Saturday, December 13, 2008

Eeyore's News and View

'Iran wants to devour the Arab world'
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak spoke out against Iran during a meeting with members of the Egyptian ruling party, according to a report in the Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Jarida on Thursday, cited by Israel Radio.

Mubarak accused the Islamic Republic of trying to subsume its Muslim neighbors, telling the forum that "the Persians are trying to devour the Arab states."
Mubarak's comments came after the Egyptian leader recalled the country's diplomatic envoy from the Iranian capital earlier this week following an increase in tension between the two countries.
Recent strain between Cairo and Teheran has grown as several demonstrations in Iran called for the hanging of the Egyptian
leader. The Iranian FARS news service reported that participants in recent student demonstrations outside the Egyptian diplomatic mission in Teheran also chanted "Death to Israel" and "Death to America" and burned an Israeli flag.
On Wednesday the Egyptian ministry was quoted as criticizing some Iranian newspapers that have repeatedly insulted Egyptian policies and leadership recently. Teheran media, for example, broadcast incitement against Cairo's policy allegedly preventing aid from reaching Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

Manila reports Ebola virus in pigs
By Roel Landingin in Manila
Published: December 11 2008 20:24 Last updated: December 11 2008 20:24
Philippine officials tucked into servings of lechon, the popular dish of roasted whole pig, in front of television cameras on Thursday to reassure the public of the safety of the national staple meat after the discovery among hogs near Manila of a strain of the Ebola virus.
Arthur Yap, agriculture secretary, and Francisco Duque, health secretary, said the Ebola Reston virus, which had never been found in pigs before, presented a low health risk for humans and was different from the deadly African variety.
The World Health Organisation was reported to be looking into whether there was any chance humans could have become infected.
The outbreak could deal a blow to Philippine plans to build a pork export industry. The government halted an inaugural shipment of frozen pork to Singapore and quarantined three swine farms.
Pork vendors in public markets in Manila sought to assure buyers that their products had passed government inspection and met safety standards.
“December is the month when we sell the most pork at relatively higher price,” said Evelyn Reyes, who operates a small pork stall in Quezon City. “I really hope the government does a good work of calming people’s fears about the Ebola virus.”
Pork accounts for more than half of the average 61g of meat consumed daily by each Filipino.
The virus was first discovered in 1989 in macaque monkeys imported from the Philippines by a laboratory in Reston, Virginia. Scientists are trying to determine how the virus spread to pigs.
Seems everyone wants to riot now, some want to riot because there is not bailout some want to riot is a bail out. Should be interesting.
GOP Senator Warns of 'Riots' if Automakers Are Bailed Out Sen. Jim DeMint says unfair union influence and the bailout culture will anger many Americans. By Jeff Poor Business & Media Institute12/11/2008 1:28:37 PM

Time and again we’ve heard about the lost jobs and economic impact of failing to bail out the beleaguered American auto manufacturers. But little mention has been made of the consequences of going through with the bailout, and how such an action would be viewed by other Americans.

In an interview following
a Dec. 10 press conference where he and four other senators aired their opposition to the proposed bailout deal struck by congressional leaders and the White House (and approved by the U.S. House of Representatives 237-170 that evening), Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., warned that the perception that some industries are being bailed out and some aren’t could lead to violence.

“We’re going to have riots. There are already people rioting because they’re losing their jobs when everybody else is being bailed out. The fairness of it becomes more and more evident as we go along. The auto companies may be hurting,” he said, but “there are very few companies that aren’t hurting and they’re going to hurt. We don’t have enough money to bail everyone out.”

DeMint blamed the unions for pushing this issue as far as it has gotten. The senator said the notion that reorganization under bankruptcy would not work was generated by the unions for fear of losing their power.

“The primary driver behind this is the unions, because bankruptcy allows the auto companies to basically restructure all their contracts in a way that a bankruptcy judge says will make them sustainable,” DeMint said. “And if they do that, then essentially the unions lose all their leverage. It’s the unions that have brought them to the brink. So definitely, I think the reason they want a political solution and a car czar is because a car czar can protect the unions through this whole process at the expense of the taxpayer.”

The result of the bailout culture that now exists on Capitol Hill will be incredibly high rates of inflation down the road as the economy picks back up and prices reflect the amount of new money circulating through the economy.

“There is no question this will result in inflation,” DeMint said. “The amount of money we’ve borrowed, the amount of money we’ve printed has put us in a more dangerous situation than we’ve ever been in as a country. We may not see the inflation as long as the economy is slow. But, I’ve talked to some economic experts and once the economy starts picking up with so much money in the money supply and so much debt, we’re likely to see very high interest rates and very high inflation rates.”

DeMint went as far as to say that General Motors (NYSE:
GM), one of the big three auto manufacturers lobbying for bailout money, was better off than the nation that’s debating whether to rescue it..

“If you look at where we’re going, we’re not on a sustainable course as a country,” DeMint said. “Frankly, GM is in a better financial situation than we are as a country. The only difference is we can print money. But as other countries around the world lose confidence in the value of a dollar – that’s going to come home very shortly.”
Inventor builds She-3PO robot
By CAROLINE IGGULDEN
SHE is the perfect wife, with the body of a Page 3 pin-up and housekeeping skills that put TV’s Kim and Aggie to shame.
Her name is Aiko, she can even read a map, and will never, ever, nag.
Sounds too good to be true, doesn’t she fellas? And she is.
Aiko is actually a robot, a fantasy brought to life by inventor Le Trung.

So touching ... Aiko reacts to gentle contact wit her inventor Barcroft
Devoted Aiko — “in her 20s” — has a stunning 32-23-33 figure, pretty face and shiny hair.
She is always happy to clean the house for “husband” Le, help with his accounts or get him a drink.
Computer ace Le, 33, from Ontario, Canada, has spent two years and £14,000 building his dream girl.
He had planned to make an android to care for the elderly.
But his project — inspired by sci-fi robots like Star Wars’s C3PO — strayed off-course.

Inspiration ... Star Warsrobot C3-PO
Le said: “Aiko is what happens when science meets beauty.”
Robo-wife Aiko starts the day by reading Le the main newspaper headlines.
The couple often go for a drive in the countryside, where Aiko proves a whizz at directions.
And they always sit down for dinner together in the evening, although Aiko doesn’t have much of an appetite.
Le says his relationship with Aiko hasn’t strayed into the bedroom, but a few “tweaks” could turn her into a sexual partner.
Le said: “Her software could be redesigned to simulate her having an orgasm.”
Aiko can already react to being tickled or touched. She also recognises faces and speaks 13,000 sentences.
Now Le is seeking a sponsor to help him overcome the robot-maker’s biggest challenge — making Aiko walk like a human.
Once Aiko has been perfected, Le hopes to sell clones for use as home-helps.
He said: “Aiko doesn’t need holidays, food or rest, and will work almost 24 hours a day. She is the perfect woman.”
Aiko sparks mixed reactions in public.
Le said: “Women usually try to talk to her. But men always want to touch her, and if they do it the wrong way she slaps them.”

Friday, December 12, 2008

Eeyore's News and View


Houston could be in al-Qaida's crosshairs December 10, 2008 - 5:36am
J.J. Green, WTOP Radio
WASHINGTON -
Houston is at the top of al-Qaida's list of U.S. targets, and may be hit soon according to a former CIA official.
"Certainly, the prime target for the
United States right now is Houston," says Mike Scheuer, the former head of the CIA's Osama bin Laden unit.
He says al-Qaida believes a successful attack on Houston would be a major blow to the U.S. economy.
"It controls so much of the refining of gasoline. It's the hub for natural gas distribution, and it only has one ship canal."
Scheuer believes the time is drawing closer.
"Al-Qaida is ready to attack us again. Their rhetoric is very calm and straight forward."
However, none of the DHS agencies reports any imminent threats.
Scheuer says if al-Qaida did attack Houston, "the price of energy goes up, and Muslims benefit from them."
Now a senior fellow with the Jamestown Foundation, Scheuer says hurting the U.S. without harming Muslims is a key consideration for al-Qaida.
That, Scheuer explains, is just another reason Houston seems seems so appealing.
"They can hurt us tremendously economically by hurting our energy, and they can attack the energy target without hurting Muslims."

http://wtop.com/?nid=778&sid=1544165

Rio Tinto to cut 14,000 jobs to cope with slump December 10, 2008 - 1:23pm
In this undated file photo released by BHP Billiton, an aerial views shows Olympic Dam mine in South Australia. Rio Tinto Group will cut 14,000 jobs worldwide and reduce capital investment as part of new measures to reduce its debt amid waning demand for iron ore and other metals, the mining company said Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2008. The job cuts - accounting for 12.5 percent of Rio Tinto's 112,000 work force - and reduction in operating expenditure are expected to save the company at least 2.5 billion Australian dollars (US$1.6 billion) a year by 2010, the London-based company said in a statement. (AP Photo/BHP Billiton, HO, File)
By TANALEE SMITH Associated Press Writer
SYDNEY, Australia (AP) -
Rio Tinto Group, one of the world's largest miners, will cut 14,000 jobs worldwide and reduce capital investment as part of new measures to reduce its debt amid waning demand for iron ore and other metals, the company said Wednesday.
The job cuts _ accounting for 12.5 percent of the company's 112,000-person work force _ and reduction in operating expenditure are expected to save at least 2.5 billion Australian dollars ($1.6 billion) a year by 2010, the
London-based company said in a statement.
The cuts will mostly be on the contractor side, where 8,500 positions will be eliminated.
Rio Tinto has offices in 40 countries, with most of its employees in
Australia and North America, as well as significant operations in South America and southern Africa.
The company also said it will try to sell "significant assets" that were not previously listed for sale in order to reach its goal of trimming AU$10 billion ($6.6 billion) from its debt by the end of next year.
"Given the difficult and uncertain economic conditions, and the unprecedented rate of deterioration of our markets, our imperative is to maximize cash generation and pay down debt," Chief Executive Tom Albanese said in the statement. "We have undertaken a thorough review of all our operations and are executing a range of actions."
"By taking these tough decisions now we will be well positioned when the recovery comes," Albanese said.
Rio Tinto's AU$38.9 billion debt was a key factor in rival
BHP Billiton withdrawing its hostile takeover bid last month in the midst of the global economic downturn. Much of that debt is from its $38.1 billion acquisition of Canadian company Alcan last year.
Other mining companies would likely take similar measures in response to reduced demand, said John Meyer, an analyst at
Fairfax IS investment bank in London. The booming demand in recent years led to expansion and job growth for many mining companies that is no longer sustainable, he said.
"The scale of the cuts looks dramatic but we would expect to see this across the industry," he said. "Companies have expanded in recent years in response to high metals prices, but that's over now. With the recent severe falls in demand, and the recent (economic) climate, we can see mining companies pulling back markedly."
Rio Tinto spokesman Ian Head said there were no details yet on where, when or how the staff cuts would come. The Rio Tinto statement anticipated severance costs of AU$400 million.
"We're working our way through the implications of this," Head said. "We don't expect to know more until sometime in the first quarter of next year."
The world's second-largest aluminum producer stressed it remains committed to its strategy of finding, developing and operating large, long life, low cost mining assets.
The company currently expects its global iron ore production and shipments for fiscal 2009 to be around 200 million metric tons (220.46 million tons). Aluminum production is forecast at 200,000 tons (224, 000 tons) and copper production at 830,000 tons (929,600 tons).
Rio Tinto is counting on the further industrialization of countries such as
China and India to support higher levels of demand for metals and minerals.
In London, Rio shares closed up 256 pence, or 20.4 percent, to 15.14 pounds ($22.50). In
Sydney, where trading ended before the announcement, its stock rose 12.14 percent to AU$37.40 ($24.76).
http://www.upi.com/Business_News/2008/12/10/Mining_company_Rio_Tinto_cuts_14000_jobs/UPI-46351228928288/


Dow Chemical to slash 5,000 jobs, shut 20 plants December 8, 2008 - 6:44pm
By ERNEST SCHEYDER AP Business Writer
NEW YORK (AP) - Dow Chemical Co. said Monday it will slash 5,000 full-time jobs _ about 11 percent of its total work force _ close 20 plants and sell several businesses to rein in costs amid the economic recession.
(rest of story at the link)
http://wtop.com/?nid=111&sid=1541342

Goldman to axe 200 staff in London-sources
Wed Dec 10, 2008 11:26am EST
LONDON, Dec 10 (Reuters) - Goldman Sachs Group Inc is laying off some 200 staff in London this week as part of a 10 percent cut in global headcount first reported in October, two people familiar with the situation said on Wednesday.
Goldman, which had a record 32,569 employees in August, declined to confirm the actual number of job losses and did not say how many employees it had in London.

http://www.reuters.com/article/fundsFundsNews/idUSLA72165820081210

Xstrata to cut 900 workers jobs in DomRep December 4, 2008 - 7:41pm
SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) - Roughly 900 workers at the
Dominican Republic's largest nickel mine will lose their jobs due to high production costs and a drop in the metal's value, international mining company Xstrata said Thursday.
http://wtop.com/?nid=111&sid=1538260

China's exports fall for first time in 7 years China's exports shrank unexpectedly in November as global demand plunged, raising the threat of heavy job losses that could fuel political unrest, and a sharper downturn in the world's fourth-largest economy.
http://wtop.com/?nid=111&sid=1544207

The boom years are over for Chinese exports as slowdown bites in workshop of the world
Jane Macartney in Beijing and Gary Duncan, Economics Editor
Made-in-China goods have filled shelves from Tesco to Burberry as consumers across the West have snapped up huge quantities of cheap products from Asia’s economic powerhouse. But exports from the “workshop to the world” have suddenly begun to fall sharply and may have shrunk last month in the latest dramatic symptom of global recession.
(Continued check link)
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financetopics/financialcrisis/3692255/Asian-trade-in-Free-Fall.html

Asian trade in 'free fall' as exports to West dry up
The economic downturn in Asia has taken a sharp turn for the worse as Japan slides into deep recession and exports contract in China, Korea, and Taiwan.
(The rest of the article is here)
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financetopics/financialcrisis/3692255/Asian-trade-in-Free-Fall.html

Office Depot closing 126 stores, distribution centers
NEW YORK (Reuters) — Office Depot (ODP) said Wednesday that it plans to close 126 stores and has further cut its store opening plans for 2009 as the economic downturn affects demand from small businesses and retail customers for office supplies.
Office Depot plans to close 112 underperforming retail stores in North America over the next three months. In addition, 14 stores will be closed in 2009 as their leases expire or other lease arrangements are completed, it said.
The retailer will also close six of its 33 distribution centers in North America, and says it plans to open about 20 stores in 2009, down from an earlier estimate of 40.
Office Depot expects the actions will result in charges of $270 million to $300 million.
In October, Office Depot said it would delay opening new stores posting a surprise third-quarter loss.
The decline in office supply sales has also hurt peers OfficeMax and industry leader Staples.

http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/retail/2008-12-10-office-depot-closings_N.htm

Thursday, December 11, 2008

Eeyore's news and a view

Heading for zero
By Roger Bootle
Central banks are making history. Last week's 1pc cut took interest rates down to 2pc, the level that they were last at in 1951, which was the all-time low since the Bank of England was formed in 1694

What now? I think that interest rates around the world should be cut to zero – and what's more, I think they just about will be. But why stop at zero? Why not send interest rates negative? The answer gets to the root of a monetary economy and hints at why deflation is so dangerous. The answer is cash – i.e notes. They do not carry interest, positive or negative. This imposes a limit on what can be done with bank deposits.
If banks, under leadership from the central bank, tried to impose negative interest rates on bank deposits, people would withdraw money and hold hoards of cash on which no negative interest rate was incurred. There might plausibly be some reluctance to hold large amounts of cash for convenience or security reasons, and accordingly banks might be able to levy a small negative interest rate on deposits without prompting a stampede to cash.
But it could only be small, not least because it would be open to other banks, or indeed completely new banks, to start a new business simply taking in cash to look after for safekeeping in return for a small fee.
I can already hear some clever-dicks rushing to send me "oh yes they can" messages. And I admit that there are some isolated examples of technical quirks. In 1978, for instance, the Swiss authorities managed to impose negative interest rates on foreigners depositing in Swiss francs.
Some people were prepared to accept negative interest rates because they hoped to offset this loss with a capital gain as the Swiss franc rose on the exchanges. Even this episode applied only to non-residents in special circumstances and did not last long.
And in the Great Depression in the US there were instances of negative rates. The prices of Treasury Bills at auction occasionally exceeded par, thereby giving a small negative yield. But these were exceptional quirks, and they do not offer a way of breaking through the zero limit.
There is, however, a theoretical way of breaking through it, namely to date notes and make their value decline with time. But this would play havoc with the monetary system which, after all, is founded on the idea that a pound is a pound, whenever the note was printed. So take it from me, interesting little quirks aside, rates cannot go negative.
So once rates have reached zero, what can central banks do? They have two tools in their armoury. First, they can keep interest rates at zero for a very long time. This is pretty much what Japan has done. The importance of this is that once the markets believe that rates are going to stay low for a long period then longer term rates of interest, principally the yield on government bonds, will fall as well. Lower bond yields will reduce the cost of finance for companies and will underpin the value of equities and commercial property. This process has already started. The yield on UK long government bonds has fallen to 3.8pc, the lowest since 1951.
Second, central banks can embark on what is known in the trade as "quantitative easing". This simply means the central bank buying securities in the open market. This is not a new-fangled idea. It is known in the textbooks as open market operations and was advocated by Keynes, amongst others.
A central bank would normally prefer to buy government securities – such as bills and bonds. But it can also buy private debt, and in extremis even equities – as the Bank of Japan did in the 1990s. Such a policy is designed to do two things. First, it will lead to rising prices – i.e. lower interest rates – on such paper, and thereby help to bring the interest rates on such assets as close to zero as possible.
Second, it will increase the amount of central bank money in the system. The banks will find themselves with more and more reserves piling up. The hope is that at some point they will lend this money rather than just sitting on it.
In theory, there is no limit to the amount of quantitative easing that a central bank can undertake, thus allowing the government to use expansionary fiscal policy to stimulate activity without limit. Suppose that the government cuts taxes, financed by issues of bonds, which the central bank buys. Central bank money rises and the government distributes this money to the citizens. This is the equivalent of Milton Friedman's famous helicopter drop and amounts to the same thing as Keynes' suggestion in the 1930s to stuff bottles with £5 notes, bury them and employ people to dig them up.
It sounds so easy. What is the rub? This policy is indeed the answer to persistent and deep-seated deflation. Stand by: if we ever get that far I'll be advocating it! But it did not solve all of Japan's difficulties in one fell swoop. The problem is that central banks do not know how much quantitative easing is required to bring an end to deflation.
This creates something of a dilemma. If they conduct a lot of quantitative easing they risk overdoing things and turning a deflation problem into an inflation problem. You only need to look at Zimbabwe to see how expanding the money supply can lead to uncontrollable inflation. However, if they adopt a piecemeal approach and do little bits of quantitative easing here and there, they run the risk of allowing the deflation to continue, as happened in Japan.
Believe me, it is better if we don't even get to this point. There is a clear incentive for policymakers to reach zero interest rates as quickly as possible. If there is even a small possibility that the economy is heading for deflation, is it better to do all you can to prevent it before it begins.
Otherwise, once deflation kicks in, the real interest rate – that is the nominal interest rate less inflation – rises. In other words, deflation automatically tightens policy exactly at a time when it should be loosened. So rates should be rushed to zero.
There is a view that once rates get to 1pc or 0.5pc the central bank should desist from further cuts on the grounds that they should not "use up the last shot in the locker." Why not? If a Red Indian is rushing towards you with a tomahawk, ready to cut off your head, what is the point of not shooting him on the grounds that if you do bring him down, there may be another Indian coming along later?

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/comment/rogerbootle/3658646/Heading-for-zero.html

In lean times, SoCal residents trade guns for food
Record Number of Gun Owners Trade Weapons for Food, Gift Cards
By THOMAS WATKINS Associated Press WriterLOS ANGELES December 8, 2008 (AP)
Los Angeles County Sheriff Deputy Jeff Gordon, right, and colleagues examine and process weapons yesterday, in Compton, Calif. The sheriff's department on Sunday completed its annual Gifts for Guns program in Compton, where residents could anonymously relinquish firearms in return for a $100 gift card for Best Buy, Target or Ralphs. (Ric Francis/AP Photo)
A program to exchange guns for gifts brought in a record number of weapons this year as residents hit hard by the economy look under the bed and in closets to find items to trade for groceries.
The annual Gifts for Guns program ended Sunday in Compton, a working class city south of Los Angeles that has long struggled with gun and gang violence. In a program similar to ones in New York and San Francisco, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department allows residents to anonymously relinquish firearms in return for $100 gift cards for Ralphs supermarkets, Target department stores or Best Buy electronics stores.
Turning in assault rifles yields double that amount.
In years past, Target and Best Buy were the cards of choice, with residents wanting presents for the holidays.
This year, most asked for the supermarket cards, said sheriff's Sgt. Byron Woods.
"People just don't have the money to buy the food these days," he said.

Authorities said Sunday that a record 965 firearms and two hand grenades were handed in during the two weekends the program was in operation. That's more than in any other year and easily eclipses last year's total of 387 guns collected over both weekends.
Compton's violent history has been chronicled in such gangsta rap albums as N.W.A.'s "Straight Outta Compton." But Woods said most of the residents who turned in weapons were "family people."

"One guy said he had just got laid off from his job," Woods said. "He turned in five guns and said it would really help him to put food on the family's table."
Gun owners dropped their weapons off at a local grocery store parking lot. Deputies checked the weapons to see whether they had been used in crimes, then destroyed them.
The annual drive started in 2005 after a spike in killings, though the murder rate has since dropped.
One man brought in a Soviet-era semiautomatic carbine.
"If that got into the wrong hands of gangbangers, they could kill several people within minutes," Woods said. "Our biggest fear is a house getting burglarized and these guns getting

The drive also has yielded antique weapons.
Gift cards for the guns exchange were paid mostly by Los Angeles County, but the three companies involved and the city of Compton, which contracts the county for police protection, also donated funds.
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=6414376

Report: Iran rocket arsenal tripled in 2008
In a signthat Iran is taking military measures to ward off the threat of an attack on its nuclear facilities, the country has tripled the number of long-range rockets in its arsenal, Channel 10 reported on Monday.
According to the report, Iran possessed 30 Shihab-3 missiles at the beginning of 2008. Currently, the country claims to have over 100 over long-range missiles capable of hitting Israel. While the ability of the Islamic Republic to strike any point in Israel has long been known, this latest build-up potentially points to an Iranian intent to launch a protracted counter-strike against those who seek to destroy its nuclear program.
The Jerusalem Post could not confirm the report.
Last summer, Iran held a massive missile exercise during which it claimed to have launched an improved version of the Shihab-3, known to have a range of 1,300 kilometers. The Iranian Fars News Agency Web site reported that the Shihab-3 had recently been equipped with an advanced guidance system that significantly improves the missile's accuracy and can correct its flight plan in midair.

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1228728112652&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

Eat camels to protect environment, Aussies told
Dec 9 03:01 AM US/Eastern
Australians were urged Tuesday to eat camels to stop them wreaking environmental havoc, just months after being told to save the world from climate change by consuming kangaroos.
A three-year study has found that Australia's population of more than a million feral camels -- the largest wild herd on earth -- is out of control and damaging fragile desert ecosystems and water sources.
The Desert Knowledge Cooperative Research Centre, which produced the report, plans to serve camel meat at a barbecue for senior public servants in Canberra on Wednesday to press its point.
Report co-author Professor Murray McGregor said a good way to bring down the number of camels was to eat them.
"Eat a camel today, I've done it," he told the national AAP news agency.
"It's beautiful meat. It's a bit like beef. It's as lean as lean, it's an excellent
health food."
Similar claims are made for kangaroo meat, but the rationale for farming and eating the national emblem -- as outlined by the government's chief climate change adviser in October -- is different.
Millions of
farm animals such as cows and sheep produce massive amounts of harmful greenhouse gases, said Professor Ross Garnaut, but kangaroos emit negligible amounts of methane.
Unlike the native kangaroo, camels were introduced into Australia as
pack animals for the vast outback in the late 19th and early 20th Centuries, but were released into the wild as rail and road travel became more widespread.
The country has wrestled for years with imported animals brought in as beasts of burden, food sources, for recreational hunting or, ironically, to control agricultural pests.
The Department of the Environment lists animals of "significant concern" as including feral camels, horses, donkeys, pigs, European wild rabbits, European red foxes, cats, goats and cane toads.
With few natural predators and vast sparsely populated areas in which to roam, the populations have soared, putting pressure on native species by preying on them, competing for food, destroying habitats and spreading disease.

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=081209070110.gs8vvzpt&show_article=1

UK has a problem with their pension also
Pension schemes face £155bn shortfall
Almost 90pc of defined benefit pension schemes in the UK were in the red at the end of November as falls in stock markets hit the value of their assets.

By James HallLast Updated: 11:41PM GMT 08 Dec 2008
The Pension Protection Fund (PPF), the pensions lifeboat fund, said yesterday that 6,690 pension schemes had a deficit at the end of last month, compared with 6,468 in October. The schemes in deficit at the end of last month face a collective funding shortfall of £155bn. Just one year ago, this figure was £58.3bn.
Once pension funds with a surplus are included in the figures, the total funding shortfall faced by all defined benefit schemes was £136bn in November, compared with a deficit of £97.3bn at the end of October.
In November, the total number of schemes in surplus was 1,047 – just 14pc of all schemes – compared to 1,273 in October. In November 2007 there were 2,400 schemes in surplus.
Last month alone there was a 0.5pc decrease in assets due to falling UK and global equities. At the same time, lower gilt yields in general led to an increase in liabilities of approximately 5.2pc.
"Over the past year, the falling equity markets and bond yields have led to an overall worsening of the funding position. Lower bond yields resulted in a 4pc increase in aggregate liabilities, while weaker equities have reduced assets by 18.7pc," the PPF said.
The PPF was established three years ago to pay compensation for members of defined pension schemes when their employers became insolvent. Pensions experts predict an increase in claims in the current environment.
Woolworths, the stricken retailer whose retail and distribution arms are in administration, could become one of the biggest burdens on the PPF if a last-minute rescue deal cannot be struck to save the retailer.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financetopics/financialcrisis/3685259/Pension-schemes-face-155bn-shortfall.html

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Eeyore's News and View

This a big deal if it effects you and be aware of what is happening to your pension. Watch out in the future as the Congress start raiding the Government pensions and the then the private pensions and do what they did to Social Security to them. When they start that, you need to watch out.
Pension Funds Beg Congress to Suspend Billions in Contributions
By Brian Faler
Dec. 8 (Bloomberg) -- Pension funds at Pfizer Inc., International Business Machines Corp., United Parcel Service Inc. and dozens of other companies have joined the parade of businesses seeking relief from Congress amid this year’s economic meltdown.
Instead of money, they want legislation to suspend a federal law that would make them pump billions of dollars into retirement plans to offset stock-market losses as many struggle to find enough cash just to stay in business. They’re pressing Congress to consider the issue this week before this year’s session adjourns.
“The companies are not out there with their hand out for a bailout,” says Mark Ugoretz, head of the ERISA Industry Committee, a Washington advocacy group representing big businesses on benefit issues under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act. “This is not about money; this is about time.”
About 800 companies in the Standard & Poor’s 1500 Index have pension funds, and they were collectively $280 billion short of the sums needed to pay projected benefits as of Nov. 30, according to a study by New York-based benefits consulting firm Mercer LLC. Those 800 funds started the year with a $60 billion surplus, Mercer estimated.
To gain help from Congress, the companies will have to overcome skeptics who say they are using the market plunge to undermine retirement-funding provisions in a 2006 law they didn’t like in the first place.
“They’re trying to stampede Congress,” says Jeremy Gold, founder of Jeremy Gold Pensions, a New York-based actuarial consulting firm. Funds with prudent investment strategies were able to moderate market losses, he says.
‘Losers’ Cry ‘Help!’
“This is a failure of risk management by America’s pension plans,” Gold says. “They failed to reduce their exposure to the equities markets, they continued to gamble, and they lost the gamble. So like all the other losers, they’re standing on the Capitol Hill steps, saying ‘Help!’”
While employers increasingly offer 401(k) and similar retirement-savings plans, about 44 million private-sector U.S. workers, retirees and spouses still are covered by traditional defined-benefit pensions.
Starting this year, the Pension Protection Act of 2006 requires companies to increase pension-fund assets gradually to put them on firmer financial footing, reducing the chances the government will have to take them over for failing.
Full Funding
Previously, plans generally had to have about 90 percent of what they needed to meet future obligations. At the end of this year, the new threshold will be 92 percent. By the end of 2011, the law requires 100 percent funding. Companies that don’t reach a given year’s threshold can be required to immediately jump to full funding. Plans falling below 80 percent funding may face added limits on actions that would further drain assets, such as some lump-sum payments.
About half of the 800 companies in Mercer’s study are in danger of missing this year’s target, Mercer analyst Adrian Hartshorn says. World markets have been so volatile, though, that the outlook may change significantly -- for better or worse -- before year’s end, Hartshorn says.
The 800 companies’ pension plans, as of Nov. 30, had aggregate assets covering about 80 percent of projected liabilities, down from 97 percent in September, Mercer reported. Those estimates, based on financial statements prepared under U.S. accounting rules, give a rough idea of where companies stand in relation to this year’s target. The federal law, however, has its own standards for measuring pension funding.
Desperate for Cash
Pfizer, IBM and UPS and almost 300 companies, trade groups and unions petitioned Congress last month to suspend the funding mandate. The law requires “huge, countercyclical contributions” at a time “when companies desperately need cash to keep their businesses afloat,” the group says in a letter to lawmakers.
Spending to pump up pensions may cost jobs by diverting scarce capital from business operations, Ugoretz says. “If a company has to dump $150 million into their pension fund, they’ve got to make it up some place,” he says.
Atlanta-based UPS, the world’s largest package-delivery company, supports pension-law changes because “given where we are economically today as a country, we think that some reform that allowed those funds to be used in other ways would be beneficial to the economy,” spokesman Malcolm Berkley says. Calls seeking comment from Pfizer and IBM weren’t returned.
Investment losses by pension funds have hit companies in a range of industries as the S&P 500 plunged more than 40 percent so far in 2008. Houston-based Lyondell Chemical Co.’s pension fund lost $154 million in the first nine months of the year, a 17 percent drop, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing.
Record Losses
Assets fell a combined $130 billion during November in the S&P 1500’s 800 or so pension plans, Mercer estimated. That topped total losses in the first nine months of 2008, and broke October’s record $110 billion decline.
“Without relief, plan sponsors must shoulder the immediate burden of sudden, unexpected, large increases in plan contributions at a time when cash may be difficult to generate internally or to obtain in the credit markets,” Mercer’s Hartshorn says.
Plans with more conservative investment strategies have at least softened the blow. General Motors Corp., the biggest corporate pension sponsor with $84 billion in projected benefit obligations at the end of 2007, is among companies that shifted assets from stocks before the worst of the market rout. The biggest U.S. automaker decided in 2006 to cut its target allocation for equities to 29 percent, from 49 percent.
GM made a “determination that, for the best interests of maintaining the funded status as well as we could, we needed to make that shift into the fixed-income market,” says Nancy Everett, chief executive officer of GM Asset Management Corp.
Notably Absent
GM was notably absent from the five-page list of companies and organizations asking Congress for relief from the asset thresholds. GM said its pension plans had a $1.8 billion deficit as of Oct. 31, down from a $20 billion surplus 10 months earlier. At that level, GM’s plans would top the pension law’s 2008 asset threshold.
David Zion, head of accounting research for Credit Suisse Securities USA, says investment managers should have been able to control volatility.
“I just find it interesting: You take some risk in the plan; if it works in your favor, then great,” Zion says. “If it works against you, then go ask Congress for help.”
On average, the 800 pension plans in the S&P 1500 had 61 percent of their assets in stocks at the end of 2007, Mercer’s Hartshorn says.
Bigger Stock Bets
Some made much bigger bets on stocks. Investment strategies at more than 20 S&P 500 pension funds allocated at least 75 percent of their assets to equities at the end of 2007, according to an October report by Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s Global Markets Institute.
Fannie Mae, the mortgage-finance company taken over by the U.S. government, ranked fourth with 84 percent of pension assets in stocks. Because of the market plunge, Fannie Mae made an unplanned $80 million payment to its pension fund last month “to offset some of the recent investment losses,” according to an SEC filing.
Bradley Belt, former executive director of the federal Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp., says lawmakers should endorse a case-by-case approach that lets the government pension agency negotiate funding requirements with individual companies and reserve assistance for those in danger of bankruptcy.
Compromise Measure
The top Democrats and Republicans on both the Senate Finance and the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committees -- Democrats Max Baucus of Montana and Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts, and Republicans Charles Grassley of Iowa and Mike Enzi of Wyoming -- are backing a compromise. It would maintain the funding targets but ease the consequences of missing them, scrapping the threat of an immediate 100 percent-funding requirement.
That proposal was stymied last month when supporters couldn’t get unanimous consent in the Senate to consider it.
The bill “strikes an appropriate balance between helping plan sponsors cope with the recent economic downturn while also protecting the worker safeguards established two years ago,” Grassley says.
The ERISA Industry Committee’s Ugoretz says the proposal doesn’t go far enough.
“We’re going to have to go back to them to explain again what needs to be done,” he says. “We’re not blowing smoke here.”

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=aBAw1CQXcZMg&refer=home

Close call for WMD commission December 8, 2008 - 4:51am
J.J. Green, WTOP Radio
WASHINGTON - Concerns about an attack on the
U.S. were revived when a report from The Commission on Prevention of WMD Proliferation and Terrorism was delivered to Congress last week.
For the commission, the report is more than just words on the pages. While working on their report, commission member and President of the Center for National Policy Timothy J. Roemer says the commission had an extremely close encounter with the terrorism.
"On one of our trips overseas on Sept. 20, we were on our way to
Islamabad. The State Department called our commission, and said, 'We were about three hours from our hotel. We've got good news and bad news. The good news is you haven't arrived at your hotel yet, the bad news is you don't have a hotel anymore.' The hotel we were supposed to stay at had just been attacked by terrorists, and it was demolished."
The report, entitled World at Risk, concluded, "unless the world community acts decisively and with great urgency, it is more likely than not that a weapon of mass destruction will be used in a terrorist attack somewhere in the world by the end of 2013."
Roemer told WTOP, "The cascade of threats are growing, and the margin of safety is shrinking."
The commission also concluded that terrorists are more likely to obtain and use a biological weapon rather than a nuclear weapon, and says that the U.S. government needs to move aggressively to limit the proliferation of biological weapons and reduce the prospect of a bioterror attack.
Vayl Oxford, director of the
Domestic Nuclear Detection Office in the Department of Homeland Security, agrees.
"I would say from a nuclear weapons point of view, I think we're confident that the threat doesn't exist within the U.S."
However, he adds, "We are worried that a potential dirty bomb could be constructed based on materials available within the U.S. itself."
There are roughly 1,300 high-risk agents that could be used to construct a crude weapon of mass destruction currently being used by the medical community in the U.S.
That is what concerns
Oxford the most. He believes a dirty bomb attack is coming.
"In the next five to 10 years, there's a growing likelihood. Maybe a 50 percent probability over the next decade."
"If stolen," says Oxford, "they could become the source of a dirty bomb attack, so we are working closely with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, as well as The Department of Energy to enhance the security of some of the sources that could be likely constituents in a dirty bomb."
In addition to dealing with problems rounding up resources for dirty bombs, Oxford is concerned about intelligence shortcomings.
"I'm less comfortable that in the very near term, we'll be able to have what I call 'The Strategic Warning' that is necessary. I think we're a lot more comfortable with monitoring activities in some of the nation-states like
Iran, North Korea, Pakistan, etc... but some of the other activities require a new approach to intelligence and our strategy."
Still, the insecurity of nuclear weapons and materials around the world pose the biggest long-term threat for Oxford.
"One of the challenges that the government continues to push for is to continue to right-size the U.S. as well as the former
Soviet Union stockpiles. There's an ongoing debate in terms of what the size of those stockpiles needs to be, and that is one of the challenges - to make sure we understand those stockpiles as well as enhance the security of the materials associated with them."
The commission recommends the U.S. undertake a series of mutually reinforcing domestic measures to prevent bioterrorism:
Conduct a comprehensive review of the domestic program to secure dangerous pathogens.
Develop a national strategy for advancing bioforensic capabilities.
Tighten government oversight of high-containment laboratories.
Promote a culture of security awareness in the life sciences community.
Enhance the nation's capabilities for rapid response to prevent biological attacks from inflicting mass casualties.
WTOP's
Capitol Hill Correspondent Dave McConnell contributed to this report.
http://wtop.com/?nid=778&sid=1541068

Obama could change relations with Cuba
If Fidel Castro survives through January, he will not only celebrate the 50th anniversary of his takeover of Cuba, he may also witness the most dramatic shift in U.S. policy toward the nation since it became a dictatorship.
An assortment of liberals, businessmen and farm-state politicians have been pushing for the easing of sanctions against Cuba for years, but every president, no matter the party, has done little to alter Cuba policy based on the apparent refusal to accept a totalitarian regime 90 miles from the U.S.
President-elect Barack Obama's stated position that he would like to revisit U.S.-Cuba policies has some viewing his administration as the first chance in decades to dismantle laws that restrict travel, investment, exports and cash mailings to Cuba.
"The election of Barack Obama clearly will serve as a catalyst for enhanced efforts," says Rep. Bill Delahunt, D-Mass. "I think it's a moment in time to move forward."
Not yet, others say.

Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez says any weakening of sanctions will merely provide the Castro dictatorship — Raúl Castro is the current president — with the cash it needs to stay in power. Gutierrez says Cuba must offer reforms first or the U.S. would be giving it something for nothing.
"There's a good reason why this policy has been in place since President Kennedy," Gutierrez says. "I would be very careful before declaring that nine presidents have been wrong."
Contact with relatives
U.S. relations with Cuba soured quickly after Castro captured Havana in January 1959. The U.S. imposed an economic blockade in 1960 and broke off diplomatic relations in 1961 as Cuba aligned itself with the Soviet Union.
A group of U.S.-trained Cuban Americans invaded the island during the botched Bay of Pigs affair in 1961, and Cuba's attempt to allow the Soviets to base nuclear missiles there threatened to start a war.
Few changes were made over the next several decades. President Clinton eased the embargo in 2000 by allowing U.S. companies to sell some agricultural and medical goods to Cuba, resulting in more than $430 million in trade in 2007.
President Bush tightened restrictions on Cuban Americans in 2004. They can visit immediate family members once every three years and cannot send relatives more than $1,200 a year.
During a May speech before a group of Cuban Americans in Miami, Obama said his strategy toward Cuba would start with lifting the restrictions on relatives. He said that Cuban Americans should be able to freely visit their relatives and that the money they send back can help them become "less dependent upon the Castro regime."
"There are no better ambassadors for freedom than Cuban Americans," Obama said.
Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, a Cuban-American Republican from Miami, says unilaterally lifting those sanctions before Cuba changes any of its policies would send the wrong message.
"It just shows (Cuba) that you can continue to oppress people, you can continue to jail people, and the response will be, 'We'll lift some sanctions,' " Diaz-Balart says.
Easing the embargo and travel for all Americans is even more controversial.
Brooke Anderson, a spokeswoman for Obama's transition team, would not speculate on changes Obama might make to U.S. policy toward Cuba.
He could reduce restrictions placed on relatives of Cubans through an executive order. Any changes to the embargo require Congressional approval.
Jack Maybank is hoping that will happen. His Charleston, S.C.-based shipping company was the first to send a barge of U.S. goods to Havana after the embargo was relaxed in 2000.
"I'm not a politician," he says. "We are strictly business people … and we're definitely following what the U.S. act says."
Watching what Obama will do are those on the left who believe the Castro regime is a socialism success story undermined by a hostile United States.
Toppling the Castro brothers
Saul Landau is a fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies (IPS) in Washington, D.C., which says it advises the Congressional Progressive Caucus, a coalition of left-leaning House members.
An admirer of Castro and Cuba's revolutionary "success," he says the embargo has never served its intended purpose: to hurt the Castro brothers.
"I would argue that neither Castro brother has suffered the loss of a single meal," says Landau, who said he did not speak for the IPS. "They have not been punished. The only people who have suffered have been the majority of the Cuban people."
Some policymakers say the embargo should be lifted to take down the regime.
Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, says easing the embargo and travel restrictions on Americans is the best way to topple the Castros. Crapo says an infusion of Americans and dollars would hasten the Cuban people's desire for a change.
Supporters of the embargo counter that there's no reason to think the Castros would suddenly reverse course.
Talks of ending the embargo are dangerous at a time when Cuba is realigning itself with Russia and further strengthening its ties with China and Venezuela, says Frank Calzon, director of Center for a Free Cuba, based in Arlington, Va.
"You'd like to see some sort of signals coming out of Havana that we welcome change and we're prepared to talk about this or this," says Ray Walser, a former 27-year State Department employee and a Latin America analyst at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank. "You don't see any of that."

http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2008-12-07-obamacuba_N.htm

Can anyone explain this? It does not make any sense at all.
9/11 suspects ask to deliver confessions in Gitmo court By Alan Gomez, USA TODAYGUANTANAMO BAY, CUBA — Five men charged with plotting the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks asked a judge Monday to halt their proceedings in their war-crimes tribunal so they could immediately confess and enter guilty pleas."We, the brothers, all of us, we would like to submit our confessions," Ramzi bin al-Shibh told military judge Army Col. Stephen Henley.The announcement means the five could enter guilty pleas before President-elect Barack Obama is inaugurated Jan. 20 and before he acts to close down the controversial military commission system created by President Bush in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks.The five co-conspirators had made the request Nov. 4 in a joint letter to the judge, but Henley said he was not able to read the letter until he reached a secure facility Sunday night.Henley allowed three of the men — including the self-confessed 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed — to withdraw all their pending motions Monday. He told two of the men that pending reviews of their mental health, and their ability to represent themselves before the court, needed to be completed before he could accept any plea.Henley said the court would conduct a thorough review process before accepting their guilty pleas and warned that it would not be in the "near future" because of the preparation needed to enter such a decision.Still, each of the defendants expressed their desire to move forward as quickly as possible."I don't want this theater to continue," said Walid bin Attash. "I am ready."Mohammed, who appeared Monday with a thick, gray beard and spoke mostly in English to the judge, said the process was "wasting our time" and he was tired of filing motion after motion."We want to enter the plea," he said.Major Jon Jackson, the lawyer for Mustafa al-Hawsawi, and other defense attorneys in the case have warned that Mohammed has been influencing and intimidating his co-defendants during occasional meetings in the detention center and during conversations in court hearings. But the men said Monday that they were acting independently."All of these decisions are undertaken by us without any pressure from Khalid Sheikh (Mohammed)," said bin al-Shibh.The surprising revelation came as relatives of victims from the 9/11 attacks were in the courtroom for the first time. At least five relatives of those killed sat behind a glass wall that separates the courtroom from a viewing area that is usually occupied by court observers and reporters. http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2008-12-08-gitmo-court_N.htm

Puppies save missing 3-year-old December 9, 2008 - 5:41am
One of the pups that was with the boy. (Photo courtesy of WDBJ)
HALIFAX, Va. - A missing toddler is now safe, thanks to two puppies that kept him warm while he was lost in the woods in
Virginia.
About 300 searchers looked for 3-year-old Jaylynn Thorpe of Halifax County after he wandered away from his home last Friday.
He was missing for 21 hours.
Rescuers found him sitting on a log at a pond a half-mile from his home.
The family's puppies were right there with him, and had kept him warm as the temperature dipped to 24 degrees.
"Without those dogs, I don't believe he would have made it through the night," says Bob Wingfield, Commonwealth Search and Rescue, tells WDBJ.
The dogs were rewarded with food, right after the boy was found, reports WSLS, a TV station that was there when the toddler was found.
Sarah Ingram, Jaylynn's mother, tells
Fox News he son later told her that he left the yard to go "hunting and fishing."
http://wtop.com/?nid=600&sid=1542749

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Eeyore's News and News

Economic clouds gather as Spain faces recession
For years, it has been a staple of daytime television, alongside the inane chat, creaky old movies and decorating do's and don'ts - the “let's-go-live-in-the-sun” show, in which Stoke and Stoke Newington are swapped for, much more often than not, Spain.
But now it has an evil twin. You may have seen it. The we're-not-celebrities-but-please-get-us-out-of-here show, in which the dream has gone horribly wrong. And it is symptomatic of the wider malaise that has gripped what was once a land of boom and money.
After a decade in which per capita income doubled - and household debt tripled - the Spanish economic fiesta is well and truly over. More than 40,000 workers are losing their jobs each week, a far higher rate than elsewhere in Europe. Unemployment is at 2.99 million, a 12-year record of 12.8 per cent of the workforce and the highest unemployment rate in the eurozone.
And there is no respite in sight. According to Pedro Solbes, the Economy Minister: “There is a risk the unemployment rates will be worse next year.”

In November, the grim jobless figures were compounded by a further decline in the services sector as activity, new orders and employment plunged to a record low.
The Markit Purchasing Market Index, which covers service companies ranging from hotels to insurance brokers, dropped to 28.2 in November from 32.2 in October, the sharpest monthly decline since figures were first collected in 1999. The figure is drastically below the 50 level where growth begins.
And underpinning it all is the Spanish construction industry, which accounts for 9 per cent of GDP. It has collapsed. After those years of boom, more than 150 property companies have gone bust so far this year, going into administration as debts mounted and they were unable to pay back creditors.
Metrovacesa, one of Spain's biggest property companies, reached a debt-for-equity deal this week with six creditor banks, which will take a 54 per cent stake in the business.
In doing so, it became the second big property company to fall into the hands of its creditors this year, after Colonial suffered the same fate in April. Martinsa Fadesa, once one of the biggest real estate firms in Spain, went into adminstration in July.
According to Sergio Diaz Valverde, an economist at Caja Madrid: “What started in the construction sector has extended to the entire economy.”
Thus, after more than a decade of the highest growth in the eurozone, Spain's GDP decreased by 0.2 per cent in the third quarter. By the end of the year, it is expected that Spain will officially be in recession.
José Luís Rodríguez Zapatero, the Prime Minister, has budgeted more than €50 billion (£43.5 billion) on stimulus measures to combat what analysts believe will be the country's worst recession in half a century.
The Government announced an €11 billion emergency spending package last month focused on public construction projects, as well as aid for tourism and car manufacturing.
With the country's largest companies struggling to pay their creditors, many are shedding jobs. Consumer confidence is dwindling, with house prices sinking by as much as 10 per cent in big cities such as Madrid and Barcelona.
Car sales, another key indicator of the health of the economy, halved last month. Many manufacturers, including Nissan, Ford and General Motors, are cutting jobs in an increasingly desperate effort to reduce costs.
Yet through the gathering clouds, some see sunlight. Alfredo Pastor, a macroeconomics specialist at the IESE Business School in Barcelona, is more optimistic than many. “I think we will see slow growth of between 0 and 0.1 per cent for the next two or three years,” he said.
Moreover, the country's banking sector has not suffered the same fate as Britain's. There have been no Northern Rocks. Instead, the two main banks, Santander and BBVA, have - so far - remained largely untouched by the present global financial crisis.
The “big two” concentrated on commercial banking, rather than investment banking or derivatives, which have struck down institutions elsewhere.
More strict regulations, introduced by the Bank of Spain after Spain's last slump, also stopped most Spanish banks from lending recklessly.
Francisco González, the chief executive of BBVA, said: “We'll pass through a storm, there will be wounds - but those who emerge will be winners.”
The 45 smaller savings banks, which are more closely involved with mortgages and hence more at risk from the housing slump, may be subject to mergers. Two in the Basque Country have already merged.
Even when Spain begins to emerge from the crisis, deep problems will remain. Productivity grew by an average of only 0.3 per cent a year between 1990 and 1997, according to figures from the Oorganisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. It estimated that between 1998 and 2006, total productivity fell by 0.2 per cent annually.
There are more than one million unsold new homes - enough for four to five years of sales at current levels - and bad loans that could triple to 9 per cent of outstanding debt by 2010, according to Credit Suisse.
Education levels are consistently low. One in three secondary pupils drops out. There has also been a brain-drain as the most talented Spaniards seek higher-paying jobs abroad.
According to Professor Pastor, all this indicates that if the country is to emerge from its slump, it must change: “Spain must improve to get away from its dependence on construction and tourism,” he said.
“We must improve our education, productivity and learn how to keep our most talented people.”
It must, in short, learn to rely far less on the things that attracted all those Britons to the Costas in the first place.
Chill wind blowing
2.99m The present total of unemployed in Spain
40,000 Number of people who are losing their jobs each week
12.8% Proportion of the workforce that is now idle
12 years since the situation was looking so bleak

http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/economics/article5295565.ece

41 States face failure and are in deep economic trouble
Tax the Rich! State Budget Crisis Deepens: Humanitarian Crisis Emerges
by Shamus Cooke

Social catastrophes are poorly expressed by statistics. A recent study by The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities revealed that 41 states are facing severe budget shortfalls for 2009. Some states are worse off than others, with California ($31.7 billion) and Florida ($5.1 billion) leading the deficit pack. In all, the 41 states are currently facing a $71.9 billion budget shortfall. The key word here is “currently,” since a similar study was conducted by the same group only three months earlier, at which time “only” 29 states were predicted to face shortfalls of a “mere” $48 billion. As the recession deepens, so will the state’s budget problems, turning this “budget crisis” into a humanitarian disaster. Projections have already been made for a $200 billion shortfall by 2010.These deficits have already transcended the computer screen of the statistician into real suffering of the most vulnerable sections of society. In dozens of states across the country, vital services are being cut to the elderly, disabled, the poor, and recently unemployed. Teachers are being cut from schools and tuitions are rising. Workers from state construction sites are being laid off, while social service employees suffer a similar fate. Non profits are closing their doors.
(You can read the rest here if you want)
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=viewArticle&code=COO20081206&articleId=11312

Somali pirates fail to seize ship off Tanzania

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Somali pirates armed with rocket-propelled grenades and automatic weapons attacked a Dutch-operated container ship off the coast of Tanzania but failed to hijack the vessel, a maritime official said Sunday.
The attack Saturday shows the pirates are becoming bolder and extending their reach further from their base in Somalia, said Noel Choong, who heads the International Maritime Bureau's piracy reporting center in Kuala Lumpur.
Eight pirates in two speedboats chased and opened fire at the ship about 520 miles east of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania, starting a fire on the vessel that was quickly doused by the crew, he said.
"The pirates used RPGs and automatic weapons to attack the ship but it managed to escape after the captain increased vessel speed," Choong said.
The ship, which has 19 crewmembers, flies a Hong Kong flag but is operated out of the Netherlands, he said.
Choong said a white-hulled fishing vessel was spotted nearby and was suspected to be the pirates' mother vessel.
The International Maritime Bureau issued an alert to all ships off the coast of Tanzania to be on a strict anti-piracy watch, he added.
Warships from Denmark, India, Malaysia, Russia, the U.S. and NATO patrol a vast international maritime corridor in the Gulf of Aden near Somalia, escorting some merchant ships and responding to distress calls. But the pirate attacks have not abated.
Some 100 ships have been attacked off the Somali coast this year, of which 40 vessels have been hijacked. Thirteen ships remain in the hands of pirates, including a Saudi supertanker filled with $100 million of crude and a Ukrainian ship loaded with 33 battle tanks.
Choong said his bureau has also warned ships to be on alert for suspected Indonesian pirates in the South China Sea off Malaysia's coast. The group is believed to be responsible for four attacks in recent months, he said.
Since September, pirates armed with guns and machetes have robbed three vessels and hijacked a tug and barge off Tioman island, he said.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2008-12-07-pirates-tanzania_N.htm

WEAPONS OF CHOICERx: Will doctors be writing firearm prescriptions? Company claims federal approval for 9-mm handgun as 'medical device'Posted: December 07, 2008Arthritis? Carpal-tunnel syndrome? A hand injury? If so, a New Jersey company claims it has invented a firearm just for you and that it has received federal approval to market the 9-mm handgun as a "medical device," perhaps even with its cost reimbursable to seniors by Medicare. Matthew Carmel, president of Constitution Arms in Maplewood, N.J., says the Palm Pistol is designed to be fired by people who have disabling conditions that prevent them from holding a normal handgun and pulling the trigger. "It's something that they need to assist them in daily living," Carmel, who hopes to manufacture the device, told New Scientist. Currently the Palm Pistol is just at the patent stage. "The justification for this would be no more or less for a walker or wheelchair, or any number of things that are medical devices," he said. Carmel expects the handgun to become available in 2010. He estimates it will sell for approximately $300. "I've been getting a lot of calls," he said. According to the website: The Palm Pistol is an ergonomically innovative single-shot double-action only defensive firearm chambered in 9mm that may be fired using either hand without regard to orientation of the stock. Suited for home defense, concealed carry or as a backup gun. It is also ideal for seniors, disabled or others who may have limited strength or manual dexterity. Using the thumb instead of the index finger for firing, it significantly reduces muzzle drift, one of the principal causes of inaccurate targeting. Point and shoot couldn't be easier. Constitution Arms reportedly claimed on a medical technology blog to have received U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval for the handgun as a medical device – specifically, a "daily activity assist device." Constitution Arms has said the firm is now attempting to obtain a Durable Medical Code for the pistol which would allow doctors to prescribe it and qualified patients to receive reimbursement through Medicare and, possibly, private insurers. A spokesman for FDA disputed Carmel's claim to New Scientist, saying, "At this time, there have been no formal designations of the Palm Pistol by the FDA as a medical device." Carmel insists he received a notice of registration earlier this week for a Class I medical device, a category that includes walking aids. But Bill Maisel, an expert with Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, said Carmel's documents from FDA fall short of the full approval he claims. Even if the gun is recognized as a legitimate medical device, Carmel has little chance of getting Medicare to pay for it, said Kevin Schulman, an expert on medical device regulation at North Carolina's Duke University Medical Center. "Medicare does not cover everything that FDA approves," said Schulman. "The first question for Medicare is whether this would be potentially beneficial, and the answer seems to be obviously no. It's not implanted in the body, but the obvious result of this thing could be." Carmel is undeterred. Constitution Arms is currently taking refundable $25 deposits from those wishing to be among the first purchasers. Clear confirmation the device has FDA approval, or better yet, Medicare approval, along with a growing escrow account of early buyers' deposits, should attract investors Carmel seeks to the venture.
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?

Monday, December 8, 2008

Eeyore's News and View

1930s beggar-thy-neighbour fears as China devalues
China has begun to devalue the yuan for the first time in over a decade, raising fears that it will set off a 1930s-style race to the bottom and tip the global economy into an even deeper slump.

By Ambrose Evans-Pritchard,
The central bank has shifted the central peg of its dollar band twice this week in a calculated move that suggests Beijing aims to offset the precipitous slide in Chinese manufacturing by trying to gain further export share abroad.
The futures markets are pricing in a 6pc devaluation over the next year. "This is clearly a big shift in policy and we are now on alert," said Simon Derrick, currency chief at the Bank of New York Mellon.
The move follows a Politburo speech by President Hu Jintao warning that China is "losing competitive edge in the world market".
China has allowed a crawling 20pc revaluation over the past three years. Any reversal risks setting off conflict with the incoming team of President-Elect Barack Obama in Washington. Mr Obama called China a "currency manipulator" during the campaign, a term that carries penalties under US trade law.
Outgoing US Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson is viewed as a "friend of China". He called for a stronger yuan this week before embarking on a visit to Beijing, but the plea was couched in friendly terms. This soft-peddling may soon change.
Hans Redeker, currency head at BNP Paribas, said China's policy switch could set off a dangerous chain of events. "If they play this beggar-thy-neighbour game, it will cause a deflationary shock for the whole world," he said.
It makes sense for countries with current account deficits such as the UK, US or Turkey to let their currencies fall, but China has the world's biggest trade surplus.
Michael Pettis, a professor at Beijing University, said it was "very worrying" that a pro-devalulation bloc seemed to be gaining the upper hand in the Communist Party. "I really do believe that we are on the brink of a very ugly period for trade relations," he said.
China has relied on exports to North America and Europe as its growth engine, making it acutely vulnerable to the contraction in global demand. Mr Pettis said this recalls the role played by the US in the 1920s, a parallel fraught with danger. "In the 1930s the US foolishly tried to dump capacity abroad, but the furious reaction of trading partners caused the strategy to misfire. China already seems to be in the process of engineering its own Smoot-Hawley," he said, referring to the infamous US Tariff Act in 1930.
China showed restraint during the Asian crisis in 1998, holding the line against domino devaluations across the region. It may yet hold the line this time.
However, this crisis is more serious. The manufacturing sector has seen the steepest decline since the records began, with devastation sweeping the textile, furniture and toy sectors. Civil unrest has begun to rock the Guangdong and Longnan regions.
Beijing has slashed rates and unveiled a fiscal stimulus of 14pc of GDP, but most of the spending comes in the form of instructions to local governments to spend more – but without giving them the money. Does China really intend to step in to prop up global demand? The jury is out.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/economics/3546471/Chinese-economy-1930s-beggar-thy-neighbour-fears-as-China-devalues.html

"Koobface" virus turns up on Facebook
By Jim Finkle
BOSTON (Reuters) - Facebook's 120 million users are being targeted by a virus dubbed "Koobface" that uses the social network's messaging system to infect PCs, then tries to gather sensitive information such as credit card numbers.
It is the latest attack by hackers increasingly looking to prey on users of social networking sites.
"A few other viruses have tried to use Facebook in similar ways to propagate themselves," Facebook spokesman Barry Schnitt said in an e-mail. He said a "very small percentage of users" had been affected by these viruses.
"It is on the rise, relative to other threats like e-mails," said Craig Schmugar, a researcher with McAfee Inc.
Koobface spreads by sending notes to friends of someone whose PC has been infected. The messages, with subject headers like, "You look just awesome in this new movie," direct recipients to a website where they are asked to download what it claims is an update of Adobe Systems Inc's Flash player.
If they download the software, users end up with an infected computer, which then takes users to contaminated sites when they try to use search engines from Google, Yahoo, MSN and Live.com, according McAfee.
McAfee warned in a blog entry on Wednesday that its researchers had discovered that Koobface was making the rounds on Facebook.
Facebook requires senders of messages within the network to be members and hides user data from people who do not have accounts, said Chris Boyd, a researcher with FaceTime Security Labs. Because of that, users tend to be far less suspicious of messages they receive in the network.
"People tend to let their guard down. They think you've got to log in with an account, so there is no way that worms and other viruses could infect them," Boyd said.
Social network MySpace, owned by News Corp, was hit by a version of Koobface in August and used security technology to eradicate it, according to a company spokeswoman. The virus has not cropped up since then, she said.
Privately held Facebook has told members to delete contaminated e-mails and has posted directions at
www.facebook.com/security on how to clean infected computers.
Richard Larmer, chief executive of RLM Public Relations in New York, said he threw out his PC after it became infected by Koobface, which downloaded malicious software onto his PC. It was really bad. It destroyed my computer," he said.
McAfee has not yet identified the perpetrators behind Koobface, who are improving the malicious software behind the virus in a bid to outsmart security at Facebook and MySpace.
"The people behind it are updating it, refining it, adding new functionalities," said McAfee's Schmugar.

http://www.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUSTRE4B37LV20081205


The last Thanksgiving before GD2?By David ChuOnline Journal Guest WriterNov 27, 2008, 00:16
Happy Thanksgiving, America!
Enjoy this wonderful family and friends celebration while you still can.
Because around the corner lurks GD2. More about this vile monster later.
Thanksgiving, U.S.A.
I remember fondly the Thanksgivings I used to spend with the Catholic family of my ex-wife in Southern California. I only mentioned that they are Catholic to emphasis that these festive celebrations were large gatherings. They usually took place either in Anaheim where her parents lived or in Orange where her uncle and aunt lived.
Thanksgiving in southern California is a special time. Weather is not cold as it is in most parts of the U.S. There is no snow on the ground. It feels more like a late summer than an early winter.
Usually, there would be almost 40 family members including a lot of grown-up kids and grandkids. The beloved matriarch who held this family together is an incredible lady whose first name is Gloria, having been born on Easter day in 1924. Gloria was one of these rare ladies whose refined manners and compassion could straighten out any delinquent and stray youth, and she did do that during her teaching days at a community college in Anaheim.
Even though I didn’t make it to her funeral (she passed away in 2005 after many years of courageously fighting a rare and painful lung disease), I respect this woman and consider her to be a true saint who touched the lives of many including mine. Because if there was ever an unassuming, flesh-and-blood saint that I have met in this lifetime, Gloria would be that one!
So I dedicate this “prescient” article on this Thanksgiving 2008 to “Lady Gloria.” (I think she would want you to know what is about to happen from her vantage point. She can certainly see it much better from up there!)
What the heck is GD2?
Simply, “Great Depression 2.”
But as the famous physicist, Neil Bohr, once remarked, “Prediction is very difficult, especially about the future.”
However, just because something is difficult does not mean that we shouldn’t try to get a handle on it, especially on something dire that concerns our future, or attempt to read the “handwriting on the wall” to use an old Biblical expression.
Using my long ago analogy by calling the ship of state (financial and economic affairs) of the U.S. as the U.S.S. Titanic, America has already scrapped that massive iceberg: there is a huge gaping hole on the starboard side of the U.S.S. Titanic!
The U.S.S. Titanic encountered this iceberg during the week of October 6, 2008. Everything that happens afterwards and in the immediate days, weeks, months, and even years following is just governments and their corrupt, criminal fiends on Wall Street and elsewhere going through the motions. Like the band that kept playing aboard the real R.M.S. Titanic, the politicians and the “captains of industry” will paint a bright and rosy picture for the third-class passengers aboard the U.S.S. Titanic, while they all don on their financial life jackets and run like hell for the very few financial lifeboats!
What do you think the $850 billion TARP (“Troubled Asset Recovery Program”) was for?
Then visualize life jackets embossed with the letters “TARP” on the back!
Buried in a report from Biz.yahoo.com on November 12 titled “
Stocks plunge for third straight session” was the following incredible statement: “According to the Dow Jones Wilshire 5000 index [which reflects the value of almost all U.S. stocks], Wednesday’s [November 12] paper losses amounted to about $600 billion. By that measure, the [U.S.] stock market has shed $9.1 trillion since the index’s Oct. 9, 2007, peak.” The bolded emphasis in mine. The Dow Industrial Average or Dow, which is comprised of 30 “blue chip” stocks, closed out at 8,262 on November 12, and was at 8,046 at the close on November 21, so the estimate of $9.1 trillion of financial losses since October 9 is a pretty close guess, if not a conservative one.
(There is more with charts and other viusual aids, go to read complete article and links for charts)
http://onlinejournal.com/artman/publish/article_4059.shtml

I wish it was our courts in the US doing this, but good for you UK
One million innocent people could have their profiles wiped from Britain's 'Orwellian' DNA database after court ruling
Nearly a million innocent citizens could see their profiles deleted from the DNA database following a landmark court ruling.
European judges said it was unlawful for police to store swabs and fingerprints from suspects later cleared of wrongdoing.
In a damning verdict, the 17-strong panel said keeping the records 'could not be regarded as necessary in a democracy'.
Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said she was disappointed by the decision.
But some campaigners said the future of other Government databases, including the national ID register, was in doubt.
Before 2001, the police had to destroy DNA samples of individuals acquitted or not charged. But a rule change has allowed them to keep profiles of everyone arrested for a recordable offence in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
The details of about 4.5million people are held on the database yet one in five - including 40,000 children - has never been charged with an offence.
The Home Office says the register has proved a key intelligence tool in solving 3,500 cases - including high-profile rapes and murders.
Yesterday however the European Court of Human Rights ruled against police in a case brought by two British men.
Their profiles were stored by South Yorkshire Police despite neither being convicted of an offence.
The Strasbourg court found the force had violated article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights - the right to respect for private and family life.
In a strongly-worded attack, it condemned the 'blanket and indiscriminate nature' of the powers.
One of the victors is Michael Marper, 45, the other a 19-year-old named in court only as 'S'.
The judges said that keeping their DNA had left them under a cloud of suspicion because they were 'entitled to the presumption of innocence, yet were treated in the same way as convicted persons'.

Peter Mahy, who represented the men, said: 'The Government should now start destroying the DNA records of those people who are currently on the database and who are innocent of any crime.'
MPs, civil liberty groups, and individual protesters have claimed the DNA database was brought in without proper legislation.
Dominic Grieve, Tory Shadow Home Secretary, said: 'This vindicates all that we have been saying about the Government's wrongheaded approach to this issue which has caused so much resentment amongst the law-abiding majority and done so much to undermine confidence in the criminal justice system.
'That the DNA database has become arbitrary with the profiles of over a million innocent people on it but not the profiles of every serious offender in the country. It should target the guilty, not the innocent.'
Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg said: 'This demolishes the Government's view that the way to fight crime is to blur the distinction between innocence and guilt.
'It is a measure of this Government's disregard for civil liberties that a European court has to fight to protect traditional British freedoms from an Orwellian database.'

(you can read the complete article at the following link)
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1091880/One-million-innocent-people-profiles-wiped-Britains-DNA-database-court-ruling.html