A magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck in Southern California on Saturday, but there were no immediate reports of injuries or damage.
The quake struck at 12:18 p.m. and was centered about 13 miles east of Maricopa and 25 miles south-southwest of Bakersfield, according to a preliminary report from the U.S. Geological Survey.
Maricopa is about 85 miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles, where effects of the quake could be felt.
There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries, a Kern County Sheriff's Department supervisor said. A spokesman for the Los Angeles city fire department said he received no damage reports.
Posted by: God Save The World ||
04/16/2005 5:07:11 PM ||
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A surfer fought off a two-meter (7-foot) shark with his board at an Australian beach Saturday -- then continued surfing, a life guard said.
"Piss off, shark! I'm surfin' here!"
The man in his 30s returned to Sydney's Bronte Beach 30 minutes after surviving the attack with a replacement board, despite the beach being closed because of the danger, life guard Aaron Graham said. "He was pretty calm about it, very laid back," said Graham, who was on the beach when the unidentified surfer rode his damaged board in.
Nobody took his beer while he was gone, huh?
The man was among a small group of surfers sitting on their boards about 30 meters (100 feet) offshore at dawn Saturday when the shark attacked, Graham said. "He jumped off the back and pushed the board toward the shark, keeping it between them," Graham said. The shark took two bites of the fiberglass board before ceasing the attack, Graham told The Associated Press by telephone. "There were two big puncture mark bites on the board, but it didn't actually bite a hunk out of it so he was able to ride it in."
Posted by: Fred ||
04/16/2005 11:36:13 AM ||
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would I go back out...HUMMMM...I don't think so.
Indonesian scientists are monitoring nine volcanoes after a string of moderate earthquakes caused rumbles on Java island.
Two quakes recorded on Friday morning, of magnitude 5 and 6 respectively, rattled western parts of Java near Bandung city. Java is Indonesia's most populous island.
Fauzi, an official at the Bureau of Meteorology and Geophysics in Jakarta, said a third quake of magnitude of 5.9 was recorded in the Sunda strait, near Mount Anak Krakatoa (Child of Krakatoa).
The tremor was felt in Jakarta and Lampung province on Sumatra island.
Mr Fauzi said the earthquakes did not cause any casualties, but local newspapers reported that at least 100 houses were damaged.
Vulcanologists said big earthquakes of magnitude 6.5 or higher could escalate volcanic activity.
"The quake in the Sunda strait could escalate activities in Mt Anak Krakatoa, but this doesn't necessary cause an eruption," said Surono, a vulcanologist from the Directorate of Vulcanology and Geophysics in the Java city of Bandung, told Reuters.
So far Mt Anak Krakatoa, off the western tip of Java, had not spouted smoke or volcanic material, and activity was seen to be tailing off.
Anak Krakatoa emerged after the massive explosion that destroyed original island volcano of Krakatoa in August 1883. The eruption triggered a tsunami, killing more than 36,000 people in Java and Sumatra.
"We will continue to monitor the activities of nine volcanoes, but most of them are showing signs of cooling off, including Mt Talang," said another vulcanologist, Dali Ahmad.
Mt Talang on Sumatra island, which lies near the west coast city of Padang, 938 km north-west of Jakarta, had visibly calmed down after spewing out smoke and hot ashes on Tuesday, triggering the evacuation of more than 26,000 people.
"The height of the smoke is down to 100 metres, but we don't want to lower the status yet, it's still dangerous," said Mr Ahmad.
At the peak of its rumbling, Talang spewed smoke to heights up to 1,000 metres.
Vulcanologists also kept the status of Mt Tangkuban Perahu on West Java, near Bandung, at the second-higest level.
Posted by: God Save The World ||
04/16/2005 6:58:23 PM ||
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Saudi Arabia will deal strongly with people misusing camera mobiles as a draft bylaw proposed 12-year jail sentence, SR100,000 fine and 1,000 lashes for those circulating pornographic photos of women through the phone.
In January this year, the high court in Riyadh sentenced two young Saudis to prison terms and flogging for orchestrating and filming a Nigerian driver sexually assaulting a 17-year-old girl. The scandal, which shocked Saudi society, broke out after the accused circulated footage of the assault through camphones.
The law is likely to be endorsed by the 150-member Shoura Council shortly. "The Shoura has already debated its articles in previous sessions and a special panel is currently looking at matters related to taking photos by the phone and circulating them among the public," Al-Eqtisadiah business daily said quoting a source.
The source said the new law would include a number of regulations to prevent misuse of camera mobile phones in the country. As per the regulations already discussed by the Shoura, a person convicted of distributing pornographic photos will be jailed for three months and fined SR20,000 and his phone will be confiscated.
"If a person repeats the offense, the punishment will be doubled as the jail sentence will be increased to six months and fine to SR40,000," the source said, adding that he will also be given 100 lashes publicly.
If a person commits the same offense for the third time, the punishments would be further doubled, with 12-month jail, SR80,000 fine and 200 lashes. Moreover, his photograph will also be publicized in the press.
"We hope citizens and expatriate residents would welcome these tough regulations in order to prevent misuse of camera mobiles," the source said.
The Kingdom overturned a ban on the import and sale of mobile camera phones last December. Even before the ban was lifted, the phones had been used in many cases to invade privacy, particularly of women, prompting fights at markets, wedding halls, schools and other public places as well as triggering family disputes.
The government is currently studying new laws to regulate the use of third generation mobile phones in the country after reports that some people were misusing the facility.
Etihad Etisalat (Mobily), the Kingdom's second mobile phone service provider, intends to launch 3G mobile phone service shortly for the first time in the Kingdom.
Mobily, which won the GSM and 3G licenses last year by paying SR12.96 billion ($3.457 billion), has already established most of its infrastructure facilities in Riyadh, Jeddah and the Eastern Province. Think this will do it? Heh.
Posted by: .com ||
04/16/2005 10:03:52 AM ||
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1000 lashes - fatal???
Posted by: too true ||
04/16/2005 14:01 Comments ||
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10 times fatal
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/16/2005 14:09 Comments ||
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I believe they do it in non-fatal bits over time. I can't imagine that makes getting up in the morning any more pleasant.
President Lucio Gutierrez declared a state of emergency in the capital city of this Andean nation and dissolved the Supreme Court, saying the unpopular judges were the cause of three days of pot-banging street protests in Quito. Although they had opposed the court that was appointed by the president's congressional allies in December, his political foes immediately labeled its summary dissolution an act of a dictator.
Jumped right on that, didn't they? They've got a long tradition of El Presidentes doing similar things in that area. I figure a month or two before he goes to visit Hugo...
Speaking in a televised address to the nation Friday night with his military high command standing behind him, Gutierrez said he was using the powers granted him by the constitution to dismiss the justices. In explaining their dismissal, he said opposition to their appointments was causing the protests. "The measure ... was taken because Congress until now has not resolved the matter of the current Supreme Court, which is generating national commotion," he said. The state of emergency placed the military in charge of public order and suspended individual rights, including the right to free expression and public assembly. Early Saturday, the military command went on television to give its implicit support to Gutierrez. Adm. Victor Hugo Rosero, head of the armed forces, said the only purpose of the state of emergency was "to recover the order, peace and tranquility lost during the last days."
"We'll shoot a few peons and things'll be fine."
Posted by: Fred ||
04/16/2005 11:02:34 AM ||
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I didn't know there was this sort of disorder happening in Ecuador. When did this start?
Posted by: Phil Fraering ||
04/16/2005 11:54 Comments ||
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About 500 years ago. Some fella named Pizarro, as I recall ...
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/16/2005 12:16 Comments ||
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Ukraine's successful Orange Revolution is rekindling interest in using the oil pipeline from Odessa on the Black Sea to Brody on the Polish border, opening a way for Caspian oil from Kazakhstan to reach Europe. For this project to work, the pipeline would need to be extended all the way to the Baltic Sea at Gdansk, as originally intended. Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko recently said that this extension should be a priority for a Europe looking to diversify energy supply sources and transport options.
Ironically, the pipeline's potential value as an alternative and viable supply route for Europe's energy needs is exactly the reason why it hasn't been built yet. Initially planned by Ukraine and Poland with U.S. political support, the Odessa-Brody section was completed in 2002. The following year, the Ukrainian and Polish governments and the European Commission agreed on extending the line to Gdansk.
However, these plans have come to nothing so far mainly because Russia and its state-connected oil companies have stood in the way, politically as well as literally. Sitting astride the overland transit routes for Kazakhstan's oil, Russia took advantage of its transit monopoly to prevent Kazakh oil producers from using the Odessa-Brody pipeline. Russia has no interest in facilitating a competitor's access to European markets. On the contrary, Moscow seeks to maximize its market share and price leverage, thwart the EU's supply diversification strategy, and ultimately exploit Europe's growing dependence on Russian energy for its political objectives.
As a result, the Odessa-Brody pipeline remained dry and idle for more than two years for want of access to Caspian oil. With the then-ruling regime of President Leonid Kuchma tilting politically toward the Kremlin, the stage was set in 2004 for the "reverse use" of this pipeline. Instead of pumping Caspian oil northward, it is carrying Russian oil southward to Odessa for export by tanker through the Turkish Straits to the Mediterranean basin.sounds like the revolution came just in time to Kiev
The Russian-British company Tyumen Neft-BP (TNK-BP) is the main user of the pipeline in the reverse mode. Agreements signed last year envisage pumping nine million tons annually for a three-year period from Russian fields operated by TNK-BP and various Russian companies. However, the volumes being pumped since then amount to only a fraction of that figure. The pipeline therefore operates at a substantial loss for the Ukrainian government, which is unable to recoup its investment or even cover the full maintenance costs.
Ukrainian officials are right to believe that the reverse-use idea was always politically motivated -- namely to thwart the originally intended use of the pipeline to transport Caspian oil to EU countries. Russian oil producers have very little commercial interest in the Odessa-Brody route, which they underutilize mainly in order to block access of Caspian oil.
At a recent international business forum in Kiev, Ukrainian, Polish and European Commission experts renewed talks on the extension project. The EU even opened a credit line for the technical and commercial feasibility study on extending the pipeline into Poland. The construction is expected to take three years and cost â¬450-500 million. Receiving oil via Poland through existing pipeline links could be particularly interesting for Germany.
The Ukrainian government seeks a commitment of 10 million tons of Caspian crude oil annually, with guarantees of uninterrupted supply for this project. Ukrainian and Polish business proposals are based on Kazakhstan's projected oil output growth to as much as 100 million tons by 2010 from some 50 million tons at present. The true potential for Kazakh oil production is of course also a function of the availability of transport routes and consumers and can only be fully assessed once Ukraine and Poland initiate the formation of a consortium to extend the pipeline to Gdansk with EU backing.
Mr. Yushchenko and Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko propose using oil from the giant Tengiz field in the northwest of Kazakhstan, which is majority-owned and operated by ChevronTexaco. At the moment, Tengiz oil is being pumped to Russia's Black Sea port Novorossiisk through a major pipeline owned and operated by the ExxonMobil-led Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC). Ukraine intends to initiate discussions with the producers and transporters of Kazakh oil, Russia's Transneft state pipeline monopoly, and the Kazakh government to carry Tengiz oil from Novorossiisk by tanker to Odessa. An alternative option would involve shipping the oil from Kazakhstan on the short trans-Caspian route to Azerbaijan, and pump it through BP's existing pipeline to Georgia's Black Sea port of Supsa, for shipment to Odessa and on to Poland. The attraction of this last option is twofold: It is shorter than the route via Russia, and it would provide the first direct link between the Caspian basin and Europe. As a result, it would be safe from any Russian political manipulation.
Mr. Yushchenko and the German and Polish ministers of foreign affairs, Joschka Fischer and Adam Rotfeld, discussed the project at their meeting in Kiev. Since then, there has been a flurry of other meetings. In late March, Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski and Mr. Yushchenko discussed the financing of the project while Mr. Kwasniewski and Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliev examined the transit options to Odessa. The presidents of Georgia and Kazakhstan, Mikhail Saakashvili and Nursultan Nazarbayev, just held talks in Kazakhstan to discuss the possibilities of oil deliveries via Azerbaijan and Supsa to Odessa.
However, Moscow will almost certainly continue opposing the northward use of the Odessa-Brody pipeline and its extension for the transport of Caspian oil. This is why U.S. political support is so crucial. In 2003, U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney prevailed on then-Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych to suspend the decision on reverse use, pending supply offers from American companies in Kazakhstan. But the Kuchma-Yanukovych regime ignored that offer and agreed to the reverse-use for Russian oil.
This time around, Moscow may find the combined pressure from Washington, the American oil companies in Kazakhstan, and the transit and consumer countries of the oil pipeline too strong to withstand. Success of this project would finally begin to arrest Europe's worrisome slide into overdependence on Russia for its energy supplies. we'll see ... Putin won't give up easily ... I wonder if this pipeline will be sabotaged by 'insurgents' out of Moscow -- physically, if they can't stop it politically
Posted by: too true ||
04/16/2005 9:17:08 AM ||
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How long will it take the Kos/DU crowd to proclaim that the "Orange Revolution" was all a plot by Bushitler and Halliburton to get the eeevilll oiiiilll?
Posted by: Mike ||
04/16/2005 10:56 Comments ||
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Moscow seeks to maximize its market share and price leverage, thwart the EU's supply diversification strategy, and ultimately exploit Europe's growing dependence on Russian energy for its political objectives.
Okay, sounds like they've passed Elementary Capitalism 101. Next ones a little tougher, Laws & Markets 205.
Alexei Miller, Gazprom's chief executive officer, returned to Moscow from Turkmenistan on Friday having convinced the central Asian republic to resume the delivery of natural gas to Russia's largest energy company. Delivery was blocked 17 weeks ago following a fight over pricing.
During talks at President Saparmurat Niyazov's palace in Ashkabad, the Turkmen capital, Mr Miller rejected a demand for a 30 per cent price rise. But he conceded that Gazprom would pay the full $44 per 1,000 cubic metres cost of gas in cash rather than with the previous mix of cash and barter goods.
The new arrangement will last until the end of 2006, during which Turkmenistan has committed to deliver 17bn cubic metres of gas to Russia 7bn c/m this year and 10bn c/m in 2006.
Nevertheless, there remains some doubt whether the deal will resolve the crisis that began on January 1 when Turkmenistan blocked gas deliveries to Russia.
The wording of a Gazprom statement that Mr Miller and Mr Niyazov had "reached understanding that in future all contracts would be strictly observed, including agreements on gas prices for Russia" was similar to one issued after talks in February that failed to induce Turkmenistan to turn the gas tap back on.
Turkmenistan wants to reap the benefits of record gas prices in Europe where Russia earns around $20bn (â¬15.4bn, £10.5bn) a year. But Gazprom is not inclined to share export outlets. State regulated gas prices in Russia fall well short of the $58 per 1,000 c/m Turkmenistan is seeking.
The onset of spring, when Russian gas demand drops, weakens Turkmenistan's position. Bargaining will begin next year when talks on a larger gas contract for 2007-2028 open. Russia plans to boost imports from Turkmenistan tenfold in that period.
takes a little presure off of Putin, maybe? also keeps one of the Stans in his court, more or less
Posted by: too true ||
04/16/2005 8:51:51 AM ||
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The NY spot price for 1000m3 natural gas is about $240. Quite a deal for the Russians. The Russians export their gas to Europe and designate the Turkmen gas for below market price Russian use. Time for a new pipeline running south.
Posted by: ed ||
04/16/2005 16:34 Comments ||
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Li Jianzhong, a key figure in China's successful space programme, has been arrested on bribery charges, state news agency Xinhua has reported. Mr Li, former head of China's launch vehicle maker CALT, is alleged to have taken more than $200,000 in bribes and to have embezzled nearly $19m. CALT builds China's Long March rockets, one of which powered the manned Shenzhou V craft into space in 2003. Investigations into Mr Li started soon after that launch, Xinhua said. Mr Li is said to have taken the bribes during his time as president of the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALT), between 1994 and 2000. He won plaudits for his contribution to the Long March rockets, which have sent various satellites and the Shenzhou V - China's first manned spaceship - into orbit.
China's space programme is one if its most prestigious projects, and the charges against Mr Li will be seen as a setback for the project's standing. The next manned space mission, Shenzhou VI, is due to take place later this year, and aims to launch two Chinese astronauts into space for a seven-day period. "Li's case will not erode the courageous, collective spirit of the Shenzhou VI team," Xinhua quoted a senior researcher as saying. *wipes tear*
Posted by: .com ||
04/16/2005 9:45:51 AM ||
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What the deal ZF? Commrade Li sounds like he's doing a good job, is he in the wrong faction?
#2
Shipman: What the deal ZF? Commrade Li sounds like he's doing a good job, is he in the wrong faction?
No surprise here. An expensive government program like this involves buying a lot of supplies and spending a lot of money. Lots of room for both bribery and theft. As to the "comrade" stuff, no one calls anyone comrade any more, except maybe at Party functions. China is more or less a capitalist country now, but in the relatively unregulated 19th century American style.
China is more or less a capitalist country now, but in the relatively unregulated 19th century American style.
You keep saying this, but I think the analogy is very inexact... I read an analysis of the Chinese housing boom the other day, and along the way they mentioned as factors the idea that people can't own land in China, but landlords can own (for instance) apartments. Therefore all the businessman has to do is bribe a couple party officials in order to be able to displace a peasant from his farmland and put up cheap apartments. This may count as "unregulated capitalism," but who has property rights and who doesn't depends on who has money to bribe the party with.
Not to mention that a lot of the "businesses" are being owned and run outright by the party (whether nationally or a provincial branch), or the government (of provincial or national level), or the armed forces.
I've talked to people who go over to do business in China, who say that the local party officials are part of the decision-making process of the company they had to deal with.
Just because these party officials are plundering the pension funds of workers in the NE to pay for all this industrial development, and are therefore "exploiting" people, doesn't make this capitalism.
I suspect this is less socially stable than a more "honest" capitalism would be.
Posted by: Phil Fraering ||
04/16/2005 11:51 Comments ||
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It's almost more like a funhouse mirror version of capitalism created by Marxists who had read what Lenin said capitalism was like than anyone with experience with the real thing.
Posted by: Phil Fraering ||
04/16/2005 12:01 Comments ||
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China is more or less a capitalist country now, but in the relatively unregulated 19th century American style.
That's my question, why the bust? Was he getting too greedy?
#6
The cornerstone of communism was the higher up the heirarchy you were, the more perks you got - better housing, healthcare, education, cars, flunkies, and yes bribes, although in the old days money was of limited value so they would often be in kind.
China has two systems today. there are lots of real capitalists, but there are the communist party officials who are in a position to extract bribes (their salaries will be miniscule) and from what I hear they all do becuase now money can buy more and better stuff then the communist system can deliver.
Did he takes bribes? Almost certainly yes, but everyone does. So he also transgressed in some way. Either he stepped out of line politically or went overboard with the bribes. Another possibility is a rocket has blown up or some serious flaw has been found and they need a scapegoat.
#7
PF: This may count as "unregulated capitalism," but who has property rights and who doesn't depends on who has money to bribe the party with.
I guess that would be the Chinese equivalent of the zoning disputes we have over here. Developers pay off the zoning board, and new commercial or residential development goes up.
Remember this - developers can't eat the housing. To make money off it, they have to rent or sell it to somebody. The cheaper they can get it, the lower the price they can sell or rent it for. Note that there are no real cartels here - huge numbers of developers are competing to put up new properties. They compete with each other on price and quality. The bottom line is cheap new housing or commercial space for the new residents or businesses. That significantly contributes to new economic growth. Think of what happened when Robert Moses seized property in New York City in the 1950's to pave the way for highways and other urban amenities. It wasn't wonderful for the people whose property was taken, but the rest of NYC made out just fine.
As to bribing the party - no one bribes the party - the party is just an unwitting bystander, just as the Republican or Democratic Party doesn't take bribes - individual Republicans or Democrats do. In China, the penalty for taking bribes is often execution.
PF: Just because these party officials are plundering the pension funds of workers in the NE to pay for all this industrial development, and are therefore "exploiting" people, doesn't make this capitalism. I suspect this is less socially stable than a more "honest" capitalism would be.
This is no more dishonest than what was prevalent in 19th century America. As to social stability - remember that the people who benefit from it - the developers and the far more numerous new tenants or owners who previously lived or worked in mud-brick hovels - have a strong stake in the new order. In China, the rule has always been that the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. The Chinese are very unsentimental about minority rights. The idea of a single property owner derailing a major highway or development just doesn't fly there. Note also that everyone gets compensated - they just don't necessarily get paid what they think the property is worth. The Chinese form of eminent domain isn't particularly fair, but it doesn't retard economic growth.
I would argue that zoning rules here in America have significantly retarded economic growth by inflating property prices and making it more expensive for both residential and commercial property developers to put up new buildings. There is no free lunch. Business owners just pass the additional cost along.
#8
ZF, the property development thing was an example.
And I don't consider "eminent domain" as practiced here to be entirely good either.
That you used Robert Moses (who I thought mainly worked in the public sector) as a counterexample puzzles me.
I don't think "zoning" per se has had nearly as much impact on American construction as the environmental regulations. Then again as near as I can tell my entire state qualifies as a wetland under Federal regulations.
Posted by: Phil Fraering ||
04/16/2005 22:26 Comments ||
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PF: That you used Robert Moses (who I thought mainly worked in the public sector) as a counterexample puzzles me.
I used Moses to show that government seizure of land affects the people who land it was, but pretty much no one else, providing that the seized land is put towards uses that benefit the many. Note that in China, few of these people actually "own" the land - theirs are squatters' rights from having lived there for decades after the pre-revolution landlords who owned them were executed in gruesome ways, in some cases by the tenants themselves.
PF: I don't think "zoning" per se has had nearly as much impact on American construction as the environmental regulations.
I don't think there is such a thing as "American" construction. All construction occurs at the township level - when zoning boards decree that all new housing units must include at least 1 acre of land, property developers have to toe the line.
Chinese authorities on Friday moved to limit anti-Japanese demonstrations planned for this weekend, warning activists that unapproved protests were illegal and disrupting their efforts to use the internet to organise. but not to hack into Japanese government web sites
The moves reflect concern about the damage to China's reputation from protests in which crowds stoned Tokyo's embassy in Beijing and besieged Japanese-owned businesses. There is also concern about the risk to the Communist party of allowing protests to continue unchecked. Yeah - that's the kicker, ain't it
In Shanghai, where activists called for a rally on Saturday, police sent a text message warning against illegal protests. Beijing police issued a notice on websites warning against unapproved demonstrations and appealing to would-be protestors to express their patriotism by working or studying hard instead. Censors deleted references to events from internet bulletin boards.
Beijing has given implicit backing to demonstrations against what it sees as Japan's failure to face up to its wartime past, but it has been careful to try to stop them getting out of hand. sets a bad precedent when people can protest violently against government lies
On Friday activists remained determined to continue their protests, though some warned against any violence against property. An organiser of the Shanghai rally said it would go ahead, and messages circulated on the internet described plans for protests in more than a dozen cities.
The protests will coincide with talks between Nobutaka Machimura, Japan's foreign minister, and Li Zhaoxing, his Chinese counterpart, aimed at reducing tension.
Check out the demographics in China - a very large cohort of single children, many of them male. That imbalance will be an explosive element in China, either pointed inward or turned loose outward. Either way, expect nationalism to be cultivated strongly by the government - forget about international socialism, this is Chinese imperial nationalism being stirred up and set loose.
Posted by: too true ||
04/16/2005 8:03:16 AM ||
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"NATIONALISM", aka a Commie byword for Communist-controlled FASCISM-RIGHTISM, besides also PC pressure for more trade concessions - the problem with trade concessions is that the Socies and espec the Commies as per their dogmas can only tolerate so much privately held wealth ala preservation of Commie and Party power, control, and superduper-sized Big Government. GMD > the Commies are all but officially history/goners as a relevant force in the world, iff they ever were. JAPAN in their mind is just an unspoken label for TAIWAN #2, i.e quietly belongs to China whether the Japanese like it or not!?
The US administration is calling for China to move immediately to introduce a flexible currency, a marked shift in tactics after several years of patient diplomacy aimed at nudging China towards allowing the renminbi to float.
A senior US administration official told the Financial Times on Friday: "Action is needed now. This is a co-ordinated effort to get the message across."
The decision to demand prompt action by Beijing comes in the face of growing pressure from the US Congress over the burgeoning trade deficit with China.
The issue here isn't just our trade deficits. Our purchases have been keeping other economies afloat, especially in Europe. The Chinese are sucking all their trading partners dry. It was an over-reach for them also to begin making very aggressive military preparations and allow / encourage the mobs to attack the Japanese embassy.
Officials acknowledge they were shocked by a 67-33 Senate vote this month to allow consideration of a bill championed by Democratic senator Charles Schumer that would impose a 27.5 per cent tariff on all Chinese imports if China does not revalue in six months.
There is also concern within the administration about possible House efforts to give the Commerce Department more say in the decision on whether China is manipulating its currency. The Treasury dismisses that threat to its authority.
Rob Nichols, Treasury spokesman, said: "We are calling on China to move because it is the best thing for the global trading system."
Another administration official said: "The US is viewed as the standard-bearer for open trade policies. Turning into isolationists would send a terrible signal to the global trading community."
The message is being delivered to China at all levels in advance of this weekend's Group of Seven meeting in Washington. China, which has been a guest at the past two G7 meetings, is not sending its finance minister and central bank governor to the gathering. We can't HEAR you ....
At the meeting of the Group of Seven finance ministers and central bankers in Washington, there is likely to be finger-pointing among those present on the actions needed to reduce global economic imbalances.
President George W. Bush said on Thursday that he was pressing China "for floating her currency so we can have free and fair trade with China".
John Snow, Treasury secretary, told Bloomberg News on Friday the "time has come" for China to move on the issue. "They are ready. They have prepared their financial system to live in a world of greater flexibility."
Kristin Forbes, a member of the White House council of economic advisers, told a House committee on Thursday that China had taken several steps, with US support, to prepare for exchange rate flexibility. These steps include the development of foreign-exchange trading, and progress in restructuring state-owned banks.
"The administration believes that now is the appropriate time for China to adopt a more flexible exchange rate regime," she said. "It is in China's best interest to adopt a more flexible currency now while economic growth is strong."
A paper by the International Monetary Fund's Asia-Pacific department argues that China can move to currency flexibility now.
Posted by: too true ||
04/16/2005 8:03:16 AM ||
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If China is going to do it, at the behest of every serious economist on the planet, including their own; and have long been preparing to take the hit, which they have also been advised to do; this would be the "heads-up" to the financial markets and the key players not to panic, prepare for major adjustment, and also to be ready to apply international braking if something seems to be running wild.
#4
Hmmmmmmmm - June 23, 1942 was after the Battle of Midway, where Japan lost four of its best heavy carriers. Was it sunk by the Allies or the Germans? Its doubtful an angry America, still seething from Pearl Harbor and the post-Dec 7th attacks and losses in the Pacific, would have wanted peace, nor would've even been amenable to Japan save at Japan withdrawing from everywhere and compensating the USA for the damages or losses to the assets of its armed forces. Germany, on the other hand, viewed America as its main threat in any regional or international war, moreso than Stalin's Russia or the Brit's - it would've needed Japan to tie down major US forces in the Pacific!?
#5
JM: Germany, on the other hand, viewed America as its main threat in any regional or international war, moreso than Stalin's Russia or the Brit's
I doubt this - Germany's best troops were placed on the Eastern Front. The Germans were worried about a second front, but the Atlantic Ocean was a pretty big physical barrier to cross, from a purely logistical standpoint.
#6
"They mistakenly believed the vessel might be carrying information about atomic bombs, hence the order to destroy it before it reached its destination."
Bite me!
an interesting link on Enigma
#8
Yes, GC, I caught that too - yet another unilateral attack by the US based on bad intelligence. Goes to show you can't ever ally yourself w/ the Merkins, they're usually wrong and attack poor innocent fascists.
Posted by: too true ||
04/16/2005 7:54 Comments ||
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#9
The real issue here is that the Japanese government had other ways to convey a peace offer if they really wanted to do that.
Fine with me if you tell DEA to sod off. Of course, Mr. Tidwell can expect to be the recipient of a lot of DEA interest over the next few years if he raises the sub. His finances will make fascinating reading for some people too, I suspect.
If he doesn't intend to make off with the opium, and if he wants to prevent a crew member or Japanese official or whomever from doing the same, he should make that part of the operation very visible.
Posted by: too true ||
04/16/2005 7:57 Comments ||
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#10
too true-I would be very suprised if the containers of opium are still viable. Saltwater seepage through the containers would have contaminated the opium, possibly leading to an unusable mess rather than a viable drug. But he might be able to sell such things to a pharmaceutical company that wants to use it to make medicines (if we even still use real opium for that sort of thing).
I sincerely doubt that there was any serious talk of a peace deal. 'Saving face' is why they waited until the atom bombs being used before getting serious about surrender, even then it almost didn't happen.
Posted by: Jame Retief ||
04/16/2005 8:26 Comments ||
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JM - It was June 23, 1944, well more than two years after Midway, just a couple weeks after D-Day when the Germans still had confidence they could hold in the West and, in the Pacific, the Americans had just invaded Saipan in the Marianas. We still hadn't reached the Phillippines, much less Iwo or Okinawa yet.
Nevertheless I seriously doubt the Japanese really gave surrender much thought before the Battle of Leyte Gulf (October, '44), when their navy was effectively destroyed. I think they, like Hitler, held out thinking the first introduction of jets, nuclear weapons, and other technology combined with their "pure" ideology would save their collective ass.
Posted by: Dar ||
04/16/2005 8:42 Comments ||
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April 15, 2005: Sixty years after the end of World War II, there are still 62,000 American troops in Europe. They are stationed in 236 bases, including 13 training areas. The force has been reduced considerably over the years, especially after the Cold War ended in 1991, leaving over a quarter million American troops in Europe. But in 2015 there will still be 24,000 American troops over there, in 88 bases, and using four training areas. The 1st Infantry Division will return from Europe in 2006, and the 1st Armored Division will go home in 2008. Both of these units were originally sent to Europe in 1942. The only major combat unit that will remain in Europe will be the 173rd Airborne Brigade, which is stationed in northern Italy.
Posted by: ed ||
04/16/2005 5:20:45 PM ||
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It has long been recognized that a forward positioned army is only cost effective if it faces off against an enemy forward postitioned army. But that still leaves many options for force projection. Pre-positioned equipment, light mobile elements first by air and then by sea, followed by heavy reinforcement by sea. Similar goals are achieved at far less cost.
Republican leftists lost Spain's civil war to Franco's right-wing forces
The Spanish government says it will return thousands of official documents to the autonomous region of Catalonia that were seized after the civil war.
More than 300,000 files and 1,000 photographs were taken by Francisco Franco's nationalist forces in 1940.
Catalonian officials have campaigned for the return of the documents for more than 20 years.
The opposition has criticised the government, saying the country's archives should stay together.
"A self-respecting country should defend the unity of its identity, its archives and its museums," conservative Popular Party spokesman Eduardo Zaplana said.
The documents were stored in a military library in the north-western city of Salamanca, following Spain's 1936-39 civil war, won by Franco's forces.
They include personal letters, files and a record of anti-Franco propaganda that were compiled by Catalan unions, political parties and regional government authorities.
The government said the decision to propose a law to return the papers would repair a historic wrong.
"This will put an end to an illegitimate state of affairs," Deputy Prime Minister Maria Teresa Fernandez de la Vega was quoted as saying by Reuters news agency.
No doubt there were wrongs committed by Franco and his ilk. But this also fits into the tranzi attempt to blur national identities and break up nation states into small bits that can't stand alone ... and hence need the EU, UN etc. as a world government.
Posted by: too true ||
04/16/2005 9:25:04 AM ||
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ATHENS - Greece's parliament has delayed a vote on ratifying the new European Union constitution until Tuesday to allow for a longer debate, a parliament source said on Friday. Deputies were initially expected to vote on Friday. Both the ruling conservatives and the opposition socialists have voiced their support for the constitution, which is expected to be approved by an overwhelming majority.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/16/2005 00:00:00 AM ||
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I'm sure that the Greek love fest will be the lead story on French TV in French papers next week.
During the 2004 presidential election, veteran Washington reporter Byron York realized the Democrats had formed a vast conspiracy of party operatives, "nonpartisan" 527 fund-raising groups, liberal media stars such as Al Franken, and billionaire donors like George Soros to defeat George W. Bush.
It was no secret. In fact, Democrats were proud of it. And as York says in "The Vast Left-Wing Conspiracy," the well-organized political movement that the Democrats created to outfox tough new campaign finance laws and bring them back to national power is going to give Republicans fits in future elections.
I talked to the National Review's White House correspondent by telephone from Washington:
Q: What's the book-flap synopsis of what you've discovered?
A: It's the story of MoveOn.org, 527 organizations, George Soros, Michael Moore, Air America Radio and Al Franken, and John Podesta's think-tank, the Center for American Progress. It's how these people, often working together, created the biggest, richest, best-organized political movement in generations.
Q: Was it just hatred of President Bush that got this conspiracy going?
A: I really distinguish two wings of this movement. One is the emotional wing, which is MoveOn and Michael Moore. They are given to emotional outbursts, and they were very angry in the aftermath of the Clinton impeachment and in the aftermath of the Florida recount in 2000. Basically, they were angered by everything that George Bush did, including the look on his face. The professional wing is a very different group. They are the group that created America Coming Together, which was the largest of the Democrat 527 groups -- people like Ellen Malcolm of Emily's List, Steve Rosenthal, who used to be with the AFL-CIO, and John Podesta, who created the Center for American Progress. These were people who were more affected by two completely different things: One was the beginning of the McCain-Feingold campaign finance law after the 2002 election and the other was the actual results of the 2002 election, in which they had to face the reality that Democrats controlled absolutely nothing in Washington. That's when they realized that they needed to build a new political organization.
Q: This conspiracy didn't discover a new set of ideas or new ideological positions -- is it more about donations and money from George Soros and Internet donors?
A: It's about communications. If you listen to any of them, from either the emotional or the professional wing, you will hear the belief that we -- meaning the liberals -- we are the true American majority. Their unshakable belief is that the real majority of Americans agrees with their positions on the issues. So if you believe that, the problem really becomes one of communications: Our ideas are right. People agree with our ideas. People just haven't heard them. We just haven't communicated those ideas well enough. So the essence of the "vast left-wing conspiracy" is really communications. It's creating a message machine to inject their ideas into the public discussion 24/7.
Q: How will this conspiracy transform the way political campaigns are run?
A: It has already to some degree. McCain-Feingold took away the unlimited contributions that had been the life's blood of the Democratic Party. A new way had to be found to conduct campaigns. McCain-Feingold exposed the dirty little secret of the Democrats' finances, which is that they were far more dependent on millionaires for their funding than Republicans were. In February 2003, just a couple months after McCain-Feingold took effect, the Democrats' three biggest committees collected about $4 million in contributions -- small, limited, McCain-Feingold contributions. The three Republican committees collected about $19 million. The Republicans had a lot more small donors than the Democrats. The Democrats realized that they had to find a way to get their big donors back in action .... So the 527s were born. That is a way in which power shifted away from the Democratic Party to outside groups. It also empowered people like George Soros, who were the enormous funders of these groups and who had a lot of say.
Q: Is there anything particularly evil or sleazy about what this conspiracy is up to?
A: There were a couple of incidents in the book in which I think ethical boundaries were crossed. Mostly it's a conspiracy in the sense in which liberals refer to a right-wing conspiracy, which is they wanted to create a powerful, well-oiled machine that could get its message out, could attack its enemies, and could spur political action at any time.
Q: Will conservatives or Republicans learn anything from the Democrats' new ways?
A: I think they should. I think the instinct of some conservatives has been to dismiss some of these people. For example, to think of MoveOn as crazy hippies, or to think of Michael Moore as a kook, or to think of George Soros as an eccentric billionaire. But these people created something pretty powerful, and they have a long-term plan. And they are in part basing it on what they believe conservatives did 40 years ago after the defeat of Barry Goldwater. Republicans and conservatives would make a really big mistake by either ignoring or minimizing these people.
Q: Will this conspiracy put Hillary Clinton back in the White House?
A: Well, it easily could. But what it's going to do is put an incredibly powerful new and creative machine behind whoever runs for president as a Democrat in 2008. Ooooh. Okay, everyone. Let's not be too dismissive of the crazies. Insanity is big juju... at least in certain circles. The National Review is one such circle jerk thingy.
Posted by: .com ||
04/16/2005 9:57:17 AM ||
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I subscribe
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/16/2005 10:25 Comments ||
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It took the repubs a decade to really rebuild ... but the dems have been studying how it was done. W/ the Net and a lot of $$ it won't take nearly as long.
#3
Frank - Lol! I read the NRO, too - not subscribed - but not everyone there is rational at all times. To charactrize the Soros / 527 / MoveOn engine as "powerful" and "creative" is putting the best light on it - a stretch, IMHO. There are some who are very good at disinformation, such as AARP's TV commercials against Soc Sec change, but people will only buy what feels right to them - and this confabulation of Moonbats seem to miss the point that they need to stop preaching to their base and sell their insanity to flyover America. As long as they keep missing the point, I won't credit them with Dr Evil powers. Thus the last comment where I was making fun of Yorks' conclusion.
#4
The democrats still haven't hit rock bottom. They haven't torn down the old machine before trying to replace it with a new machine--a recipe for failure. I might add that the AuH20 machine did the same thing, becoming eccentric laughinstocks terribly out of touch with the rest of society. So what will happen next? The pattern will be that power will first migrate back to those still in office. The republicans will still be effectively targetting their most powerful and least cooperative, giving some small support and largesse to those willing to play ball. (Ex: right now, even Robert Byrd is sweating). Eventually, democrat power will be concentrated among their centrists, with the radicals marginalized. Then they will form a pragmatic coalition with the much larger group of republican "reasonables", if not centrists, to marginalize the republican extreme, too.
#5
Um, the title was taken, as a joke, from some of the left's own pronouncements.
And let's be honest, they ARE powerful and creative. They've got control of the MSM, and despite the best efforts of reasonable people, the MSM is the info source for most of the country. They've organized in a way that they'll be able to poor limitless amounts of cash against Republicans, and if you think they're just going to use that in commercials, think again.
Creativity doesn't just involve how they get their message out: the 2006 and 2008 campaigns are going to be UGLY. I wouldn't be shocked if they're not violent, given some of the events in 2004. We can also expect a level of corruption and fraud that makes Chicago politics seem saintly.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
04/16/2005 11:00 Comments ||
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:-) I don't credit them will all-powerful evil, but they have powerful friends in the MSM that multiplies their failed messages. If the Hildabeast is allowed to fake her way as a moderate, she will be a major force in '06 (her minions) and '08 (for herself). York usually pretty much has his feet on the ground. I despise Derbyshire though.... I enjoy the fact that the moonbats think they only need to communicate their fever better so the populace will admit they are correct. Keep chugging the kool-aid and spending your money on trying to keep Air America on the air in more than 5 cities, "progressives"...heh heh
My bigger fear is that as they sink into desperation over electoral failure, they will resort to underground violence like good little marxists
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/16/2005 11:02 Comments ||
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#7
Underground violence? As opposed to the open violence involved in the assaults on Republican campaign headquarters last year?
The open violence already started; next election it's going to be more widespread.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
04/16/2005 11:05 Comments ||
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and no - I never got that sort of service from NR :-)
not even a reach around
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/16/2005 11:05 Comments ||
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RC - minds thinking alike - I should've said violence by DU et al...they'll try to keep plausible deniability for the "visible leadership" but I agree it will get ugly unless crushed. $10,000 fines for damaging cars with GOP stickers, etc....
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/16/2005 11:11 Comments ||
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#10
I completely missed including the MS in the equation. Duh. That meme replicator does, indeed, leverage their spending and put the best light on the moonbattery.
I believe we're in for an ugly ride precisely because they haven't grasped the fact that the majority of Americans aren't insane socialists. I am tickled to see them spend their money reinforcing, distilling, the "anger" - instead of spending wisely to disinform the rational Americans. But, as you guys point out - there's violence along that road - and I fully expect much more to come.
#11
I listened to a York interview on his new book. I came away thinking that he might be onto something here. To the Democrats EVERYTHING is a battle or left versus right. After screaming their mantra a few thousands times someone is going to them after a period of time, if for no other reason than to get them to shut up. This worked well in the 1960s for the anti-war, socialists, and communists movements that basically hijacked the Democratic Party and made the Republicans the villains in the Vietnam conflict. Even though Kennedy sent in the troops and Johnson escalated the conflict, neither is blamed for that debacle. Today the WOT is made out to be a Republican issue even though a string of attacks and appeasement cover the length of Clintonsâ two terms in office. IMHO the Republicans need to stop trying to appease the Democrats and shove the Republican agenda down their throats. Yes they will cry, whine, throw fits, and call us Nazis but they are doing that now. The results are what we looking for not the process. Social Security is a joke, illegal immigration needs to be stopped, Judges that donât invent rights need to be confirmed, and the Patriot Act needs to be made a permanent law. If they (Republicans) waffle on issues that are core to the party the Dems will use it against us the next election, and they will be portrayed as âmainstreamâ by the press too.
#12
The Vast Left Wing Conspiracy does not have to be 'powerful and creative' with wiennies like Frist and hypocrites like McCain. Republicans will continue to be ineffective "Read My Lips" until they learn to fight to win. As Captain Ed says, "Not one dime."
Folks, they can slather money on blogs and other forms of communication all they want, but they can only do as much as the right can. The fact is is that the right is much better at communicating ideas because there is simply no agenda behind it other than freedom.
The left have a problem, and it is one they have always had and, one which will eventually destroy them: They can't come up with anything better than to hate and that is the basis for whatever mantra they can repeat via the MSM. After they finish doing that, they have nothing to offer.
Now, all of the foregoing does not mean those who do believe in freedom as a universal as well as a national value should sit back and let the left defeat themselves. It is better to help the left along with their defeat and it is much better to counter them with this one single eand simple counter: That hatred is all they have going for them. This basic value, that republicans believe in freedom and the left can only counter that with their hatred and their agenda as wellas the expression those concepts of it will bring the left down faster than Air America radio.
#14
Read this whole series of articles then tell me these evil bastards give a shit about democracy, our Republic or our political process.
Sorros funded the whole campaing finance reform movement. He is trying to subvert our Republic. This isn't tinfoil hat stuff. This is a clear and present danger to anyone who cares to look. Hillary is in on it.
Note that this mighty coalition is founded on the same assumption that has underpinned leftist power-seeking for 50 years: the absolute power and loyalty of the institutional media culture. Air America, Michael Moore, ad nauseum, are professionally-oriented components of that culture. They are in decline, and the leftist power-seekers are inherently incapable of adapting to this reality.
As documented by the renegade leftist Thomas Frank in The Conquest of Cool, the present-day "Left" is entirely a creature of the institutional media culture.
That culture will not adapt because such an adjustment would represent the failure of their entire enterprise.
I predict that they will fall farther and faster than most current observers can imagine.
2004 was D-Day for the defenders of "Fortress Media", 2008 will be Armageddon.
#16
The fact is that the VLWC lost. And in the process the red state folks got a good look at John "I served in Vietnam" Kerry, Tuh-ray-zuh, "Screaming Howard" Dean... They had already seen enough of Ted Kennedy, Bubba Clinton, and Al Bore. Hillary will have to get a divorce and completely change her circle of friends just to score a close second.
Posted by: Tom ||
04/16/2005 20:36 Comments ||
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#17
SSHHhhhhhhhhh, no Democrats, Lefties, Socies, or Commies anymore, only "Right-wing/leaning" Regulators and Protectionists for Global Empire, as honest injun as America = Russia-China but not =/superior to Mackinder's World Island, aka Comunist Asia, ergo America must copy the failed and imploded USSR, not the USSR copy successful hyperpower America!? Iff this was the new BATTLESTAR GALACTICA show, Russia-China would be the sexy CYLON babes, wiping out the Colonial Battlestar fleet thru internal systems integration and treason combined with external, PC selective militarized attacks!? GO TALK TO QUEEN BORTE/BORTAI, a'says GENGHIS KHAN - oops, sorry, meant HAIL HILLARY!
Posted by: Tom ||
04/16/2005 21:07 Comments ||
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#20
The archetype lefty intellectual is Canadian-born Berkeley-educated economist John Kenneth Galbraith (1908- ). Galbraith has been revered in media circles since the 1940s and is regarded today as a living god by the media/academic/left-activist cultural complex.
Unfortunately, almost no living person (and certainly none of such influence and power) has been so wrong, so often, and for so long.
The notoriously pompous Galbraith's career of error began during World War 2, when, as a government economic advisor, he cited the delivery of certain new German warplanes without propellors as evidence of industrial chaos in the Third Reich.
Alas, the airplanes didn't have propellors because they were JETS, Me-262s to be precise.
By the 1960s, Galbraith was official shaman of the Kennedy brain-trust, second only to Robert McNamara in creating the national calamity known as Camelot.
As part of his effort to reach out to the newly named "third world" JFK rewarded his arch-druid by appointing him Ambassador to India. There, Galbraith's arrogance, naivete, and ignorance almost single-handedly drove Nehru into the arms of the Soviet Union.
During the Vietnam war, Galbraith becamse a major figure in the peace movement, a leading authority for media naysayers and seditionists. He was thereby instrumental in the establishment of Stalinist rule in Vietnam.
During the 1980s, Galbraith was tricked into providing an endosement for Tom Gervasi's Arsenal of Democracy, an alleged expose of the US arms industry that probably contains more provable errors of fact than any book since The Adventures of Baron Munchhausen, and whose claims and other fantasies are now known to have been dictated by the Kremlin.
Most recently, right after 9-11, Galbraith came out against military action in Afghanistan. Citing the unfortunate experience of the Soviets (whom he always regarded as the military superiors of the US) Galbraith declared that American soldiers would be as "beduddled in Afghanistan as they were in Vietnam." In a sense, the ancient court-jester of the left was right this time: American soldiers in Vietnam were nothing like so befuddled as their leaders.
The fossilized pinko prattles on to this day. At least he has an excuse, since he is now 96 years old, but he was no more rational 50 years ago.
With any luck he will live to see the final and definitive collapse of the evil cultural system he did so much to create.
#21
Well, Tom, I would be a lot more sanguine if they had lost in a McGovern or Mondale style blowout, rather than coming within a few percentage points. Thank God we don't have a proportional representation parliamentary system, so Germany 1933 (moderates giving power to an extremist becuase "we can control him") is not possible here.
April 16, 2005: For the moment all's quiet on the Badme front -- the trigger point in a war between Ethiopia and Eritrea. However, on April 14 a UN spokesman said that UNMEE (UN Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea) was now investigating "allegations of sexual abuse" by UN peacekeepers against Eritrean women. This comes after similar allegations, prosecutions, and a few convictions against UN peacekeepers in the Congo. The UN spokesman added that there were two alleged incidents under investigation.
Posted by: ed ||
04/16/2005 5:34:03 PM ||
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Pakistani security forces have stormed a plane carrying opposition leader Asif Ali Zardari and detained him as he arrived in the country, witnesses told CNN.
Dumb move, Perv...
Zardari was taken to his home, where government and police authorities said he was in "protective custody."
I can almost believe that. If Perv's boyz don't beat him to death, somebody from the MMA may very well shoot him...
Earlier, the government had vowed to block any rallies by Zardari's Pakistan People's Party (PPP) and effectively sealed off the city while awaiting his arrival, with about 12,000 police deployed. In the hours following Zardari's detention, however, tensions appeared to be decreasing in Pakistan. Zardari was allowed to speak to Shahid Masoor, director of the ARY News Channel, by telephone, and Masoor told CNN he was in a "relaxed mood."
"Yeah. Been there, done this. It's kinda like a kabuki dance, only no fans..."
The opposition leader was also be allowed to hold prayers at a local shrine later Saturday, Masoor said. Zardari told Masoor he did not request protective custody.
Comes as a surprise, doesn't it?
Journalists on the plane told CNN their cameras were taken from them and they were beaten. Authorities shut down cell towers near the airport to cut off cell phone service. Hundreds of PPP members, however, managed to reach the Lahore airport, CNN Producer Syed Mohsin Naqvi reported. They were arrested as soon as they began chanting slogans.
"Hey, Mahmoud! Let's go down to the airport and chant some slogans and get arrested!"
"Hokay."
Posted by: Fred ||
04/16/2005 11:28:35 AM ||
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excellent moustache
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/16/2005 13:53 Comments ||
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"Hey, Mahmoud! Let's go down to the airport and chant some slogans and get arrested!"
"Hokay."
As stupid as that sounds, that is his plan. He as much has said so. He still is an Asshat however.
Investors who thought they had suffered earlier this week got a true dose of pain Friday when blue chips posted their biggest loss in two years.
Lingering concerns of a global economic slowdown, even as interest rates are rising, painted a grim picture of corporate health. It's not just corporate health - the heavy social benefits countries are up against a wall with the impending retirement of the boomer generation and the stranglehold their government policies have on businesses Indeed, markets in the United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, Hong Kong and Mexico all declined sharply this week. Those concerns were magnified late Thursday after International Business Machines, citing struggling growth overseas, surprised Wall Street by reporting weak first-quarter earnings ahead of schedule.
That set the ball in motion for Friday's third-straight day of triple-digit losses. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dived 191.24 points, or 1.86%, to 10087.51. IBM shares, down 8.3%, weighed heavily on the Dow industrials, and dragged down other technology shares. Hewlett-Packard was off 4.2%, Microsoft fell 1.5% and Intel lost 1.7%. The losses were broad-based, however. General Motors fell another 3.9% and is down 35% year-to-date.
Two other Dow components, Citigroup and General Electric, posted strong earnings for the first quarter, but couldn't stem the bleeding from IBM, which delivered the knockout blow to a teetering market.
The Nasdaq Composite Index shed 38.56, or 1.98%, to 1908.15, while the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index declined 19.45, or 1.67%, to 1142.47. Crude-oil prices slid 64 cents to $50.49 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, and Exxon Mobil lost 4.4%.
Some technical factors bloated Friday's losses. At about 3:40 p.m. Eastern time, there was still $580 million worth of S&P 500 April options, which expired Friday, available for buying. Investors weren't biting, though. That "sell imbalance" accelerated the decline, knocking about 40 additional points off the Dow industrials, said Larry Peruzzi, senior equity trader at Boston Asset Management Company.
IBM stunned the market when it reported financial results for the first quarter that fell five cents shy of Wall Street expectations. The company blamed trouble closing deals overseas in late March. Spokesman John Bukovinsky said "there are occasions when the analysis is done and the information is complete and we will move." To be sure, IBM announced fourth-quarter earnings ahead of schedule in January 2004. But last year, Big Blue issued a press release at least warning the markets that it was reporting ahead of schedule.
Even without the warning, IBM's earnings miss came as no surprise to industry watchers, Fred Hickey, editor High Tech Strategist newsletter. "IBM's backlog has been declining, and their order rates have been falling apart over the last year," he said. "The fact that they missed this number was no shock at all." He pointed out that other large computer firms, including JDA Software, Foundry Networks and Borland Software, also announced earnings troubles recently.
The same catalyst driving down stocks -- a global economic slowdown -- sent oil down 5.3% this week. Stocks have taken a hit in 2005 after a sharp run-up in oil prices. But oil's decline this week seemed to worry traders just as much.
"The worry was that oil was going up to 100 dollars," said Mr. Peruzzi. "But now, oil is coming down because demand is waning, and that's creating concerns because it's showing a slowdown" of the world's economy.
Earlier this week, the International Monetary Fund projected that world economic growth would slow to 4.3% in 2005 from 5.1% last year, and put growth at the U.S. at 3.6% this year, down from 4.4% a year ago. Poor retail-sales results for March added to fears that a major driver of global-economic growth, the U.S. consumer, was faltering. On Friday, an economic report by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York showed a sharp slowdown of activity in the U.S. That added to worries that an economic soft patch is on the way.
Wall Street is reacting more to the bad news than the good days. Volume has been consistently heavier when stocks fall. Friday, volume hit 2.2 billion shares on the New York Stock Exchange, the heaviest volume in four months, with decliners outpacing gainers by a more than 3-to-1 margin.
Dick Green, president of Briefing.com, said the market may be overreacting. "People are repositioning for the summer months," he said. "It's a traditional slow period." He says over the past 50 years, most of the annual gains have come from November to April, with the outlook of "sell in May and go away."
In major market action:
Stocks declined. On the Big Board, where 2.2 billion shares traded, 780 stocks rose and 2,525 fell. On the Nasdaq Stock Market, where 2.4 billion shares changed hands, 735 stocks advanced and 2,337 declined.
Bonds were higher. The 10-year Treasury note rose 19/32, or $5.94 for each $1,000 invested, pushing the yield down to 4.25%. The 30-year bond gained 31/32 to yield 4.61%. Yields move inversely to prices.
The dollar weakened. It traded at 107.80 yen, off from 108.14 yen late Thursday, while the euro rose against the dollar to $1.2919 from $1.2818.
The trade imbalances plus high oil prices are devastating world economies, exacerbated by China's refusal to allow their currency to float to its true value. US consumer buying (often on credit) has been keeping the global economy going somewhat, but that can't go on forever -- we have our own baby boomer retirements to deal with, not to mention the cost of operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Not saying those aren't worth doing, just that we can't do it mostly alone AND still prop up the economies in Europe plus feed the vampire Chinese
Posted by: MBA ||
04/16/2005 9:02:36 AM ||
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What turns a cyclical downturn into a prolonged recession is debt that can't be repaid (in bad times) and there is way too much debt out there. Far higher than it has ever been in the past. Oil prices will get the recession going but debt will prolong it.
#8
tw, many American consumers have been living beyond their means, resulting in our massive trade deficit and also the trade surplus (and therefore employment) in other countries.
A lot of American consumer spending is being financed/enabled by credit cards and home equity loans. The latter is a particular problem because home values are ephemeral and subject to bubbles -- just because the house is worth $xxx today doesn't mean you will be able to sell it for that tomorrow, especially as the baby boomers retire and want to trade down.
Result: consumers getting tapped out, more bankruptcies &/or slower spending --> lower sales and profits for companies. What has kept this whole dynamic going as long as it has been is cheap goods from China, but the hidden costs of that are now facing the western economies directly.
Ironically, but no coincidentally, the best off Americans tend to have international investment portfolios. But if there is a worldwide slowdown due in part to high oil prices, even holding oil stocks won't immunize them entirely from losses.
Posted by: MBA ||
04/16/2005 23:01 Comments ||
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In full - registration to Spectator req'd. by Douglas Davis Pay attention, Professor. If you support the proposed academic boycott of Israel — and if you are to remain intellectually honest — prepare for a radical lifestyle change. Firstly, unplug your computer. Good. Now switch off your interactive digital television set. Well done. And now throw away your mobile phone. Excellent. You see, Professor, these machines are not only the engine of the globalised, capitalist world but they also depend on technologies that have been produced by Israeli academics in the Zionist entity.
Stop playing with your detached mouse, Professor, and concentrate. I'm afraid you may not use the British Library because it has been computerised by Ex Libris, a Zionist company that was spawned by the odious Hebrew University of Jerusalem. And if, God forbid, you develop problems of the small intestine, you may not pop the Zionist-invented 'video capsule', which passes naturally through your body as it monitors this delicate piece of your anatomy. You will, sadly, have to take it up the derriere, Professor. As a matter of principle, of course. But remember: your principle allows your proctologist to keep his hand in.
All this boycotting, you see, is the logical extension of proposed academic sanctions against Israel by some members of your Association of University Teachers (AUT) when they meet in Eastbourne next Wednesday. Just visit the website of Egyptian-born Mona Baker of the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology. She set the standard by firing two Israeli scholars from the boards of her translation journals as a matter of high academic principle.
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Posted by: Sobiesky ||
04/16/2005 3:04:48 AM ||
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"...firing two Israeli scholars from the boards of her translation journals as a matter of high academic principle."
I'm not sure,but in America this would get her ass suied for discrimination.
Imagine a thin plastic thread inserted into a patient's arteries that, when exposed to light, transforms into a corkscrew-shaped stent to keep blood vessels open.
Such shape-shifting materials are a staple of sci-fi fantasy, but two professors are working on bringing the concept to fruition -- perhaps at a hospital or toy store near you.
Since the late 1990s, Robert Langer of MIT and Andreas Lendlein, of the University of Technology in Aachen, Germany, have been working to create plastics that can change shape when exposed to different wavelengths of light.
Originally, the professors' material shifted shape with the introduction of heat; now it warps with certain wavelengths of light. Though it's uncertain when the process and its resulting products would be available, applications could range from improving minimally invasive surgical procedures to creating funky toys for kids.
"I think there could be some very interesting applications in the medical field. We are thinking about stents, small tubes that are able to open up blood vessels ... and you could use a fiber optic to let the stent open so it stays at the place it should be," Lendlein said.
The idea is simple: Shine a light on object A, it turns into predetermined shape B. Shine a different light on shape B, it molds back into its original form. Any light in a wavelength range above 260 nanometers will change the first shape to the second; any light in a range below 260 nanometers will change it back. Besides changing shape, the object could be made a little larger or smaller, as tests have shown the plastic in use is capable of stretching about 10 percent to 20 percent.
Right now, the scientists are performing tests in Germany with skinny plastic polymer fibers. The scientists are using light to lengthen them or change their forms into shapes like spirals, and observing how long they'll last in a new position.
In a phone interview from Germany, Lendlein said that in stress tests, the polymers held their shape for eight hours, while test objects sitting around his lab don't appear to have changed shape for weeks.
Also, the shape-shifted objects have been tested to see if environmental stresses like temperature will affect their ability to hold a new shape. Lendlein said they've been fine at up to 50 degrees Celsius, and expects they would hold up at 80 or 100 degrees Celsius.
"Our materials stay stable in the temporary shape," he said.
Langer came up with the idea for shape-shifting plastics about seven or eight years ago, he said, as a way to enhance biocompatible plastics. He mentioned it to Lendlein, who was a visiting scientist at MIT in 1997, working under Langer. Over the next several years, the two set about creating actual items capable of changing form. Their first work utilizing heat was presented in 2001.
On a molecular level, the plastic has been endowed with what Langer calls "photocrosslinkable" switches. If a light is shined on the polymer, these switches zip up like a zipper. Shining a different wavelength of light will cause it to unzip, Langer said. This metaphoric zipping and unzipping changes the object's shape.
The "switches" are made from photosensitive chromophores, or groups of molecules that react to light.
The researchers also had to measure the ultraviolet spectrum and test different wavelengths to see if they were absorbed by the chromophores they wanted to use.
The physical transformation is determined by where the researchers hit the object with light, Lendlein said. For example, a corkscrew shape is made by lighting only the top of the polymer, which causes the top to elongate while the underside remains untouched, leading to curls in the material.
In theory, the scientists could make any shape by just altering where the light hits the polymer, according to Lendlein. He said they're working on making knotting sutures right now, which they were able to accomplish in their past work using heat and polymers.
Lendlein said they knew the process would work because they were already aware of which wavelengths caused reactions in different chromophores. The problem was embedding them in plastic.
"But we had to link those photosensitive chromophores to the polymer spectrum," Lendlein said.
The work is still just a prototype. Right now, it takes about 90 minutes for test objects to shift from one shape to another. For many uses, the reaction time will need to be sped up, Lendlein said, but he mentioned some applications -- a futuristic sunscreen that slowly releases UV blockers, for example -- that might require a lengthy time frame to achieve the desired effect.
The pair's work is described in a paper, written by Langer and Lendlein with colleagues Hongyan Jiang and Oliver JÃŒnger, that appears in the April 14 issue of Nature.
Posted by: Sobiesky ||
04/16/2005 3:08:51 AM ||
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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.
A surfer fought off a two-meter (7-foot) shark with his board at an Australian beach Saturday -- then continued surfing, a life guard said.
Chinese authorities on Friday moved to limit anti-Japanese demonstrations planned for this weekend, warning activists that unapproved protests were illegal and disrupting their efforts to use the internet to organise. 
Pakistani security forces have stormed a plane carrying opposition leader 
Pay attention, Professor. If you support the proposed academic boycott of Israel — and if you are to remain intellectually honest — prepare for a radical lifestyle change. Firstly, unplug your computer. Good. Now switch off your interactive digital television set. Well done. And now throw away your mobile phone. Excellent. You see, Professor, these machines are not only the engine of the globalised, capitalist world but they also depend on technologies that have been produced by Israeli academics in the Zionist entity.
