Zimbabwe's government has accused former colonial ruler Britain of using a cholera epidemic to rally Western support for an invasion of the collapsing southern African nation, a state-run newspaper said on Sunday.
The Brits can't defend the Falklands. How are they going to invade Zimbabwe?
President Robert Mugabe is under mounting pressure from the international community, especially Western nations which accuse him of ruining the once prosperous country and exposing its people to famine and disease. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has branded Mugabe's government a "blood-stained regime" and said it was responsible for the cholera epidemic that has killed at least 575 people. The world must tell Mugabe "enough is enough", he said.
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on Friday the veteran leader's departure from office was long overdue. "I don't know what this mad prime minister (Brown) is talking about. He is asking for an invasion of Zimbabwe ... but he will come unstuck," Mugabe's spokesman George Charamba told the state-controlled Sunday Mail. The growing Western criticism signalled a plot to oust Mugabe's government militarily, Charamba said.
The government often blames Britain and other Western nations for Zimbabwe's economic meltdown, saying that targeted sanctions against Mugabe and his inner circle have sabotaged the economy. African nations are also growing more uncomfortable with Mugabe, though they still view the 84-year-old as a hero of Africa's liberation era. Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga and Botswanan Foreign Minister Phandu Skelemani have called for his removal, as has South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu, a Nobel laureate.
Archbishop of York John Sentanu agreed but went further, writing in the Observer weekly that "Mugabe and his henchmen" should face trial at the International Criminal Court in The Hague. "The time to remove them from power has come." Douglas Alexander, Britain's international development secretary, said on Sunday it was important that Africans led the opposition to Mugabe's government. "Now is the time for Africa to stand up and be counted. The old bonds of the liberation struggle must give way to the common bond of humanity," he said in a statement.
Zimbabwe is on the verge of collapse. Food stocks are running out, unemployment is above 80 percent and prices double every 24 hours. The health system is in tatters, unable to treat many of those infected with cholera. The epidemic has forced Zimbabwe to declare a national emergency and appeal for foreign help. Britain is among European nations that have promised aid.
South Africa, Zimbabwe's richest neighbour, has also pledged aid and officials will assess the scale of the crisis on Monday. The European Union is considering imposing new sanctions against Zimbabwe next week unless progress is made in breaking the deadlock between Mugabe and the opposition MDC over how to implement a power-sharing deal.
Sanctions: Mugabe and Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) leader Morgan Tsvangirai agreed on September 15 to form a unity government, but are in dispute over control of key ministries. Charamba said Western sanctions, which Harare says are punishment for its seizure of white-owned farms, have made it harder to deal with health crises like the cholera outbreak.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/08/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
South Africa, Zimbabwe's richest neighbour, has also pledged aid ...propping up Mugabe's dictatorship for decades, but the tide of Zimbabweans crossing the border into SA has begun to impact the it's fragile economy and politics.
Voter turnout in Ghana's presidential polls has been high as Ghanaians voted for a successor to the incumbent President John Kufuor.
"Voter turnout is going to be very high. I should expect a higher number than we saw in the last elections because I could see this one is very competitive," Electoral Commission Chairman Kwadwo Afari-Gyan said. Turnout in the last 2004 election was a record 85%.
An estimated 12.4 million registered voters - roughly half the country's whole population - are voting for a candidate to succeed President John Kufuor, who is stepping down after two terms as required by law, The Associated Press reported.
Although eight names are on the ballot, the race is really between Kufuor's chosen successor, Nana Akufo-Addo of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and opposition leader John Atta Mills of the National Democratic Congress (NDC).
Posted by: Fred ||
12/08/2008 00:00 ||
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New figures show that the economic crisis has pushed Britain well down the international league table. The UK is now the sixth largest economy in the world, behind America, Japan, China, Germany and France.
Economists said the fall reflected the pound's slump to record lows against the euro.
A year ago the UK economy was 8 per cent bigger than that of France, measured by gross domestic product (GDP). Now it is 14 per cent smaller, according to figures from the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR).
"An overvalued sterling has inflated the UK's claims to be among the top five world economies," said Ben Read, an economist with the CEBR. "The drastic reduction in sterling's value has accelerated the inevitable process of the UK falling down the league table of world economies, as India and Brazil catch up and overtake the UK's national output.
"Where the UK's comparative output 'benefited' from sterling's rapid rise up to 2007, we now see the UK overtaken by France, despite both countries seeing a fairly similar economic performance over the past year."
At present Britain's GDP is 6 per cent bigger than that of Italy. But according to CEBR, it will drop below Italy's next year.
Britain became a bigger economy than Italy in the final months of John Major's government in 1997 and two years later became a bigger economy than France, thanks to strong British growth and a high pound. For most of Tony Blair's time as prime minister, Britain's was the fourth largest economy in the world, before China overtook it in 2006.
#1
And exchange fluctuations mean little. The CIA factbook has had the UK and France equal in total purchasing power parity for the last several years w/ the British 7% ahead in per capita PPP. Either way, they are so overtaxed, whatever money left over buys little.
Posted by: ed ||
12/08/2008 12:20 Comments ||
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#2
Okay, I'll bite, when is the New York Mafia Commission going to take over BELDERLAND [Belgium-Netherlands], etc. in righteous Mariah Carey indignation???
#3
But academics and head teachers said that the changes to the 10,000 word Junior Dictionary could mean that children lose touch with Britain's heritage.
Posted by: no mo uro ||
12/08/2008 8:33 Comments ||
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#6
The Oxford English Dictionary is a pile of crap anyway - relying on publicity stunts like this one to raise the series' profile a couple of times every year. Chambers Dictionary is far better.
#7
They dropped words like 'fern' and 'moss'? In favor of bullshyte like 'chronological' and 'interdependence'? Screw the political crap, this is grounds for mass firings. Sack them en masse!
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
12/08/2008 12:22 Comments ||
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At least 26 people were killed in Mexico over the weekend in separate incidents, including 10 who died in a shootout between soldiers and gunmen in Guerrero state and five murdered at a bar in Ciudad Juarez. Ciudad Juarez, located across the border from El Paso, Texas, is considered the country's most violent city, with more than 1,400 murders reported this year.
Gunmen burst into Alamo's bar in Juarez early Sunday and opened fire, killing five people and wounding four others. This was the second attack of this type in less than two weeks. On Nov. 28, gunmen murdered eight men at a seafood restaurant in the border city, which is in Chihuahua state. A couple and a man were shot to death in separate incidents while driving in Ciudad Juarez.
Three bodies were also found in Juarez, including one dumped in a soccer field and two others in the city's southeast section. The victims, who were between 25 and 30, were wrapped in blankets and their hands and feet had been tied, a trademark of the gunmen who work for Mexico's drug cartels.
In Tecate, a city in the northwestern state of Baja California, two people were gunned down and a third wounded in a shooting on Saturday night.
Army troops, meanwhile, battled gunmen in a series of clashes in Palos Blancos, a town in the southern state of Guerrero. A soldier and nine gunmen were killed in the running gunbattles, which lasted about half a day and also involved police. Soldiers, along with federal, state and municipal police officers, responded when a shootout started between rival gangs, the Public Safety Secretariat said. When they arrived at the scene, the security forces were greeted by gunfire and engaged the gunmen in the series of shootouts, which also left two police officers wounded.
The gunbattles started at around 3:00 a.m. Sunday and did not end until about 2:00 p.m.
After the shooting ended, police conducted a search and found a body in an abandoned vehicle, and seized 10 other automobiles, 14 rifles, five pistols and two hand grenades. The crime scene in Palos Altos has been cordoned off by some 400 soldiers and police officers.
In Chilpancingo, the capital of Guerrero, two heads and a threatening message were found in a bucket near the Technical Institute.
Mexico has been plagued in recent years by drug-related violence, with powerful cartels battling each other and the security forces, as rival gangs vie for control of lucrative smuggling and distribution routes into the United States. Armed groups linked to Mexico's drug cartels murdered around 2,700 people in 2007 and 1,500 in 2006, with the death toll this year already at more than 5,000, according to press tallies.
The majority of the killings have occurred in the states of Chihuahua, Baja California and Sinaloa.
Experts say that Mexico's most powerful drug trafficking organizations are the Tijuana cartel, the Gulf cartel and the Sinaloa cartel. Two other large drug trafficking organizations, the Juarez and Milenio cartels, also operate in the country. Tackling the problem of drug-related violence, according to experts, is a major challenge both because of Mexico's notoriously corrupt security forces and because honest police officers are fearful of taking on the heavily armed drug mobs.
Since taking office in December 2006, President Felipe Calderon has deployed more than 30,000 soldiers and federal police to nearly a dozen of Mexico's 31 states in a bid to stem the wave of violence unleashed by drug traffickers. The anti-drug operation, however, has failed to put a dent in the violence due, according to experts, to drug cartels' ability to buy off the police and even high-ranking prosecutors. The Attorney General's Office recently began investigating its own staff, particularly the SIEDO organized crime unit's members and the Federal Investigations Agency, Mexico's equivalent of the FBI.
As part of the probe, begun after a protected informant revealed links between drug cartel kingpins and police, a dozen high-ranking officials, including erstwhile drug czar Noe Ramirez, have been arrested. The initial investigation concluded that Ramirez received $500,000 a month for sharing intelligence with drug lords.
So far this year, Mexico has easily beaten 5,000 drug war related homicides.
#7
Border tourism has been dropping for 10 years. It's next to nothing now because of the crime. Even the State Dept has issued warnings.
Posted by: ed ||
12/08/2008 15:16 Comments ||
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#8
Here's an interesting stat: A U.S State Department report on “non-natural deaths” of U.S. citizens abroad says that 128 Americans were victims of homicides or “executions” in Mexico between Jan. 1, 2005 and Dec. 31, 2007, and that a majority of these murders took place in Mexican cities located on the southern border of the United States.
All told, during the period in question, 667 Americans were killed in Mexico by “non-natural” causes, including by drowning, auto accidents, and suicides, according to the report. It is unclear how accurate these numbers are, however, because the State Department says the report “is based solely on cases reported by American citizens to our posts abroad.”
Posted by: ed ||
12/08/2008 15:25 Comments ||
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#9
In 1971 I was stationed at Beumont and we went to Juarez frequently. It was surreal how similar it was to stepping outside of 3rd. field in Saigon. Drugs girls and even the language.
I believe the army put Juarez off limits several years ago.
#10
Nobody on this board has enough money to get ME south of the border, much less with my family. I'd like to break relations with Mex and seal the damned border. Nothing coming, nothing going except their invading nationals getting their asses literally kicked back into Mex.
Screw Mex. I wish the Rio Grande was 500 miles wide. The more of them that kill each other in drug fights, the better. It's that many fewer of them to come up here and cause trouble.
#11
Meanwhile, from community organizers: "Building a border fence, tougher immigration laws and resources that could allow local law enforcement agencies to target immigrants are all symptoms of a bias against Hispanics that must change, Rosa Rosales" president of LULAC said in El Paso this weekend.
#12
From the Juarez section of the El Paso Times: Juárez city officials, who earlier this year launched billboards in El Paso and other U.S. cities in an effort to lure visitors, insist that tourists are not targeted in the slayings.
"It's not Iraq," said Esquivel, the mercado vendor.
#15
Pappy - well, up in Kurdistan, being a tourist has been non-insane (definitely on the aggressive adventuresome edge, but non-insane) for a few years, believe it or not. Some day .... north-central Iraq and the Shi'a holy cities will be very nice tourist spots, actually (along with Ur and Babylon, notwithstanding the Ba'ath-era "restorations" there).
Judging by radio ads and offers from a San Diego perspective, tourism in northern Baja is dying. It's really sad, actually - obviously the folks working at resorts and restaurants in TJ and Rosarito Beach are not part of the drug wars, but regular folks working hard in a sector that has boomed in the last 15 years or so.
I recall when Nuevo Laredo was going down the drain (not sure if that was the low-point, but it got pretty dramatic) in '05 or '06, and the reports and State travel warnings read a lot like Diyala or parts of Anbar. We laughed about it, and then spit in anger when we next read a story about a border barrier STILL being haggled over or compared to the Berlin Wall.
#16
Verlaine's on the money - we get a a lot of ads now, telling us of the "bargains" and "friendly hosts" in Baja. Quite a shame actually. It is a beautiful country in Baja, once you get past the border, with great seaports, good food, nice people, and absolutely no f'n way that I would go there right now
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/08/2008 22:01 Comments ||
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#17
This article reminds me of the first verse of the Bob Dylan song:
When you're lost in the rain in Juarez
And it's Easter-time too
And your gravity fails
And negativity don't pull you through
Don't put on any airs
When you're down on Rue Morgue Avenue
They got some hungry women there
And they really make a mess outa you
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
12/08/2008 22:07 Comments ||
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#18
There's seems to be no end to the K street thieves and their Congressional buddies who are ripping off our soventry....
Mexican Mayhem Continues Unabated thanks in part To the rotten Congressmen and women who think they can endlessly rip off America!
They are Traitors and Paracites and they countinue to excersize their in order to destroy the USA.
The Falkland Islands are to be left without the protection of a British warship for the first time since the war with Argentina because the Royal Navy no longer has enough ships to meet all its commitments. The frigate HMS Northumberland, which is armed with guided missiles, torpedoes and a Lynx helicopter, was due to be sent on patrol to the islands this month. But it will now be replaced by a Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) vessel not equipped for offensive combat operations.
The controversial decision was forced on senior naval commanders by the increasing problem of overstretch facing the Royal Navy. Cuts to the size of the fleet over the last 10-years – the Royal Navy has just 22 frigates and destroyers compared to 65 in 1982 – has left the service with too few ships to meet its responsibilities.
The Telegraph also understands that the Royal Navy is likely to face more cuts in the near future while major projects such as the £3.9bn new carrier programme could be delayed. Ageing vessels such as Type 23 frigates, which were commissioned in the late 1980s, will have their service life extended by up to 20-years.
The last time the British government reduced its naval presence in the South Atlantic was in 1982 when the ice patrol vessel HMS Endurance was withdrawn from patrolling the area around the Falkland Islands. The move prompted an invasion by the Argentine military and led to the Falklands War.
HMS Northumberland was due to begin a six-month voyage in the South Atlantic but has been diverted to take part in the European Union counter-piracy mission off the coast of east Africa.
A mission the French, Italians and Spanish could be doing, freeing up the Brits.
In its place, RFA Largs Bay, a landing ship which is crewed by civilian sailors, will arrive in the South Atlantic this week to begin its mission of protecting the islands from the potential threat posed by Argentina, which still claims sovereignty of the islands. The vessel will be equipped with a Lynx Mark 8 helicopter and Sea Skua anti ship missiles for self-defence. The landing ship has a small number of Royal Navy sailors who are responsible for manning a helicopter flight deck as well as a boarding party made up of lightly-armed Royal Marines but Royal Navy sources have said that the ship would be able to do little more than protect itself in the event of an emergency.
The size of the military force on the Falklands has been dramatically reduced since the end of the war in 1982. The islands are garrisoned by just 50 soldiers, composed of infantry, engineers and signallers. The RAF has four Tornado F3 air defence aircraft and crews to maintain them while the naval component consists of just one ship.
As I recall, at the time of the Falklands War the military presence there was a platoon of Royal Marines. The Argentine government attacked in part to divert the attention of its people from a failing economy and government corruption. The more things change ...
The Royal Navy has some 22 frigates and destroyers in the fleet, however only a third are available for operations at any one time and the seven currently available for operational service are already taking part in deployments.
One senior naval source said that successive cuts by the government had left the Royal Navy vulnerable and unable to properly defend its interests overseas. He said: "The Royal Navy has been pared to the bone. The fleet is now so small that the Royal Navy can't even send a proper warship to guard the Falklands. By the time the Royal Navy has met all of its operational obligations there is nothing left and that is why a civilian-crewed Royal Fleet Auxiliary ship has been sent to the Falklands.
"In any shooting war with a serious enemy the Royal Navy would cease to exist within a few weeks. Rock bottom is an appropriate description of where the Royal Navy now is."
A Ministry of Defence document leaked to The Telegraph last year revealed that the Royal Navy would struggle to fight a war against a "technologically capable adversary". The report also stated that the Royal Navy was an "under-resourced" fleet composed of "ageing and operationally defective ships".
Admiral Sir Alan West, a former Chief of the Naval Staff, and who is a security minister in the Lords, has previously warned that the reduction in the fighting capability of the Royal navy could cost lives and gave warning that Britain would end up with a "tinpot" Navy if more money were not spent on defence.
Liam Fox, the shadow Tory defence spokesman, said: "The Government needs to explain how this wonÂ’t impact on the security of the Falklands. What on earth are we doing putting EU flag waving ahead of our own security priorities? It is outrageous that the British Government would ever diminish the protection of our strategic interests in order to pay homage to the politics of the EU."
A spokesman for the MoD, said: "The government is fully committed to the defence of the Falkland Islands. There is a whole package of assets – air, sea and land assigned to the region, not simply one ship. The Royal Navy maintains the flexibility to redeploy its ships to where they will have maximum effect."
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/08/2008 00:00 ||
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One of the most depressing things in Baghdad was the unbroken string of British officers in our office (they'd generally cycle through every 6-8 months) who were completely demoralized by their nation's abandonment of the military enterpise in general. These folks were terrifically impressive and fantastic to be around, in all the ways one would associate with a British officer - yet to varying but mostly significant degrees they had given up, several were looking for early exits. They came from every branch and had interesting and varied backgrounds including procurement and training as well as operations. Even the least pessimistic ones wouldn't argue the case that there was much hope, they just had an irrepressibly positive approach to life.
America alone is becoming much more than an apt and catchy book title.
#6
To bad those Brits weren't aware of this little piece of law about Reserve Officer Appointments -
(b) Except as otherwise provided by law, the Secretary concerned shall prescribe physical, mental, moral, professional, and age qualifications for the appointment of persons as Reserves of the armed forces under his jurisdiction. However, no person may be appointed as a Reserve unless he is at least 18 years of age and -
(1) he is a citizen of the United States or has been lawfully admitted to the United States for permanent residence under the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.);
I recall a former Royal Artillery officer going through my commissioning program doing just that. Those who want 'amnesty' for a million plus illegals, I'd certainly demand an opportunity for those qualified and speak [literally] the mother tongue, to have a shot at continuing their calling.
#7
I don't think the US gov would have the tolerance for the Argies today that we had in 1982. So wait until Jan 20 before making any move.
Besides, the real striking power comes from aircraft. A frigate would not last long. Might as well have a cost guard cutter or two and chase of illegal fisherman.
Posted by: ed ||
12/08/2008 13:09 Comments ||
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#8
Seems to me that starting a shipbuilding project would boost England's economy
Wot? And divert funds from Her Majesty's Dole Queue?
Posted by: Grenter, Protector of the Geats ||
12/08/2008 14:28 Comments ||
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#9
The Falk's might be without a warship, but it's far worse than that.
The UK is without the WILL to survive as a contributing memeber of Western Civilization.
#10
ION WORLD MIL FORUM > INTERFAX - RUSSIA MAY ABOLISH MOST OF ITS GROUND FORCES ARMY DIVISIONS OVER NEXT THREE YEARS [ = 2012?], LEAVING ONLY 270,000 REGULAR/PROFESSIONAL TROOPS [not counting Milyuhns of Reservists] TO DEFEND ITS NATIONAL TERRITORIES.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy presented an ambitious European plan Monday to the United Nations to revive global nuclear disarmament efforts.
Sarkozy, in a letter to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, said the EU wants a global ban on nuclear tests, a moratorium on production of fissile material and a treaty banning on ground-to-ground short- and medium-range missiles. "We are convinced of the necessity to work for general disarmament," said Sarkozy, whose country is one of the few world nuclear powers and currently holds the rotating EU presidency.
"Europe has already done a lot for disarmament," Sarkozy said. "Europe is ready to do more."
How about Iran?
The EU measure is aimed at reviving nuclear disarmament efforts that have lagged since the end of the Cold War, even as new nuclear powers have emerged.
There are an estimated 20,000 or more nuclear weapons around the world. The nuclear-armed nations are the United States, Russia, Britain, France, China, India, Pakistan and North Korea. Israel is widely believed to have nuclear arms, but neither confirms nor denies it.
The EU measure comes after U.S. President-elect Barack Obama said during his campaign that he would "make the goal of eliminating all nuclear weapons a central element in our nuclear policy."
Among other measures, the EU plan calls for "the opening of consultations on a treaty banning ground-to-ground short- and medium-range missiles."
It also urges progress in talks between the United States and Russia on a follow-up to the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, which significantly cut American and Russian nuclear arsenals.
Sarkozy's letter came the day before an international group of former world dignitaries is scheduled to launch a campaign in Paris to eliminate nuclear weapons. Delegates from the group, called Global Zero, will go to Moscow for talks with Russian officials on Wednesday and to Washington to see Bush administration officials on Thursday. Listed supporters include former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and former officials from India and Pakistan.
Posted by: john frum ||
12/08/2008 17:33 ||
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#1
The EU needs to completely destroy their stock of nuclear weapons prior to implementing sharia law.
#3
OTOH, WORLD MIL FORUM > LU-HUA JIANG RESEARCHER: CHINA SHOULD DEVELOP, SEIZE THE STRATOSPHERIC AIR-SHIP HIGH GROUND!? Photo-electric, other advanced design DIRIGIBLES-SUPER-BALLONS for Defense, Reswearch, Consumer = Travel, and POWER/ENERGY GENERATION-RECYCLING [read, TESLA].
#1
WAFF.com > GLOBAL CONDITIONS TEST GREECE's SEARCH FOR 40.0BILYUHN EUROS, to pay for earlier soon-to-mature/pay Bonds + desired new Bonds for new ventures.; + TURKEY IS HIT HARD BY THE US-GLOBAL FINANCIAL CRISIS.
While the North Pole's landscape may evoke images of igloos and barren snow fields, the crescent moon and minaret will soon vie for their place in Norway's Arctic thanks to a Saudi businessman's donation to build the region's first mosque.
A Saudi businessman has donated 20 million Krone ($2.78 million) to build the first mosque in the Arctic region, near the northern part of Norway, according to a news report published by a local Saudi newspaper.
In April the Muslim association in the Arctic town of Inuvik, Canada raised $40,000 to purchase land for a mosque two degrees above the Arctic Circle that it hopes will serve the Northwest Territories' 175 or so Muslims (according to a 2001 census).
Shams newspaper reported that the Saudi businessmen, who was not identified, donated the money to the Islamic Council of Norway, which represents about 70,000 of Norway's estimated 130,000 Muslims, during a meeting in London with Sandra Mary Moo, a member of the Norwegian Muslim community.
Islam is the largest minority religion in Norway with more than two percent of Norway's 4.7 million residents identifying as Muslims, according to a 2007 Statistics Norway report. The government report registered 79,068 members of Islamic groups in Norway, mostly from immigrant backgrounds.
Talks between the Muslim community and the Northern Municipality of Norway are underway to secure land for the construction of the mosque in an area of 1000 square meters (about 11,000 square feet). The mosque is expected to be the largest in the northern parts of Norway.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/08/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
I wait impatiently for Ramadan falling in summer. Muslims aren't allowed to eat as long as they can distinguish a black thread from a white one and as far south as Tallinn (Estonia) you can for weeks not merely distinguish a white thread from black one but even read the newspaper.
#6
Well look at the bright side; The History Channel could do a reality show about the zany mooks. they could call it "Ice Road Carpet Forehead Thumpers" (or something.....)
(how come when i pass the cursor over the stuff at the bottom it dances around? )
Israel can no longer expect "blank checks" from Washington once President-elect Barack Obama's administration takes over in January, a former US ambassador to the Jewish state said on Sunday. "The era of the blank check is over," said Martin Indyk, director of the Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution.
Think of it as small change you can believe in.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/08/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
WTF is he talking about? The blank check that permitted Israel to return to the Litani line, and keep it, in summer '06? Or the re-occupation of Gaza? Or the dismantling of the sham of the PA in the west bank?
Just wondering which blank check he's referring to.
#3
That "blank check" was for years a loan, that was dutifully repaid by Israel every year. Otherwise, about the only things "given" to Israel were intangibles, such as the right to buy specialized US weaponry, and intelligence information about those that menaced Israel.
As many as a million American jobs could be lost every month by next spring as businesses struggle to raise capital in financial markets consumed by fear, according to a new analysis.
November was the worst month in the US labour market since the oil crisis of 1974, as more than 500,000 US workers were laid off, according to official figures released on Friday.
But Graham Turner, of consultancy GFC Economics, says the rising cost of corporate debt is now flashing a red warning signal that far worse is to come over the next few months and job losses are heading for levels last seen in the 1930s Great Depression.
Corporate bond yields have rocketed since the credit crisis began as investors flee risky assets in search of safe havens such as US Treasuries. That effectively means many firms are being forced to pay eye-watering interest rates to borrow funds.
Turner says when the gap between the yield on high-risk company bonds and US Treasuries widens sharply, unemployment tends to shoot up - and current credit conditions are pointing to a doubling in the pace of layoffs, to more than a million workers a month, by spring.
'The correlation is holding up all too well,' he said. 'It's very disconcerting.' He added that the pace of layoffs already happening in the US 'is indicative of panic'. During the 1970s oil crisis the panic was relatively short-lived, he says. 'But the worry now is that this will just roll on and on.'
#1
Why is this article comparing to 1974, anyways?
The thing that caused the crisis then was oil prices skyrocketing, the opposite of what is occuring now. If energy prices stabilize or continue to fall, that could evaporate a lot of the added interest expense for companies, making things a wash.
I do think there'll be more layoffs, but to predict these numbers right now doesn't make any sense.
Posted by: no mo uro ||
12/08/2008 8:59 Comments ||
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#2
If you look around, there's a lot of readjustments going on. Some areas of the economy are not going to recover, particularly in areas like MSM [to paraphrase Seinfeld - not that there's anything wrong with that]. Some businesses operations that work at the edge or upon unique aspects of the economy are also going to suffer as currancy flows contract to what people believe and pay for as essentials. Some geographical areas will also be hit hard and take a long time to recover, if they do at all, because of embedded policies and laws that those in power are reluctant or unwilling to change. Adapt or perish.
#4
Note to Congress: as long as these layoff fears continue, i do not really expect a lot of people to be in a new car buying mood. It might not be a bad idea to think about that before you agree to hand that big ol' check to the Big 3.
i know i have shoved my car buying thoughts back about 18 months or so. and fuggitabout the new RV.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
Zimbabwe's government has accused former colonial ruler Britain of using a cholera epidemic to rally Western support for an invasion of the collapsing southern African nation, a state-run newspaper said on Sunday. 
