Sections on today's Signs Page:
SOTT Focus
John F. Kennedy and the Titans
Laura Knight-Jadczyk
sott.net
2006-11-20 12:00:00
John F. Kennedy and the Titans
On November 19, 1963, 43 years ago today, at a ceremony in the White House Flower Garden, John F. Kennedy welcomed officers of state education associations of the National Education Association. he remarked: "I realize once again in a very personal way what a tremendous flood of children are coming into our schools..."
He was always concerned about children, his own as well as the children of all Americans and the world.
Comment on this SOTT Focus
The Lesson of Jonestown
Sarah Golstene
Sott.net
2008-11-19 03:59:00
The events of November 18, 1978 in Jonestown, Guyana were a tragedy that few can come to grips with even today, 30 years later. But that was not a singular event. As a sign posted at Jonestown read, "Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it."
I'm Warren Olney in Los Angeles. Ninety minutes ago came word from Guyana, making this bizarre story more bizarre than ever. Troops from Guyana have found between three and four hundred bodies at the People's Temple commune at Jonestown. No marks of violence on any of the bodies. No marks of anyone alive, despite reports that as many as 1,200 people lived in Jonestown. There had been predictions that a mass suicide would occur from several defectors. We don't know that that's what happened. We don't know what happened to the rest of the people who lived at the commune. We don't know what's happened to attorneys Mark Lane or Charles Garry, or to the Reverend Jim Jones. And we don't know how much longer this awful story will take to unfold. For Edwin Newman and for all of us at NBC, I'm Warren Olney in Los Angeles.
Comment on this SOTT Focus
Best of the Web
Holocaust's unholy hold
Avraham Burg
Los Angeles Times
2008-11-16 20:25:00
Reporting from Nataf, Israel -- Even today, when economic storms are shaking markets around the world, posing a threat to the stability of entire countries and societies, Israel continues to conduct its business far from the turmoil, as if swimming in a private ocean of its own. True, the headlines are alerting the public here about the crisis, and the politicians are hastily recalculating their budgets. But none of this is dramatically changing the way we think about ourselves.
Comment on this SOTT Focus
Naomi Klein on the Bailout Profiteers and the Multi-Trillion-Dollar Crime Scene
Democracy Now
2008-11-17 02:04:00
"The more details emerge, the clearer it becomes that Washington's handling of the Wall Street bailout is not merely incompetent. It is borderline criminal," says Naomi Klein, author of The Shock Doctrine.
AMY GOODMAN: World leaders from nearly two dozen countries met in Washington over the weekend to discuss plans to increase regulation of international financial activity. They acknowledged that a failure of market oversight in countries like the United States had precipitated the financial crisis.
Meanwhile, here at home, it's been a month into the Bush administration's more than $700 billion bank bailout. Last week, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson outlined a new bailout strategy intended to boost consumer borrowing and promote financing for companies that give out loans. President-elect Obama's transition team is reportedly working on improving the management of the bailout come January 20th.
But that's two months away and according to the Washington Post, with $290 billion already committed, the Bush administration has taken no action to fill congressionally-mandated independent positions to oversee how the bailout is used.
Comment on this SOTT Focus
U.S. News
Daschle to Be Nominee for Health Post in Obama Cabinet
Helene Cooper and Peter Baker
The New York Times
2008-11-19 20:23:00
President-elect Barack Obama has decided to nominate former Senator Thomas A. Daschle of South Dakota as secretary of health and human services, and is leaning toward former Deputy Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. as attorney general, people close to the transition said Wednesday.
Comment on this SOTT Focus
Clinton vet eyed for Attorney General job
Josh Meyer
Washington Bureau
2008-11-19 20:28:00
President-elect Barack Obama would like to nominate former top Justice Department official Eric Holder Jr. to be his attorney general, and his transition team is now trying to gauge whether there is sufficient bipartisan support for him in the Senate, sources close to the transition confirmed Tuesday.
Those sources said that the internal vetting process for Holder is still being completed and that top transition team members and Democratic allies of Obama are working to make sure that he would not face any significant obstacles during the Senate confirmation process. One source close to the transition team said Holder has been offered the job "conditionally."
Holder, a well-regarded prosecutor turned corporate lawyer in private practice, would be the nation's first African-American attorney general. He did not respond to calls and e-mails seeking comment, and Obama's transition team declined to discuss the matter, except to say that he had neither been offered the job nor accepted it.
Comment on this SOTT Focus
Early Test for Obama on Domestic Spying Views
James Risen and Eric Lichtblau
The New York Times
2008-11-17 19:41:00
President-elect Barack Obama will face a series of early decisions on domestic spying that will test his administration's views on presidential power and civil liberties.
The Justice Department will be asked to respond to motions in legal challenges to the National Security Agency's wiretapping program, and must decide whether to continue the tactics used by the Bush administration - which has used broad claims of national security and "state secrets" to try to derail the challenges - or instead agree to disclose publicly more information about how the program was run.
Comment on this SOTT Focus
Propaganda Alert! Qaeda's Zawahri urges attacks on "criminal" America
Reuters
2008-11-19 14:06:00
Dubai - Al Qaeda's second-in-command urged Muslims to continue attacks against "criminal" America and slammed U.S. president-elect Barack Obama for vowing to back Israel during his campaign.
Ayman al-Zawahri warned Obama that he would fail if he followed the policies of President George W. Bush, according to an audio tape published on Wednesday by the SITE Institute, a U.S. organization that monitors Islamic militant groups.
Zawahri also criticized Obama for what he described as turning his back on his Islamic roots.
Comment on this SOTT Focus
Justice? Texas grand jury indicts Cheney, Gonzales of crime
Reuters
2008-11-19 13:54:00
A grand jury in South Texas indicted U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney and former attorney General Alberto Gonzales on Tuesday for "organized criminal activity" related to alleged abuse of inmates in private prisons.
The indictment has not been seen by a judge, who could dismiss it.
The grand jury in Willacy County, in the Rio Grande Valley near the U.S.-Mexico border, said Cheney is "profiteering from depriving human beings of their liberty," according to a copy of the indictment obtained by Reuters.
The indictment cites a "money trail" of Cheney's ownership in prison-related enterprises including the Vanguard Group, which owns an interest in private prisons in south Texas.
Former attorney general Gonzales used his position to "stop the investigations as to the wrong doings" into assaults in county prisons, the indictment said.
Cheney's office declined comment. "We have not received any indictments. I can't comment on something we have not received," said Cheney's spokeswoman Megan Mitchell.
Comment on this SOTT Focus
Clinton lawyers vetting her for secretary of state
Beth Fouhy
Associated Press
2008-11-19 08:04:00
Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton has engaged three prominent lawyers to help President-elect Barack Obama vet her candidacy for secretary of state even as some insiders criticized the pick and advisers to the former first lady said she was weighing whether to take the job if Obama offered it.
Comment on this SOTT Focus
UK & Euro-Asian News
Silvio Berlusconi plays impromptu game of hide and seek with Angela Merkel
Nick Squires
Telegraph
2008-11-18 17:45:00
Italy's prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi, has played a bizarre impromptu game of hide and seek with the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel.
Mr Berlusconi, 72, ducked behind a lamp post and then jumped out with a cheery "boo" when she approached during a summit between the two countries in Trieste, in Italy's north-east.
The Chancellor evidently found the surprise amusing because she spread her arms and gave Mr Berlusconi a hug, addressing him as "Silvio".
Comment on this SOTT Focus
Thousands in fear after BNP members list leak in UK
Dominic Kennedy and Nico Hines
Times Online
2008-11-19 17:26:00
Soldiers, police officers, teachers and doctors were in fear for their jobs last night after the entire membership list of the far-Right British National Party was posted on the internet.
More than 12,000 names, home addresses, telephone numbers and e-mail contact details were included in a major breach of data protection. The names and ages of schoolchildren with family memberships were disclosed. Some supporters were listed with comments such as "discretion required - employment concerns". A number had their hobbies recorded.
Comment on this SOTT Focus
UK: DJ sacked for calling a Conservative councillor a "Nazi" and an "ignorant pig"
Independent Television News
2008-11-18 00:10:00
A radio presenter who called a Conservative councillor a "Nazi" and an "ignorant pig" has been sacked. An investigation was launched after the remarks, made by Jon Gaunt on his Talksport radio show, generated "a number" of complaints from listeners.
During a show earlier this month, Gaunt was interviewing councillor Michael Stark about Redbridge Council's ban on smokers becoming foster parents. Mr Stark defended the decision on the grounds that the welfare of young children should be put ahead of the needs of foster families.
But Gaunt, who was in care as a child, accused his interviewee of being a "Nazi" and an "ignorant pig".
Comment on this SOTT Focus
UK: Baby P was seen by 28 different social workers, doctors and police officers before being tortured to death
Gordon Rayner and Nick Allen
Telegraph
2008-11-18 00:01:00
Baby P was seen by 28 different social workers, doctors and police officers before he was tortured to death, it has emerged.
All of them had contact with the 17-month-old boy after concerns were first raised that he was being abused, but their combined expertise failed to save him from the violent beatings that finally killed him eight months later.
Baby P was taken to hospital nine times, the last occasion coming two days before his death, when his spine had been broken but doctors failed to spot that he had been paralysed because he was "quite miserable and crying" and so, they said, it was not possible to make a "full examination".
Comment on this SOTT Focus
Around the World
Zimbabwe police bar health march
BBC News
2008-11-18 16:55:00
Police in Zimbabwe have stopped almost 1,000 medical staff from marching to protest about the country's deteriorating health system.
The workers want the government to address staff and equipment shortages, and are calling for more pay.
Most hospitals in Zimbabwe have shut down, and fears are mounting over deaths due to lack of treatment.
Comment on this SOTT Focus
U.S. strike kills 5 militants in Pakistan
Reuters
2008-11-19 14:01:00
A suspected U.S. drone aircraft fired two missiles at a house in northwestern Pakistan on Wednesday, killing five suspected militants, possibly including an Arab al Qaeda operative, intelligence officials said.
The al Qaeda fighter was identified as Abdullah Azam al-Saudi by an intelligence official based in Dera Ismail Khan, hours after the missile attack in Janikhel tribal area of neighboring Bannu district in North West Frontier Province.
"He used to coordinate between al Qaeda and Taliban in Pakistan, and had also been responsible for recruiting people," the official told Reuters on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to the media.
There was no other corroboration that the Arab al Qaeda fighter had been killed.
Janikhel is not part of one of Pakistan's seven semi-autonomous tribal regions, but borders Waziristan -- a militant hotbed where suspected U.S. drone aircraft have launched a series of missile strikes in recent months.
Comment on this SOTT Focus
Five killed in US missile strike in northwest Pakistan: officials
Agence France-Presse
2008-11-19 07:12:00
A missile strike by a suspected US drone killed at least five people including foreigners in northwest Pakistan near the Afghan border, security officials said Wednesday. The attack marked the first US missile strike outside of the rugged tribal regions which have become safe havens for militants linked to Taliban and Al-Qaeda, one Pakistani security official said.
The house targeted was located in northwestern Bannu district, on the border of the tribal territory, he said. According to local officials, at least seven people were also wounded in the missile strike.
"The strike overnight destroyed the house of a tribesman Sakhi Mohammad in the Bannu district," a senior security official told AFP. "At least two foreigners were among five killed."
Comment on this SOTT Focus
Africa: Corrupt legal system a tragedy for accident victims
Ken Opala
Daily Nation
2008-11-16 01:50:00
Dishonest lawyers and insurers are some of the hurdles that litter road to compensation
Accident victims are losing out on compensation owing to a sluggish system that is often open to corruption.
Ill-prepared lawyers, misplaced files, and a thin staff complement of judicial officials, all conspire to deny hundreds of victims of accidents (roads and industrial) a livelihood.
Yet, even when the courts finally deliver judgment, the award - the whole or part of it - risks being swindled by dishonest lawyers and insurers. And as if that is not enough, not much is left after lawyers take their fee.
The Advocates Complaints Commission, the Catholic Justice and Peace Commission and a host of human rights groups say they have been inundated with complaints from frustrated individuals unable to get compensation for injuries sustained on the roads and in factories. They don't know where to seek help.
Comment on this SOTT Focus
23 die in South African truck accident
Associated Press
2008-11-13 01:47:00
Johannesburg - South African police say a truck carrying workers collided with another truck, killing 23 people and injuring nine.
Police spokesman Abie Khoabane tells the South African Press Association that the driver of a larger truck lost control and pushed the truck carrying the workers off the road in the northeast of the country.
Khoabane said both trucks rolled into a ditch and emergency workers were still searching for passengers trapped under the vehicles.
Comment on this SOTT Focus
China seeks to cement trade clout with Latin America
Rory Carroll
The Guardian
2008-11-18 23:55:00
China's president, Hu Jintao, is leading scores of Chinese business people on a sweep through Latin America to reinforce Beijing's growing economic clout in the region.
Hu launched free trade talks on a visit to Costa Rica, before flying to a rapturous reception in Cuba. This week he will also be one of the stars at a Pacific rim summit of 21 nations in Peru. By then, Beijing's delegation will have grown to 600 people, including 12 ministers.
"China's relations with Latin America and the Caribbean have never been so close," Hu told Peru's El Comercio newspaper.
Comment on this SOTT Focus
Big Brother
Pain Compliance 101: The Taser
Andrew Bosworth
Populist Party
2008-11-11 05:17:00
A decade ago, ordinary Americans would not have tolerated such widespread use of the Taser, a stun gun delivering a 50,000-volt shock. They would not have tolerated the electrocution of unarmed, non-threatening civilians without following the normal "escalation of force" policy.
Ironically, American political leaders and the media once cast aspersion on the regimes of Guatemala and Argentina, which used cattle-prods on prisoners. Cattle-prods only deliver 25,000-volt shocks, half that of the Taser. Cual es el problema?
Comment on this SOTT Focus
Medical Condition Not Recognized! Man shocked with Taser dies of excited delirium
Associated Press
2008-11-19 04:55:00
STATESVILLE - An autopsy has concluded that a North Carolina man who was shocked with a Taser died of excited delirium.
The autopsy report revealed that Anthony Davidson, 29, had traces of cocaine in urine samples taken shortly before his death.
Comment on this SOTT Focus
US: Coroner's inquest ordered in Taser death by Missouri police
Daily Express
2008-11-17 04:46:00
MOBERLY - A coroner's inquest will be used to determine if a crime occurred when Moberly police officers used a Taser on a man hours before his death.
According to an article in the Moberly Monitor-Index, the Missouri State Highway Patrol recently finished an investigation into the death of Stanley James William Harlan, 23, and turned over the results to Randolph County Coroner Gerald Luntsford.
Comment on this SOTT Focus
Axis of Evil
Declassified Papers: DOJ Accepted AIPAC Parent's Demand for Secrecy
Institute for Research: Middle Eastern Policy
2008-10-27 17:22:00
Papers kept secret for 43 years show that the US Department of Justice attempted to register the parent organization of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC, as the foreign agent of Israel.
Comment on this SOTT Focus
America's Moronic Iraqi Policy
Paul Craig Roberts
Information Clearinghouse
2008-11-18 16:09:00
According to all accounts the US faces its worse economic crisis since the Great Depression with $2 trillion in near-term financing needs for bailouts and economic stimulus. This is an enormous sum for any country, especially for one that is so heavily indebted that it is close to bankruptcy. If the money can't be borrowed abroad, it will have to be printed--a policy that carries the implication of hyper-inflation.
In normal life a borrower who must appeal to creditors makes every effort to bring order to his financial affairs. But not the Bush regime.
The out-of-pocket costs of Bush's Iraq war are about $600 billion at the present moment, a figure that increases by millions of dollars every hour.
In addition, there are the much larger future costs that have already been incurred, such as long-term care for the wounded and disabled US soldiers, the replacement costs of the used up equipment, interest payments on the war debt, and the lost economic use of the resources and manpower squandered in war. Experts estimate that the already incurred out-of-pocket and future costs of Bush's Iraq war to be $3 trillion and rising.
Even these costs might be small if an article by Richard LaMountain in the November 2008 Middle American News is accurate. According to LaMountain, US refugee programs for Iraqis displaced by the US invasion and occupation could result in a large and growing Muslim US population. These would be people whose lives were adversely impacted by the US invasion of Iraq.
Comment on this SOTT Focus
Good-bye and good ridddance Mr. Bush
Frosty Wooldridge
NewsWithViews.com
2008-11-17 14:37:00
According to the New York Times, 524,000 Americans lost their jobs in September and October. Unemployment spiked at 6.5 percent. Additionally, 28 million Americans subsist on food stamps. Millions maintain heat and lights with assistance from 'energy banks' subsidized by other Americans who still enjoy jobs.
"The economy is slipping deeper into a recessionary sinkhole that is getting broader," said Stuart G. Hoffman, chief economist at PNC Financial Services Group in Pittsburgh. "The layoffs are getting larger, and coming faster. We're likely to see at least another six months of more job reports like this."
For the past eight years, George Bush watched, and assisted as some eight to twelve million illegal migrants crashed U.S. borders to displace American workers while they wreaked chaos in American schools, hospitals and prisons. At press conferences, he said, "They do the jobs that Americans won't do." While reports show illegal aliens killed more Americans via drunk driving, murders and rapes than combat soldiers suffered death in Iraq and Afghanistan, Mr. Bush no longer speaks about illegal migrants doing the jobs that Americans won't do. Gees! Can't figure that one out now, can we?
Comment on this SOTT Focus
Will The US Government Accept Responsibility For The Slaughter Of Over 1,000,000 Iraqis?
Michael Schwartz
Huffington Post
2008-11-13 14:20:00
Will The US Government And Media Finally Report The Slaughter Of Iraqis By The US Military?
I recently received a set of questions from Le Monde Diplomatique reporter Kim Bredesen about the 2007 Project Censored story about 1,000,000 Iraqi deaths due to the U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq. The questions and answers are, I think, useful in framing both the untold story of the slaughter in Iraq and the failure of the U.S. media to report on its extent or on U.S. culpability for the deaths of 4% of the Iraqi population.
Bredeson : I observed recently that your story on Iraqi deaths caused by US occupation became story no. 1 in this year's listing by Project Censored. I wondered if I could ask you a few questions on e-mail regarding this issue?
Regards,
Kim Bredesen, Le Monde diplomatiqe (Norway)
These are my questions.
Comment on this SOTT Focus
Israel rebuffs U.N. calls to open Gaza crossings so that it can continue it's genocide
Reuters
2008-11-19 14:11:00
Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak on Wednesday rebuffed a call by U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to allow humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip through crossings Israel has largely sealed in two weeks of violence.
Asked by Israeli Army Radio about Ban's appeal and whether Israel intends to reopen the passages, Barak said: "No. There needs to be calm in order for the crossings to be opened."
Ban telephoned outgoing Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Tuesday and "strongly urged (him) to facilitate the freer movement of urgently needed humanitarian supplies" and U.N. aid workers into the Gaza Strip, the U.N. press office said.
Israel closed the crossings after Palestinian militants responded with daily rocket salvoes to an Israeli army incursion on November 4 into the Hamas-run territory, where a five-month-old, Egyptian-brokered ceasefire had largely been holding.
Barak acknowledged in the radio interview that the violence was touched off by the Israeli raid, which the army said destroyed a tunnel at the frontier that Gaza militants dug and could have been used to try to seize Israeli soldiers.
More than a dozen Palestinian fighters have been killed in the past two weeks. Several Israelis have been slightly wounded by dozens of rockets.
Comment on this SOTT Focus
Fugitive War Criminal, Kissinger, Backs Clinton at State
Jake Trapper
ABC News
2008-11-19 13:03:00
At the World Economic Forum's 24th India Economic Summit in New Delhi, India, former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger said of reports that President-elect Obama is considering Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-NY, as Secretary of State, "I believe it would be an outstanding appointment. If it is true, it shows a number of things, including great courage on the part of the President-Elect. To appoint a very strong personality into a prominent cabinet position requires a great deal of courage."
Comment on this SOTT Focus
Middle East Madness
Obama and Bush's Continuing Torture Policy
Revolutionary Flowerpot Society
2008-11-19 22:13:00
For any who harbor illusions of substantial 'change' with an Obama presidency, the excerpts below from an article from the Baltimore Sun should be enough for a speedy disposal of any such expectations.
The article highlights some of the president-elect's transition team's personnel for 'intelligence transition process'. As you will read the resumes of key intelligence transition personnel, it should become clear that, even in an area as starkly over-the-top, in terms of the 'image' of the U.S., as the policy on torture, there shall be little if any noticeable change. I expect that any change will be one of tone alone, but substantively there will be a smooth continuation of the same old, same old.
Comment on this SOTT Focus
Ramallah Palestinian Authority blocks website reporting on corruption
The Electronic Intifada
2008-11-18 22:08:00
The Palestinian Authority (PA) in Ramallah has blocked access to a popular news website because of the site's reporting on widespread corruption among the entourage of PA President Mahmoud Abbas.
For several days, Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip have been unable to view the website Donia al-Watan (link) as access has been blocked through the PA-controlled telecom company. Readers outside Palestine and a few inside the country using proxies are still able to access the site.
Comment on this SOTT Focus
Plame, Wilson to take CIA leak lawsuit to Supreme Court
Nick Cargo
Raw Story
2008-11-19 12:45:00
Former CIA operative Valerie Plame Wilson and her husband, former ambassador Joseph Wilson, plan to take their civil lawsuit against Bush administration officials to the Supreme Court after a federal circuit court refused to rehear the case on Monday.
Comment on this SOTT Focus
UN rights chief implores Israel to lift illegal siege of Gaza Strip
Agence France Presse
2008-11-19 11:44:00
The top United Nations human rights official on Tuesday called on Israel to immediately lift its blockade of the Gaza Strip, as invading tanks from the Jewish state sparked retaliatory rocket fire from the coastal territory. "By function of this blockade, 1.5 million Palestinian men, women and children have been forcibly deprived of their most basic human rights for months," the High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said in a statement.
Comment on this SOTT Focus
Israeli tanks move into Gaza, level farmland
Ibrahim Barzak
Associated Press
2008-11-19 11:46:00
Israeli tanks forged into the southern Gaza Strip on Tuesday, drawing mortar fire from Palestinian militants and intensifying violence that has chipped away at a tenuous cease-fire.
Comment on this SOTT Focus
Israeli tanks, bulldozers invade southern Gaza; clashes reported in north
Ma'an News Agency
2008-11-18 19:55:00
Israeli tanks and bulldozers invaded the southern end of the Gaza Strip, near the city of Rafah at 9am on Tuesday and began razing agricultural lands.
Comment on this SOTT Focus
Grand Theft Economics
The G-20's Secret Debt Solution
Larry Edelson
Money and Markets
2008-11-19 22:36:00
If you think this weekend's G-20 meetings in Washington are only about designing short-term fixes to the financial system and regulatory reforms for banks, hedge funds, brokers, mortgage companies and investment banks ... think again.
Behind the scenes, a far more fundamental fix is being discussed - the possible revaluation of gold and the birth of an entirely new monetary system.
I've been studying this issue in great depth, all my life. And given the speed at which the financial crisis is unfolding, I would be very surprised if what I'm about to tell you now is not on the G-20 table this weekend.
Comment on this SOTT Focus
Statement From G-20 Summit: In English
Catherine Austin Fitts
Solari Blog
2008-11-19 18:23:00
The Editor of Expresso in Portugal wanted my take on the recent G-20 communique. Here is my "translation" of the official statement:
Comment on this SOTT Focus
Statement From G-20 Summit
New York Times
2008-11-15 18:26:00
Following is the text of the statement from the Summit on Financial Markets and the World Economy, as released on Saturday:
Comment on this SOTT Focus
Palin's Pipeline at Risk as Economy Slows
Russell Gold
The Wall Street Journal
2008-11-19 08:15:00
The troubled economy that helped sink Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's hopes of becoming U.S. vice president now is undermining prospects for building the $30 billion natural-gas pipeline she touts as her administration's signal achievement.
Comment on this SOTT Focus
Why Gold Is Down, But You Can't Get Your Hands on Any
Jim Kingsland
FoxBusiness
2008-11-17 01:12:00
At first glance, it appears as if the gold bugs, those bullish on gold, have been stepped on this year. Spot gold is down nearly 30% from its peak of $1033 an ounce set earlier in the year.
But a two tiered market has developed where speculators have been badly burned trading gold futures, while some investors holding actual physical gold have not only managed to keep their shirts, but have held on to gains for the year.
Dealers and analysts are calling it an "upside down" market where physical gold, including coins and bars, are in short supply and far more expensive than the price quoted on New York Mercantile Exchange's COMEX division.
Comment on this SOTT Focus
New York City to Begin Shutting Subway Lines Amid Growing Financial Crisis
CBS
2008-11-18 22:26:00
Budget Deficit Means 1,500 Jobs On The Line; At Least 2 Train Routes Could Be Completely Removed
'Fare Hikes For Passengers Could Be 'Whopping'
The MTA reportedly is ready to make deep cuts in its budget that could lead to reduced service, layoffs and more crowded trains. Sources tell CBS 2 the association board is preparing a worst case "Doomsday" scenario that will be presented during its monthly meeting on Thursday.
When describing the agency's budget crisis last week, MTA CEO Elliot Sander said, "The word 'Draconian' is not inappropriate."
During the Thursday meeting, The MTA is expected to: completely do away with the "W" line, which runs from Queens to Manhattan, and the "Z" line, which runs through Queens, Brooklyn and Manhattan. Also on the chopping block: service will be cut in half on the "G" line, which runs from Queens to Brooklyn; and the "M" line, which runs through Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Queens.
Comment on this SOTT Focus
The Living Planet
Glowing anemone yields 'light switch' protein
Catherine Brahic
New Scientist
2008-11-19 18:03:00
The glowing striped tentacles of the fluorescent anemone emerge out of the darkness. Nothing particularly special about that, except that this species, which may never have been seen before, is one of just a handful of organisms whose fluorescence can be switched on and off.
It was discovered by Jörg Wiedenmann of the National Oceanography Centre of the University of Southampton in the UK and his colleagues on an expedition to the floor of the Gulf of Mexico, 500 to 600 metres down.
Comment on this SOTT Focus
World's oldest polar bear dies at Canadian zoo
Allan Dowd
Reuters
2008-11-19 17:14:00
Vancouver, British Columbia - Canadian zoo officials on Tuesday were mourning the death of what is believed to be the world's oldest polar bear.
The 42-year-old bear named Debby died on Monday at a zoo in Winnipeg, Manitoba, where she had lived since 1967 after being captured as a orphaned cub in the Russian Arctic in 1966.
Debby was in declining health due to her advanced age, and veterinarians decided to euthanize her after it was discovered she had suffered multiple organ failure.
She was listed as the world's oldest polar bear by the Guinness Book of World Records when she turned 41, according to officials at the Assiniboine Park Zoo.
Comment on this SOTT Focus
Long-lost 'Furby-like' Primate Discovered In Indonesia
Science Daily
2008-11-19 16:37:00
A team led by a Texas A&M University anthropologist has discovered a group of primates not seen alive in 85 years. The pygmy tarsiers, furry Furby-like, or gremlin-looking, creatures about the size of a small mouse and weighing less than two ounces, have not been observed since they were last collected for a museum in 1921.
Several scientists believed they were extinct until two Indonesian scientists trapping rats in the highlands of Sulawesi accidentally trapped and killed a pygmy tarsier in 2000.
Sharon Gursky-Doyen, working with one of her graduate students, Nanda Grow, and a team of locals trapped three of the nocturnal creatures in Indonesia in late August. The pygmy tarsiers possess fingers with claws instead of nails, which Gursky-Doyen says is a distinguishing feature of this species, and distinguishes them from nearly all other primates which have nails and not claws. The claws may be an adaptation to the mossy environment, she believes.
Comment on this SOTT Focus
Strong quake strikes Panama, no damage reported
Reuters
2008-11-19 16:13:00
Panama City - A strong earthquake of 6.2 magnitude and at a depth of 48 km struck Panama near the Costa Rica border overnight, the U.S. Geological Survey said on Wednesday.
The quake hit 56 km west southwest of David, Panama, at 1:11 a.m. local time (0611 GMT).
The tremor was felt in Costa Rica's capital of San Jose, but that country's emergency commission said there were no reports of damages there.
Comment on this SOTT Focus
5.7 magnitude earthquake strikes Vanuatu
Radio New Zealand International
2008-11-18 16:07:00
A 5.7 magnitude earthquake struck off Vanuatu early this morning but no tsunami warning was immediately issued.
The US Geological Survey says the quake hit just after 1 o'clock, 157 kilometres south-east of the capital city of Port Vila.
It was registered at a depth of 38 kilometres.
It was the second earthquake to strike the area in three hours, following a 5.1 magnitude quake earlier.
Comment on this SOTT Focus
Health & Wellness
Fluoride in Drinking Water may Negatively Affect Health of Fetuses and Infants
Reuben Chow
Natural News
2008-11-19 22:26:00
Did you know that fluoride in our water supplies is the only chemical added for a specific medical purpose, i.e. to prevent tooth decay? All other chemicals are added for treatment purposes, to improve the quality and safety of tap water. And an expert has voiced his concerns over the potential negative impact of fluoride in drinking water on the health of fetuses and infants.
Dr Vyvyan Howard is a medical pathologist and toxicologist, and also President of the International Society of Doctors for the Environment. In a short video clip put together by the Fluoride Action Network, he expressed his concern over the use of fluoride in our water supplies.
Comment on this SOTT Focus
More countries make spreading HIV a crime
Maria Cheng
Associated Press
2008-11-13 21:53:00
An increasing number of countries worldwide are making spreading HIV a crime, according to a new report from the International Planned Parenthood Federation.
Health officials fear the trend could undermine gains made in fighting the AIDS pandemic and provoke a surge in cases. Globally, about 33 million people are thought to have HIV and nearly 3 million people are newly infected every year.
"If the law is applied badly, this could set us back and do incredible damage," said Paul de Lay, an AIDS expert at UNAIDS, who was not involved in the report.
Comment on this SOTT Focus
Florida, US: Cause Of Hobe Sound Elementary School Virus Unknown
WPBF
2008-11-13 21:39:00
More Than 100 Students Kept Out Of School
More than 100 Hobe Sound Elementary School students were kept out of school for the second day in a row Thursday, sickened by a mysterious stomach virus.
Second grader Joseph MacGillibray spent most of Wednesday night and Thursday vomiting.
"I only ate bananas," he told WPBF News 25's Terri Parker. "I didn't eat much yesterday."
Comment on this SOTT Focus
Color perception shifts from right brain to left
Randolph E. Schmid
Associated Press
2008-11-18 18:28:00
Washington - Learning the name of a color changes the part of the brain that handles color perception.
Infants perceive color in the right hemisphere of the brain, researchers report, while adults do the job in the brain's left hemisphere.
Testing toddlers showed that the change occurred when the youngsters learned the names to attach to particular colors, scientists report in Tuesday's edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Comment on this SOTT Focus
A sting a day keeps the allergy away
Ewen Callaway
New Scientist
2008-11-19 18:13:00
Beekeepers faced with daily stings in their work are helping researchers understand why some people are prone to occasionally deadly allergic reactions, while others are not.
High doses of bee venom early in the year block a normally potent immune reaction for the remainder of the season, says Mübeccel Akdis, an immunologist at University of Zurich in Switzerland, who led the study.
The finding could help in treating the roughly 2% to 5% of people who develop severe allergies to bee stings. Akdis' team followed a group of beekeepers for several years to determine how their immune systems managed the feat. None of the keepers donned protective masks or gloves while handling the bees.
Comment on this SOTT Focus
Merck KGaA works with regulators after second Raptiva patient died of rare brain infection
Reuters
2008-11-18 18:11:00
Frankfurt - Merck KGaA, the drugmaker that markets Genentech's psoriasis drug Raptiva in Europe, said it is working with European Union regulators after a second Raptiva patient died of a rare brain infection in the United States.
"We are aware of both cases. We are working with the European Medicines Agency and with other authorities to update the product information and are seeking to determine if further action is needed," Phyllis Carter, a spokeswoman for Germany's Merck said.
Comment on this SOTT Focus
Science & Technology
Sniffing out a rumbling volcano
Katharine Sanderson
Nature News
2008-11-17 20:38:00
A radio-controlled helicopter could help predict when a volcano will blow its top.
A large toy helicopter could help to predict volcanic eruptions in time to safely evacuate the surrounding area, according to geophysicists who have just been awarded $100,000 to develop their idea.
When fresh, eruption-ready magma arrives deep in the heart of a volcano, it tends to release carbon dioxide. As the magma rises, it also pushes sulfur dioxide out of the volcano. Spotting changes in the ratio of these gases around a volcano should indicate whether it is about to blow - but although sulfur dioxide is routinely measured by vulcanologists, taking carbon dioxide measurements is a much bigger challenge.
Comment on this SOTT Focus
Why the universe may be teeming with aliens
David Shiga
New Scientist
2008-11-19 21:11:00
WANTED: Rocky planet outside of our solar system. Must not be too hot or too cold, but just the right temperature to support life.
It sounds like a simple enough wish list, but finding a planet that fulfils all of these criteria has kept astronomers busy for decades. Until recently, it meant finding a planet in the "Goldilocks zone" - orbiting its star at just the right distance to keep surface water liquid rather than being boiled off or frozen solid.
Now, though, it's becoming increasingly clear that the question of what makes a planet habitable is not as simple as finding it in just the right spot. Many other factors, including a planet's mass, atmosphere, composition and the way it orbits its nearest star, can all influence whether it can sustain liquid water, an essential ingredient for life as we know it. As astronomers explore newly discovered planets and create computer simulations of virtual worlds, they are discovering that water, and life, might exist on all manner of weird worlds where conditions are very different from those on Earth. And that means there could be vastly more habitable planets out there than we thought possible. "It's like science fiction, only better," says Raymond Pierrehumbert, a climate scientist at the University of Chicago, who studies planets inside and outside of our solar system.
Comment on this SOTT Focus
Mysterious electrons may be sign of dark matter
Jessica Griggs
New Scientist
2008-11-19 20:33:00
Dark matter is proving less shadowy than its name suggests. Its signature may have been detected by a balloon-borne experiment that measured a surprisingly high number of energetic electrons streaming in from space.
High-energy electrons are found throughout space and are accelerated when stars explode in supernovae. But a balloon-borne detector flying over Antarctica called the Advanced Thin Ionization Calorimeter (ATIC) has detected 70 more high-energy electrons than the normal background level attributed to supernova blasts.
John Wefel of Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, who led the collaboration, says there are two possible explanations.
The electrons could come from a nearby astrophysical object, such as a pulsar, that lies within 3000 light years from Earth. But the team has spent four years trying to fit the signal to such an object and has yet to find a good match.
Comment on this SOTT Focus
Frozen hair gives up first mammoth genome
David Robson
New Scientist
2008-11-19 18:09:00
Tufts of frozen woolly mammoth hair have yielded a rough draft of its genome. It's the most successful attempt to sequence the DNA of an extinct ancient animal to date, and although we won't see resurrected mammoths grazing the tundra anytime soon, it could give us a peek into the reasons for their extinction.
Sequencing extinct organisms is tricky since DNA strands quickly degrade after death into short fragments that are difficult to piece back together. In porous tissue like bone, these fragments can also become flooded by DNA from bacteria and fungi growing on the decomposing body, making it hard to pick out the genetic material of interest.
To solve this, Stephan Schuster from Pennsylvania State University and colleagues sequenced DNA from the hair of two frozen woolly mammoths, which died in Siberia roughly 20,000 and 60,000 years ago respectively.
Comment on this SOTT Focus
Sound Method to Levitate Droplets
Cynthia Graber
Scientific American
2008-11-19 17:50:00
When a researcher noticed that bass notes from his MP3 player were making drops of liquid bounce, it began the development of a new technique to levitate droplets, thus keeping them from contamination by surfaces.
In theory, scientists could learn a lot about our health by testing tiny amounts of bodily fluids - a drop of blood, a tear, a bead of sweat. But something this small is easily contaminated by other liquids or surfaces. So what are scientists doing? They're making liquids bounce, dance, and float lightly through the air. Researchers from Belgium's University of Liege published their findings November 18th in the New Journal of Physics.
Comment on this SOTT Focus
Mysterious rock carvings get a repair job in Australia
Ben Cubby
The Sydney Morning Herald
2008-11-19 17:12:00
Some of Sydney Harbour's finest Aboriginal rock art is getting a forensic facelift.
The sandstone carvings, in bushland near Grotto Point at Clontarf, are unusual because they are thought to date from the years immediately before or during white settlement.
After more than a century as a local attraction, the carved images of a kangaroo, a sun fish and flying boomerangs were infested with lichen and partly covered with bracken and dirt.
Comment on this SOTT Focus
Our Haunted Planet
A Pulsating UFO in Ontario, Canada
Brian Vike
HBCC Research
2008-11-18 21:19:00
HBCC UFO Research Note: With a number of UFO sightings coming into HBCC UFO Research and now the report below, I am sure someone else may have seen this object, and if they did would you please write to Brian with the details over what you witnessed. hbccufo@telus.net Thank you.
Date: November 16, 2008
Time: 9:09 p.m.
Location of Sighting: Between London And Woodstock On The 401, Ontario
Number of witnesses: 1
Number of objects: 1
Duration: 30 minutes.
The physical appearance: It was large, bulky, roundish, almost octagonal with rectangular lights around the perimeter. Each light was long on sides and shorter on top and bottom.
Comment on this SOTT Focus
Wales: No explanation after 'earthquake'
BBC News
2008-11-18 16:16:00
People living on Anglesey have been left baffled about the cause of a loud noise which shook their homes and made pots and pans rattle.
Anona Jones said she was in the kitchen of her home at Llanddaniel near Gaerwen when she heard a loud "rumbling" noise at 1425 GMT.
A spokesman at the British Geological Survey in Edinburgh said no seismic activity had been measured in the area.
Comment on this SOTT Focus
Don't Panic! Lighten Up!
Man caught with penis in pasta jar
Stephen Ryan
The Herald
2008-11-19 16:52:00
A man caught near Nobbys Beach with his penis in a pasta sauce jar led police on a 20 kmh car chase, Newcastle Local Court heard yesterday.
Police drew their weapons when they suspected Keith Roy Weatherley, 46, was armed.
Instead, they found him partially clothed with his genitals in a jar, a police statement said.
Weatherley, of Promontory Way, North Arm Cove, attracted attention parked in a no-stopping zone before noon on October 26.
Police believed Weatherley was doing something with his hands in his lap and thought that he might have a weapon.
Weatherley saw the police and drove away, despite them flashing their lights.
The chase lasted five to 10 minutes, with a top speed of just 20 kmh, before Weatherley was stopped at Centenary Drive, Newcastle. He refused to leave the car.
Comment on this SOTT Focus
Japan: Anti-drink cop caught drunk driving
Stuff.co.nz
2008-11-19 04:26:00
A senior Tokyo police official tasked with keeping the city's roads clear of drunk drivers has been arrested for driving under the influence, police said.
The deputy inspector, on his way home from a camping site, was caught late on Monday after bumping into another car and veering off the road, said a police official in Ibaraki.
Comment on this SOTT Focus
Remember, we need your help to collect information on what is going on in your part of the world!
Send your article suggestions to: sott(at)sott.net
Click here to return to the Signs of the Times Archive
Click here for today's Signs Page
