The phrase “speaking truth to power” is actually of Quaker origin from the fairly recent past — 1955 to be exact. It was the title of a pamphlet published by the Society of Friends that suggested to the two major superpowers nonviolent means of resolving the Cold War. If it appears cliché to the reader,… more
"US President Barack Obama said Tuesday that North Korea’s 'provocative' nuclear test did not make it more secure and called for 'swift' and 'credible' international action in response. Obama also vowed in a written statement that Washington would remain vigilant in the face of the underground detonation by the Stalinist state and steadfast in its defense commitments to its allies in Asia. 'The danger posed by North Korea’s threatening activities warrants further swift and credible action by the international community,' Obama said, ahead of an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council called for later on Tuesday." Continue reading →
"Washington sharply criticized Moscow Monday for banning imports of US meat, saying the Russians had ignored scientific proof that an additive in US animal feed is safe. Top US officials said that global food-safety experts had cleared the additive, ractopamine, as safe at levels used in the United States. But Russia, enforcing its own rules against any presence of ractopamine, on Monday banned all imports of beef, turkey, chicken, pork and other animals." Continue reading →
"Booming demand for gold as a store of wealth among Asian investors is driving physical gold bars and coins out of the United States and into Asia. A growing number of gold vaults for affluent Asians and new precious metals investment products, particularly exchange-traded funds, have led to an exodus of gold owned privately from the United States into emerging economic powers such as China. On Friday, Commerce Department data showed U.S. exports of nonmonetary gold, which excludes central bank transactions, soared by 43 percent to $4 billion in December from the previous month." Continue reading →
"What can you accomplish in 360 hours? The Chinese sustainable building company, Broad Group, has yet attempted another impossible feat, building a 30-story tall hotel prototype in 360 hours, after building a 15-story building in a week earlier in 2011. You may ask why in a hurry, and is it safe? The statistics in the video can put you in good faith. Prefabricated modular buildings has many advantages over conventional buildings." Continue reading →
"China surpassed the U.S. to become the world’s biggest trading nation last year as measured by the sum of exports and imports of goods, official figures from both countries show. China’s customs administration reported last month that the country’s trade in goods in 2012 amounted to $3.87 trillion. China’s growing influence in global commerce threatens to disrupt regional trading blocs as it becomes the most important commercial partner for some countries. Germany may export twice as much to China by the end of the decade as it does to France, estimated Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s Jim O’Neill." Continue reading →
"The euro rescuers face a dilemma. On the one hand, they want to prevent the country from going bankrupt. On the other hand, they lack the support of a majority of member states for an aid program that would mostly benefit rich Russian tax fugitives. The tricky situation is prompting European leaders to do what they always do when a crisis comes to a head: play for time. Until now, someone who wanted a safe haven for his money could simply take a plane to Nicosia, because the country is an EU member and yet is lax when it comes to financial regulation, say German investigators." Continue reading →
"In the past 4 weeks, the Fed has injected a record $237 billion of cash into foreign banks with access to the Fed's excess reserves: a number greater than both the cash influx surge seen after the Lehman collapse, and faster and more acute than the massive build up of cash during the spring and summer of 2011 when all the Fed's brand new QE2 cash was once again, solely used to overfund European bank cash." Continue reading →
"The clashes broke out after several hundred demonstrators marched to the palace on a day of marches against Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi. Thousands of other protesters took part in separate demonstrations across the country. Protesters are demanding that Morsi fulfill the goals of the revolution which brought him and his Muslim Brotherhood party to power. Those demands include a new unity government, amendments to an Islamist-drafted constitution, and the sacking of Egypt's prosecutor general. The demonstrators are also angry that no one has been held accountable for the deaths of dozens of protesters in clashes with police during recent months." Continue reading →
"Train lines, bridges, cables and even cemeteries have all been targeted for scrap to feed a market driven by China and India. Police now arrest an average of four metal thieves every day, compared to a few cases every month before the crisis started in late 2009. The profile of the metal thief is also changing, authorities say, from gypsies and immigrants living on the margins of society to mainstream Greeks who have fallen on hard times. Athens' nine-year-old light rail system has been a prime magnet for metal robbers, with at least five major disruptions reported in the past six months due to cable theft." Continue reading →