Archive for February, 2009
Obama requested $ 200 million to fund the wars in U.S.
The U.S. president, Barack Obama will ask Congress to 200,000 million dollars to fund the wars in the country, according to CNN.
The application will be 75.5 million in 2009 to cover the cost of sending more troops to Afghanistan and an additional 130 million for the rest, according to sources.
Spending on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan for fiscal year 2010, which begins in October, are part of the budget proposal presented by Barack Obama. These expenses were covered by different laws of finance under the presidency of George W. Bush.
The International Criminal Tribunal in The Hague for the former Yugoslavia has acquitted the former Serbian President Milan Milutinovic of charges of crimes against humanity in the Kosovo war
The International Criminal Tribunal in The Hague for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) has acquitted the former Serbian President Milan Milutinovic of charges of crimes against humanity in the Kosovo war (1998-1999). This ruling is the first that gives this court against former leaders of Belgrade by the conflict.
However, five others tried have been convicted to sentences ranging between 15 and 22 years in prison. This process began in July 2006 and both the former and the rest of persidente involved were accused of forcibly deporting some 800,000 Kosovo Albanian civilians and the murder of hundreds of by the Serbian forces in 1999.
“The chamber finds you not guilty of charges of the indictment,” said Judge Iain Bonomy, who also ordered his release because the incriminating evidence were insufficient. The six defendants were declared innocent at the time of all charges, but only Milutinovic has been acquitted.
As for the other five convicted, the former deputy prime minister of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Nikola Sainovic, former Chief of Army Nebosja Pavkovic and Gen. Sreten Lukic, have a term of 22 years in prison. Something minor, 15, is the former chief of staff Dragoljub Ojdanic and General Vladimir Lazarevic.
Crisis of the rich, the poor via crucis
That is, diversity is the way that life grows and adapts to different media and conditions. Diversity and life are synonymous for the biosphere. Life processes tend to diversity but at the same time are an expression of unity, the biosphere, Gaia, the exuberance of life in the struggle to survive on his own miracle in hostile environments.
For the same reason, cultural diversity is a prerequisite for human life. That is, although it might be a sufficient reason, diversity is not limited only to avoid the boredom of monotony, but also is vital to our survival as mankind.
However, we are humans the only species that has replaced the natural and discreet species loss by a man and threatening extermination, predation by industrial pollution and consumerism. Those who argue a possible but not inevitable progress of history “based on knowledge and practice of equal freedom, we can see that humanity, so often put in danger of extinction by itself, has made some progress to allowed to survive and live with their increasing muscle strength. And yet we have added anything good to the rest of nature. In many respects, perhaps in the natural process of trial and error, we regressed our mistakes or have become dangerous exponentially.
Consumerism is one of those mistakes. That insatiable appetite has little or nothing to do with progress towards a possible and even improbable, was not hungry, post-scarcity, but with more primitive era of gluttony and greed. Let alone with an animal instinct, because neither lions nor monopolize savanna practice systematic extermination of their victims, and because even the pigs are ever satisfying.
The culture of consumerism has erred in several respects. First, it contradicted the above conditions, going beyond cultural, substituting their trinkets or creating a universal pseudo range where a worker or a clerk German Japanese can enjoy two days of a Peruvian crafts made in China or five days of the most beautiful Venetian blinds imported from Taiwan before they break through use. Second, because it also has threatened the ecological balance with its unlimited withdrawals and repayments in the form of garbage immortal.
Examples we observe around us. We could say that it is fortunate that a worker can enjoy the amenities before they were reserved only for the upper class, the unproductive classes, class consumers. However, this consumer-led cultural and ideological pressure has become many times in the end of work and an instrument of the economy. What logically means that the individual tools has become half of the economy and individual consumers.
In almost all developed countries or in the course of this “development model” that invade the furniture market are designed to last a few years. Or a few months. They are beautiful, have good sight as almost everything in the culture of consumption, but if you are looking fixedly scratch, lose a screw or are in false squad. Now that is a concern of my exotic family of carpenters to improve the design of a chair that lasts for one hundred years. But the new disposable furniture not concern us mostly because we know that cost little money and that in two or three years we will buy new ones, which incidentally is more interest and variation in the decoration of our homes and offices, and especially stimulate the economy in the world. According to current theory, what we throw away here helps to industrial development in some poor country. So we are good, because we are consumers.
However, such furniture, even the cheapest have consumed trees have burned fuel in its long journey from China or Malaysia. The logic of “pull after use”, which is the most reasonable for a plastic syringe, it becomes a law needed to stimulate the economy and sustaining the GDP growth in perpetuity, with their phobias and when the crisis caused a fall recession of two percent. To overcome it we must increase the drug. Only the United States, for example, devotes billions of dollars back to their people to consume, to spend to escape the madness of the recession and the world can continue spinning, consuming and discarding.
But debris, which are cheaper for the consumer-goods is based on cheap, disposable, which makes it almost inaccessible recycling durable goods-have pieces of wood, plastic, batteries, iron pipes, screws, glass and plastic. In the U.S. all this and more goes to waste, even in this time called “major crisis” for reasons unclear, and in poor countries, poor people are looking for that trash. Eventually, I finished getting all the junk is nature, while humanity continues to hold change of habits to get out of the first recession and sustain economic growth later.
But what is “economic growth”, that two or three percent that haunts the world, from north to south and from east to west?
The world is convinced that it is in a terrible crisis. But the world was always in crisis. It is now defined as global crisis because (1) and affects the economy of the richest (2) the paradigm of development has simplified its irradiated hysteria around the world, reduced legitimacy. But in the U.S. people are still flooding the shops and restaurants and never cuts andalusia hunger, even in the severity of millions of workers jobless. Peripheral countries in our children means a crisis on the streets begging. In the United States often means consuming less consumers while waiting for the next government check.
To exit this “crisis”, the specialists are the brain and express the solution is always the same: to increase consumption. Ironically, increasing the consumption of ordinary people giving their own money through the large private banks that receive government aid savior. It is not just to save some banks, but above all to save an ideology and a culture that does not survive alone but on the basis of frequent injections ad hoc financial incentives, wars that drive the industry and control popular participation, Out and drugs that stimulate, reassure and anesthesia on behalf of the common good.
Do we really have come out of the crisis when the world returns to a five percent growth by stimulating consumption in rich countries? We are preparing the next crisis, a crisis-actual human and ecological, not an artificial crisis like the one we have today? Do we realize that this is not really a crisis but only a warning, a chance to change our habits?
Every day is a crisis because every day we choose one path. But there is a crisis that is a long way crusis and others are critical because, for the oppressed to oppressors is a double possibility: the confirmation of a system or their annihilation. So far it has been first for lack of alternatives to the latter. But we must never underestimate the story. Nobody has ever provided an alternative to medieval feudalism or slave system. Or almost nobody. The history of the last thousand years shows that utopian tended to over-predict precision. But like today, the utopians have always had a bad reputation. Because it is the mockery and disparagement the dominant way that each system has always had to avoid the proliferation of people with too much imagination.
25 People to Blame for the Financial Crisis – People Responsible for global economic crisis
“Names, names!” Is what we always want to know when something bad happens, someone to blame. Now we need to know why or who have brought us to this current economic crisis, we have been wrong to point out who to try to understand this scenario.
Well, via The Citizen librarian I find that The Guardian has recently published a list of the top 25 responsible for the economic crisis in this list we can find those who encouraged, those who promoted and those not warned, some names that may draw our attention:
* Bill Clinton: provided for the granting of mortgages to so-called NINJA (No Income individuals – no income, No Job – no job, no assets – no-heritage)
* George W. Bush did little to stop the granting of mortgages and, on the contrary, promoted.
* Kathleen Corbet: president of the three major credit rating agencies, Standard & Poor’s, who was not warned of possible risks by purchasing mortgage loans.
Here is the flawed Time list:
1. Angelo Mozilo
Angelo R. Mozila (born 1938 in New York City) was the chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Countrywide Financial until July 1, 2008 .
He is the son of a Bronx butcher. He received a Bachelor of Science degree from Fordham University in 1960 and holds an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Pepperdine University. [Citation needed]
In 1969 he and his former mentor David S. Loeb, who had already started a mortgage lending company, founded Countrywide Credit Industries in New York. They later moved the headquarters to Calabasas, California in Los Angeles County. Mozila and Loeb also cofounded IndyMac Bank, which was founded as Countrywide Mortgage Investment, before being spun off as an independent bank in 1997. Collapsed and was IndyMac Seized by federal regulators on July 11, 2008 .
Since Countrywide was listed on the NYSE in 1984, Mozila has sold $ 406 million worth of its stock, mostly obtained through stock option grants. $ 129 million of this was realized in the 12 months ending August 2007.
Perhaps more than any single individual, Mozilla has come to symbolize, and bear the blame for, the subprime mortgage crisis. In a New York Times feature on October 20, 2008, Henry G. Cisneros, former HUD chairman and a member of the Countrywide board of directors, Mr. Mozila describes as “sick with stress – the final chapter of his life is the infamy that’s been brought on him, or that he brought on himself.” CNN Mozila named as one of the “Ten Most Wanted: Culprits” of the 2008 financial collapse in the United States .
2. Phil Gramm
Chairman of the Senate Banking Committee from 1995 through 2000 – Some economists state that the 1999 legislation spearheaded by Gramm and signed into law by President Clinton — the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act — was partly to blame for the 2007 subprime mortgage crisis and 2008 global economic crisis.[8][9] The Act is most widely known for repealing portions of the Glass-Steagall Act, which had regulated the financial services industry. Gramm responded to criticism of the act by stating that he saw “no evidence whatsoever” that the sub-prime mortgage crisis was caused in any way “by allowing banks and securities companies and insurance companies to compete against each other.”[10] The Act, it should be noted, passed the House by an overwhelming majority and passed by unanimous consent in the Senate, though it was introduced on the last day before Christmas holiday and never debated by either congressional body.
3. Alan Greenspan –
Alan Greenspan, Federal Reserve chairman from 1987 to 2006 stands in first place. After a life almost entirely dedicated to the regulatory agency and retired as a real hero, Greenspan will go down in history, among other things, for his advocacy of free markets, its ability to rescue the U.S. economy from the financial collapse of 1987 and mitigate the devastating effects of the terrorist attacks of 11-S. Greenspan is, for many experts and according to The Guardian, the chief culprit of the crisis by allowing the formation of a major housing bubble through low interest rates and lack of regulation on the mortgage loans. Supported, according to the newspaper, and called subprime loans to fixed mortgage rates by changing variables, leaving many of them uncovered unable to meet its commitments when rates rose. For years, Greenspan also defended the boom in derivatives, a market that barely existed when they took the reins of the Fed and that under his leadership grew through the roof. In fact, the newspaper accused him of having protected a market that has led to many current problems. The publication notes, however, that Greenspan has also been able to recognize their errors. For example, too much regulation could hurt Wall Street or the banks would always ahead to protect their shareholders.
4. Chris Cox – Former chairman, Securities and Exchange Commission
5. American Consumers
6. Hank Paulson
Former Secretary of the Treasury – Paulson noted that the wide gap between the richest and the poorest was one of the four main economic issues that must be met “by the U.S. government. Also discussed in one of his first public appearances as Secretary of the Treasury.
Like him, the three chief executives of Goldman Sachs prior to his becoming workers for the government: Corzine as a Senator (and later Governor of New Jersey), Friedman as chairman of the National Economic Council (and later chairman of the board Intelligence Advisory Board’s chairman), and Rubin, both as president and CEO, NEC and later Treasury Secretary to President Bill Clinton.
The former colleague of Paulson at Goldman Sachs, Bob Steele, was appointed Assistant Secretary of Treasury Domestic Finance.
7. Joe Cassano– Founding member, AIG’s financial-products unit
8. Ian McCarthy – CEO, Beazer Homes
9. Frank Raines
Former chairman and CEO, Fannie Mae – In accordance with the mission of Fannie Mae to enable home ownership by a greater proportion of the population, Franklin Raines, while Chairman and CEO, began a pilot program in 1999 to issue bank loans to individuals with low to moderate income, and to ease credit requirements on loans that Fannie Mae purchased from banks. Raines promoted the program saying that it would allow consumers who were “a notch below what our current underwriting has required” to get home loans. The move was intended in part to increase the number of minority and low income home owners. Some observers have noted that the expansion of easy credit to home buyers with a lesser ability to pay them back was one of the major contributing factors to the subprime mortgage crisis.[16] Although under Raines, Fannie Mae invested in some securities backed by subprime loans, it didn’t start buying subprime and Alt-A loans directly (and bundling them into securities) until late 2004 after the accounting scandal. Purchasing of subprime and alt-A mortgages expanded exponentially under the guidance of Raines’s successor Daniel H. Mudd.] (See also Subprime lending.)
In the New York Times John Steele Gordon wrote an opinion criticizing Raines’ contribution to the 2008 financial crisis caused by the failure of Fannie Mae. “He cooked the books at Fannie to increase his compensation (more than $90 million).”
On December 9, 2008, he testified before the United States House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform on Capitol Hill regarding Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and financial market instability.
And others :
10. Kathleen Corbet – Former CEO, Standard & Poor’s
11. Dick Fuld – Former CEO, Lehman Brothers
12. Marion and Herb Sandler – Former heads, World Savings Bank
13. Bill Clinton – Former U.S. President
14. George W. Bush – Former U.S. President
15. Stan O’Neal – Former CEO, Merrill Lynch
16. Wen Jiabao – Premier, China
17. David Lereah – Former chief economist, National Association of Realtors
18. John Devaney – Hedge fund manager
19. Bernie Madoff – Ponzi scheme orchestrator
20. Lew Ranieri – Father of mortgage-backed securities
21. Burton Jablin – Programmer at Scripps Networks, which owns HGTV
22. Fred Goodwin – Former chairman and CEO, Royal Bank of Scotland
23. Sandy Weill – Former chairman and CEO, Citigroup
24. David Oddsson – Former Prime Minister, Iceland
25. Jimmy Cayne – Former chairman and CEO, Bear Stearns
If you have a look at the full article you’ll find names that probably are not any surprises, it would perhaps be more surprising to find our names on the list, I mean it is true that the 25 heads have played with the economy to lead to such a degree a mega debt, many of us have also played a strong role in this process. If one of the 25 on this list provided that extend credit to almost anyone, almost anyone requested a loan knowing that his situation was so unstable as to ensure payment of the loan, ie, many of us have, in greater or lesser extent, played a role in inflating the bubble.
Consider for example that in Mexico many banks give you a credit card without major requirements (how many of us have received telephone calls which tells us that we are given to a credit card?), If you want to buy a car there are plans self-check if you are not in credit bureau (self) and what I say about credit cards that are responsible for your debt to other cards? Or the “tiny tickets for little pay? Some may say that the problem mortgages were not the cards or micro-credit, of course that is very true, but the fact is that not knowing how to spend and borrow money that does not exist and that we do not certainty whether we will be able to return has led gradually to the current situation.
Mervyn King, governor of the Bank of England. When you came to office in Threadneedle Street, the UK economy grew 3% and inflation stood at 1.4%. In their first reunion lowered rates to 3.5% and his ambition was that the Bank’s monetary policy would become “boring.” When the crisis erupted, King insisted that he would become an international crisis. In fact, at first, refused to inject liquidity into the financial system and insisted that there would be no bank bailouts. Now, some members claim that the UK Treasury should have been “more proactive”. The Guardian casts him in the face that should have realized the real estate bubble and have taken steps, and more recently have predicted recession in the country and have acted more quickly when it comes to cutting interest rates.
Politicians have also played a key role in the current financial crisis. Bill Clinton forced to relax their loan requirements to grant mortgages to the poor. In 1999 overturned the law that ensured the complete separation between commercial banks, which offers deposits and investment banking, investing and taking risk. This decision marked the birth of the era of superbanca, which favored the development and spread of subprime mortgages. His successor, George W. Bush failed to improve things by failing to curb the overwhelming number of so-called ‘mortgage Ninja’ no income, no jobs, no assets. Another of the political blame for the crisis for The Guardian is the British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who put the interests of the City ahead of any other economic aspect. The opposition accused him of not taking into account that an economy built on debt “is not an economy built to last” over the Treasury office responsible for ten years in the government of Tony Blair.
The British newspaper also remember the Icelandic prime minister, Geir Haarde, after the financial collapse of three major banks because of their debts millionaire. Iceland was forced to borrow 2100 million dollars in addition to the IMF funds from various European countries.
Guilty in the Big Apple
Wall Street is not separate from their involvement in the financial crisis. According to the newspaper, this sounds like the name Abi Cohen, director of strategy at Goldman Sachs a few years ago and became one of the most powerful women in the United States. However, it was not able to see the crash of the stock market and became famous for its forecasts upward. Was replaced in the post last March. Kathleen Corbet, former CEO of Standard & Poor’s, also occupies a prominent position. Not surprisingly, the rating agencies unaware of the risks of assets backed by subprime mortgages. Corbet ran the reins of the largest of the three rating agencies and risk leaving his post in 2007 by the enormous criticism. Standard & Poor’s, Fitch and Moody’s have been challenged by the role played in the current subprime crisis, as they remember what they did best they could with the available information. Corbet said that his departure from Standard & Poor’s had been “long planned” and denied that I had to do with pressure of any kind.
Hank Greenberg, chairman of AIG insurance group. At 83 years became the largest insurer AIG in the world. He had a huge business of CDS, and thus a huge exposure to the mortgage crisis. When their rating was cut, he faced a huge liquidity crunch and needed 85,000 million public to avoid the collapse. Subsequently need of additional state aid, but that did not prevent the chief executive of the group renounced luxury travel.
Those who saw it coming
The Guardian also reserve a space for some of the most important investors in the past fifty years and whose vision of the financial world did anticipate that came up. As the hedge fund manager John Paulson, described in the financial world as “the biggest winner of the credit crunch.” Paulson pocket 3700 dollars 2007al betting on the collapse of buildings. It also appears, the billionaire Warren Buffett, who never tires of warning about the dangers of derivatives that nobody understood. In his annual letter to shareholders in 2003, compared these products with the same hell. “Easy to enter and almost impossible to leave.” In a sign of optimism, said in October that it had started to buy back into the U.S. market, suggesting that the worst of the crisis could have happened.
He also warned in 2006 about a “gigantic real estate bubble”, the investor George Soros, as well as an economist and professor at the University of New York, who was the first to herald the credit crunch. In 2006, economists cautioned that the IMF States United is facing a historic housing bubble, a shock in the market for raw materials to a recession. Today was very pessimistic about the crisis. In fact, last week predicted the bankruptcy of U.S. and European banking system. After nationalizations and the financial rescue, is very famous for his phrase to describe George Bush, Henry Paulson and Ben Bernanke as “the troika of Bolsheviks who was able to turn the United States in the Socialist Republic of United States of America.”
The list, responsible for up to 25, includes names of the financial world of the Big Apple. As the chairman of HBOS, Andy Hornby, the Royal Bank of Scotland, Sir Fred Goodwing or Bradford & Bingley, Steve Crwashaw. Not forgetting the top-Chuck Prince, Citigroup, Merrill Lynch, Stan O’Neil, or Bear Stearns, Jimmy Cayne.
I kept thinking of The Citizen Librarian:
Of note is the need to find the guilty … because when we emerge from this crisis, who assures us that they are not going to take a responsible decision-making positions and we can again lead to a dire situation?
And, of course, also stay with the lesson to learn how to use our money and avoid debt.
Chavez wins referendum to remain in power
* The first to congratulate the Venezuelan people have been Fidel Castro
* In a plebiscite involving 67.05% of Venezuelans
* The opposition political parties have acknowledged the defeat
Hugo Chávez won the referendum to amend the Constitution and abolished the mandate to govern. He did so by a lead of almost 10 points (54.36% vs. 45.63%), enough to be president until “God and the people want.”
Folowed by thousands of supporters, the Socialist leader appeared in the so-called “Balcony of the People ‘Miraflores Palace, minutes after the referee announced the election results.” Popular Victoria! Popular Victoria! “Coreaban their fervent militants, when Chavez appeared with his daughters, grandchildren and their closest associates.
“Here is the village of Simón Bolívar raising the flags of dignity, has gained the dignity of the homeland against those who deny the homeland, has won the truth to the lie … This is a clear victory of the people, a clear victory of revolution, “said the agent, while listening to shouts of” No return, no return Fascists. ”
“You know who was the first to congratulate the Venezuelan people? ¡Fidel Castro! A message from Fidel Castro to the Venezuelan people,” said the Venezuelan president.
Chavez read a paper: “Dear Hugo: Congratulations to you and your people for a win in its magnitude that it is impossible medirla’-” This victory is yours Fidel and other peoples of Latin America, “Chavez said before getting to shout:” Warning, warning that walks, the sword of Bolivar for Latin America. ”
Chavez speaks of ‘third revolution’
Chavez said the referendum “opens the doors of a revolutionary third period, extending from 2009 to 2019 with only one way: Socialism! The construction of the true socialist democracy.”
A part in the referendum 67.05% of Venezuelans eligible to vote. A 54.36% (6003594 votes) said ‘Yes’ to the reelection of Chavez and a 45.63% (5040082 votes) voted against the amendment. Nearly 71 people have been arrested for electoral crimes, such as destruction of the material, trying to vote twice or obstructive others to participate.
With this constitutional change, the leader may be re-elected socialist head of state in 2012. And in 2018. And in 2024 … So, until you lose or can complete the “unfinished box” that is his socialist project. The Venezuelan president is facing his final four years of government strengthened, and with intent to his radical and Deep revolution. But it can not accelerate much. His victory shows that almost half of Venezuela, does not agree with their way of governing, frightened by an aggressive speech, insecurity and a runaway runaway inflation.
The opposition acknowledges defeat
The opposition political parties have suffered a tough defeat, but not fatal. While continuing with his revolution, Chávez will have to win the 2010 parliamentary and then a presidential election.
In these four years, the opposition must organize, gain in a parliament that is controlled by the Socialist Party, and elect a candidate of consensus and popularity, that can cope in the popular vote and loquacious president.
Omar Barboza, president of the party A New Time (UNT), recognized after the results are known, and stated that “they have gotten more votes than those obtained by us, and it must be acknowledged.”
Barboza said the contest was “unfair” because the blocks of a struggle “against the resources of a state.”
“This campaign has been short the past 10 years, and suffer the benefits and abuse of power, even when handling the resources of all Venezuelans,” he said on the other hand, David Smolansky, leader of the student movement.
Smolansky added that after the referendum opens a new stage in Venezuela, in favor of “reconciliation, peace and Nonviolence.”
The senior Socialist Party (PSUV) Chavez, meeting at the Hotel Alba Caracas (Old Milton), celebrated the victory by the referee ruled the election. Victoria popular! Uh, ah, Chavez will not go away, “Chante in a press conference of the PSUV managers.
U.S. investigates a huge scam in aid to rebuild Iraq
U.S. authorities are investigating an alleged massive fraud related to reconstruction work in Iraq after the overthrow of Saddam Hussein. As reported today from Baghdad, the British newspaper ‘The Independent’, U.S. Army commanders could be involved in the possible misuse of some of the 125,000 million dollars for this purpose.
It is not known exactly how much money is missing, but a report by the U.S. Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (ALARA: SIGIR) said it could exceed 50,000 million dollars, bringing the fraud to exceed that attributed to speculator American Bernard Madoff.
“I think the real looting of Iraq after the invasion took place as staff and contractors and not the American people in the slums of Baghdad,” the newspaper said a businessman who has worked there since 2003.
In one case, auditors working for the SIGIR found sending $ 57.8 million in cash to the financial responsibility of the U.S. south central region of this Arab country, Robert J Stein Jr., who was even photographed with this pile of banknotes.
Stein Jr is just one of a small group of U.S. officials who were in Iraq and will be charged with fraud and money laundering, according to ‘The Independent’.
Despite the huge sums of money the U.S. spent to rebuild Iraq since 2003, have barely seen cranes in the capital except those dedicated to building a new U.S. embassy and that flank a large mosque is not quite finished starting built in the era of Saddam Hussein.
Planting palm trees and flowers
One of the few visible signs of the Government’s commitment to the infrastructure of Baghdad is the planting of palm trees and flowers in the middle of main roads, then plants are uprooted and replaced with new ones a few months later.
According to the newspaper, Iraqi leaders are convinced that the theft or waste of huge amounts of money from the governments in Washington and Baghdad could only happen by corruption of officials.
Thus, in 2004/05, the entire budget of the Iraqi Defense Ministry for the purchase of weaponry was used to purchase helicopters totally obsolete Soviet tanks and readily pierceable by enemy bullets.
It was even blamed the Iraqis for this waste, but according to the newspaper, U.S. officials were monitoring the Defense Ministry, which either participated in this deceit or inexcusable negligence proved.
Until now, U.S. officials have been accused only of crimes of corruption of minor, but often, the newspaper said, there was no money paid in cash.
Some ministers or former members of the Iraqi government recognize the corruption in it. Thus, Ali Allawi, former Minister of Finance claims that Iraq was turning into something like the old “Nigeria, which stole all the oil revenues.”
But in Iraqi circles suspected of complicity by U.S. officials in some of these tricks. At the request of the U.S. administration was in charge of major Iraqi officials with no experience.
Thus, responsible for the procurement of weapons that played in the scandal said the Defense Ministry was a Polish-Iraqi who had spent 27 years outside the Arab country and that he had run a pizzeria in the German city of Bonn in the nineties.
An Italian minister, in favor of castration for rapists
The Italian Minister for legislative simplification, Roberto Calderoli, bet for surgical castration of rapists of children, says in an interview published by the Turin newspaper “La Stampa”.
“Maybe, but not the death penalty, but sometimes I wonder that perhaps the chemical castration is insufficient,” added Calderoli, a member of the Northern League.
“When the victim of violence is a girl of 14 years, I think that chemical castration is not. When you get to rape a child, perhaps it is another thing that surgical castration. In some cases, can not think of rehabilitation . Society must defend itself, “he said.
Calderoli These statements come after a weekend in which Italy has not yet lived two new sexual assault, adding to the already large list that has occurred in recent weeks and has left the country a growing alarm to the phenomenon of gang rape.
In the last two days it was known that two girls of about 15 years had been raped in the cities of Bologna (center) and Rome, after which came the complaint of a Bolivian student of 21 years in Milan who claimed to have been sexually assaulted on Saturday night by a man he described as “North.”
The phenomenon of rape is compounded by the growing concern over the rise of racism in the country, after the case of rape Guidonia near Rome, Italy and shocked to take some residents of the town to try to lynch alleged perpetrators of aggression, of Romanian nationality.
Groups of hooded
Proof of this is the reaction that took place this Sunday in Rome, where, a few meters from the place where the violation occurred for the teenager whose case was heard this weekend, a group of masked men entered a restaurant Turkish and Romanian assaulted four men. Calderoli not think it was a question of racism, but of figures, and therefore calls for closing the borders to workers coming from new members of the European Union (EU) or extra-Community countries.
“I am in favor of suspending the movement of extra-Community workers or neo-community. Clearly, before the collapse of productive activity, who are unemployed are more prone to fall into criminal behavior,” says minister in his interview to “La Stampa”.
“If we add that for some cultures, rape or assault are not serious, we face problems of integration,” he adds.
Equality Minister, Mara Carfagna, a proposed DNA data bank for all those who have committed violations and discusses the possibility of establishing patrols citizens to contribute to the security of the streets.
These are some of the proposals that the Government should address Silvio Berlusconi presides at the next Council of Ministers to approve an emergency decree to speed up some immediate measures included in a bill before Parliament, as the denial of the defendants house arrest of rape.
Obama wants to allow “early” stem cell research – allow the use of embryonic stem cells
* Remove a veto of eight years imposed in 2001 by George W. Bush
* This will allow the use of embryonic stem cells to investigate
The U.S. president, Barack Obama, will issue soon an executive order removing the suspension of one to eight years for embryonic stem cell research imposed by his predecessor, George W. Bush, according to said David Axelrod, one of his chief advisers, the television program “Fox News Sunday.”
“We will do something about it soon, I think. The president is considering right now,” said David Axelrod, Obama adviser, on “Fox News Sunday.”
In 2001, Bush limited federal funding for research only on existing stem cell lines from human embryos. It was a gesture toward his conservative Christians who believe that embryonic stem cell research destroys life, since they must be extracted from human embryos.
Embryonic stem cells are the most basic human and can be developed as any other body cells, because they originate from all tissues, organs and blood. Many scientists believe the research could lead to cures for a variety of serious diseases, including Parkinson’s disease, diabetes, various heart diseases or injuries to the spinal cord.
Obama promised during his presidential campaign to reverse the ban imposed by Bush in his inaugural address last month said it would return to science to its rightful place in the United States.
The Food and Drug Administration U.S. FDA (its Spanish acronym) paved the way for the first draft of experts to determine whether embryonic stem cells can help cure some diseases. The project will attempt to use existing lines of stem cells to regenerate nerve tissue in patients with their spinal cord is broken.
The Barcelona, with the undisputed favorite of the group colista
El Regal FC Barcelona receives this Thursday (20. 45 hours / Channel 33) to Alba Berlin in a game in which the Barcelona victory served only if they keep alive their aspirations to qualify for the quarterfinals of the competition. After harvesting a victory and a defeat in what we in ‘Top 16′ before the Tel Aviv Maccabi Electra and Real Madrid respectively, Xavi Pascual equipment needed and is required to add the second victory would be the weakest team in the in principle. And Alba Berlin is that the two great losses, although in the last day ..
Nadal beats Bolelli a promising and is measured in eighths Dimitrov
The Spanish tennis player Rafael Nadal will face second round of the tournament in Rotterdam (Netherlands) andalusia Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov, a guest of the organization, after overcoming andalusia by Italian Simone Bolelli in 4-6/6-2/7-5 debut.El his world number one overcame Italian victory after suffering three hoses and two hours and a half after its start. Even gave Nadal the first set by 6-4 in a track that is not suited and uncomfortable in a tournament, after his triumph in Melbourne and before the face of Davis Cup tie on red clay. But ..
Real Madrid scoring the spot against the runner up in the Euroleague
Vistalegre still remembers the extension last season that ruined the Euroleague andalusia Real Madrid lifted to allow the canvas to Maccabi Tel Aviv of Israel, and lose the game and throw the trash for an adventure territory for the quarterfinals, which Now again highly dependent on the Israeli team, called the third day of Europe in Carabanchel. The team from Tel Aviv, very changed course earlier feud back andalusia White (Thursday, 20.45) with the band of continental runner on the third day of the second phase of this exciting involving delivery of ..
Valverde shows its “surprise and indignation” at the summons of the CONI
The Spanish cyclist Alejandro Valverde, who has been summoned to testify next before the February 16 anti-doping prosecutor of the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI) for his possible involvement in Operation Puerto, today expressed his “surprise and indignation” to the causes of who has requested his appearance. “In a communique from his team, Caisse d’Epargne, Valverde said:” Although I am currently participating in the Challenge de Mallorca, which yesterday suffered a serious decline of I’m recovering, after making the necessary verifications, ..
The R29, art waiting to Jerez Alonso
Fernando Alonso (Renault) and Britain’s Lewis Hamilton (McLaren-Mercedes) match tomorrow at the Jerez circuit for the fourth day for Formula 1 in this plot. Fernando Alonso dismisses morning andalusia Brazilian Nelson Piquet until Friday to complete work on new developments in the French team’s car, the R29. Spanish rioja bicampeón the world will share track with his former teammate, the British world champion Lewis Hamilton, who takes the baton left by the Finn Heikki Kovalainen. This will be the first meeting of Alonso and Hamilton ..
Schumacher discharged from hospital after suffering a Murcia motorcycle fall
The German pilot Michael Schumacher, seven times world champion of Formula-1, has been discharged about 20:00 on Wednesday the hospital Virgen de la Arrixaca, where he was admitted after suffering a fall when a motorcycle driven in the circulation speed of Cartagena (Murcia). The medical director of the hospital Murcian, Enrique Serrano, the chief doctor on duty Bartolomé García Pérez, appeared before the media at 20:00 to say he had been discharged. Doctors, in an appearance of a little over 30 seconds, said that “by ..
A blog filters CIS survey in January, which keeps the tie between PP and PSOE
The Opinion Barometer of the Center for Sociological Research (CIS) for the month of January maintains the stalemate between the PSOE and the PP, but this time the Socialists are two tenths above. The survey collected data from the first delegate from Union, Progress and Democracy (UPyD), Rosa Díez, which emerge as the second best valued leader, surpassed only by President José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, and ahead of the PP leader, Mariano Rajoy. The survey, which was publicly presented tomorrow at the Congress, has been disseminated on the Internet tonight through ..
