Archive for August, 2009
Posted by seumasach on August 18, 2009
M.K.Bhadrakumar
Asia Times
18th August, 2009
The 19th century Prussian military theorist Carl von Clausewitz wrote in his famous work, On War, “The great uncertainty of all data in war is a peculiar difficulty, because all action must, to a certain extent, be planned in a mere twilight, which in addition not infrequently – like the effect of a fog or moonshine – gives to things exaggerated dimensions and unnatural appearance.” Unsurprisingly, a Clausewitzean war such as the one in the Hindu Kush is often covered in thick fog.
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Posted in Afghanistan | Tagged: Afghan election, Afghanistan, Obama agenda | Leave a Comment »
Posted by smeddum on August 18, 2009
Ellen Brown,
August 17th, 2009
www.webofdebt.com/articles/secret_of_china.php
“The banks — hard to believe in a time when we’re facing a banking crisis that many of the banks created — are still the most powerful lobby on Capitol Hill. They frankly own the place.”
— U.S. Senator Dick Durbin, Democratic Party Whip, April 30, 2009
While the U.S. spends trillions of dollars to bail out its banking system, leaving its economy to languish, China is being called a “miracle economy” that has decoupled from the rest of the world. As the rest of the world sinks into the worst recession since the 1930s, China has maintained a phenomenal 8% annual growth rate. Those are the reports, but commentators are dubious. They ask how that growth is possible, when other countries relying heavily on exports have suffered major downturns and remain in the doldrums. Economist Richard Wolff skeptically observes: Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Financial crisis | Tagged: Banking crisis | Leave a Comment »
Posted by smeddum on August 18, 2009
Foreclosure-fueled decline in home ownership rate may be lasting trend
Number of renters may rise to levels last seen in 1970s or ’80s
By Dan Voorhis
Chicago Tribune
McClatchy/Tribune news
August 18, 2009
Home ownership is on the decline nationally after rising to record levels in 2005, as the epidemic of foreclosures continues.
The rate of home ownership peaked at 69 percent and fell to 67.4 percent in the second quarter of this year. That may seem a slight difference, but every percentage point equals roughly 1 million people. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Financial crisis | Tagged: housing foreclosure | Leave a Comment »
Posted by smeddum on August 18, 2009
Irish Examiner
By Paul O’Brien, Political Correspondent
TUESDAY, AUGUST 18, 2009
SENIOR bankers should be hauled before a televised Oireachtas inquiry to explain how they made such “a mess” that they required a State bailout, said the chairman of An Bord Snip. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Financial crisis | Tagged: Ireland | Leave a Comment »
Posted by seumasach on August 17, 2009
Compulsory abortion and sterilization aren’t youthful indiscretions
Washington Times
16th August, 2009
When it comes to having past views that should frighten every American citizen, Ezekiel Emanuel (see above editorial) has nothing on the president’s “chief science adviser,” John P. Holdren. The combination of Mr. Holdren with Dr. Emanuel should make the public seriously concerned with this administration’s moral compass concerning care for the old and weak.
click here to read whole article
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged: malthusian agenda | Leave a Comment »
Posted by seumasach on August 17, 2009
Iceland Weather Report
16th august, 2009
Everyone: I have often thought how great it would be if non-Icelandic speakers could understand some of the speeches that have been delivered at the demonstrations and open citizen’s meetings held here over the last few months. They differ, obviously, depending on who is speaking, but in my view they give great insight into the passion and fervor of the Icelandic nation in these difficult times. To that end, I decided to do a quick translation of the speech given by writer Einar Már Guðmundsson at the Icesave demonstration last Thursday. [The speech is published by permission and the picture was taken by my friend Þorri.]
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Posted in Revolution in Iceland | Tagged: bankrupt iceland, Einar Már Guðmundsson, Icesave, Revolution in Iceland | 1 Comment »
Posted by smeddum on August 17, 2009
Aug 17, 2:33
Lowe’s 2Q profit falls 19 pct; shares fall
By MAE ANDERSON
Heald Zeitung
NEW YORK (AP) — No. 2 home-improvement retailer Lowe’s Cos. on Monday said second-quarter earnings fell 19 percent on weaker-than-expected sales, adding fresh fuel to doubts about the ability and willingness of consumers to lead the U.S. economy out of recession. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Financial crisis | Tagged: retail crisis | Leave a Comment »
Posted by smeddum on August 17, 2009
Is This the Start of the Big One?
Naked Capitalism
Mon 17th 2009
I don’t believe in market calls, and trying to time turns is a perilous game. But most savvy people I know have been skeptical of this rally, beyond the initial strong bounce off the bottom. It has not had the characteristics of a bull market. Volumes have been underwhelming, no new leadership group has emerged, and as greybeards like to point out, comparatively short, large amplitude rallies are a bear market speciality. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Financial crisis | Tagged: Obama deception | Leave a Comment »
Posted by smeddum on August 16, 2009
Radio, cell phones to help US in Afghanistan?
Sun, 16 Aug 2009
Press TV:
The US has turned to radio stations and cell phones in its alleged fight against militants in Afghanistan and Pakistan, after realizing that it is losing the war.
The US State Department says it is establishing a new unit for what it calls countering militant propaganda in Afghanistan and Pakistan, the New York Times reported on Sunday. Read the rest of this entry »
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Posted by smeddum on August 16, 2009
Stirrings of Asian unity to shake up world
Aug 15 2009
Irish Times
PAUL GILLESPIE
WORLD VIEW: ‘THINK ASIA!” That’s what the organisers of the sixth international conference of Asian scholars urged those attending it to do last week in the South Korean city of Daejeon. Over 1,000 people discussed all manner of subjects in 200 different panels, from Aspects of Nomadism in Mongolia to Nature in Chinese Prose, Poetry and Philosophy to Security in the Post-Bush era to Europe in the Eyes of Asia. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Multipolar world | Leave a Comment »
Posted by smeddum on August 16, 2009
13 August 2009
By Yevgeny Bazhanov
Moscow Times
The United States has been growing more insistent lately in its hopes of teaming up with Beijing to rule the world together. Washington’s was driven to this only because its grandiose plan to build a global empire as the single remaining superpower failed miserably. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Multipolar world | Leave a Comment »
In These New Times 