Month: December 2008

Tensions mount as Pakistan shifts troops to Indian border

by

ISLAMABAD (AFP) – Pakistan has redeployed thousands of troops to the border with India, officials said Friday, in a dramatic escalation of tensions with New Delhi in the wake of the Mumbai attacks.

Washington urged the two sides to avoid escalating tensions and said it was touch with both countries.

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh summoned his military chiefs to review New Delhi’s “defence preparedness” while his foreign ministry advised Indians not to travel to Pakistan, saying it was unsafe for them to be in the country.

The developments sent ties plummeting to their lowest point since late 2001, when Kashmiri militants staged a brazen attack on the Indian parliament — an attack New Delhi blamed on the Pakistan-based extremist group Lashkar-e-Taiba.

India has blamed the same group for the Mumbai attacks and has repeatedly said Islamabad is not doing enough to rein in militant groups, a claim that Pakistan rejects.

Read moreTensions mount as Pakistan shifts troops to Indian border

US: Russia’s S-300 missile sale to Iran marks Israel’s decision point

by

Russian SA-300 long-range anti-air missile in action
Russian SA-300 long-range anti-air missile in action

An American military intelligence official says Russia’s sale of S-300 long-range missiles to Iran presents a “decision point for Israel, since once the anti-aircraft system is in place it could deter any strike” against Iran’s nuclear sites. In this first gloomy statement, the American source did not rule out such a strike but implied it would be more difficult.

State department spokesman Robert Wood said Monday, Dec. 22: “We have repeatedly made clear… that we would strongly oppose the sale of S-300.” US officials warned the missiles installed within Iran’s borders could reach American troops in Iraq and Afghanistan and shift the Middle East military balance of power.

DEBKAfile‘s military sources point to the confusion contrived by Moscow about the state of the consignment. Nonetheless, an American source said Tuesday: “The US believes it is taking place.” In Moscow, a “military-diplomatic source” said Monday the S-300 systems are being packed up and prepared for shipment to Iran: “S-300 air defense systems,” he added, “are expected to be delivered from the defense ministry’s warehouses.” The latter statement indicates that the missiles going to Iran are coming out of Russia’s own emergency stores and not waiting to come off production lines.

Read moreUS: Russia’s S-300 missile sale to Iran marks Israel’s decision point

Journalists Worry ‘Big Brother Law’ Will Kill Press Freedom

by


German journalists may soon lose certain legal protections. AP

A new law working its way toward passage in Germany has journalists worried. Certain provisions, they say, could eliminate the ability for reporters to protect their sources. Still, the measure is likely to go into effect early next year.

It has been called the “Big Brother” law in the German media due to its provisions allowing online and telephone surveillance. The Interior Ministry in Berlin describes it as a necessary step to protect the country from the dangers of international terrorism.

But journalists in Germany see the bill — currently in the parliament’s arbitration committee after having failed to get through the country’s upper legislative chamber, the Bundesrat, in November — in a different light. They are concerned the law would make it much easier for investigators to spy on reporters without their knowledge, giving the state access to both their computer files and their sources. That, they say, represents an unacceptable attack on freedom of the press in Germany. Publishers, journalists and media lawyers are up in arms.

This law “is one in a series of so-called security laws that have one thing in common: They endanger the freedom of the press and especially investigative journalism,” Wolfgang Krach, managing editor of the influential daily Süddeutsche Zeitung, told SPIEGEL. “This is not a case of a profession selfishly looking for extra privileges. Rather, journalists want to be conferred the rights guaranteed them by the constitution and to be able to fulfil their role unhindered.”

Read moreJournalists Worry ‘Big Brother Law’ Will Kill Press Freedom

Whether Or Not We Like It: “We shall have World Government”

by

In the past, I’ve written papers where the following quotation was included at the end of the treatise as an “exclamation point”:

“We shall have World Government, whether or not we like it. The only question is whether World Government will be achieved by conquest or consent.” -James Paul Warburg, whose family co-founded the Federal Reserve – while speaking before the United States Senate, February 17, 1950

Read moreWhether Or Not We Like It: “We shall have World Government”

Gold Rises Most in a Week on Middle East, South Asia Tensions

by

“The only possible explanation for gold’s gains are the geopolitical tension in Gaza and in India and Pakistan,”

The Treasury bubble will burst and the dollar will be destroyed in 2009. That is why Gold is starting to rise.

Dec. 26 (Bloomberg) — Gold prices rose the most in a week as mounting tensions in the Middle East and South Asia boosted the appeal of the precious metal as a haven.

Palestinian militants yesterday launched their biggest rocket attack on southern Israel in at least six months after a truce expired Dec. 19. Pakistani troops are being diverted from tribal areas near Afghanistan to the border with India, the Associated Press reported. Gold gained 4 percent this week.

“The only possible explanation for gold’s gains are the geopolitical tension in Gaza and in India and Pakistan,” said Leonard Kaplan, the president of Prospector Asset Management in Evanston, Illinois.

Gold futures for February delivery climbed $23.20, or 2.7 percent, to $871.20 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, the biggest gain for a most-active contract since Dec. 17. The metal is up 6.4 percent this month.

Silver futures for March delivery gained 18 cents, or 1.7 percent, to $10.53 an ounce. The metal is still down 29 percent this year. (Just wait!)

Read moreGold Rises Most in a Week on Middle East, South Asia Tensions

Gerald Celente: The Greatest Depression

by

Mr. Celente long ago warned of the economic malaise that is gripping the planet – but he does have some good news.

Gerald Celente

The Greatest Depression *AUDIO*

To download this audio file to your computer, right click this link and select “save”, “save as” or “save file as” (depending upon your browser).

Source: HoweStreet

Economic Collapse of 2009 – Greater than Great Depression of 1929

by


Source: YouTube


Source: YouTube

Gerald Celente, and analyst renowned for accuracy on forecasting trends, explains why the impending economic collapse, next escalating to a serious retail and commercial real estate collapse, will be greater than the Great Depression of 1929; speaking on the Lew Rockwell Show.

Japan’s Industrial Output Falls 8.1% as Exports Drop by Record

by


Nissan Motor Co. employees assemble vehicles at the company’s Kyushu Plant in Kanda Town, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan, on Nov. 23, 2007. Photographer: Robert Gilhooly/Bloomberg News

Dec. 26 (Bloomberg) — Japan’s industrial production fell the most in at least five years in November after exports dropped by a record.

Factory output tumbled 8.1 percent from October, when it dropped 3.1 percent, the Trade Ministry said today in Tokyo. The median estimate of 36 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News was for a 6.8 percent decline.

Plunging demand for cars and electronics is prompting companies to pare output, jobs and investment. Toyota Motor Corp., Honda Motor Co. and Nissan Motor Co., Japan’s three largest carmakers, cut global production in November and chipmaker Renesas Technology Corp. yesterday said it would eliminate all of its 1,000 temporary workers.

“The recession is showing signs of growing longer and more severe,” said Tetsufumi Yamakawa, chief Japan economist at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. in London. “Production is showing stronger signs of a correction in conjunction with a slump in demand in Japan and abroad.”

Read moreJapan’s Industrial Output Falls 8.1% as Exports Drop by Record

GMAC Becomes a Bank as Fed Bolsters Plan to Save GM

by

“These guys should be in Chapter 11,” said Julian Mann, a mortgage- and asset-backed bond manager at First Pacific Advisors LLC in Los Angeles, referring to the U.S. bankruptcy code. Mann’s firm oversees $9 billion. “We’ve now gotten into the business of discouraging prudence and encouraging risky behavior and irresponsibility.”


A GMAC Real Estate sign, attached to a sign advertising 0% down financing, is posted in the front yard of a home in Norcross, Georgia, on Sept. 12, 2007. Photographer: Chris Rank/ Bloomberg News

Dec. 25 (Bloomberg) — GMAC LLC won Federal Reserve approval to become a bank holding company, a switch that may enable the money-losing auto and home lender to tap U.S. financial bailout programs and help keep General Motors Corp. in business.

The Fed used emergency powers yesterday to grant Detroit- based GMAC’s request, citing turmoil in financial markets and the potential impact on GM, the biggest U.S. automaker, which has warned it’s running out of cash. GM and Cerberus Capital Management LP, GMAC’s majority owner, will give up control of the lender to comply with federal rules on who can own banks.

Saving GMAC is a step toward salvaging GM, which received a temporary bailout earlier this month. The $9.4 billion loan will sustain GM at least until January, when President-elect Barack Obama must find a more permanent way to save millions of auto industry jobs and avoid deepening the year-old recession. Dealers and analysts say a GM rescue is more likely to work if GMAC is still around to make car loans, which the Fed’s action ensures.

Read moreGMAC Becomes a Bank as Fed Bolsters Plan to Save GM

Japan auto production marks worst drop since compiling such data began in 1967

by

TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s production of cars, trucks and buses marked its steepest drop in at least four decades in November, an industry group said Thursday, as the fallout from the U.S. slowdown crimped auto demand.

Vehicle production in Japan, home to Toyota Motor Corp. and other major automakers, plunged 20.4 percent in November compared to the same month a year ago to 854,171 vehicles, the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association said.

That marked the second straight month of on-year declines and the percentage slide was the biggest since the group began compiling such data in 1967, it said.

Read moreJapan auto production marks worst drop since compiling such data began in 1967

Israel preparing for an invasion of Gaza

by


Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni of Israel, left, in Cairo on Thursday with President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt. (Amr Nabil/The Associated Press)

JERUSALEM: Defense Minister Ehud Barak warned Thursday that militants in Hamas-ruled Gaza would pay a “heavy price” if they continued to target Israel, as the Israeli military wrapped up preparations for a possible large-scale assault on the coastal territory.

In Cairo, President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt urged Israel to show restraint in his meeting with Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, an Israeli official said. Livni insisted that Israel would respond to protect its citizens.

Related articles:
– Gaza families eat grass as Israel locks border
– Israeli blockade ‘forces Palestinians to search rubbish dumps for food’

On Wednesday, Palestinian militants pummeled southern Israel from Gaza with more than 80 rockets and mortars, causing no injuries but generating widespread panic. Cabinet ministers approved a broad invasion of Gaza, defense officials told The Associated Press.

“We will not accept this situation,” Barak warned Thursday. “Whoever harms the citizens and soldiers of Israel will pay a heavy price.”

Read moreIsrael preparing for an invasion of Gaza

Government rebukes Channel 4 for Mahmoud Ahmadinejad broadcast

by


President Ahmadinejad said that Christ would oppose ‘warmongers, occupiers, terrorists and bullies the world over’ (AFP/Channel 4/Sky News)

Channel 4 was rebuked by the Government yesterday for its decision to broadcast an address by the President of Iran as the channel’s alternative Christmas message.

Read moreGovernment rebukes Channel 4 for Mahmoud Ahmadinejad broadcast

Army Officials Say At Least 30.000 More Active-Duty Troops Are Needed

by

The Army needs to add at least 30,000 active-duty soldiers to its ranks to fulfill its responsibilities around the world without becoming stretched dangerously thin, senior Army officials warn.

“You can’t do what we’ve been tasked to do with the number of people we have,” Undersecretary of the Army Nelson Ford said in an interview last week. “You can see a point where it’s going to be very difficult to cope.”

Already, the Army lacks a strategic reserve of brigades trained and ready for major combat, officials said, and units being deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan are receiving new soldiers at the last minute, meaning they have insufficient time to train together before crossing into the war zone.

But the demand for soldiers extends beyond those countries, with the Pentagon creating new missions that require troops trained in cyber-warfare, homeland defense, intelligence-gathering and other areas, Ford said. “We have five to 10 new missions, and we are already stretched now.”

Read moreArmy Officials Say At Least 30.000 More Active-Duty Troops Are Needed

Guinea Junta Chief Camara Claims to Be New President

by


Power struggle … Captain Moussa Dadis Camara joins supporters on the streets of Conakry, a day after seizing power following the death of President Lansana Conte.
Photo: AFP

Dec. 25 (Bloomberg) — Guinea’s military junta chief, Captain Moussa Camara, declared himself the new leader of the resource-rich nation following the death of President Lansana Conte and ruled out elections for two years.

Related article: Military tightens control following coup in Guinea

Camara is heading a council of 26 army officers and six civilians that has ordered a nationwide curfew and told generals and ministers of the previous government to report to a military camp within 24 hours. A faction of the armed forces seized power in the west African country on Dec. 23, a day after Conte died.

“I am convinced, reassured that I am the president of the republic,” Camara, 49, told reporters late yesterday. Earlier, he and several hundred soldiers paraded through the streets of the capital Conakry before cheering crowds.

Guinea, which holds the world’s biggest reserves of bauxite, has never had a democratic transfer of power. The military group set up the National Council for Democracy and Development on Dec. 23 and said it plans to establish a government representing all ethnic groups.

Read moreGuinea Junta Chief Camara Claims to Be New President

Pakistan not to tolerate surgical strike by India: FM

by

MULTAN, Dec 25 (APP): Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mehmood Qureshi Thursday expressed the hope that India would not commit the mistake of carrying out surgical strikes.

“We will be compelled to respond if it happens,” he said while talking to the reporters upon arrival at the airport on Thursday. To a question whether possibility of war can be ruled out, the FM said, “if you are asking me, I am not ruling out anything.  But if war is imposed, we will respond to it like a brave, self?respected and self?esteemed nation”.

He said “I want to give a message to India that we are the torch?bearers of peace and remain committed to our desire for peace”

“Contrary to our reasonable, cooperative and non?aggressive attitude, some elements from India were issuing provocative statements” , he added.

“But we do not feel the need to do this. We have confidence on ourselves and we rely on the Almighty.”

FM said, Pakistan condemns terrorism and wants to expose those involved in terrorism and had already promised cooperation in this regard.

“We have also conveyed our grief to the families of those who had lost their loved ones in Mumbai attacks”, FM said. He added that “we will not resort to provocation while remaining committed to cooperation but at the same time we will also not tolerate any pressure”.

He said ,”we want to give a message that the whole nation stands united and knows how to defend the geographical boundaries of the motherland”.

He said, “We should not be complacent.” “Hope for the best but be prepared for the worst,” FM said adding that Pakistan is vigilant, and its armed forces are also vigilant.

Read morePakistan not to tolerate surgical strike by India: FM

India has given Pak time till Dec 26: Report

by

India has given Pakistan time till December 26 for a crackdown on terror infrastructure, said a report of a leading publisher of geopolitical intelligence on Tuesday.

The report from Stratfor says that after the November 26 Mumbai attacks, India relayed a message to Pakistan via the US that they would be given 30 days to crackdown on Islamist militant proxies operating on Pakistani soil.

Related article: Pakistan military on ‘high alert’

Pakistan’s deadline, as far as we know, is December 26, making Indian military action against Pakistan a very real and near possibility. The Indians have had a month to prepare their military operations against Pakistan, and Indian defence sources have revealed that these plans are ready to go into effect, the report said.

Source: Times of India

Analyst: One Third Of Banks Could Collapse In 2009

by

Silva tells CNBC up to a thousand face failure or forced mergers

Financial analyst Ralph Silva of TowerGroup told CNBC this morning that he expects no less than one third of banks to fail in 2009 and that anything up to a thousand could collapse if they don’t merge.

Silva said that only five or six global banks have enough funds to survive comfortably throughout 2009.

“The rest of the banks, and that means a thousand other banks, don’t have enough money to get themselves through 2009,” added Silva.

“In 2009 we’re gonna see one third of the banks in the G8 countries disappear, either being merged, forced or not forced, or completely disappearing,” said Silva.

Read moreAnalyst: One Third Of Banks Could Collapse In 2009

Experts: Recession intensifying

by

GDP could fall by as much as 6 percent this quarter


Gray’s Papaya, a hot dog and papaya store in New York’s Fashion District, serves quick, inexpensive food with stand-up dining.

WASHINGTON — As the longest recession in a quarter century intensifies, analysts believe the small decline in economic activity in the third quarter has worsened significantly in the current fourth quarter.

The Commerce Department said Tuesday that the gross domestic product, the broadest measure of economic health, declined at an annual rate of 0.5 percent in the July-September quarter. Corporate profits fell 1.2 percent.

Some economists believe the economy’s decline in the October-December period could be as large as 6 percent. If so, that would be the worst quarterly drop since 1982.

“It will get a lot worse before it gets better,” said Nariman Behravesh, chief economist at IHS Global Insight, a Lexington, Mass., forecasting firm. “We are in the midst of the worst recession in the post-war period, even factoring in a massive stimulus program.”

Read moreExperts: Recession intensifying

Americans prefer news from Web to newspapers: survey

by

Patrons surfing the web at an internet cafe in Los Angele

WASHINGTON (AFP) – The Internet has surpassed newspapers as the main source for national and international news for Americans, according to a new survey.

Television, however, remains the preferred medium for Americans, according to the survey by the Washington-based Pew Research Center for the People & the Press.

Seventy percent of the 1,489 people surveyed by Pew said television is their primary source for national and international news.

Forty percent said they get most of their news from the Internet, up from 24 percent in September 2007, and more than the 35 percent who cited newspapers as their main news source.

Only 59 percent of people younger than 30 years old prefer television, Pew said, down from 68 percent in the September 2007 survey.

The latest survey was conducted December 3-7 and released on Tuesday. Pew did not provide the margin of error.

Dec. 24, 08

Source: AFP

California will run out of money in February

by

The State of California will run out of money within two months, forcing Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to start settling bills and paying employees by issuing “IOU” notes, his chief financial officer has revealed.

John Chiang, the state controller, admitted on Monday that a spiralling budget crisis, which has left California spending billions of dollars more each month than it can raise in taxes, will see his coffers run dry some time in mid-February.

Read moreCalifornia will run out of money in February

In Gaza, all dreams and hope have gone

by

Ameera Ahmad, 25, gave birth to daughter Layan six months ago. Here, she tells of life under siege and of her struggle to bring up a child after 18 months of Israeli blockade

During the months of the blockade, everything in my life has changed. Before, I would wake up and hope that tomorrow would be better than today. But it never happened. The reason is simple. It is because I live in Gaza, where all dreams and hope vanish because of the situation we live in.

Read moreIn Gaza, all dreams and hope have gone

U.S. jobless claims surge to 26-year high

by

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The number of U.S. workers filing new claims for jobless benefits jumped by 30,000 to a 26-year peak last week, government data on Wednesday showed, as the country’s year-long recession continued to chill the labour market.

Initial claims for state unemployment insurance benefits rose to a seasonally adjusted 586,000 in the week ended Dec 20 from a revised 556,000 the prior week, the Labour Department said. It was the highest since the week ended November 27, 1982, when initial claims rose 612,000.

Analysts polled by Reuters had forecast 560,000 new claims versus a previously reported count of 554,000 the week before.

Read moreU.S. jobless claims surge to 26-year high

Labour MPs revolt over Brown’s plan to charge 27% interest on emergency loans to poor

by

Gordon Brown and his Work and Pensions Secretary James Purnell were last night accused of behaving ‘like loan sharks’ over plans to slap punishingly high interest rates on vital loans to the poor.

In an astonishing move, rebel Labour MPs joined forces with David Cameron’s Tories to accuse the Government of penalising hundreds of thousands of families on benefits who get interest-free cash advances to cover the cost of unforeseen crises.

More than one million individual loans worth over £600million were paid out from the Government’s social fund last year to hard-up people – many of them disabled – who struggled to afford to repair a broken boiler or cope with some other domestic emergency.


Under Fire: Gordon the ‘loan shark’ and James Purnell

However, in a provocative move, Mr Purnell wants to start charging 26.8 per cent on new loans – the sort of punitive rate found on High Street store cards and way above normal credit-card rates.

This would add nearly £50 to the cost of an average £433 loan and saddle the borrowers, who are almost all on State benefits, with an extra four weeks of repayments.

Read moreLabour MPs revolt over Brown’s plan to charge 27% interest on emergency loans to poor