Russia has sold 12 MiG-29 fighter jets to Sudan, Sudanese Defense Minister Abdul Rahim Mohammed Hussein said during a visit to Moscow on Friday, Russian news agencies reported.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/15/2008 00:00 ||
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#2
Ok, so Russia sells 12 top-of-the-line (for them) jets to Sudan. Who's going to fly them? Who's going to maintain them? Unless it's non-Sudanese, they've just sold Sudan 12 boat-anchors.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
11/15/2008 13:19 Comments ||
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#3
Who's going to fly them? Who's going to maintain them?
Renewed fighting broke out Saturday between rebels and soldiers in eastern Congo, as a U.N. special envoy flew in for emergency talks and said President Joseph Kabila was ready to meet his main rival.
Former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo spoke in Congo's capital, Kinshasa, before flying to the eastern city of Goma. Fighting erupted in August in the east, displacing 250,000 people and raising fears the violence could spread through the region.
Obasanjo met Kabila late Friday and said the Congolese leader "did not give anything that I would call conditions" for holding talks with rebel leader Laurent Nkunda. "But we are at the exploratory stage now," Obasanjo said.
Continued on Page 49
Egypt has drawn up a blacklist of 26 firms in Saudi Arabia that allegedly abuse its workers, of whom nearly a million work in the conservative Gulf kingdom, press reports said on Friday. The reports come a day after Cairo barred doctors from taking up jobs in Saudi Arabia after an Egyptian medic was sentenced to 1,500 lashes and 15 years in jail for allegedly turning a Saudi princess into a drug addict.
"The Manpower and Immigration Ministry has a blacklist of 26 businesses and private companies in Saudi Arabia ... with which doing business is absolutely forbidden," the independent Al-Masri al-Yawm newspaper reported.
It said the listed companies are accused of "deliberately mistreating Egyptians," and added that more firms may be added later.
Labor and Immigration Minister Aisha Abdel-Hadi was quoted in the state-run daily Al-Gomhuria as saying the decision was taken after repeated complaints were lodged against the firms listed, alleging rights abuses.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/15/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Stop the presses! The Saudis abusing staff? After this going on for more than 30 years in Egypt, they're finally doing something? These Saudi pricks used to scream across the dessert near the pyramids scaring equestrians and horses for years, and not a word was spoken.
Three people including two alleged listed criminals were killed in two separate incidents in the city yesterday.
Mohammadpur police yesterday recovered the bodies of Alam Yamin alias Ablan, 32, and Sirajul Amin alias Linkon, 30, from a field at Dhaka Housing of Mohammadpur around 7:00am. Both of them had bullet marks in their heads.
Just bullet marks? Whew, for a moment I thought they had bullet holes in their heads ...
Nah, just a entrance mark and a exit mark
Police said Ablan, a listed criminal of Kathalbagan area, had records of seven cases on twelve systems including two for murder while Linkon, a criminal of Adabor, had five cases against him.
Family members said a few people introducing themselves as members of Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) called out Ablan from his Adabor residence around 4:00pm on Thursday. "Ablan! Come out and plaaaay!"
Linkon had also been missing since that morning, his family said.
Maybe he'd been out on a bender ...
The two could have been killed over previous enmity, police said but refused to elaborate. The bodies were sent to the Dhaka Medical College for autopsy. "Doctor Quincy, delivery for you."
Meanwhile, police yesterday morning recovered the body of Parul Bala Das, 55, from a sack at Kajla in Jatrabari. Son of the deceased, Indrajit Das, told reporters that she had been missing since 3:00pm Wednesday after she set out for Shiddhirganj, Narayanganj to collect a debt-payment of Tk 3,000 from Khorsheda Begum, their former neighbour.
Indrajit had filed a general diary about his missing mother. Jatrabari police yesterday filed a murder case and arrested Khorsheda. But she refused her involvement with the incident. An autopsy of the body at Sir Salimullah Medical College Morgue found several marks of injury.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/15/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
From the times given i think we can rule out a gunu ine RAB Crossfire, but a cheap copycat imitation. The RABBies were all snug in the upazlias dreaming of stutter guns and round of bullet dancing in the micreant's head....
BUT...
President Dmitri A. Medvedev of Russia retreated Friday from his threat to deploy missiles on Europe's borders, but only if President-elect Barack Obama joined Russia and France in calling for a conference on European security by next summer.
At a meeting in Nice hosted by President Nicolas Sarkozy of France, Mr. Medvedev backed away from the bellicose speech he gave last week, just hours after Mr. Obama won the United States presidential election. On Friday, the Russian leader argued instead that all countries "should refrain from unilateral steps" before discussions on European security next summer.
Mr. Sarkozy, who presided over the meeting between Russia and the 27 European Union nations in his capacity as the union's president, helped ease the way for Mr. Medvedev's retreat. The French leader supported the idea of talks on a new security architecture for Europe and suggested that they could be held by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe in June or July.
Both Russia and the United States belong to the organization.
Mr. Sarkozy made clear that he wants the United States to think again about the missile defense systems that it plans to build in Poland and the Czech Republic. Mr. Medvedev last week threatened to respond by stationing missiles in Kaliningrad, a Russian enclave bordering Poland and Lithuania, both of which are members of NATO and the European Union.
"Between now and then," said Mr. Sarkozy, referring to the summer summit meeting, "please no more talk of antimissile protection systems."
Although he holds the rotating presidency, Mr. Sarkozy appeared to be speaking beyond his mandate because the bloc has little power over defense decisions. His intervention provoked immediate criticism from the Czech Republic, a member of NATO and the next in line for the presidency of the European Union.
Alexandr Vondra, the former Czech foreign minister, said he was surprised by Mr. Sarkozy's comments, which, he said, had contradicted French statements on missile defense at the last NATO summit meeting in Bucharest, Romania. He also said the comments had exceeded Mr. Sarkozy's portfolio as the European Union's president.
"It is my understanding that Mr. Sarkozy met Mr. Medvedev on behalf of the French presidency of the E.U.," Mr. Vondra said in a telephone interview. "There was nothing in the E.U. mandate to talk about missile defense."
Diplomats saw the intervention by Mr. Sarkozy as another example of his hyperactive brand of diplomacy, which has given him a global profile but proved controversial within the union.
Nevertheless, the move to defuse the dispute over missiles helped smooth European relations with Moscow before this weekend's meeting in Washington to discuss the institutions that have governed global finance for 60 years.
The economy of the 15-nation euro zone shrank over the past three months and is now considered to be in recession, the first such prolonged contraction since the adoption of the euro as a common currency a decade ago.
The Eurostat statistics agency reported on Friday that growth in the economic zone shrank 0.2 percent from July through October, compared with the prior three months. Following a similar decline from April through June, the euro zone economy has met one of the common definitions of recession -- two consecutive quarters of decline.
European leaders initially thought the current financial crisis would be confined largely to the United States, but they now face the most serious test to date of the economic integration symbolized by their use of the euro. The European Central Bank was slower to begin cutting interest rates than the Fed, the Bank of England and other major central banks, and has moved in smaller steps even after acknowledging that it needed to try to stimulate growth. Analysts now regard further rate cuts in the euro zone as a given. The Eurostat report adds to the accumulating evidence of a broad global recession.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/15/2008 00:00 ||
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#6
If that's the case, I'm surprised the MSM isn't on it, Blondie.
Considering all the embarrassing things they went looking for in Sarah Palin's life....
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
11/15/2008 17:03 Comments ||
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#7
Barbara, I am sure that they would go out of their way to cover that possibility in as much depth as they did his connections with Rezko, Ayers, et al.
About two years after he leaves office they might mention those things. On page 5. Bottom corner next to the public notice ads. In the Saturday edition. Maybe.
#8
I've had to show my original birth certificate on various occasions. Why shouldn't someone who is up for President--particularly since natural born citizen is a job requirement.
Posted by: Bill Angains8020 ||
11/15/2008 19:58 Comments ||
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#9
If that's the case, I'm surprised the MSM isn't on it, Blondie.
Barbara, I believe the convention here at the Burg is to append such remarks with [sarcasm] and [/sarcasm] tags ;-)
Posted by: Ricky bin Ricardo (Abu Babaloo) ||
11/15/2008 20:48 Comments ||
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Intense speculation flared Friday over reports that president-elect Barack Obama is weighing whether to name former Democratic primary rival Hillary Clinton as a heavy-hitting secretary of state.
Sources close to Clinton and Obama did not deny media reports that the former first lady met Obama in Chicago on Thursday and was in the frame to become the top US diplomat and fourth in line to the presidency.
The reports came as Obama's team announced that the president-elect, who will take office in January during an intense economic crisis and with two foreign wars raging, would meet former Republican rival John McCain on Monday. The McCain talks and Clinton reports spurred speculation that Obama would assemble a deep "team of rivals" administration uniting his former political foes like that framed after the 1860 election by his hero Abraham Lincoln.
Two unnamed Obama advisers told NBC News the formidable former first lady, who is now a New York senator, was under consideration for secretary of state.
Clinton flew to Chicago to meet with the Democratic president-elect on Thursday, CNN and ABC said, but one adviser said it was on personal business. Aides to Obama and Clinton refused all comment on the rampant speculation, but equally did not deny the reports. Clinton herself also refused to give details.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/15/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
two foreign wars raging
Pfeh. You wish, AFP.
Somehow, I prefer Hilly to JFnK.
Posted by: Bobby ||
11/15/2008 6:29 Comments ||
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#2
Don't forget Bill Richardson. I think he's eager to move on quickly as his expanded government expenditures were predicated upon state revenues generated by investments in oil and gas. Don't want to hang around when the tab comes due in January for next years budget.
#3
Barack will never let Hillary in for the same reason you won't let a rattlesnake into your bedroom.
Don Corleone said "Keep your friends close but your enemies closer". There are however limits.
Posted by: Frozen Al ||
11/15/2008 11:22 Comments ||
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#4
Don't know why she would want it, actually. In the Senate she can build her own power base a la Ted Kennedy. She could be there for decades, getting legislation passed that she wants, and helping to set part of the national agenda.
As Sec'y of State she'd have to constantly bow to what Obama wants, and she would serve at his leisure. Not to mention that if Obama sucks at being Prez, she'd get a chunk of the blame for any foreign policy misstep, deserved or not.
#5
This is more CYA by the Hussien camp against Hillary : if she accepts, she is tied to his level of success and so must work her ass off to save him; if she refuses, his staff can start the "sour grapes and sour loser biddy" remarks.
#6
Consider it this way; if HRC takes the job and thus supports BO, then her light will be that much dimmer in 2012. If she stays in the Senate, then she can blast away at BO's dumb moves and position herself for a run, free of his mis steps.
and there is still a big pro-Hillary base out there that whoever the R's run will have to consider.
Having backed India at the NSG for a waiver that ended its nuclear isolation, Canada is now negotiating a comprehensive atomic deal with the country which will allow New Delhi to develop civilian nuclear power plants.
Both sides had "informal" discussions in this regard last month and expect to schedule formal sessions soon, Canadian Foreign Office spokesperson Lisa Monette told PTI. She said Canada signalled its support for India's re-engagement with the broader nuclear-energy community when it backed the Nuclear Suppliers Group's decision on a waiver to India.
"India is a responsible democracy that shares with Canada the fundamental values of freedom, democracy, human rights and respect for the rule of law," she said. "India has made substantial non-proliferation and disarmament commitments to achieve the trust of the Nuclear Suppliers Group, which were reiterated in a political statement on September 5."
Monette said Canada and India have longstanding bilateral ties, built upon shared values of democracy and pluralism and strong people-to-people links.
In recent years, both countries have been working to enhance bilateral cooperation in a number of areas of mutual priority, she noted. The 2005 Canada-India Joint Statement reaffirmed Canada and India's commitment to deepen their bilateral dialogue on key global issues and enhance their cooperation in areas of mutual priority, including regional security and counter-terrorism; science and technology; the environment; bilateral trade and investment; and people-to-people links, Monette said.
Posted by: john frum ||
11/15/2008 11:44 ||
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Thank goodness Canada has got our back, while President-elect Obama insults India with rumours that he will send former president Clinton as his special envoy to solve the Kashmir problem.
India has become the 4th nation to land on the moon with the maiden voyage of the unmanned Chandrayan-1 spacecraft Friday at 8:31 p.m. local time. Best of luck to the Indians.
At one time an American craft landed on the moon, American men walked on its surface. The universe was at our doorstep.
Then the carpers, the nay-sayers, the liberal artists with teeny-tiny, microscopic souls and all the imagination of a dairy cow decided the money would be better spent eradicating poverty. We still have poverty, but we no longer have the universe at our feet. Today we lack the imagination and the will to conquer the unknown.
Pick up the torch, Indians and Chinese. While you conquer new worlds our children will sing and dance for you, assuring themselves that they're ever so special while accomplishing nothing much of note.
In the long run it won't matter which nation reaches the stars, as long as the human race achieves them. Those among us with adventure in our souls will reach for them. The rest will stay home, safe and secure.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/15/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Uhm, no. It crashed into the moon. There is a significant difference between crashing into something and landing on it.
#2
Yep. It's an impactor. It impacted at 3300 miles per hour.
Posted by: john frum ||
11/15/2008 7:04 Comments ||
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#3
A senior Isro scientist said he would not speculate on the final condition of the impactor or the flags. “Imagine what will happen when something crashes at more than 5,000km per hour,” the scientist said.
“Its job is over,” the scientist said.
Posted by: john frum ||
11/15/2008 7:07 Comments ||
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The lunar impactor from the Chandrayaan-1 mission today successfully made it to the surface of the moon, impacting inside the Shackleton crater on the moon's south pole. Above is an image transmitted back by the 34 kg box-shaped MIP (Moon Impact Probe) before it slammed into the moon.
Posted by: john frum ||
11/15/2008 11:48 Comments ||
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The chairman of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Madhavan Nair (L) gifts a moon model to former president of India A.P.J. Abdul Kalam (R) during a conference at the ISRO center in Bangalore on November 14, 2008.
Kalam, a rocket scientist, put forward the idea during the International Lunar Exploration Working Group Conference at Udaipur in November 2004.
According to him, the probe will help in studying the moon’s geological features. ‘‘I visualise that in another four decades, the earth, moon and Mars will have economic and strategic importance.
He predicted that within 15 years, ISRO will enable Indian astronauts to walk on the moon.
Buoyed by its success, ISRO plans to send a second unmanned spacecraft to the moon in 2012 and separately launch satellites to study Mars and Venus.
Posted by: john frum ||
11/15/2008 15:12 Comments ||
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#9
The TV set-sized probe, painted in the green-white-and-orange colours of the Indian flag, made a "precise-to-the-second" landing on the lunar surface late Friday after being released from the unmanned moon-orbiting Chandrayaan-1 satellite, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said.
The probe's 25-minute descent to the moon was recorded "in its onboard memory for later readout. Finally, the probe had a hard landing on the lunar surface that terminated its functioning," ISRO said in a statement.
Not only has India "put our national flag on the lunar surface, we have also emerged as a low-cost travel agency to space," ISRO chief Madhavan Nair said, referring to the space mission's total 80-million-dollar price tag which is less than half spent on similar expeditions by other countries.
ISRO says its moon mission would help it achieve international "brand recognition" for India as a serious player in space.
Ladies and gentlemen, please fasten your seatbelts and raise your traytables in preparation for landing.
They'll be able to read out the data after they dig it up.
#10
The memory on the orbiter not the impacter. The orbiter then moved on to the dark side of the moon so it could not transmit the data until it came around again.
Posted by: john frum ||
11/15/2008 16:45 Comments ||
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#11
After the MIP separated from the mother-spacecraft at 8.06.54 p.m., it followed a curved path for 25 minutes before it impacted on the moon and self-destructed. The MIP had three payloads: a video camera, a radar altimeter and a mass spectrometer. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has received enormous amount of data from these three payloads throughout the MIPÂ’s flight.
“Whatever we did [during the MIP mission], we did for the first time and without anybody telling us how to do it,” said Dr. Goswami, who is also Director, Physical Research Laboratory (PRL), Ahmedabad. ISRO was able to release it from Chandrayaan-1, spin it up, reduce its velocity of descent and then “approximately impact it at a point where we wanted to go,” he said. The 35-kg MIP, which was “a mini satellite of Chandrayaan-1” did everything it was expected to do. Its three instruments collected the data during its descent and transmitted them to the mother-spacecraft, which sent it to the ground. “We were doing something new and for the first time. That is why we have reasons to feel happy about whatever we have done,” Dr. Goswami said.
Posted by: john frum ||
11/15/2008 16:48 Comments ||
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#12
It was on November 21, 1963 that a Nike Apache rocket from the United States took off from the beachhead in the fishing village of Thumba near Thiruvananthapuram and climbed to an altitude of 208 km. The two-stage rocket weighed 715 kg.
The Nike Apache released sodium vapour which, with its orange trail, lit up the twilight sky. The sight created a sensation in Kerala and the neighbouring districts in Tamil Nadu. The Kerala Legislative Assembly was adjourned for a few minutes so that the members could watch the spectacle on the western sky. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, former President, was present at Thumba on that day and was in charge of Nike ApacheÂ’s payload.The launch signalled the start of IndiaÂ’s rocketry programme.
The indigenous space programme began on February 22, 1969, when a “pencil” rocket weighing 10 kg. from Thumba soared a few km. into the sky.
The Chandrayaan-1 has travelled 3,84,000 km to reach its final orbit of 100 km. above the moon. The PSLV-C11 that put it into its initial orbit around the earth stood 44.4 metres tall and weighed 316 tonnes.
Posted by: john frum ||
11/15/2008 16:49 Comments ||
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#13
Seems to me I remember us doing some hard landings before we tried a soft one.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
11/15/2008 16:56 Comments ||
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Bangalore: A year from now the world will have the most detailed three-dimensional image of the Moon, complete with the precise location of its craters and mountains, thanks to Chandrayaan-1. And the first 3-D picture of the MoonÂ’s terrain, taken by the Terrain Mapping Camera (TMC) on board Chandrayaan, will be processed by Monday, according to M. Annadurai, project director of Chandrayaan-1.
Posted by: john frum ||
11/15/2008 16:59 Comments ||
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#15
The orbiter then moved on to the dark side of the moon so it could not transmit the data until it came around again.
with opening from Pink Floyd
Posted by: Frank G ||
11/15/2008 17:16 Comments ||
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#16
In what could be construed as a response to India's efforts to expand its space exploration horizon, Pakistan has announced its plans for space research. Pakistan wants to become the first country to put a terrorist in orbit. This was revealed by Raza Hussain, Chairman of Pakistan Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO) at a press conference organized in Karachi.
Raza said that off late SUPARCO was focusing on path breaking new initiatives to inject fresh life into the nation's sagging space programme. Pakistan's only presence in space so far is a satellite PAKSAT-1, situated at 38 degree E Long in a geo stationary orbit. This satellite has been leased from Hughes Global and the lease period will expire in 2011.
"Our aim is to become the first country to put a terrorist in orbit by 2040. We are working closely with China, which has copied technology from Russia and USA for this goal," he said. When asked as to why Pakistan wanted to send a terrorist to space, he said "we have so far exported terrorists to India, USA, UK, Afghanistan, China and the list is endless. Today we have a terrorist in almost all major nations. Now is the time to look beyond earth".
Pakistan's space dreams will be fuelled by modified missiles imported from China and North Korea. "We plan to integrate the Chinese and Korean rockets and use solid propellant (provided by China from the fireworks leftover after the Beijing Olympics)," Raza claimed. It has also identified a bunch of future astronauts (suicide bombers) from its terrorist infested NWFP province for the project. "The recruits are more than willing to be part of this project as that's exactly what they are supposed to do; die here or there," a SUPARCO insider told this blogger.
"The initial plan is to have a terrorist orbit the earth in a low earth orbit and the subsequent missions may see a terrorist land on the moon. The branding team in ISI is right now working on naming an organization to which these terrorists will be affiliated to. I guess the name they have frozen on is the Moonian Mujaheedeen. If everything goes well, these guys may even blow themselves up on the moon," Raza informed.
The terrorists will also release threatening videos before touching down. "Some of these guys are also learning how to issue threats in sign language as the audio quality may not be up to the mark," the SUPARCO insider claimed.
Posted by: john frum ||
11/15/2008 18:41 Comments ||
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#17
"we (the U.S.) have launched portions of several Pakis, but never achieved orbit elevation of any kind. With UAV's, it's not possible. With the Pakland Gov'ts permission, we are willing to, at our cost, experiment with larger delivery vehicles. Let us know, k?"
Posted by: Frank G ||
11/15/2008 18:51 Comments ||
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#18
...we no longer have the universe at our feet. Today we lack the imagination and the will to conquer the unknown.
Sad but very true. All the national pride and drive that was evoked during JFK's speech giving his vision of the exciting goal of reaching into space has now been superceded. Our youth no longer gaze up at the stars. It's just not cool. Nowadays we just look inward, or at a screen a few inches from your nose; we no longer think in terms of light-years.
Our lofty goals have been replaced with a new direction, which is nothing more but go just where you're pointed, eyes at the ground, by the media, Hollywood, or rock-star politicos. They don't want your input, just your vote. And, since any warm body (and even some cold stone dead ones) can pull the lever, your imigination and thoughts are no longer needed.
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) chief Nawaz Sharif has said he does not recognise the current judiciary and will not appear before the Supreme Court on November 20 for proceedings in his disqualification case. In most countries it doesn't matter whether you recognize the current judiciary or not. What matters is whether the sheriffs they send to enforce the warrant have truncheons or worse.
In an interview with a private TV channel on Friday, Sharif said parliament should decide on seeking financial assistance from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), adding consulting parliament would reduce the burden of the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) government. He said it would be better for Pakistan not to seek IMF's assistance, as its past experiences with the fund had not been encouraging. The economy's tanked, the country's credit rating is subjunk. Uncle Fester is a genius.
Sharif said the government should not privatise Qadirpur Gas Field without having evaluated its deposits. He said 99 percent of the country's problems would be resolved if the sacked judges were reinstated, as they would bury the doctrine of necessity for good. He said the struggle of the legal fraternity and his party would continue until the sacked chief justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry was restored. He said it would be appropriate for the PPP to quit the Punjab government, but declined to comment when asked if the PPP ministers would be included in the Punjab cabinet when it was expanded. He said the committee for the implementation of the joint parliamentary resolution on national security should be activated as early as possible so that it could engage the stakeholder in Tribal Areas and elsewhere to improve the security situation. Dialogue is the best option to solve the matters, he added.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/15/2008 00:00 ||
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The Standard & Poor's (S&P) cut its sovereign ratings on Pakistan further into 'junk' territory on Friday, highlighting the country's difficulty in raising the money it needs to avoid defaulting on debt obligations.
The latest cut marks S&P's second downgrade of Pakistan's ratings in as many months. To debt investors, Pakistan's most pressing obligations are $500 million in bonds maturing in February. The risk of default on that have sent the cost of insurance in Pakistani debt soaring this year. "The downgrade reflects our view that the delay by Pakistan in securing external assistance has increased the prospect of near-term debt service difficulties, heralding either a rescheduling of commercial external debt or an outright payment default," said the S&P's Agost Benard.
S&P cut its long-term foreign currency rating on Pakistan to CCC from CCC-plus and its long-term local currency rating to CCC-plus from B-minus. The agency placed its outlook on the country as 'developing'.
It said even if Pakistan got the needed loans, it could spark popular discontent, and political instability would make it hard to implement the policies needed to stabilise the economy.
Pakistan's credit defaults swaps barely reacted to S&P's move given few investors are willing to trade the contract. A government official told Daily Times the cut in credit rating would make it difficult for Pakistani companies to open letters of credit with foreign companies.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/15/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Does this mean those cool carpets are gonna cost more?
Pakistan has asked the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a $9 billion bailout along with help from other lenders to avert a balance of payments crisis, a Finance Ministry official said on Friday.
Credit ratings agency Standard & Poor's cited Pakistan's tardiness in securing foreign assistance for a decision on Friday to lower its rating on the nation's sovereign debt deeper into junk bond territory. "We are asking $9 billion from the IMF, they are talking about $7.4 billion. IMF can give us up to $7.6 billion," a Finance Ministry official told Reuters on condition of anonymity.
Economic Adviser Shaukat Tareen told Reuters that the government would soon deliver a letter of intent to the IMF, paving the way for the world's lender of last resort to release funds rapidly. The international community is concerned that an economic meltdown in Pakistan could play into the hands of Al Qaeda.
Another official said the letter of intent would probably be sent before Monday, when potential donors are due to gather in Abu Dhabi for a Friends of Pakistan conference.
The conference is not expected to result in loans being pledged, but it could pave the way for a ministerial meeting later.
Tareen told Reuters a loan of $500 million from China could arrive within weeks. A Finance Ministry official said the IMF would like to see Pakistani interest rates above the core inflation rate, currently running at around 18.3 percent.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/15/2008 00:00 ||
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Nov. 14 (Bloomberg) -- OPEC, supplier of more than 40 percent of the world's oil, will probably announce plans to lower supply for the third time in as many months to prevent prices plunging toward $50 a barrel, a Bloomberg survey showed. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries will cut output at a meeting in Cairo on Nov. 29, according to 17 of 18 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. Fourteen of the analysts predict the reduction will be 1 million barrels a day or more.
``Given the rapid deterioration in the flow of economic data, and implications for further oil demand weakness, OPEC might have to cut by at least an extra 1 million barrels in order to catch the market's attention,'' said Harry Tchilinguirian, senior oil analyst at BNP Paribas SA in London.
The Cairo summit, originally intended for only the group's Arab members, was upgraded to a full OPEC meeting yesterday as oil prices dropped to a 21-month low. Oil futures in New York fell to $54.67 a barrel yesterday, the lowest since Jan. 30, 2007, and more than $90 below the record of $147.27 touched on July 11. Crude for December delivery traded at $56.44 as of 12:02 p.m. local time today.
Ministers from Algeria and Iran have said that production may have to be cut. The group announced a reduction of 1.5 million barrels a day on Oct. 24, on top of an earlier resolution in September to pare excess supplies by observing official output quotas. ``In order to strengthen prices, OPEC is very likely to recommend another production cut as the two previous ones had no effect,'' Iran's OPEC governor Mohammad Ali Khatibi told the Mehr News agency in Tehran today. ``The market is in turmoil.''
``Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Kuwait might be happy with lower prices to help the global economy but will probably go along with an agreement for the sake of OPEC unity,'' said Peter Beutel, president of energy consultant Cameron Hanover Inc. in New Canaan, Connecticut. ``I expect there will be another production cut announced in Cairo unless we have a massive rally before then,'' Beutel said.
Posted by: Steve White ||
11/15/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
And Brazil will be adding a billion barrels by 2015. Production to start within two years. Oh, and Brazil isn't an OPEC member.
#3
In other words, they can't make a killing so why even try?
What ever happened to businesses that make a reasonable profit margin? Land based oil costs around $5 a bbl. to get on a tanker, offshore oil surely must cost more, but even if it were $20 bbl. to get on the ship, $30 a bbl. is a hell of a margin, 150% ?
#2
Does the IDF or the ministry of defense also have gummit civilian Senior Executive Service (SES) feather merchants similar to our own? This might explain (not justify) the upward trend.
Malaysia's police, who have recently cracked down on dissident bloggers and broken up anti-government demonstrations, say that protests over an edict against Muslim women wearing trousers pose a security threat. Mainly Muslim Malaysia's National Fatwa Council recently issued a religious ruling that wearing trousers was un-Islamic. It said that, by wearing trousers, young girls risked becoming "tomboys" who became sexually active.
That move triggered small protests later from two non-Muslim non-government organizations -- Katagender and Food-not-Bombs.
"I'm warning them and will take stern action as it involves national security," Inspector-General of Police Musa Hassan told reporters on Thursday, according to the state-run Bernama news agency.
Malaysia frowns on oral and gay sex, describing them as against the order of nature. Under civil law, offenders -- male and female -- can be jailed for up to 20 years, caned or fined.
As well as women in trousers, the Fatwa Council is considering barring Muslims from practicing yoga if it includes any Hindu "religious elements" during the exercise.
Islam is the official religion of Malaysia, where more than 60 percent of the population of 27 million are Muslim Malays.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/15/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
I don't believe you become sexually active by wearing trousers. I believe you become sexually active by taking them off.
Malaysia's opposition Islamist party PAS is opening its doors to non-Muslims to bolster its support in the nation where just over half of the people are Muslims, its deputy chief said on Friday. That make sense. Not a lot of sense, but sense. In an Islamic kind of way.
By constitution, Parti Islam se-Malaysia (PAS) -- largely run by Muslim clerics but gradually being taken over by young, moderate leaders -- is out of bounds to non-Muslims as direct members. But a surge of support by Chinese and Indian voters for the party outside its home base in the watershed March 8 general election has prompted PAS to change its tack, PAS deputy president Nasharudin Mat Isa said.
Politically, the PAS move could further unsettle the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition that has ruled the country for 51 years, analysts said. A resurgent opposition and a voter discontent caused the Barisan to stumble to its worst result in March, losing its key two-thirds majority in parliament and five of 13 states.
PAS is known for advocating a theocratic Islamic state in a multi-racial society of 27 million people where sizeable ethnic Chinese and Indian minorities practice Buddhism, Hinduism or Christianity.
But in the last election, it shied away from this long-standing objective in its campaign and instead pushed for a "welfare state" agenda to attract non-Muslim voters.
Under the membership plan, PAS will directly admit non-Muslims as members but they will not be allowed to contest in internal party elections, officials said.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/15/2008 00:00 ||
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A new poll released today says a majority of Americans back giving automakers a $25 billion federal bailout -- that's in contrast two earlier polls that said Americans were skeptical or opposed the action. A poll from Rasmussen Reports released Thursday said 46 percent of Americans are opposed to the Big Three bailout, while 30 percent support and 25 percent are undecided.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/15/2008 00:00 ||
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Push Poll.
"Americans said the U.S. government should provide LOANS to American automakers"
Your cars suck like a bilge pump, and you refuse to honor your warranties. It is my sincerest hope none of you sons of bitches get a fucking dime of my tax money bailout money or other form of government welfare / intervention. Especially you, Chrysler. Before I die, I'd love to shove a Challenger up the ass of whatever schmuck CEO is running your piece of shit company into the ground. Your demise can't come fast enough for me.
#6
Total compensation per hour for the big-three carmakers is $73.20. That's a 52 percent differential from Toyota's (Detroit South) $48 compensation (wages + health and retirement benefits). In fact, the oversized UAW-driven pay package for Detroit is 132 percent higher than that of the entire manufacturing sector of the U.S., which comes in at $31.59.source
They want you to subsidize that. People voting themselves other people's money. Just because you use the government to be your accessory to the act doesn't make it theft.
#8
I think if you worded it cleverly enough, you could get a majority of Americans to appear to support male teachers whacking their pud in front of their students.
#9
"Would you prefer that your students be taught human physiology, biology, and demonstrations of self-confidence and self-satisfaction (at a job well done) by:
a) robots, or
b) human teachers with sensitivity and slippery mitts?"
Posted by: Frank G ||
11/15/2008 13:30 Comments ||
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#10
New poll says majority of Americans Union lackeys support bailout for Detroit's automakers.
#12
For all the whacks against GM, I bought a Buick Enclave last year, and it's easily the best car I've ever owned. Great fit and finish, no defects, great ride.
Of course, the Rendezvous I owned before that sucked. And the Saturn SL before that had its problems. But I'd like to think GM has been at least trying to get their act together.
Posted by: Steve White ||
11/15/2008 14:47 Comments ||
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#13
Thanks to P2k for the salient figures. How does Detroit produce competitive product when their labor costs are 52% higher? Why take costs out of the product materials. Result cars w/52% less quality.
Posted by: regular joe ||
11/15/2008 16:58 Comments ||
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#14
Agreed, SW - my truck's in too fine condition to think about replacing, but I'd buy another F-150 in a second if this one was, say, totalled
Posted by: Frank G ||
11/15/2008 17:14 Comments ||
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#15
At some point we are going to have to have a bailout to bailout the bailout. Maybe we are already there.
Let's see: We pushed globalization so that poorer countries could be brought up to a our standard of living but what happened was that we got dragged down to a lower standard of living. We got rid of a lot of our manufacturing and jobs via various trade agreements. Consequently, we built an economy based on credit. Compound this by having crooked politicians who bought the votes of people who couldn't afford mortgages by making it very easy for them to obtain loans with no possibility of repayment. The jobs have been going away and so people don't have the earning power to pay their credit debts. Moreover, we created a lot of worthless mortgage derivatives with fancy names that were sold and resold and used to back other worthless mortgages. These ended up in pension funds, in community and state portfolios; others were sold investors. We have lots of housing foreclosures. I read where we have 35,000 foreclosures per day in Florida. If this is the foreclosure rate in Florida, what must it be in other places? Can we string up the geniuses that created this financial mess? We have thrown out all common financial sense on a global scale. This disaster has been 50-60 years in the making.
Posted by: Bill Angains8020 ||
11/15/2008 19:19 Comments ||
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Nations are close to adopting a series of measures aimed at combating a global recession and laying the groundwork for a broad reconstruction of the international financial system, as world leaders arrive in Washington for a major economic summit this weekend. Right. The people who got us into this mess will now attempt to get us out of this mess. That should work well.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/15/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
I'm sure they will agree to dig themselves deeper into debt.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
Prehistory keeps getting pushed back!
The economy of the 15-nation euro zone shrank over the past three months and is now considered to be in recession, the first such prolonged contraction since the adoption of the euro as a common currency a decade ago. 
Intense speculation flared Friday over reports that president-elect Barack Obama is weighing whether to name former Democratic primary rival Hillary Clinton as a heavy-hitting secretary of state. 
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) chief Nawaz Sharif has said he does not recognise the current judiciary and will not appear before the Supreme Court on November 20 for proceedings in his disqualification case. 
The Standard & Poor's (S&P) cut its sovereign ratings on Pakistan further into 'junk' territory on Friday, highlighting the country's difficulty in raising the money it needs to avoid defaulting on debt obligations. 
Pakistan has asked the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a $9 billion bailout along with help from other lenders to avert a balance of payments crisis, a Finance Ministry official said on Friday.
Nov. 14 (Bloomberg) -- OPEC, supplier of more than 40 percent of the world's oil, will probably announce plans to lower supply for the third time in as many months to prevent prices plunging toward $50 a barrel, a Bloomberg survey showed. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries will cut output at a meeting in Cairo on Nov. 29, according to 17 of 18 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. Fourteen of the analysts predict the reduction will be 1 million barrels a day or more.
Nations are close to adopting a series of measures aimed at combating a global recession and laying the groundwork for a broad reconstruction of the international financial system, as world leaders arrive in Washington for a major economic summit this weekend.
