August 28, 2008
Freddie, Fannie Failure Could Be World `Catastrophe'
By Kevin HamlinA failure of U.S. mortgage finance companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could be a catastrophe for the global financial system, said Yu Yongding, a former adviser to China's central bank. ``If the U.S. government allows Fannie and Freddie to fail and international investors are not compensated adequately, the consequences will be catastrophic,'' Yu said in e-mailed answers to questions yesterday. ``If it is not the end of the world, it is the end of the current international financial system.''
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Posted by Editor at 03:40 AM
FDIC May 'Borrow' Money From Treasury
Federal Deposit Insurance Corp (FDIC) might have to borrow money from the Treasury Department to see it through an expected wave of bank failures, the Wall Street Journal reported. The borrowing could be needed to cover short-term cash-flow pressures caused by reimbursing depositors immediately after the failure of a bank, the paper said. The borrowed money would be repaid once the assets of that failed bank are sold. "I would not rule out the possibility that at some point we may need to tap into (short-term) lines of credit with the Treasury for working capital, not to cover our losses," Chairman Sheila Bair said in an interview with the paper.Click Here For The Full Story......
Posted by Editor at 03:39 AM
Oil Rises $118.15 A barrel As Gustav Spins Toward Gulf
NEW YORK -- Oil prices climbed for a third day Wednesday as fears deepened that Tropical Storm Gustav could enter the Gulf of Mexico as a powerful hurricane and disrupt oil and natural gas production. On its current trajectory, Gustav could also damage fuel refineries along the vulnerable Gulf Coast and push gasoline prices higher at the pump in time for Labor Day weekend. Light, sweet crude for October delivery rose $1.88 to settle at $118.15 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange after earlier spiking as high as $119.63.Click Here For The Full Story......
Posted by Editor at 03:39 AM
High Winter Heating Bills May Burn Through Wallets
WASHINGTON -- Consumers may be enjoying some relief at the gasoline pump, but another energy shock likely is just around the corner. Winter bills for heating oil, natural gas and electricity are expected to soar to records, putting a renewed crimp on household budgets. Heating oil customers are forecast to see the biggest increases, according to the Energy Information Administration, the non-partisan statistical arm of the U.S. Energy Department. Heating oil users will pay $2,644 on average to heat their homes this winter, up 36.3% from last year. Homeowners with natural gas, the most popular heating source in the USA, will pay $1,059, a 23.8% increase, according to the EIA's early forecast.Click Here For The Full Story......
Posted by Editor at 03:38 AM
Private Contractors Hold Lots Of U.S. Intel Jobs
WASHINGTON -- More than a quarter of the U.S. intelligence agencies' employees are outside contractors, hired to fill in gaps in the military and civilian work force, according to a survey of the 16 intelligence agencies. That is roughly on par with last year's total, the first year the national intelligence director's office tried to count the outside help, Ronald Sanders, the intelligence director's personnel policy chief, told reporters Wednesday. The number of government employees at U.S. intelligence agencies is classified, but Sanders confirmed it is more than 100,000. Contractors are not included in that total. Sanders said 27 percent of the total number of intelligence employees are contractors. With around 100,000 as a baseline, that translates to an estimated 35,000 to 40,000 private contractors working for agencies like the CIA and the National Security Agency.Click Here For The Full Story......
Posted by Editor at 03:37 AM
FBI Saw Threat of Mortgage Crisis
WASHINGTON -- Long before the mortgage crisis began rocking Main Street and Wall Street, a top FBI official made a chilling, if little-noticed, prediction: The booming mortgage business, fueled by low interest rates and soaring home values, was starting to attract shady operators and billions in losses were possible. "It has the potential to be an epidemic," Chris Swecker, the FBI official in charge of criminal investigations, told reporters in September 2004. But, he added reassuringly, the FBI was on the case. "We think we can prevent a problem that could have as much impact as the S&L crisis," he said.Click Here For The Full Story......
Posted by Editor at 03:36 AM
Russia Threatens NATO Supply Route in Afghanistan
Russia played a trump card in its strategic poker game with the West yesterday by threatening to suspend an agreement allowing Nato to take supplies and equipment to Afghanistan through Russia and Central Asia. The agreement was struck at a Nato summit in April to provide an alternative supply route to the road between the Afghan capital and the Pakistani border, which has come under attack from militants on both sides of the frontier this year.Click Here For The Full Story......
Posted by Editor at 03:36 AM
US Coast Guard Cutter Anchors Well South of Georgian Port Controlled By Russian Forces
BATUMI, Georgia -- A U.S. military ship loaded with aid docked at a southern Georgian port Wednesday, and Russia sent three missile boats to another Georgian port as the standoff escalated over a nation devastated by war with Russia. The dockings came a day after Russian President Dmitry Medvedev recognized the Georgian territories of South Ossetia and Abkhazia as independent states, which Georgia answered Wednesday by recalling all but two diplomats from its embassy in Moscow. The U.S. Coast Guard cutter Dallas, carrying 34 tons of humanitarian aid, docked in the Black Sea port of Batumi, south of the zone of this month's fighting between Russia and Georgia. The arrival avoided Georgia's main cargo port of Poti, still controlled by Russian soldiers.Click Here For The Full Story......
Posted by Editor at 03:35 AM
US and Russian Warships Line Up in Dispute Over Georgia
US and Russian warships took up positions in the Black Sea today in a risky war of nerves on opposing sides of the Georgia conflict. With the Russians effectively controlling Georgia's main naval base of Poti, Moscow also dispatched the Moskva missile cruiser and two smaller craft on "peacekeeping" duties at the port of Sukhumi on the coast of Abkhazia, the breakaway region that the Kremlin recognised as independent yesterday. The Americans, wary of escalating an already fraught situation, cancelled the scheduled docking in Poti of the US Coast Guard vessel, the Dallas, and instead sent it to the southern Georgian-controlled port of Batumi, 200km (124 miles) from the Russian ships, where it delivered humanitarian aid.Click Here For The Full Story......
Posted by Editor at 03:35 AM
Bush Buried Musharraf's al-Qaeda Links
WASHINGTON -- Pervez Musharraf's resignation as Pakistan's president on Monday brings to an end an extraordinarily close relationship between Musharraf and the George W Bush administration, in which Musharraf was lavished with political and economic benefits from the United States despite policies that were in sharp conflict with US security interests. It is well known that Bush repeatedly praised Musharraf as the most loyal ally of the United States against terrorism, even though the Pakistani military was deeply compromised by its relationship with the Taliban and Pakistani Islamic militants.Click Here For The Full Story......
Posted by Editor at 03:34 AM
America Is Not Leaving Iraq Anytime Soon
Negotiations over the withdrawal of US combat troops from Iraq have been on-going for over 10 months and are claimed to be drawing to a close. Allegedly, all that remains is for the Iraqi parliament to "cross the T's and dot the I's" and get the leaders of both countries to sign off on the deal. But buried within the 27-point agreement are various caveats that will not only allow a continued presence of US troops in Iraq, but also granting any of the US troops serving in Iraq, past present or future, immunity from prosecution under Iraqi law.Click Here For The Full Story......
Posted by Editor at 03:32 AM
August 27, 2008
U.S. Mint Resumes Gold Coin Orders On Limited Basis
The U.S. Mint said it must allocate the American Eagle bullion coins among dealers to cope with overwhelming demand as it resumed taking orders for the popular coins on Monday. "The unprecedented demand for American Eagle gold one-ounce bullion coins necessitates our allocating these coins among the authorized purchasers on a weekly basis until we are able to meet demand," the U.S. Mint told its authorized American Eagle dealers in a memo dated August 22.Click Here For The Full Story......
Posted by Editor at 10:25 AM
FDIC: 117 Troubled Banks, Highest Level Since 2003
WASHINGTON -- The number of troubled U.S. banks leaped to the highest level in about five years and bank profits plunged by 86 percent in the second quarter, as slumps in the housing and credit markets continued. Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. data released Tuesday show 117 banks and thrifts were considered to be in trouble in the second quarter, up from 90 in the prior quarter and the biggest tally since mid-2003.Click Here For The Full Story......
Posted by Editor at 10:25 AM
Citi Pays $18M for Questioned Credit Card Practice
NEW YORK -- Citigroup Inc. will pay nearly $18 million in refunds and settlement charges for taking $14 million from customers' credit card accounts, California's attorney general said Tuesday. Citigroup will make refunds to the 53,000 customers affected, and pay $3.5 million in damages and civil penalties to the state of California, which had been investigating the questionable practices for three years, the attorney general said. The bank will also pay 10 percent interest to California customers, who accounted for $1.6 million of the money "swept" out of accounts and into a Citi fund between 1992 and 2003.Click Here For The Full Story......
Posted by Editor at 10:24 AM
60 Afghan Children Killed In U.S. Air Raid
There is convincing evidence that 60 children and 30 adults were killed in a US air strike in western Afghanistan last Friday, the United Nations says. The US originally said its planes had killed 30 militants in the attack in the province of Herat. President Karzai sacked two senior Afghan army officers over the incident. The US says Afghan forces led the operation in the district of Shindand. The incident has worsened relations between Mr Karzai and foreign forces. On Monday the government said it wanted to renegotiate the terms under which US-led forces and NATO-led forces operate in Afghanistan. If confirmed, the Shindand incident is one of the worst cases of foreign forces killing Afghan civilians.Click Here For The Full Story......
Posted by Editor at 10:13 AM
Govt Targeting Press With Anti-Terror Propaganda
A government agency is sending anti-Al-Qaeda propaganda to news organisations in a bid to damage the global terror network's "brand", The Guardian reported Tuesday. Citing a secret Home Office document it had seen, the daily said counter-terrorism experts are also planning to use websites in a bid to "channel messages through volunteers in Internet forums". According to the paper, the report compiled by the Research, Information and Communication Unit (RICU) and dated July 21, 2008, said: "We are pushing this material to UK media channels, e.g. a BBC radio programme exposing tensions between AQ (Al-Qaeda) leadership and supporters." "And a restricted working group will communicate niche messages through media and non-media."Click Here For The Full Story......
Posted by Editor at 10:12 AM
'Suicide Epidemic' Hits Veterans
For many, post-war life can be more deadly than combatNobody seems surprised. Not the physicians and therapists who treat returning veterans. Not the veterans themselves. When told of recent data that appears to show that Oregon troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan are more likely to die of suicide than in combat, they nod their heads, as if saying they’ve known all along. And they have.
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Posted by Editor at 09:16 AM
Russia Cruiser To Test Weapons In Black Sea
Russia's flagship cruiser has re-entered the Black Sea for weapons tests hours after the Russian military complained about the presence of US and other Nato naval ships near the Georgian coast. The 'Moskva' had led a battle group of Russian naval vessels stationed off the coastline of Georgia's breakaway region of Abkhazia during Russia's recent conflict with Georgia and sank smaller Georgian craft. The assistant to the Russian Navy's commander-in-chief told Russian news agencies the cruiser had put to sea again two days after returning to its base at the Ukrainian port of Sevastopol.Click Here For The Full Story......
Posted by Editor at 03:57 AM
US Warships Scrap Visit To Georgian Port
ReutersTBILISI -- U.S. warships have scrapped a plan to deliver relief supplies to Georgia's flashpoint port of Poti on Wednesday, a source close to the U.S. embassy in Tbilisi said. "The ships will not dock in Poti tomorrow," the source told Reuters, referring to a planned mission by the USS McFaul and another vessel. Their presence would have been sure to enrage Russia, which has troops patrolling the port following a brief war with Georgia. "There was a possibility that the McFaul might go to Poti but no-one has given us a final decision. We're not sure (if it's coming)," a US navy source told Reuters. Pentagon did not confirm or deny scrapping the Poti visit. "We're evaluating all ports for what makes the most sense for delivering relief supplies expeditiously," Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman told Reuters.
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Posted by Editor at 03:54 AM
Russia Threatens Military Response to US Missiles
MOSCOW -- Russian President Dmitry Medvedev is warning his country may respond to a U.S. missile shield in Europe through military means. Medvedev says that the deployment of an anti-missile system close to Russian borders "will of course create additional tensions." "We will have to react somehow, to react, of course, in a military way," Medvedev was quoted as saying Tuesday by the RIA-Novosti news agency.Click Here For The Full Story......
Posted by Editor at 02:48 AM
Russia Says Georgian Attack Negated UN Resolutions
UNITED NATIONS -- Russia's U.N. ambassador said Tuesday he doesn't think Russia's recognition of two separatist regions in Georgia will lead to a new Cold War though he predicted a difficult period ahead in relations with the West. Vitaly Churkin said Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili's attack on South Ossetia created a "new reality" that negated U.N. resolutions guaranteeing the territorial integrity of Georgia.Click Here For The Full Story......
Posted by Editor at 02:27 AM
August 26, 2008
Treason Lobby Tapping Taxpayers For La Raza
By Marcus Epstein / VDARE.comLast week, Congresswoman Michele Bachmann(R-MN) called for Congress to reconvene so it could take out parts of the recent Freddie Mac bailout that give $500 million in unmarked grants to far-Left “community development” groups, such as the National Council of La Raza. Bachmann’s stand is symbolic but admirable. The Treason Lobby’s tentacles are reaching out to seize the American taxpayer. When the bailout bill was passed at the end of July, there was little public comment on the money going to La Raza.
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Posted by Editor at 07:49 AM
Anti-Immigrant Rally Fizzles as DNC Opens
DENVER -- Remember the hot immigration debate? The topic won't be headlining either presidential convention this year — and the border security issue barely drew a crowd Monday to a daylong anti-illegal immigration rally in Denver aimed at keeping immigration before politicians this fall. A rally by the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps featuring Libertarian presidential candidate Bob Barr drew just a few dozen people. Held at a Denver park a few miles away from the Democratic National Convention, the rally was more of a picnic, where even some counter-protesters shouting obscenities at the anti-illegal immigration activists failed to stir much emotion. The anti-illegal immigration activists concede that the topic has fallen off the political radar this summer amid economic concerns and energy worries. They contend Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain are afraid to bring up the subject because they're both seeking Hispanic votes.Click Here For The Full Story......
Posted by Editor at 07:48 AM
Wall Street Fears the Worst as US Housing Sales Continue to Fall
Wall Street will this week brace itself for further disappointing figures from the US housing arena when numbers for sales of existing and new homes are released on Monday and Tuesday. After economic data last week showing the UK on the brink of recession, attention will be on the US, with minutes from the Federal Reserve's interest rate-setting committee and GDP numbers also due to be released.Click Here For The Full Story......
Posted by Editor at 07:47 AM
Texan Soldiers Being Used as Farmers in Afghanistan
In uniform, they look like any other soldier. But the heart of Lt. Col. Stan Poe’s unit of Texas National Guard troops is radically different than most combat outfits in Afghanistan, answering to the sounds of agriculture and the sight of crops. Soldier-farmers, one might call them.Click Here For The Full Story......
Posted by Editor at 06:22 AM
Poland Probes 'Secret CIA Jail'
Prosecutors in Poland are investigating allegations that the American CIA interrogated terrorist suspects at a secret jail on Polish soil. The investigation began three weeks ago, one prosecutor told Polish media. A report released in June 2007 by the Council of Europe said the CIA ran secret jails in Poland and Romania in 2003-2005, to hold al-Qaeda suspects.Click Here For The Full Story......
Posted by Editor at 06:21 AM
Iraq, U.S. Clash Over Timetable for U.S. Troop Withdrawal
BAGHDAD -- Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki said Monday there would be no security agreement between the United States and Iraq without an unconditional timetable for withdrawal— a direct challenge to the Bush administration, which insists that the timing for troop departure would be based on conditions on the ground. "No pact or an agreement should be set without being based on full sovereignty, national common interests, and no foreign soldier should remain on Iraqi land, and there should be a specific deadline and it should not be open," Maliki told a meeting of tribal Sheikhs in Baghdad.Click Here For The Full Story......
Posted by Editor at 06:16 AM
Iraqi Leader Insists on Deadline for Troop Pullout
BAGHDAD -- Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki dug in his heels Monday on the future of the U.S. military in Iraq, insisting that all foreign soldiers leave the country by a specific date in 2011 and rejecting legal immunity for American troops. Despite the tough words, al-Maliki's aides insisted a compromise could be found on the two main stumbling blocks to an accord governing the U.S. military presence in Iraq after a United Nations mandate expires at the end of the year. Last week, U.S. and Iraqi officials said the two sides agreed tentatively to a schedule that includes a broad pullout of combat troops by the end of 2011 with the possibility that a residual U.S. force might stay behind to continue training and advising Iraqi security services. But al-Maliki's remarks indicated his government was not satisfied with that arrangement and wants all foreign troops gone by the end of 2011.Click Here For The Full Story......
Posted by Editor at 05:58 AM
August 25, 2008
Yet Another Bank Failure
Columbian Bank and Trust Co. of Topeka, Kansas, was closed by U.S. regulators, the nation's ninth bank to collapse this year amid bad real-estate loans and writedowns stemming from a drop in home prices. The bank, with $752 million in assets and $622 million in total deposits, was shuttered by the Kansas state bank commissioner's office and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., the FDIC said yesterday in a statement. Citizens Bank and Trust will assume the failed bank's insured deposits. Columbian Bank's nine branches will open Aug. 25 as Citizens Bank and Trust offices, the FDIC said. Customers can access their accounts over the weekend by writing checks or using ATM or debit cards.Click Here For The Full Story......
Posted by Editor at 07:53 AM
Wall Street Bailout Questioned at Fed Event
JACKSON, Wyo. -- Do Washington policymakers listen too much to Wall Street? A possible bailout of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, on the heels of similar action involving investment firm Bear Stearns, seems to send a loud signal to financial companies that the government will clean up their messes. That's the feeling of some analysts and academics here Saturday, the final day of a high-profile economics conference. The Federal Reserve's handling of the worst financial crisis to hit the country in decades spurred much debate.Click Here For The Full Story......
Posted by Editor at 07:53 AM
Fannie, Freddie Woes Vex Experts And Leave US Hard Choices
Some of the nation's top economists figure the government's response to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac has come to a critical turning point: They expect Treasury will be forced to inject funds into the two firms, but they're not sure whether pulling the trigger will be enough to bolster the sagging economy.Click Here For The Full Story......
Posted by Editor at 07:52 AM
Upcoming Data Could Stun The Street
The latest reading on second-quarter GDP is due next week, and forecasts are for an uptick to 2.8%. After the most recent figures from abroad showed the European zone contracted in its most recent quarter, there is a certain level of anxiety over the report. Durable goods orders for July are also on the agenda, and purchases of big-ticket items are expected to be unchanged.Click Here For The Full Story......
Posted by Editor at 07:51 AM
Criminals Dumping Weak US Dollar for Euro
OTTAWA -- The weakened US dollar has fallen out of favor with organized crime groups to pay for drug shipments or to settle scores, a Canadian government report said Friday. And if the greenback continues its slide in 2008, as expected, more and more criminals are likely to exchange euros for illicit goods, said Criminal Intelligence Service Canada in its annual report. "The US dollar weakened significantly against other major currencies in 2007 and according to some economists, is expected to depreciate further in 2008," said the report.Click Here For The Full Story......
Posted by Editor at 07:36 AM
Oil Falls 5.4% in Biggest Drop Since 2004
NEW YORK -- Crude oil prices fell more than 5.4 percent on Friday in the biggest one-day slide since 2004 as dealers turned their focus to rising supply levels and weakening global demand. A rebound in the U.S. dollar encouraged the sell-off, applying downward pressure across the commodities markets by weakening the purchasing power of buyers using other currencies, dealers said.Click Here For The Full Story......
Posted by Editor at 07:35 AM
Gas Prices Nationally Drop 15 Cents in 2 Weeks
CAMARILLO, Calif. -- A national survey shows gas prices have dropped 15 cents a gallon in the last two weeks. The average price of a gallon of regular gasoline at self-serve stations was $3.70 Friday. Mid-grade was at $3.83 and premium was at $3.95. That's according to the Lundberg Survey of 7,000 gas stations nationwide, released Sunday. Diesel was at $3.82. The California average was $3.94, down 16 cents from two weeks ago.Click Here For The Full Story......
Posted by Editor at 07:35 AM
U.S. Halts Self-Deportation Project
Despite drawing only eight volunteers, a three-week pilot program that urged some illegal immigrants to turn themselves in for deportation was not a failure, U.S. authorities declared Friday. Under the scrapped self-deportation program, called Operation Scheduled Departure, illegal immigrants in five cities who ignored court orders to leave the United States were offered as many as 90 days to put their affairs in order and to leave with family members in some cases, without the usual risk of arrest and detention.Click Here For The Full Story......
Posted by Editor at 07:34 AM
Russians Declare Pullback Finished
GORI, Georgia -- Though Russian forces still held several key areas of the country, the Georgian government began on Saturday to prepare cities and villages in the conflict areas for the return of thousands of refugees. Russia said its military pullback had been completed, and large columns of Georgian police special forces were seen in and around the city of Gori. Officers said they had come to provide security for returning residents. Georgian Army units also appeared in Gori for the first time since they retreated under heavy Russian bombardment two weeks ago. They were lightly equipped — most had only rifles and pistols, and rode pickup trucks and personal cars — and arrived at a base that had been ransacked.Click Here For The Full Story......
Posted by Editor at 12:29 AM
US Warship Carrying Aid Supplies Reaches Georgia
ABOARD THE U.S.S. MCFAUL -- A U.S. Navy destroyer loaded with humanitarian aid reached Georgia's Black Sea port of Batumi on Sunday, bringing baby food, bottled water and a message of support for an embattled ally. Before the warship arrived, a Russian general suggested U.S. ships moving across the Black Sea would worsen tensions already driven to a post-Cold War high by a short but intense war between Russia and Georgia.Click Here For The Full Story......
Posted by Editor at 12:28 AM
A Really Bad Couple of Weeks for Pax Americana
By Jim LobeWhatever hopes the George W. Bush administration may have had for using its post-9/11 "war on terror'' to impose a new Pax Americana on Eurasia, and particularly in the unruly areas between the Caucasus and the Khyber Pass, appear to have gone up in flames – in some cases, literally – over the past two weeks. Not only has Russia reasserted its influence in the most emphatic way possible by invading and occupying substantial parts of Georgia after Washington's favorite Caucasian, President Mikhail Saakashvili, launched an ill-fated offensive against secessionist South Ossetians.
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Posted by Editor at 12:28 AM
With Troop Deal, U.S. Sees Light at End of Tunnel
WASHINGTON -- The U.S.-Iraqi deal on troop withdrawals, although not yet final, appears to mark the beginning of the end of a combat commitment that has cost more than 4,100 U.S. lives and at least $500 billion. It does not mean the war is over, or even that most U.S. troops will be home soon. But it shows a new U.S. readiness to set at least a rough timetable for reducing its presence over the next three years. And it reflects a growing U.S. willingness to let Iraq take over the fight against insurgents.Click Here For The Full Story......
Posted by Editor at 12:27 AM
US Military Deaths in Iraq War at 4,146
As of Sunday, Aug. 24, 2008, at least 4,146 members of the U.S. military have died in the Iraq war since it began in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count. The figure includes eight military civilians killed in action. At least 3,370 died as a result of hostile action, according to the military's numbers. The AP count is two fewer than the Defense Department's tally, last updated Thursday at 10 a.m. EDT.Click Here For The Full Story......
Posted by Editor at 12:26 AM
August 23, 2008
58 Christians Murdered During U.S. Supported Musharraf's Rule
PAKISTAN -- Joseph Francis, the National Director of Centre for Legal Aid, Assistance and Settlement (CLAAS) has said that Christian persecution and discrimination with minorities surged during former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf’s rule. Francis said that the Christians of Pakistan suffered enormous injustices, discrimination and persecution during Musharraf's rule. "Christians were not immune from persecution and raw treatment during the tenure of Presidents that preceded Musharraf, but the scale of Christian persecution was worst during Musharraf's rule," said Francis. Francis put forward statistics of Christian persecution during Musharraf's rule. He claimed that over 55 churches were attacked and maintained that 58 Christians were murdered while 275 were wounded. Pointing to the misuse of Pakistan’s controversial blasphemy laws, Francis said that 212 blasphemy cases were registered from October 12, 1999 to August 18, 2008.Click Here For The Full Story......
Posted by Editor at 05:53 PM
Coca-Cola Celebrates Ramadan
Coca-Cola plans to celebrate Ramadan this year by decorating cans with a crescent moon and star – a widely recognized Islamic symbol. The moon and star can be found on at least 11 flags of Muslim countries, and now it will be featured on packaging in Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Indonesia, Morocco, Tunisia and other Islamic countries during the Sept. 1-30 Muslim holiday, blogger Bob McCarty reported. Coca-Cola has hired a company named ATTIK to handle packaging, Brand Republic reports. Its Christmas cans are usually decorated with secular-themed images of Santa Claus, but McCarty asked the company whether it planned to introduce Christian symbols as well.Click Here For The Full Story......
Posted by Editor at 05:53 PM
It's Been a Brutal Olympics for Chinese Christians
By Lorna DueckThe Olympic prayer bands -- those ubiquitous white bracelets known for championing a cause -- were a performance worthy of gold, except for the fact that the Chinese pastor who inspired the idea was arrested just two days before the Games began. The offending prayer bands said, "Pray for China." The Chinese state seems confused about how best to persecute its massive unregulated crowd of Christians. The director of China's State Administration for Religious Affairs (SARA) is reported to have put the number of Christians in China at nearly 130 million. The various forms of Christianity in China self-report about half that number, while, according to conservative estimates, Christians now exceed the number of members in the Communist Party of China.
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Posted by Editor at 05:52 PM
Churches Ordered Closed During Olympics
An organization founded by a man who escaped from China after being persecuted for his Christian faith says it has uncovered a secret Chinese government document demanding that churches shut their doors for 90 days around the Beijing Olympics. "Should church members violate these rules they will be subject to the disciplinary actions of the Chinese government," said the report from China Aid Association, an organization dedicated to helping persecuted Christians.Click Here For The Full Story......
Posted by Editor at 05:52 PM
Brazilian Homeschoolers May be Jailed if Their Children Fail Harsh Government Tests
MINAS GERAIS, BRAZIL -- After receiving four days of intense testing by government authorities in a showdown over the future of homeschooling in Brazil, David and Jonatas Nunes are optimistic, despite the fact that the tests were changed on them only one week before, allowing little time for adequate study. Although the Nunes family was initially told that the tests the children would be given were to be on mathematics, geography, science, and history, they were told only a week in advance that they would also be tested on Portuguese, English, arts, and physical education, including questions about the history of handball, basketball, soccer, and other sports. The change put enormous pressure on two children who were already studying in a stressful situation.Click Here For The Full Story......
Posted by Editor at 05:51 PM
Uzbekistan: Attacks, Including Violence, Against Religious Minorities Continue
Uzbekistan is continuing its nationwide attacks on religious minorities, Forum 18 News Service notes. The trial of Aimurat Khayburahmanov, a Protestant detained since 14 June in the north-west of the country, is in progress. He faces a possible sentence of between five and 15 years' imprisonment, and is being tried for teaching religion without official approval and establishing or participating in a "religious extremist" organisation. In a related case, Jandos Kuandikov, another local Protestant, has been fined for unregistered religious activity. The judge in that case, Bakhtiyor Urumbaev, claimed to Forum 18 that the Immanuel and Full Gospel churches were banned in Uzbekistan. Kuandikov disputes this, pointing out that his church is seeking re-registration.Click Here For The Full Story......
Posted by Editor at 05:51 PM
Religious Persecution Still 'Behind the Scenes' in Communist China
SAULT STE. MARIE, MI -- On August 11, while visiting China for the Olympics, U.S. President George Bush attended a carefully staged, government-approved worship service at the Three Self Patriotic Movement Kuanjie Church. Before his visit was over, unbeknownst to the outside world, Christian social activist Hua Huiqi would be arrested and illegally detained near Beijing. They are just a few of the thousands of people who daily risk their lives for the “crime” of Christian faith in China.Click Here For The Full Story......
Posted by Editor at 05:51 PM
Foreign Missionaries Defy Ban During Olympics, Evangelize
BEIJING -- Christian groups who flouted a Chinese ban on foreign missionaries are calling their underground evangelizing during the Olympic Games a success. Drawn to a nation of 1.3 billion people under atheist rule, the groups prepared for years for what the Southern Baptists once called "a spiritual harvest unlike any other." "We did see some conversions," said Christian missionary Mark Taylor of Pensacola, Fla.Click Here For The Full Story......
Posted by Editor at 05:50 PM
Authorities in Laos Detain 90 Christians
Authorities in Laos have detained or arrested at least 90 Christians in three provinces in recent weeks, including an arrest last Sunday (Aug. 3) of a pastor and two other believers from a house church in Boukham village, Savannakhet province. Arrests were reported in the southern provinces of Saravan and Savannakhet and in Luang Prabang province in the north.Click Here For The Full Story......
Posted by Editor at 05:50 PM
Mob Storms Indonesian Church and Calls for Ban
On Sunday, August 17, a group of Muslims stormed a church service in Cipayung, East Jakarta, Indonesia, according to an August 19 report from Compass Direct. About 20 church members, including Pastor Chris Ambessa, were gathered in celebration of Indonesia's Independence Day at the Pentecostal Church of Indonesia when an angry mob gathered outside the church building. Despite efforts to keep them outside, the mob forced its way into the church and overturned furniture. The church members were chased into the street and warned not to return for future services. The mob then erected large banners which called for a ban on churches and religious services.Click Here For The Full Story......
Posted by Editor at 05:49 PM
Chinese House Church Pastor Detained
Chinese police detained house church leader Zhang Mingxuan, along with his wife Xie Fenlang and co-pastor Wu Jiang He, at a police station in Hebei after a BBC journalist attempted to interview him on Monday (August 4). International affairs journalist John Simpson phoned Zhang to request an interview, as required in a handbook given to journalists reporting on the Olympic Games in Beijing . Zhang agreed to the interview, but as Simpson traveled to meet him, police seized Zhang and his companions and moved them to a local police station.Click Here For The Full Story......
Posted by Editor at 02:18 PM
Attack Forces Indonesian Christians Off Campus
JAKARTA, INDONESIA -- Hundreds of Christian theology students have been living in tents since a mob of angry Muslim neighbors stormed their campus last month wielding bamboo spears and hurling Molotov cocktails. The incident comes amid growing concern that Indonesia's tradition of religious tolerance is under threat from Islamic hard-liners.Click Here For The Full Story......
Posted by Editor at 02:18 PM
Crowds of Muslims Protest Indian Rule in Kashmir
SRINAGAR, India -- Hundreds of thousands of Muslims marched in Indian Kashmir's main city Friday in the largest protest against Indian rule in over a decade, intensifying the turmoil that has roiled the Himalayan region. Long lines of people carrying green and black protest flags thronged a main square in Srinagar, the region's biggest city, for the rally called by a coalition of separatist political parties. Schools, businesses and shops were shut across the region and public transportation was halted.Click Here For The Full Story......
Posted by Editor at 02:17 PM
Petition Seeks Freedom for Christians in Yemen
Officials with International Christian Concern have launched an international petition campaign to call attention to Christians who have been arrested by the national secret police in Yemen, a situation from which others have not emerged alive. ICC, a Washington-based human rights group that works to help persecuted Christians, said the goal of the petition is to raise the world's awareness of the persecution that exists in the Islam-dominated Yemen, and through that publicity to encourage Yemeni authorities to release the believers.Click Here For The Full Story......
Posted by Editor at 02:16 PM
Russia Stages a Substantial Withdrawal
The Washington PostGORI, Georgia -- Russia pulled troops and armored vehicles out of vast swaths of seized territory and ended its 10-day occupation of this Georgian city Friday, but Georgian and foreign officials disputed Russia's claim that it had complied with the terms of a recent cease-fire agreement. Columns of Russian trucks, tanks and artillery pieces rumbled north throughout the day toward the breakaway territories whose disputed status sparked the current crisis. Just before leaving Gori at 8 p.m., Russian forces detonated giant explosions on various Georgian armories and military installations that spewed flames and black smoke into the sky.
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Posted by Editor at 11:18 AM
August 22, 2008
Gold American Eagle Coins Sold Out After Spree
NEW YORK -- A buying spree in the popular American Eagle bullion coins appears to have depleted inventory of major North American coin dealers, contributing to supply fears and sharply higher gold prices on Thursday. Coin dealers in the United States and Canada said buying of gold coins and other bullion products has soared since last week as gold prices tumbled to near a nine-month bottom.Click Here For The Full Story......
Posted by Editor at 10:47 AM
Two-Cent Pennies: a Window on Inflation
By Tyler A. WattsJohnny Carson might have quipped about the economy, "Inflation is so bad these days... that pennies are now selling on the street for two cents." This joke may not be all that funny, even with the great Carnac delivering it, but it does have the underpinnings of good comedy: an absurd story based on a kernel of truth. Old pennies are routinely traded at premium prices, sometimes twice or more their face value. This is not because they are rare or precious — they were minted by the tens of billions — but simply because they are worth more as metal than as money. Because of this "bullion premium" on the older pennies, a small cadre of penny hoarders is actively searching through America's stock of pennies to pick out these undervalued coins.
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Posted by Editor at 10:46 AM
Biggest Rise In U.S. Food Prices In Nearly 20 Years
U.S. consumers should brace for the biggest increase in food prices in nearly 20 years in 2008 and even more pain next year due to surging meat and produce prices, the Agriculture Department said on Wednesday. Food prices are forecast to rise by 5 percent to 6 percent this year, making it the largest annual increase since 1990. Just last month, USDA forecast food prices would climb between 4.5 and 5.5 percent in 2008. "It's a little bit of a surprise how strong some of the numbers were in July," USDA economist Ephraim Leibtag, who prepared the forecast, said in an interview.Click Here For The Full Story......
Posted by Editor at 10:46 AM
Fannie, Freddie Rescue Plan Leaves Many Anxious
A government rescue of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could be costly for scores of investment, banking and insurance companies that hold billions in preferred shares of the mortgage finance giants as assets. Speculation has been building on Wall Street that a government investment to rescue Fannie and Freddie would come in the form of a cash infusion through the acquisition of preferred shares in the companies. With Fannie and Freddie's existing preferred shares currently paying yields of around 17 percent to 19 percent, compared with original yields of about 6 percent, credit markets are indicating that "some hit is going to come from existing preferred shareholders."Click Here For The Full Story......
Posted by Editor at 10:45 AM
Oil Jumps $6 On US-Russia Tensions
Oil prices shot up $6 a barrel Thursday, rising to the highest level in over two weeks as escalating tensions with Russia stoked fears of a disruption of energy shipments to Western countries. Crude's rally mimicked the wild price swings seen last month and have at least temporarily halted oil's slide back toward $100 a barrel. A weaker U.S. dollar and worries about tightening output from OPEC countries are also supporting prices.Click Here For The Full Story......
Posted by Editor at 10:45 AM
California AG Mulls Probing Senator Over IndyMac Crash
WASHINGTON -- California's attorney general is reviewing a request by former employees of IndyMac Bancorp Inc to investigate whether a New York senator triggered the bank's collapse by releasing confidential information. At issue is a much-publicized letter that Chuck Schumer, a Democrat, sent in June to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp (FDIC) and Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS) questioning the company's ability to survive. The FDIC took control of IndyMac on July 11 after depositors withdrew more than $1.3 billion over 11 days. It was the third-largest bank failure in U.S. history. At the time, OTS Director John Reich blamed Schumer's letter for causing the run on the bank.Click Here For The Full Story......
Posted by Editor at 10:43 AM
Swedish Banks Deny Seniors Loans, Credit Cards
STOCKHOLM -- Swedish senior citizens have reacted angrily after a newspaper disclosed that several banks have upper age limits for loans or credit cards. Online and telephone niche bank Ikano bank is one of the banks that has an upper age limit for loans, the Dagens Nyheter newspaper said Thursday in a second article in a series on banking. Ironically, the bank is controlled by 82-year-old Ingvar Kamprad, founder of furniture retail giant Ikea and listed as one of the world's richest men.Click Here For The Full Story......
Posted by Editor at 10:33 AM
Mexico Is a Foreign Enemy of America!
By John W. Lillpop / BorderFire ReportTo: President Bush, Senators Obama and McCain, Members of the U.S. Congress,: Each of you has taken an oath to uphold the Constitution, and to defend America against all enemies, foreign and domestic. Your authority to govern We the People is contingent on fulfilling that solemn oath. You serve only at the will of We the People; you have no other claim to power. Mexico is obviously a foreign nation, and is also a third-world, socialist nation, which because of corruption, greed, and incompetence, is unable to feed, educate, and provide minimal health care to its citizens. Rather than reforming the political and economic policies that make Mexico a failure, the elitist socialists that govern Mexico have decided to "redistribute" America's wealth to 12-38 million peasants who have invaded America across the border.
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Posted by Editor at 10:30 AM
U.S. Navy Ships Head To Georgia
Two U.S. Navy ships, including a guided missile destroyer USS McFaul, and a U.S. Coast Guard cutter are getting underway to transport humanitarian assistance supplies to Georgia, U.S. European Command (EUCOM) said on August 21. It said USS McFaul (DDG 74) departed from Souda Bay, Crete, on Wednesday and the US Cutter Dallas (WHEC 716) will depart later this week. McFaul and Dallas are scheduled to transit into the Black Sea and arrive in Georgia within a week, according to the U.S. European Command.Click Here For The Full Story......
Posted by Editor at 08:04 AM
US Set to Push India Nuclear Deal at Suppliers Group Meet
WASHINGTON -- The United States is set to push the 45-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group to agree on a landmark nuclear deal with India despite objections at home and reservation among some nations. Washington will ask the two-day NSG meeting beginning Thursday to grant an exception for India to receive atomic fuel and technology, even though it is not part of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, officials said.Click Here For The Full Story......
Posted by Editor at 08:02 AM
Two Women Sentenced To Re-Education In China
BEIJING -- Two elderly Chinese women have been sentenced to a year of “re-education through labor” after they repeatedly sought a permit to demonstrate in one of the official Olympic protest areas, according to family members and human rights advocates. The women, Wu Dianyuan, 79, and Wang Xiuying, 77, had made five visits to the police this month in an effort to get permission to protest what they contended was inadequate compensation for the demolition of their homes in Beijing. During their final visit on Monday, public security officials informed them that they had been given administrative sentences for “disturbing the public order,” according to Li Xuehui, Ms. Wu’s son.Click Here For The Full Story......
Posted by Editor at 07:38 AM
Feds: Fire Took Down Building Next to Twin Towers
GAITHERSBURG, Md. -- Federal investigators said Thursday they have solved a mystery of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks: the collapse of World Trade Center building 7, a source of long-running conspiracy theories. The 47-story trapezoid-shaped building sat north of the World Trade Center towers, across Vesey Street in lower Manhattan in New York. On Sept. 11, it was set on fire by falling debris from the burning towers, but skeptics long have argued that fire and debris alone should not have brought down such a big steel-and-concrete structure.Click Here For The Full Story......
Posted by Editor at 07:17 AM
August 21, 2008
U.S. Economy Hit By Surging Inflation
WASHINGTON -- Wholesale inflation soared in July, leaving U.S. prices rising at the fastest pace in nearly three decades. While recent declines in oil and other commodity prices raise hopes inflation may have peaked, some economists worry about the widespread nature of the July price surge and caution it will take more time for that pressure to ease on Wall Street and Main Street. The Labor Department reported Tuesday that wholesale prices shot up 1.2 percent in July, pushed higher by rising costs for energy and a variety of other products from motor vehicles to plastic goods.Click Here For The Full Story......
Posted by Editor at 10:05 AM
Homebuilding In U.S. At 17 Year Low
The number of homes and apartments being built in the US sank in July to the lowest level in more than 17 years, government figures show. Builders started work on 965,000 properties, on an annualised basis, from 1.08 million in June, the Commerce Department said. However, this was not as bleak as some had been expecting. Separately, inflationary pressures saw US wholesale prices shoot ahead by 1.2% in July - its fastest pace in 27 years.Click Here For The Full Story......
Posted by Editor at 10:04 AM
79 Million Americans Struggle To Pay Bills
Working-age Americans are facing mounting problems when it comes to affording health care, a result of what analysts are calling a "perfect storm" of economic woes. In 2007, 41 percent of working-age Americans -- 72 million people -- reported having medical bill problems or trouble paying off medical debts, up from 34 percent in 2005.Click Here For The Full Story......
Posted by Editor at 10:03 AM
Oil Rises Above $119 on US-Russia Tensions
Oil prices jumped above $119 Thursday as rising antagonism with Russia underscored the possibility it could affect energy shipments from the world's second-largest oil producer. The weakening U.S. dollar, a fall in U.S. gasoline inventories and a possible output tightening by OPEC at its next meeting in September all helped push prices higher.Click Here For The Full Story......
Posted by Editor at 09:53 AM
U.S. and Poland Seal Missile Pact
The United States and Poland signed an agreement Wednesday to place parts of a U.S. missile defense system on Polish territory, finalizing a long-negotiated deal in the face of Russian warnings that Poland would become a potential target for attack. At a signing ceremony with the Polish political leadership, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said the system, which will place 10 missile interceptors and more than 100 U.S. troops here, will "help us to respond to the threats of the 21st century."Click Here For The Full Story......
Posted by Editor at 07:35 AM
Russia Warns of Response to US Missile Shield
Russia says its response to the further development of a U.S. missile shield in Poland will go beyond diplomacy. Russia's Foreign Ministry issued a statement saying the U.S. missile shield plans are clearly aimed at weakening Russia. The U.S. says the missile defense system is aimed at protecting the U.S. and Europe from future attacks from states like Iran. The United States and Poland signed a deal Wednesday to place a U.S. missile defense base just 115 miles from Russia's westernmost fringe.Click Here For The Full Story......
Posted by Editor at 07:35 AM
Russia Blocks Georgia's Main Port City
POTI, Georgia -- Russian forces blocked the only land entrance to Georgia's main port city on Thursday, a day before Russia promised to complete a troop pullout from its ex-Soviet neighbor. Armored personnel carriers and troop trucks blocked the bridge to the Black Sea port city of Poti, and Russian forces excavated trenches and set up mortars facing the city. Another group of APCs and trucks were positioned in a nearby wooded area.Click Here For The Full Story......
Posted by Editor at 07:34 AM
Russia Halts Military Work With NATO
OSLO -- Doubts surfaced over the future of military cooperation between NATO and Russia on Wednesday after Norway said Moscow had informed it of a decision to freeze all joint work with the alliance in the row over Georgia. However Russia's ambassador to NATO played down any future steps, saying the decisions were "of temporary character, of regional character, not global character". A NATO spokeswoman said it had no notification of a Russian move.Click Here For The Full Story......
Posted by Editor at 07:33 AM
Russia Sends Aircraft Carrier To Syria
The Russian aircraft carrier "Admiral Kuznetsov" is ready to head from Murmansk towards the Mediterranean and the Syrian port of Tartus. The mission comes after Syrian President Bashar Assad said he is open for a Russian base in the area. The "Admiral Kuznetsov", part of the Northern Fleet and Russia’s only aircraft carrier, will head a Navy mission to the area. The mission will also include the missile cruiser “Moskva” and several submarines, Newsru.com reports.Click Here For The Full Story......
Posted by Editor at 07:33 AM
Syria Signs Defense Pact With Russia
Syria sought to revive its security alliance with Russia today, when President Bashar al-Assad arrived in Moscow to clinch a series of military agreements, raising fears that the new Cold War that has erupted in the Caucasus will spill over into the Middle East. “Our position is that we are ready to co-operate with Russia in any project that can strengthen its security,” the Syrian leader told Russian newspapers at the start of his two-day trip. “I think Russia really has to think of the response it will make when it finds itself closed in a circle.”Click Here For The Full Story......
Posted by Editor at 07:33 AM
Missile Strike Reported In Northwest Pakistan
Missiles destroyed a suspected militant hide-out near the Afghan border Wednesday where foreign insurgents were known to frequent, killing at least five people, Pakistani officials said. The reported strike came as a power struggle intensified in Pakistan days after Pervez Musharraf's resignation from the presidency, with a major opposition party backing former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto's widower to become the country's next leader.Click Here For The Full Story......
Posted by Editor at 07:32 AM
Vets Struggle In Return To Work
They survived war, but for some veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, returning to work back home hasn't been easy. An estimated 300,000 veterans from the two wars have come home with mental health problems, so-called invisible wounds, and about the same number suffered head injuries, according to a private study by the RAND Corp. think tank. Associated problems can include depression, flashbacks, irritability, headaches and short-term memory loss.Click Here For The Full Story......
Posted by Editor at 07:29 AM
Bush to Send 12 to 15 Thousand Additional Troops to Afghanistan
The Pentagon will be sending 12,000 to 15,000 additional U.S. troops to Afghanistan, possibly as soon as the end of this year, with planning underway for a further force buildup in 2009. A request by Gen. David McKiernan, the commander of NATO forces in Afghanistan, for three U.S. brigades with support staff has been approved. "Now that means we just need to figure out a way to get them there," adds a senior defense official.Click Here For The Full Story......
Posted by Editor at 05:32 AM
US Military Deaths In Iraq War at 4,145
The Associated PressAs of Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2008, at least 4,145 members of the U.S. military have died in the Iraq war since it began in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count. The figure includes eight military civilians killed in action. At least 3,370 died as a result of hostile action, according to the military's numbers. The AP count is two fewer than the Defense Department's tally, last updated Wednesday at 10 a.m. EDT.
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Posted by Editor at 05:22 AM
August 20, 2008
Credit Crunch May Take Out Large U.S. Bank
The deepening toll from the global financial crisis could trigger the failure of a large US bank within months, a respected former chief economist of the International Monetary Fund claimed today, fuelling another battering for banking shares. Professor Kenneth Rogoff, a leading academic economist, said there was yet worse news to come from the worldwide credit crunch and financial turmoil, particularly in the United States, and that a high-profile casualty among American banks was highly likely.Click Here For The Full Story......
Posted by Editor at 08:02 AM
The Strong Dollar Illusion
By Peter SchiffEconomists who now see American troubles spreading around the world are predicting that foreign central banks will ignore the gathering inflation threat and follow the Fed down the rate cutting path. Similarly, they argue that since the downturn began here, the U.S. recovery will likely be underway while the rest of world is still decelerating. These assumptions have prompted a rally in the dollar, a sell-off in gold, commodities and foreign stocks, and have cast doubts on the ability of foreign economies to "decouple" from the United States. Investors should not take the bait.
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Posted by Editor at 08:01 AM
Wholesale Prices Rising at Fastest Pace Since 1981
WASHINGTON -- Wholesale inflation surged in July, leaving prices for the past year rising at the fastest pace in 27 years, according to government data released Tuesday. The Labor Department reported that wholesale prices shot up 1.2 percent in July, pushed higher by rising costs for energy, motor vehicles and other products. The increase was more than twice the 0.5 percent gain that economists expected.Click Here For The Full Story......
Posted by Editor at 08:00 AM
Crude Oil Rises Above $114 a Barrel After Dollar Weakens
NEW YORK -- Oil prices rebounded Tuesday, jumping back above $114 barrel after the dollar weakened against the euro and a rally in heating oil pulled new buyers into energy markets. Light, sweet crude for September delivery rose $1.66 to settle at $114.53 on the New York Mercantile Exchange, after alternating between positive and negative territory earlier in the day. The September contract expires Wednesday, adding to the volatility.Click Here For The Full Story......
Posted by Editor at 08:00 AM
A Tax Revolt Is Quietly Brewing In Some States
On Election Day, Massachusetts will vote on whether to eliminate its state income tax. Advocates hope victory in a place long thought of as a free-spending liberal bastion will pave the way for similar initiatives in other states over the next few years. It's still unclear precisely how many of these issues will be on ballots on Nov. 4. Some still haven't received final approval from state officials or may face challenges in court. But , director of government affairs at the National Taxpayers Union, a nonprofit group based in Alexandria, Va., estimates there are more than 60 ballot measures that would have "some significant impact" on taxpayers.Click Here For The Full Story......
Posted by Editor at 07:59 AM
Financial Fears, Soaring Inflation Hit Wall Street
Stocks fell more than 1 percent on Tuesday as financial shares declined on renewed credit worries and a report showed inflation is still a threat to the economy, despite the economic slowdown. Shares of financial companies were the biggest drag on the Dow and the S&P 500, with Bank of America (BAK.N) and Wells Fargo (WFC.N) sliding about 4 percent each and the KBW index of bank stocks falling 4.1 percent. Reminding investors that the effects of the housing slump are still far from over, JPMorgan Securities forecast investment bank Lehman Brothers (LEH.N) will take a further $4 billion of write-downs in the third quarter due to losses from mortgage-related investments.Click Here For The Full Story......
Posted by Editor at 07:59 AM
Stocks Fall On Inflation Data
Wall Street fell sharply for a second straight session Tuesday after a hefty jump in wholesale inflation and a drop in new home construction gave investors more reason to believe an economic recovery is far off. The Dow Jones industrial average dropped by about 100 points. The Labor Department said its Producer Price Index rose by 1.2 percent in July, more than double the expected rate, and lifting the current annual rate to the loftiest level in 27 years. Even after stripping out food and energy, core prices rose by a higher-than-expected 0.7 percent, the biggest increase since November 2006. A midday rebound in oil prices added to investors' anxiety.Click Here For The Full Story......
Posted by Editor at 07:59 AM
FBI Admits Error In Anthrax Probe
WASHINGTON -- FBI officials, while admitting a mistake, are offering more evidence to support their assertion that government scientist Bruce Ivins was responsible for the anthrax-laced mailings that killed five people in 2001. In a two-hour briefing Monday at the agency's headquarters, senior FBI scientists -- backed by a panel of outside experts -- revealed they examined more than 1,000 anthrax samples and interviewed all of the approximately 100 people who had had access to the flask that reportedly held the deadly strain implicated in the killings.Click Here For The Full Story......
Posted by Editor at 07:58 AM
Army Moves Ahead With Mobile Laser Cannon
The Army is moving ahead with plans to mount a laser cannon on a massive, 35-ton-plus truck. The service just handed Boeing a $36 million contract to "continue developing a truck-mounted, high-energy laser weapon system that will destroy rockets, artillery shells and mortar rounds," according to a company statement.Click Here For The Full Story......
Posted by Editor at 05:59 AM
Bush Covered Up Musharraf Ties With al-Qaeda, Khan
Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf's resignation Monday brings to an end an extraordinarily close relationship between Musharraf and the George W. Bush administration, in which Musharraf was lavished with political and economic benefits from the United States despite policies that were in sharp conflict with U.S. security interests. It is well known that Bush repeatedly praised Musharraf as the most loyal ally of the United States against terrorism, even though the Pakistani military was deeply compromised by its relationship with the Taliban and Pakistani Islamic militants.Click Here For The Full Story......
Posted by Editor at 05:54 AM
Pakistan Violence Flares After Musharraf Resigns
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- Just a day after Pervez Musharraf's resignation, Pakistan's governing coalition fell into wrangling Tuesday over restoring the judges he fired, exposing troublesome divisions that could disrupt picking his successor as president. Pakistanis have been urging the government to set aside political bickering and tackle extremist violence and economic downturn — challenges underscored Tuesday by a bombing outside a hospital and new battles between the army and militants.Click Here For The Full Story......
Posted by Editor at 05:52 AM
Russia Weighs Increasing Military Aid to Arab World
Syrian President Bashar Assad was scheduled to leave for Russia on Wednesday for a two-day visit that has been described by analysts as important at a time when Moscow may be considering closer ties with the Arab world. Assad told Russia's Kommersant newspaper on Wednesday that he would use his visit to expand military ties with Moscow, whose arms sales to the Middle Eastern state have angered Israel and the United States.Click Here For The Full Story......
Posted by Editor at 05:50 AM
Pentagon, White House at Odds Over Aid to Georgia
WASHINGTON -- The Bush White House and the Pentagon are at odds over whether to station a Navy ship in the Black Sea to demonstrate U.S. support for the embattled Georgian military and government, two defense officials told McClatchy Tuesday. The White House thinks that deploying a vessel such as the hospital ship USNS Comfort would showcase the Bush administration's support for Georgia and signal U.S. concern that Russia has sparked a humanitarian crisis in Georgia. The Pentagon officials, who both spoke only on the condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to discuss internal policy deliberations, said the move is unnecessary. Last week, the U.S. military sent a 12-member assessment team to determine how much humanitarian aid Georgians need. Air Force and Navy aircraft are sending supplies daily and military officials don't think Georgia requires much additional assistance.Click Here For The Full Story......
Posted by Editor at 05:46 AM
Russia Moves Toward Pullback But Shows Strength
POTI, Georgia -- Russia took the first steps toward a troop pullback from Georgia on Tuesday but at the same time paraded blindfolded and bound Georgian prisoners on armored vehicles and seized four U.S. Humvees. The mixed signals came as NATO allies met in emergency session in Belgium and demanded Russia fulfill its promise to withdraw its forces from the small former Soviet republic.Click Here For The Full Story......
Posted by Editor at 05:20 AM
Russia Seizes U.S. Vehicles
Russian soldiers today held blindfolded Georgian servicemen at gunpoint and commandeered US Humvees in a dramatic sequence of events in Poti, a key Black Sea port. White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe stated that if Russia has seized any US military equipment in Georgia, it must return it immediately (bla bla bla).Click Here For The Full Story......
Posted by Editor at 04:50 AM
