Saturday, September 30, 2006

Swiss plan tunnel under Strait of Gibraltar
The Swiss Lombardi engineering firm has won the contract to design a railway tunnel between Europe and Africa running under the Strait of Gibraltar.

G.O.P. Leaders Knew in Late ’05 of E-Mail
Top House Republicans knew for months about e-mail traffic between Representative Mark Foley and a former teenage page, but kept the matter secret and allowed Mr. Foley to remain head of a Congressional caucus on children’s issues, Republican lawmakers said Saturday.

White House on a Rampage Against the Constitution RALPH NADER
So long as the lawyers and their bar associations in America do not challenge the advancing dictatorial powers of George W. Bush, so long as citizen groups, labor unions and libertarians, conservatives and liberals avoid uniting together, these constitutional crimes against due process, probable cause, habeas corpus, together with torture and indefinite imprisonment at the whim of the Executive branch, will worsen and erode American jurisprudence with serious consequences for both the nation's security and its liberties.

Remember that telling thought by the British Parliamentarian, Edmund Burke, at the time of the American Revolution: "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing."

Rounding Up U.S. Citizens
Because the bill was adopted with lightning speed, barely anyone noticed that it empowers Bush to declare not just aliens, but also U.S. citizens, "unlawful enemy combatants."
Bush & Co. has portrayed the bill as a tough way to deal with aliens to protect us against terrorism. Frightened they might lose their majority in Congress in the November elections, the Republicans rammed the bill through Congress with little substantive debate.

Benjamin Franklin's prescient warning should give us pause: "They who would give up an essential liberty for temporary security, deserve neither liberty or security."
Bush faces wave of challenges to terror law
"The fact that they are denying the right of habeas corpus is so unlawful and unconstitutional that it throws us back to before King John and the Magna Carta," said Michael Ratner, president of the Centre for Constitutional Rights"

Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety: Benjamin Franklin

The Blind Leading the Willing
A compromise between those who don't care and those who don't want to know.
By Dahlia Lithwick
We've reached a defining moment in our democracy when our elected officials are celebrating their own blind ignorance as a means of keeping the rest of us blindly ignorant as well.

The Antifederalists Were Right
September 27 marks the anniversary of the publication of the first of the Antifederalist Papers in 1789. The Antifederalists were opponents of ratifying the US Constitution. They feared that it would create an overbearing central government, while the Constitution's proponents promised that this would not happen. As the losers in that debate, they are largely overlooked today. But that does not mean they were wrong or that we are not indebted to them.

Quick Overview

  • U.S. Personal incomes were up 0.3% in August while consumer spending was up 0.1%.

  • The Chicago Purchasing Managers' index increased from 57.1 to 62.1 in September, more than expected

  • The University of Michigan's index of consumer sentiment increased from 82.0 to 85.4 in September, more than expected.

  • Canada's GDP was up 0.2% in July and up 2.5% YoY.

  • Consumer prices in Tokyo were up 0.4% YoY. In all of Japan, consumer prices were up 0.9% YoY.
    Japan's unemployment rate was unchanged in August at 4.1%.

  • Consumer prices in the Euro zone were up 1.8% in September YoY,

  • The USDA said that, on September 1st, there were:
    1.97 billion bushels of corn in storage, down 7% YoY
    449 million bushels of soybeans in storage, up 75% YoY -- the most since 1986.
    1.74 billion bushels of wheat in storage, down 9% YoY.
    The USDA estimates 2006-2007 U.S. wheat production at 1.81 billion bushels, a bit more than expected.

  • The USDA said there were 62.7 million hogs in inventory on September 1st, up 1.4% YoY. Hogs kept for breeding were up 1.8% YoY.

  • It's getting hard to grow oranges in the Sunshine State. Months long droughts are broken by nasty hurricane seasons. Three diseases that kill and damage citrus trees and fruit continue to spread.



Bank faulted over data transfers to U.S
The Belgian banking consortium Swift breached European privacy rules when it aided the U.S. anti-terrorism program by providing confidential information about money transfers, Belgium's privacy protection commission concluded Thursday.
"It has to be seen as a gross miscalculation by Swift that it has, for years, secretly and systematically transferred massive amounts of personal data for surveillance without effective and clear legal basis and independent controls in line with Belgian and European law," the report said

Ashcroft Is Denied Immunity in Case A federal judge in Idaho has ruled that former attorney general John D. Ashcroft can be held personally responsible for the wrongful detention of a U.S. citizen arrested as a "material witness" in a terrorism case.

Deficit comes in below projections, thanks to `off-budget' borrowing The U.S. government closes the books on fiscal 2006 Saturday, and politicians are likely to trumpet that the federal deficit came in almost $60 billion below projections. Problem is, they won't be using the same math you use.





Thursday, September 28, 2006


Senate OKs detainee interrogation bill
"The habeas corpus language in this bill is as legally abusive of rights guaranteed in the Constitution as the actions at Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo and secret prisons that were physically abusive of detainees," said Sen. Carl Levin, the top Democrat on the Armed Services panel.

Something bad is about to happen. Only you can stop it, and the clock is ticking.

We hate to sound apocalyptic. We loathe the politics of fear (even if it works!). So we're not looking to scare you.

But you need to know that the end is near for "archaic" ideas like . . .
* the right to security in your home and papers
* the right to be free from unreasonable searches
* the safety net of judicial warrant requirements
* the right to a trial by a jury of your peers in a system of due process
* reasonable bail and recourse for false arrest
* protection from cruel and unusual punishment

Those were great ideals for "dead white men," but apparently your children won't need them anymore. Because, you know, the politicians need to protect you and your children from terrorism.

But the politicians need to get a grip, and a sense of proportion. You don't turn the country upside down for light and transient causes. You're more likely to die in your car, or be struck by lightening, than be harmed by terrorism.
We don't fret about such risks, so why are destroying American freedom in the name of an even smaller risk?

A bill is about to pass the House. It permits unlimited spying on your internet usage and telecommunications, the Fourth Amendment be damned. For brevity, I'll call it the "Spying on Americans Act," or SPA for short.The SPA is likely to pass the Senate too, but there we have a chance to stop it.

Under SPA . . .
* The President can spy on you without a warrant
* You'll never learn that his spys have done so, until they use the information against you (legally or not)
* Your phone and internet providers can't refuse to provide information about you * Or tell you they've done so after the fact

The result will be more warrantless searches than in all of U.S. history. And if that history is any guide, it's only a matter of time before this power is used for reasons other than "national security."

Read Whole Story

Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety: Benjamin Franklin

Quick Overview

  • U.S. corporate profits were up 0.3% in the second quarter.

  • The U.S. Commerce Department estimates US GDP growth in the second quarter at of 2.6%, down from the previous estimate of 2.9%. YoY GDP was up 3.5%.

  • Copper demand growth in China, the world's biggest consumer of the metal, may slow to 5.6 percent this year, as record prices prompt makers of cables, wires and air-conditioners to switch to cheaper substitutes. Consumption may be 3.8 million metric tons, versus 3.86 million tons and last year's growth of 9 percent.

  • The U.S. Labor Department said that jobless claims were down 6,000 last week to 316,000.

  • The International Grains Council lowered global wheat production by 5 million tons to 588 million tons.

  • AWB Ltd. lowered the estimate of Australia's wheat crop from 16.4 million tons to 13.5 million, down from 25.1 million tons last year. Hot and dry conditions have hurt this year's crop.

  • The U.S. Department of Energy said that underground supplies of natural gas rose 77 billion cubic feet to 3.254 trillion cubic feet. Supplies are up 13% YoY.

  • German September unemployment fell 17,000 to 4.43 million, the fifth drop in the past six months.

  • Retail sales in Japan increased 2.0% in August, more than expected.

  • France's GDP increased 1.2% in the second quarter, the best quarterly performance in over five years.

  • Worker productivity in the U.K. increased 1.8%.

  • The Chinese Yuan rose to a new 12-3/4-year high at 7.8957 Yuan/USD

Wednesday, September 27, 2006

Quick Overview

  • U.S. Durable goods orders were down 0.5% in August, weaker than expected. In July, orders were revised lower, from a 2.4% to a 2.7% decline.

  • U.S New home sales were up 4.1% MoM. New home inventory dropped from 7.0 to 6.6 months. YoY new home sales are down 16%.

  • The Mortgage Bankers Association said that YoY mortgage applications were down 21% last week.

  • The U.S. Department of Energy said that:
    Supplies of crude oil supplies were down 100,000 barrels to 324.8 million barrels.
    Supplies of unleaded gasoline were up 6.3 million barrels
    Supplies of heating oil were up 2.1 million barrels.

  • U.K.s GDP rose 0.7% in the second quarter and 2.6% YoY.

  • Argentina built up monetary reserves of $28.725 billion which, however, it doesn't intend to use to repay the holdouts from its default in December 2001, Martin Redrado, president of Argentina's Central Bank said.

  • Japan's new Finance Minister Koji Omi said on Wednesday he saw no need to comment or act on movements in the euro/yen rate now and warned markets "I'm still an amateur" on currencies.

The Suspension of Habeas Corpus

House Passes Measure on Religion Suits

Health insurance premiums continue to soar

White House said to bar hurricane report

Most Iraqis Favor Immediate U.S. Pullout,

Tuesday, September 26, 2006


Greenspan: Dump SarbOx He said the evidence is clear that Sarbanes-Oxley strictures are driving initial public stock offerings away from the New York Stock Exchange and to the London Stock Exchange.
The United States of Barbarism
The details of the torture deal vivify how our politicians no longer give a darn about maintaining even a pretense of due process. The agreement will permit the use of coerced confessions in military tribunals – turning the judicial clock back to the 1600s. The Washington Post noted that the agreement permits “defense attorneys to challenge the use of hearsay information obtained through coercive interrogations in distant countries only if they can prove it is unreliable.” Thus, there is a presumption of correctness to whatever accusation is bludgeoned out of people in secret prisons around the world.

Quick Overview

  • After a sharp downturn in August, The Conference Board's index of consumer confidence rose from 100.2 to 104.5 in September, the New York-based Conference Board said Tuesday

  • The confidence of American consumers edged up during the latest week, helped by lower gasoline prices and despite signs of a cooling U.S. economy, ABC News and The Washington Post said on Tuesday.

  • The Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond's manufacturing index rose from +3 to +9 in September, more than expected.

  • The National Cocoa Development Committee estimates Nigerian production at 220,000 tons of cocoa in 2006-2007, up 10% YoY.

  • Germany's September Ifo business confidence index fell slightly to 104.9 from 105.0 in August, but was stronger than market expectations for a decline to 104.4.

  • Canada officially posted at C$13.2 billion federal budget surplus in 2005-2006, the third largest ever.

  • YoY the Mexican economy expanded 5.00 percent in July.

General: Appeals for More Troops Were Denied Adding to criticism of the Bush administration's prosecution of the war in Iraq, a retired senior general who commanded an infantry division in the conflict said Monday that requests by commanders for more soldiers were repeatedly turned down.


Million unexploded cluster bombs could be in Lebanon
The bomblets, half the size of a can of soda, are lying in people’s houses, gardens, on the street and on farmland, he said.
So far, 14 people have been killed and around 90 injured from unexploded ordnance ..


Monday, September 25, 2006



A textbook definition of cowardice
..But if his own fitness to serve is of no true concern to him, perhaps we should simply sigh and keep our fingers crossed, until a grown-up takes the job three Januarys from now.
Except for this.
After five years of skirting even the most inarguable of facts—that he was president on 9/11 and he must bear some responsibility for his, and our, unreadiness, Mr. Bush has now moved, unmistakably and without conscience or shame, towards re-writing history, and attempting to make the responsibility, entirely Mr. Clinton’s.
Of course he is not honest enough to do that directly.
As with all the other nefariousness and slime of this, our worst presidency since James Buchanan, he is having it done for him, by proxy.
Thus, the sandbag effort by Fox News Friday afternoon.
Consider the timing: the very weekend the National Intelligence Estimate would be released and show the Iraq war to be the fraudulent failure it is—not a check on terror, but fertilizer for it.

Quick Overview

  • A top U.S. Federal Reserve official said on Monday the economy is doing well but inflation remains a concern, in remarks that challenge views the central bank will cut interest rates early next year.

  • The National Association of Realtors said that U.S. existing home sales were at an annual rate of 6.30 million units in August, more than expected. The median home price was down 1.7% from a year ago, the first annual drop in eleven years.

  • Canada posted a C$13.2 billion budget surplus for the 2005-06 fiscal year.

Saturday, September 23, 2006


US housing slump may prompt Fed to reduce rates
Signs of a crumbling U.S. housing market and worries that the slump may hurt the overall economy are feeding the idea the central bank will be forced to trim short-term interest rates sooner than many had forecast.



County pension hedge fund loss nearly doubles
The county pension system's estimated losses from the crash of a Connecticut-based hedge fund have climbed to $87 million, nearly twice the figure given just two days ago.


(Hedge fund Amaranth Advisors LLC, which lost about $6 billion trading natural gas futures this month, said it plans to stay in business but has sworn off energy trading. Amaranth founder Nicholas Maounis told investors Friday on a conference call that)


U.N. Torture Investigator: Iraq Now As Bad As Under Saddam
"The situation as far as torture is concerned now in Iraq is totally out of hand," said Manfred Nowak. "The situation is so bad many people say it is worse than it had been in the times of Saddam Hussein."

Quick Overview

  • Consumer spending in France increased 3.3% in August, more than expected

  • Mexico's central bank, wary of a rapid spike in inflation, held its benchmark overnight interest rate at 7 percent on Friday and sent mixed messages over what its next move might be.

  • Big Japanese manufacturers grew more confident about business conditions in the three months to September, a government survey showed on Friday, underscoring the economy's resilience

  • The USDA said that there were 10.986 million head of cattle on feed as of September 1st, up 9.9% YoY. August placements were up 15% YoY, and marketing’s were up 2%.

  • The USDA said that there were 13.9 million pounds of frozen bellies in storage, down 37% YoY.

  • The USDA said that frozen pork supplies totaled 404.9 million pounds, down 2% YoY.

  • The USDA said that there were 888 million pounds of frozen orange juice concentrate in storage, down 36% YoY.

Thursday, September 21, 2006

Quick Overview

  • The U.S. Labor Department said that jobless claims were up 7,000 last week to 318,000.

  • The Conference Board's index of leading indicators was down 0.2%

  • The Philadelphia Federal Reserve's regional manufacturing index dropped from 18.5 to -.4 in September,

  • The U.S. Department of Energy said that supplies of natural gas were up 93 billion cubic feet last week to 3.177 trillion cubic feet. Supplies are now up 13% from a year ago.

  • Canada's retail sales up 1.5% MoM and up 5.7% YoY.

  • Net inflows to US commodity-linked mutual funds in the year to August were $107m, compared with $3.8bn in the same period of 2005.

Wednesday, September 20, 2006

Quick Overview

  • The Federal Reserve kept the federal funds rate unchanged at 5.25%, as expected.

  • Japan's trade surplus widened 95.5 percent to 200.5 billion yen as exports to the United States grew 19.3 percent and exports to China rose 20.0 percent YoY.

  • Canada's composite index of leading indicators increased 0.2%.

  • The U.S. Department of Energy said that:
    Supplies of crude oil were down 2.8 million barrels at 324.9 million barrels.
    Supplies of unleaded gasoline were up 600,000 barrels
    Supplies of heating oil were up 600,000 barrels.

  • Hedge fund Amaranth, agreed to sell its energy trading positions to JPMorgan Chase and Citadel, and entering talks to sell nonenergy assets to Citigroup .

Tuesday, September 19, 2006

Quick Overview

  • The net worth of U.S. households increased 0.1% in the second quarter to $53.3 trillion, the slowest gain in nearly four years, the Federal Reserve said Tuesday.


  • U.S. Housing starts fell 6% more than expected to the lowest rate in more than three years.

  • U.S. Producer prices rose 0.1% in August up 3.7% YoY.

  • China's central bank governor, admitting the challenge posed by China's trade surplus, on Tuesday described currency reforms so far as important and said their impact would be felt over time.

  • Canada's consumer prices increased 2.1% YoY

  • Australia's Bureau of Agricultural said the country will harvest 16.4 million tons of wheat, down 35% YoY.

Monday, September 18, 2006



Bush owes us an apology
Sept. 18: “Countdown” host Keith Olbermann offers a special comment on George Bush’s Rose Garden


The President of the United States owes this country an apology.

Quick Overview

  • The U.S. current-account deficit widened more than forecast last quarter to the second-largest on record as the trade gap expanded and the Treasury paid more interest to overseas investors. Foreign purchases of U.S. securities totaled $54.5 billion in July, while U.S. purchases of foreign securities totaled $21.6 billion.

  • Canadian investors bought C$6.3 billion of foreign securities in July while foreign investors bought C$3.2 billion of Canadian securities.

Keillor: Coffee, tea or TATP
The way to stop terrorists on planes is to encourage passengers to bring loaded firearms aboard: guys in orange vests sitting in exit rows with deer rifles on their laps, ladies with Mr. Colt in their purses, kids with peashooters. Somebody wake up the NRA. Does the Second Amendment say ''The right of the People to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed except on commercial airliners''? Where is the right wing when you really need them?