Link: http://evolutionofme.net/evolution/blog1.php/fasting-for-weight-loss-energy-boost-spiritual-improvement

By Vladi B -author has more than 20 years experience of 7 to 19 days water fasting and sum of his fasting days is close to 1 year. The water fasting helps him to keep his body in great shape, get rid of arthritis, heart attack’s scar and many other health problems.

One of the best and natural ways to lose weight in the world is a water fasting. Instead of burning calories just leave them in the fridge. Not only it fastest way to lose weight but it also has many other great health benefits. One of them is body cleansing. Yes, water fasting is very effective way for body detoxification. How does water fasting help you lose weight, boost health and energy?

I’ve just finished my 11 days water fasting and lost 18 pounds. Friend of mine with my little help finished 5 days of water fasting with 2 days of juice fasting before and after it. She lost 10 pounds in time of fasting.

I wasn’t able to find good new books about fasting on the market or in libraries. So I decided to share my experience of water fasting for weight loss and health benefits.

Preparation for water fasting.

I change my diet toward lighter dishes in 2-3 days before fasting, no red meat, only chicken and fish, fruit and vegetables, yogurt and soups. On last day before fasting: fish, seafood, vegetables and fruits on lunch, fruit and vegetables dishes on dinner. To check out my digestion system performance and have clue about enema use in time of fasting I make my trick on last evening: close to 8-11 pm I eat beet testing salad form 1-2 medium size cooked beet roots with bit of olive oil. So if I’ll see red colored stool on next day I will consider that my digesting system is working fine and there is no need for enema. If not, I will use enema right away.

One or two days water fasting.

This is the nicest way to lose weight and get used to with fasting and prepare for longer water fast. If you’ve never done water fasting before, this is the safest way to start your fasting experience. Never do more then one day in the beginning. If your body overloaded with toxic material you have to make several one day fasting before considering bit longer water fasting. Always ask you doctor before fasting if you have health conditions and taking medicine. Some people can experience headache during one day water fasting, they should avoid drinking coffee before fasting. Best way to break one-two day fasting is to drink home made fresh juices for entire day and eat vegetables and fruits on the second day.

Read more about water fasting, how to fallow up fasting and avoid weight increase, fasting tips, techniques, diets and references in Vladi B article “Fasting for weight loss, energy boost and may be spiritual development” at evolutionofme.net

Link: http://www.newsyousee.com

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In fun time after all jobs done, relax and read celebrities news on 12 world top tabloids like Daily Mail, Ask Men, Celebslam, Pop Eater, Perez Hilton, TMZ and watch video, photos and great adult videos free of spam, bugs on more then 36 top world’s website.

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Communicational Identities
Northern San Diego, California
Vladi B
President

Vladiworld777@yahoo.com
760-994-6307

Link: http://www.newsuc.com

One my friend recently shared with me this joke, so I would like to pass it to our readers. May be you will like it.

“God wanted to change Soviet Union so He sent Gorbachev to make these changes and he’s done it. Gorbachev has big black spot on his head:

Imagine how much God wants to change America if He sent half black Obama!

Link: http://www.amconmag.com/article/2010/jan/01/00022/

“Bring Back the Bad Guys”
by Commander Jeff Huber, U.S. Navy (retired), The American Coservative, US

Conquerors immemorial have known that the secret to successful occupations is to let the guys who surrender stay in charge of the yokels. We are presently bogged down in two quagmires because we haven’t learned that lesson.

Iraq’s government and security forces are incompetent and corrupt, the Kurdish situation remains unresolved, and nobody seems confident that the country will ever be able to function as an independent state again. Oh, for the good old days under Saddam Hussein! Whatever you want to say about the son of a sand dune, he didn’t need a field manual to figure out how to run his country. Neither did Mohammed Omar’s Taliban need a book on how to run Afghanistan. They have lived in the neighborhood for a very long time.

Decapitating regimes through military force is the most foolhardy of foreign-policy acts. The Prussians discovered this the hard way in the Franco- Prussian War. They defeated the French Army at Sedan and took Napoleon III prisoner along with 140,000 of his soldiers. But the war dragged on for months because the French formed a new government and a new army and kept fighting.

They didn’t like the idea of Germans occupying their country. Imagine that.

Few military victories have been more stunning than the fall of Baghdad during Operation Iraqi Freedom, but the fighting continues almost seven years later. We supposedly ousted the Taliban from Afghanistan eight years ago, and we’re still trying to oust them. We’d be better off by far if we had never invaded either but worked instead with the power structures already in place. As Tip O’Neill said, “All politics is local.”

Read Full article in The American Conservative, USA

Link: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8394802.stm

Mass cannibalism site was found in Germany

Archaeologists have found evidence of mass cannibalism at human burial site in Germany

Up to 500 human remains, included children and even unborn babies, near the village of Herxheim have been cannibalized several thousand year ago. Team leader Dr.Boulestin said the human remains had been “intentionally mutilated", spit-roasted and that there was evidence many of them had been chewed.

Read full article at BBC, UK

Link: http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90780/91421/6832779.html

” Gold fever” sweeping across world

The international gold price topped the 1,200-US-dollar an ounce mark on Wednesday, hitting an all time high.

Trading markets worldwide, from the United States to Europe, and from Asia to Australia, are all resounded with exclamations that “the price of gold, going up! going up! and again going up!” Gold price rose to 1201.63 US dollars on London Bullion Market on Wednesday, whereas in the New York Mercantile Exchange,
February gold futures contract surged 16.70 dollars an ounce to 1216.90 dollars an ounce; Singapore gold spot price rose as much as by 1.6 percent to 1215.85 dollars an ounce.

So, the world gold price has risen nearly 40 percent so far this year.

Read full article at People, China

Link: http://www.time.com/time/quotes/0,26174,1945466,00.html

Vladimir Putin-"Don’t count on that !”

Answered Vladimir Putin when he was asked about his plans to leave political life and enjoy family and retirement.

When Putin was asked about George Bush, he answered: “We had good relationship. Good comrade George". December 3, 2009.

From transcript:

Maria Sittel:
“Do you ever want to quit politics with all its problems and to live for yourself,
for your children and family, and relax? If the answer is ‘yes,’
then I could be your back-up man. Just call me. Linar, from Krasnodar.”

Vladimir Putin:
“Don’t hold your breath.
But if you want to work, then we will examine your request separately and will offer applicants, you included, a worthy job for realising your potential.”

Maria Sittel:
“Mr Putin, are state-owned corporations good or bad?”

Vladimir Putin:
“They are neither good nor bad. They are a necessity.”
Ernest Mackevicius:
“Mr Putin, there are very many questions arriving about our entry in the World Trade Organisation..”
Vladimir Putin:
“..Now, concerning the WTO. Our entry remains our strategic objective, but our impression is that for some unknown motives certain countries,
including the United States, are hindering our accession to the WTO.
For us, our main priority is still integration across the post-Soviet space, and we are very pleased
with the processes going on in the Customs Union, which I mentioned before, and which has been formed by Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus…”

Link: http://www.newsyousee.com/dig

Barak Obama Nobel Peace Prize Award- World’s support his good intentions & abilities and credits for future Peace

Congrats and Good Luck!

Link: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/aug/11/nhs-united-states-republican-health

Numbers and facts about UK and USA health systems today:

UK spends less per head on healthcare but has a higher life expectancy than the US.

The World Health Organisation ranks Britain’s healthcare as 18th in the world, while the US is in 37th place.

The British Medical Association said a majority of Britain’s doctors have consistently supported public provision of healthcare.

A spokeswoman said the association’s 140,000 members were sceptical about the US approach to medicine: “Doctors and the public here are appalled that there are so many people on the US who don’t have proper access to healthcare. It’s something we would find very, very shocking.”

Link: http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/benami32

Owning Up to Israel’s Bomb
by Shlomo Ben-Ami
Shlomo Ben Ami, a former Israeli foreign minister, now serves as vice-president of the Toledo International Centre for Peace. He is the author of Scars of War, Wounds of Peace: The Israeli-Arab Tragedy.


TEL AVIV – President Barack Obama’s vision of a world without nuclear weapons, and the recent agreement he signed with Russia aimed at cutting back the nuclear stockpiles of both countries, enhances his moral and political leadership. But how will his campaign against nuclear proliferation affect Israel, widely seen as the world’s sixth nuclear weapon state, and so far the only one in the Middle East?

US Assistant Secretary of State Rose Gottemoeller’s recent call for Israel to join the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), which would require it to declare and relinquish its nuclear arsenal, has incited fears that America’s diplomatic umbrella for Israel’s nuclear status is ending. From now on, it appeared to Israelis, the US will treat all states the same when it comes to nuclear weapons. Israel is especially concerned that Obama might be willing to address Iran’s nuclear ambition by equating it with Israel’s nuclear status.

The intellectual foundations of the new American attitude were laid down in a famous article by Henry Kissinger, Sam Nunn, George Schultz, and William Perry entitled “Toward a Nuclear-Free World.” In calling upon the world’s nuclear powers to preach by example and dramatically reduce their nuclear arsenals, the article was also a call for equality among nations in the nuclear domain.

Bruce Riedel, who until recently headed the Obama administration’s strategy review for Afghanistan and Pakistan, and who is by no means hostile to America’s unique relations with Israel, has been explicit about this. “If you are really serious about a deal with Iran, Israel has to come out of the closet. A policy based on fiction and double standards is bound to fail sooner or later. What is remarkable is that it has lasted so long.”

But it was a recent statement to Congress by Secretary of Defense Robert Gates that was especially shocking to Israelis. He expressed understanding for Iran’s desire to acquire nuclear weapons because, as he said, the Iranians are surrounded by nuclear powers such as Pakistan, India, Russia, and Israel.

Israel is bound to fight against this emerging new American doctrine that equates… Read full article

Russia parries US thrust in Central AsiaBy M K Bhadrakumar

The Uzbeks explain the ingenuity of their mind by often repeating a saying that goes: when they speak, they seldom mean what they say; and when they act, they almost always disregard what they have in mind.

To be sure, it is hazardous to attempt a definitive interpretation of what the Uzbek Foreign Ministry in Tashkent meant on Monday when it alleged that the “implementation of such projects” as a Russian decision to set up a second military base in Kyrgyzstan could “reinforce militarization processes” as well as “seriously
destabilize the situation in the vast region", apart from “provoking various kinds of nationalist struggles".

Was it genuine concern, a veiled threat or mere rhetoric? Earlier on Saturday, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and his Kyrgyz counterpart Kurmanbek Bakiyev signed a memorandum on Russia’s military presence in Kyrgyzstan. Kyrgyzstan already hosts a Russian airbase in Kant and four other Russian military facilities. An estimated 400 Russian military personnel from Russia’s 5th Air Army are located at the base as well as Su-25 Frogfoot strike aircraft and Mi-8 transport aircraft.

CSTO at a crossroads
The memorandum signed in Bishkek envisages that Kyrgyzstan will host an additional Russian contingent up to a battalion size and a training center for both countries’ service personnel. Moscow originally offered to deploy a battalion-sized unit as part of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) in Kyrgyzstan’s Batken region in the south.

Read Full article

Link: http://www.newsuc.com/newsfun

Putin’s photos and comments by Foreign Policy, USA:
Russia’s in trouble. Time for Putin to take his shirt off, by Foreign Policy, USA. Watch Putin’s photos and comments
Putin’s video and article by TimesOnline, UK:
Bare-chested Vladimir Putin strikes a macho pose, by TimesOnline, UK. Watch video with Vladimir Putin

Vladimir Putin has buffed up his action-man image and raised the pin-up stakes among world leaders by posing barechested for another set of holiday pictures.
Photographs were published yesterday showing the Russian Prime Minister stripped to the waist riding a horse through rugged terrain during a brief holiday in the Siberian region of Tuva. Wearing only green fatigues, his eyes hidden behind reflective sunglasses, Mr Putin also showed his gentler side as he fed the horse from his hand after the ride.

Mr Putin, who will be 57 in October, showed off a set of rippling arm muscles as he demonstrated his butterfly swimming stroke. The photos will inevitably trigger mass swooning by women all over Russia — as well as unfavourable comparisons of their husbands to Mr Putin’s manly physique. They will also confirm the Russian Prime Minister’s status as a gay icon.

Mr Putin camped overnight and went whitewater rafting down the region’s fast-flowing rivers, according to Russian news agencies. Other pictures show him walking through fields with a hat similar to that worn by Indiana Jones, the Hollywood adventurer.

Read full article at TimesOnline, UK

Link: http://www.newsuc.com

Fear of a Weak Russia
If Moscow’s failures continue, the world may soon become a much more dangerous place.
by D. Bandlerm, J.Kulhanek, August 5, 2009

“The reaction from the American defense establishment to news that Russian submarines have been operating off the U.S. coast has been fairly nonchalant, bordering on smug…”

Russia’s weakness – military, political, and economic – is fast becoming conventional wisdom in Washington. In a recent interview with the Wall Street Journal U.S. Vice President Joseph Biden even suggested that a weakened Russia might work to the advantage of the United States… Whether he was speaking for President Barack Obama or not, Biden also sent an unequivocal signal to the Kremlin that it should not take any “reset” for granted and that the White House will not be intimidated by Russian aggression.

But before the new administration gets too comfortable, it’s worth examining whether a weakened Russia is really in anyone’s interest. In fact, an unstable Russia might prove far more dangerous. For the sake of argument, we present the following not-so-unlikely scenario in which Russia undergoes a series of political and economic upheavals. Consider it less a prediction than a worst-case course of events for how Russian weakness could mean trouble.

Read full article at Foreign Policy, USA

Link: http://www.newsuc.com

“Approval Ratings in Ukraine, Russia Highlight Differences". Gallup Poll.
Worldwide low 4% of Ukrainians approve of their country’s leadershipby
Julie Ray and Neli Esipova

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Eighty-five percent of Ukrainians in May told Gallup they disapprove of the job performance of their country’s leadership, up from 75% in 2008 and 73% in 2007. The 4% of Ukrainians who approve is not only the lowest rating Gallup has ever measured in former Soviet countries, but also the lowest in the world.

Yushchenko’s 7% approval rating is less than half of the 17% he garnered in 2008. (Gallup did not ask Ukrainians to rate Tymoshenko in 2008.) The prime minister’s current 20% approval is nearly three times higher than the president’s rating, which could be relevant to their chances when they run against each other in Ukraine’s presidential election in five months. Analysts suggest that low approval could give outside candidates an advantage in January

Russians’ approval ratings of their prime minister and president again contrast the situation in Ukraine – one acrimonious and the other a “tandem.” More than two-thirds of Russians approve of President Dmitry Medvedev (68%) and more than three in four approve of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin (77%).

Read full Gallup article

Link: http://www.spiegel.de/international/

Experimenting with countries’ stem cells in Europe: Kosovo and Abkhazia.

The practical definition of a stem cell is the functional definition - a cell that has the potential to regenerate tissue over a lifetime.(Wikipedia).

Will stem cells taken from Yugoslavia and Georgia regenerate tissue for functional and stable state’s bodies to establish independent and democratic countries in Kosovo and Abkhazia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and South Ossetia ?

Can they grow, mature and live happily through century to prove their creation in accordance to God’s plans? Or as entities not blessed by God some of them will be compromised by killing of innocent people, brutal and unjust actions and wars and will finish their bloody and tragic lives, dissolved and flushed to the sevage system of history.

First reports by Spiegel online magazine, Germany:
Europe Has No Exit Strategy in the Balkans. Full article. Spiegel, Germany

suggest that the first state’s stem cells experiment is quiete expensive, with many costly side effects, without any timetable for two patients full recovery and no check out date from EU and USA research center: “…The Balkan states of Kosovo and Bosnia-Herzegovina are artificial constructs that are dependent on international organizations to function. Unlike in Iraq, there is no end in sight for this foreign rule and Europe seems to have little in the way of an exit strategy. Since 1999, the United Nations has sent 70,663 employees to Kosovo, at a cost of €2.5 billion ($3.5 billion).



Both Bosnia-Herzegovina and Kosovo are dominated by a greedy, irresponsible elite that only too often crosses the line into organized crime, as anyone who asks around in the region is likely to hear. When a prime minister in Sarajevo died unexpectedly a few years ago, it was discovered that he had €20 million ($28 million) in his bank accounts – despite a monthly salary of just €1,000 ($1,400). It consists of two so-called entities: the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, for the Bosnian Muslims and the primarily Catholic Croats, and the so-called Republika Srpska, for the Orthodox Serbs. Altogether this small, ethnically divided country has three presidents, 14 parliaments and 180 ministers…”

The next Spiege online magazine report about Abkhazia
‘We Won’t Beg for Diplomatic Recognition’ doesn’t provide many details about country, but without doubts it will be quite expensive experiment for Russia too.

Once a popular holiday getaway for the communist elite, tiny Abkhazia is now a de-facto republic at odds with most of the world. President Sergei Bagapsh spoke with SPIEGEL ONLINE about his nation’s plans, friends and foes – and prime real estate.

Link: http://www.japantoday.com/category/kuchikomi/view/all-bad-news-from-the-retailing-front

World recession has bottomed out and just started digging.
All bad news from the retailing front in Japan

While the government is trying to put up a brave front by insisting that the recession has bottomed out—and is offering eco point incentives to encourage people to replace their TVs, home appliances and cars—consumers aren’t taking the bait.
Just how bad have business conditions become?

An executive at a Tokyo department store says the number of shoppers is unchanged over the past several years. “But there’s a big difference in their spending patterns,” he notes. “I don’t see any sign of a sales recovery. For example, last year the average outlay for ‘ochugen’ summer gifts was 3,000 yen. This year it’s in the 2,000-yen range.”
Tokyo’s luxury-class hotels, with occupancy rates hovering around the halfway point at the average, are offering special discounts on overnight package deals.

“Designer brand firms like Armani and Bvlgari have opened high-class restaurants in Ginza, but their situation right how is awful,” says Minoru Murakami, director of a trade publication. “When I visited them on a weeknight, there were only one or two couples in the whole place. The atmosphere was bleak; the diners were watched constantly by ‘attentive’ staff, which ruined the ambiance.”

Like department stores, it appears, the shops dealing in pricey designer brands find that their stores still attract plenty of browsers, but few buyers. Sales this year are projected to fall below the 1 trillion yen mark, roughly one-half the all-time peak in 1996.

The boss of a chain of sex shops in Nagoya says demand is down by 30 to 40% from last year. “Before, customers who went drinking at an ‘izakaya’ or cabaret club would drop in to one of our ‘health’ (massage parlors) afterwards,” he sighs. “Now some girls only minister to a single customer a day. They’ve been leaving us, one by one.”

Read full article at Japan Today

Link: http://www.venezuelanalysis.com/news/4568

Gay and lesbian rights, same sex merriage in socialistic Venezuela?
Find out how they treat them.

Gay Pride March in Caracas, Venezuela
June 30th 2009, by Ultimas Noticias

Individuals of every sexual orientation and gender identity arrived from the four corners of the country and marched this Sunday in Caracas to promote respect for sexual diversity.

The activity formed part of the celebrations for the month of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Pride that is being carried out this June in countries across the world. There are even more activities currently being organized.
Read full article “Gay Pride March in Caracas, Venezuela”

Link: http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2009/07/15/seven_questions_jay_garner

Seven Questions: Jay Garner, by Foreign Policy, USA


The man who first led reconstruction efforts in Iraq says that Arab-Kurd tensions are overblown and that “soft partition” would have been a good idea.

Jay Garner knows Iraqi Kurdistan. First appointed to the region following the Gulf War, the retired U.S. lieutenant general has returned to the region countless times – most famously when he was pulled out of retirement to lead U.S. reconstruction efforts in Iraq after the 2003 invasion. He was quickly succeeded in an expanded version of that role by L. Paul Bremer, but has since remained an active commentator on the region and the U.S. strategy there.

Speaking from Iraqi Kurdistan by phone, Garner discussed recently reported tensions between Kurdish leaders and the Iraqi government with Foreign Policy’s Elizabeth Dickinson. As U.S. forces begin their long pullout from the country, Garner warned that Sunni-Shiite relations are far more fragile than those between Arabs and Kurds, that there are no stirrings of independence in the north, and that former U.S. senator and sitting Vice President Joseph Biden’s call for what many described as a “soft partition” of Iraq would have served the country well.

Read full article at Foreign Policy magazine, USA

Link: http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2009/07/14/livestrong_for_make_benefit_of_kazakhstan

LiveStrong for Make Benefit of Kazakhstan? by Foreign Policy Magazine
Why one of the world’s most bankable athletes is competing for an autocratic former Soviet republic.

“As Lance Armstrong enters the second week of the Tour de France, questions abound. Why did he come back from retirement? Will his much-discussed rivalry with teammate Alberto Contador cost both of them the race? And even in such a commercialized sport, why is an iconic American athlete – a Texan, no less! – racing for … Kazakhstan?…”

No doubts, Borat-played by British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen knows the answer!

His controversial movie “Borat: Cultural Learnings Of America For Make Benefit Glorious Nation Of Kazakhstan” angered Kazakhs and produce quite right prediction form Kazakhstan government: “What we hope is for the movie to draw a greater interest to the real Kazakhstan, which has a lot of things that the Americans may benefit from knowing them,” a Kazakh Embassy official said. Here we go! Armstrong is a bit late, because a lot of Texans from US oil companies already there.

Read article “Why is Lance Amstrong racing for Kazakstan? Ask Borat !” by Foreign Policy

Link: http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2009/07/13/licence_to_kill?page=0,0

License to Kill- Foreign Policy Magazine
When I advised the Israel Defense Forces, here’s how we decided if targeted kills were legal – or not. By Amos N. Guiora is professor of Law at the SJ Quinney College of Law at the University of Utah; he served for 19 years in the Israel Defense Forces, Judge Advocate General’s Corps.



Washington is abuzz over a recent report in the Wall Street Journal saying that former U.S. President George W. Bush had authorized the “capture or kill al Qaeda operatives,” and that “the CIA also examined the subject of targeted assassinations of al Qaeda leaders,” though it’s not clear if the two initiatives are related.

More… The revelations are sure to set off a renewed debate in the United States over the legality, utility, and morality of killing terrorists. I know a few things about this topic, because between 1994 and 1997, I advised Israel Defense Forces’ (IDF) commanders regarding targeted killings as the IDF legal advisor to the commander of the Gaza Strip. To be clear: the decision to strike was the commander’s. As the legal advisor, I provided just that: legal advice.

So, here’s my legal advice for the United States as the Washington debate heats up: Counterterrorism, in civil democratic regimes, must be rooted in the rule of law, morality in armed conflict, and an analysis of policy effectiveness. There can be no “ifs, ands, or buts.”
Read full article “License to kill”

Link: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2009/04/two-los-angeles-county-deaths-possibly-related-to-swine-flu-coroner-says.html

“Two L.A. County deaths possibly related to swine flu, coroner says” by LA Times

9:09 AM | April 28, 2009

The Los Angeles County coroner’s office is investigating two recent deaths that officials say could be related to the recent global swine flu outbreak. However, no tests have come back positive for the swine flu, and medical examiners have not officially determined what caused the deaths.

[Updated at 9:30 a.m.: Coroner’s spokesman Craig Harvey said his office would collect specimens from the deceased and send them to the county public health department, which would determine whether either person died from the swine flu. If so, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention would be notified, Harvey said.]

Coroner’s spokesman Craig Harvey said Bellflower Medical Center reported the death of a 33-year Long Beach resident Monday afternoon from symptoms resembling swine flu.

“It’s that diagnosis that needs to be confirmed,” Harvey said. “An autopsy will be performed to establish the cause of death.”

The man was taken to the hospital Saturday, complaining of shortness of breath and lymphoma. Doctors later diagnosed the patient with pneumonia, Harvey said.

The second case involves a 45-year-old man from La Mirada, whose death was reported Monday to the coroner’s office. The man died April 22 at Coast Plaza Doctor’s Hospital in Norwalk.

Doctors said the man died of pneumonia but the L.A. County Health Department refused to accept the death certificate signed by the private doctor, Harvey said. The case was then referred to the coroner’s office, which will conduct further investigation.
Read full article on LA Times

Link: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8021656.stm

“…As many as 149 people in Mexico are believed to have been killed by swine flu as cases of the virulent disease continue to rise around the world…

…Health experts say the virus comes from the same strain that causes seasonal outbreaks in humans.

But they say this newly-detected version contains genetic material from versions of flu which usually affect pigs and birds…”

“…There is currently no vaccine for this new strain, but severe cases can be treated with antiviral medication…” BBC, UK 4.27.09.

“Mexico suspected flu toll soars” Read full article on BBC, UK

Link: http://www.newsuc.com

“World flu epidemic fear rises” by Reuters

“…The World Health Organization has declared the flu a “public health emergency of international concern” that could become a pandemic, or global outbreak of serious disease.

A pandemic would deal a major blow to a world economy already suffering its worst crisis in decades, and experts say it could cost trillions of dollars.

A 1968 “Hong Kong” flu pandemic killed about 1 million people globally…”

“Mexico City Locks Itself in Amid Swine Flu Fears” ABC News 4.26.09

“…Empty streets, churches, stadiums, bars: Mexico City locks itself in as swine flu spreads…”

Governments around the world have been hurrying to contain the spread of a new swine flu virus after outbreaks were reported in Mexico, the US and Canada. BBC 4.26.09

“…Mexican Health Secretary Jose Angel Cordova said suspected swine flu cases in his country had risen to 1,614 including 103 deaths.
In the US, eight cases have been confirmed among New York students, seven in California, two in Texas, two in Kansas and one in Ohio.
“I do fear that we will have deaths,” Dr Anne Schuchat of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) told reporters.
The Canadian cases were recorded at opposite ends of the country: two in British Columbia in the west, and four in the Atlantic province of Nova Scotia.
Several countries in Asia and Latin America have begun screening airport passengers for symptoms.
Suspected cases have been detected beyond Mexico, the US and Canada:

In New Zealand, two school groups that recently visited Mexico have reported illnesses - ten students from one school tested positive for Influenza A, making it “likely” they are infected with swine flu, and three in the other school were being tested

France and Spain have both reported cases of people becoming ill after returning from Mexico and are carrying out tests

In Israel, medics are testing a 26-year-old man who has been taken to hospital with flu-like symptoms after returning from a trip to Mexico

Two people in Queensland, Australia, are being tested after developing flu-like symptoms on returning from Mexico

The Brazilian authorities say one man was taken into hospital as a precaution after he became ill following a visit to Mexico…”

Guadalajara Report, Mexico 4.26.09. Mexican President Felipe Calderon said Sunday at a press conference:

” …Two-thirds of the 1,384 people suspected of being infected with the swine flu virus in Mexico are now recovering at home, 374 people remained hospitalized as of Saturday, and 81 had died. Only 22 deaths are so far confirmed as being directly a result of swine flu… it would be at least “another 72 hours” before “precise” results of lab tests on all those taken sick would be known…”

The president urged people not to shake hands or kiss when greeting others. He said they should cover their mouths when coughing, sneeze into handkerchiefs or tissues and wash their hands frequently.

Read full article at Guadalajara Reporter

Link: http://guadalajarareporter.com/content/view/24492/58/

BREAKING: Jalisco takes action over swine flu as suspected cases in Mexico exceed 1,300

Written by Michael Forbes
Saturday, 25 April 2009

Health officials in Jalisco say they have identified 18 people in the state with flu-like symptoms who may be infected with the swine flu virus.
All but one are isolated in their homes, where they are receiving medical attention, officials said at a press conference Saturday.

A 47-year-old man from the neighboring state of Nayarit is being treated in a private hospital. The state governor said it was “highly probable” that he was infected with the virus.

Doctors are awaiting the results of tests to see if any of the 18 are infected with the swine flu strain.

Since Friday, state health department staff have been monitoring passengers arriving at the Guadalajara bus stations and airport, as well the Puerto Vallarta airport. Nearly all workers at the local bus station and airport are now wearing face masks, since the virus can most likely be transmitted via coughing.

Speaking at a press conference in Mexico City on Saturday, Mexican Health Secretary Jose Angel Cordova said the outbreak “still hasn’t spread across the entire country” and that reports of flu cases from some states have proven to be erroneous.

Cordova said the cases are restricted to Mexico City, and the states of Estado de Mexico, San Luis Potosi, Baja California and Oaxaca.

More than 1,300 people are suspected of having the swine flu in Mexico, 80 of whom have died. Only 20 deaths, however, have been confirmed as being from swine flu.
The World Health Organization (WHO) says the outbreak has the potential to spark the first influenza pandemic in 41 years. The flu combines genetic material from pigs, birds and humans in a way scientists have not seen before.



Read about Key Facts of Swine Influenza (Swine Flu)

The WHO says that because 11 cases of the strain have been reported in the United States, there is little hope of containing the outbreak. Oddly, all the cases in the United States have been identified in young people, in contrast to Mexico, where the virus has infected almost exclusively the 20-50 year-old age group. No one has died in the United States, where the effects of the virus seem to be less aggressive

.

The WHO’s pandemic alert level is currently at Level 3, meaning very limited spread of virus from person to person.

On Saturday, President Felipe Calderon gave health workers special powers to enter and inspect private homes, test inhabitants for the virus and isolate them if necessary.

Measures to prevent the spread of swine flu have already been taken in the capital, its suburbs and San Luis Potosi, where all schools will remain closed until at least May 6.

Many professional soccer games scheduled this weekend are being played behind closed doors. Many other events expected to attract large crowds have been cancelled.

Most public buildings, including libraries and museums have taken the decision to close their doors and theaters have cancelled performances. While all the closures have so far been voluntary, Calderon has also given the government powers to order the cancellation of public events.

Late on Saturday, Catholic leaders cancelled Sunday masses at all churches in Mexico City.


Religious services will go ahead in Jalisco and other states, although authorities advise communion wafers to be placed in the hands and worshippers not to shake hands with each other.

Jalisco Governor Emilio Gonzalez said it is not yet necessary to order schools to close or restrict events taking place in the state.

However, the Universidad de Guadalajara announced on Saturday that it will suspend all classes at both its high school and graduate campuses on Monday, April 27 and Tuesday, April 28.

Clinics of the Instituto Mexicano de Seguro Social (IMSS) in many Mexican states, including Jalisco, are extending their opening hours and will also attend to people without coverage (including foreigners) who present flu-like symptoms. Authorities urge anyone with flu symptoms to visit a doctor immediately.

Mexican soldiers and Civil Protection officers have been instructed to hand out six million face masks at street intersections in the capital.

According to Mexican health officials, the country has sufficient stocks of antivirals in the case of a widespread emergency - more than one million doses in the public sector, some reports say. The WHO confirms that the the virus is susceptible to the antivirals oseltamivir (Tamiflu) and zanamivir (Relenza).

Two specialists in infectious diseases from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are assisting Mexican health authorities, Cordova said.

Cordova said the first swine flu case in Mexico was identified in Oaxaca on April 13. But despite all the information at their disposal, as late as April 21 health authorities had not issued a public alert over the outbreak. At first, the health secretary explained, deaths in San Luis Potosi and Mexicali were put down to a prolongation of seasonal winter flu. In a press conference on April 17, the federal agency informed the media of “unusual behavior” of seasonal flu, with a three-fold increase over cases compared to this time last year.

A swine-based flu outbreak is infecting people in Mexico, health authorities have confirmed.

So far, there are 16 confirmed deaths from the virus, most of them in and around Mexico City.

Another 44 have died from very similar symptoms, authorities report.

All schools, universities and many public buildings, including museums and galleries, in Mexico City have been closed and people there have been advised to take preventative measures such as not shaking hands, kissing on the cheek or sharing crockery.

Mexican Health Secretary Jose Angel Cordova believes the virus “mutated from pigs and then at some point was transmitted to humans.”

A concerned World Health Organization is to hold an emergency meeting on the outbreak to decide whether it constitutes a “public health event of international concern,” a spokesperson told the Reuters news agency. Read the latest World Health Organization bulletin here.

The Canadian government alerted Mexican authorities when a tourist returned to the northern country and doctors diagnosed him with an illness they believed was caused by the swine flu virus. The name of the patient has not been released, nor where he/she was vacationing.

Foreigners flying into Mexico City are being alerted about the illness before they board their flights.

To try and counter the threat, Mexican authorities are currently testing the influenza vaccine to see if it treats the new strain of the virus.

Several non-fatal cases of what is thought to be a new form of swine flu have also been confirmed in the southern United States.

Link: http://www.newsuc.com

Guess, what countries are going to lead the world?
Seven powers can produce stable and secure world.
China the New America? Read more. Foreign Policy

Nobody knows who will rule the world in century 22nd, but we can guess what will happen in next 10-20 years. Online magazin “Forign Policy” published a new article about this matter “Is China the New America?”

“…After two decades of U.S. and European principles dominating international policy through a web of multilateral organizations, the West no longer has the leverage to enforce its conditions…”

Washington’s new realism is more than a revision of the devastating neoconservative muscle-flexing of the Bush years. Faced with an internationally weakened position, a declining power is attempting to use its restrained capabilities in a more economical way…

“…The West’s retreat will open up space for a new concert of powers – Brazil, Russia, India, China, Iran- tied together by a fixation with national economic growth…”

and these countries will assume a more prominent role in the world and in policing their own backyards. Russia can have its Caucasus and Ukrain, and if the generals in Burma should go mad, that will be China and India’s problem.

Meanwhile, the trans-Atlantic alliance will wane. The United States and Europe will be able to adapt to the new rules and US and Europe will stay on the world’s stage with China, India, Russia, S.America, Middle East as the major players

China the New America? Read more. Foreign Policy

In this time of big changes, nobody can tell what will be after 2011.

Link: http://www.newsuc.com

Surprises and intrigues as Eurovision 2009 approaches
Ukrainian Anastasia Prikhodko to represent Russia at Eurovision 2009

Anastasia Prikhodko, a 21-year-old performer of Ukrainian origin, and her song ‘Mom’ will represent Russia at the Eurovision competition, due in Moscow from May 9 to May 16, said a March 7 decision of a panel of judges.

“This is a very international song as the music was written by a Georgian, sung by a Ukrainian and half the text was written by an Estonian,” countered Konstantin Meladze, Ms. Prikhodko’s Georgian-born producer.

Anastasia Prikhodko from Kiev became famous in the Russian Federation after participating in the Star Fabric project.

The television audiences gave Prikhodko the biggest share of votes – 25%, and the voting by the judges themselves gave the singer a prevalence of one vote – six votes given to her and five votes, to other competitors.

Anastasia Prikhodko was followed by pop singer Valeria (14 %) and group Quatro (12 %).

Speaking to Ukraine’s Zerkalo Nedeli weekly newspaper, she underlined her pride in the former Soviet satellite whose leaders have angered Russia over plans to join NATO.
“This is my homeland, my country. I absolutely love Kiev. I had a terrible time for a year and a half in Moscow getting used to their crazy pace of life,” she said.

Note that earlier Anastasia had taken part in an elimination round in the Ukraine, but it gave rise to a situation where the media started accusing the panel of judges of ‘partisan actions’ and of attempts to conceal the true results of voting.

Anastasia was disqualified as a result. Svetlana Loboda, ex VIA Gra member, will represent the Ukraine in the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest

Anastasia Prikhodko photo, Russian men magazine Maxim.

Link: http://www.newsuc.com

Two satellites have collided in space for the first time, sending out a massive cloud of debris, according to the US military.

“…The crash, which took place in low-earth orbit, involved a privately-owned US communications satellite and a defunct Russian satellite.
“We believe it is the first time that two satellites have collided in orbit,” said Air Force Colonel Les Kodlick of the US Strategic Command.
He added that the debris created by the crash was creating potential problems for space operations.
The US satellite was a craft owned by Iridium Satellite LLC, which said customers using satellite phones may experience brief outages until a fix had been put in place by Friday…” Read full article on SkyNews, UK

Link: http://www.newsuc.com

Salma Hayek Breast-feeds a Hungry African Babe
This is how we should treat the world, with peace and help, not with missiles and bombs.

Thank You Salma!

“…Salma Hayek has done some wet-nursing herself, on a humanitarian tour of Sierra Leone. While touring a hospital, the Hollywood actress and Unicef spokeswoman met a woman who could not feed her hungry baby boy. So she breastfed the baby herself.

Hayek later described how her great-grandmother did the same in a village in Mexico.
‘My great-grandmother was in a Mexican village and they found a woman in the street inconsolably crying and the baby was also crying, crying, crying.
‘My great-grandmother went up to her and said “What is the matter?” and the mother said, “She is very, very hungry and I have no more milk".
“And in the street my great-grandmother took the baby and breastfed that baby who instantly stopped crying and went peacefully to sleep.”

Hayek has been vocal about the pleasures of breastfeeding her daughter. Breastfeeding is a healthy way to feed …”

TimesOnline, UK

Link: http://www.newsuc.com

When I was reading today Guardian’s article about Iranian first own satellite one sentence in this article about Iranian history and the present time astonished me. TV news and newspapers daily informed me about Iranian intention to get a nuclear bomb ASAP and immediately destroy entire world. They created image of Iran as a pretty aggressive country, which was making wars after wars and is quite ready to start a new one.

This is the sentence:
“…In Iran’s history, in the last 100 years, you cannot point to aggression by Iran against any nation. …” Iran’s foreign minister Manouchehr Mottaki, speaking at the African Union summit in Addis Ababa. Wow! Is it true ?!

Read full Guardian’s article and watch video about satellite lunching

Link: http://www.newsuc.com/newsfun

WASHINGTON — President Obama fired a warning shot at Wall Street on Thursday, branding bankers “shameful” for giving themselves $18.4 billion in bonuses as the economy was spinning out of control and the government was spending billions to bail out many of the nation’s most prominent financial firms.

Speaking from the Oval Office with Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner by his side, Mr. Obama lashed out at the industry over a report, compiled by the New York State comptroller, Thomas P. DiNapoli, which found that over all, financial executives received the same level of bonuses as they had in 2004, when times were more flush.

“That is the height of irresponsibility,” Mr. Obama said angrily. “It is shameful, and part of what we’re going to need is for folks on Wall Street who are asking for help to show some restraint and show some discipline and show some sense of responsibility.

“The American people understand that we’ve got a big hole that we’ve got to dig ourselves out of, but they don’t like the idea that people are digging a bigger hole even as they’re being asked to fill it up,” Mr. Obama said, adding that “there will be time for them to make profits and there will be time for them to make bonuses. Now is not that time.”

Read full article."Obama Calls Wall Street Bonuses ‘Shameful’", NYT

NYT, more info about shameful Wall Street bonuses: “What Red Ink? Wall Street Paid Hefty Bonuses”

Link: http://www.newsuc.com

“12 Men who made £1bn ($1.4bn) as their banks were bailed out” by Guardian, UK
As their banks took huge risks, these men took huge salaries and bonuses:

Stan O’Neal, Merrill Lynch

Jimmy Cayne, Bear Stearns

Lloyd Blankfein, Goldman Sachs

Dick Fuld, Lehman Bros

Sandy Weill, Citigroup

Hank Paulson, Goldman Sachs

Chuck Prince, Citigroup

Bob Diamond, Barclays

Stephen Green, HSBC

John Varley, Barclays

Eric Daniels, Lloyds

Andy Hornby, HBOS

Read full article. Guardia, UK

Link: http://www.newsuc.com

Twenty-five people at the heart of the meltdown… by Guardian, UK

Guardian named people to be blame for the world finanacial crisis as


Alan Greenspan, chairman of US Federal Reserve 1987- 2006,

Bill Clinton, former US president,
Gordon Brown, prime minister of UK,
George W Bush, former US president,
former US Senator Phil Gramm,
Abby Cohen Goldman Sachs chief US strategist,
Kathleen Corbet, former CEO, Standard & Poor’s,
“Hank” Greenberg, AIG insurance group,
Andy Hornby, former HBOS boss,
Steve Crawshaw, former B&B boss,
Adam Applegarth, former Northern Rock boss,
Dick Fuld, Lehman Brothers chief executive,
Joseph Cassano, AIG Financial Products,
Chuck Prince, former Citi boss,
Angelo Mozilo, Countrywide Financial,
Stan O’Neal, former boss of Merrill Lynch,
Jimmy Cayne, former Bear Stearns boss,
The American public,
John Tiner, FSA chief executive, 2003-07 and many others.

Now we know little bit about guys who took the money or at least didn’t stop them:

“…The worst economic turmoil since the Great Depression is not a natural phenomenon but a man-made disaster in which we all played a part. In the second part of a week-long series looking behind the slump, Guardian City editor Julia Finch picks out the individuals who have led us into the current crisis…”

Read full article. Guardian, UK

Link: http://www.newsuc.com/

Two communist countries China and Cuba have quite different reaction on President Obama inauguration speech. If in China President Obama’s speech was censored, in Cuba it was well understood and positively commented even by the hard and tough communist leader Castro.

Fidel’s Castro comments on 01.22.09 about Borack Obama as the President of United States:

“… He has comfortably stated that imprisonment and torture at the illegal Guatanamo Base would cease right away…”

Read full article

Link: http://www.newsuc.com/

China censored its translation of President Barack Obama’s inauguration speech, removing references to communism and dissent, and quickly halted state television’s live broadcast of the address when Cold War-era animosities were mentioned.

One television official tried to play down the cutaway as a normal break in programming while an editor with the China Daily newspaper’s Web site said staff who censored online versions of the speech likely did so because they were “duty-bound to protect the country’s interests.”

The news channel of state broadcaster China Central Television broadcast the speech live early Wednesday local time, but appeared caught off-guard by Obama’s reference to how earlier generations of Americans had “faced down fascism and communism.”

The audio quickly faded out from Obama’s speech and cameras cut back to the studio anchor, who seemed flustered for a second before turning to ask a U.S.-based CCTV reporter what challenges the president faces in turning around the economy.

International Herald Tribune, Read full article

Link: http://www.newsuc.com/

In the Gaza Strip people are returning home – or to the rubble that was once their home. Many are blaming Hamas for the destruction because the militants hid among civilians and attracted Israeli fire. Yet no one dares to speak out openly.

What is left over when a person is hit by a tank shell. Blood, tissue, bone splinters, splatters on the wall.

And anger.

Mohammed Sadala’s rage is aimed at the man, whose remains he found in his bedroom: a Hamas fighter.

Spiegel Online International-Read full article

Link: http://www.newsuc.com/

Johann Cruyff best football player Holland ever produced when he was the coach of Ajax Amsterdam, reportedly told his players before a match against a weaker team: “They cannot win against us, but we can lose against them.”

Israel finds itself in exactly this type of situation when it comes to Hamas. The Palestinians militants are never going to defeat the Israeli military. But the end of “Operation Cast Lead” has confirmed that Israel can lose to Hamas.

Israel’s war in Gaza is a military victory. But with 1,300 dead and thousands wounded, it is also…

Spiegel Online International-Read full artile

Link: http://www.newsuc.com/

The Swedes, who pulled off a rapid recovery from their own banking crisis in the early 1990s, have a simple message for their American colleagues: Bite the bullet on nationalization.

Former Swedish officials, many of them from the more conservative, market-oriented side of the political spectrum there, say the only way to avoid that conundrum is for the U.S. government to be prepared to take full ownership - temporarily - of some big banks that once defined excellence in global finance.

Sweden did just that, carving off all the banking industry’s troubled assets into a so-called bad bank, where they could be sold off over time. With the banks effectively bankrupt, the government wiped out existing shareholders, but then instead of shutting the banks down it used the taxpayers’ funds to provide enough capital to allow the banks to resume normal lending.

Read full article at International Herald Tribune

Link: http://www.newsuc.com/job_travel.html

Smart trip planner. Good tips to save $$$ in time when economy is not too shiny! Save on your flight tickets, car rental and hotel!

I’ve found it for myself how to save extra money on air tickets, car rental and hotel by finding best deals through travel advisory and travel planning sites and buying, reserving tickets, rental cars and hotels directly from the airlines, car rental companies and hotels.

I’m not greedy, but extra $50-$250 can be used better then paying to the middlemen websites.

This is the plan of action:
1. Go to Travel Page on NewsUC.com and start planning your trip through popular free trip planners Trip Advisor , Real Travel and Gusto. The global travel advisor Kayak and Travel Zoo will give you amazing help. Check the destinations, reviews, travel tips and plan your trip.
Record all info about flights, hotels, rental cars you will find here. Pretty often you will find the best deal right here. But don’t rush, you can come back later after you will check all options and make your reservations through these pretty useful guys.
2. Your next step is to find the best for you deal on tickets, hotels and cars and record them! Do not buy or reserve anything, yet!
Make massive search for cheapest tickets, rental cars and low-priced hotels, best deals and packages for your trip. On NewsUC Travel page you can find a lot of useful tools to get the best travel deals, tickets, hotels. Book It, Cheap Air, Low Fares, Orbitz, cute Price Line, hotel search on Quik Book, Hotels, more the 400,000 USA and Europe 415,000 hotels, apartments and B&B accommodations on Venere and well known Expedia , Travelocity.

Please record the best air tickets, rental cars, hotel deals you’ve found and who is offering them. Airlines names, Hotels and car rental companies names and phone numbers, these companies websites. Now compare them to the prices you’ve got from the trip advisers web sites at step #1 and make your choices! Check the best seats on particular plane through Seat Guru, the timetable for the best ticket prices on Fly Spy and Fare Cast. Now you are ready to reserve tickets, rental cars and hotels directly from airlines, car rental company and hotels!
3.The world’s best budget international airlines as Air Berlin , Aeroflot, Condor and top airlines Air Asia, Air Arabia, Air Canada, Air China, Air France, British Airways, JAL, Russian S7 and USA budget airlines Jet Blue, South West and many and many others listed on NewsUC travel page will help you to save a lot of money.
Find your airline, flight and best prices, make your reservations and next step will be reserve the rental car and hotel.
In case if you won’t be able to find your rental car company or hotel listed on NewsUC Travel page, please find them through powerful and convenient Exalead website search engine presented on travel page.
When you’ve finished all reservations take a calculator, find out how much money you’ve saved and order something special for your lady.
4.Before start packing create your travel checklist on Don’t Forget Your Toothbrush and ordering the personal assistance through Ask Sunday. Find out and order your travel insurance through HTH Travel Insurance or Travel Guard. If you travel abroad, find the best deal and buy currency through discount on-line foreign exchange payment system on XE.
5. Have fun way before your travel date. First of all you can reach your destinations virtually by using Google Earth and find out a lot of useful info about it on CIA Fact Book, check the world weather condition on Weather and watch a lot of destinations through live cameras on Earth Cam Network.
6. Sign up and start looking for travel buddy, nearby friends for your trip on Wink, Dodge Ball and Twitter!
7. Also you can find restaurants and businesses at you travel destination through Earth Goggle and Menu Pages
When you’ve finished all these activities you should be ready for your trip.
Good Luck and have a nice trip!

Good luck! Have a nice trip! Vladi

Link: http://www.newsuc.com

Is the Fed running out of firepower? Or, to rephrase the question, is it possible that the central bank of the world’s biggest economy is becoming overstretched and overwhelmed by the costs of the crisis? If so, does that mean the United States could go bankrupt?

The question is becoming urgent, because Tuesday the Fed cut the federal funds rate from an extraordinarily low 1 percent to an unprecedented 0.25 percent, with a prospect of going down to zero.

But even such unheard-of steps might not, on recent experience, revive the animal spirits of entrepreneurs and get bankers lending again. Fear still rules the markets.

Read full story on UPI:

Walker’s World: Could U.S. go bankrupt?
By MARTIN WALKER, UPI Editor EmeritusPublished: Dec. 17, 2008 at 11:07 AM

WASHINGTON, Dec. 17 (UPI) – Is the Fed running out of firepower? Or, to rephrase the question, is it possible that the central bank of the world’s biggest economy is becoming overstretched and overwhelmed by the costs of the crisis?

If so, does that mean the United States could go bankrupt?

The question is becoming urgent, because Tuesday the Fed cut the federal funds rate from an extraordinarily low 1 percent to an unprecedented 0.25 percent, with a prospect of going down to zero.

But even such unheard-of steps might not, on recent experience, revive the animal spirits of entrepreneurs and get bankers lending again. Fear still rules the markets.

Ben Bernanke, the chairman of the Federal Reserve Board, is trying desperately to keep the good ship capitalism afloat and is deploying heroic, innovative and risky measures to do so.

The costs are becoming astronomic. Over the course of the last year the Fed’s balance sheet has tripled to $2.2 trillion. Like Atlas of the Greek myths, who bore the world pressed down on his shoulders, the Fed is currently holding up the U.S. financial system.

It has launched new credit facilities, accepted dubious collateral for loans to banks, arranged currency swaps and generally done things it has never done before in its 95-year history. Under the Term Auction Facility, it has issued $448 billion in liquidity to banks against various securities including Treasury bonds, municipal bonds, AAA securities and so on.

Under the Term Securities Lending Facility it has issued $185 billion in Treasury securities to guarantee inter-bank loans, backed by vaguely defined collateral that includes the now-notorious “mortgage-backed securities.”

Since Oct. 29, when it decided to intervene to unblock the commercial paper market, on which many U.S. corporations depend for operating funds, it has issued $349 billion in net liquidity. Under the Commercial Paper Funding Facility it has issued $309 billion and a further $41 billion under the Asset-backed Commercial Paper Money Market Mutual Fund Liquidity Facility.

The Fed’s balance sheet also shows another $628 billion in assets, much of it in the form of currency swaps, like the special agreement on Oct. 29 to extend $120 billion to Mexico, Singapore, Brazil and South Korea. This followed the $180 billion swap agreement the previous month with the Bank of England and the Japanese, the European, the Canadian and the Swiss central banks.

And all this is being done under a veil of secrecy. Citing banking confidentiality, it has rejected a Freedom of Information act request from Bloomberg Television to detail precisely the kinds of collateral it is now accepting and the credit it is issuing.

It is also allowing banks to turn a neat arbitraging profit on the funds it lends out to commercial banks at an interest rate of 0.49 percent. The banks then deposit these funds back with the Fed as reserves, on which they receive 1 percent interest.

In theory, the Fed’s ability to issue credit and supply funds is limitless; they can simply continue to print money or extend guarantees, and they will be backed up by the full faith and credit of the United States.

In practice, there will come a limit when the markets, foreign or domestic, start questioning the value of that credit and demand much higher interest rates to hold dollars that are visibly declining in value. That has not happened yet, and given the need of the rest of the world’s central banks for the U.S. economy to remain afloat, it may never do so.

But we are getting into risky and uncharted territory. This expansion of the Fed’s balance sheet is but a fraction of the overall exposure. The Fed has said it is prepared to put as much as $2.4 trillion into the commercial paper market (the $349 billion listed above on the balance sheet is the current net position).

And at the end of the day, the Fed also stands behind the $1.55 trillion issued by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and the $950 billion by the Treasury and the $300 billion by the Federal Housing Administration and the $200 billion that has been pledged to Fannie Mae (NYSE:FNM) and Freddie Mac. (NYSE:FRE)

Altogether, more than $7 trillion (or about the wealth that the entire U.S. economy produces in six months) has been committed to the financial crisis by the U.S. government and its agencies. And so far, it has probably stopped a banking collapse, but it can hardly be said to have saved the system.

Currently shrinking at an annual rate of more than 4 percent, the economy is sliding down the slope from recession toward depression. Consumers are on strike. The housing market continues to sink, with new housing starts falling another 19 percent in November. And the world is following the United States down this grim slope, with China reporting drops in exports last week. And now this week China reports that its output of electricity, a reliable indicator of economic activity, fell 9.6 percent in November.

The measures currently being taken by the Fed are historic. It never did anything like this during the Great Depression, and the only comparison is with the emergency measures it took to finance World War II.

But we are only in the initial stages of this recession, and already the federal debt is heading toward 80 percent of GDP. Back in 1980, it was just over 30 percent of GDP. The last time it was as high as this was the aftermath of World War II, when the debt peaked at 120 percent of GDP.

Forget about the war on terror; for the Fed, this is now the war to save the economy.

By MARTIN WALKER, UPI Editor EmeritusPublished

Link: http://www.newsuc.com

Zeitgeist Addendum was released on October 2, 2008. It wasn’t easy for me to watch Zeigeist Addendum, but it was more difficult to stop watching it! Pretty impressive and quite in time!

“It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society” -J. Krishnamurti…”

“…In a world where 1% of the population owns 40% of the planet’s wealth…in a world where 34,000 children die every single day from poverty and preventable diseases, and where 50% of the world’s population lives on less than 2 dollars a day… one thing is clear:Something is very wrong…”

…“None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free."-Johann Wolfgang von Goethe-1749-1832]…”

It wasn’t easy to watch Zeigeist Addendum, but it was more difficult to stop watching it! Watch Zeigeist Addendum!

Link: http://www.newsuc.com

Gaza-images of war by world media. Images of people and distructions.

At least 280 people have died in the air raids. Up to 700 others were wounded.

Gaza family rush after strike

Wounded girl, Gaza

Men killed by Israeli air strike. Gaza

Gaza victim. Buriej refugee camp

Injured man straggled, Gaza

Gaza face

Gaza ruins

Gaza presidential building ruins

Ehud Olmert, Ehud Barak, Tzipi Livni, 12.27.08

Israeli solder atop tank prays near Gaza, 12.28.08

Isareli troops use tear gas

Al Baqaa refugee camp teens burned Israeli flag

Gaza protests, 12.27.08

Gaza strikes back

Jordanian protest Israel and USA, 12.27.08.

Link: http://www.newsuc.com

Did you know that popular nutritional supplement Ginkgo Biloba in combination with Aspirin are potential cause of bleeding? Yes, it is! According to Reuters’ article “Dangerous drug combos pose risk for elderly” 12.24.08 by Julie Steenhuysen it’s true.

“…Older adults in the United States are popping prescription pills, over-the-counter drugs and dietary supplements in record numbers, and in combinations that could be deadly, U.S. researchers said on Tuesday…”

“…Half of U.S. adults aged 57 to 85 are using five or more prescription or non-prescription drugs, and one in 25 are taking them in combinations that could cause dangerous drug interactions.

Estimated that U.S. adults over 65 make up more than 175,000 emergency department visits a year for adverse drug reactions, and commonly prescribed drugs accounted for a third of these visits.

Among non-prescription drugs, they found many people were taking the popular nutritional supplement Ginkgo Biloba in combination with Aspirin, another potential cause of bleeding…”

Read the Reuters’ article:

Link: http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1047173.html

“…For the true anti-Semite, Christmas came early this year. The anti-Semite’s new Santa is Bernard Madoff.
The former chairman of Nasdaq turns out, also, to be treasurer of the board of trustees at Yeshiva University and chairman of the university’s business school.

Rich beyond human comprehension, he handles fortunes for others, buying and selling in a trading empire that skirts investment banks and other possible sources of regulation.

Even better, for those obsessed with the idea that Jews control finance, entertainment and the media,is the idea that Madoff’s greed was uncontrollable enough that he targeted fellow Jews, some of them his own friends, as well as Israeli companies. Among them Stephen Spielberg, Elie Wiesel, and billionaire real-estate tycoon, media mogul, commentator and former chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations Mort Zuckerman. A senior U.S. senator is one of his
client-marks, as well as present and past owners of professional football and baseball teams. Members of exclusive N.Y. synagogue lose collective $2 billion in Madoff scam.

“The scandal rippled far beyond the multimillion-dollar private foundation run by Madoff that channeled money into hospitals and theaters,” Reuters reported, “and swept up charities large and small, directly and indirectly, along with wealthy Jewish investors Madoff personally advised.”

Adding the element of clannishness, The New York Post was more direct.

“Working the so-called “Jewish circuit” of well-heeled Jews he met at country clubs on Long Island and in Palm Beach, and through his position on the boards of directors of several prominent Jewish institutions, he was entrusted with entire family fortunes.

“The guy was totally respected. He was a heymishe Jewish guy. He had sweet old ladies and he let their children in,” said a Manhattan lawyer who invested with Madoff.

“This guy was dealing with all the rich Jews in Roslyn and the rich Jews in Palm Beach. This was passed down from family member to family member because he wouldn’t open up to new people.”

It remains to be seen how far we’ve come from the days of the frank Jew-hate and genteel anti-Semitism of the likes of Henry Ford and F. Scott Fitzgerald. We can only hope that the Meyer Wolfsheim Effect remains dormant, the Great Gatsby heritage of “the man who fixed the 1919 World Series.”

” … If I had thought of it at all, I would have thought of it as a thing that merely happened, the end of some inevitable chain,” Fitzgerald’s narrator confides. “It never occurred to me that one man could start to play with the faith of fifty million people - with the single-mindedness of a burglar blowing a safe.”

In the meanwhile, Bernard Madoff, you’ve made the days of uncounted devout Jew-haters. This year, all they want for Christmas, is you…”

Read full story at Haaretz, Israel