The Flashlight, January 19-25, 2008
THE FLASHLIGHT, January 19 – 25, 2008
No Pacific without Justice, no Justice without the Facts
The United States
Economy
NYTimes 1-21. While the Americans were observing the anniversary of the birth of Martin Luther King, a huge sell-off of stocks in Asia and Europe alerted brokers and traders to the imminence of a similar crash in New York.
1-22. The crash hit the US. Only gold was up; oil and bonds declined along with industrial stocks. Even banks were hit, especially Bank of America and Citibank.
Just before the market opened the Federal Reserve announced a .75% interest rate, the largest one-day increase on record. This prompted stocks to recover.
1-23. Stocks again dropped sharply, and then recovered. Technical stocks were in worse trouble: the Nasdaq has dropped
12% since January 1. Commentators on CNBC (Ch. 58) said that stocks have not yet hit bottom.
Asian and European markets were no less disturbed than those of the US.
PBS 1-25. The Dow Jones closed at 12,207. Asian markets rallied; European markets did not.
Presidential Primaries
1-20. Romney wins Republican race in Nevada. McCain ahead in South Carolina. Among Democrats, Hilary Clinton won the most votes in Nevada, but on account of complex rules, Obama won the most delegates to the Democratic Convention, 13-12.
1-21 CNN. Surging black support for Obama put him significantly ahead of Hilary Clinton in South Carolina. Bill Clinton went on the attack for his wife. McCain and Guiliani battled in Florida.
1-25. The New York Times announced its support for Hilary Clinton by Democrats and John McCain by Republicans.
Minnesota Bridge Collapse
1-18. Star Tribune. Minneapolis and St. Paul. The case of the collapse of the bridge on Interstate 35W in Minneapolis last August 1 is still debated. Many have called the National Traffic Safety Board report, which said that the failure of the gusset plates could not have been detected in a “routine inspection,” a cover-up. Inspections of the bridge were very thorough, and they reported that the gusset plates were corroded and thinning and needed repair, as well as other faults. Instead of repairing them the authorities ordered that the surface of the bridge be repaved – a cosmetic response. Repaving with heavy equipment and materials was going on at the time of collapse, at rush hour. People are asking why the bridge wasn’t fixed.
Minnesota has a Republican state government, headed by Gov. Tim Pawlenty. He is said to be under consideration as candidate for Vice-President. The Republican National Convention is scheduled to be held in Minneapolis next summer.
Health Care
1-19 NYTimes Editorial. Emergency Room delays are now affecting even people with good health insurance. Even heart attack patients may have to wait 50 minutes or more.
Stanford is the Third Richest US University
SF Chronicle 1-24. The endowment of Stanford has reached $17.1 billion, following Harvard with $34.6 billion and Yale with 22.5 billion. The ten campuses of the Univ. of California have an endowment of only $8 billion. Stanford’s endowment quadrupled in the last ten years with an average annualized return of 13.9%.
World: Biofuels vs. Food
NYTimes 1-19. As world production of biofuels increased, food production declined. Food prices rose. In November, in Chongqung, China, a Carrefour store made a limited time promotion for cooking oil. This caused a stampede in which three died and 31 were injured.
Israel/Palestine
Haaretz 1-19. In response to 130 rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip in the last three days, Israel closed its borders with Gaza, cutting off UN humanitarian supplies of food, fuel, and medicines. The European Union criticized Israel.
`London Times 1-21. Running out of fuel, the only Gaza power plant shut down. It served to pump water, dispose of rubbish, and treat sewage.
President Abbas said that Israel has not fulfilled its promise to end settlement expansion and loosen restriction on West Bank economy.
There were only 3 rocket attacks on Israel this week.
Guardian 1-23. Masked gunmen carrying explosives destroyed most of the seven-mile wall on the Gaza-Egyptian border. Haaretz estimated that 200,000 Palestinians from Gaza crossed over into Egyptian to buy food, fuel, cigarettes, cokes, medicines et al. The Egyptian border guards, on orders from Cairo, stood by passively. 1-24. The Palestinians poured backed into Egypt again, despite some resistance by border guards.
Reuters 1-23. This has been a public relations debacle for Israel.
Israel/Turkey
Haaretz 1-24. Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan claimed that there was no evidence of any Israeli deaths from Qassem rockets in southern Israel, whereas Israeli attacks on Gaza had caused the deaths of dozens of Palestinians.
The Turks are angry because the Anti-Defamation League in the US has recognized the Armenian Genocide of 1915 -23 at the hands of the Turks.
No Pacific without Justice, no Justice without the Facts
The United States
Economy
NYTimes 1-21. While the Americans were observing the anniversary of the birth of Martin Luther King, a huge sell-off of stocks in Asia and Europe alerted brokers and traders to the imminence of a similar crash in New York.
1-22. The crash hit the US. Only gold was up; oil and bonds declined along with industrial stocks. Even banks were hit, especially Bank of America and Citibank.
Just before the market opened the Federal Reserve announced a .75% interest rate, the largest one-day increase on record. This prompted stocks to recover.
1-23. Stocks again dropped sharply, and then recovered. Technical stocks were in worse trouble: the Nasdaq has dropped
12% since January 1. Commentators on CNBC (Ch. 58) said that stocks have not yet hit bottom.
Asian and European markets were no less disturbed than those of the US.
PBS 1-25. The Dow Jones closed at 12,207. Asian markets rallied; European markets did not.
Presidential Primaries
1-20. Romney wins Republican race in Nevada. McCain ahead in South Carolina. Among Democrats, Hilary Clinton won the most votes in Nevada, but on account of complex rules, Obama won the most delegates to the Democratic Convention, 13-12.
1-21 CNN. Surging black support for Obama put him significantly ahead of Hilary Clinton in South Carolina. Bill Clinton went on the attack for his wife. McCain and Guiliani battled in Florida.
1-25. The New York Times announced its support for Hilary Clinton by Democrats and John McCain by Republicans.
Minnesota Bridge Collapse
1-18. Star Tribune. Minneapolis and St. Paul. The case of the collapse of the bridge on Interstate 35W in Minneapolis last August 1 is still debated. Many have called the National Traffic Safety Board report, which said that the failure of the gusset plates could not have been detected in a “routine inspection,” a cover-up. Inspections of the bridge were very thorough, and they reported that the gusset plates were corroded and thinning and needed repair, as well as other faults. Instead of repairing them the authorities ordered that the surface of the bridge be repaved – a cosmetic response. Repaving with heavy equipment and materials was going on at the time of collapse, at rush hour. People are asking why the bridge wasn’t fixed.
Minnesota has a Republican state government, headed by Gov. Tim Pawlenty. He is said to be under consideration as candidate for Vice-President. The Republican National Convention is scheduled to be held in Minneapolis next summer.
Health Care
1-19 NYTimes Editorial. Emergency Room delays are now affecting even people with good health insurance. Even heart attack patients may have to wait 50 minutes or more.
Stanford is the Third Richest US University
SF Chronicle 1-24. The endowment of Stanford has reached $17.1 billion, following Harvard with $34.6 billion and Yale with 22.5 billion. The ten campuses of the Univ. of California have an endowment of only $8 billion. Stanford’s endowment quadrupled in the last ten years with an average annualized return of 13.9%.
World: Biofuels vs. Food
NYTimes 1-19. As world production of biofuels increased, food production declined. Food prices rose. In November, in Chongqung, China, a Carrefour store made a limited time promotion for cooking oil. This caused a stampede in which three died and 31 were injured.
Israel/Palestine
Haaretz 1-19. In response to 130 rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip in the last three days, Israel closed its borders with Gaza, cutting off UN humanitarian supplies of food, fuel, and medicines. The European Union criticized Israel.
`London Times 1-21. Running out of fuel, the only Gaza power plant shut down. It served to pump water, dispose of rubbish, and treat sewage.
President Abbas said that Israel has not fulfilled its promise to end settlement expansion and loosen restriction on West Bank economy.
There were only 3 rocket attacks on Israel this week.
Guardian 1-23. Masked gunmen carrying explosives destroyed most of the seven-mile wall on the Gaza-Egyptian border. Haaretz estimated that 200,000 Palestinians from Gaza crossed over into Egyptian to buy food, fuel, cigarettes, cokes, medicines et al. The Egyptian border guards, on orders from Cairo, stood by passively. 1-24. The Palestinians poured backed into Egypt again, despite some resistance by border guards.
Reuters 1-23. This has been a public relations debacle for Israel.
Israel/Turkey
Haaretz 1-24. Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan claimed that there was no evidence of any Israeli deaths from Qassem rockets in southern Israel, whereas Israeli attacks on Gaza had caused the deaths of dozens of Palestinians.
The Turks are angry because the Anti-Defamation League in the US has recognized the Armenian Genocide of 1915 -23 at the hands of the Turks.
posted by THE FLASHLIGHT at 8:17 PM
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