kenthink

Robert Reich on Sheldon Adelson and Newt Gingrich

2012-01-27T15:24:00.000-08:00

Robert Reich is Professor of Public Poicy at the University of California Berkeley. He was secretary of Labor under Bill Clinton but served in three administrations. On his blog he has an entry titled: ""Who is Sheldon Adelson and What Has Newt Promised Him?""

Sheldon Adelson is a rabidly pro-Israeli casino owner. When Gingrich said that Palestinians were an invented people in an interview, the comment was almost universally condemned. However Adelson defended and approved the remark. See this article in the Huffington Post.

Actually the Huffington Post article has much more informatioon on Adelson and his Israeli connectionsl than does the Reich article. Reich does point out though that in defending Gingrich Adelson puts his wallet where his mouth is.

Adelson wrote a check for 5 million dollars to finance a pro-Gingrich Super Pac Winning Our Future. Reich sees this donation as part of what is wrong with U.S. campaigns. They are funded by the rich who no doubt expect to have influence on policies in return.

The decision of the Supreme Court that ruled that corporations are persons and have the right of free speech have opened the way for campaigns to be even more influenced by corporate donations.

The donation to Winning our Future was immediately used to produce an expensive anti big business ad against Mitt Romney. Billionaire Adelson helped fund the ad. A friend of Adelson noted in the Daily Beast:"Sheldon has always loved Newt," "He stuck with him when he stumbled. Newt, I think, is very reflective of Sheldon's mindset. Particularly with Israel." Gingrich obviously will have the support of some in the Israel lobby. For more see Reich's blog entry.

Yemen: 46 killed in conflict with northern rebels

2012-01-27T06:26:00.000-08:00

The northern area of Haijah was the scene of violent clashes between Houthi Shia insurgents and Sunni gunmen loyal to the central government. The Houthis are seizing more territory. A leader of the Sunni gunmen claimed that 40 of the dead were rebels.
The Houthis claim that the Sunnis attacked them and that they were supported not only by the central government but by Saudi Arabia. The clashes are ongoing. The Sunni group supported President Saleh quite strongly.
The Houthis have demanded more autonomy from the central government for years. The demand has often broken out into open conflict with the central government. The Sunni group complained that Houthis have killed 71 of their people during the last two months without even counting the recent clashes. For more see this article.

Oklahoma senator would outlaw fetal Soylent Green

2012-01-26T17:40:00.000-08:00

Soylent Green was a popular 1973 science fiction movie. Soylent Green is food made from dead humans but was supposed to be made from plankton. The manufacturing of Soylent Green was kept top secret.

Now in 2012 an Oklahoma Republican Senator is introducing a bill to outlaw aborted human fetuses in food. Perhaps it should be called the Soylent Green Bill.

Senator Ralph Shortey said "there is a potential that there are companies that are using aborted human babies in their research and development of basically enhancing flavor for artificial flavors." Shortey admits that he has no evidence that this is actually occuring in Oklahoma or anywhere else. But then as the saying goes an ounce or prevention is worth a pound of cure. Better to make this illegal before any company starts to do it.

However, the bill seems to me far too narrow. Given the scenario in Soylent Green it would seem much more sensible to have the bill cover use of any dead humans for food purposes. For more see this article.

We will need to watch developments as Shortey notes. Environmentalists might point out that it is wasteful of land to bury corpses. While cremation is a partial solution, recycling would be the ideal. Of course special interests such as funeral directors would support bills such as Shortey's but then brave new entrepreneurs might very well prevail at least to the extent that the dead homeless and those who have to be buried at public expense might be processed at profitable green rendering plants.

Gingrichonomics

2012-01-26T15:56:00.000-08:00

An editorial in Bloomberg calls Gringrich's ideas on economics ".. a mixture of the alarming, the implausible and the banal." On taxes the article notes how Gingrich panders to the well off and corporations.
Gingrich says he would cut the corporate income tax rate to 12.5 per cent from 35 per cent. He also would make the Bush tax cuts permanent. Gingrich would go further and eliminate taxes on estates, dividends, interest income and capital gains. He would also have a flat tax of 15 per cent. If you did better on the old system you could opt for that.
The Tax Policy Center has estimated that in 2015 Gingrich's tax reductions would reduce government revenue by 1.3 trillion compared to the present system. Gingrich complains that the calculations do not adequately factor in the huge growth rate all his tax cuts will cause.
How much the economy might grow is uncertain but what is certain is that Gingrichonomics is great for the rich. The plan is estimated to save the top .1 per cent of taxpayers an average of 2.3 million each. Mitt Romney pointed out that under Gingrich's plan he would have paid no taxes in the last two years. Perhaps the editorial is a Romney inspired creation! For much more see the Bloomberg editorial.

Iraqis angry at plea bargain of Marine charged in massacre of 24 Iraqis in 2005

2012-01-26T12:25:00.000-08:00

The massacre happened back in 2005 in the city of Haditha. 24 Iraqi civilians were killed. Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich was the only remaining marine charged after charges were dropped against several other marines. Dropping charges against them brought anger from the Iraqis as well.'

Khalid Salman whose cousin was killed in Haditha said:"This is not new, and it's not new for the American courts that already did little about Abu Ghraib and other crimes in Iraq," Since U.S. troops are not subject to Iraqi law Iraqis must look to the U.S. legal system for any punishment of wrongs done by U.S. troops. In many cases the results have led to an increase in anti-Americanism.

The Obama administration far from wishing a complete withdrawal of troops from Iraq tried its best to have a substantial number stay after the end of last year. However the Obama administration would not agree to let U.S. troops be subject to Iraqi law and that was not acceptable to the Iraqis. No agreement was reached.

Sgt. Wuterich pleaded guilty to dereliction of duty. He said he regretted telling his men to shoot first and ask questions later. The reduced charge has a maximum sentence of three months in jail. However as part of the plea bargain it was agreed he would not serve any jail time.'

The original charges of manslaughter and assault carried a maximum sentence of 152 years. Wuterich ends up with no jail term although his rank was reduced to that of private. Iraqis have been angered as well by events at the Abu Ghraib prison and the killing of Iraqis by Blackwater contractors. So far no one has been punished in the Blackwater incident and the person convicted in the Abu Ghraib case was let out of jail long before finishing his ten year sentence. For more detail see this article.

Japan has 32 billion U.S. deficit, first in decades

2012-01-25T15:55:00.000-08:00

In a sign of a slowing global economy and reduced export power, Japan posted a 32 billion dollar trade deficit. This is Japan's first trade deficit since 1981.

Increased fuel exports are one factor causing the deficit as Japan lost nuclear power after the disastrous tsunami. Only four of fifty four nuclear power plants are in operation. Japan's exports fell by 2.7 per cent to 843 billion in 2011.

A senior economist analyst commented on the situation:"[The deficit] reflects fundamental changes in Japan's economy, particularly among manufacturers, Japan is losing its competitiveness." The strength of the Yen also impacts negatively on exports as Japanese products become relatively more expensive relative to those of competing countries such as China.

Japan is actually facing difficulties well known in the U.S. Japanese based manufacturers are outsourcing production to countries such as China to take advantage of lower labor and other costs. An analyst noted:"It's gotten difficult for manufacturers to export, so they've moved production abroad so that products sold outside the country are made outside the country," For more see this article.

UN Human Right's Chief criticizes Obama

2012-01-25T12:40:00.000-08:00

Navi Pillay is the chief of Human Rights for the UN. She criticized Obama for not following through on his promise to close Guantanamo three years ago.
In a statement Pillay said: “It is ten years since the US Government opened the prison at Guantanamo, and now three years since 22 January 2009, when the President ordered its closure within twelve months,”“Yet the facility continues to exist and individuals remain arbitrarily detained – indefinitely – in clear breach of international law.” The U.S. considers that the detainees are unprivileged combatants in hostilities between the U.S. and Islamic terrorists and it is legal to hold them indefinitely. However many legal analysts would side with the UN position that holding people indefinitely with no charges is against international law.
Certainly the practice entails that anyone suspected of terrorism has no right of habeas corpus and can be detained indefinitely without charge. A considerable number of detainees have been released. However in many cases the U.S. cannot find countries willing to receive those who are released. Only six trials have been held so far. Obama has said that some of those detained will probably spend the rest of their lives in custody without trial.
Eight people detained died in custody. Six of those committed suicide. Advisers to Obama claim he is still committed to closing Guantanamo. I doubt it will be a prominent issue in the upcoming election campaign as the Republicans for the most part are quite happy that the facility remains open. For more see this article.

U.S. to extend Israel loan guarantees of 3.8 billion for 3 years

2012-01-25T10:21:00.000-08:00

The Obama administration has told Israel that it will recommend the U.S. Congress approve 3.8 billion in Israeli loan guarantees be extended for three more years. The Deputy U.S. Secretary of State and Deputy U.S. treasury secretary announced the U.S. decision in a meeting with the Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister.
Some in Israel had worried the Israeli request for the extension might be denied. The U.S. usually does not turn down what Israel requests. In particular the Obama administration is not likely to alienate the Israel lobby during an election year!
The two U.S. officials told the Israeli official that the extension of the loan guarantees until 2015 would receive wide support in both parties. The Deputy Foreign Minister said:The U.S. is a true friend and ally of Israel,". "The partnership between the two countries is a natural one. Extending the loan guarantees strengthens the international position of the Israeli economy and will allow the government to continue to raise funds at lower costs." While this is true one would think that European countries in crisis such as Greece are much more in need of loan guarantees and lower costs for borrowing than Israel! For more see this article.

U.S. stocks decline as Greek debt deal remains uncertain

2012-01-24T20:03:00.000-08:00

In spite of recent announcements that a deal was near, U.S. stocks declined this morning (Jan. 23) as there still seems a stalemate. European finance ministers are pushing bondholders to provide greater relief for Greece.

The bondholders have been pressing for a four per cent interest rate at the least on new bonds that would be issued to replace the Greek bonds already held. The new bonds will have only 50 per cent of the value of the old bonds. This will help relieve Greek debt.

If a deal is not made then Greece will not receive bailout money that will enable it to pay debt coming due in March. If Greece defaults this could cause serious turmoil in financial markets to say the least. For much more detail on the situation and explanation of what is at issue see this CBC article or this BNN article.

Libyan town seized by Gadaffi loyalists

2012-01-24T08:56:00.000-08:00

The town of Bani Walid is 110 miles southeast of Tripoli and was a Gadaffi stronghold. Reports from the town indicate that for now it has been seized by Gadaffi loyalists

Reports also indicate that at least four were killed and many wounded. The green flag of the Gadaffi era flies from many buildings. Bani Walid was one of the last holdouts during the overthrow of the old regime.

The fighters may be members of the old Libyan military. Those representing the new government in the town have warned for some time that there could be trouble.

When the NTC forces asked for reinforcements none came so they withdrew from the town when they ran low on ammunition. The defense minister Osama Jweli said that he would wait to determine whether the attackers were a rival militia or Gadaffi loyalists before attacking the town.

Militia from Misrata have been sent to block off access to the town. This militia is itself known for being belligerent and aggressive. Perhaps there will be a bloody retaking of the town or if cooler heads prevail there may be negotiations to allow the NTC to regain control of the city. For more see this article.

Pakistan: Army report rejects U.S. account of deadly air strikes that killed 24 Pakistani troops

2012-01-23T14:03:00.000-08:00

A report by the Pakistani army rejects a U.S. account of the air strikes that killed 24 Pakistani troops last November. The U.S. report expressed condolences to the families of those killed but claimed that the strikes were justified in self-defense as they believed they were being attacked by Taliban forces.
The U.S. forces called in air strikes in support of their troops but these strikes hit two posts manned by Pakistanis and on the Pakistan side of the border. The strikes caused Pakistan to close border crossings through which goods were transported to Afghanistan through Pakistan. They also began a review of relations with the U.S. Several other incidents including the killing of Bin Laden have increased tension between Pakistan and the U.S.
The U.S. report said that there was a break down of co-ordination between NATO forces and the Pakistanis and also an incorrect map was used. Because of this the U.S. was not immediately aware that the posts attacked belonged to the Pakistani military. But the Pakistanis claim that the U.S. in fact violated all the agreed upon procedures for border operations.
In spite of the disagreements and tensions between Pakistan and the U.S. drone attacks have been resumed and apparently Pakistan is co-operating with the U.S. and providing intelligence for the U.S. strikes. For more see this article.

Philippines: Maoist rebels killed about 100 troops last year

2012-01-23T09:35:00.000-08:00

The figure includes not only troops but police as well. The insurgency by the New People's Army has been ongoing for 43 years now. According to the military report there were 447 attacks by the group in 2011.
The NPA often taxes businesses in areas where it operates. Since these are not government taxes the military report simply classifies them as extortion. When businesses do not pay or fail to meet other demands they are often attacked. There were 31 attacks on mining enterprises, and other businesses last year.
According to the report not only attacks have declined over the last year but so also have the number of fighters. The report says attacks were eleven per cent less than in 2010 and the number of fighters declined 7.8 per cent to 4,043. That the military could present such exact figures is amazing. Do the rebel fighters register each year so they can be counted by the military?
The military spokesperson Col. Burgos said that the insurgency was losing support among the people because of the popularity of the new president Benigno Aquino III. However the former president was herself first brought into power by people power but over time became corrupt and disliked. Aquino is part of the Philippine ruling elite and it remains to be seen how his presidency develops over time.
The president has been having peace talks with the rebels but they have not been successful so far. As well as the NPA insurgency the Philippines faces insurgency from a number of Muslim separatist groups in the south of the country. The NPA also has a number of related legal political groups associated with it. The number of attacks may be decreasing as a result of a shift towards political action. After 43 years one suspects that in some areas the NPA and the Philippine military have come to a kind of live and let live understanding in some areas. For more see this article.
NOTE: The NPA is the armed wing of the Philippine Communist Party which is banned in the Philippines. The NPA and the party are listed by the US as a terrorist organization. This causes problems for peace negotiations. The leader of the party lives in Holland. For more about the NPA see this article. For more about the Communist Party of the Philippines see here.

Senior Pakistani Official: Military trainers and special forces but no drones in Pakistan

2012-01-22T19:36:00.000-08:00

In an interview with Fox News a senior Pakistani official claimed that U.S. military trainers will be allowed back into Pakistan as early as April but drones will not be allowed back into the country. In Pakistan the parliament is reviewing relations with the U.S. and will issue a list of conditions for resuming cooperation with the U.S.
The remark about drones appears to mean that no drones will be based in Pakistan not that there will be no drone attacks in the tribal areas. Those attacks resumed a few days ago already.
The list of conditions included no covert CIA or military operations in Pakistan on the ground. Pakistan will not allow unauthorized incursions into its airspace either. If this is for real then any drone attacks would need to be officially rather than unofficially acknowledged. The Pakistani parliament passed a motion some time ago demanding that the drone strikes cease. However, they have resumed after a pause of a couple of months.
Rather than ceasing altogether it would seem that Pakistan is actually even now providing intelligence so that the CIA drones can hit selected people targeted. See this article. Pakistani operatives in the tribal areas are already cooperating with British and U.S. intelligence according to sources quoted in that article.
If the U.S. agrees to Pakistani conditions not only would U.S. military trainers be allowed to continue their work but also special forces. Close cooperation in targeting militants in border areas would also resume. This could very well involve providing intelligence for drone operations as already seems to be happening. Border crossings would also be opened for supplies to cross into Afghanistan.
If Pakistan does officially allow CIA drone attacks this seems to contradict the parliamentary motion for them to cease. Any official approval of the attacks could bring even more protests and turmoil within the parliament. For more see this article at Fox News.

South Carolina: And the Winners Are? Cain and Colbert!

2012-01-22T12:54:00.000-08:00

Herman Cain the former front-runner in the Republican race for president but long out of the running teamed up with comedian Steve Colbert to stage a mock rally in Charleston South Carolina. The event drew larger crowds than rallies for the serious candidates.
Colbert however interjected some serious thoughts into his satire. In particular he lashed out against the influence of money in politics after the Supreme Court ruled that corporations were persons and had the right of free speech. He also noted the influence of well funded PAC (Political Action Committees) that campaign for well-heeled special interests.

Colbert and Cain sang together. Since Colbert is not on the ballot in South Carolina but Cain still is, Colbert urged the crowd to vote for Cain. In spite of a string of sexual misconduct accusations that doomed his own campaign for president, Cain was well received at the event except when he tried to promote the Tea Party or his website. Apparently he did not promote his former pizza enterprise Godfather's Pizza.
About 3,300, many students, attended the event at the College of Charleston. Cain agreed with Colbert on the need to change campaign finance laws. I have appended a short video on the event. For more see this article

Libyan protesters storm government headquarters in Benghazi

2012-01-22T11:23:00.000-08:00

Hundreds of angry Libyan protesters stormed into the NTC (National Transitional Council) headquarters in the city of Benghazi this Saturday (Jan 21) The interim leader Mustafa Abdu-Jalil was trapped inside the building.

The crowd broke through the gates throwing hand grenades and rushing through the grounds to the main building where they hammered on doors. The crowd wanted to address government officials.'

However, when Abdu-Jalil did address the crowd in an attempt to calm them down some in the crowd pelted him with bottles. Some in the group also burned his Land Cruiser. Some as well took the opportunity to cart off furniture and computers.

Protests in Benghazi the city where the rebellion began have been on the rise as new election laws are being announced by the NTC but apparently without any substantial input from citizens. A lawyer among the protesters said:"The election laws have not been approved by thousands of Libyans and do not honor those who died for our freedom,""We don't want to replace one tyrant with another."

The country is not yet unified and there are a number of independent militia throughout the country who control their own groups and are often in conflict with the central government. The groups are jockeying for control in their areas and for power in the central government. One protester complained that the NTC officials are ignoring those who were most active in overthrowing Gadaffi. For more see this article and also this Yahoo article.

Britain Revokes License of Iranian TV Station

2012-01-21T19:46:00.000-08:00

The decision to pull the license of the station, Press TV, was made by Ed Richards who was formerly a policy adviser to Tony Blair. He is now Controller of Corporate Strategy at the BBC. He is head of OFCOM(Office of Communications) the body that made the decision that the licence should be denied.
The official reason for the denial is that the editorial team is based in Tehran and not the UK. For their license to be renewed the entire editorial team must be moved to the UK. Critics of the move have pointed out that CNN, Bloomberg and Al Jazeera all have editorial bosses in other countries, namely the U.S. and Qatar but they are allowed to broadcast in the U.K.
For some time the U.K. wanted to shut down Press T.V. A UK State Department memo complained: “UK law sets a very high standard for denying licenses to broadcasters.” Given their ability to deprive Press TV for a licence for the reasons given that statement does not seem particularly apt. In fact the U.S. would probably have more trouble than the UK in lifting the license.
Press TV is funded by the Iranian government and is also monitored by the government. It is not however an official news outlet. The programs in English are very much reflective of a pro-Iranian viewpoint there is no doubt about that. I monitor it quite regularly and it often has interesting material that is not widely covered elsewhere. Press TV will still be available on the Internet so that Britons can view it there as can anyone else. For more see this article and for more about Press TV see here.

Libya: Rights groups claims NATO committed human rights violations in attacks

2012-01-20T08:59:00.000-08:00

Three Middle Eastern human rights groups have published a report claiming that all three groups in the Libyan conflict NATO, rebels, and Gadaffi loyalist committed human rights violations. The Independent Civil Society Mission to Libya interviewed eye-witness and victims of attacks in areas targeted by NATO air attacks.
The report notes that some civilian sites were classified as military targets. The group noted attacks on Sirte in particular. Sirte was one of the last strongholds of Gadaffi loyalists. According to reports 47 civilians were killed in NATO attacks.
The International Criminal Court said last November it would investigate the actions of NATO forces. Anders Fogh Rasmussen said:"We have carried out this operation very carefully, without confirmed civilian casualties." This type of statement mirrors that of U.S. authorities about drone strikes.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon joined in the chorus of praise: "Security Council resolution 1973, I believe, was strictly enforced within the limit, within the mandate," What was abundantly clear is that the attacks were designed to help the rebels not protect civilians. When rebels attacked a city there were no attempts to destroy weapons being used to attack. Politicians openly talked of regime change being the aim and obviously arms flowed in from other countries to the rebels and there were even special forces from NATO nations on the ground. For more see this article.

U.S. and New Zealand authorities arrest owners of file-sharing website

2012-01-20T08:02:00.000-08:00

As if to show that the U.S. acting for lobbyists of the recording industry can shut websites without any new laws, authorities shut down MegaUpload a very popular file sharing site. Authorities claim the site violates existing piracy laws.

Police in New Zealand working with U.S. authorities arrested the two co-founders of the website and two other staff members. A New Zealand detective inspector said about 70 police were involved and raided 10 properties.

Prosecutors call the group a Mega Conspiracy insisting that the scheme costs copyright holders more than half a billion dollars and is earning 175 million in subscriptions and advertising. If convicted the group could face long prison sentences on several charges.

MegaUpload has itself been in a court battle with the Universal Music Group. That group forced You Tube to take down an ad for MegaUpload because they claimed that it violated copyright. But the ad was made for MegaUpload by artists who also were under contract with the UMG group. MegaUpload was taking UMG to court claiming that it wrongfully forced You Tube to remove their ad.

The timing of the U.S. action is suspicious since it comes just after an entire day of protests by many groups against the SOPA anti-piracy act. Groups such as Anonymous were quick to react.

The U.S. justice department website was attacked by hackers as well as sites belonging to the recording industry trade groups and Universal Music Group. Government action in shutting down sites is not going to be costless. While the MegaUpload group may be getting rich off their racket the other side get even richer by legally gaining monopoly rights to artistic works.

Many artists actually favor the file sharing sites since they make their work much more widely available. Some public celebrities have voiced support for MegaUpload without being paid to do so. Shutting down sites such as MegaUpload many regard as simply attempts to censor the internet. For more see this Al Jazeera article and also here.

For defenders of free markets copyright and patents have always been theoretically problematic. Copyright and patents both restrict production and trade and the free flow of knowledge in the interests of returning profits to the monopoly patent or copyright holder. The result is that black and grey markets develop as the market system works to destroy the monopoly powers. Hence the state must intervene to protect the monopoly. You then get the ludicrous situation where Free Trade agreements have at their core monopoly Intellectual Property Rights. Such Rights are key to the expansion of global capital and even without world government means will be found to enforce such rights as the coöperation between New Zealand and U.S. authorities shows.

In all this the consumer has no power. The consumer to purchase legally must pay the price set by the monopoly copyright holder. But the grey and black markets offer cheaper prices often for the same quality product. It is hardly surprising that there is often much popular support for sites such as MegaUpload.

The Decline and Fall of Ireland the Celtic TIger

2012-01-19T19:57:00.000-08:00

Ireland is a continuing casualty of the world financial crisis that began during 2008 and is still impacting many parts of the world. In Ireland the government underwrote the six major banks to prevent their collapse. As a result just 4.5 million people were saddled with a debt of 5.5 billion U.S.
Bank liabilities were 309 per cent of GDP making it necessary for the EU and IMF to provide a rescue package of 109 billion. Only a couple of years before, Ireland was touted as an economic miracle, the Celtic Tiger. With low interest rates, rising property values, and lots of credit Ireland was supposed to show how unregulated markets led to wondrous results.
But it was all a magic bubble that eventually burst. The liabilities of banks were so huge their failure would bring down the economy according to most analysts. The government stepped in to prop them up. Now the debt is being paid for not by the banks whose reckless behavior caused the situation but the Irish people. The are paying in higher taxes, smaller pensions, and reduced spending for social security, education, and health.
The EU and IMF loans are offered only on condition that austerity measures are introduced including severe cuts to public spending.
In 2011 the ruling party was crushed due to the sour public mood. Once again the Irish are emigrating to other countries in search of work and a decent living. There is no end in sight as yet as the austerity measures impact negatively on the economy and unemployment increases. For more see this article. I have also appended a half hour documentary video on the Irish economy..

UK police investigating role of UK intelligence in rendition of Libyan rebel leader to Gadaffi regime

2012-01-19T09:56:00.000-08:00

Abdel Hakim Belhadj is one of the foremost rebel military leaders and commander of the Tripoli Military Council.In earlier days Belhadj had fought with other jihadists against the Soviet sponsored regime in Afghanistan. When the Soviets were defeated Belhadj returned to Libya. Belhadj fought with other Islamists in a rebellion based in eastern Libya but the group was crushed in 1998. He then went to Afghanistan where he joined the Taliban. After 9/11 Libyan authorities issued a warrant for his arrest.
Belhadj claims that informants in the UK informed M16 that he and his pregnant wife were traveling through Malaysia. Both were arrested in Malaysia and transferred to Bangkok where he was placed in custody of the CIA and retained at a secret prison. Belhaj says that his arrest and consequent transport back to Libya was the result of a join M16 CIA operation designed to help Gadaffi round up his enemies.
Belhadj was held in prison in Libya for 7 years in terrible conditions as well as being tortured. However Saif al-Islam one of Gadaffi's sons had him released along with many other Islamists after a "de-radicalisation" project. Saif said that the men were no longer a danger to Libya. He was wrong about that as far as the Gadaffi regime was concerned! Belhadj ended up being one of the prime commanders in the successful overthrow of the Gadaffi government.
A team of rebels and Human Rights Watch found documents related to Belhadj in Tripoli originating from both the CIA and the UK M16. The former Libyan foreign minister noted that M16 had been operating in Tripoli right up until the revolution last February. The British government set up an inquiry into these and other events but it was so flawed that no one shed many tears when the government decided to simply close it down. The UK Metropolitan Police are carrying out investigations. When these are finished the UK government has promised a judge led investigation based on the findings. For more see this article. Of course no similar investigation is being carried out in the U.S. about the role of the CIA in these events.

SOPA not dead or shelved but surging back

2012-01-18T10:06:00.000-08:00

Some news reports sound as if the SOPA, legislation designed to stop on-line piracy, was in effect killed by the House of Representatives in the U.S. However, the act is simply delayed.
Lamar Smith, a Republican from Texas and author of the bill said “To enact legislation that protects consumers, businesses and jobs from foreign thieves who steal America’s intellectual property, we will continue to bring together industry representatives and Members to find ways to combat online piracy.“Due to the Republican and Democratic retreats taking place over the next two weeks, markup of the Stop Online Piracy Act is expected to resume in February.“I am committed to continuing to work with my colleagues in the House and Senate to send a bipartisan bill to the White House that saves American jobs and protects intellectual property.”
In other words the bill is simply delayed. As soon as a consensus is reached it will return. No doubt the hope is that the huge surge in opposition will subside and the legislators can quietly pass the bill without much fuss. Of course it will be a new and improved version!'
Wikipedia and other sites are going dark for a whole day today and Google has announced that it will insert a link to a page that details their opposition to the bill.

IMF looking for a half trillion

2012-01-18T09:24:00.000-08:00

As the demands on the IMF may increase because of the Euro zone debt crisis, the fund is looking for funds to increase its ability to loan stressed countries more money. The amount being bandied about is 500 billion U.S.

The IMF claims a potential need of one trillion in the future. The fund at present has about 385 billion available. European region nations have pledged to contribute 192 billion. The U.S. has said that it has no plans to increase its loans to the IMF. The group of 20 nations is split on the issue.
The BRIC nations are being targeted by the IMF but it remains to be seen how anxious they will be to contribute. Contributions to the IMF are no doubt a hard sell in many countries.
However, countries such as China might be willing to contribute if they are given more influence at the IMF. Investor sentiment may be improved by the IMF push for more money but the World Bank cut its global growth forecast to 2.5 per cent next year and predicted that the euro zone might actually contract by .3 per cent. For more see this article at Bloomberg.

Yemen: Al Qaeda group seizes town with no sign of resistance from government forces

2012-01-17T19:15:00.000-08:00

Although President Saleh is supposed to have turned power over to his vice-president and to be only a titular president for a short while longer opposition groups see him as allowing the takeover of the town of Radaa. The opposition thinks that he is attempting to convince the western powers that he is indispensable in the fight against Al Qaeda.

Saleh signed a deal with the GCC that he would give up power and then step down entirely in return for immunity for him, his relatives, and his cronies. The Yemen parliament went even further and granted immunity to all politicians involved in repression or corruption under his government. However, Saleh is nothing but stubborn and resourceful and the Radaa event may be part of a plot to manufacture a demand that he return to save Yemen from the militants! However, it is more likely that the militant action was made possible simply by the weakness of the forces of the central government many of whom are needed to control events in Sanaa and other main cities.
According to reports 250 militants stormed the town. They broke into the jail and freed the prisoners including several who are thought to be Al Qaeda members. Militant groups already control several areas further south but this town is only 160 kilometers south of Sanaa the capital. The seizure makes civil war more likely. Yemen is not only threatened by Al Qaeda groups but also by strong separatist movements in the north and in the south as well. '
The continued presence of Saleh in the country and the fact that many of his relatives and cronies are in the transitional government just makes the likelihood of civil war even greater. Protesters are still demanding that Saleh face justice rather than be given immunity from his corruption and crimes. For more see this article.

Greek crisis still unsolved

2012-01-17T13:21:00.000-08:00

Late last year Greek bondholders agreed to take a haircut. Also the unreliable elected Prime Minister George Papandreou resigned. He was replaced by the unelected EU approved Lucas Papademos.
But the Greece situation is still not sorted out even as press attention focuses on Italy and even France. The creditors banks and hedge funds are locked in battle with the Troika--the EU, IMF and European Central Bank and in negotiations with the Greek government.
Some of the bondholders are reluctant to accept the 50 per cent haircut. There is a conflict of interest in that some debt holders who hold insurance in the form of credit default swaps can actually make money if Greece defaults! However Angela Merkel has urged that Greece be given a chance and that IMF austerity may work as it has elsewhere she claims. But Greece is already in recession and it is not clear how austerity measures will increase production. Quite the opposite by reducing demand it will probably lead to a further decline in GDP making the debt load worse. For more see this article.
A more detailed account of the crisis can be found here. The Troika is seeking a deal that would see Greek's debt fall from 180 per cent of GDP to 120 per cent. The talks broke up last Friday without a deal . If a deal is not reached Greece will not get the next installment of its bailout money. Within a couple of months Greece will be unable to pay its bills if this happens.
The IMF warns that if creditors make the terms even harsher they could win only to see Greece default a situation much worse. Many analysts such as London based Professor Costas Lapavistas are concerned about the situation. Lapavistas says: "There is rising despair in Athens," "There is sullen anger and a lot of fear. The mix is combustible."
Even if an agreement is reached it will do little but buy time for what looks to be an eventual default. Unemployment in Greece is a horrendous 18 per cent. Investment is collapsing both public and private.The Greek economy has already shrunk by more than 15 per cent. With the economy shrinking further there is little hope that the debt burden will decrease.

Pakistan: Military and Government mum on renewed drone attacks

2012-01-16T11:25:00.000-08:00

After a two month or so pause there were two drone attacks in North Waziristan in the Pakistan tribal areas. The attacks reportedly killed nine people. Official reports almost always classify those killed as militants or suspected militants.

The drones involved now come from Afghanistan as their base in Pakistan has been closed down. The airfield is at Khost in Afghanistan.

Although the government has constantly condemned drone attacks and the parliament passed a motion demanding they stop, there has been no government response as yet to the attacks. Many analysts believe that the drone campaign is sanctioned by unwritten agreements between the CIA, the Pakistani government and the security establishment in Pakistan.

There have been reports that Pakistan was prepared to shoot down any unauthorized flights over its air space. However the renewed drone strikes cast credibility on that claim or else the drone flights must be authorized. In fact the resumption of the attacks and the silence of the military, government, and intelligence community indicate that the same old game has resumed. There is a secret agreement with the CIA that is disavowed by everyone. The same tired old meaningless rhetoric opposing the strikes will continue indefinitely unless the government finally admits what seems obvious. Unless the government acts to stop the strikes it will lose even more credibility with the Pakistani populace. For more see this article.

Wall Street still supports Obama

2012-01-15T14:50:00.000-08:00

An article in the Daily Beast is titled "Why Wall Street Is Grudgingly Supporting Obama." Many rich bankers and financiers do not at all like the rhetoric coming from Obama but by the same token many are still writing checks for his re-election campaign.
The Democratic campaign is raking in more dough than ever 42 million in the fourth quarter of last year. Nevertheless many bankers and investors who helped bankroll Obama's resounding victory are unhappy campers. Obama has been pushing for higher taxes on the rich in contrast to the Republicans. However leftists will point out that Obama bailed out banks that were called too big to fail and did not attempt to break them up.
On the other hand many on Wall Street are far from supporting fervent evangelical Christians who might turn the Republican Party in a very right wing social conservative direction. The religion of Wall Street is profits. But many on Wall Street dislike Obama rhetoric about income inequality. The last thing the capitalist establishment wants is a campaign based upon some concept of class war.
Last campaign employees of Goldman Sachs donated more to the Obama campaign than any other company. During the spring and summer of 2007 Obama raised 7.7 from the financial sector while Romney took in only 5.1 million. This time Romney is registering a nearly 8 million dollar take while Obama is reduced to 4.2 million. But as the example shows both parties are funded by big finance. Obama's stock has just plunged because of his nasty rhetoric.

U.S. surge of troops and warships in Middle East

2012-01-15T09:18:00.000-08:00

General James Mattis who heads up the U.S. Central Command has the approval of the Obama administration to build up troop numbers and warships especially in the Persian Gulf area. The general believes there are increasing threats in the area in particular from Iran.
The U.S. was unable to convince Iraq to allow troops to stay there and so troops are being deployed to other countries such as Kuwait. There are approximately 15,000 troops already stationed there and their status is also under negotiation. The Kuwaiti defense minister said that the number was likely to decrease. This is highly unlikely as the U.S. is trying to negotiate stationing enough troops in Kuwait to counter any potential regional war.
The U.S. has also sent a second aircraft carrier strike group into the Persian Gulf. This is in response to threats from Iran to close the Straits of Hormuz. Iran in turn is reacting to the buildup of U.S. military might in the Gulf as well as crippling sanctions in what amounts to a covert war against Iran. Iran also suffers from internal terrorist activity.
Surges such as this show that the U.S. intends to continue to protect what it regards as its interests no matter how far from the U.S. However, the interests of Big Oil demand a global cop. For more see this article.

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New book by Rolling Stone reporter who got McChrystal fired

2012-01-14T18:17:00.000-08:00

Michael Hastings is no doubt most famous for his Rolling Stone article on General Stanley McChrystal who was at the time commander in Afghanistan. The article contained caustic criticism by McChrystal of the Obama team and no doubt lost him his job.
What Hastings most wanted to do was to criticize the U.S. counterinsurgency campaign in Afghanistan rather than concentrating on General McChrystal. Hastings new book The Operators carries out that task at length.
There is a long article here much of it consisting of an interview with Hastings. The interviewer often takes issue with Hastings positions but Hastings fights back. For example the author takes Hasting to task for criticizing McChrystal so harshly when McChrystal tried to restrict air strikes and was conscious of the need not to take actions that alienated the Afghan populace.
Hastings does admit that McChrystal was a complicated figure but his character was flawed. He mentions the Tilman affair in which McChrystal obviously covered up the truth that Tilman was killed by friendly fire not heroically in battle. The interviewer notes though that McChrystal advocated policies of restraint, policies that many troops disliked intensely.
Hastings takes the position that being in Afghanistan and the entire policy was wrong. McChrystal he pointed out wanted 100,000 troops, hardly restraint. More Americans and more Afghans died when he was in command claims Hastings. For much more see the entire article.

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U.S. depends on dolphins to keep Strait of Hormuz open

2012-01-14T07:29:00.000-08:00

Much Middle Eastern oil travels to world markets through the Straits of Hormuz. Iran has threatened to close the straits in retaliation for sanctions imposed upon the regime.
Iran could very well mine the straits as a means of stopping traffic. However, the U.S. Navy has trained dolphins to detect mines.
The dolphins themselves would not explode the mines but would leave transponders in the area of the mines which having been marked could be destroyed. In an interview with National Public Radio retired Admiral Tim Keating spoke in an interview about the use of the dolphins for military purposes.
The Navy is not too keen about advertising the use of the animals. However, newspaper reports claim that there are 80 bottleneck dolphins being trained in San Diego Bay alone.
Dolphins are large enough to set off a mine. One wonders how many dolphins might be destroyed in training. One wonders too if the dolphins need to be transported from San Diego to the Straits of Hormuz. Perhaps they have secret training locations in Bahrain or other allied countries in the area.
Many animal rights activists will no doubt object to the military use of the animals. An enemy might very well decide to indiscriminately kill dolphins in an area where they plant mines in order to frustrate plans to use them as minesweepers. For more see this article.

U.S. marines operate across African Sahel region

2012-01-12T18:04:00.000-08:00

The Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force are deployed across the Trans-Sahel region of Africa. Al-Qaeda linked groups operate in the area. The area stretches across the north of the continent along the Sahara.

The 180 members of the group operate in teams of 15 to 20 each. Their main function is not to engage in battle but to train local militaries. The exact locations of the missions is not usually revealed because many countries are sensitive about such relations.

However the group does operate in Djibouti where the group helped the country's armed forces prepare Humvees to deploy to Somalia to fight Al-Shabaab. The U.S. is obviously training proxies to do their fighting for them.

Another SPMAGTF group operates in Eastern Europe in countries such as Bulgaria, Romania and Georgia. For more see this article.

Pakistan: 2nd drone strike in two days kills five

2012-01-12T07:55:00.000-08:00

Of course the five killed are described as militants. At least that is Yahoo's compliant version of events. Sometimes the claims are more moderately describes as suspected militants. Of course reporters are not allowed in to the areas to verify any official or unofficial reports.
The Pakistan parliament long ago passed a motion that the drone attacks stop. They did for almost two months. There are reports that there has been negotiating with the Pakistani government and new rules have been agreed to. However, the Pakistani government has always denied there is any agreement on the attacks. The U.S. for its part does not even officially admit they exist. The lame-stream media as in this Yahoo report
go along with the official idiotic verbiage:"" The suspected U.S. drone fired two missiles at two cars in the Dogga area of North Waziristan tribal region, killing five""" Ho hum. A SUSPECTED U.S. drone.
Usually the government protests the strikes. There have even been threats to shoot down the drones. Of course the threat is never carried out.

Pakistan: Supreme Court threatens to oust President Zardari

2012-01-11T14:04:00.000-08:00

The Pakistani judiciary had a long struggle to restore the chief justice. Now conflict between the government and the Supreme Court has again broken out in public. Back in 2009 the court ruled that the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) was unconstitutional.
This bill would have granted politicians an amnesty to all politicians for crimes committed in office. It should have been called the Get Out of Jail Free bill. The court ruling was certainly one that would force accountability on politicians and serve the interests of justice.
Most of the present cabinet members faced charges for corruption and other offences. The government chose simply to ignore the Supreme Court ruling. As a result several years later the Supreme Court has spoken out again and threatened to disqualify both the Prime Minister and the President of Pakistan because they have simply refused to follow through on the Supreme Court's decision. This move will no doubt further add to the political instability in Pakistan. For more see this article.

China trade surplus declining sharply over past years

2012-01-10T13:31:00.000-08:00

According to some theorists China exported its excess savings from its trade surplus and this drove down interest rates in the West. This also fueled over-consumption especially in the U.S.
But the situation is changing. In 2010 the Chinese trade surplus was 183 billion (U.S. dollars) whereas this year it shrunk to 155 billion. While this is still a considerable amount. This surplus was just 2.1 per cent of Chinese GDP compared with the surplus in 2007 that set a record 7.3 per cent of GDP.
An analyst in Beijing predicts a further drop to 1.2 per cent of GDP this year. A Hong Kong analyst claims that the surplus this year could be as low as 41 billion.
China seems to be re-orienting investment to meet domestic needs and domestic demand. Much is being spent on infrastructure and building a service economy. This is investment that will be good for Chinese consumers. However, the debt crisis in Europe with its accompanying austerity measures will ensure that many European economies will grow little or even slip into recession. The United States as well faces cutbacks that may slow its growth even more. For much more analysis see this article.

China to continue oil imports from Iran despite U.S. pressure

2012-01-10T11:40:00.000-08:00

U.S. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner is visiting China this week. While he is expected to pressure the Chinese to reduce imports of Iranian oil, he is unlikely to have much effect.
The Chinese vice-foreign minister said that although China supported non-proliferation of nuclear weapons that this was a separate issue from trade. He said:“The normal trade relations and energy cooperation between China and Iran have nothing to do with the nuclear issue,”
China imports up to 11 per cent of its oil from Iran, and Iran depends upon China for about a third of its oil exports. However, of late imports have slowed because of disputes about credit and price. No doubt given the lack of markets for Iranian oil because of sanctions China hopes the price will go down. For more see this article.

Israeli cabinet pushes bill to ban term "Nazi" in protests

2012-01-10T09:09:00.000-08:00

Somewhat ironically this response is not the result of protests by leftists or Palestinians but by Ultra Orthodox Jews. However, the bill could be used against any protesters on any topic.
The suggested penalties are draconian. Anyone convicted of the crime could face a six month prison term and $26,000 in fines. The bill would also prohibit Nazi symbols such as the swastika.
Ultra Orthodox Jews have criticized those objecting to their views on gender segregation by suggesting that Hitler would be proud of the critics. They have also accused secular Israelis of mounting a "spiritual Holocaust"
Supporters of the bill said that the term "Nazi" and "Holocaust" are special and are not covered by freedom of expression.
However, the Association for Civil Right in Israel summed up the objections to the bill very well:"Precisely because of the importance and centrality of the Holocaust, the attempt to dictate when and in what context it can be referenced is very problematic," The group went on to say:"This bill seeks in effect to control the public debate, its content and tone, with force, using criminal prohibitions and the threat of prison. Freedom of expression is the right to say harsh, critical and even hurtful things. It is the right to give crude and extreme expression to opinions, emotions and thoughts and it also includes the right to make rhetorical use of difficult and provocative images"
If the bill does pass it could be used against Palestinians and/or Israeli leftists just as well as Ultra Orthodox Jews. No doubt the latter see the bill as confirmation of their view that the Israeli government persecutes genuine Jews just as did the Nazis. See Haaretz and here.

French and German leaders support financial transactions tax

2012-01-09T14:30:00.000-08:00

For some time French president Sarkozy has supported a financial transactions tax. German Chancellor Angela Merkel has now also expressed her support for such a tax.
Great Britain however is against such a tax unless it is global in scope. This is not likely as the U.S. opposes the tax.
Merkel said:“Personally, I’m in favor of thinking about such a tax in the euro zone,” Merkel said. “Germany and France both equally view the financial transaction tax as a correct response.” Last September the European Commission suggested the tax rate be .1 per cent on all bond and equity trades and .o1 per on derivative trades. The Commission calculated the tax would raise 71 billion dollars a year.
Sarkozy has even suggested that he might be willing to go it alone and impose the tax on France even if others do not join. The French financial establishment is opposed to the tax claiming that it would make France less competitive. For more see this article.

U.S. to sell arms to South Sudan

2012-01-09T09:37:00.000-08:00

President Obama has decided to sell arms to South Sudan. The paramilitary Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) is excited at the prospect. This will probably encourage war with the north. Although the south has achieved independence there is still disagreement as to where the border is. Also, there are constant internal conflicts.
Obama claims that the sales will promote world peace. Given that logic I suppose Iran could claim that developing nuclear weapons would promote world peace. South Sudan is desperately poor and yet it seems that the government will concentrate on equipping itself with high tech expensive weaponry. The country has rich oil reserves so no doubt it will be able to pay for its weaponry through deals with foreign oil companies.
Meanwhile the president Omar al-Bashir the president in the north of Sudan who is wanted for war crimes at the Hague has visited Libya. Bashir helped arm the rebels who overthrew Gadaffi. Of course those enforcing the UN prohibition of the import of weapons did not stop these weapons. Bashir hated Gadaffi because he supported the South Sudan rebels. Now the U.S. is carrying on with Gadaffi's mission and at the same time helping out the bottom line of the military industrial complex. For more see this article.

UN: Amnesty Deal with Saleh violates International Law

2012-01-08T20:10:00.000-08:00

A deal worked out by the GCC (Gulf Co-operation Council) would give President Saleh of Yemen amnesty from prosecution for any crimes both to himself, his family, and his aides. The deal was supported by the United States.
After stalling for a lengthy period, Saleh finally signed the deal. Power was to be transferred to his vice-president although Saleh would retain the title of president for some time. Many opposition policies also supported the deal and were given in return some positions in the transitional government. However, many in Saleh's family still serve in important positions as well.
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay noted: “I have been closely following the events in Yemen, particularly the very contentious debate about an amnesty law to be presented to Parliament shortly,” “International law and the UN policy are clear on the matter: amnesties are not permissible if they prevent the prosecution of individuals who may be criminally responsible for international crimes including war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide, and gross violations of human rights.”
Protesters in Yemen take the same position as the UN commissioner. However with the U.S. and important regional powers supporting the amnesty it is unlikely that Saleh and his family will ever face justice or be held accountable for their actions including responsibility for ordering crackdowns that killed many protesters.

Japan's supposed lost decade!

2012-01-08T19:35:00.000-08:00

A New York Times opinion piece by Eamonn Fingleton points out that Japan is often used by western analysts as a cautionary tale to show what can happen if a country adopts the wrong economic policies. Analysts often even talk of a lost decade.
Fingleton points to many facts that contradict this image. There is surely more to life than just economic growth. Between 1989 and 2009 life expectancy in Japan went from 78.8 years in itself quite good to 83 years. This is a full 4.2 years increase over that time period. The average Japanese can expect to live 4.8 years longer than the average American.
Even in some aspects of the economy the Japanese are far better off than Americans. For example, unemployment in Japan is 4.2 per cent. U.S. unemployment is about twice that rate. Japan has a current account surplus of 196 billion a more than threefold increase since 1989. Meanwhile the US during the same period went from a current account deficit of 99 billion in 1989 to a humongous 471 billion deficit at present. Fingleton gives many other comparisons and shows that to a considerable extent Japan's supposed economic failure is a myth. The full article is here.

Libya: Militias need to be disarmed before they start a civil war

2012-01-07T19:49:00.000-08:00

In a speech in Benghazi the chair of the Libyan National Transitional Council Mustafa Jalil said that there was a pressing need to disarm rebel militias that helped defeat Gadaffi. If the militias were not disarmed civil war or partition of Libya would develop.
The chief of the Libyan military General Mangoush claims that the military is rebuilding bases and also acquiring newer weapons. He said that the military is determined to disarm the rebel militias.
However, militia groups retain control of a number of regions and are loathe to give up their arms. Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun in many cases. Some major cities such as Misrata are under the control of militias. There has even been conflict between rival militias within neighborhoods in Tripoli. Now that Gadaffi is gone regional and tribal differences are surfacing within Libya making it difficult for the transitional government to unify the country. For more see this article.

Kodak focusing on filing for bankruptcy

2012-01-07T12:13:00.000-08:00

According to reports for Kodak the picture is gloomy as the company prepares to file for a Chapter 11 bankruptcy. While the bankruptcy could allow the company to restructure many think that it will be the end of the iconic firm.
The company is based in Rochester N.Y. In 2010 the company revenue was 7.18 billion less than half the 15.97 revenue it had back in 1996. In 2006-7 share prices were in the 30 to 35 dollar range but now they are less than 50 cents each.
The company was slow in recognizing the significance of digital photography and the competition within that field. Although Kodak itself jumped in to the digital market it lost out to competitors and failed to make money. I myself have a cheap Kodak digital camera. It has worked perfectly from the first and still works fine. For much more see this article.

Revamped U.S. military budget cuts troops and benefits

2012-01-07T10:26:00.000-08:00

The pensions and health plans will be reduced under Obama's new budget proposals for a revamped military. Withdrawal of troops from Iraq and many from Afghanistan means that fewer troops will be needed in future.

This does not mean that the U.S. will abandon its bases around the world but just that it will depend more on high-tech weapons and special forces. Having many boots on the ground trying to occupy a country is expensive both in dollars and politically.

Drones will no doubt be used even more both for attacks and surveillance. Drones are almost costless politically since they do not result in loss of U.S. lives except the odd U.S. citizen turned suspected terrorist.

Even with reductions the U.S. will spend far more than any other country. In fact the U.S. will continue to spend as much almost as the rest of the world altogether. As Obama put it:"Yes, our military will be leaner, but the world must know that the United States will maintain its military superiority," The Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta also noted that certain areas of the defense budget will actually increase:"As we reduce the overall defense budget, we will protect and in some cases increase our investments in special operation forces in new technologies, like . . . unmanned systems, in space and in particular in cyberspace,"

Panetta also squelched the rumour that the U.S. will no longer be ready to fight more than one war at a time. Panetta claimed that the U.S. will still be able to fight multiple wars at one time and will be ready to deploy to any country at any time. He stressed that as the power constellation ranged against the U.S. changes so will military deployment. Panetta mentioned south-east Asia specifically. For more details see this article.

Iraq: U.S. ambassador supports Maliki's charges against his Sunni vice-president

2012-01-06T11:26:00.000-08:00

U.S. Ambassador to Iraq James Jeffrey said: “There is a serious effort by the Iraqi judiciary to have a free and fair and just investigation,” “It seems a lot of care is being taken at this point to maintain judicial independence and to have a very broad investigation.” These remarks give support to Maliki in his attempt to discredit Hashemi and portray him as a terrorist.
Many analysts however think that the charges against Hashemi are politically motivated and designed to consolidate power in Maliki's own hands. The move by Maliki has increased ethnic tensions and led to the withdrawal of a main coalition partner from government. Hashemi is in the northern Kurdistan part of Iraq because he claims he could not receive a fair trial in Baghdad. For more see this article.
On January 5th the Iraqi parliament held an emergency session to deal with the political crisis. No details of the session were made public. Imagine a meeting of parliament but the public cannot know what exactly happened! There were talks between Prime Minister Maliki and factions which are boycotting the government.
Maliki is trying to patch up relations with the regional president Barzani. Barzani is stressing the need for federalism and warned of a catastrophe if Maliki tried to consolidate power further. But Barzani tried to distance himself from the prosecution of Hashemi claiming it was a legal rather than a political matter. For more see this article. The session hardly seems to have solved the political crisis and violent actions in the streets continue as well.

Pakistani Taliban face deep divisions in leadership

2012-01-06T09:00:00.000-08:00

Some analysts think that open warfare may break out within the TTP (Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan) the umbrella group of militants formed in 2007 to unite radicals. One main split is said to be between Hakimullah Mehsud head of the group and his deputy Wali-ur-Rehman.
Rehman is concerned that Mehsud is taking the group closer to Al Qaeda and its Arab fighters. Other commanders are trying to end the dispute between the two leaders. There are also disagreements between Mehsud and other leaders about the groups relation to the Pakistani armed forces. Some commanders have avoided conflict with the Pakistani military in order to concentrate on the war in Afghanistan while Mehsud regards the group as at war with the Pakistan armed forces as well.
Although militant attacks were down considerably last year there is still constant conflict between the military and some factions. Recently the Pakistani Taliban killed 15 Pakistani soldiers they had captured and vowed further revenge. See this article. A former TTP commander in one tribal region Fazad Haggani left the TTP last year. He is close to the militant Afghan Haqqani network. The militants have formed a five member commission to try to work out differences between the groups and unify them once again. Given the differences among the groups this may be a difficult if not impossible task. No doubt foreign operatives will be attempting to ensure that the divisions remain, For more see this article.

Bahrain: Buying news in the U.S.

2012-01-05T16:57:00.000-08:00

In November the Washington Times posted an article favorable to the Bahraini regime. The article was written by a former U.S. 5th fleet commander who later became a Lockheed Martin executive.
It turns out that the article was placed in the Times at the request of the Sanitas lobbying which works on behalf of the Bahrain government. The article urged the U.S. government to support the Bahraini government in cracking down on pro-democracy protesters in Bahrain. While deploring the violence the U.S. in effect did support the crackdown and said nothing against the sending of GCC troops into Bahrain to help quash the protests.
The Washington Times did note that the commander Admiral Charles Moore worked for Lockheed Martin and that the company sells hundreds of millions in arms to the kingdom but they failed to mention that the article was placed at the request of the lobbying firm Sanitas. Sanitas is paid 15,000 per month to lobby on behalf of the firm. Surely, the public should have been informed about that as well. This was not an opinion piece so much as an infomercial. For more see this article.

Private sector unions under attack in U.S. states

2012-01-05T08:28:00.000-08:00

As budgets become tighter U.S. states have been attacking the power of unions. Perhaps most in the news was Republican controlled Wisconsin legislature's measures that curbed the power of public sector unions. This legislation prompted huge demonstrations. Several other states also passed legislation that was directed against the power of public sector unions. Now new attacks are being mounted against unions but this time in the private sector even though the U.S. has one of the lowest levels of unionization in developed countries.
In Indiana the Republican dominated legislature is to push through a right-to-work-law. A right-to-work-law would prevent unions from having contracts that required employees to pay any dues or fees to unions. Naturally the title of the law evokes positive feelings. After all surely everyone should have the right to work. Why it should apply to legislation that requires certain deductions from pay is a mystery. Perhaps all deductions required under contracts should be included in the legislation including those to the government, pension plans, health plans, etc. The legislation might more aptly be described as the free rider law. Employees can enjoy benefits negotiated by the union while not having to help pay for the union's costs.
If the Indiana bill passes it will encourage other states contemplating similar laws including Maine, Michigan and Missouri. New Hampshire too might again try to pass such a law. Corporations naturally see states with right to work laws as being favorable to business because they make it more difficult for unions to operate and take away a source of financing for unions. Indiana is in the traditional manufacturing belt. If the legislation passes it will show that even in areas that have been in the past pro-union that worker power is being eroded. Indeed it is as capital has gone global and workers compete with each other on a global scale resulting in the erosion of benefits gained by unions in the developing countries over many decades. For more see this article.

California: Higher Education Disaster

2012-01-04T14:57:00.000-08:00

An article by Kevin Carey at this site describes the deteriorating situation in higher education in California. Carey notes that there have been several articles that have focused on problems at the UC-Berkeley. Berkeley is at the top of a three layer system with the community colleges at the base the California State University and finally Berkeley at the top.
Carey admits that there are problems at Berkeley. The state share of the budget has gone from 47 per cent to 11 per cent since 1991. Within six years tuition has doubled. Classes often are oversubscribed. But even greater problems exist within other tiers of the system according to Carey.
About 30,000 students the top high school graduates go to the UC campus while about 50,000 enroll in the middle level California State University system. The rest, about 120,000, must go to community colleges. Most high school graduates are thus unable to directly enter a four year university program.
To complete a four year degree students from the community colleges must be able to transfer into the four year system usually California State. However Carey shows that the numbers transferring has been dropping over the last few years. Just 3 years ago California State took in 55,000 transfer students a year. Over two years this number dropped by 14,000. The cuts were not due to shrinking enrollments in the community colleges but because of shrinking budgets in the State system. Transfers have been made more difficult by raising GPA standards among other methods. While Obama makes higher education a priority budget cuts have made it impossible for about 12,000 students to even enter the four year system in California.
Some students have transferred to out of state institutions such as the University of Phoenix. Transfers to that university from the California community colleges have risen 300 per cent over the last ten years. Carey says things in the community college system are worst of all the tiers in the system.
While enrollment rose up until 2008-2009. after that there were severe budget cuts in the community college system. Enrollment plunged by 400,000 students just at a time when economic conditions made the system crucial for retraining and upgrading people. Carey claims that negative effects on California and the U.S. as a whole will be long lasting. For much more see the entire article.

Internet Explorer still number one but in decline

2012-01-04T08:53:00.000-08:00

Many analysts think that eventually Mozilla's Firefox browser might one day overtake the long time leader Internet Explorer. However according to data from Stats Counter Chrome is now in second place but another company's data still have Firefox in the second position. Both companies show Internet Explorer in decline. The article with graphs can be found here
The Stats Counter figures show Internet Explorer (IE) declining from 46 % to begin 2011 to 38.65 per cent at the end. This is barely 11 per cent above Google Chrome. Chrome went from 15.68 per cent at the start of 2011 to 27.27 at the end. Firefox also declined from 30.68 per cent to 25.27 per cent.
The numbers at NetMarketShare were rather different. According to their figures IE went from 56 per cent to 47.76 per cent. Firefox went from 22.75 per cent to 20.09 per cent. Chrome as in Stats Counter figures showed a sharp increase from 10.7 per cent to 17.58 per cent.
Given the trends in both sets of figures it would seem that Chrome could threaten IE's long held first place position. We have three computers. On two we use Chrome and on one IE. I have tried to use Firefox on this Acer computer with Vista and it refused to install properly every time I downloaded it. People I know who use it say that it is an excellent browser. IE is on an old laptop computer with XP that I just bought and use to play stuff on the TV from the Internet. It seems improved from earlier versions that led me to adopt Chrome.
Statistics are kept on my blogs about the browsers used by people who visit. IE is almost always at the top and Firefox next. Chrome is usually third but at times Opera takes third place. The Apple Safari system is usually behind Opera. Several people also use the museum piece Netscape which has long been abandoned by everyone else! Perhaps odd people read my blogs!
In operating systems according to my blog statistics Microsoft Windows systems run at about 90 per cent with Linux next and then the Apple system. More mobile phone and tablet systems are appearing such as Android.

Governments with big economies face over 7.6 trillion maturing debt in 2012

2012-01-03T16:27:00.000-08:00

Many of these governments will also face increased borrowing costs to refinance their debt. Japan has the most in maturing debt 3 trillion U.S. dollars. The U.S. amount is somewhat lower but still huge at 2.8 trillion.
The IMF has cut the growth forecast for 2012 to 4 per cent. Originally the estimate was for 4.5 per cent global growth. The spread of Europe's debt crisis is one factor but also the U.S. will struggle to reduce its debt and the Chinese property market will be slowing
Some countries are already having problems selling new debt securities. Italy has already had trouble auctioning off as many debt securities as it had wanted. Economists and strategists surveyed by Bloomberg estimated that borrowing costs for G-7 nations could rise as much as 39 per cent above last year's levels.
Fund manager Michael Riddell said:“The buyer base for peripheral Europe has obviously shrunk at the same time that the supply coming to the market is increasing, which is not a good combination,” With many new debt securities being offered investors will avoid buying in countries where risks are very high. This will drive up borrowing costs for some countries in Europe which most need the funds. For much more see this article.

U.S. sell arms to allies in Asia and Middle East

2012-01-03T10:12:00.000-08:00

In an article by John Bennet in The Hill defense analyst Loren Thompson claims that Obama's arms sale programs is a striking departure from Democratic practice. Rather than sending more troops to the Middle East and Asia the Obama administration is providing allies with advanced weapons and military equipment.
The moves are regarded by analysts as attempts to counter the influence of China and Iran. Thompson said: “The President and his [advisers] apparently have decided that well-armed allies are the next best thing to U.S. “boots on the ground” when it comes to advancing America’s global security interests,”
To counter Iran the U.S. government has provided Saudi Arabia with 85 Boeing-made fighter jets as well as munitions. These jets however are not as advanced as those that the U.S. has provided to Israel. Such sales also are part of a plan to ensure that the U.S. military-industrial complex is well fed and also provides a type of military Keynesian stimulus program. The fact that Saudi Arabia is a reactionary authoritarian monarchy is neither here nor there.
The U.S. is also selling upgrading kits for Taiwan's U.S. planes. F35 sales have already been made both to Japan and Australia. There are rumors that South Korea will buy U.S. fighters as well. Altogether 250 U.S. made advanced warplanes will be shipped into the Asia-Pacific region. The arms sales to allies will make it easier to draw down U.S. forces in some regions.
Thompson remarks: “When a president sustains high rates of military spending, takes out the world’s most wanted terrorist, and sells the latest military technology to friends around the globe,, “it’s difficult for his political opponents to explain how they could have been any harder on America’s enemies.” I find it difficult to see exactly how all of this is a striking departure from Democratic practice. The Republicans can still complain if Obama cuts military spending at all. They can complain about his withdrawal from Iraq. Alternatively, they will concentrate upon domestic policy and slow economic growth, issues that are probably more significant to most Americans than foreign policy.

Spain: Deficit much larger than expected

2012-01-02T18:32:00.000-08:00

The Spanish government announced that the budget deficit for the year would be much larger than predicted earlier. The target was for the deficit to be 6 per cent of GDP. The actual deficit came in at 8 per cent of GDP.
The Spanish government reacted to the larger deficit by increasing taxes and freezing wages. In addition the government cut public spending by 11.5 billion U.S. The deputy prime minister said: "This is just the beginning ... We're facing an extraordinary and unexpected situation, forcing us to take extraordinary and unexpected measures,"
An economist at Barcelona University said that the measures would probably make the recession even worse. The defeated socialist government had taken measures that enabled Spain to fare somewhat better than Italy or Greece it now seems as if Spain faces a worsening debt situation as well. For much more see this article.

Republican candidates for president all favor policies to increase inequality

2012-01-02T17:03:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow in Iowa the first primary to nominate the Republican presidential candidate takes place. Mitt Romney has been picked out as a candidate who represents the proverbial one per cent. But as the chart at the end of the article here shows all of the candidates support policies that favor the one per cent.
All the candidates favor increasing tax breaks for the rich and for corporations as well. At the other end of the scale they all favor ending Medicare as it is at present. They also want cuts to Social Security to help lower the deficit.
These policies will increase economic inequality. Cutbacks will decrease demand and no doubt decrease growth. Lack of growth will mean less revenue and a worse debt situation. Of course on other issues the candidates do differ. Ron Paul for example is a thorn in the side of Republican hawks and the Republican establishment generally. Nevertheless they all opt for policies that will increase inequality.

Yemen: Radical Islamists fight for territory in the south

2012-01-02T10:21:00.000-08:00

A long article in the Washington Post discusses the situation in parts of South Yemen where Islamic militants have taken over considerable territory. Islamic militants have taken advantage of the protests and opposition to the regime of president Saleh. Although Saleh relinquished power recently to his vice-president, he is still in Yemen and through his family and loyalists still exerts influence upon affairs.
The U.S. has strongly supported Saleh's move against Islamic militants. However, the U.S. also supported the GCC deal which Saleh signed in which he relinquished the presidency in return for immunity from prosecution for himself, family, and cronies. Protesters are much opposed to granting Saleh and his cronies immunity from prosecution.
Radical Islamist groups have established their presence in Abyan province especially Zinjibar the regional capital. The goal of the groups is to create as Islamic emirate in Yemen. One military base remains in the city and there are constant attacks on the rebels.
In the north there are also Shiite Houthi rebels. The groups in effect have taken control of several provinces. There are also separatists in the south not associated with Islamists. Finally there are disgruntled tribal leaders with their own militias and military units who have defected even in the capital. Yemen appears far from unity and Saleh and his family power are making the situation much worse. For much more see this article.

U.S.: Activists videotaping animal abuse may be tried as terrorists

2012-01-02T08:40:00.000-08:00

Law enforcement officials are fond of finding new uses for anti-terror laws. For some time the Joint Terrorism Task Force of the FBI has suggested that activists carrying out undercover operations on farms to reveal animal abuse should be tried as terrorists.
The act under which activists could be charged was originally called the Animal Enterprise Protection Act. Note that it was the enterprises not the animals being protected! Now the act is called the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act. The penalties associated with conviction under the act are much more severe than for crimes that activists have sometimes committed such as trespass and theft (of animals).
An example of the activism involved is exhibited in the actions of the Group Gourment Cruelty. The group went to a fois gras farm and videotaped how the ducks were overfed and also took a few ducks. The group said these were acts of Civil Disobedience protesting the cruelty to the ducks. The leader of the group did not object to the trespassing charges taking them as a reasonable price to pay for his civil disobedience. However, he considers it outrageous to classify any such act as terrorism. However, that seems to be exactly what some law enforcement officials and the law want to call it. For much more see this article

Philippine Peso Up Against U.S. Dollar

2012-01-01T21:28:00.000-08:00

Philippine currency the Philippine peso rose .2 per cent against the U.S. dollar from Dec. 29 to closing on the 30th of December. The peso ended at 43.76 to the U.S. dollar.
During the holidays remittances from Filipinos working overseas increase and this is probably what has caused the rise in the peso. The central bank is considering an interest rate cut as as global growth slows and will also slow growth in exports.
The Treasury Bureau is auctioning off 206 million(U.S.) in 5 per cent bonds that will mature in August 1918. The government is intending to sell further securities in the first quarter of this year. Yield on 7.375 per cent bonds has increased over the last few days of trading in the year. For more see this article.

President Saleh to remain in Yemen

2012-01-01T14:11:00.000-08:00

Outgoing president of Yemen Ali Saleh has flip flopped again as he has many times on other issues. After claiming that he was going to the U.S. for medical treatment he has now said that he will remain in Yemen.
Saleh may be attempting to ensure that his family and party retains control of events. There are both internal revolts and also protesters in the streets.
A son and nephew of Saleh command the Republic Guard and Central Security forces giving them a great deal of power. Under an agreement brokered by the GCC with the support of the Saudis and the U.S. Saleh transferred power to his vice president Abed Hadi. He will formally relinquish the presidency after he is granted immunity.
Protesters reject the deal. They want Saleh and others to be held responsible for the deaths of many protesters and other crimes. Unrest has increased with strikes in many government institutions. The military has seen defections in support of the protesters.
In a statement Saleh said: “It is not possible in any way, shape or form to allow the collapse of state establishments and institutions that have been built over the last 49 years,” Translated this means that Saleh has decided to stay in Yemen and work to retain the power of his family and himself. For more see this article.

Google Facebook and Twitter oppose Online Piracy Act

2011-12-31T12:12:00.000-08:00

A New York Times op-ed has called SOPA the Great Firewall of America and noted that the bill is quite broad, too broad for critics. The Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) is supported by Hollywood corporations.'
Google, Facebook, and Twitter see the legislation as threatening them. The co-founder of claimed that the act would rank the U.S. with the most oppressive nations in the world. Perhaps the U.S. is trying to catch up and surpass China in Internet control. Of course the Chinese are not noted for their enforcing laws against piracy!
Co-founders of Twitter also lashed out at the legislation claiming that the act gave federal regulators too much power to censor the web. Google, Amazon, Facebook, and others are threatening to turn their pages black and with Internet censorship warnings that will ask users to contact politicians about voting on the bill.
There is a Senate debate scheduled for January 24 on the bill. Perhaps the bill will have been changed by then. If it isn't there could be big news before the debate even starts if the Big Guns on the Internet take on the Hollywood Internet Copyright Protection Gang. For more see this article and here as well.

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Ron Paul speaks out against Obama's drone attacks

2011-12-31T10:02:00.000-08:00

Paul has been consistent in his attack on counter-terror methods which violate basic human rights. He has also taken a strong anti-war stance in the face of the fact that many Republicans are hawks.
In a campaign speech in Iowa Paul noted that even Nazis after World War II got trials. Now even a U.S. citizen such as Anwar al-Awlaki can be assassinated without any trial, or even being charged. Both Awlaki and also his son a 16 year old were both killed in Obama ordered drone strikes.
Of course, the Obama defenders will simply say that there is a state of hostilities between Al Qaeda and related groups and the U.S. and just as in warfare one can target and kill the enemy without trial. At the same time the Obama administration does not even regard the term "war on terror" as politically correct while employing the notion of hostilities as a means to place any suspected terrorist beyond the reach of any basic legal rights.

Some in the crowd booed Paul as he brought up the drone issue without prompting. However, Paul's position on this matter has been consistent. Many in the American populace are fed up with politicians who pander to them and then go their own merry way after they are elected. Even if people do not like many of Paul's policies they realize that he is different and respect him for that. I have included a You Tube video with Cenk Uygur of the Young Turks which shows even some liberals give him respect. For more this article..

Israeli Intelligence Chief says Nuclear Iran not an existential threat to Israel

2011-12-31T07:53:00.000-08:00

In Israel it seems that the intelligence services still feel able to tell it like it is. I am not sure the same can be said for the U.S. and no doubt other countries as well. The chief of Mossad, Tamir Pardo told a meeting of Israeli ambassadors that Iran's having nuclear weapons would not be an existential threat to Israel.
Whatever the irrationalities of Iranian foreign policy Iran's government is rational enough to know that any use of atomic weapons against Israel would result in being wiped out by the response from both Israel and other countries such as the U.S. Even the Revolutionary Guard would not want to play suicide jihadists. They are too busy amassing wealth from ownership of business enterprises.
Pardo said that talk of an existential threat is being used too loosely. The phrase is used by many hawks both in Israel and the U.S. often to promote an attack on Iran.Pardo is just the latest intelligence official to warn against a pro-war stance against Iran. Meir Dagan Pardo's predecessor cautioned the Israeli government against attacking Iran.Dagan claimed that any attack on Iran could spark a dangerous regional war.
Dagan said that Hezbollah and Hamas could respond with massive rocket attacks on Israel. His comments infuriated many Israeli politicians. For more see this article and also here. Iran has all along claimed that it is simply developing nuclear power facilities not a nuclear bomb.

Canada: TSX stock market loses 11 per cent for 2011

2011-12-30T17:52:00.000-08:00

The Toronto Stock Exchange lost almost 1500 points during 2011 a drop of 11 per cent from the beginning of the year. The exchange finished the year on a positive note closing up 113.9 points Friday.
U.S. market fell on Friday but the Dow Jones index was up 640 points or 5.5 per cent for the year. The S and P index was almost flat. The NASDAQ ended down two per cent for the year.
Gold and metals sub-indexes on the Toronto exchange also posted significant drops. Even though the price of oil rose over the year the energy index also declined. The loonie has risen slightly in relation to the U.S. dollar.

U.S. to push 11 billion arms deal with Iraq despite instability

2011-12-29T07:59:00.000-08:00

In spite of the violence and political unrest in Iraq the U.S. is pushing ahead with a deal that is worth nearly 11 billion and includes fighter jets and tanks. No doubt the military-industrial complex will be pleased.
In Iraq the coalition government has broken down as a major coalition partner has left the government. One Sunni province has declared itself a federal area against the wishes of the central government. See the appended video.
Sectarian strife appears to be growing after the Sunni vice-president Tariq al-Hashemi was accused of being involved in terror attacks and a plot against president Maliki. Opponents of Maliki claim that the charges are politically motivated and that Maliki is attempting to consolidate power.

An analyst and editor of the Swiss Military Review said: "The types of weapons which have been sold, F16s, M1 Abrams tanks, these vehicles, these aircraft, have been designed 20 or 30 years ago," "It is all extremely relative when you consider this arms deal sale worth about $11bn and you compare this to the $60bn deals with much more advanced aircraft sold to Saudi Arabia recently." The analyst points out that if the U.S. did not provide this equipment other countries would. Spare parts of course will need to come from the U.S. This gives the U.S. leverage in Iraq and at the same time helps out the U.S. based arms production industries involved.

South Korean industrial production declines

2011-12-29T07:13:00.000-08:00

Demand in the construction and service sector led to output shrinking .4 per cent from October. The results were worse than many analysts had predicted.

THe biggest declines were spending on equipment in construction but also in the service industry. Demand may be slowing because of high household debt in South Korea. However, the general global slowdown also is having an impact as the South Korean economy is export oriented.

The Bank of Korea reports that the manufacturing sentiment index has fallen to a record low level. Manufacturers are worried about the global economic slowdown. The index fell from 83 to 79 from last month. This is the worst outlook since 2009.

The figures look less gloomy when compared on a yearly basis. For example, industrial output in November this year was up 5.6 per cent over last November. For more see this article.

Gaza: Produce exports limited by Israeli blockade

2011-12-28T18:14:00.000-08:00

The blockade of Gaza by Israel since 2007 means that most produce of Gazan farmers cannot be exported. Although farmers in Gaza grow strawberries, peppers, flowers, and tomatoes they have little access to external markets.
The few trucks shown in the appended video are loaded with fresh strawberries destined for the Netherlands. Even of the exports agreed to with the Israelis only two per cent have actually been completed.
According to an agreement with the Palestinian authority about 400 truck loads of produce can be exported each day. There is only one crossing out of Gaza even operating. Far fewer than the agreed upon number make it through with produce each day. '
If Gazans were allowed to export freely they could generate income that would make the less of a welfare state dependent upon foreign aid. However Israel no doubt is quite happy to keep Gazans in a state of dependency.

U.S. home prices in decline

2011-12-28T11:15:00.000-08:00

In 19 of 20 U.S. cities home prices declined during the month of October. The average price of a home in the cities monitored in the index was down 3.4 per cent from the same month last year. This was more than the 3.2 per cent that economists surveyed by Bloomberg had forecast.
Atlanta Georgia had the biggest fall, off 11.7 per cent from last year. Only Phoenix Arizona bucked the trend. Perhaps Canadian snowbirds are snapping up bargains while they last driving up prices.
Many analysts predict that there will be a further decline next year. Many foreclosures were put on hold earlier and now the foreclosures will resume. This will add to unsold housing stock and weaken prices. A regulator reported that in the third quarter foreclosures had jumped 21 per cent from the same quarter last year.
Unless economic conditions improve for many households there could be even more foreclosures. Almost a quarter of U.S. homeowners owe more on their mortgages than the worth of their houses. For more see this article.

European, U.S. stocks fall as Italy bond yields rise

2011-12-28T10:02:00.000-08:00

Ten year Italian bonds rose above the 7 per cent danger level to 7.01. Also, the European Central Bank's balance sheet soared to 3.55 trillion dollars a record as it loaned money to financial institutions to keep credit flowing.
Oil prices also trended lower even though Iran was making noises about blocking oil shipments through the State of Hormuz.
Earlier Italy's cost of borrowing had declined and this helped stock markets improve but the so-called Monti effect after the new technocratic Italian prime minister seems to have worn off. The chief portfolio strategist for Wells Fargo Advantage Funds said: "The banks are not borrowing from the ECB in order to spur lending. It’s to shore up their own balance sheets. That could lead to a credit contraction in the euro zone." Unless the banks feel confident in lending they will simply hoard the money they are being loaned and this in effect defeats the policy of the central bank which was attempting to ease credit. For much more see this article.

China: Free speech is subversion and merits ten year sentence

2011-12-27T14:47:00.000-08:00

Chen Xi is a veteran dissident. He was first jailed after he participated in the 1989 pro-democracy protests. He received a sentence of three years. Later he received another ten year sentence for counter-revolutionary offenses.
The Chinese authorities have no sense of irony. The Chinese government whose court passed the sentence has managed the transition of China from communism to capitalism but Chen Xi is supposed to be the counter-revolutionary. If Mao were in power the whole gang of them would probably be sent off for re-education at the very least.
The court noted that Xi was a repeat offender and that the crime was serious. What was his crime? He wrote 36 essays critical of the regime and posted them on line. The court said the essays constituted incitement to subvert state power. No doubt Chen Xi is also being punished because he was active in a local human rights group that reported on violations of human rights by authorities.
Only three days earlier another veteran dissident Chen Wei received a nine year sentence for the exact same offense. No doubt the Chinese government fears that the Arab spring uprising might inspire protests against the government in China. Repression is alive and well in China. For more see this article.

Italy: Prime Minister Mario Monti struggles to lower borrowing costs

2011-12-26T19:56:00.000-08:00

The new technocrat prime minister of Italy Mario Monti had his budget plan approved by parliament. At first his appointment soothed markets and lowered Italy's surging borrowing costs but the effect seems to be petering out already.
Italy faces 69 billion in costs to repay debts early next year. Italian bond yields are again approaching the 7 per cent level. Even though Monti was able to push through a budget package, investors still drove the yield on ten year bonds to 6.91 per cent. At 7 per cent Greece, Ireland, and Portugal all were forced to seek bailout money.
On Nov. 9 the yield on Italy's 10 year bonds reached a record 7.48 per cent. The appointment of Monti and his strenuous efforts to reduce Italian spending managed to get the rate down to 6.26 per cent on Dec. 6. Now the yields are tending up to the danger level again. Monti told the Senate members: “It is essential that Italians buy government bonds and treasury bills, whose yields are very high. We must trust ourselves.”
The government is selling many securities before the end of the year including ten year bonds. These will show whether the situation is getting worse. Italy has a debt of 1.9 trillion Euros and a considerable amount must be paid during the first quarter next year.
Analysts pointed out that the debt crisis is giving Monti the leverage he needs to force structural reforms upon the Italian economy. Monti said that he is focusing his attention on making the labor market less rigid and streamlining the welfare system. Translated this means weakening the power of labor and reducing the social safety net. Analysts also point out that the measures may push Italy into recession. For more see this article.

Afghanistan: Karzai wants night raids and house searches to stop

2011-12-26T14:35:00.000-08:00

After a report looking into civilian casualties caused by NATO air strikes and night raids Karzai has again asked for both to stop. He has been complaining about these raids and demanding they cease for ages now but without significant results. After all, Afghanistan is occupied and not a sovereign country.
However, Karzai does have some leverage. He has said he will not sign an agreement allowing NATO forces to stay in Afghanistan after 2014 unless the raids stop. In 2014 troops are supposed to turn over security to Afghans but now it seems that NATO troops may stay for up to a decade later. No one asks the Afghans or Americans if this is what they want. This is all to be negotiated between NATO officials and their rather testy puppet Karzai.
NATO has insisted that the raids will continue but that they will involve Afghan forces more. Most of these raids are by special forces usually U.S. special forces. NATO insists that there are few casualties and that usually there is not even a shot fired. However, the report of the Karzai government cited numerous examples of civilian casualties including the pregnant wife of a local anti-drugs chief. Even when no shots are fired locals are not happy about home invasions in the middle of the night!
Of course the vast majority of civilian deaths are the result of insurgent activity. However, Karzai has little control over those killings. It seems he has little control over those caused by the forces that are supposed to be providing security for Afghans either. For more see this article.

Yemen: Protesters criticize U.S. Ambassador's statemement

2011-12-26T11:39:00.000-08:00

Attacks on protesters by Yemeni forces killed at least nine people on Saturday. The protesters marched from Taiz to the capital Sanaa. The protesters want Saleh and his cronies to be held accountable for their crackdown against protests that killed and wounded many. Instead Saleh, his family, and his cronies have been granted immunity from prosecution in a deal supported by Saudi Arabia and the U.S. The deal transferred power to Saleh's vice president Major General Hadi.
The U.S. ambassador Gerald Feierstein told a press conference that the protest was “not peaceful,” and was intended to “provoke a violent response.”Feierstein also said that “if 2,000 people decided to protest against the White House in the US, we do not consider it a peaceful act and will not allow this.” The U.S. seems solidly behind the new regime that includes many of the old guard including members of Saleh's family.
Saleh himself is said to be considering travel to the U.S. The U.S. has said he cannot come except for medical reasons. No doubt that will be the excuse anyway! The treatment of Saleh contrasts with the treatment of other dictators who have killed their own people such as Assad or Gadaffi. While Saleh's killings have not been as extensive they nevertheless have been real enough and yet the U.S. and the GCC have been anxious to ensure that he steps down with impunity and that the old guard guides any transition.
Hadi is to run unopposed in the next presidential election. Much of the official opposition has been bought off by being granted a few places in the interim government. However, those who started the protests against Saleh are not fooled by what happened and are continuing their opposition in the streets. The U.S. has made it clear whose side they are on. For more see this article.

Pakistan: Army wants president Zardari ousted

2011-12-23T13:10:00.000-08:00

Since independence in 1947 Pakistan has had three coups by the armed forces. The present head of the military General Parvez Kayani is very much opposed to a coup a position certainly not shared by some of his predecessors.
Many think that President Zardari was behind the so-called coup memo. This memo was a letter to the U.S. military commander Admiral Mullen that sought his support in ousting key members of the military leadership. In the memo as well the military were accused of planning a coup after the U.S. killed Osama bin Laden without informing Pakistan until it was already in process.
An anonymous military source claimed that the opposition and most Pakistanis were fed up with Zardari not just the army. The U.S. had dismissed the allegations about a military coup in the memo they received as simply not credible. The Pakistan Supreme Court is considering a petition that requests an inquiry into the memo affair.
The ruling party worries not just about the military but about the courts whom they fear may be out to get Zardari. Prime Minister Yusuf Gilani said: "Let me make clear to you today that there are intrigues, conspiracies afoot to pack up the elected government," As usual there is political strife brewing in Pakistan. For more see this article and also here.

Iraq: All U.S. troops have left. Or have they?

2011-12-22T20:56:00.000-08:00

Some will remain in fact up to 2,700 if Iraqi Prime Minister Maliki is to be believed. Seven hundred troops will remain in Iraq as trainers. Earlier reports said that the U.S. would not agree with Maliki's terms for troops to remain as trainers. Maliki insisted that the troops be subject to Iraqi law. It is highly unlikely that the U.S. agreed to that. Maliki made no mention of that issue in his statement.
As well as the trainers there will be up to 2,000 troops used to provide security for the U.S. embassy. The embassy will also have 1500 diplomats with diplomatic immunity as well as 15,000 other employees at the Embassy.
No doubt many of these other employees will be private security contractors to provide security for diplomatic staff as well. The cost of the U.S. continuing presence in Iraq will still be large and a burden on the U.S. taxpayer. For more see this article.
Maliki is in great difficulty politically in Iraq. Already his coalition government is falling into pieces. The opposition will no doubt protest if it turns out that U.S. troops stay in Iraq with continued immunity from the application of Iraqi law.

Iraq: Isolation of Sunni politicians may result in renewed insurgency

2011-12-22T07:40:00.000-08:00

The Iraqi prime minister Nouri al-Maliki seems determined to provoke Sunni politicians. His move to arrest his own vice-president Tareq Hashemi has led one of his main coalition partners the Iraqiya bloc to leave the government. Al-Maliki has rejected the idea of reconciling with them.

The Kurdish bloc has also withdrawn from parliament in protest against the arrest warrant issued for the vice-president. The Kurdish area has the only significant armed forces not within the control of Al-Maliki. The leader of Iraqiya Ayad Allawi has compared Maliki's actions to those of Saddam Hussein who often arrested people on claims they were terrorists. Maliki says that Hashemi's bodyguards have confessed to being involved in terrorist acts and Maliki also claims that Hashemi was plotting to kill him. Hashemi has taken refuge in Kurdistan in the north of Iraq and has said that he will only agree to being tried there not in the capital Baghdad.

Since Maliki has lost his majority he should be only interim prime minister at most until another coalition majority is formed. If a coalition with a majority could not be formed then new elections should be called. However, Maliki has given no indication he will relinquish power. Maliki apparently controls the army and national police.

Iraqiya in co-operation with the Kurds may try to form a majority coalition but even if it does, getting rid of Maliki might be difficult. The level of violence is increasing with 60 people killed in a recent explosion. Isolating the Sunnis may drive them underground and create a renewed insurgency and the conflict with Kurdistan may lead it to declare complete independence if issues cannot be worked out.

Iraq: Tension rises between Prime Minister Maliki and Sunni politicians

2011-12-21T21:55:00.000-08:00

The prime minister Nouri al-Maliki has accused his own Sunni vice-president Tareq al-Hashemi of plotting to assassinate him. He claims that al-Hashemi paid his own bodyguards to commit terrorist attacks and that they have confessed to these acts. An order has been made for al-Hashemi's arrest.

Al-Hashemi has taken refuge in Kurdistan in northern Iraq. He says that he will only stand trial there not in Baghdad. Al-Maliki has been harassing other Sunni politicians as well. Al-Hashemi claims the charges against him are politically motivated. Massoud Barzani the president of the Kurdistan regional government has called on Iraqi politicians to hold a summit meeting to discuss al-Maliki''s recent moves against Sunni politicians.

The arrest warrant is viewed with great suspicion by many politicians including Barzani who has for years often disagreed with al-Maliki. Even the Iraqi president Talabani was critical of the warrant together with the speaker of parliament.Violence is increasing as the sectarian tensions rise as well.

The U.S. is watching events with concern as all U.S. troops are now out of the country. Some Republicans have been critical of Obama for withdrawing all U.S. troops. However, the agreement for keeping forces in Iraq expires the end of this year and the Iraqi government refused to allow any troops to stay at least without being subject to Iraqi law. Apparently, the Republicans must think that the U.S. could just stay anyway! For more see this article and also here.

Poland loses five soldiers in Afghanistan

2011-12-21T12:19:00.000-08:00

Poland joined the U.S. led mission in Afghanistan in 2002. As with other countries it has suffered a number of casualties as a result.
Poland's contingent in the Afghan mission at present numbers around 2,500 in all. There have been 36 killed including these five recently killed.
Reports from Ghazni southwest of Baghdad report they were killed by an exploding mine. The Taliban claim responsibility for the attack.
Prime Minister of Poland Donald Tusk called the loss one of the most tragic events of the entire Polish mission. This is the largest attack on the Polish contingent so far. Many countries such as Canada have withdrawn troops or are withdrawing them. Security is supposed to be handed over to the Afghans in 2014 but there may be an agreement to allow troops to stay much longer.

UK hires firm involved in arranging rendition flights for CIA

2011-12-18T13:04:00.000-08:00

Lawyers at Charity Reprieve are asking why Computer Sciences Corporation has been hired for public contracts that run to hundreds of millions of pounds. The company worked for the CIA arranging secret rendition flights to Guantanamo Bay and black sites that the CIA used for interrogation and torture.
Now the CSC is working for the UK Home Office to strengthen border controls. In 2007 the firm was hired to produce a UK visa that uses advanced biometrics technology a contract that runs until 2014.
The firm seems to be a favorite with the UK. The company has had contracts with the Royal Mail, the UK Atomic Energy Authority, and the Civil Nuclear Police Authority. They are also under contract with the National Health Service a contract that also has come under fire.
A spokesperson for Reprieve said:: "People will be appalled to hear that their government has been handing out hundreds of millions of pounds to a company which helped organised the CIA's illegal renditions programme. "We need to know whether ministers at the time were aware of CSC's activities. If so, did they really think that a firm involved in some of the worst excesses of the 'war on terror' was an appropriate recipient of major public sector contracts?" However a spokesperson for CSC had this to say: "We recognise that being a decent, responsible business is critical to our success. By implementing sustainable practices, we seek to ensure the vitality of the communities in which we live and do business, the morale and effectiveness of our global team, the health of our environment and the productivity and collaborative strength of our client relationships." Who could argue with that! What's good for the CIA must be good for the UK public sector. For more see this article.
For more about CSC see this Wikipedia article. The article makes no mention of its involvement with the CIA. It is quite successful and has contracts with large corporations and governments globally involving IT applications. Perhaps it still has good connections with the CIA. The company is headquartered in the U.S. at Falls Church Virginia.

U.S: Mayors worried about increased numbers of homeless and need for more food assistance

2011-12-17T16:50:00.000-08:00

Of 29 cities surveyed 25 said that requests for food assistance had increased over the last year. The average increase was 15.5 per cent. In addition a quarter of residents requesting food aid could not get it for lack of supplies.
The poverty rate in the U.S. has also increased from 14.3 per cent last year to 15.1 per cent this year according to the U.S. government. This increase is happening as cities have fewer resources to meet the needs of the poor as they often face large budget deficits.
Kansas City Missouri food aid went up this year by 40 per cent. This was the highest in the survey but both Boston Mass. and Salt Lake City were not far behind at a 35 per cent increase. The vast majority of cities , 27 of 29, expect the emergency food requests would increase next year. At the same time 75 per cent of them predicted a decrease in their food aid budgets.
The number of homeless also increased. On average the increase was 6 per cent. Charleston in North Carolina had the largest increase at a third increase. Cleveland Ohio and Detroit Michigan also had large increases. On average 18 per cent of homeless people who sought assistance were refused because of lack of space in shelters. As well as having a financial deficit the U.S. suffers a deficit in services for the homeless and hungry. For more see this article from which the data was abstracted.

Iraq: Troops withdraw but U.S. drones remain

2011-12-17T10:14:00.000-08:00

Although U.S. troops are withdrawing from Iraq as required by the SOFA agreement with Iraq many Americans will remain. About 10,000 Americans will remain to staff the humongous U.S. embassy in Iraq as well as other consular offices. Included will be many security contractors to ensure the safety of personnel. Private contractors will also be involved in training Iraqi forces. However there will be another U.S. presence as well.
Unarmed U.S. spy drones will be allowed to patrol in norther Iraq. These Predator drones will operate out of a Turkish air base in Turkey. The planes will be used to spy on rebels of the Kurdistan Worker's Party (PKK) who use camps in northern Iraq to launch attacks into Turkey. The information provided by the drones has been used by Turkey to launch air strikes. Turkey has on occasion even sent troops into the area causing Iraq to complain.
This type of military assistance has helped improve relations between Turkey and the U.S. That the Iraqi government has agreed to allow the drones to continue their surveillance is rather surprising since the Iraqi government has protested against Turkish incursions and air attacks on Iraq. Perhaps the central government is less concerned about these incursions than the regional Kurd government in northern Iraq. For more see this article

Fitch ratings: France still triple A but outlook negative

2011-12-16T16:58:00.000-08:00

Several other European countries were also downgraded by placing them on a rating watch negative review. The agency expects to complete the review for Spain, Italy, Belgium, Slovenia, Ireland and Cyprus by the end of January.
The move by the rating agency will put more pressure on Eurozone leaders to do more to solve the two year debt crisis in Europe. Although European leaders have agreed to form a tighter fiscal union but the debt crisis for several countries has not been resolved.
There has been resistance to using the European Central Bank as a backup. The ECB has not as yet made a commitment to buy bonds of the countries needing debt financing. Fitch claims that the meeting of European leaders did not produce definitive policy solutions to the crisis. For more see this article.

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New U.S. defense bill legalizes indefinite detention for terror suspects

2011-12-16T14:44:00.000-08:00

The new 2012 defense bill was passed by the House of Representatives by a 283 to 136 vote and now the Senate has passed the bill by a vote of 86 to 12. Among the provisions the bill allows for indefinite detention of terrorism suspects.
The U.S. has been in practice doing this for some time but this bill now makes clear that it is lawful at least according to U.S. law. Now persons accused of the crime of being a terrorist does not require any charges every be brought against them and yet they can be held indefinitely. The historic right of habeas corpus is simply gone.
One would think that Obama might veto the bill. He did actually threaten to veto the bill but not because it violated any one's rights but because it limited his own power. Obama wants to do as he sees fit with terror suspects who are US citizens. He did not even mention that the bill does away with any right to due process for suspects.
The Senate dutifully revised the bill so that now the president will have the right to waive the requirement mandating military custody of U.S. citizens accused of terrorism. The Obama administration even asked the principle sponsors of the bill John McCain and Carl Levin to include language that ensured the indefinite detention provisions would apply to U.S. citizens.
The ACLU said that if Obama signs this bill into law ”it will damage both his legacy and America’s reputation for upholding the rule of law. The last time Congress passed indefinite detention legislation was during the McCarthy era and President Truman had the courage to veto that bill. We hope that the president will consider the long view of history before codifying indefinite detention without charge or trial.” The president is considering not the long view of history but the upcoming presidential elections. If Obama is seen as tough on terrorists then this will probably help him get elected. For more see this article.

David Harvey on the end of capitalism

2011-12-15T20:52:00.000-08:00

David Harvey is at present a professor of Geography and Anthropology at CUNY (City University of New York). However he has taught at a number of universities including Johns Hopkins and also in the U.K. his original home.

Although first and foremost a geographer Harvey is very much influenced by Marx. He has given a course on the reading of Marx's Capital for 40 years! There is a series of over a dozen videos of those lectures here. Amazing that something such as these is available for free on the Internet.

Harvey has written many books including ""Ä Brief History of Neoliberalism " (2005) This book traces the history of neoliberalism since the nineteen seventies. An even more recent book "The Enigma of Capital'" (1910) shows how capitalism has expanded globally and dominates the world. In that book he also explains how the system has generated the present global crisis.

The appended video "The End of Capitalism" presents some of these arguments. Harvey argues that it is finance capital that is now in control. This has resulted in a huge expansion of the gap between the rich and the poor and in effect the dispossession of the working class of all that they gained in earlier periods of capitalist development.

In the developed countries finance capital insists on austerity programs, ripping away at the social safety net, reducing pensions, welfare benefits, etc.etc. But there is a contradiction in these policies since by reducing demand they result in no or slow growth that makes the situation worse.

However in countries such as China their capitalist economy (or as the Chinese without any sense of the humor involved call socialism with Chinese characteristics) is rapidly expanding as are those of other developing capitalist countries such as Brazil and India. As Harvey puts it capitalist development at present has parts of the world with developing economies in high growth mode but developed countries are now growing slowly or in recession.

Harvey does not see either mode of capitalism as sustainable over the longer run. Capitalism by its very nature needs to grow to thrive as a system. But there are limits to growth as environmentalists point out. Although Harvey does not give any detailed formula for a vastly different economy he does talk about the economy being run by associated producers but not as wage laborers who create surplus value for capitalists.

The lecture is about an hour long. Harvey is relatively easy to follow as a lecturer. He does not talk down to his audience. He tries to be clear and never attempts to show off as do others in the Marxist tradition such as Slavoj Zizek who seems constantly excited and loves rhetorical flourishes. There is about a half hour question and answer period after the lecture.

Photo of aftermath of drone attacks in Pakistan

2011-12-14T11:29:00.000-08:00

The photos at this site were taken by Noor Behram who himself lives in the area. The region where the CIA drone attacks take place is virtually off limits to any outsiders or reporters. Reports of casualties are either through official sources or locals neither of which are independently verifiable.

Around 70 attacks have been launched in 2011 so far. Noor Behram the photographer lives in North Waziristan one of the areas targeted. He works in cooperation with a Pakistani lawyer and the UK activist Clive Smith. They are helping Noor get these photos to the outside world. Behram also has provided cameras to locals to take photos of the aftermath of the attacks.

Of course the Taliban no doubt approve of Behram's activity and he himself is out to discredit the drone attacks by taking these photos. Behram says:"I want to show taxpayers in the Western world what their tax money is doing to people in another part of the world: killing civilians, innocent victims"" Some photos could even be staged but nevertheless most are probably genuine. The site that publsihed these Danger Room went through them to pick out those that seemed most authentic. U.S. experts verified that the fragments purporting to be parts of Hellfire missiles were genuine.

Each photo has attached a description of the event, where it was and when. At some of the attack sites the locals were hostile to Behram. Many refused to be photographed and allowed him only to photograph ruined buildings. Behram sometimes gained their confidence by helping them clear out the rubble.

The Pakistani parliament has passed a motion some time ago demanding that the attacks stop but this has been ignored by the U.S. and the Pakistani goverment has done nothing to stop the attacks. However, the government did demand a base in Pakistan from which they sometimes operated be handed over to Pakistan. This action by the government was not in response to drone attacks but the killing of 24 Pakistani troops at a border checkpoint by NATO forces. The drones can still operate from bases in Afghanistan. The government is being sued for not taking action and the CIA is also being sued for damaages.

Libya: Misrata militia take revenge on town of 30,000 mostly black pro-Gadaffi Libyans

2011-12-13T05:27:00.000-08:00

The people in the town of Tawergha suffered from vengeful actions for their role in the siege of Misrata. A woman from Misrata said:""No, they can never come back... They have done us too much harm, terrible things. We cannot forgive them." Those in Misrata claim the residents of the town murdered, raped and tortured in Misrata.

Misrata forces captured and killed Gadaffi and also were part of the liberation of Tripoli but in mid-August they drove everyone out of Tawergha. Human rights organisations have termed the action collective punishment and perhaps a crime against humanity.

There is a racial element in this. Tawerghans are for the most part descendants of black Libyans who were slaves and quite poor. Gadaffi supported them and in turn they supported his regime on the whole. Many joined Gadaffi's armed forces.

The name of the town has even been erased from the road sign. Buildings are burned and looted with people's possessions scattered about. The only people in the town are a few Misratan militia who prevent any inhabitants from returning. For more see this article.

U.S.: Inequality in New York extremely high

2011-12-12T18:29:00.000-08:00

An article by Doug Henwood here details just how unequal income is in the city whose mayor Michael Bloomberg a billionaire no doubt represents the top 5 per cent in the city! The analysis that Henwood uses is from the New York City Independent budget office.

The material was released after a request from James Oddo a New York City councilor. Here are a few details.

The poorest tenth in the city have an average income of only 988 dollars representing just .1 per cent of the total income of the city. This does not include the amount of any social benefits. Still it is astonishingly low. Even the bottom 50 per cent of income earners have only 9 per cent of the total income. This compares to 19 per cent for the bottom half of earners throughout the U.S.

The richest 5 per cent receive 49 per cent almost half of all the income in the city. This compares with the national average at 32 per cent. The iconic 1 per cent of top earners in New York City have over a third of the total income at 34 per cent. This is much higher than the overall U.S. in which the top one per cent have 19 per cent of income. As Henwood remarks the inequality in New York City is greater than that of Brazil noted for the huge gap between rich and poor. Apparently electing a billionaire as mayor does not mean that much wealth trickles down, rather it means a lot trickles up.

U.S. economy exceeds expectations but stocks slump on Europe worries

2011-12-12T15:28:00.000-08:00

While some economic data released recently about the U.S. economy exceeded expectations U.S. stock indices went down today. Both Fitch Ratings and Moody's Investors Service said that the recent agreement at the summit of European leaders has not done much to relieve pressures on those European governments that are struggling with huge debts and high borrowing costs.

The warnings were enough to reverse a rally that has been going on in U.S. for a couple of weeks in spite of the fact U.S. indicators show the economy is outperforming expectations the most in nine months. An Economic Surprise Index went to 85.7. This is the highest since March 9.

November unemployment although still very high, hit the lowest level in two years. Manufacturing is also growing quickest in five months. Nevertheless Ben Bernanke head of the Federal Reserve said that there were significant downside risks facing the U.S. economy. For much more see this article.

Jeffrey Sachs: Banks do not want to operate in free market only to play games

2011-12-10T11:14:00.001-08:00

Jeffrey Sachs the well known Columbia University economist is quite critical of the banks in an interview on Al Jazeera. Sachs is well known for his advocacy of shock therapy during the transition of the former Soviet Union to capitalism. Part of the shock was to privatize state resources often to the oligarchs who now control much of the Russian economy. Sachs however has been quite critical of the U.S. banks during the recent financial troubles in the U.S.
Sachs notes that the banks had pushed for deregulation and sang the praises of the free market. Once the government got out of the way everything would be hunky dory. However, the banks then used their freedom to make very risky and even illegal moves that helped bring on the financial crisis.
Then when they are in big trouble they call on the big government to bail them out. All of a sudden the government becomes their savior rather than the enemy of progress.
Soon they were back paying huge bonuses after just being bailed out. Again too they cry out against regulation. Sachs puts it quite succinctly:: "That's not a free market, that's a game" For the interview see this site.

China Investment Corp. has 60 per cent U.S. assets

2011-12-10T08:11:00.001-08:00

CIC or China Investment Corp. is China's sovereign investment fund. The fund holds almost 60 per cent U.S. based assets in its portfolio. The chairman Jin Liqun praises the U.S. legal system and also claims there are many good opportunities for investment in the U.S. The corporation also has investments in Canada as well as Europe and other Asian countries.
The CIC managed almost 410 billion dollars in 2010. The return on investment that year was 12 per cent far above the average of 9.6 per cent. A Chinese financial analyst claimed that the European debt crisis could not be solved in the near terms. As a result he said that this was not the right time to invest in Europe. However, the corporation is spinning off another investment vehicle that will concentrate upon seeking higher returns in Europe and the U.S.
Jin said that China was still a developing nation and that it was not the task of either the fund or private Chinese companies to rescue European countries in distress. However Jin said that China would invest in any convincing program such as infrastructure developments. China seems willing to help if it can see a good return on its investment! China sounds exactly like a sensible capitalist country even though it is run by a communist party! For much more see this article.

Panama: Former ruler Manuel Noriega to return to Panama

2011-12-09T13:49:00.001-08:00

More about General Noriega can be found here. Noriega was trained in the U.S. at the School of the Americas and also in psyops at another base. He worked for the CIA from the fifties right up to the eighties even though he was known to be involved in the drug trade committed various crimes.
However in the late eighties the U.S. decided he was not obedient enough and was a liability. When Noriega ran a flawed election in which his opponent probably won the U.S. intervened and invaded in late December 1989. They arrested him in January 1990 and sent him to the U.S. to face trial on various charges. The UN condemned the invasion as a violation of international law but of course only Noriega got to be punished!
Now Noriega has spent more than 20 years in U.S. and French jails he is going back home to Panama where he was convicted in absentia on further charges. Panama allows those over seventy to serve sentences at home. Noriega is already 77 so he may be able to spend his final years in better conditions. For more see this article.

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New European Union plans soothe markets for now

2011-12-09T10:08:00.001-08:00

New plans call for a closer fiscal union that will ensure any countries which violate debt guidelines will be punished. However the target for setting the new rules is next March. The leaders also agreed to add 267 billion to funds meant to ease the lending crisis.
Stock markets have reacted favorably so far although Italian and Spanish bond prices fell in spite of the fact that the European Central Bank is supposed to be buying them. Bond holders want the Bank to intervene even more to ensure that countries in trouble with debt can pay their bills. A demand that bondholders should share in any losses was diluted in the new plan.
The UK will be excluded from the planned new fiscal union. The UK had demanded a veto over any new financial regulations it disapproved. Not surprisingly other leaders did not agree to this condition.
While the new agreement was regarded as positive for banks, investors still wonder how some nations will be able to finance their burgeoning debts. In 2012 Euro Zone countries must repay over 1.1 trillion Euros in debt. Banks too will need to refinance very large amounts.
A Citigroup economist predicted“deep euro-area recession and strained financial markets” next year with the economy actually shrinking throughout the year. The IMF is expected to play an expanded role in lending in the zone with funds being sought from outside Europe to help out. However as the IMF will no doubt impose reforms involving cutbacks and austerity as the price for loans it is not clear how economies with these loans can be expected to grow. For more see this article.

China: GM sales rose 20 per cent in November

2011-12-08T08:55:00.001-08:00

Auto sales are slowing in China. Smaller automakers are struggling for survival and analysts expect that there will be many mergers. Large foreign automakers such as GM and Toyota hope that some customers of these failing companies will switch to their brands.

GM has already established itself as the largest foreign automaker in China. GM sales in November rose 20 per cent on lower prices. In contrast the Chinese company Chery saw a sales drop of a whopping 30 per cent.

The China Association of Automobile Manufacturers records sales for an astonishing 70 different automakers. As sales decline some of these companies are bound to fail or be merged with larger firms.

Fifteen of the largest firms account for almost 90 per cent of the total production. Ten companies recorded zero sales for the entire year! The Chinese market may expand only 3 per cent this year as compared to 32 per cent last year.

For its part the government is encouraging smaller companies to merge with larger ones. However local governments where small companies are located resist the trend since it means jobs may be lost in their areas.

The auto industry in China has room to grow. The auto ownership rate in China is only 60 per thousand people less than half the global average. Many foreign countries intend to expand production including Volkswagen. But GM is leader of the foreign pack so far. For more see this article.

Public misled about drone downed in Iran

2011-12-07T09:51:00.001-08:00

Early reports by NATO said that they were missing a drone. At the same time officials claimed that there was no evidence that Iran shot the drone down as they had claimed. ISAF(International Security Assistance Force) officials joined in the game of misleading the public.

The drone ISAF said was a U.S. unarmed reconnaisance aircraft on a mission over Afghanistan. So the mystery is explained. The U.S. launches many drone missions over Afghanistan and this drone just wandered off course.

Not mentioned is that this was a special drone. Not mentioned is that this was operated by the CIA. Not mentioned is that there has been secret spying missions over Iran for some time now. See this article.

The drone is not a garden variety reconassaince drone but a special secret stealth drone the RQ-170. The same drone was used to spy on bin Laden's compound in Pakistan before it was raided by U.S. special forces.

Apparently the U.S. has an air base at Shindad in Afghanistan from which it can launch surveillance missions and even special operations into Iran should the U.S. decide to do so. Sources say that they have contingency plans to mount secret operations into Iran should the need arise.

According to the Belfast Telegraph the U.S. is running covert operations in Iran already. Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich has called not only for covert operations but also attacks on Iranian oil refinieries. With talk like that surely Iran has good grounds for attacking the U.S in self defense. Of course it will not. Only the stronger party can actually engage in that sort of action and then claim self defense. For more see this article

Citigroup to slash 4,500 jobs

2011-12-07T06:22:00.001-08:00

The CEO Vikram Pandit said the cuts were in response to declining revenues and market conditions. The measure is expected to reduce costs although there will also be some costs such as severance pay associated with the cuts.

Worldwide Citigroup employs about 267,000 people. The cuts are just a small percentage of their total work force. New regulations requiring larger minimum capital levels and cutting off revenues from trading and investment banking will cut into bank revenues.

Some analysts feel that even more jobs will be cut. Data collected by Bloomberg shows that financial firms have slashed over 200,000 jobs this year. This contrasts with only 58,000 cuts last year.

Citigroup is investing in countries such as Brazil, China and India. In fact emerging markets now make up half Citigroup's profits. These economies are expanding about three times the rate of developing countries. For more see this article.

2011-12-06T19:31:00.001-08:00

The Pentagon admits that the special unmanned spy plane the RQ 170 Sentinel went missing while on a joint mission of the military together with the CIA. The Pentagon says it is lost in Iran somewhere although they question the Iranian claim that they shot it down.

Dennis Kucinich a US. congressman says that he is worried by the fact the CIA is involved in the operation. "We have to be very careful that we don't stumble into a wider war here. If we are in Iran's airspace with anything that belongs to the US, that's a provocation,"

There is evidence that a covert war against Iran has been going on for some time. Software that runs centrifuges that are part of Iran's nuclear program were infected with a damaging virus. An Iranian nuclear scientist was assassinated . In another case a mysterious explosion at a secret base killed another important scientist. The latter was possibly an accident however.

As of this posting Iran has not released any photos of the drone which they say was not damaged that much. The drone has a great deal of surveillance electronics equipment that is secret. If the Iranians really have it then it could provide them with a great deal of useful information. For more see this article.

Vietnam: Thousands killed by abandoned munitions from Vietnam Warfrom Vietnam war

2011-12-06T17:50:00.001-08:00

Although the Vietnam war ended almost 40 years ago, left over munitions still cause casualties almost daily in Vietnam. Prime Minister Dung told a UN conference that 42,132 have been killed and 62,163 injured since the end of the war in 1975.
The U.S. used almost 16 million tons of bombs and munitions during the course of the war. The U.S. has helped Vietnam deal with the huge problem of clearing areas of dangerous unexploded munition by providing 62 million to Vietnam.
Munitions remain on a huge area about one fifth of the whole country. Only 5 per cent of contaminated areas have been cleared up to now. The government recently approved plans to clear an additional 1.2 million acres at a cost of 595 million dollars over five years. However, that will still leave 14.8 million acres still to be cleared. For more see this article.

Rating agency S and P puts 15 European countries on credit watch

2011-12-05T21:10:00.001-08:00

Rating agency Standard and Poor has put 15 Euro zone countries on review for a possible downgrade of their credit ratings. Even Germany and France could lose their triple A ratings. The move sent Asian stocks into a decline. See this article.

The agency said that there was the risk of a deepening crisis in the region. The agency also cited disagreements among officials and policy makers about how to solve the crisis increases the risks.

Four months earlier S and P cut the U.S. credit rating from AAA to AA+ because of the failure of political discussions on how to tackle the U.S. deficit. Some analysts and bondholders were irritated at the timing of the S and P announcement as European Union leaders have a meeting in Brussels Dec 8th and 9th to deal with the crisis. For much more see this Bloomberg article.

German paper: Israel releases Palestine funds to seal submarine purchase

2011-12-05T19:04:00.001-08:00

The Israeli newspaper Haaretz reports that the World on Sunday (Welt am Sonntag) claims that Israel freed funds collected for Palestine as a concession to complete the purchase of a German submarine.

The newspaper report claims that aides of the chancellor informed opposition leaders in confidence that Israel had made the concession. The submarine sale was approved last Wednesday. On the same day the Israeli prime minister announced that 100 million dollars in revenues collected for the Palestinians had been released to the Palestinian Authority.

Israel punished Palestine for joining UNESCO by freezing the funds. The submarine sale has been held up for a year as Germany tried to extract political concessions from Israel.Chancellor Merkel has tried to get Netanyahu to restart the Palestinian peace process. Obviously she was unable to do that! For more see this article

N.Y. Times editorial: Britain continues with failed economic policies

2011-12-05T11:15:00.001-08:00

An editorial in the recent Sunday Review of the New York Times criticizes the UK Cameron government's plans to slash deficits and promote economic growth. The editorial claims that Cameron's policies failed when he began them a year and a half ago. Now he is continuing on with the same failed policies.

Cameron attempted to stimulate growth through radical austerity programs. Recent figures show that British growth is flat while unemployment is still going up and not down. The ratio of debt to GDP is climbing faster than the government had predicted. The governing Liberal-Conservative coalition solution to the problem is more of the same.

The austerity policies have reduced consumer demand slowing growth. Since the economy is not growing revenues to pay off the deficit have fallen so that the government has now been forced to change it deficit targets into the future.

The government now plans on further cuts to spending and will extend the austerity measures until 2017. This will mean more years of underfunded public services and lagging growth.

Projections are for output to actually shrink slightly by 0.1 per cent this quarter and grow only by the same amount in the first quarter next year.

The UK has 2.6 million unemployed the highest in 17 years. Unemployment is particularly severe among the young.

The editorial recommends the same type of strategy as economists such as Paul Krugman. In the short-term more money should be spent and not less to increase production. This should be combined with long-term debt reduction policies.

In my opinion the editorial misses the point of the austerity exercises. These policies are not just meant to be debt reduction policies, they are meant to force cuts to the social safety net and public services. More money will be available for profit. The working class is being put in its place and told that decent pensions and other benefits that have helped wed workers to the system are no longer sustainable. The policies the editorial discusses are not just British policies they can be found in Greece formerly under a Socialist government and in many countries regardless of whether governments are nominally left or right. For more see this article.

Italy: Cabinet imposes 32 billion more in cuts

2011-12-04T19:13:00.001-08:00

The cabinet of new Italian prime minister Mario Monti has approved new tax hikes and pension reforms that add up to 32 billion. The measures are designed to restore investor confidence in Italy. Italy's cost of borrowing has skyrocketed of late.
The cabinet was originally scheduled to meet on Monday but it was moved up to Sunday so that the passage of the measures might have positive effects on markets. The measures still remain to be approved by parliament. Of course the Italian people will have no say on the matter.
The Northern League the one major party to oppose the new government wants to hold a referendum on pension reform. Interesting that reform now means cutting benefits so that pensioners receive less and must wait longer to receive them.
Sussana Camusso who heads Italy's biggest union lambasted the new austerity measures claiming that they are "making money on the backs of poor people in our country"."There is no equity" in the changes.
Both the IMF and the EU are watching Italy closely and have a team of auditors who are to police implementation of the long promised reforms. No doubt there will be more opposition in the street as the measures come before parliament. For more see this article.