Watchman Newsletter

British Government takes over Lloyds

Guardian UK (Link) - Jill Treanor, Nick Mathiason (March 7, 2009)

The government today confirmed it will take majority control of Lloyds Banking Group, with the taxpayer owning 65% of the voting shares in return for insuring £260bn of the group's toxic assets.

After days of detailed negotiations the terms of the takeover were announced by the Treasury, with Lloyds making a commitment to lend at least £28bn over the next few years.

The government is to insure the bank's riskiest loans and in return the taxpayer will up its ownership of the bank from 43% to 65% – rising to 77% when non-voting shares are included.

Alongside taking extra shares and obtaining the commitment to lend to businesses and individuals, the Treasury will upgrade £4bn of the non-voting shares it already holds.

The government's fee for limiting Lloyds' losses from £260bn of potentially bad assets totals £15.6bn. Under the insurance scheme, Lloyds will take the first hit of up to £25bn on toxic assets before the taxpayer steps in.

Melbourne Tremor one of three to hit Australia in one day

News.com.au (Link) (March 7, 2009)

The earth tremor that rocked the centre of Melbourne was one of three quakes that hit Australia in the one day, a seismologist says. Melbourne residents reported buildings shaking across the metropolitan area when a tremor struck at 8.55pm (AEDT) last night.

Geoscience Australia, which monitors earthquake activity, said the tremor measured magnitude 4.6 on the Richter scale, with the epicentre at Korumburra, about 90km southeast of Melbourne. The US Geological Survey reported on its website the tremor measured 4.7.

PA official: Time to impose 2-state solution

YNet News (Link) - Ali Waked (March 6, 2009)

Senior Palestinian Authority officials believe that now is the time to exert massive international pressure on Israel, following US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's visit to the region and ahead of the establishment of a new Israeli government led by Benjamin Netanyahu.

"There is an opportunity for the world to strongly enter the diplomatic negotiations and impose the two-state solution on Israel," a senior PA official told Ynet on Friday.

"The world did not intervene when Israel had a convenient government in which Kadima and Labor made the decisions, claiming that this was the Israeli peace camp bargaining on marginal issues.

"Here the world will understand that this Israeli government opposes the peace process and its current form in principle and ideologically, and therefore we anticipate that this is the best timing for the world to intervene and force Israel to implement the agreements."

MUSIS approved by EDA steering board

UPI (Link) (March 6, 2009)

The European Defense Agency is moving forward on a project to improve military-satellite capabilities for surveillance and reconnaissance.

The EDA Steering Board announced its approval Thursday of the Multinational Space-based Imaging System. Officials said six EU countries have launched the MUSIS, including Belgium, Germany, Greece, France, Italy and Spain, the EDA reported.

The MUSIS is part of an effort by the EU to establish next-generation military observation satellites for strengthened surveillance, reconnaissance and observation capabilities.

"Space-based-related assets are critical to improve European military capabilities, including for information gathering," Javier Solana, head of the EDA, said in a statement. "The approved project will be critical to ensure this capability in the longer term, and I welcome very much the initiative of the six EU member states to bring it to EDA."

Five killed in US shooting spree

ABC News (Link) - AFP (March 6, 2009)

Four children and a woman have been killed and a child has been seriously injured in a shooting rampage in the midwestern US city of Cleveland, Ohio, police say.

Police early on Friday swarmed across a section of west Cleveland searching for the suspect, who they identified as Davon Crawford, 33. All but one of the victims are children, Cleveland Police Lieutenant Thomas Stacho told reporters. "From what I understand he [Crawford] is the father of some of the children," he said.

Never waste a good crisis, Clinton says on climate

Reuters (Link) - Pete Harrison (March 6, 2009)

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told an audience Friday "never waste a good crisis," and highlighted the opportunity of rebuilding economies in a greener, less energy-intensive way.

Highlighting Europe's unease the day after Russia warned that gas flows via Ukraine might be halted, she also condemned the use of energy as a political lever.

Clinton told young Europeans at the European Parliament that global economic turmoil provided a fresh opening. "Never waste a good crisis ... Don't waste it when it can have a very positive impact on climate change and energy security," she said.

Europe sees the United States as a crucial ally in global climate talks in Copenhagen in December, after President Barack Obama signaled a new urgency in tackling climate change, in stark contrast to his predecessor George W. Bush.

Bill Seeks to Let FDIC Borrow up to $500 Billion

The Wall Street Journal (Link) - Damian Paletta (March 6, 2009)

Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd is moving to allow the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. to temporarily borrow as much as $500 billion from the Treasury Department.

The Connecticut Democrat's effort -- which comes in response to urging from FDIC Chairman Sheila Bair, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner -- would give the FDIC access to more money to rebuild its fund that insures consumers' deposits, which have been hard hit by a string of bank failures.

Last week, the FDIC proposed raising fees on banks in order to build up its deposit insurance fund, which had just $19 billion at the end of 2008. That idea provoked protests from banks, which said such a burden would worsen their already shaken condition. The Dodd bill, if it becomes law, would represent an alternative source of funding.

Mr. Dodd's bill could also give the FDIC more firepower to help address "systemic risks" in the economy, potentially creating another source of bailout funds in addition to the $700 billion already appropriated by Congress.

A million face starvation as Sudan shuts down

Times Online (Link) - Rob Crilly (March 6, 2009)

The little hospital built from plastic sheeting and wooden poles is not much to look at. Yet it serves 20,000 of Darfur’s suffering people, offering life-saving medical care to families who fled their homes with nothing.

Yesterday it was closed. Its patients were sent home and doctors and nurses told not to turn up for work. The Sudanese Government, having bombed more than two million people into the camps, is expelling aid workers in retaliation against a world that wants to arrest its President.

Aid officials warn that a humanitarian emergency is in danger of becoming a disaster. The move has put the supply of food to 1.1 million people in doubt, as the UN’s World Food Programme scrambles to find lorries to deliver sacks of grain. It had been using four of the expelled charities to get food to people in need. Outside the hospital – run by the International Rescue Committee until it was ordered out – a mother brushed flies from the face of her daughter. “My baby is sick,” Fatima Abdulrahmen said. “She has a fever and I brought her here and now I don’t know what to do. Who will help me now?”

US unemployment expected to soar

BBC News (Link) (March 6, 2009)

The US jobless rate jumped in February to 8.1%, according to official figures from the Labor Department. The number of people out of work rose by 651,000 during the month. Both figures were bigger than expected.

The number of job cuts in January was revised up to 655,000 while December's losses were pushed up to 681,000. December's figure was the biggest job loss in a single month since October 1949. The unemployment rate was the highest since December 1983.

President Obama said that the number of jobs lost so far in the recession was "astounding". Speaking in Ohio, he added: "I don't need to tell the people of this state what statistics like this mean," saying that he had signed his economic stimulus package in order to save jobs.

Revealed: The headset that will mimic all five senses and make the virtual world as convincing as real life

Mail Online (Link) (February 27, 2009)

A virtual reality helmet that recreates the sights, smells, sounds and even tastes of far-flung destinations has been devised by British scientists. The device will allow users a life-like experience of places such as Kenya's Masai Mara while sitting on their sofa. They can also enjoy the smell of flowers in an Alpine meadow or feel the heat of the Caribbean sun on their face.

The End of America As We Know It Part II

Koinonia House (Link) - Chuck Missler - Read Part 1 (March 4, 2009)

In only a matter of months, tens of millions of Americans have seen their investments, retirements, life savings, home values, and employment decimated, or even evaporate completely before their eyes. Some are expecting that the worst is yet to come.

Welcome to 2009

To many, our summary last month may have appeared a bit overstated. However, available data have only gotten worse:

• U.S. housing starts fell a further 15.5% in December to 550,000, the lowest on record.

• U.S. industrial production fell a further 2.2% in December, to a 7.8% year-over-year decline.

• European industrial orders (a leading indicator of industrial production) are down 26% year-over-year, the largest decline on record.

• Japanese exports plunged 35% in December.

• Global steel production was reported to be down 24% in December.

All over the world, dramatic rates of decline in economic activity are being reported.

Clinton: There will be a Palestinian state, Jerusalem will be its capital

Israel Today (Link) (March 4, 2009)

Just hours after blaming Hamas and other terror groups for the lack of peace in the region, visiting US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton signaled that while it may recognize the source of the obstruction, that won't stop the Obama Administration from pushing for the rapid creation of a Palestinian Arab state.

Clinton told reporters in Jerusalem that she and President Barack Obama plan to be "vigorously engaged" in bringing about the birth of "Palestine," adding that "there is no time to waste."

That is likely to put Clinton and Obama at odds with incoming Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has refused to commit to the establishment of a sovereign Palestinian state, and instead wants to focus on bettering the economic conditions under which the Palestinian Arabs live.

Nasrallah reportedly travels to Teheran

The Jerusalem Post (Link) (March 4, 2009)

Hizbullah leader Hassan Nasrallah has traveled to Teheran, via Damascus, to participate in a Palestinian solidarity conference, Channel 10 quoted Iranian sources as saying Wednesday. According to the report, Nasrallah was accompanied by Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Beri and convicted child killer Samir Kuntar, who was released by Israel last July in a prisoner swap deal for IDF reservists Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev.

If the report is true, it would mark the first time Nasrallah has left Lebanon since the Second Lebanon War in the summer of 2006. Nasrallah rarely leaves his bunker, although he did make a public appearance to greet Kuntar and the other freed prisoners upon their arrival in Beirut after the July deal.

Meanwhile, at the Teheran conference on supporting the Palestinians, Iran's supreme leader on Wednesday criticized what he called President Barack Obama's "unconditional" support for Israel, saying he was following the same mistaken policies as the Bush administration. Ayatollah Khomeini said Obama spoke of change during his campaign, but supported the IDF operation in Gaza.

General Motors seeks EU government bail-outs

EU Observer (Link) - Andrew Willis (March 4, 2009)

American, Detroit-based car manufacturer General Motors has asked EU governments to come to its rescue as the company struggles with a major cash-flow problem that threatens thousands of jobs in Europe.

Speaking at the Geneva motor show on Tuesday (3 March), the company's chief operating officer, Fritz Henderson, said the company could run out of cash supplies by as early as next month, reports the Financial Times. "We would try to stay alive, but there's no guarantee we could stay alive," he told reporters at the motor show. "We would become insolvent at that point."

GM provides direct employment for over 50,000 people in Europe, with major plants located in Germany, Spain, Poland, Belgium and the UK. About 25,000 of these jobs are in Germany, 7,000 in Spain and close to 5,000 in Britain. Another 5,000 jobs are located in Sweden, mainly at carmaker Saab, which is owned by GM.

Turkey hops aboard Russia's ride

Asia Times (Link) - F William Engdahl (March 4, 2009)

Despite the impact of the rouble's instability and weak oil prices on the Russian economy in recent months, Moscow is pursuing a very active foreign policy strategy. Its elements focus on countering the continuing North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) encirclement policy of Washington, with often clever diplomatic initiatives on its Eurasian periphery. Taking advantage of the cool relations between Washington and longtime NATO ally Turkey, Moscow recently invited Turkish President Abdullah Gul to come to Russia on a four-day state visit to discuss a wide array of economic and political issues.

In addition to siding up to Turkey, which offers a vital transit route for natural gas to Western Europe, Russia is also working to firm an economic space with Belarus and other former Soviet republics to firm its alliances. Moscow delivered a major blow to the US military encirclement strategy in Central Asia when it succeeded last month in convincing Kyrgyzstan, with the help of major financial aid, to cancel US military airbase rights at Manas, a site of great importance to Washington's escalation plans in Afghanistan.

In short, Moscow is demonstrating it is far from out of the new "Great Game" where influence over Eurasia is concerned.

US: 'Inescapable' movement to Palestinian state

Yahoo! News (Link) - AP (March 3, 2009)

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton promised Tuesday to work with the incoming Israeli government, but delivered a clear message that could put her at odds with the country's next leader: Movement toward the establishment of a Palestinian state is "inescapable."

Clinton also said the U.S. would soon send two envoys to Syria. It was the most significant sign yet that the Obama administration is ready to mend relations with the Damascus regime. The U.S. withdrew its ambassador in 2005, accusing Syria of supporting terrorism.

"We have no way to predict what the future with our relations concerning Syria might be," Clinton said. "There has to be some perceived benefit of doing so for the United States and our allies and our shared values. But I think it is a worthwhile effort to go and begin these preliminary conversations."

That Surreal Gaza Reconstruction Conference

Daniel Pipes (Link) (March 3, 2009)

Was I the only one rubbing my eyes in disbelief yesterday, as the Egyptian government hosted an "International Conference in Support of the Palestinian Economy for the Reconstruction of Gaza"?

It took place in Sharm El-Sheikh, attended by delegations from 71 states, plus 16 regional, international, and financial organizations. Its stated goal was to raise US$2.8 billion, of which $1.3 was for rebuilding what had been destroyed in the course of Israel's recent war on Hamas (the rest would be sent to the Palestinian Authority to help improve its standing). The actual amount raised at the conference was $4.5 billion which, when added to previously committed funds, means the grand total for Gaza and the PA comes to $5.2 billion, to be disbursed over a two-year period. A delighted Egyptian foreign minister called the amount "beyond our expectations." U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called it "a very productive conference."

Syria's Clenched Fist

Human Events (Link) (March 3, 2009)

Syria is building a new chemical weapons factory next to a long-range missile base, hiding evidence of its mushrooming nuclear weapons program and radically increasing military spending on conventional systems. These activities which are primarily funded by Iran suggest Damascus is preparing for war and not -- in President Obama’s unhappy terminology -- unclenching its fist.

President Obama promised “If countries like Iran are willing to unclench their fist, they will find an extended hand from us.” Why then has the president “extended” his hand when Damascus is obviously on the war path?

US sanctions 11 firms tied to Iran bank

The Jerusalem Post (Link) (March 3, 2009)

The Obama administration on Tuesday imposed sanctions on 11 companies tied to an Iranian bank that the United States and others say is helping to fund Iran's nuclear and ballistic missile programs. The penalties announced by the Treasury bar any transactions between the firms, which are either owned by or linked to Iran's Bank Melli or its subsidiaries, and US citizens and freeze any assets the firms may have in US jurisdictions.

The companies targeted by the sanctions include several manufacturing and investment concerns in Iran, along with holding firms based in Dubai and some with offices in the Cayman Islands, the Treasury said in a statement. "The international community has recognized the proliferation risks posed by Iran's Bank Melli," said Undersecretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Stuart Levey. "We will continue to take steps to protect the integrity of the international financial system by exposing the banks, companies, and individuals supporting Iran's nuclear and missile programs."

Global new deal 'possible' on banking sector in months: Brown

Breitbart (Link) - AFP (March 3, 2009)

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said Tuesday that a global "new deal" on cleaning up the reeling banking sector was possible within months, during talks with US President Barack Obama. "Look, there is the possibility in the next few months of a global new deal that will involve all the countries of the world in sorting out and cleaning up the banking system," Brown told reporters in the Oval Office. "There is the possibility of all the different countries of the world coming together to agree the expansion in the economy that is necessary to restore confidence and to give people jobs and growth and prosperity for the future."

Curious Development in Syria

Christian Worldview Network (Link) - Joel Rosenberg (March 2, 2009)

On Monday night, something remarkable is going to take place in the capital of Syria. More than 1,100 senior Syrian government officials, journalists, business leaders and religious leaders -- Muslim, Catholic and evangelical Christian -- will attend the gala premiere of a major motion picture entitled "DAMASCUS," written, produced and directed by entirely Arab Christians. The film, part documentary and part narrative drama, tells the story of how Saul of Tarsus -- one of the first prominent persecutors of Christ-followers in the Holy Land -- himself became a follower of Jesus during a miraculous encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus and eventually became known as the Apostle Paul, going on to write much of the New Testament.

It is unheard of in the Middle East to have a major Christian film about the events of the New Testament debut in a Muslim-majority country run by the secular Ba'ath Party, much less have the premiere supported and attended by senior government officials. That's what makes the "DAMASCUS" docu-drama project so extraordinary. What's more, the film is hosted and narrated by one of the most well-known Syrian TV newscasters who explains the historic events of the life of Paul in the very places where those events occurred. Numerous events in Paul's life are then dramatized using famous Syrian Muslim actors playing the parts of Jews and Jewish followers of Jesus.

Israel has already forfeited Jerusalem

WorldNet Daily (Link) (March 2, 2009)

Sections of Jerusalem have essentially been forfeited on the ground to the Palestinian Authority, while Jews, including local landowners, are barred from entering parts of Israel's capital, a WND investigation has found. The probe further determined the U.S. has been aiding the Palestinians in developing infrastructure in Jerusalem.

Also, it has emerged, the Israeli government has failed to stop Arabs from illegally building thousands of housing projects on Jerusalem land purchased and owned by a U.S. Jewish group for the express purpose of Jewish settlement, culminating in an Arab majority in the neighborhoods.

The situation has been unfolding in the northern Jerusalem neighborhoods of Kfar Akeb, Qalandiya and Samir Amis, which are close to the Jewish neighborhoods of Neve Yaacov and Pisgat Zeev in Israel's capital. Kfar Akeb, Qalandiya and Samir Amis are located entirely within the Jerusalem municipality.

Israeli Scientists Suggest 'Peaceful' Nuclear Fuel

Israel National News (Link) - Yehudah Lev Kay (March 2, 2009)

Israeli scientists from Ben-Gurion University in Be’er Sheva have suggested a new type of 'peaceful' nuclear fuel which cannot be used to create nuclear weapons. The fuel could be exported to nations interested in producing nuclear power without fear that they could use it for a more sinister purpose.

The investigative team, which included Professor Yigal Ronen, Dr. Yogin Shwagraus, and Mr. Luenid Gold will publish their results in the upcoming issue of the Science and Global Security journal.

A Funny Thing Happened to the Budget Baseline

Hudson Institute (Link) - Chuck Blahous (March 2, 2009)

The budgetary methods the Obama Administration is using to claim progress against the deficit embody an intriguing reversal of course. The very methods now being used to make deficit-reduction efforts appear larger are in fact the precise opposite of ones previously used -- by many of the same people now advocating for this budget -- to make the Social Security shortfall appear smaller. To understand the inconsistency requires getting under the hood of both sets of estimates.

The Administration has announced a goal of "cutting the deficit in half" by 2013, to $533 billion. Almost none of this avowed deficit-reduction would be accomplished by Obama Administration policies. Their projected "baseline deficit" for 2013 – that is, assuming the enactment of no policies for which they take responsibility – is not in fact twice as large, but rather $734 billion.

But even this $734 billion figure isn't actually current law. Rather, it is a figure that results from moving the baseline current-law deficit ($101 billion) to one reflecting "current policies" – policies now in force but whose extension requires a change in law.

Iran, Syria vow to bring Israel to justice

Press TV (Link) (March 1, 2009)

Iran and Syria vow to support the rights of Palestinian people by bringing Israeli leaders to justice for their recent war crimes in Gaza. Speaking at a joint press conference in Tehran on Sunday the Iranian first Vice-President Parviz Davoodi and Syrian Prime Minister Mohammad Naji Otri pledged support for the oppressed people of Palestine, particularly the people of Gaza.

"We have to help support the rights of Palestinian people especially in Gaza and should be very vigilant because of the plots and ploys of enemies," Davoodi said while praising Damascus for being a key player in supporting Palestinians against Israeli aggression .

Brown woos Obama on global deal

Times Online (Link) (March 1, 2009)

Gordon Brown hopes to forge a partnership with President Barack Obama in Washington this week, to call for a “global new deal” to lift the world out of recession.

As he prepares for his first White House visit since the president’s inauguration, the prime minister has hinted that he is ready to make further tax cuts to boost the UK economy.

Brown will meet Obama on Tuesday and address a joint session of Congress on Wednesday. Aides say he has both to demonstrate to a sceptical British public that he commands the respect of the president, and to persuade the American political establishment that global action is needed to rescue the US economy.

Scientists' stem cell breakthrough ends ethical dilemma

Guardian UK (Link) - Ian Sample (March 1, 2009)

Scientists have found a way to make an almost limitless supply of stem cells that could safely be used in patients while avoiding the ethical dilemma of destroying embryos. In a breakthrough that could have huge implications, British and Canadian scientists have found a way of reprogramming skin cells taken from adults, effectively winding the clock back on the cells until they were in an embryonic form.

The work has been hailed as a major step forward by scientists and welcomed by pro-life organisations, who called on researchers to halt other experiments which use stem cells collected from embryos made at IVF clinics.

Delegitmizing the UN

The Jerusalem Post (Link) - Amos Schupak (March 1, 2009)

After Canada and Israel, the US equally announced, last Friday, its intention not to attend the upcoming "Durban II" Conference on Racism. Although this is an important decision, in the past mere boycotts have not been sufficient to effectively discredit UN biased anti-Israeli decisions and summits. To have a greater impact, the strategy of delegitimization should be taken a step further. Jerusalem should announce that it will apply for a membership to the Council of Europe - an international organization whose human rights protection system is much more credible than the UN mechanisms.

The UN disproportionately condemns Israel for human rights violations since the majority of its members are non-Western countries hostile to the Jewish state. This is especially true within its recently-created Human Rights Council, which is in charge of preparing the upcoming conference.

The special relationship is going global

Times Online (Link) - Gordon Brown (March 1, 2009)

Historians will look back and say this was no ordinary time but a defining moment: an unprecedented period of global change, and a time when one chapter ended and another began.

The scale and the speed of the global banking crisis has at times been almost overwhelming, and I know that in countries everywhere people who rely on their banks for savings have been feeling powerless and afraid. But it is when times become harder and challenges greater that across the world countries must show vision, leadership and courage – and, while we can do a great deal nationally, we can do even more working together internationally.

So now is the time for leaders of every country in the world to work together to agree the action that will see us through the current crisis and ensure we come out stronger. And there is no international partnership in recent history that has served the world better than the special relationship between Britain and the United States.