This article is posted here because I think it is excellent and covers aspects of the economic crises not mentioned by other writers. The original article shows some very interesting graphs www.moneyandmarkets.com
++++
I’ll Take Gold Over the Euro Any Day!
by Claus Vogt 08-12-09
In 1999 Europe started a unique monetary experiment by introducing a common fiat currency, the euro. Today, the euro is legal tender in 22 countries. There are, however, huge disparities between the economies and policies of these countries, which makes for equally huge conflicts of interest. This was one of the main concerns of the euro’s opponents before its introduction.
They argued that these large economic differences would make it impossible to have a common monetary policy fitting all. Consequently, it would be impossible to enforce the necessary fiscal policies to ensure a stable currency …
They argued that politicians would always be longing for inflationary “solutions” to every recession and crisis. And central bankers would always finally succumb to the wishes of their political masters, their independence being no more than a hollow promise … a sunshine agreement being abandoned on the first rainy day.
It’s Obvious Now …
How Right They Were!
The EU passed the Stability and Growth Pact to silence the euro’s skeptics. Today, it’s dead and buried.
The euro’s critics were silenced by the introduction of the Stability and Growth Pact (SGP). According to pro-euro politicians, the SGP would limit the ability of governments to exert inflationary pressures on the European economy.
Here are two of the criteria that members were supposed to respect:
An annual budget deficit no higher than 3 percent of GDP (this includes the sum of all public budgets, including municipalities, regions, etc),
And a national debt lower than 60 percent of GDP or approaching that value.
But as soon as the first strong recession hit the continent, these rules were immediately abandoned!
According to official estimates by the EU commission, the average annual budget deficit for all 27 EU countries will hit 6 percent for 2009 and 7.3 percent in 2010.
The euro’s skeptics were dead right.
Indeed, the silent burying of the SGP’s rules for growth and stability has an obvious implication: The euro members’ growth and stability is getting buried as well.
This is a very dramatic development. Unfortunately history shows that once the rules are broken, governments usually do not restrain themselves again in the future. So for all intents and purposes, the SGP is gone and forgotten.
The Euro’s Volatile History …
As you can see on the chart below, the euro had some early problems after its introduction in 1999 when it fell from 118 to 80 against the U.S. dollar. But by 2008, it had shot up to 160!
Then, during the culmination of the financial crisis, a sharp correction followed, from 160 to 125. Now the question is whether this is just a short to medium-term correction or something more.
Source: www.decisionpoint.com
During the euro’s rise, analysts didn’t get tired of mentioning two fundamental reasons for this turnabout:
First, the low and falling personal saving rate in the U.S.
Second, the huge current account deficit.
Take a look at the following two charts. The first shows the development of the U.S. personal saving rate, and the second the current account deficit. As you can see, from 2001 to 2008 (when the euro was rising against the dollar) the personal savings rate in the U.S. had declined while the current account deficit got much worse.
But in 2008 both trends reversed sharply!
In my opinion the rising saving rate and the declining current account deficit are structural trend changes. They are here to stay. That’s because they are the necessary and unavoidable reactions to the new reality of a post-real-estate-bubble world.
This tells me that either the market does not believe in the durability of these trend changes, or the euro is in for a harsh awakening.
Financial Markets Are Often Slow
To Respond to Changing Fundamentals
The current situation is illustrating a typical characteristic of the financial markets …
In phase one, at the beginning of a trend, there are good fundamental reasons for a specific trend to establish itself.
Later on, in phase two, market participants get used to this trend and take it as a given, lazily forgetting to monitor the fundamentals.
Finally, in phase three, the fundamental reasons originally causing the trend, cease to exist. Yet the market somehow refuses to realize or acknowledge this new fact.
This is when contrarians get interested … they pick up on the change in fundamentals and start betting on a trend change.
I think that’s where we are right now, and it’s time for the dollar to rise against the euro.
But, in my opinion …
Gold Looks Better than
Either the Euro OR the Dollar!
Gold: The one stable and time-proven currency.
In the bigger picture, the U.S. has the same economic problems as Europe. And both countries follow the very same fiscal and monetary policies of printing money and piling on government debts.
These policies are principally bad for the stability of a currency. Hence, both the euro and the dollar should fall relative to gold.
In fact, it’s already happening!
Back in 2001 you could buy an ounce of gold for $250. Today, it takes about $950. And the euro has tumbled almost as much: From €250 to €680 for an ounce of gold.
So consider moving a piece of your portfolio out of the euro and the dollar and into the one stable and time-proven currency: Gold.
Best wishes,
Claus
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
About Money and Markets
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Money and Markets (MaM) is published by Weiss Research, Inc. and written by Martin D. Weiss along with Nilus Mattive, Claus Vogt, Ron Rowland, Michael Larson and Bryan Rich. To avoid conflicts of interest, Weiss Research and its staff do not hold positions in companies recommended in MaM, nor do we accept any compensation for such recommendations. The comments, graphs, forecasts, and indices published in MaM are based upon data whose accuracy is deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Performance returns cited are derived from our best estimates but must be considered hypothetical in as much as we do not track the actual prices investors pay or receive. Regular contributors and staff include Kristen Adams, Andrea Baumwald, John Burke, Amy Carlino, Selene Ceballo, Amber Dakar, Dinesh Kalera, Red Morgan, Maryellen Murphy, Jennifer Newman-Amos, Adam Shafer, Julie Trudeau, Jill Umiker, Leslie Underwood and Michelle Zausnig.
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15430 Endeavour Drive, Jupiter, FL 33478
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Thursday, July 16, 2009
aminopyralid 2009
Last year I wrote about 50 letters trying to rid the UK of this wretched poison. Many other people did the same and the poison was removed (mostly).
The big chemical companies have unlimited resources and they are again trying to introduce aminopyralid.
Aminopyralid is one of the active ingredients found in Forefront* and Pharaoh*. ... Aminopyralid is readily absorbed by many plants, including grass, ...
www.dowagro.com/uk/grass_bites/faq/
I will try to write a few letters this year too but life is full - with organic gardening!
If you are able to write some letters it will be a big help. Thank you.
+++
Dear Sir/Madam
Thank you for your comments about the use of aminopyralid and the resultant use of manure containing residues that has affected allotment and garden crops.
I hope I can provide some reassurance to you with this letter. Firstly, I can confirm that residues of aminopyralid in manure do not pose a risk to human or animal health. The independent Advisory Committee on Pesticides (ACP) has carefully considered a comprehensive data package that includes studies on the residues in plants grown with manure containing traces of aminopyralid. The Committee has concluded that if plants do grow in this manure, they will not contain residues of aminopyralid that will be harmful to health.
As you are aware there can be a risk to certain plants as aminopyralid is a herbicide (weedkiller) that is active at very low doses against a wide variety of plants. The Committee is aware of just how upsetting it can be to lose your crops unexpectedly in this way. They have therefore considered a number of restrictions to be placed on the use of products containing aminopyralid, along with details of a product stewardship programme, designed to ensure that users are aware of the particular requirements for the safe use of such products. These new requirements would have the effect of restricting the use of the products so that any manure, produced by livestock that had eaten grass treated with aminopyralid, would not leave the farms on which it has been produced. Similarly, there will be restrictions to prevent the contamination of hay or silage, and hence there will be no movement of residues of aminopyralid away from the farms where it has been used.
The Committee were satisfied that with these stringent controls in place, there should be no new manure available to buy that might contain these residues. However, in addition to stopping the contamination problem at its source, the Committee have also noted that there might be gardeners and allotment holders who already have manure that might contain residues. The approval holder for products containing aminopyralid, Dow Agrosciences has undertaken to provide a testing kit to allow you to check your manure, and if found to contain these residues they will arrange for it to be removed for you.
Subject to these additional controls designed to prevent any further problems of manure containing residues of aminopyralid, the Committee has advised Ministers that they could consider lifting the current suspension on approval for the use of products, containing aminopyralid, on grassland for grazing, where products offer very useful control for a wide range of weeds.
At the time of writing it is not clear what Ministers will decide in the light of this advice.
With thanks for your email.
Yours faithfully
Professor J G Ayres
ACP Chairman
The big chemical companies have unlimited resources and they are again trying to introduce aminopyralid.
Aminopyralid is one of the active ingredients found in Forefront* and Pharaoh*. ... Aminopyralid is readily absorbed by many plants, including grass, ...
www.dowagro.com/uk/grass_bites/faq/
I will try to write a few letters this year too but life is full - with organic gardening!
If you are able to write some letters it will be a big help. Thank you.
+++
Dear Sir/Madam
Thank you for your comments about the use of aminopyralid and the resultant use of manure containing residues that has affected allotment and garden crops.
I hope I can provide some reassurance to you with this letter. Firstly, I can confirm that residues of aminopyralid in manure do not pose a risk to human or animal health. The independent Advisory Committee on Pesticides (ACP) has carefully considered a comprehensive data package that includes studies on the residues in plants grown with manure containing traces of aminopyralid. The Committee has concluded that if plants do grow in this manure, they will not contain residues of aminopyralid that will be harmful to health.
As you are aware there can be a risk to certain plants as aminopyralid is a herbicide (weedkiller) that is active at very low doses against a wide variety of plants. The Committee is aware of just how upsetting it can be to lose your crops unexpectedly in this way. They have therefore considered a number of restrictions to be placed on the use of products containing aminopyralid, along with details of a product stewardship programme, designed to ensure that users are aware of the particular requirements for the safe use of such products. These new requirements would have the effect of restricting the use of the products so that any manure, produced by livestock that had eaten grass treated with aminopyralid, would not leave the farms on which it has been produced. Similarly, there will be restrictions to prevent the contamination of hay or silage, and hence there will be no movement of residues of aminopyralid away from the farms where it has been used.
The Committee were satisfied that with these stringent controls in place, there should be no new manure available to buy that might contain these residues. However, in addition to stopping the contamination problem at its source, the Committee have also noted that there might be gardeners and allotment holders who already have manure that might contain residues. The approval holder for products containing aminopyralid, Dow Agrosciences has undertaken to provide a testing kit to allow you to check your manure, and if found to contain these residues they will arrange for it to be removed for you.
Subject to these additional controls designed to prevent any further problems of manure containing residues of aminopyralid, the Committee has advised Ministers that they could consider lifting the current suspension on approval for the use of products, containing aminopyralid, on grassland for grazing, where products offer very useful control for a wide range of weeds.
At the time of writing it is not clear what Ministers will decide in the light of this advice.
With thanks for your email.
Yours faithfully
Professor J G Ayres
ACP Chairman
Monday, July 13, 2009
Land reform and bio fuels
An increased use of biofuels has resulted in less land available for growing food and rising food prices which affects every one but billions of poor people suffer most.
Poor countries are selling land to the rich for them to grown food for export.
I thought I would start this blog because there is very little mention of bio fuels these days though they are still being grown.
+++
The United States and the European Union have taken a "criminal path" by contributing to an explosive rise in global food prices through using food crops to produce biofuels, the United Nations special rapporteur on the right to food said today.
At a press conference in Geneva, Jean Ziegler of Switzerland said that fuel policies pursued by the U.S. and the EU were one of the main causes of the current worldwide food crisis.
Ziegler was speaking before a meeting in Bern, Switzerland between UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the heads of key United Nations agencies.
Jean Ziegler of Switzerland is UN special rapporteur on the right to food and a professor of sociology at the University of Geneva and at the Sorbonne in Paris. (Photo courtesy FAO)
Ziegler said that last year the United States used a third of its corn crop to create biofuels, while the European Union is planning to have 10 percent of its petrol supplied by biofuels.
Poor countries are selling land to the rich for them to grown food for export.
I thought I would start this blog because there is very little mention of bio fuels these days though they are still being grown.
+++
The United States and the European Union have taken a "criminal path" by contributing to an explosive rise in global food prices through using food crops to produce biofuels, the United Nations special rapporteur on the right to food said today.
At a press conference in Geneva, Jean Ziegler of Switzerland said that fuel policies pursued by the U.S. and the EU were one of the main causes of the current worldwide food crisis.
Ziegler was speaking before a meeting in Bern, Switzerland between UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the heads of key United Nations agencies.
Jean Ziegler of Switzerland is UN special rapporteur on the right to food and a professor of sociology at the University of Geneva and at the Sorbonne in Paris. (Photo courtesy FAO)
Ziegler said that last year the United States used a third of its corn crop to create biofuels, while the European Union is planning to have 10 percent of its petrol supplied by biofuels.
Friday, June 26, 2009
World Currency
August 25th 2009
The rise of emerging economies such as China and Russia will prevent the U.S. dollar from remaining the world's only reserve currency, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said Wednesday, according to Dow Jones Newswires. "The political and economic reality of a multipolar world will have to find sooner or later a translation on the monetary level," Sarkozy said. Sarkozy also said he won't let the euro alone bear the weight of adjustments in the foreign exchange market, a phenomenon he said has occurred in the past.
+++
I am told that it is made of gold)>
July 10th 2009 Telegraph
China criticises dollar
Dai Bingguo, who is standing in for the Chinese president Hu Jintao at the G8 meetings, raised questions over the dominant role of the dollar as the world's reserve currency.
The discussion, which took place between the leaders of five emerging economies and the G8 industrialised nations, including Barack Obama, caused concern among western leaders.
"We should have a better system for reserve currency issuance and regulation, so that we can maintain relative stability of major reserve currencies exchange rates and promote a diversified and rational international reserve currency system,” said Mr Dai, according to the Chinese foreign ministry.
+++
July 10th 2009 Bloomberg
Medvedev Shows Off Sample Coin of New ‘World Currency’ at G-8
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev illustrated his call for a supranational currency to replace the dollar by pulling from his pocket a sample coin of a “united future world currency.”
“Here it is,” Medvedev told reporters today in L’Aquila, Italy, after a summit of the Group of Eight nations. “You can see it and touch it.”
The coin, which bears the words “unity in diversity,” was minted in Belgium and presented to the heads of G-8 delegations, Medvedev said.
The question of a supranational currency “concerns everyone now, even the mints,” Medvedev said. The test coin “means they’re getting ready. I think it’s a good sign that we understand how interdependent we are.”
Medvedev has repeatedly called for creating a mix of regional reserve currencies as part of the drive to address the global financial crisis, while questioning the U.S. dollar’s future as a global reserve currency. Russia’s proposals for the G-20 meeting in London in April included the creation of a supranational currency.
July 1 2009 (Reuters) -
China has asked to debate proposals for a new global reserve currency
at next week's Group of Eight summit in Italy and the issue could be referred to briefly in the summit statement, G8 sources said on Wednesday.
One G8 source who was involved in the negotiations said China made the request during preparatory talks about a joint statement to be issued on the second day of the summit in L'Aquila by the G8 plus the G5 (Brazil, India, China, Mexico and South Africa) and also Egypt.
This forum, the so-called "G14", meets on July 9 to discuss the financial crisis, trade and climate change and for the first time a G8 summit will also produce a joint G14 statement.
A European source with knowledge of preparations for the summit also said China had raised the subject of a reserve currency debate and that it might be mentioned during the meeting, though the source added: "Any country at the meeting can raise issues they see fit."
"But whether there is a specific mention in the communique remains open," said the European source, adding that sherpas would discuss this further in preparatory talks on Friday.
The debate centres on proposals by some emerging powers that an alternative should be found to the U.S. dollar as the global reserve currency, to reflect the shifting balance of power in the globalised economy.
China's central bank governor said in March the world should consider using the International Monetary Fund's Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) as a super-sovereign currency. The SDR is an international reserve asset allocated to IMF members and its exchange rate is determined by a basket of dollars, euros, sterling and yen.
But the Chinese proposal failed to gain ground after several world leaders, and officials from the IMF, backed the dollar as the global reserve currency. (Reporting by Reuters bureaux) (Thank you Reuters)
China argues to replace US dollar (from the BBC) 25th June 2009
The dollar has been the world's reserve currency for decades
China's central bank has reiterated its call for a new reserve currency to replace the US dollar.
The report from the People's Bank of China (PBOC) said a "super-sovereign" currency should take its place.
Central bank chief Zhou Xiaochuan has loudly led calls for the dollar to be replaced during the financial crisis.
The bank report called for more regulation of the countries that issue currencies that underpin the global financial system.
"An international monetary system dominated by a single sovereign currency has intensified the concentration of risk and the spread of the crisis," the Chinese central bank said.
The dollar fell after the report was released. The US currency dropped 1% against the euro to $1.4088, and declined 0.8% versus the British pound to $1.6848.
SDRs
Mr Zhou caused a stir earlier this year when he said the dollar could eventually be replaced as the world's main reserve currency by the Special Drawing Right (SDR), which was created as a unit of account by the IMF in 1969.
CURRENCY RESERVES
Foreign currency held by a government or a central bank
Used to pay foreign debt obligations or influence exchange rates
The dollar is viewed as the world's reserve currency as the vast majority of reserves are held in the US currency
Smaller amounts are held in euros, pounds and yen
Dollar poses dilemma for China
The PBOC said in the report that not only should the world adopt the SDR, but that the IMF should be entrusted with managing a portion of its member countries' foreign currency reserves.
"To avoid intrinsic shortcomings in using a sovereign currency as a reserve currency, we need to create an international reserve currency that is divorced from sovereign states and can maintain a stable value over the long term," the PBOC report said.
It also issued some veiled criticism of the US policies, saying that one of the major issues was that it was difficult to balance the needs of domestic politics with the requirements of being the world's reserve currency.
"The economic development model of debt-based consumption is most difficult to sustain," the PBOC said.
China's foreign exchange reserves, the world's largest, have surpassed $2 trillion (£1.2tn), the country's central bank has said.
Juky 14th 209
Chinas currency reserves rose 17.8% from June 2008 to a record $2.13tn. Its currency stockpile is twice the size of Japan's - the second-biggest holder.
The country's leaders have expressed concern about the stability of the US dollar and have called for the creation of a new international reserve currency.
They fear the dollar could weaken as the financial crisis takes its toll and undermine the value of China's vast holdings of US government debt.
(For some reason they still receive foreign aid.)
July 26th 200
In particular, China is worried about the value of the US dollar.
It holds huge amounts of US debt - more than $800bn (£486bn) of US Treasury securities alone.
It fears Mr Obama's stimulus spending will stoke inflation in the United States, eroding the value of the dollar and making the US debt China holds worth a lot less.
"As a major reserve currency-issuing country in the world, the US should properly balance and properly handle the impact of the dollar supply on the domestic economy and the world economy as a whole," Mr Wang said.
Meanwhile, US manufacturers complain they cannot compete fairly with their Chinese competitors, accusing Beijing of deliberately devaluing its currency to make its exports seem cheaper
++++
June 10th 2009 BBC
Brazil, Russia, India and China, collectively known as the Bric countries, are holding their first formal summit in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg.
On the agenda is the role of the dollar and its status as the world's dominant currency.
China, Russia and, to a lesser extent, Brazil have expressed a desire to see the dollar one day replaced as the world's main trading currency.
And fears that these big holders of dollar assets may be looking to switch from the US currency have unsettled financial markets and US politicians.
+++
from THE BULLION VAULY
The Guernsey Experiment - Monday 19th May 2008
(There are any reports that China is busy buying gold, perhaps from the IMF)
The irresponsible creation of credit is a dangerous game that temporarily benefits the current generation but steals from the next; a lesson that has been forgotten yet again in modernity. To bring balance to the equation, therefore, the people of Guernsey had to find a way to neutralize such deficits while neither contracting nor expanding the money supply.
On a purely practical level, this was achieved by adding a sell-by date to the notes in issue, rather like a maturity date on a bond. For example, on a note issued 21 November 1827, it "Promises to pay the bearer One Pound on the first of October 1830". This begs the question as to how the future obligation was to be honored, but again, a simple mechanism was implemented whereby rent from the resulting infrastructure and tax revenues on liquor was set aside into a sinking fund to pay off the interest-free borrowing.
The rise of emerging economies such as China and Russia will prevent the U.S. dollar from remaining the world's only reserve currency, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said Wednesday, according to Dow Jones Newswires. "The political and economic reality of a multipolar world will have to find sooner or later a translation on the monetary level," Sarkozy said. Sarkozy also said he won't let the euro alone bear the weight of adjustments in the foreign exchange market, a phenomenon he said has occurred in the past.
+++
I am told that it is made of gold)>
July 10th 2009 Telegraph
China criticises dollar
Dai Bingguo, who is standing in for the Chinese president Hu Jintao at the G8 meetings, raised questions over the dominant role of the dollar as the world's reserve currency.
The discussion, which took place between the leaders of five emerging economies and the G8 industrialised nations, including Barack Obama, caused concern among western leaders.
"We should have a better system for reserve currency issuance and regulation, so that we can maintain relative stability of major reserve currencies exchange rates and promote a diversified and rational international reserve currency system,” said Mr Dai, according to the Chinese foreign ministry.
+++
July 10th 2009 Bloomberg
Medvedev Shows Off Sample Coin of New ‘World Currency’ at G-8
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev illustrated his call for a supranational currency to replace the dollar by pulling from his pocket a sample coin of a “united future world currency.”
“Here it is,” Medvedev told reporters today in L’Aquila, Italy, after a summit of the Group of Eight nations. “You can see it and touch it.”
The coin, which bears the words “unity in diversity,” was minted in Belgium and presented to the heads of G-8 delegations, Medvedev said.
The question of a supranational currency “concerns everyone now, even the mints,” Medvedev said. The test coin “means they’re getting ready. I think it’s a good sign that we understand how interdependent we are.”
Medvedev has repeatedly called for creating a mix of regional reserve currencies as part of the drive to address the global financial crisis, while questioning the U.S. dollar’s future as a global reserve currency. Russia’s proposals for the G-20 meeting in London in April included the creation of a supranational currency.
July 1 2009 (Reuters) -
China has asked to debate proposals for a new global reserve currency
at next week's Group of Eight summit in Italy and the issue could be referred to briefly in the summit statement, G8 sources said on Wednesday.
One G8 source who was involved in the negotiations said China made the request during preparatory talks about a joint statement to be issued on the second day of the summit in L'Aquila by the G8 plus the G5 (Brazil, India, China, Mexico and South Africa) and also Egypt.
This forum, the so-called "G14", meets on July 9 to discuss the financial crisis, trade and climate change and for the first time a G8 summit will also produce a joint G14 statement.
A European source with knowledge of preparations for the summit also said China had raised the subject of a reserve currency debate and that it might be mentioned during the meeting, though the source added: "Any country at the meeting can raise issues they see fit."
"But whether there is a specific mention in the communique remains open," said the European source, adding that sherpas would discuss this further in preparatory talks on Friday.
The debate centres on proposals by some emerging powers that an alternative should be found to the U.S. dollar as the global reserve currency, to reflect the shifting balance of power in the globalised economy.
China's central bank governor said in March the world should consider using the International Monetary Fund's Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) as a super-sovereign currency. The SDR is an international reserve asset allocated to IMF members and its exchange rate is determined by a basket of dollars, euros, sterling and yen.
But the Chinese proposal failed to gain ground after several world leaders, and officials from the IMF, backed the dollar as the global reserve currency. (Reporting by Reuters bureaux) (Thank you Reuters)
China argues to replace US dollar (from the BBC) 25th June 2009
The dollar has been the world's reserve currency for decades
China's central bank has reiterated its call for a new reserve currency to replace the US dollar.
The report from the People's Bank of China (PBOC) said a "super-sovereign" currency should take its place.
Central bank chief Zhou Xiaochuan has loudly led calls for the dollar to be replaced during the financial crisis.
The bank report called for more regulation of the countries that issue currencies that underpin the global financial system.
"An international monetary system dominated by a single sovereign currency has intensified the concentration of risk and the spread of the crisis," the Chinese central bank said.
The dollar fell after the report was released. The US currency dropped 1% against the euro to $1.4088, and declined 0.8% versus the British pound to $1.6848.
SDRs
Mr Zhou caused a stir earlier this year when he said the dollar could eventually be replaced as the world's main reserve currency by the Special Drawing Right (SDR), which was created as a unit of account by the IMF in 1969.
CURRENCY RESERVES
Foreign currency held by a government or a central bank
Used to pay foreign debt obligations or influence exchange rates
The dollar is viewed as the world's reserve currency as the vast majority of reserves are held in the US currency
Smaller amounts are held in euros, pounds and yen
Dollar poses dilemma for China
The PBOC said in the report that not only should the world adopt the SDR, but that the IMF should be entrusted with managing a portion of its member countries' foreign currency reserves.
"To avoid intrinsic shortcomings in using a sovereign currency as a reserve currency, we need to create an international reserve currency that is divorced from sovereign states and can maintain a stable value over the long term," the PBOC report said.
It also issued some veiled criticism of the US policies, saying that one of the major issues was that it was difficult to balance the needs of domestic politics with the requirements of being the world's reserve currency.
"The economic development model of debt-based consumption is most difficult to sustain," the PBOC said.
China's foreign exchange reserves, the world's largest, have surpassed $2 trillion (£1.2tn), the country's central bank has said.
Juky 14th 209
Chinas currency reserves rose 17.8% from June 2008 to a record $2.13tn. Its currency stockpile is twice the size of Japan's - the second-biggest holder.
The country's leaders have expressed concern about the stability of the US dollar and have called for the creation of a new international reserve currency.
They fear the dollar could weaken as the financial crisis takes its toll and undermine the value of China's vast holdings of US government debt.
(For some reason they still receive foreign aid.)
July 26th 200
In particular, China is worried about the value of the US dollar.
It holds huge amounts of US debt - more than $800bn (£486bn) of US Treasury securities alone.
It fears Mr Obama's stimulus spending will stoke inflation in the United States, eroding the value of the dollar and making the US debt China holds worth a lot less.
"As a major reserve currency-issuing country in the world, the US should properly balance and properly handle the impact of the dollar supply on the domestic economy and the world economy as a whole," Mr Wang said.
Meanwhile, US manufacturers complain they cannot compete fairly with their Chinese competitors, accusing Beijing of deliberately devaluing its currency to make its exports seem cheaper
++++
June 10th 2009 BBC
Brazil, Russia, India and China, collectively known as the Bric countries, are holding their first formal summit in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg.
On the agenda is the role of the dollar and its status as the world's dominant currency.
China, Russia and, to a lesser extent, Brazil have expressed a desire to see the dollar one day replaced as the world's main trading currency.
And fears that these big holders of dollar assets may be looking to switch from the US currency have unsettled financial markets and US politicians.
+++
from THE BULLION VAULY
The Guernsey Experiment - Monday 19th May 2008
(There are any reports that China is busy buying gold, perhaps from the IMF)
The irresponsible creation of credit is a dangerous game that temporarily benefits the current generation but steals from the next; a lesson that has been forgotten yet again in modernity. To bring balance to the equation, therefore, the people of Guernsey had to find a way to neutralize such deficits while neither contracting nor expanding the money supply.
On a purely practical level, this was achieved by adding a sell-by date to the notes in issue, rather like a maturity date on a bond. For example, on a note issued 21 November 1827, it "Promises to pay the bearer One Pound on the first of October 1830". This begs the question as to how the future obligation was to be honored, but again, a simple mechanism was implemented whereby rent from the resulting infrastructure and tax revenues on liquor was set aside into a sinking fund to pay off the interest-free borrowing.
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Smuggled bonds - Japanese
Suitcase With $134 Billion Puts Dollar on Edge: William Pesek
Commentary by William Pesek
June 17 (Bloomberg) -- It’s a plot better suited for a John Le Carre novel.
Two Japanese men are detained in Italy after allegedly attempting to take $134 billion worth of U.S. bonds over the border into Switzerland. Details are maddeningly sketchy, so naturally the global rumor mill is kicking into high gear.
Are these would-be smugglers agents of Kim Jong Il stashing North Korea’s cash in a Swiss vault? Bagmen for Nigerian Internet scammers? Was the money meant for terrorists looking to buy nuclear warheads? Is Japan dumping its dollars secretly? Are the bonds real or counterfeit..............http://www.bloomberg.com/ap...
+++
I am fascinated with this story and wonder why it is not front page news.
I have never seen one of thse bonds, not many people have. I assume that they pay interest on an annual basis. That would be about $6,000,000,000 a year. Or $30,000,000 a day (correct me if I am wrong). Surely someone is still collecting it and would be easy to trace.
+++
June 22nd 2009
Few details have been revealed beyond a June 4 statement by the Italian finance police announcing the seizure of 249 US Treasury bills, each of $500 million, and 10 'Kennedy' bonds, used as inter-government payments, of $1 billion each. The men were apparently tailed by the Italian authorities.
The mystery deepened on Thursday as an Italian blog quoted Colonel Rodolfo Mecarelli of the Como provincial finance police as saying the two men had been released. The colonel and police headquarters in Rome both declined to respond to questions from the Financial Times.
Few details have been revealed beyond a June 4 statement by the Italian finance police announcing the seizure of 249 US Treasury bills, each of $500 million, and 10 'Kennedy' bonds, used as inter-government payments, of $1 billion each. The men were apparently tailed by the Italian authorities.
The mystery deepened on Thursday as an Italian blog quoted Colonel Rodolfo Mecarelli of the Como provincial finance police as saying the two men had been released. The colonel and police headquarters in Rome both declined to respond to questions from the Financial Times.
June 22nd 2009
(Make up your own mind about the photo, nothing rings true about this story. Do the hats make youn think it the real thing?)
+++ June 30th 2009
This story has gone far away! All I can find is
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fLfuv_8yVL0
(Japanese television news.)
+++
July 9th 2009
More information is emerging about these smuggled bonds in the Asia Newsit. Perhaps the main stream media will have more news as the days go by. It really is an odd story.
I hope to find time to follow the story.
Commentary by William Pesek
June 17 (Bloomberg) -- It’s a plot better suited for a John Le Carre novel.
Two Japanese men are detained in Italy after allegedly attempting to take $134 billion worth of U.S. bonds over the border into Switzerland. Details are maddeningly sketchy, so naturally the global rumor mill is kicking into high gear.
Are these would-be smugglers agents of Kim Jong Il stashing North Korea’s cash in a Swiss vault? Bagmen for Nigerian Internet scammers? Was the money meant for terrorists looking to buy nuclear warheads? Is Japan dumping its dollars secretly? Are the bonds real or counterfeit..............http://www.bloomberg.com/ap...
+++
I am fascinated with this story and wonder why it is not front page news.
I have never seen one of thse bonds, not many people have. I assume that they pay interest on an annual basis. That would be about $6,000,000,000 a year. Or $30,000,000 a day (correct me if I am wrong). Surely someone is still collecting it and would be easy to trace.
+++
June 22nd 2009
Few details have been revealed beyond a June 4 statement by the Italian finance police announcing the seizure of 249 US Treasury bills, each of $500 million, and 10 'Kennedy' bonds, used as inter-government payments, of $1 billion each. The men were apparently tailed by the Italian authorities.
The mystery deepened on Thursday as an Italian blog quoted Colonel Rodolfo Mecarelli of the Como provincial finance police as saying the two men had been released. The colonel and police headquarters in Rome both declined to respond to questions from the Financial Times.
Few details have been revealed beyond a June 4 statement by the Italian finance police announcing the seizure of 249 US Treasury bills, each of $500 million, and 10 'Kennedy' bonds, used as inter-government payments, of $1 billion each. The men were apparently tailed by the Italian authorities.
The mystery deepened on Thursday as an Italian blog quoted Colonel Rodolfo Mecarelli of the Como provincial finance police as saying the two men had been released. The colonel and police headquarters in Rome both declined to respond to questions from the Financial Times.
June 22nd 2009
(Make up your own mind about the photo, nothing rings true about this story. Do the hats make youn think it the real thing?)
+++ June 30th 2009
This story has gone far away! All I can find is
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fLfuv_8yVL0
(Japanese television news.)
+++
July 9th 2009
More information is emerging about these smuggled bonds in the Asia Newsit. Perhaps the main stream media will have more news as the days go by. It really is an odd story.
I hope to find time to follow the story.
Sunday, April 19, 2009
INVESTING IN GOLD
INVESTING IN GOLD
Firstly let me say that I am not involved with selling gold or shares in gold mines apart from my own personal investments.
I haven't done the maths but think that if I had purchased an ounce of gold every month for thirty years I would have done as well or better than with a pension fund, bonds or the stock market. At todays prices the 360 ounces I had saved would be worth some $330,000 which I could easily sell as required and would probably at least keep up with inflation - or deflation.
I do not writen news letters or give advice on investing in gold or gold mine shares. I say this because many people are giving/selling advice for monetary gain. No names are mentioned here but a few google searches will reveal a multitude. Some of them are very helpful,others are not! You must do your own due diligence.
The following observations come from my own learning experiences and investing over the last seven years.
It is summed up by:
"Invest some money in gold and then you have money over for risky ventures".
Years ago the prudent advice,(from bankers!), was to keep 10% of your savings in gold. I think this advice is just about right depending on where you live and how much paper money governments are printing. This advice is rarely seen today and buying gold is no longer popuar in the western wold. In India, Thailand, Vietnam, China, and Arab countries gold shops can be found in every town. Probably 10% is still about right but personally I think that so much money is being printed by governments at the moment that my own preference is to hold considerably more than 10% of my savings in gold.
If you have made up your mind to invest in gold how do you go about it?
Firstly be aware that the gold price can move in both directions very quickly. Take a long look at the ten year gold chart given daily by KITCO.COM. Even 3% a year will be better than putting money in a bank account anything more will be a bonus.
Remember to make adjustments for your own currency as the Kitco chart is shown in dollars. If, for example, you are Icelandic or from the UK it will look very different because of currency devaluations.
Secondly be aware that there is the possibility that the market is not free and open. Many "gold bugs" suspect that a cabal operates which manipulates the price of gold. There is known to be an oil cartel so why not an oil cartel?
Buy physical gold from a registered gold dealer and keep it in a safe place. Some bullion dealer will hold your gold for an annual charge. This can be in the form of gold coins, kruggerrands, maples, sovereigns etc or certified gold bars. There is quite a large mark up for buying and selling physical gold though with coins you could try ebay. At the moment physical gold is usually tradig well above the prices quoted in the press and is not always available.
Buy gold ETS's. This are easily purchased from stock brokers. You never see the gold but your "paper shares" are easy and to buy and sell and have low trading costs.
Shares in gold mines. These are generally more volatile than most other shares and tend to rise and of course fall with the price of gold.
Mines can be subject to all kinds of difficulties and are often in unstable countries. The perils of strikes, accidents, false accounting, gold price hedging and unreliable survey reports come to mind.
My suggestion would be that after doing as much research as you can, you buy shares in at least ten different companies possibly using the unhedged mines shown in the HUI index. Buying shares is considerably more speculative than investing directly in gold.
In normal times, gold mining companies sell – or "hedge" – a chunk of their output in advance through bullion banks. These banks cover their positions by leasing gold from central banks. This bread-and-butter trade created excess supply of 500 tonnes each year until the start of this decade.
There are then several different types of mining shares:
Hedged and unhedged
Mines in full production with proven reserves in the ground.
Developing mines.
Exploraton companies.
etc.
Gold trades 24 hours a day around the world so watching it trade around the clock will soon make you dizzy. Day trading is a risky business!
Thousands of books have been written about gold investing and daily commentaries, gold forums and news items are easily found on the internet.
At the time of writing there are reports that gold bars and coins are becoming scarce, partly due to fears that futures contracts and other forms of paper gold may not prove reliable if there is a serious break-down in the global financial system.
Pure metal -- whether Krugerrands, Maple Leaf coins, or the "five tael biscuit" favoured by the Chinese – entail no counterparty risk.
Buying some gold may well help you to weather the economic crises as an individual and returning to a gold standard may help stamp out countries cheating on currency devaluations. As a long term solution - the next two thousand years - it does not solve the worlds problems.
Your comments and observations are welcomed but is not my intention that this site should become another gold forum! Many people are much better informed than me, this blog entry is intended to offer some impartial remarks for the novice investor.
There is an article on the Invisiblescience.blogspot.com 10/5/08
titled:
"Spinning Straw into Gold, Where is Rumpelstiltskin today?"
which was first published n NEW VIEW magazine in Summer 2006. It attempts to give a warning (from a spiritual perspective) of the now visible economic crises.
+++
May 6th 2009
Richard Russell, the venerable and highly respected newsletter writer wrote overnight of how all markets including the gold market appear to be being manipulated at the moment. The government is on record regarding intervening and manipulating the bond market through purchases of their own bonds. Russell concurs with the Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee (GATA) that elements in the US government are suppressing the gold price through financial proxies in order to maintain faith in the dollar and US government debt. GATA’s credibility was recently greatly enhanced when their long held but disparaged assertions that the Chinese Central Bank was accumulating gold were proven correct (the commonly-accepted World Gold Council and GFMS gold holding data was proved incorrect). GATA are meeting press in London this week and should their contentions receive a fair hearing in the media it could have material impact on the price.
June 18th 2009
Bullion Vault
Adrian Ash:
There was a chap called Gordon, and he decided he didn't like it too much, he had some friends from Goldman Sachs I understand, who advised him in the late 1990s that gold was a non-yielding, non-productive asset, it had been in a bear market for 20 years, there were much much better places to put money, and so he decided he would sell 415 tonnes of it.
He thought he would give the market a couple of months' notice, so it could get itself nicely short. What's interesting in fact is that, looking at the data from the Bank of England, the Bank of England actually had an awful lot of gold out on loan, on lease, to the bullion banks going into that announcement, thereby enabling the market to get nice and short. I don't think the Bank of England was willingly, was party to the decision, as I understand it there was quite a hoo-haa over on Threadneedle Street about the whole idea of getting rid of, what, 60% of our reserves.
It's interesting, because the newspapers make a lot about that now, but the net loss to the Treasury is about £4 billion, compared to what they could have sold it for today.
++++
HUMPTY DUMPTY
Humpty dumpty sat on a wall.
Humpty dumpty had a great fall.
All the Kings horses
and all the Kings men
Couldn't put Humpty together again.
I got to be thinking about this little riddle as many have done before me.
Of course the horses could do nothing to help, whether this represents the intellectual or animal nature.
The men could not put an egg back together, bringing something back to life is still beyond us.
We are however not told that the King Himself is unable to put the egg back together.
Having created the egg in the first place it is surely possible.
Firstly let me say that I am not involved with selling gold or shares in gold mines apart from my own personal investments.
I haven't done the maths but think that if I had purchased an ounce of gold every month for thirty years I would have done as well or better than with a pension fund, bonds or the stock market. At todays prices the 360 ounces I had saved would be worth some $330,000 which I could easily sell as required and would probably at least keep up with inflation - or deflation.
I do not writen news letters or give advice on investing in gold or gold mine shares. I say this because many people are giving/selling advice for monetary gain. No names are mentioned here but a few google searches will reveal a multitude. Some of them are very helpful,others are not! You must do your own due diligence.
The following observations come from my own learning experiences and investing over the last seven years.
It is summed up by:
"Invest some money in gold and then you have money over for risky ventures".
Years ago the prudent advice,(from bankers!), was to keep 10% of your savings in gold. I think this advice is just about right depending on where you live and how much paper money governments are printing. This advice is rarely seen today and buying gold is no longer popuar in the western wold. In India, Thailand, Vietnam, China, and Arab countries gold shops can be found in every town. Probably 10% is still about right but personally I think that so much money is being printed by governments at the moment that my own preference is to hold considerably more than 10% of my savings in gold.
If you have made up your mind to invest in gold how do you go about it?
Firstly be aware that the gold price can move in both directions very quickly. Take a long look at the ten year gold chart given daily by KITCO.COM. Even 3% a year will be better than putting money in a bank account anything more will be a bonus.
Remember to make adjustments for your own currency as the Kitco chart is shown in dollars. If, for example, you are Icelandic or from the UK it will look very different because of currency devaluations.
Secondly be aware that there is the possibility that the market is not free and open. Many "gold bugs" suspect that a cabal operates which manipulates the price of gold. There is known to be an oil cartel so why not an oil cartel?
Buy physical gold from a registered gold dealer and keep it in a safe place. Some bullion dealer will hold your gold for an annual charge. This can be in the form of gold coins, kruggerrands, maples, sovereigns etc or certified gold bars. There is quite a large mark up for buying and selling physical gold though with coins you could try ebay. At the moment physical gold is usually tradig well above the prices quoted in the press and is not always available.
Buy gold ETS's. This are easily purchased from stock brokers. You never see the gold but your "paper shares" are easy and to buy and sell and have low trading costs.
Shares in gold mines. These are generally more volatile than most other shares and tend to rise and of course fall with the price of gold.
Mines can be subject to all kinds of difficulties and are often in unstable countries. The perils of strikes, accidents, false accounting, gold price hedging and unreliable survey reports come to mind.
My suggestion would be that after doing as much research as you can, you buy shares in at least ten different companies possibly using the unhedged mines shown in the HUI index. Buying shares is considerably more speculative than investing directly in gold.
In normal times, gold mining companies sell – or "hedge" – a chunk of their output in advance through bullion banks. These banks cover their positions by leasing gold from central banks. This bread-and-butter trade created excess supply of 500 tonnes each year until the start of this decade.
There are then several different types of mining shares:
Hedged and unhedged
Mines in full production with proven reserves in the ground.
Developing mines.
Exploraton companies.
etc.
Gold trades 24 hours a day around the world so watching it trade around the clock will soon make you dizzy. Day trading is a risky business!
Thousands of books have been written about gold investing and daily commentaries, gold forums and news items are easily found on the internet.
At the time of writing there are reports that gold bars and coins are becoming scarce, partly due to fears that futures contracts and other forms of paper gold may not prove reliable if there is a serious break-down in the global financial system.
Pure metal -- whether Krugerrands, Maple Leaf coins, or the "five tael biscuit" favoured by the Chinese – entail no counterparty risk.
Buying some gold may well help you to weather the economic crises as an individual and returning to a gold standard may help stamp out countries cheating on currency devaluations. As a long term solution - the next two thousand years - it does not solve the worlds problems.
Your comments and observations are welcomed but is not my intention that this site should become another gold forum! Many people are much better informed than me, this blog entry is intended to offer some impartial remarks for the novice investor.
There is an article on the Invisiblescience.blogspot.com 10/5/08
titled:
"Spinning Straw into Gold, Where is Rumpelstiltskin today?"
which was first published n NEW VIEW magazine in Summer 2006. It attempts to give a warning (from a spiritual perspective) of the now visible economic crises.
+++
May 6th 2009
Richard Russell, the venerable and highly respected newsletter writer wrote overnight of how all markets including the gold market appear to be being manipulated at the moment. The government is on record regarding intervening and manipulating the bond market through purchases of their own bonds. Russell concurs with the Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee (GATA) that elements in the US government are suppressing the gold price through financial proxies in order to maintain faith in the dollar and US government debt. GATA’s credibility was recently greatly enhanced when their long held but disparaged assertions that the Chinese Central Bank was accumulating gold were proven correct (the commonly-accepted World Gold Council and GFMS gold holding data was proved incorrect). GATA are meeting press in London this week and should their contentions receive a fair hearing in the media it could have material impact on the price.
June 18th 2009
Bullion Vault
Adrian Ash:
There was a chap called Gordon, and he decided he didn't like it too much, he had some friends from Goldman Sachs I understand, who advised him in the late 1990s that gold was a non-yielding, non-productive asset, it had been in a bear market for 20 years, there were much much better places to put money, and so he decided he would sell 415 tonnes of it.
He thought he would give the market a couple of months' notice, so it could get itself nicely short. What's interesting in fact is that, looking at the data from the Bank of England, the Bank of England actually had an awful lot of gold out on loan, on lease, to the bullion banks going into that announcement, thereby enabling the market to get nice and short. I don't think the Bank of England was willingly, was party to the decision, as I understand it there was quite a hoo-haa over on Threadneedle Street about the whole idea of getting rid of, what, 60% of our reserves.
It's interesting, because the newspapers make a lot about that now, but the net loss to the Treasury is about £4 billion, compared to what they could have sold it for today.
++++
HUMPTY DUMPTY
Humpty dumpty sat on a wall.
Humpty dumpty had a great fall.
All the Kings horses
and all the Kings men
Couldn't put Humpty together again.
I got to be thinking about this little riddle as many have done before me.
Of course the horses could do nothing to help, whether this represents the intellectual or animal nature.
The men could not put an egg back together, bringing something back to life is still beyond us.
We are however not told that the King Himself is unable to put the egg back together.
Having created the egg in the first place it is surely possible.
The public has a short memory
The public has a short memory. Politicians are very happy that we can quickly forget.
This addition to my blog is a memory jogger. Additions are welcomed, I forget too.
Scientists Resurrect Deadly Flu Virus
By William Hathaway
As published in The Hartford Courant, October 6, 2005.
Scientists have resurrected one of the world’s great killers in the laboratory, hoping that the genetic secrets within the 1918 influenza virus will help them predict and combat the next major microbial threat to mankind.
In a contained laboratory at the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, scientists used reverse genetics to re-create the 1918 flu virus that killed 20 million to 50 million people, according to studies released Wednesday. Scientists say that although the 1918 strain probably does not represent a significant human health threat today, it can provide insight into dangerous types of contemporary influenza, such as the highly lethal avian strain now circulating among birds, which some scientists fear could evolve into the next catastrophic pandemic.
There is a war in Iraq
Obamas promises:
President Obama promised in March 2008 that he would end the
war in Iraq.
So when I am Commander-in-Chief, I will set a new goal
on Day One: I will end this war. Not because politics
compels it. Not because our troops cannot bear the
burden — as heavy as it is. But because it is the
right thing to do for our national security, and it
will ultimately make us safer.
In order to end this war responsibly, I will
immediately begin to remove our troops from Iraq. We
can responsibly remove 1 to 2 combat brigades each
month.
Sadams weapons of mass destruction no yet found. Mr Blair asks for a little more patience.
(Are they in Sadams secret bunkers? They havent been found either!}
There is a war in Afghanistan
Afghanistan death toll spikes for U.S. in 2009
Sunday, March 1, 2009
KABUL (AP) — U.S. deaths in Afghanistan increased threefold during the first two months of 2009 compared with the same period last year, after thousands more troops deployed and commanders ramped up winter operations against an increasingly violent insurgency.
As troops pour into the country and violence rises, another sobering measure has also increased: More Afghan civilians are dying in U.S. and allied operations than at the hands of the Taliban, according to a count by The Associated Press. In the first two months of the year, U.S., NATO or Afghan forces have killed 100 civilians while militants have killed 60.
President Barack Obama recently announced the deployment of 17,000 additional troops to bolster 38,000 already in the country, increasing the U.S. focus on Afghanistan as a drawdown begins in Iraq.
Twenty-nine U.S. troops died in Afghanistan the first two months of 2009 — compared with eight Americans in the first two months of 2008.
Deaths are no longer reported. Many think this is a useless, pointless unwinable war.
If the entire Defense Department budget
were eliminated, the United States government would still run a
deficit of well over a trillion dollars in fiscal 2009. Defense
absorbs about half a trillion dollars a year, not counting
pensions. In addition money is being spent by by other countries.
+++
Is Ariel Sharon alive or dead?
I am wondering about the former leader of Israel Ariel Sharon if he is still alive or dead last I heard was that he was in a coma following a stroke can anyone tell me if he still alive? Question on Yahoo. (I do not know the answer.)
Sharon was hospitalized on 18 December 2005 after reportedly suffering a minor ischemic stroke.
+++
Guantanamo Bay still holds unconvicted prisoners
Obamas promises:
+++
Lisbon Treaty is not yet ratified.
Referendums in
France - NO
Holland - NO
Ireland - NO (Second referendum in 2009)
England - NO REFERENDUM (but was promised)
Other EU countries - NO REFERENDUMS
EU trains a new diplomatic corps - without waiting for Lisbon Treaty
The European Union was accused of "contempt for democracy" on Sunday after it emerged that hundreds of members of a new diplomatic service are being trained - even though the Lisbon Treaty that creates it has not come into effect.
Telegraph April 12th 2009
+++
Just before he became Prime Minister in 2007, chancellor Gordon Brown congratulated the city on their ingenuity and creativity during his tenure: 'An era that history will record as the beginning of a new golden age for the city of London'. He couldn't have been more wrong. +++
June 16th 2009
UK
NOW BROWN DECLARES A TAX ON EVERY PHONE
MILLIONS of homes will be slapped with a telephone stealth tax to fund the Government’s digital revolution.
They will be hit with a £6 levy from next year to raise an annual £150-£175million for a new super-fast broadband network across the whole of Britain.
(Only a small thing, unless you are living on a low income. Neil Kinnock has trousered 12 million pounds during his socialist years of dedicated public servce.)
+++
Just a note on China
Population: 1.33 billion
Average life expectancy: 72 years
Average per capita income: US$2,370
Total UK aid received (2007/08): £83.7m
Is the idea is to give the Chinese aid so they can invest the money in banks? Some things economic are quite beyond me.
This addition to my blog is a memory jogger. Additions are welcomed, I forget too.
Scientists Resurrect Deadly Flu Virus
By William Hathaway
As published in The Hartford Courant, October 6, 2005.
Scientists have resurrected one of the world’s great killers in the laboratory, hoping that the genetic secrets within the 1918 influenza virus will help them predict and combat the next major microbial threat to mankind.
In a contained laboratory at the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, scientists used reverse genetics to re-create the 1918 flu virus that killed 20 million to 50 million people, according to studies released Wednesday. Scientists say that although the 1918 strain probably does not represent a significant human health threat today, it can provide insight into dangerous types of contemporary influenza, such as the highly lethal avian strain now circulating among birds, which some scientists fear could evolve into the next catastrophic pandemic.
There is a war in Iraq
Obamas promises:
President Obama promised in March 2008 that he would end the
war in Iraq.
So when I am Commander-in-Chief, I will set a new goal
on Day One: I will end this war. Not because politics
compels it. Not because our troops cannot bear the
burden — as heavy as it is. But because it is the
right thing to do for our national security, and it
will ultimately make us safer.
In order to end this war responsibly, I will
immediately begin to remove our troops from Iraq. We
can responsibly remove 1 to 2 combat brigades each
month.
Sadams weapons of mass destruction no yet found. Mr Blair asks for a little more patience.
(Are they in Sadams secret bunkers? They havent been found either!}
There is a war in Afghanistan
Afghanistan death toll spikes for U.S. in 2009
Sunday, March 1, 2009
KABUL (AP) — U.S. deaths in Afghanistan increased threefold during the first two months of 2009 compared with the same period last year, after thousands more troops deployed and commanders ramped up winter operations against an increasingly violent insurgency.
As troops pour into the country and violence rises, another sobering measure has also increased: More Afghan civilians are dying in U.S. and allied operations than at the hands of the Taliban, according to a count by The Associated Press. In the first two months of the year, U.S., NATO or Afghan forces have killed 100 civilians while militants have killed 60.
President Barack Obama recently announced the deployment of 17,000 additional troops to bolster 38,000 already in the country, increasing the U.S. focus on Afghanistan as a drawdown begins in Iraq.
Twenty-nine U.S. troops died in Afghanistan the first two months of 2009 — compared with eight Americans in the first two months of 2008.
Deaths are no longer reported. Many think this is a useless, pointless unwinable war.
If the entire Defense Department budget
were eliminated, the United States government would still run a
deficit of well over a trillion dollars in fiscal 2009. Defense
absorbs about half a trillion dollars a year, not counting
pensions. In addition money is being spent by by other countries.
+++
Is Ariel Sharon alive or dead?
I am wondering about the former leader of Israel Ariel Sharon if he is still alive or dead last I heard was that he was in a coma following a stroke can anyone tell me if he still alive? Question on Yahoo. (I do not know the answer.)
Sharon was hospitalized on 18 December 2005 after reportedly suffering a minor ischemic stroke.
+++
Guantanamo Bay still holds unconvicted prisoners
Obamas promises:
+++
Lisbon Treaty is not yet ratified.
Referendums in
France - NO
Holland - NO
Ireland - NO (Second referendum in 2009)
England - NO REFERENDUM (but was promised)
Other EU countries - NO REFERENDUMS
EU trains a new diplomatic corps - without waiting for Lisbon Treaty
The European Union was accused of "contempt for democracy" on Sunday after it emerged that hundreds of members of a new diplomatic service are being trained - even though the Lisbon Treaty that creates it has not come into effect.
Telegraph April 12th 2009
+++
Just before he became Prime Minister in 2007, chancellor Gordon Brown congratulated the city on their ingenuity and creativity during his tenure: 'An era that history will record as the beginning of a new golden age for the city of London'. He couldn't have been more wrong. +++
June 16th 2009
UK
NOW BROWN DECLARES A TAX ON EVERY PHONE
MILLIONS of homes will be slapped with a telephone stealth tax to fund the Government’s digital revolution.
They will be hit with a £6 levy from next year to raise an annual £150-£175million for a new super-fast broadband network across the whole of Britain.
(Only a small thing, unless you are living on a low income. Neil Kinnock has trousered 12 million pounds during his socialist years of dedicated public servce.)
+++
Just a note on China
Population: 1.33 billion
Average life expectancy: 72 years
Average per capita income: US$2,370
Total UK aid received (2007/08): £83.7m
Is the idea is to give the Chinese aid so they can invest the money in banks? Some things economic are quite beyond me.
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