
Germany has been at odds with the European Central Bank over its insistence that private investors again, dig deep into pockets which are getting shallower and shallower..
And inevitably.. whether Eire, Portugal. Spain, Italy, Greece and all the others on the periphery stand or fall, it will be at the dissatisfaction of German, and French, voters.. all of whom will righteously claim "We did all we could"..
Now.. imagine Domenique Le Pen, in charge of a new French majority government..

The heat continues to be a problem in the States.. Remember, if they're not burning gigantic petrol engines, they're running industrialised air condition units..
From Texas to the Dakotas, and east to Illinois and Indiana, temperatures and humidity levels soared on Monday and were expected to remain high through at least the end of the week, by which time forecasters say the East Coast will get to share the misery..
Ahhh... NYC in 115 degree temperatures.. And it being one of the friendliest cities in the world, to boot... So very polite.. it's remarked upon..
Seventeen states issued heat watches, warnings or advisories on Monday, when the heat index easily surpassed 100 degrees in many places, including 126 in Newton, Iowa, and 119 in Madison, Minnesota..
Just to give an idea of what that could mean waiting a car.. caught in a rush hour tailback in a queue.. in that heat.. for say 30 minutes.. breathing a solid intake of exhaust fumes.. only to have your tires melt to the road..
Things were heating up on the East Coast on yesterday, and the National Weather Service said temperatures in New Jersey that were expected be in the lower 90s and What will it possibly take for an economic leader, a national leader, to finally stand up and tell us the truth that's been staring us in the face for years now..
This world has changed, and the changing back, it at all ever possible will take decades..
We play with Monopoly Money, rather than in firm stocks and commodities..
We speculate.. gamble.. use gilts for bargaining chips, and junk bonds to pull us down..
There's to be yet another meeting early this week between the Eurozone Economics Ministers.. in the hopes whatever this latest flimsy accord they may forge, and that hardly seems an appropriate word in this case.. can delay the inevitable..
There was such a gathering today.. This meeting today She told a news conference that there would not be anything as "spectacular" as a restructuring of Greek debt..
The meeting will attempt to agree a second bail-out of Greece in a hope of calming financial markets and stop contagion spreading..
What's the old adage.. 'getting the horses out before the barn burns..?
At the weekend Angela indicated that she may not attend the meeting unless there was a likelihood of a concrete deal on a second Greek rescue..
Germany has been at odds with the European Central Bank over its insistence that private investors in Greek Bonds share the pain of another rescue deal..
The ECB believes that forcing private investors to take losses on their loans is effectively a default by Greece on its debts.. which is a pretty accurate assessment.. Nearly everything that Eurozone leaders have done in response to the Euro Crisis has been done in the name of preventing contagion.. The main problem is, we have seen the enemy, and it is us..
Germany, Finland and the Netherlands are in the forefront of calls for private investors to share the burden rather than just leave it to the taxpayer..
Germany has been at odds with the European Central Bank over its insistence that private investors again, dig deep into pockets which are getting shallower and shallower..
And inevitably.. whether Eire, Portugal. Spain, Italy, Greece and all the others on the periphery stand or fall, it will be at the dissatisfaction of German, and French, voters..
Imagine Domenique Le Pen, in charge of a new French majority government..

The heat continues to be a problem in the States.. Remember, if they're not burning gigantic petrol engines, they're running industrialised air condition units..
From Texas to the Dakotas, and east to Illinois and Indiana, temperatures and humidity levels soared on Monday and were expected to remain high through at least the end of the week, by which time forecasters say the East Coast will get to share the misery.
Ahhh... NYC in 115 degree temperatures.. And it being one of the friendliest cities in the world, to boot...
Seventeen states issued heat watches, warnings or advisories on Monday, when the heat index easily surpassed 100 degrees in many places, including 126 in Newton, Iowa, and 119 in Madison, Minnesota..
Things were heating up on the East Coast on Tuesday, and the National Weather Service said temperatures in New Jersey that were expected be in the lower 90s and could reach 100 degrees by the end of the week...
Take note gentle reader, this is not normal.. and the Camper Countdown continues..

Still pushing for a last minute face saving economic miracle.. Obama today renewed his push for an ambitious deficit-reduction deal..
Hailing a bipartisan package.. put forward hours earlier by a group of six senators as a sign of progress.. and summoning Congressional leaders for a new round of negotiations..
Reciting the now familiar litany that 'time is running out..'' that now was the goal to get a deal approved by the government before the its debt ceiling on the 2d next month, Barack underlined a proposal worked on for months and put on the table by the so-called Gang of Six.. the group of senators who offered a plan for roughly $4 trillion in deficit reduction over the next decade.. suggested there was still hope for a bipartisan deal..
In other words.. there are more issues both sides want to be left holding the upper hand on, in the next cut of the deck.. There' s still time for some petty squabbling..
There are times the machinations of government can seem so utterly mundane.. but never is it more obvious than when a big issue rears it's head..
Always watch the man with the smallest bag.. it gives the impression he wants the least.. but very valuable concessions can be rolled into a picture tube..
Take the Midwest.. it may be holding back for trade concessions with the Far East and China, to reduce it's massive wheat and soy surplus.. Because of bumper crops, American wheat and soy dropped a third ten days ago..
Gods know China, and all that area, hard hit by natural disasters of their own could profit through bond exchanges for wheat imports..
The grain gets sold.. the Chinese eat.. and the US has back in the hands of it's own treasury, those Bonds China could have called in at anytime..
Also keeps rolling stock on the rails.. and their produce on it's way to market..
Even in the worst of our analysts hair-tearing and scattering of ashes, business will continue..
But it's the problem areas the likes of Greece, which keep hoi polloi occupied..
Take note gentle reader, this is not normal..
And the Camper Countdown continues..

An apt aphorism comes to mind.. 'I grieved when I lost my shoes, until I saw a man with no feet..'
The UN is about to declare a catastrophic state of famine in Somalia..
In spite of concerted efforts of many Humanitarian Groups, the Somalians.. an estimated 10m of them.. have been affected in east Africa by the worst drought in more than half a century..
Tens of thousands of desperate Somalis have been trying to flee their country to neighbouring Kenya or Ethiopia.. but the overflow is overwhelming the resources of countries already deep in their own particular economic and political upheavals..
Those conditions include more than 3 of ten of children being acutely malnourished.. and at least four children out of every 10 thousand.. dying daily..

More throughout the day..

2011-07-18T15:26:00.008Z

A former News of the World journalist who made phone-hacking allegations against the paper has been found dead..
In other developments in the phone-hacking story yesterday..
Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner John Yatesnhas resigned following growing pressure that 'The Independent Police Complaints Commission'.. received referrals from the Metropolitan Police Authority about the conduct of four current or former senior Met officers..
Labour leader Ed Miliband is on this like white on rice.. again attackeding David Cameron for hiring former News of the World editor Andy Coulson at Number 10.. This has become something on an ongoing joke.. It begs the question, perhaps tonue in cheek but perhaps then again, not.. that is there no one as Pure as Caesars Wife..?
Among all of those who deliver our morning dose of the news.. are there none to be found who could't change unsullied..?
The point is, that there is not, and to expect scandals from those who invent them, is something akin to getting bread from your baker..
Yours is the choice from whom to buy..

Former News International chief executive Rebekah Brooks confirmed she would appear before a committee of MPs tomorrow, alongside Rupert and James Murdoch, despite her arrest and questioning by police on Sunday..
News Corporation established an independent body headed by senior barrister Lord Grabiner QC to lead its internal inquiry into the News of the World phone-hacking scandal..
And in the meanwhile.. back at the wallet..Shares in News Corporation dropped by 7.6% to a two-year low in trading in Australia, and suffered a 4.3% fall in New York..
The Serious Fraud Office said it would give "full consideration" to a request by Labour MP Tom Watson to investigate out-of-court settlements made to hacking victims
Press Association reporter Laura Elston's lawyer said she would would face no further action. She had been arrested last month by police investigating allegations of phone hacking by journalists..
Mr Yates checked the credentials of Neil Wallis before the Met employed the former News of the World deputy editor..
Mr Wallis was arrested and released on bail on Thursday on suspicion Sean Hoare had told an American newspaper the practice was far more extensive than the paper acknowledged when police first investigated hacking claims.. "The death is currently being treated as unexplained, but not thought to be suspicious.. Police investigations into this incident are ongoing.."
He also said the then NoW editor Andy Coulson had asked him to hack phones.. something Mr Coulson has denied..

As Harry Habersagen used to say, "It's hard times in Lankhmar..
The euro and stock markets fell.. borrowing costs of indebted countries rose.. as worries over debt crises in the eurozone and US mounted..
A financial health check on 90 European banks, published last Friday, failed to ease nervous markets.. a mere band aides effort at the best of times..
The Euro touched a record low against the Swiss franc, and bond yields in Spain and Italy hit new highs..
Financial shares fell sharply, with Royal Bank of Scotland and Societe Generale down about 5%. on the day..
And recall, those who have been faithfuls readers for the past few years.. we have been touting gold as one of the most profitable commodities.. the price of gold topped $1,600 an ounce for the first time as investors put money into the haven commodity.. The spot gold price hit $1,600.40, before pulling back slightly to $1,598.76..
And despite bumper crops of wheat and soya throughout the American Midwest dropped it's annual reports net worth down by nearly a third..
Considering the droughts, floods.. massive relocation's.. a bounce back is bound to be seen soon, as foreign, especially Asian markets wait for a bottom-out..
Watch for this trend to continue for the foreseeable future.. Those economies with realistic balances in stock.. will be the one's who manage to balance their paper with their commodity needs..
In a further sign of scepticism in the financial markets that governments will be able to bring an end to the debt crisis, yields on Italian and Spanish bonds rose..
The rate on ten-year Italian bonds exceeded 6%, the most since the euro's debut in 1999..The Spanish equivalent rose almost 0.2 percentage points to 6.37%..
And to top the icing on the cake.. Confidence in Spain's economy was dented by news that its banks have 117.6bn Euros in outstanding loans that are at risk of not being recovered..
Here come those 'financial black holes'..

2011-07-17T05:12:00.002Z

Taking into account the political and economic clout the Chinese weigh in as the second largest economy, it was a bold move for Barack to meet with the Dalai Lama.. Obama told the Tibetan Leader of his "strong support" for human rights in Tibet..
A move the Chinese are vehemently opposed to.. Beijing released an angry statement saying the meeting had damaged relations between the two countries..
One of the main problems, is keeping China's reserves of American Bonds stable.. What with the US facing it's first possibility of devaluation and defaults.. And while not to be all doom and gloom..
Asian Markets have reflected the disarray in the West.. one can be sure analysts are in the West burning the midnight oil.. Paring away at the smallest issues possible without seeming to give away traditional.. entrenched.. issues..
It's been long day.. and a longer poised for tomorrow..

Once again, the media, and especially Rupert Murdock will once again find himself under the harrow for yellow journalism.. for theft.. for bribery..
And not in the least significant effect .. are the immediate losses some 200 writers, Editors, some whose names may have never been besmirched by any impropriety whatsoever..
Just having 'The News of The World'on one's CV, is something that might prepare to defend..
This is certainly not a new trend.. I's been as common, and as lurid as hacks could make for centuries.. People have been wiping their backsides with the pages of Penny Awfulls for time immemmorial..
It's an odd trait of the Brits.. the French have their interminable affaires public for years..Same with the Italians.. and are able to put things into perspective, and deal with their peccadillo's.. their endless affairs are secondary to the job the man or Woman at the top is doing their job..
Perphaps it's our Calvanistic streak.. which allow us to snigger behind open hands, at those we consider 'icons'..
A sad case of 'hubris..
As Samuel Pope said.." A little learning's a dan'rours thing.. Drink deep or taste not the Pyerian Spring.. Where shalow draughts intoxicate the brain, But drinking largely sobers us again..

2011-07-15T19:46:00.007Z

Rupert Murdoch issued a series of abject apologies and heralded sweeping changes to his newspaper business today as he sought to repair the damage of the phone-hacking scandal.. This dog and pony show could play out for quite a while, as the individual players in the police investigation come to light.. There are webs within webs.. from those junior reporters who're desperate for the recognition.. to the Senor Editors who passed unsubstantiated 'facts' into front page poetry..
And while it had appeared she would stand for at least a couple of weeks.. Rebekah Brooks became the highest casualty yet in a growing clearout of Senior Executives when Murdoch accepted her offer to resign as Chief Executive of News International..
Rupert really wants control of BSkyB.. bad enough to grovel before the public in general..
Including a repentant Rupert Murdoch, the News Corporation Chairman and Chief Executive.. requesting a meeting with the family of Milly Dowler.. and told them the hacking of their murdered daughter’s phone shamed his family name..
“He apologised many times,” said Mark Lewis, the Dowler family’s lawyer. “I don’t think anybody could have held their head in their hands so many times.”
National newspapers are carrying a full-page advert tomorrow morning signed by Mr Murdoch in which he admits for the first time that News International had been left flat-footed by the crisis that has engulfed it over the past two weeks..
“We regret not acting faster to sort things out,” it reads.. Murdoch also declares he is sorry for the “serious wrongdoing” at the News of the World and for the hurt suffered by individuals affected..
He will be substantially hit.. when the civil court cases come before News Iternational's team of lawyers..

Barack's challenged Congress today, to put the country on the right fiscal footing for decades to come by slashing spending.. and increasing revenue as part of a package to raise the nation's $14.3 trillion debt limit..
In a news conference at the White House after five days of often-tense closed-door talks with congressional leaders.. Obama said there is still time to put together a "big deal" to solve the nation's debt and deficits problem for the long term.. and raise the debt ceiling before the August 2d deadline imposed by the Treasury Department..
He cautioned, however, that time is running short to avoid the first government default on its loans.. putting the US on a level with Greece.. 'junk' bonds.. the largest economy in the world.. seems oxymoronic.. something Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and a host of economists have warned would be catastrophic.. Obama said he is asking leaders to come up with a solution before the end of the weekend...
At issue: Democrats want a deal in which trillions of dollars in spending cuts are accompanied by new revenue through ending tax breaks for big oil companies and similar measures..
"The American people are sold" on a plan that would do both, Obama said.. "The problem is that members of Congress are dug in ideologically.."..
Not that the consideration has not been taken by both.. that by raising a thirteen trillion borrowing limit.. one delays the necessity of the next loan, and the next, and the next..
We're living in a definite downward spiral..
And while it may be overstating the obvious, nothing short of a New World Order.. empowered within a Union in which there would needs be an agreed accord.. with each country voting on a representation by population and by GNP.. A modified United Nations..
As for the ongoing talks..
"If they show me a serious plan, I'm ready to move," Obama said..
An inportant word left out of that soundbite.. "fast.." Odd such an important words makes it's effect felt by it's absence..

Thousands of Egyptians, increasingly upset with their interim military rulers.. rallied Friday in the nation's two largest cities.. ringing a security building with chants of.. "Oh police, you are thugs".. and demanding trials for police officers suspected in the killing of hundreds of activists in the uprising that brought down Hosni Mubarak..
Organizers of the protests, billed as the "Friday of Last Warning," said soaring temperatures were keeping many people away, but noted that in recent days, crowds have swelled after sunset.. The Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt's best-organized political group, did not attend..
For the past week, hundreds of hardcore activists have camped out at Cairo's Tahrir Square, birthplace of the 18-day popular uprising that ousted Mubarak on the 11th of February.. Their main demand is that the military council which took over after the uprising.. purge all remnants of the Mubarak regime.. and get on with the institution of public elections..
"We want to cleanse the country's institution.." one of the demonstrators, standing on a stage in a corner of the square and holding a microphone, told a group nearby.. "Until we see the government officials talking to the protesors in Tahrir, we will not leave this place.." This pledge, has a familiar ring to it..
"Bread.. freedom.. and social justice.." he chanted..
Simple enought demands to be met, one would think..

2011-07-13T17:03:00.004Z

Three explosions rocked India's busy financial capital at rush-hour Wednesday, killing at least 17 people and injuring 54 in what officials described as another terror strike on the city hit by militants nearly three years ago..
Television footage showed dozens of police officials, several of them armed, at the sites of the explosion and at least one car with its windows shattered.. A photograph showed victims of a blast at the Jhaveri Bazaar crowding into the back of a cargo truck to be taken to a hospital..
Indian media reported the Home Ministry had called the separate blasts in three busy locations a terror attack.. No officials there could be independently reached for comment..
The explosions happened around 7 pm.. when all the neighborhoods would have been packed with office workers and commuters..
The blasts.. if confirmed as a terror strike.. would mark the first major attack on Mumbai since 10 militants laid siege to India's financial capital for 60 hours in November 2008..
That attack, which targeted two luxury hotels.. a Jewish center.. and a busy train station.. killed 166 people and was blamed on Pakistan-based militant groups.. The attacks escalated tensions between the nuclear-armed rivals and prompted them to suspend peace talks..
However, the talks have recently resumed..
This latest attack will certainly cast a pall over discussions to come.. for if Pakistan can't control the Taliban and al Qaida, it loses whatever strategic value it still holds..

President Obama collected $86 million combined for his re-election campaign and the Democratic party during the past three months, giving him a large fundraising advantage over the Republican field seeking to challenge him in 2012..
Obama has a large fundraising lead over Republicans..
President Obama collected $86 million combined for his re-election campaign and the Democratic party during the past three months, giving him a large fundraising advantage over the Republican field seeking to challenge him in 2012..
Obama has a large fundraising lead over Republicans.
Obama campaign manager Jim Messina said in a video posted early Wednesday that it raised more than $47 million and the Democratic National Committee brought in more than $38 million through the end of June, building a foundation for advertising and get-out-the-vote efforts in next year's election. Obama's team had set a public goal of $60 million combined..
Mind you, the fund raising's nowhere near over yet.. and it could well take every penny in the war chest to offset the negativity of unemployment figures over 9%.. inflation on the rise.. and an economy which appears to be at the best, flagging..
Mind you, the timing of the return of American Forces from Afghanistan is key.. it's one of the few positive pieces of news this administration will have over the next 16 months or so..
There are some who believe the American man on the street will give Barack another kick at the can..
But, with all the indicators we have in place.. it will likely be a Republican administration, with Mitt Romney carrying the colours..
Regardless of who sits in the Oval Office, this plan Barack's fighting for tooth and nail in the House and Senate for a long term commitment, rather than another three or four month postponement of yet another debate..
The World's markets are in turmoil, as the US debates it's own future.. with a default looming in the air..
It's bad enough the States is on the verge of bankruptcy.. with the same scenario developing in Europe, it's an even bleaker future in the offing..

Newspaper proprietors, editors and politicians including the Prime Minister face being called to give evidence under oath before a far-reaching inquiry into the hacking scandal, David Cameron announced.. Cameron named Lord Justice Leveson as the head of a two-pronged inquiry that will trawl through the details of journalistic malpractice and police failings and also craft a new system of press regulation..
He said he would be happy to give evidence himself as he said the relationship between the media and politicians had to change..
Cameron, who this afternoon is due to meet the family of Milly Dowler, the murdered schoolgirl whose phone was hacked, said of the inquiry: “We want it to be one that is as robust as possible. One that can get to the truth fastest and get to work the quickest. And one that commands the full confidence of the public.”
Mind you, if the goal of these investigations is to eradicate yellow journalism.. it is doomed to utter failure from the start.
There will always be a segment of the British public who lives for their 'stories'.. the likes of Corrie or Eastenders.. and who will fight for the right to see embarrassing photo's of our celebrities.. and who's having illicit affairs with whom..
Already there are plans on the table for a 'Sunday Sun'.. the newspaper of 'Page 3' fame.. The gap in the market left by the News Of The World will not remain vacant for long..
The market's too great to be ignored.. and these replacement publications for tabloid journalism will see the niche filled quickly..

Now, try to make sense of this..
UK unemployment fell 26,000 in the three months to May.. to 2.45 million.. official figures show..
The unemployment rate was 7.7%, according to the Office for National Statistics .. down from 7.8% in the previous quarter..
However and herein lies the conundrum.. the number of people claiming Jobeekers's Allowance in June rose by 24,500 to 1.52 million.. the biggest such increase in two years.. the total number claiming unemployment benefits reached its highest level since March 2010, while the claimant count rate held steady at 4.7%..
It is the second month in a row that the claimant count has risen while the unemployment total.. which is based on a separate survey.. has fallen..
Makes no sense to us, either..But anyone, posed with such a question, would be forced into an honest assesment, amounting, on the whole, to a re-evaluation of what a job's worth..
If it's redundant to the power of two that would save us some £45thousand a yeat, while allowing those who could do well well..

Ministers, parliamentarians and thousands of other people joined the Afghan president Hamid Karzai to bury his half-brother Ahmed Wali Karzai, a political strongman who was praised for his efforts to bring peace to the southern province of Kandahar..
Ahmed Wali Karzai.. dubbed the president of Kandahar.. was killed on Tuesday at his home by his long-trusted Security Chief..
The Taliban have claimed responsibility for killing Ahmed Wali Karzai..
Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday Karzai said.. "This is the life of the people of Afghanistan. Afghan families, every one of us, have suffered from it and we hope, God willing, for our suffering to be over.. Once again I call on the Taliban, my dears, my brothers and friends, come and join me in building the country.. Stop destroying the country.."