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_NOVEMBER 2008 NEWS_
YEAR 2008 CALENDAR Printable 2008 Calendar November 2008 News History October 2008 News September 2008 News August 2008 News July 2008 News June 2008 News May 2008 News April 2008 News March 2008 News February 2008 News January 2008 News |
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-
Infant
-
Food
- Health
-
Science
-
Politics
-
Industrial
-
Maker
- US
-
China
"FDA
finds melamine traces in U.S. infant formulas." ...
"The Food and Drug Administration has found trace amounts of the industrial
chemical melamine in some U.S. [United States] infant formulas, but at
levels 10,000 times lower than those found in Chinese-made formula." ...
"In China, where faked formula killed at least four children and sickened
more than 53,000, large amounts of melamine were added to watered-down
milk to make it appear to have an appropriate protein content." ... "The
trace amounts of melamine and cyanuric acid, a melamine by-product, were
found in formula from Abbott Laboratories, Nestle and Mead Johnson, which
together make more than 90% of all infant formula produced in the United
States." -AP
via -USATODAY
_2008
News News Reference November
2008 News
November 24, 2008 News URL: #November-24-2008-News
20081124
Monday
-
China
-
Media
- Politics
-
Entertainment
-
Music
-
Free
Speech - Law
-
US
"China
state media blast new Guns N' Roses album." ... "A
newspaper published by China's ruling Communist Party is blasting the latest
Guns N' Roses album as an attack on the Chinese nation." ... "Delayed since
recording began in 1994, "Chinese Democracy" hit stores in the U.S. on
Sunday, although it is unlikely to be sold legally in China, where censors
maintain tight control over films, music and publications." ... "In an
article Monday headlined "American band releases album venomously attacking
China," the Global Times said unidentified Chinese Internet users had described
the album as part of a plot by some in the West to "grasp and control the
world using democracy as a pawn."" ... "The album "turns its spear point
on China," the article said." -By Christopher Bodeen
-AP via -Yahoo
_2008
News News Reference November
2008 News
November 19, 2008 News URL: #November-19-2008-News
20081119
Wednesday
-
Economics
-
History
-
Politics
"Amity
Shlaes strikes again." ... "When you hear claims
that the New Deal made the depression worse, they often come directly or
indirectly from the work of Amity Shlaes, whose misleading statistics have
been widely disseminated on the right." ... "Now, Ms. Shlaes has found
a new target: John Maynard Keynes. There’s a lot to critique in this
piece, but this one takes the cake:"
"But the most telling fact about the new rush to spend is that its advocates have insisted on invoking the New Deal. They tend to gloss over the period when the phrase, “We are all Keynesians now,” was actually first uttered: the mid-1960s. (Uttered by Friedman, in fact, though he meant only that we all work in the terms of the Keynesian lexicon.)""Grr. Keynesianism says that deficit spending can help create jobs when the economy is depressed. The Great Society wasn’t deficit spending, it wasn’t intended to create jobs, and the economy of the 1960s wasn’t depressed. It was social engineering; we can talk about how well or badly it worked, but it had nothing whatsoever to do with Keynesian economics. " -By Paul Krugman/Blog -NYTimes"The Great Society of that period was the ultimate Keynesian experiment, and it didn’t work very well."
-
Jeff
Sessions - Auto
-
Makers
- Workers
-
Health
Care -
Pension
- Politics
-
Federal
- Economy
-
2010
Election -
Michigan
-
Ohio
- US
-
Foreign
-
Alabama
-
Georgia
-
Kentucky
- Japan
-
South
Korea
"It's
North vs. South in Big Three bailout fight." ...
"Should taxpayers in Alabama be required to bail out [American] automakers
whose plants are concentrated in Northern states like Michigan and Ohio?"
... "Alabama is home to three Honda [Japan automaker] and Hyundai [South
Korea automaker] plants. And just across the state line in Georgia, a new
Kia [Hyundai] plant is set to open and will likely employ many Alabamans."
... "[Alabama Republican Senator] Sen. Jeff Sessions, R- Ala. [Republican-Alabama],
told reporters Wednesday, “I can not imagine a real justification for a
worker in Alabama who does not have any health insurance at his company
to be taxed to maintain a Cadillac health care plan for somebody in Detroit
[Michigan].”" ... "The struggle over whether Congress should make the loan
is a classic regional battle: North vs. South, unionized states like Michigan
vs. mostly non-union ones like Alabama." ... "“There are some states that
might think there’s a competitive advantage for them if the Big Three don’t
make it,” [Michigan Democratic Senator] Sen. Carl Levin, D- Mich. [Democratic-Michigan],
a Big Three ally, told reporters Tuesday." ... "[Kentucky Republican Senator]
Sen. Jim Bunning, R- Ky. [Republican-Kentucky], who is up for re-election
in 2010, said Wednesday, “It’s not a balancing act. It’s whether the federal
government should intervene in the private-sector economy. And I believe
it should not. I am very concerned that people as hard-headed as the three
people who spoke to us yesterday would not have a plan in place and not
have any concession to make, but they would just want the money so they
can burn through it. That’s unacceptable.”" ... "And if Chrysler and General
Motors go into bankruptcy or liquidation?" ... "“I think that’s probably
the best thing that can happen,” [Kentucky Republican Senator] Bunning
replied. “Then there will be a reorganization and they’ll be able to jettison
things they couldn’t ordinarily jettison, like health care benefits, like
pension benefits and there will be someone to pick those up like the Pension
Benefit Guaranty Corp. And then they will be able to restructure their
salaries to get more in line with foreign producers and they may come out
of bankruptcy a heck of a lot better off than they go into it.”" (1, 2)
-By Tom Curry -MSNBC
-
Georgia
-
Nevada
-
2008
Election - Politics
"RNC
gives NRSC $2 million for GA runoff." ... "[Nevada
Republican Senator] Sen. John Ensign said Wednesday that the Republican
National Committee (RNC) has transferred $2 million earmarked for the Senate
runoff in Georgia to the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC),
which was $4 million in debt after [2008] Election Day." ... "The committee
has already launched a $700,000 ad buy in the Georgia race, which pits
[Georgia Republican Senator] Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga. [Republican-Georgia])
against former state [Georgia State Democratic Representative] Rep. Jim
Martin (D [Democratic])." -By Aaron Blake
-TheHill.com
-
John
McCain -
Barack
Obama -
2008
Election -
Missouri
-
Arizona
- Politics
"McCain
wins Missouri; State's streak over!" ... "Fifteen
days after [2008] Election Day, Republican [Arizona Senator] Sen. John
McCain has narrowly edged out [Democratic] President-elect Barack Obama
in the state, according to CNN's review of the latest unofficial vote totals
from the Missouri Secretary of State. This resolves the final outstanding
contest of the 2008 presidential race." ... "With Missouri's 11 electoral
votes in Senator McCain's column, the final count is 365 for Obama and
173 for McCain." ... "McCain's edging out of Obama in Missouri breaks the
state's bellwether streak in which Missourians correctly picked the presidential
candiate in every election dating back to the 1960 contest. Missouri got
it wrong in 1956, voting for the Democratic challenger Adlai Stevenson,
who lost the election to President Dwight D. Eisenhower. Before that election,
Missouri correctly picked the winner in every race for the White House
dating back to 1904." -By Paul Steinhauser with contributions
by Robert Yoon -CNN
-
Lawmakers
-
Politics
-
Auto
-
Makers
- Industry
-
Union
"Union
busting is the real motivation." ... "The same lawmakers
who were okay with handing over tens of billions of dollars to white collar
execs at AIG and in the mortgage industry are now balking at saving hundreds
of thousands of American blue collar jobs via a similar handout to the
auto industry. Instead, the chorus is growing - particularly among conservatives
- calling for automakers to declare bankruptcy and throw themselves on
the mercy of the court." ... "This possibility has anti-labor activists
and pundits practically beside themselves with glee, as they see forced
bankruptcy as a backdoor route to union busting. That's because in a bankruptcy
filing, all union contracts could be terminated at the discretion of the
trustee overseeing the proceeding." ... "Of course, unions have already
made significant concessions in recent years, in an attempt to
save members' jobs and America's legacy industry. And the same people who
want to see a union autoworker earning 50K a year make less in salary,
and pay more for his health insurance don't seem that concerned about the
fact that the
white-collar management at these companies continues to earn obscene salaries,
even as the companies they lead are dying. (When management earns ever-increasing
salaries even as the performance of their companies tanks, that's not capitalism,
and it's got nothing to do with unions.)" ... "Bailout may not be the right
answer for our auto industry. But fair discussion of the issue is impossible
when the real motivation for some legislators is not what's best for the
American economy, but their not-so-secret desire to kill off the American
labor movement." -By Katie
Allison Granju -KnoxNews.com
_2008
News News Reference November
2008 News
November 18, 2008 News URL: #November-18-2008-News
20081118
Tuesday
-
Ted
Stevens -
Criminal
- Oil
-
Money
-
Federal
- Law
-
Alaska
- History
-
2008
Election
"Alaska
Sen. Ted Stevens loses re-election bid." ... "[Alaska
Republican Senator] Sen. Ted Stevens, the longest serving Republican in
Senate history, narrowly lost his [2008 Election] re-election bid Tuesday,
marking the downfall of a Washington political power and Alaska icon who
couldn't survive a conviction on federal corruption charges. His defeat
by Anchorage [Alaska] Mayor Mark Begich moves Senate Democrats within two
seats of a filibuster-proof 60-vote majority." ... "Stevens' ouster on
his 85th birthday marks an abrupt realignment in Alaska politics and will
alter the power structure in the Senate, where he has served since the
days of the [Democratic President] Johnson administration while holding
seats on some of the most influential committees in Congress." ... "Last
month just days before the election, Stevens was convicted by a federal
jury in Washington of lying on Senate disclosure forms to conceal more
than $250,000 in gifts and home renovations from an oil field services
company. -By Michael R. Blood with contributions by
Jesse J. Holland, Andrew Taylor and Rachel D'Oro
-AP via -Yahoo
_2008
News News Reference November
2008 News
November 17, 2008 News URL: #November-17-2008-News
20081117
Monday
-
Children
-
Food
-
Poverty
- Health
-
Safety
-
Government
-
Language
- Politics
-
Economics
-
Accounting
"50
percent more US children went hungry in 2007." ...
"Some 691,000 children went hungry in America sometime in 2007, while close
to one in eight Americans struggled to feed themselves adequately even
before this year's sharp economic downtown, the Agriculture Department
reported Monday." ... "The department's annual report on food security
showed that during 2007 the number of children who suffered a substantial
disruption in the amount of food they typically eat was more than 50 percent
above the 430,000 in 2006 and the largest figure since 716,000 in 1998."
... "Overall, the 36.2 million adults and children who struggled with hunger
during the year was up slightly from 35.5 million in 2006. That was 12.2
percent of Americans who didn't have the money or assistance to get enough
food to maintain active, healthy lives." ... "Almost a third of those,
11.9 million adults and children, went hungry at some point. That figure
has grown by more than 40 percent since 2000. The government says these
people suffered a substantial disruption in their food supply at some point
and classifies them as having "very low food security." Until the government
rewrote its definitions two years ago, this group was described as having
"food insecurity with hunger."" -By Michael J. Sniffen
-AP via -Yahoo
PDF:
USDA.gov Report: "Household Food Security in the United States, 2007."
_2008
News News Reference November
2008 News
November 16, 2008 News URL: #November-16-2008-News
20081116
Sunday
-
Obama
-
Government
- Law
-
Enforcement
- Markets
-
Accounting
- History
-
Enron
-
Noteworthy
-
Eliot
Spitzer -
New
York - US
-
Global
"How
to Ground The Street: The Former 'Enforcer' On the
Best Way to Keep Financial Markets in Check." ... "[Democratic] President-elect
Barack Obama will soon face the extraordinary task of saving capitalism
from its own excesses, much as [Democratic President] Franklin D. Roosevelt
had to do 76 years ago. Up until this point in the crisis, policymakers
have appropriately applied the rules of triage -- Band-Aids and tourniquets,
then radical surgery -- to keep the global financial system alive. Capital
infusions, bailouts, mega-mergers, government guarantees of unimaginable
proportions -- all have been sought and supported by officials and corporate
chief executives who had until now opposed any government participation
in the marketplace. But put aside for the moment the ideological cartwheel
we have seen and look at the big picture: The rules of modern capitalism
have been re-written before our eyes." ... "The new president's team must
soon get to the root causes of the mistakes that have brought us to the
economic precipice. Yes, we have all derided the explosion of leverage,
the failure to regulate derivatives, the flood of subprime lending that
was bound to default and the excesses of CEO [Chief Executive Officer]
compensation. But these are all mere manifestations of three deeper structural
problems that require greater attention: misconceptions about what a "free
market" really is, a continuing breakdown in corporate governance and an
antiquated and incoherent federal financial regulatory framework." ...
"First, we must confront head-on the pervasive misunderstanding of what
constitutes a "free market." For long stretches of the past 30 years, too
many Americans fell prey to the ideology that a free market requires nearly
complete deregulation of banks and other financial institutions and a government
with a hands-off approach to enforcement. "We can regulate ourselves,"
the mantra went." ... "Those of us who raised red flags about this were
scoffed at for failing to understand or even believe in "the market." During
my tenure as New York state attorney general, my colleagues and I sought
to require investment banking analysts to provide their clients with unbiased
recommendations, devoid of undisclosed and structural conflicts. But powerful
voices with heavily vested interests accused us of meddling in the market."
... "When my office, along with the Department of Justice, warned that
some of American International Group's reinsurance transactions were little
more than efforts to create the false impression of extra capital on the
company's balance sheet, we were jeered at for attacking one of the nation's
great insurance companies, which surely knew how to balance risk and reward."
... "And when the attorneys general of all 50 states sought to investigate
subprime lending, believing that some lending practices might be toxic,
we were blocked by a coalition of the major banks and the [Republican President]
Bush administration, which invoked a rarely used statute to preempt the
states' ability to probe." ... "No major market problem has been resolved
through self-regulation, because individual competitive behavior doesn't
concern itself with the larger market. Individual actors care only about
performing better than the next guy, doing whatever is permitted -- or
will go undetected. Look at the major bubbles and market crises. Long-Term
Capital Management, Enron, the subprime lending scandals: All are classic
demonstrations of the bitter reality that greed, not self-discipline, rules
where unfettered behavior is allowed." ... "Those who truly understand
economics, as did Adam Smith, do not preach an absence of government participation.
A market doesn't exist in a vacuum. Rather, a market is a product of laws,
rules and enforcement. It needs transparency, capital requirements and
fidelity to fiduciary duty. The alternative, as we are seeing, is anarchy."
(1, 2)
-By Eliot L. Spitzer -WashingtonPost
_2008
News News Reference November
2008 News
November 15, 2008 News URL: #November-15-2008-News
20081115
Saturday
-
Corporate
-
Television
-
Media
- Politics
"If
it’s Sunday, it’s still conservative." ... "In 2006,
Media Matters conducted a study on Sunday political talk shows, finding
that “Republicans and conservatives
have been offered more opportunities to appear on the Sunday shows
— in some cases, dramatically so.” From 2001 to 2005, conservative guests
outnumbered progressives “by 58 percent to 42 percent.” Atrios notes that
tomorrow’s shows will also be dominated by conservative
guests:"
"7 Appearances by Republican current elected officeholders"" -ThinkProgress.org
"3 Appearances by Democratic current elected officeholders."
"2 Appearances by Republican former elected officeholders."
"1 Appearance by a [Republican President] Bush Cabinet Secretary."
"T. Boone Pickens [former Republican swift boat contributor]"
"Ted Turner. "
-
Global
- Financial
-
Crisis
- Terrorism
-
Intelligence
-
Nuclear
-
US
-
Pakistan
-
China
-
Afghanistan
-
Yemen
"Experts
See Security Risks in Downturn: Global Financial
Crisis May Fuel Instability and Weaken U.S. [United States] Defenses."
... "Intelligence officials are warning that the deepening global financial
crisis could weaken fragile governments in the world's most dangerous areas
and undermine the ability of the United States and its allies to respond
to a new wave of security threats." ... "U.S. government officials and
private analysts say the economic turmoil has heightened the short-term
risk of a terrorist attack, as radical groups probe for weakening border
protections and new gaps in defenses. A protracted financial crisis could
threaten the survival of friendly regimes from Pakistan to the Middle East
while forcing Western nations to cut spending on defense, intelligence
and foreign aid, the sources said." ... "The crisis could also accelerate
the shift to a more Asia-centric globe, as rising powers such as China
gain more leverage over international financial institutions and greater
influence in world capitals." ... "Some of the more troubling and immediate
scenarios analysts are weighing involve nuclear-armed Pakistan, which already
was being battered by inflation and unemployment before the global financial
tsunami hit. Since September, Pakistan has seen its national currency devalued
and its hard-currency reserves nearly wiped out." ... "Analysts also worry
about the impact of plummeting crude prices on oil-dependent nations such
as Yemen, which has a large population of unemployed youths and a history
of support for militant Islamic groups." ... "Annual spending for U.S.
intelligence operations currently totals $47.5 billion, a figure that does
not include expensive satellites that fall under the Pentagon's budget."
... "U.S. officials are following developments with particular concern
because of Pakistan's critical role in the campaign against terrorism,
as well as the country's arsenal of dozens of nuclear weapons. Al-Qaeda
has appealed directly to Pakistanis to overthrow their government, and
its Taliban allies have launched multiple suicide bombings, some aimed
at economic targets such as the posh Marriott hotel in Islamabad [Pakistan's
capital], hit in September." ... "Economic and social unrest has helped
drive recruiting for militant groups that cross into Afghanistan to attack
U.S. troops." ... "China already was on track to surpass the United States
as the world's largest economy, perhaps as early as 2030. Now, many experts
believe the global recession could help it do so faster." (1, 2,
3)
-By Joby Warrick -WashingtonPost
-
Gay
-
Religion
- Politics
-
People
-
San
Francisco -
California
-
Salt
Lake City -
Utah
"Mormons
Tipped Scale in Ban on Gay Marriage." ... "Less than
two weeks before [2008] Election Day, [Frank Schubert] the chief strategist
behind a ballot measure outlawing same-sex marriage in California called
an emergency meeting here." ... "The campaign issued an urgent appeal,
and in a matter of days, it raised more than $5 million, including a $1
million donation from Alan C. Ashton, the grandson of a former president
[David McKay] of the Mormon Church." ... "The California measure, Proposition
8, was to many Mormons a kind of firewall to be held at all costs." ...
"First approached by the Roman Catholic archbishop of San Francisco [California]
a few weeks after the California Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage
in May, the Mormons were the last major religious group to join the campaign,
and the final spice in an unusual stew that included Catholics, evangelical
Christians, conservative black and Latino pastors, and myriad smaller ethnic
groups with strong religious ties." ... "Shortly after receiving the invitation
from the San Francisco Archdiocese, the Mormon leadership in Salt Lake
City [Utah's capital] issued a four-paragraph decree to be read to congregations,
saying “the formation of families is central to the Creator’s plan,” and
urging members to become involved with the cause." ... "“And they sure
did,” Mr. Schubert said." ... "Jeff Flint, another strategist with Protect
Marriage, estimated that Mormons made up 80 percent to 90 percent of the
early volunteers who walked door-to-door in election precincts." ... "In
the end, Protect Marriage estimates, as much as half of the nearly $40
million raised on behalf of the measure was contributed by Mormons." (1,
2)
-By Jesse
McKinley and Kirk
Johnson -NYTimes
_2008
News News Reference November
2008 News
November 14, 2008 News URL: #November-14-2008-News
20081114
Friday
-
Political
-
Corporate
-
Television
-
Media
-
Michigan
-
Massachusetts
-
New
York
-
Arizona
-
Georgia
-
Louisiana
-
Alabama
"More
Muscle." ... "TPM Reader RS ..."
"Here is something progressives really need to address. On Sunday morning political shows, three Democrats are confirmed as guests: [Michigan Democratic Senator] Carl Levin, [Massachusetts Democratic Representative] Barney Frank, and [New York Democratic Representative] Charlie Rangel. It's as if Democrats didn't just win huge electoral advances in the Presidential, House, and Senate elections. So we get the same thing we've had the past 8 years--republican hegemony on Sunday. [Arizona Republican Senator Jon] Kyl? Check. [former Georgia Republican Representative Newt] Gingrich? Check. [Republican Michael] Steele? Check. [Louisiana Republican Governor Bobby] Jindal and [Alabama Republican Senator Richard] Shelby? Check and check? Just look at The Page for the whole list. When is the "liberal media" going to give some of the oxygen to Democrats?""This is unquestionably true. The bookers and producers of the Sunday shows are committed to the continuing dominance of conservative/Republican marquee guests. No question about it. And this is going to be one part of the rewiring of Washington that will take longer and face more resistance than possibly any other. The big interests and institutions that go to Washington to buy influence are quickly reacting to the changing political complexion of the city. The TV bookers and opinion act like nothing's happened." -By Josh Marshall .TalkingPointsMemo
-
Don
E Siegelman -
Karl
Rove -
Michael
Mukasey -
Leura
G Canary -
Bob
Riley -
Criminal
-
US
Attorney - Politics
-
Federal
- Law
-
Alabama
-
Georgia
-
Michigan
"More
Allegations of Misconduct in Alabama Governor Case."
... "Next month in Atlanta [Georgia's capital], a federal court will hear
the high-profile appeal of former [Democratic] Alabama governor Don E.
Siegelman, whose conviction on corruption charges in 2006 became one of
the most publicly debated cases to emerge from eight years of controversy
at the [Republican President] Bush Justice Department. Now new documents
highlight alleged misconduct by the Bush-appointed [United States] U.S.
Attorney and other prosecutors in the case, including what appears to be
extensive and unusual contact between the prosecution and the jury." ...
"The documents, obtained by TIME, include internal
prosecution e-mails [PDF] given to the Justice Department and Congress
by a whistle-blower during the past 18 months. [Michigan Democratic Representative]
John Conyers, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, which investigated
the
Siegelman case as part of a broader inquiry into alleged political
interference in the hiring and firing of U.S. Attorneys by the Bush Justice
Department, last week sent an
eight-page letter [PDF] to Attorney General Michael Mukasey citing
the new material." ... "Conyers says the evidence raises "serious questions"
about the U.S. Attorney in the Siegelman case, who, documents show, continued
to involve herself in the politically charged prosecution long after she
had publicly withdrawn to avoid an alleged conflict of interest relating
to her husband, a top GOP operative and close associate of Bush adviser
Karl Rove. Conyers' letter also cites evidence of numerous contacts between
jurors and members of the Siegelman prosecution team that were never disclosed
to the trial judge or defense counsel." ... "Critics, including a bipartisan
group of 52 state attorneys general, have raised numerous questions, including
the allegation that Siegelman was prosecuted at the insistence of Bush-appointed
officials at the Justice Department and Leura G. Canary, a U.S. Attorney
in Montgomery [Alabama] whose husband [William "Bill" Canary] was Alabama's
top Republican operative and who had worked
closely with Rove for years." ... "The documents — whose authenticity
is not in dispute — include e-mails written by Canary, long after her recusal,
offering legal advice to subordinates handling the case. At the time Canary
wrote the e-mails, her husband — Alabama GOP [GOP=Grand Old Party=Republican
operative William J. Canary — was a vocal booster of the state's Republican
governor, Bob Riley, who had defeated Siegelman for the office and against
whom Siegelman was preparing to run again. Canary also received tens of
thousands of dollars in fees from other political opponents of Siegelman."
... "A key prosecution e-mail describes how jurors repeatedly contacted
the government's legal team during the trial to express, among other things,
one juror's romantic interest in a member of the prosecution team." ...
"What's more, when prosecutors conducted their own investigation of suspected
improper conduct by jurors after the trial, two of them were interviewed,
despite instructions from the judge that no contact with jurors should
occur without his permission. Those interviews were not publicly disclosed
until nearly two years later, when the head of the [Department Of Justice]
DOJ's criminal division belatedly wrote all parties, including the appeals
court in Atlanta, to inform them." ... "Further undisclosed evidence of
prosecution team members speaking with jurors following the verdict emerges
in [Justice Department staffer Tamarah] Grimes' written statement to the
DOJ." -By Adam Zagorin
-TIME.com
- Auto
-
Makers
-
Federal
- Politics
-
Unemployment
-
Michigan
-
Ohio
-
Indiana
"GM
Collapse at $200 Billion May Exceed Bailout Plan (Update1)."
... "General
Motors Corp., seeking a federal bailout as its cash dwindles, would
cost the government as much as $200 billion should the biggest U.S. [United
States] automaker be forced to liquidate, a forecasting firm estimated."
... "A GM [General Motors] collapse would mean ``more aid to specific states
like Michigan, Ohio, and Indiana, and more money into unemployment and
extended benefits,'' Nariman Behravesh, chief economist at IHS Global Insight
Inc. in Lexington, Massachusetts, said today in an interview. He prepared
the estimate for Bloomberg News." ... "The projected expense of $100 billion
to $200 billion covers funds for existing programs, such as unemployment
insurance, and new measures that would be needed to revive economic growth
after millions of auto-related job losses." ... "Such a sum would be an
eightfold increase over the $25 billion bailout package that will be debated
in Congress next week to help prop up Detroit-based GM, Ford
Motor Co. and Chrysler LLC amid the industry's worst sales year
since 1991." ... "A GM shutdown would cost jobs among suppliers as well
as at the automaker itself, pushing the U.S. unemployment rate next year
to 9.5 percent, compared with current projections of as high as 8.5 percent
due to the weakened economy, Behravesh said." -By
Alex Ortolani and Mike Ramsey -Bloomberg
-
AIG
- Workers
-
Federal
- Politics
"AIG
to Pay Millions To Top Workers: Move Comes on Heels
Of Revised Bailout." ... "American International Group plans to pay out
$503 million in deferred compensation to some of its top employees, saying
it must tap the funds to keep valuable workers from exiting the troubled
insurance giant." ... "News of the payments to top AIG [American International
Group] talent comes as the federal government has just put more money into
saving the company from bankruptcy, beefing up the total public commitment
to $152 billion. Meanwhile, members of Congress are questioning the company's
expenditures -- including lavish business trips to resorts -- during a
time when taxpayers are on the hook for the bailout." ... "AIG's troubles
stem from bad bets it made guaranteeing and buying risky mortgage investments.
On Monday, the U.S. [United States] government announced that it would
have to expand its rescue of the company to nearly double the $85 billion
loan it first provided in September when AIG was unable to pay billions
of dollars in claims." ... "The company reported losses this week that
brought total losses to $37.63 billion for the first nine months of the
year." -By Carol D. Leonnig
-WashingtonPost
-
Criminal
- Computer
-
Hackers
-
E-Mails
- Corporation
-
Technology
-
California
- US
-
Worldwide
"Spam
traffic plunges after report blames server hosting company:
The number of such e-mails falls about two-thirds worldwide after Internet
providers cut off a server company accused of enabling nefarious activity."
... ""I'm not under the illusion that it's going to last forever, but it's
nice to have these small victories," said Paul Ferguson, an advanced threat
researcher at software security company Trend Micro Inc. who contributed
to the effort." ... "He and other analysts circulated a dense report Wednesday
that blamed some companies for allowing spam to proliferate. Two big providers
of Internet connections named in it -- Hurricane Electric Internet Services
and Global Crossing Ltd. -- acted quickly to cut ties to the core subject
of the document, a little-known Silicon Valley [California] company called
McColo Corp. [Corporation] that rents out servers to clients." ... "The
researchers didn't say whether McColo knowingly aided criminals, but they
described some of the nefarious activities conducted on some websites the
company hosted. Among other things, McColo reportedly enabled its customers
to control vast networks of hijacked computers to send spam and take payments
for fake anti-virus software." ... "The criminal groups that allegedly
used McColo are largely believed to be based overseas. The groups now have
to find other service providers." -By Joseph Menn
-LAtimes
_2008
News News Reference November
2008 News
November 13, 2008 News URL: #November-13-2008-News
20081113
Thursday
-
Henry
Paulson
- Corporate
-
Government
-
Investigation
- Legislation
"Bailout
Lacks Oversight Despite Billions Pledged: Watchdog
Panel Is Empty; Report Is Unfinished." ... "In the six weeks since lawmakers
approved the Treasury's massive bailout of financial firms, the government
has poured money into the country's largest banks, recruited smaller banks
into the program and repeatedly widened its scope to cover yet other types
of businesses, from insurers to consumer lenders." ... "Along the way,
the [Republican President] Bush administration has committed $290 billion
of the $700 billion rescue package." ... "Yet for all this activity, no
formal action has been taken to fill the independent oversight posts established
by Congress when it approved the bailout to prevent corruption and government
waste. Nor has the first monitoring report required by lawmakers been completed,
though the initial deadline has passed." ... "The legislation grants the
special inspector, who is expected to be the primary overseer of the program,
a budget of $50 million. The measure calls for him to conduct audits and
investigations of how the government spends money under the bailout program,
including on equity investments in firms. In particular, he is to report
about any assets acquired and their value, plus an explanation of why they
were acquired and details on individuals or companies involved in the transactions."
... "The leading candidate for the post is Neil M. Barofsky, a federal
prosecutor in New York, and his nomination could come as soon as this week,
according to people familiar with the matter." ... "For their part, lawmakers
have yet to nominate the five-member Congressional Oversight Panel, though
leaders of both parties said they hoped they would be named by the end
of the month and start work by December." ... "The legislation also created
a body called the Financial Stability Oversight Board, whose five members
include [Republican President Bush's Treasury Secretary Henry] Paulson
and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke. But it has no staff of its
own, and few expect that policymakers can conduct oversight of themselves.
"It's sort of a joke in terms of oversight," a congressional aide said."
(1, 2)
-By Amit R. Paley -WashingtonPost
-
Labor-
Market
"Jobless
claims hit 25-year high, imports plunge." ... "The
number of U.S. workers drawing jobless benefits hit a 25-year high this
month and imports suffered a record fall in September, according to reports
on Thursday that underscored a rapid drop-off in the U.S. economy." ...
"The number of workers filing new claims for jobless benefits rose by an
unexpectedly steep 32,000 last week to 516,000, the highest since the weeks
following the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States, the Labor
Department said." ... "The number of workers still on the benefit rolls
after drawing an initial week of aid hit 3.9 million in the week to November
1, the highest since January 1983." ... ""This is obviously very, very
serious deterioration in the labor market, more than a lot of people had
expected even a couple of months ago," said Scott Brown, chief economist
with Raymond James & Associates in St. Petersburg, Fla." ... ""We are
looking at the biggest financial crisis since the Great Depression and
the biggest economic crisis we have had in the United States since the
early 1980s."" (1, 2)
-By Doug Palmer with contributions by Lisa Lambert
and Diane Craft -Reuters
_2008
News News Reference November
2008 News
November 12, 2008 News URL: #November-12-2008-News
20081112
Wednesday
-
Henry
Paulson
-
Government
-
Emergency
- Politics
-
AIG
"Washington's
$5 Trillion Tab: Fighting the financial crisis has
put the U.S. on the hook for some $5 trillion a report says. So far." ...
"For all the fury over [Republican President Bush's] Treasury Secretary
Henry Paulson's $700 billion emergency economic relief fund, it seems downright
puny when compared to the running total of the government's response to
the credit crisis." ... "According to CreditSights, a research firm in
New York and London, the U.S. government has put itself on the hook for
some $5 trillion, so far, in an attempt to arrest a collapse of
the financial system." ... "The Fed has taken on much of that total, including
lending a cumulative $1 trillion in overnight or short-term loans since
March to primary dealers through its emergency discount window and making
a cumulative $1.8 trillion available through its term auction facility,
a series of short-term transactions it began making available twice a month
in January. It should be noted that a portion of the funds lent in these
programs has been repaid and that the totals represent what has been made
available." ... "The Fed also took on tens of billions in debt, including
$29 billion in debt of Bear Stearns, and made $60 billion of credit available
to American International Group (nyse: AIG
- news
- people
). It is committing $22.5 billion to set up a special purpose vehicle to
manage some of AIG's residential mortgage-backed securities, and it is
financing $30 billion of a second fund to hold $70 billion of multi-sector
collaterized debt obligations on which AIG wrote credit default swaps."
... "The Treasury, in addition to the $700 billion raised in the Emergency
Economic Stabilization Act, agreed to guarantee money market funds against
losses up to $50 billion, will inject $40 billion of capital into AIG and
is backing the conservatorship of Fannie Mae (nyse: FNM
- news
- people ) and
Freddie
Mac (nyse: FRE
- news
- people ), to
the tune of $200 billion." ... "The FDIC [Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation],
meanwhile, is guaranteeing $1.5 trillion of senior unsecured bank debt."
... "Not included in the total are the Fed's long-existing discount window
lending to commercial banks, the mortgage modification plan announced by
regulators on Tuesday, support for the Federal Home Loan Banks and a myriad
of other programs." -By Elizabeth Moyer
-Forbes
- Auto
-
Makers
- Jobs
-
Government
- History
-
Military
- Politics
-
Ohio
"Failure
of auto industry could set off catastrophe." ...
"Advocates for the nation's automakers are warning that the collapse of
the Big Three -- or even just General Motors -- could set off a catastrophic
chain reaction in the economy, eliminating up to 3 million jobs and depriving
governments of more than $150 billion in tax revenue." ... ""We've got
to do this because the cost of inaction is so high to communities, to workers,
to companies," said [Ohio Democratic Senator] Sen. Sherrod Brown, a Democrat
from Ohio. He was among many lawmakers worried that an industry collapse
would be devastating for everything from school districts to small businesses."
... "Even if just GM [General Motors] collapsed, the failure could bring
down the other two companies -- and even the U.S. [United States] operations
of foreign automakers -- as parts suppliers run out of money and shut down."
... "Concern about the automakers hit new heights Friday when GM and Ford
reported they spent a combined $14.6 billion more than they took in last
quarter. GM said it could run out of money by the end of the year." ...
"Ford said it could last through 2009, but only because it arranged a hefty
credit line last year." ... "All this comes after tight credit and economic
uncertainty in October reduced U.S. auto sales to their lowest level in
25 years -- with no rebound in sight." ... "The Big Three have cut their
combined U.S. hourly work force more than 40 percent since 2005, from 244,000
to about 139,000." ... "Brown, the Ohio senator, said letting the industry
collapse would also be a national security risk, eliminating companies
that were essential in two world wars." -By Tom Krisher
and Ken Thomas -AP
via -Yahoo
-
Blackwater
- Corporate
-
Military
-
Federal
-
Investigation
-
NC
- US
-
Iraq
"Blackwater
likely to be fined millions in Iraq weapons case."
... "The State Department is preparing to slap a multi-million dollar fine
on private military contractor Blackwater USA for shipping hundreds of
automatic weapons to Iraq without the necessary permits." ... "Some of
the weapons are believed to have ended up on the country's black market,
department officials told McClatchy, but no criminal charges have been
filed in the case." ... "The expected fine is the result of a long-running
federal investigation into whether employees of the firm shipped weapons
hidden in shrink-wrapped pallets from its Moyock, N.C. [North Carolina]
headquarters to Iraq, where Blackwater is the State Department's largest
personal security contractor." ... "Since the arms shipment allegations
first became public 14 months ago, Blackwater, which has received $1.2
billion in federal contracts, according to the Web site fedspending.org,
has consistently denied involvement in illicit arms trafficking." ... "However,
the State Department found that Blackwater shipped 900 weapons to Iraq
without the paperwork requ