World Leaders Vow Joint Push to Aid Economy
WASHINGTON — Facing the gravest economic crisis in decades, the leaders of 20 countries agreed Saturday to work together to revive their economies, but they put off thornier decisions about how to overhaul financial regulations until next year, providing a serious early challenge for the Obama administration.
Though the countries’ stimulus packages were cast as ambitious steps, they mainly reflected measures that the countries were already undertaking to respond to the crisis. What remains to be seen is whether, working with a new White House, the leaders will cast aside their political and economic differences to embrace more radical changes, including far-reaching but fiercely debated proposals to overhaul regulation.
The group planned its next meeting for April 30, 101 days after President-elect Barack Obama is sworn into office.
Mr. Obama, who sent emissaries but did not attend at the meeting, will find common ground with the leaders in his support of a further stimulus program in the United States — something President Bush opposes. The group called for more fiscal measures to cushion the blow of a downturn that is hitting rich and poor countries.
Two senior advisers for Mr. Obama, Madeleine K. Albright and James A. Leach, met privately with leaders on the sidelines. And Mr. Obama addressed the meeting only obliquely on Saturday in his first radio address as president-elect, in which he expressed appreciation that Mr. Bush “has initiated this process, because our global economic crisis requires a coordinated global response.”
Meeting here, in the capital of the country where the crisis began, the extraordinary gathering of leaders from the Group of 20, representing wealthy countries and major emerging economies, began what participants said would be a broad reform of the institutions that have governed global markets since World War II.
In a five-page communiqué that mixed general principles with specific steps, the G-20 pledged a new effort to bolster supervision of banks and credit-rating agencies, scrutinize executive pay and tighten controls on complex derivatives, which deepened the recent market turmoil.
(You can read the rest at)
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/16/business/worldbusiness/16summit.html?_r=2&ref=worldbusiness&oref=slogin&oref=slogin
Worse yet, i heard someone quote the President elect (which he really is not, not until the electoral college votes, but not many people care about trivalities) say that he was not going to worry about the deficit for the first two years in office, he sees the need to spend and bailout until we get out of this crisis. At least all Nero did was watch and fiddle, our President elect is throwing gas on the fire as we burn up.
The government will do ``whatever it takes'' to revive the economy, Obama said. That means ``we shouldn't worry about the deficit next year or even the year after,'' he said, adding that in the short term, ``the most important thing is that we avoid a deepening recession.''
excerpt from the following article
Obama Calls for Aid to U.S. Auto Industry, With Conditions
By Edwin Chen
Nov. 16 (Bloomberg) -- President-elect Barack Obama said the government needs to provide help to U.S. automakers on condition that management, labor and lenders come up with a plan to make the industry ``sustainable.''
``For the auto industry to completely collapse would be a disaster in this kind of environment -- not just for individual families but the repercussions across the economy would be dire,'' Obama said in an interview broadcast this evening on CBS News's ``60 Minutes.'' Government aid could come in the form of a ``bridge loan,'' he suggested.
Under normal circumstances, Obama said, allowing General Motors Corp. to enter bankruptcy, undergo a restructuring and then emerge as ``a viable operation'' might have been a preferred route. If that were to happen now, he said, ``you could see the spigot completely shut off so that it would not potentially permit GM to get back on its feet.''
The hour-long interview with Obama and his wife, Michelle, was taped on Nov. 14 in Chicago, where he is working to build his government team before his Jan. 20 inauguration. The president- elect discussed the economy, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and energy. He and his wife also talked about the changes in their lives after he defeated Republican John McCain in the Nov. 4 presidential election.
The government will do ``whatever it takes'' to revive the economy, Obama said. That means ``we shouldn't worry about the deficit next year or even the year after,'' he said, adding that in the short term, ``the most important thing is that we avoid a deepening recession.''
National Security
The president-elect also said he's moving quickly to assemble his national security team. ``I think it's important to get a national security team in place because transition periods are potentially times of vulnerability to a terrorist attack,'' he said.
Obama reiterated his intention to close the U.S. detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and ban torture during interrogation of suspected terrorists as part of ``an effort to regain America's moral stature in the world.''
He said that after he takes office, he will begin executing a plan to draw down U.S. troops in Iraq and send some to Afghanistan, ``which has continued to worsen.''
Obama said it is ``a top priority for us to stamp out al- Qaeda once and for all,'' and that a critical aspect will be capturing or killing Osama bin Laden. The terrorist group's leader is ``not just a symbol'' but remains ``the operational leader of an organization that is planning attacks against U.S. targets,'' the president-elect said.
Energy Plan
On energy, Obama said that, with oil prices dropping in recent weeks, ``it may be a little harder politically'' to enact measures to lessen U.S. dependence on foreign energy. ``But it's more important,'' he said, noting that the country has gone through earlier cycles of energy shocks only to return to its heavy reliance on foreign oil.
As a result of such behavior, he said, ``we never make any progress. It's part of the addiction, all right. That has to be broken. Now is the time to break it.''
Obama said his job as president will be to bolster confidence in the economy.
``Part of the way to think about it is things could be worse,'' he said. ``We could have seen a lot more bank failures over the last several months. We could have seen an even more rapid deterioration of the economy -- even a bigger drop in the stock market.''
Obama said he soon will begin to make Cabinet appointments. He already has named about a half-dozen top White House staff.
`A Great Feeling'
On more personal matters, Obama, 47, said he was enjoying sleeping in his own bed in Chicago, and seeing his two daughters in the mornings, after nearly two years of non-stop campaigning. ``It's a great feeling,'' he said.
One adjustment, he said, is the loss of privacy, such as not being able to take a walk in his Chicago neighborhood.
Michelle Obama said she hopes the White House ``will feel open and fun and full of life and energy'' when the family moves in. She said first lady Laura Bush was ``gracious'' and ``excited and enthusiastic'' when giving her a tour last week.
Obama said his family plans to get a dog after settling into the White House. ``I don't think it would be good to get a dog in the midst of transition,'' he said.
In excerpts from the same interview that CBS released yesterday, Obama said Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson may be disappointed with some aspects of the federal government's $700 billion bailout of the banking industry.
``Hank Paulson has worked tirelessly under some very difficult circumstances,'' Obama said. ``I think Hank would be the first one to acknowledge that probably not everything that's been done has worked the way he had hoped it would work.''
Obama also said the government must do more to help distressed homeowners.
``We have not focused on foreclosures and what's happening to homeowners as much as I would like,'' Obama said. He called for setting up ``a negotiation between banks and borrowers so that people can stay in their homes.''
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aOl_Qn1.A4Dw&refer=worldwide
It is no wonder why the following article is true and will get worse
Feds called in to review landowner's sign
By KEITH KINNAIRDNews editor
VAY — The U.S. Secret Service is being asked to review a sign a Bonner County landowner put up which suggests a "free public hanging" of President-elect Barack Obama and several other political figures.
The handmade cardboard sign also features a noose fashioned from a length of nylon rope.
"That's a political statement. They can call it whatever they want, a threat or whatever," said Ken Germana, who installed the sign on his property off Golden Gate Road in southwestern Bonner County.
Obama's name is the most prominent on the sign, although it also bears the names of former Democrat presidential nominee John Kerry, current U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi and civil rights activist and former presidential candidate Al Sharpton.
Sheriff Elaine Savage said she is referring the matter to the Secret
Service, which is tasked with protecting the lives of presidents, presidential contenders and those who are in a presidential line of succession.
"I'm sure they will be looking into it," Savage said on Wednesday.
The Secret Service agent in Spokane, Wash., who was asked to review the situation was not immediately available for comment on Wednesday.
The Bonner County Human Rights Task Force said it is outraged by the display.
"Everyone has the right of free speech, unless it advocates the killing or hurting of someone or incites violence, which violates the doctrine of human rights," Christine Holbert, president of the task force, said in a statement.
Holbert called the sign "hateful" and said its content is not protected under the First Amendment.
"I would not want to be in this man's shoes when the Secret Service interviews him," she added.
Germana said he poses absolutely no threat to Obama, but admits he would not lose any sleep if harm did come the president-elect's way. He said he made the sign to protest hypocrisy in two high-profile incidents involving effigies of Republican vice president nominee Sarah Palin and Obama.
The Palin effigy was erected in Los Angeles and the Obama effigy was put up at the University of Kentucky campus in Lexington. Both incidents made headlines in the run-up to the general election, but Germana maintains they were treated differently by authorities and the press.
In Germana's view, nothing was done to the creators of the Palin effigy, while those who were involved with the Obama effigy were arrested.
"If other people can make political statements, so can I. Just because I don't live in California doesn't mean I don't have my rights, too," he said.
Germana calls any insinuation that there is a racial tone to his sign malarkey, emphasizing that its message is clearly equal opportunity.
"If these Katzenjammer cops want to pursue it, God bless 'em. But I've got my rights just like everybody else does," he said.http://www.bonnercountydailybee.com/articles/2008/11/14/news/doc491bc5ab04e78208338058.prt
UK calls on sex shops and bailiffs in slump
Alexandra Topping
guardian.co.uk, Monday November 17 2008 00.01 GMT
What a difference a year makes. Twelve months ago the nation was oblivious to impending economic disaster; today it is calling in the bailiffs, begging for more credit cards and looking for cheap thrills, or so directory inquiry requests suggest.
Number request figures from the country's biggest directory service provider paint a gloomy portrait of Britain that reveals requests for bailiffs, credit card companies and house clearance services rising while calls for estate agents, surveyors and removals are falling.
One industry appears to be holding its own, however - the figures reveal a sharp increase in number requests for sex shops, lap dancing clubs and escort agencies.
The figures, based on about 130m calls a year to 118118, compare requests for numbers from January to June 2007 to the same period in 2008 with some surprising variations. "When we saw these figures we couldn't quite believe the huge difference in call requests between last year and this," said William Ostrom, spokesman for the company.
"They give a snapshot of what is going on in the nation, and the figures do seem to reflect the gloomy outlook that most people have about the current economic situation."
Calls for debt collection agencies were up by 67% in the first two quarters of this year, calls for insolvency practitioners up 65% and requests for credit card company numbers up 135%. For estate agents it may come as little surprise that calls for surveyors were down 18%, estate agents by 6% and removals 20%. An increase in calls for trade unions (73%) and army recruitment (60%) may also reflect a fear of rising unemployment, the harsh reality of which can be seen in the number of calls for au pair agencies (down 98%) and domestic staff, such as cleaners (down 65%).
The retail picture is equally glum. Calls for secondhand shops increased by 299%, while office stationery and supplies fell by 46% and menswear fell by 8%. Calls for restaurants fell by 6% while calls for takeaway pizza were up by 97%.
But there is some good news. Concerns about the environment may finally be triggering behavioural change. Calls for bicycle shops increased by 94%, railway travel increased by 27% and recycling services by 150%; requests for airlines and airports fell by 5% and taxis by 11%. There was a small increase in the number of people calling car dealerships (15%) but this could be explained by people shopping around, said Ostrom. "Overall our travel figures suggest people are still travelling but their habits are changing. Everyone is taking a step to the left, those who holidayed in the Seychelles are going to Europe, European travellers are staying in the UK and UK holidaymakers are staying at home."
The data gives a worrying picture of the nation's sexual predelictions. Requests for pole and lap dancing outlets were up 469%, calls for escort agencies increased by 40%, while calls for sex shops increased by 1,312%. "I hesitate to say that the UK has gone sex mad, but the figures do seem to paint their own picture," said Ostrom.
The increase in requests for lap dancing clubs in particular reflects a worrying trend, said Sandrine Levêque, from anti-sexism campaign group Object. She said this "sexist culture" was fuelled by a loophole in the law that enables the clubs to be licensed in the same way as cafes.
Requests for other leisure activities are also surprisingly buoyant, with calls for karaoke bars up 96%. It all adds up to a picture of a nation in denial, said Arek Ohanissian, economist at the centre for economics and business research.
"It will be interesting to see the figures for the second half of this year when I think we will see the effects of the global economic crisis really hit home," he said.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2008/nov/17/recession
U.S. schools' foreign enrollments soar
By Mary Beth Marklein, USA TODAY
The number of foreign students enrolled in U.S. colleges surged 7% last year to 623,805, an all-time high and the largest one-year increase on record. It is the strongest sign yet that post-9/11 declines are history.
Enrollments of foreign undergraduate and graduate students just starting to pursue their degree are rising even faster — 10.1% last year — suggesting growth will continue, the report says. It was released today by the non-profit Institute of International Education, which tracks international education trends for the U.S. State Department.
"These numbers are truly historic," says Goli Ameri, assistant secretary of State for educational and cultural affairs. "We haven't just covered lost ground … we have now surpassed" previous records.
The total number for the 2007-08 academic year is 6% above the previous high, set in 2002-03. Though enrollments reached 586,323 that year, they were up just 0.6% over 2001-02. Enrollments declined slightly for the next three years, then rebounded in 2006-07 when enrollments increased 3.2%.
Institute president Allan Goodman credits the turnaround primarily to efforts by the U.S. government and colleges in recent years "to ensure that international students know they are welcome here."
Much of the dropoff was blamed on lingering concerns about visa delays and denials, and tension between the United States and much of the world. From 2000 to 2006, the global share of international students in U.S. institutions dropped from 25% to 20%, says the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
The State Department has responded with efforts including an expanded network of advisers worldwide and a more streamlined visa application process.
A survey in October of 778 colleges and universities suggests another potential factor: Of 432 schools that said international enrollments were up this fall, 19% said the weak U.S. dollar made tuition costs more attractive. That survey was conducted by the institute and seven national higher education organizations.
In addition to the cultural and educational assets such students bring to U.S. campuses, the report says, they contribute about $15.5 billion to the economy. About 62% pay their own way, it says; U.S. universities are the main funding source for 25.9%, most of them grad students in science, math and engineering.
Immigration researcher David North calls the financial benefit "a phony argument" based on flawed methodology. His research, based in part on National Academy of Sciences data, suggests that the institute's annual reports understate how much U.S. higher education spends on foreign graduate students.
In 2006, U.S. universities were the primary source of graduate-level financial aid for 90.7% of foreign students, compared with 64% of U.S. citizens. He argues that the presence of foreign graduate students is lowering wages for all students in grad programs.
"That, in turn, discourages Americans (from going) into some of these fields," North says.
Goodman disagrees. "We just don't have enough Americans going into science, math and engineering, and the foreign graduate student often is the teaching assistant we badly need," he says. "We want them because one of them is going to cure cancer or invent the vaccine for HIV."
http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2008-11-16-foreign-students_N.htm?loc=interstitialskip
'Lost tribe of Israel' coming 'home'Group believes it descended from biblical patriarch Joseph
Posted: November 16, 20089:55 pm Eastern
By Aaron Klein© 2008 WorldNetDaily
A Bnei Menashe family planning on moving to Israel (Shavei Israel)
JERUSALEM – The Israeli government has given permission for about 150 Indian citizens who believe they are one of the "lost tribes" of Israel to move legally to the Jewish state.
This decision clears the way for the arrival here of some of the remaining 7,200 members of the Bnei Menashe in India, who believe they are the descendants of Manasseh, one of the biblical patriarch Joseph's two sons and a grandson of Jacob.
"With so much economic and political turmoil in the world, it is comforting and reassuring to see that the Divine process of the Ingathering of the Exiles continues," said Michael Freund, chairman of Shavei Israel, a Jerusalem-based immigrant organization working with the "lost" Jews.
"Just as the prophets foretold, God is gathering in the Bnei Menashe, one of the Lost Tribes of Israel, and bringing them home to Zion," Freund told WND.
The remaining thousands of members of the Bnei Menashe still reside in India, waiting to move to the Jewish state. Interior Minister Meir Shetreet, whose office must approve the group's immigration, reportedly allowed the 150 members to move here on humanitarian grounds, since the families were recently told their immigration had been approved, prompting many of them to sell their houses.
In August, WND reported Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's office agreed in theory to allow the entire "tribe" to arrive in Israel, but sources close to the negotiations said that decision, like many others, has been placed on hold due to upcoming parliamentary elections in February that will likely see Shetreet replaced with a new interior minister. The new government will thus need to re-approve the Bnei Menashe's "return."
Over the last decade, several organizations, most notably Shavei Israel, have brought more than 1,300 members of the Indian group to the Jewish state, where they were successfully integrated into religious Israeli society, holding professional jobs, attending universities, becoming rabbinic leaders and serving in the Israel Defense Forces. Shavei is a private organization that relies on individual donations.
The original batches of Bnei Menashe to arrive here came as tourists in an agreement with Israel's Interior Ministry. Once in Israel, the Bnei Menashe converted officially to Judaism and became citizens.
But diplomatic wrangling halted the immigration process in 2003, with officials from some Israeli ministries refusing to grant the rest of the group still in India permission to travel here.
To smooth the process, Shavei chairman Freund enlisted the help of Israel's chief rabbinate, who flew to India in 2005 to convert members of the Bnei Menashe, a process stopped last year by India.
Freund then coordinated with the Israeli government to approve the arrival of batches of a few hundred Bnei Menashe as tourists who would later convert, but that process was halted after Sheetrit took office in July 2007.
Freund said the new batch of 150 Bnei Menashe will arrive here on a special charter flight in January. He said they would settle in the Galilee, "where the landscape and pastoral setting resemble the land of their birth, making it an ideal place for the Bnei Menashe to start their new lives in the Jewish state."
Tribe members live in the two Indian states of Mizoram and Manipur, to which they say they were exiled from Israel more than 2,700 years ago by the Assyrian empire.
According to Bnei Menashe oral tradition, the tribe was exiled from Israel and pushed to the east, eventually settling in the border regions of China and India where most remain today. Most kept customs similar to Jewish tradition, including observing Shabbat, keeping the laws of Kosher, practicing circumcision on the eighth day of a baby boy's life and observing laws of family purity.
In the 1950s, several thousand Bnei Menashe say they set out on foot toward Israel but were quickly halted by Indian authorities. Undeterred, many began practicing Orthodox Judaism and pledged to make it to Israel. They now attend community centers in India established by Shavei Israel to teach the Bnei Menashe Jewish tradition and modern Hebrew.
What a egotistical Jerk,
What a wrong priority Jerk, even if he messes with other stuff he will stay diverted, i know too much to hope forJust like a liberal think they are smarter then everyone else does not matter what others think
Obama to push for college football playoff Jon Ward (Contact)Monday, November 17, 2008 President-elect Barack Obama on Sunday said the National Collegiate Athletic Association should institute a college football playoff system, and vowed that he will push them to do so, but a senior collegiate official rejected the president-elect's suggestion. "This is important," Mr. Obama said, at the end of a nearly 40-minute interview with CBS News' "60 Minutes." "I'm gonna throw my weight around a little bit. I think it's the right thing to do," he said. "I think any sensible person would say that if you've got a bunch of teams who play throughout the season, and many of them have one loss or two losses, there's no clear decisive winner that we should be creating a playoff system," Mr. Obama said. "Eight teams. That would be three rounds, to determine a national champion. It would it would add three extra weeks to the season. You could trim back on the regular season. I don't know any serious fan of college football who has disagreed with me on this." But John Swofford, the commissioner of the Atlantic Coast Conference and current Bowl Championship Series coordinator, dismissed the president-elect's suggestion. "I am glad he has a passion for college football like so many other Americans. For now, our constituencies -- and I know he understands constituencies -- have settled on the current BCS system, which the majority believes is the best system yet to determine a national champion while also maintaining the college football regular season as the best and most meaningful in sports," Mr. Swofford said in a written statement. "We certainly respect the opinions of President-elect Obama and welcome dialogue on what's best for college football," he said. The NCAA has resisted calls over the last several years to make such a change, clinging to its tradition-rich bowl system and the Bowl Championship Series, which relies on polls and computer ratings to pick the two teams that play for the national championship. BCS results have often been the source of controversy, as schools with perfect records or with as many wins and losses as those who make it to the championship have been left out with no chance to compete for the number one spot. But the BCS has become a lucrative business for the 10 schools that make it to the four major games and the championship game. Just as President Bush pushed Major League Baseball to clean up its players' use of illegal performance-enhancing drugs such as steroids, Mr. Obama appears to have found his pet athletic cause to push for. He first mentioned his support for the playoff system during an interview with ESPN during the "Monday Night Football" game between the Washington Redskins and Pittsburgh Steelers last week. His calls for college football reform are not the first from a lawmaker. Rep. Joe Barton, Texas Republican, in 2005 called a BCS official before his subcommittee to review the system. http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/200 ... l-playoff/
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