Global markets plunge

Friday, October 10, 2008

Stock markets across the world have fallen sharply with several seeing the biggest drop in their history.

Asian markets saw the biggest sell-off. The Nikkei dropped 9.62% to reach a 20 year low. Japan also saw a collapse of a mid-size insurance company, Yamato Life Insurance Company, which declared bankruptcy. The Hang Seng, which was one of the few markets that was positive yesterday, fell 7.19%. Australia dropped by 8.4% and South Korea saw a 9% fall.

In Europe, markets dropped at the open with the FTSE losing 11%. They have recovered only sightly with all European markets losing more than 5%. The European sell off was more about the Asian lows then any specific news. European banks and financial institutes saw the most selling. Also, oil related companies saw large drops as an result of an expected decrease in oil consumption.

The U.S. markets opened lower with the Dow Jones Industrial Average falling below 8,000, before recovering slightly. President George W. Bush made an address on the economy and said markets were being “driven by uncertainty and fear.”

Oil has seen losses of more than US$6 in trading with the current price of a barrel of oil less than $80. This is a year low for oil. News also came out that OPEC will hold an emergency meeting on November 18 to discuss the falling price of oil.

Charities, such as Cats Protection, today said that they have lost much of their funds in collapsing banks. Cats Protection had a total of £11.2 million saved in the now-collapsed Kaupthing bank.

The British National Council for Voluntary Organisations said that 60 of its 6,500 have lost money due to the collapse of banks.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell to its lowest level in five years at 8,579.19, falling 679 points in one day. This, at 7.3%, is the eleventh largest percentage fall in the history of the index. The growth then continued, with the index being up over 150 points on the start of the day at one point.

The index, did however, recover, and as of 19:30 UTC was up 17.68 points, or 0.21%, pushing the index up to almost 8600.

Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Avalon Partners, commented on these massive falls. “What we’ve seen here was one big margin call that just kept feeding on itself, so the opposite could happen. But you need a catalyst,” he said. “I’m more convinced now than ever that this market has made a bottom. The capitulation came when we breached 8,000,” he continued. “It doesn’t mean we can’t go back and revisit that level.”

The UK’s FTSE 100 index fell dramatically to close below 4000, in the index’s worst week in history. This is despite the fact that just a few days ago the index was above 5000, and the index peaked above 5500 in September.The FTSE 100 index has fallen by 41% this year.

Barclays Wealth analyst Henk Potts commented on this massive fall. “We are drowning in a sea of red numbers,” he claimed. “Investors are concerned about the exacerbation of the credit crunch and the gloomy forecasts for economic growth. The reality is that most investors have been spooked by the sheer pressure that the credit crunch is putting on the global economy.”

The Japanese Nikkei 225 has recorded it’s third biggest drop in history with a massive sell-off in the exchange that has resulted in USD 250 billion being knocked of the index’s value.

Toyota, which is the second largest carmaker in the world, fell by the largest amount in 21 years, while Elpida Memory, the world’s largest manufacturer of computer memory, dropped in value to a record low.

Masafumi Oshiden, a fund manager in Toyota commented on the drop.”It’s capitulation,” he said. “There are lots of forced sellers. If you’re a fund that’s going bust you need to close out all your positions.”

George W. Bush commented on the financial situation earlier today. “Over the past few days, we have witnessed a startling drop in the stock market — much of it driven by uncertainty and fear,” he said. “This has been a deeply unsettling period for the American people. Many of our citizens have serious concerns about their retirement accounts, their investments, and their economic well-being.”

Bush then continued by promoting the government’s plan’s to get through the crises. “Here’s what the American people need to know: that the United States government is acting; we will continue to act to resolve this crisis and restore stability to our markets. We are a prosperous nation with immense resources and a wide range of tools at our disposal. We’re using these tools aggressively.”

Gordon Brown, the UK Prime Minister, also spoke on the economy. “I think we quickly realised that we cannot solve the problems we have got as a result of the sub-prime market collapse simply by improving liquidity,” he said speaking in Birmingham to business leaders earlier today. “That would simply not be enough to deal with the bigger problem of rebuilding the banking system for the future and restoring trust is a fundamental element of that.”

Jim Flaherty, the Canadian minister for finance, also commented today on the recent incidents in the economy. “It is important to underline that Canada’s banks and other financial institutions are sound, well capitalized and less leveraged than their international peers,” he claimed. “Our mortgage system is sound. Canadian households have smaller mortgages relative both to the value of their homes and to their disposable incomes than in the U.S.”

“”However, it is becoming increasingly clear that the continuing disruption of global credit markets, which has been severe and protracted, is making it difficult for our financial institutions to raise long-term funding. This is beginning to affect the availability of mortgage loans and other types of credit in Canada,” he continued. “The Government has therefore decided to act to address the current scarcity of private sector lending to Canadian mortgage markets and lending markets overall. This is going to make loans and mortgages more available and more affordable for ordinary Canadians and businesses.”

20:15, 10 October, 2008 (UTC)
  • DJIA
  • 8.451,19 128,00 1,49%
  • Nasdaq
  • 1.649,51 4,39 0.27%
  • S&P 500
  • 899,22 10,70 1,18%
  • S&P TSX
  • 9.264,57 335,61 3.50%
  • IPC
  • 19.952,30 357,87 1,76%
  • Merval
  • 1.215,990 71.340 5,54%
  • Bovespa
  • 35.615,26 1,474.03 3,97%
  • FTSE 100
  • 3.932,06 381,74 8,85%
  • DAX
  • 4.544,31 342,69 7,01%
  • CAC 40
  • 3.176,49 266,21 7,73%
  • SMI
  • 5.347,22 451,62 7,79%
  • AEX
  • 258,05 23,92 8,48%
  • BEL20
  • 2.123,44 117,44 5,24%
  • MIBTel
  • 15.438,00 1,081,00 6,54%
  • IBEX 35
  • 8.997,70 905,20 9,14%
  • All Ordinaries
  • 3.939,50 351,80 8,20%
  • Nikkei
  • 8.276,43 881,06 9,62%
  • Hang Seng
  • 14.796,90 1,146,37 7,19%
  • SSE Composite
  • 2.000,57 74,01 3,57%
    Retrieved from “https://en.wikinews.org/w/index.php?title=Global_markets_plunge&oldid=4455717”

    Bulbs Planting In Autumn Ensures A Colourful Spring

    By James Kilkelly

    In the spring, a young man’s fancy lightly turns to thoughts of love. Whereas in autumn a gardeners fancy turns to spring.

    No sooner has autumn set in than we gardeners begin to think of spring and spring bulb planting. There is a wide selection of bulbs available for planting now and blooming in spring, the following is just a small selection those available

    Allium (flowering garlic),

    Anemone (wind flower),

    Crocus,

    [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aKf2ibxoMf0[/youtube]

    Cyclamen,

    Galanthus (Snowdrop),

    Hyacinth,

    Iris,

    Narcissus (daffodil),

    Scillia (bluebell),

    Tulip,

    Now, choosing the right bulbs involves more than just selecting colours and flowers you like. Bulb size and more importantly, bulb health are equally significant factors in selecting your spring garden bulbs. I suggest you carry out my personal quality test for bulbs before you go ahead and plant.

    Healthy bulbs should be firm and heavy for their size. They should not feel overly dry or light. Certain bulbs (daffodils etc) will have loose and peeling skin, this is normal and nothing to worry about.

    In the case of bulbs, “bigger is better”, big bulbs usually mean a large amount of stored food to produce brilliant blooms the following season. Smaller, bargain bulbs may take two years to produce blooms good enough for your garden.

    The colour of the bulbs skin should be uniform with no dark or light patches. Any bulbs with weak or spongy areas should not be planted, this is often a tell tale sign of rot.

    If the bulbs you select appear to tick all the above boxes then you are well on your way to a colourful return from this seasons bulb planting.

    Weather permitting; you should try to plant your bulbs quite soon upon arriving home from the garden centre. Bulbs continually deteriorate the longer they are out of the soil. If you cannot plant them right away, store them in a cool place such as your garden shed or garage. Never store them in closed bags as they might rot. Bulbs need to breathe; this is why you will see garden centre displaying bulbs in perforated or net bags.

    About the Author: James Kilkelly is a freelance horticulturalist and garden writer for four Irish regional newspapers. His forum,

    gardenplansireland.com/forum/

    offers you free access to a wealth of horticultural information specific to Ireland. He also regularly contributes to

    gardenstew.com/

    Source:

    isnare.com

    Permanent Link:

    isnare.com/?aid=84610&ca=Gardening

    US Secretary Rice responds to European enquiries on alleged CIA prisons

    Wednesday, December 7, 2005

    The United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has begun to address concerns raised by the EU, the Council of Europe, and several member countries about the CIA’s detention practices upon her arrival in Germany for a European tour that began Tuesday.

    “As a matter of US policy, the United States’ obligations under the U.N. Convention Against Torture, which prohibits, of course, cruel and inhumane and degrading treatment, those obligations extend to US personnel wherever they are, whether they are in the United States or outside the United States,” said Rice, speaking from the Ukrainian capital of Kiev on Wednesday.

    Media reports and Human Rights groups have alleged that the CIA transported renditioned prisoners through European countries, which could violate European laws and the sovereignty of countries involved. Secretary Rice claimed that the United States has respected the sovereignty of other countries, and that it has not transported detainees from one country to another for the purpose of interrogation using torture, and has not transported anyone to a country when we believe he will be tortured.

    “We consider the captured members of Al-Qaeda and its affiliates to be unlawful combatants who may be held, in accordance with the law of war, to keep them from killing innocents. We must treat them in accordance with our laws, which reflect the values of the American people. We must question them to gather potentially significant, life-saving, intelligence. We must bring terrorists to justice wherever possible,” Rice told reporters before she left from Andrews Air Force base on Monday.

    Rice said that European nations should realize that interrogations of terrorist suspects have produced information that has saved European lives. However, Secretary Rice provided no specific cases.

    “Secretary Rice made extra-legal rendition sound like just another form of extradition. In fact, it’s a form of kidnapping and ‘disappearing’ someone entirely outside the law,” said Tom Malinowski, a Human Rights Watch official in Washington.

    The CIA practice known as “extraordinary rendition” is used to interrogate terrorist suspects outside the U.S., where they are not subject to American legal protection.

    “Kidnapping a foreign national for the purpose of detaining and interrogating him outside the law is contrary to American values,” said Anthony D. Romero, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) on the Khalid El-Masri case. “Our government has acted as if it is above the law. We go to court today to reaffirm that the rule of law is central to our identity as a nation.”

    The ACLU feels the government has to be held to account over “extraordinary rendition”.

    Retrieved from “https://en.wikinews.org/w/index.php?title=US_Secretary_Rice_responds_to_European_enquiries_on_alleged_CIA_prisons&oldid=1524196”

    New study of endangered whale shark youth shows vital habitat similarities

    Sunday, June 10, 2018

    In findings published on Friday in PeerJ, an open-access peer-reviewed scientific journal, researchers from the University of York and Maldives Whale Shark Research Programme have mapped key habitats of the world’s largest fish, the whale shark, shedding light on congregation sites that have perplexed marine biologists.

    According to the researchers, Whale sharks, Rhincodon typus, listed as endangered under the IUCN Red List, do feed in the open ocean, but juveniles tend to form large groups in only about 20 to 25 specific places around the coasts of Mexico, Belize, the Maldives, and Australia, which previous research has not explained. The research team reviewed dozens of previous papers, compiled their findings into a database, and performed spatial analysis with the aggregate shark-related event data. Results showed the sharks’ frequented sites had areas of very shallow water near a steep drop-off into the depths, such as a shelf break or reef slope.

    The whale shark can grow to eighteen metres (60 ft) in length. Unlike its better-known relatives, the Great white shark and other predatory sharks, the whale shark is a filter feeder, meaning that it draws water into its mouth and extracts small organisms from the liquid. They can search for food at the surface of the ocean but are also known to dive deep. According to supervising author Dr Bryce Stewart, PhD, “Sharks are ectotherms, which means they depend on external sources of body heat. Because they may dive down to feed at depths of more than 1900 metres, where the water temperature can be as cold as four degrees, they need somewhere close by to rest and get their body temperature back up. Steep slopes in the seabed also cause an upwelling of sea currents that stimulate plankton and small crustaceans such as krill that the whale sharks feed on.”

    Such sites are also attractive to fishing and recreational boating, and collisions can injure sharks. Stewart emphasized the importance of using research to help preserve and protect the sharks, calling them, “extremely valuable to local people on the coastlines where they gather, which are often in developing countries. While a whale shark can be worth as much as $250,000 USD dead, alive it can provide more than $2 Million USD over the course of its life span.” The latter figure specifically estimates only ecotourism.

    Retrieved from “https://en.wikinews.org/w/index.php?title=New_study_of_endangered_whale_shark_youth_shows_vital_habitat_similarities&oldid=4520018”

    Che Guevara’s ”Motorcycle Diaries” companion dies

    Wednesday, March 9, 2011

    Alberto Granado Jiménez, the Argentinian biochemist who was Che Guevara’s companion on his transformative motorcycle trip through South America, died in Havana on Saturday, reported Cuban state television. He was 88 and died of natural causes.

    The politically active Jiménez met Ernesto “Che” Guevara, then a medical student, in Hernando, Argentina where Guevara had gone to play rugby. Both were intellectually curious and interested in exploration. In 1951 they set out on an eight-month motorcycle trip through South American that exposed them to the poverty in which most South Americans lived. The pair worked in a leprosy colony and met wtih destitute miners and indigenous people. Both men kept diaries which served as the basis for the 2004 film, The Motorcycle Diaries, produced by Robert Redford and directed by Walter Salles.

    According to the Guardian, “Their road trip awoke in Guevara a social consciousness and political convictions that would turn him into one of the iconic revolutionaries of the 20th century.” The trip is widely believed to have inspired Guevara to go to Cuba and join Fidel Castro in his 1959 revolt against Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista.

    By the time the two men met again eight years later, Guevara was a revolutionary hero and chief of Cuba’s central bank. Jiménez, who had remained in Argentina working in a clinic, accepted Guevara’s invitation to move to Cuba in 1961 and founded a medical facility in Santiago. Later he moved to Havana where he continued his medical work. The two remained friends although they did not always agree. Jiménez rejected Guevara’s belief that social reform in Latin America had to be accomplished through guerrilla warfare.

    The book The Motorcycle Diaries was published in the 1990’s. Jiménez said of the book that it inspired the image of the young Che as a romantic figure.

    Jiménez authored the book Traveling with Che Guevara: The Making of a Revolutionary, published in 2003.

    Retrieved from “https://en.wikinews.org/w/index.php?title=Che_Guevara%27s_%27%27Motorcycle_Diaries%27%27_companion_dies&oldid=3896834”

    What Every Mortgage Broker Should Know About Safe Act Testing

    Unless you’ve been selling real estate on Mars for the past few years, you’ve heard about the Secure and Fair Enforcement for Mortgage Licensing Act of 2008 (called the SAFE Mortgage Licensing Act of 2008). The SAFE Act mandates increased federal regulation of the mortgage lending industry, enhanced licensing requirements, and professional liability for mortgage loan originators (MLOs) who fail to comply. So if digging your way out of the recession were not challenging enough, now you have additional federal and state hurdles to clear.

    How did this happen? In response to the foreclosure epidemic and the global economic crisis that erupted in 2008, devastating the real estate markets and forcing banking institutions to cut lending or even close their doors, Congress passed legislation to establish more government oversight of individual mortgage loan originators, with the outcome of increased consumer protection. Primarily, the law set forth objectives for a Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System (NMLS) for the residential mortgage industry. The SAFE Act requires that all residential mortgage loan originators must be either federally registered or state-licensed. A mortgage loan originator employed by a federally insured depository institution or any credit union or an owned and controlled subsidiary that is federally supervised must be federally registered. All other mortgage loan originators, without exception, must be state licensed.

    All state licensed and federally registered mortgage loan originators must be registered with the NMLS, which is maintained by the Conference of State Bank Supervisors and the American Association of Residential Mortgage Regulators.

    Striving for Uniformity Among the 50 States

    At the time of the law’s passage, state systems varied greatly. The SAFE Act required the states to have a licensing and registration system in place by either July 31, 2009 (for states whose legislatures meet annually) or July 31, 2010 (for states whose legislatures meet biennially). For either of these deadlines, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) offered to extend the deadline if HUD determined that a state is making a good faith effort to establish a state licensing law that meets the minimum requirements of the SAFE Act.

    [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JE7rwTpkcmo[/youtube]

    By January 2010, 43 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico had adopted NMLS. But HUD recognizes that in many states, individuals currently performing loan originations may not be able to meet the educational, testing, and background check requirements by the time required regulations become effective. In addition, HUD is aware that some states already require licensure of loan originators.

    In those states that have adopted NMLS all individuals acting as a residential mortgage loan originator (RMLO) must create an account in NMLS, and have filed or file a Form MU42 through NMLS with the state regulatory agency. Filing deadlines depend on the type of license required.

    NMLS Requirements and Your Responsibilities

    What do you have to do? In addition to certain other requirements, all MLOs need to file a Form MU4 through NMLS with the their state’s Division of Banking. The applicant as a state-licensed loan originator must furnish certain information to the NMLS including fingerprints for a criminal background check and personal history and experience. Minimum standards for license issuance includes:

    * Never having had a revocation of loan originator license;

    * Never having had a felony conviction involving an act of fraud, dishonesty, or a breach of trust, or money laundering (no other types of felonies seven years prior to application);* Demonstration of financial responsibility;* Completing pre-licensing education reviewed, and approved by the NMLS (at least 20 hours);* Passing a written test developed and administered by the NMLS (at least 75% correct answers out of minimum 100 questions).* States must include a minimum net worth requirement or surety bond requirement for applicants, or have had the applicant pay into a state fund.

    The SAFE Mortgage Loan Originator Test

    Some requirements (such as no felony conviction and no license revocation) are straightforward: either you can comply, or you can’t. What’s bringing fear and trembling to the hearts of MLOs nationwide is the SAFE Mortgage Loan Originator Test. All MLOs must pass the test, which is comprised of two components: a state component and a national component. MLOs must pass each component with a score of 75% or higher prior to renewal for 2011. The SAFE Act exam covers topics including federal law and regulation, fair lending issues, consumer protection, instruction on fraud, ethics, and the nontraditional marketplace.

    To date, industry sources place the failure rate at anywhere from 30% to a whopping 70% for first-time takers. As part of the SAFE Act licensing requirements, the Act requires that all new mortgage loan originator applicants must complete 20 hours of NMLS-approved Pre-licensure Education (PE) and annual Continuing Education (CE). You’d think that 20 hours of instruction should make the test a breeze. Apparently results depend upon the quality of the program.

    Getting the Training You Need

    Fortunately, mortgage industry education organizations are gearing up for the challenge. LoanOfficerSchool.com, a California-based company that has been in the MLO education business since 1987, recently unveiled a set of education programs designed specifically for SAFE Act test training.

    “When the SAFE Act was passed by Congress in 2008,” says LoanOfficerSchool’s founder David Reinholtz, “We saw a huge unmet need for affordable and effective MLO education programs. Too many loan officers are unprepared for this new and added challenge to their professional lives. We put our twenty years’ of experience to work and created a program that can give the MLO confidence and knowledge. We can’t guarantee that everyone will pass the test, but we don’t think that a better program exists.”

    David, who is also member of the advisory board of industry leader MortgageCurrentcy.com, says that LoanOfficerSchool.com is gearing up for extensive rollout of program venues. “I encourage every loan officer who is facing SAFE Act licensure to check out a LoanOfficerSchool.com program in a city or town near you. With the right training, you’ll have confidence and peace of mind when you sit down to take the SAFE act test.”

    Article Source: sooperarticles.com/finance-articles/mortgage-articles/what-every-mortgage-broker-should-know-about-safe-act-testing-48982.html

    About Author:

    David Reinholtz is a professional Mortgage expert in Real Estate Industry . David is also a sales and marketing expert and trains professionals in every career field. For the last twenty five years,Author: David Reinholtz

    Bolivia’s Evo Morales wins referendum on a new leftist constitution

    Monday, January 26, 2009

    File:Schafik handal con fidel.jpg

    The Bolivian President, Evo Morales, 49, has claimed victory after voters ratified a new leftist constitution, granting more power to the country’s indigenous majority.

    “The indigenous farmers, the most marginalized sector throughout the history of the republic, are now recognized as people with the same rights as any citizen. Here begins the new Bolivia. Here we begin to reach true equality,” Morales told a crowd in front of the flag-draped balcony of Palacio Quemado in La Paz, the administrative capital of Bolivia.

    Ratified with about 60 percent support in a referendum on Sunday based on exit polls, the new constitution lets Morales run for re-election later this year and grants him tighter control over the economy. An official vote count of some 3.8 million registered voters who cast their ballots will be announced February 4.

    With the new Magna Carta, South America‘s second poorest country after Guyana becomes a leader in the regional “pink tide” of left-wing governments that have ousted traditional elites and challenged American influence. The new constitution’s elements include recognition of 36 distinct Indian “nations”, increasing the autonomy of Bolivia’s nine regions, establishing state control over key natural resources such as gas, and setting limits on land ownership.

    Morales has also promised Bolivia’s native groups that the constitution will keep the white “oligarchs” who ruled the country for 183 years from returning to power. The leftist constitution empowers the government to distribute land to indigenous communities and apportion ethnic quotas for state jobs, including congress seats. “After 500 years, we have retaken the Plaza Murillo! Internal colonialism and external colonialism end here too. Sisters and brothers, neo-liberalism ends here too!” said Morales.

    Vice-President Álvaro MarceloGarcía Linera, a principal author of the draft constitution, hailed Sunday’s referendum results, saying, “this will be an egalitarian Bolivia, a Bolivia that leaves behind a dark, colonial, racist past.” Linera, however, has acknowledged that the government has provoked deep divisions and faces vehement oppositions from many of the traditional elite, coming from many mixed-race people in the fertile eastern lowlands which rejected the draft charter.

    “I am not saying there will be no more conflict, there will be tensions for a while, I say a decade … but we will have built a state on three principles: the economy under state control, equality, and the territorial decentralization of power,” he said. The new constitution was rejected in four opposition-controlled regions: the tropical lowlands of Pando, Santa Cruz, Tarija and Beni, which contain most of Bolivia’s natural gas production and are responsible for most of its agricultural output.

    There will be tensions for a while, I say a decade… but we will have built a state on three principles: the economy under state control, equality, and the territorial decentralization of power.

    With the split vote, Oscar Ortiz, the president of the opposition-controlled Senate, has voiced concerns that the charter has become a war of ideas. “The result [of the vote] … will show deep divisions between regions and between Bolivians in each region. A confrontation between ideas and visions about how this country will build its common future will continue,” he said ahead of the referendum.

    Former president Carlos Mesa has predicted that the constitution is unlikely to pave the way for real social change amid continuing political struggles. “We will have so many legal battles to go through that I fear that last year’s belligerent climate will continue this year. President Morales is not coming at this with open hands, he has built trenches and dug in,” Mr. Mesa said.

    Morales has dismissed the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the U.S. Ambassador to Bolivia, accusing both of conspiracy with the opposition to overthrow his government. The U.S. Embassy in La Paz has called the accusations “false and absurd.” Morales has been very popular among the poor and among Aymara, Quechua and Guarani.

    The new constitution’s 411 articles address underrepresentation of indigenous peoples. “It may be the equivalent of Spain’s Reconquest of the Iberian Peninsula from the Moors in 1492. But instead of the blood spilled in that process, Bolivia is advancing in a democratic process that does not exclude or subjugate anyone,” said Xavier Albó, a Jesuit scholar and linguist.

    “Finally we have a constitution that leaves racism and hatred aside, because indigenous people are included,” said Adolfo Chavez, president of the Confederation of Indigenous people of Bolivia (CIDOB).

    In March 2005, then-President Mesa resigned. The President of Senate Hormando Vaca Díez assumed office as the country’s temporary President. Mesa resigned because of the announcement of highway blockages by Evo Morales and leaders of both the coca growers and the Movement Toward Socialism (MAS). The blockages were meant to pressure the Legislative so that the Hydrocarbons Law, which would raise taxes levied on hydrocarbon extraction from 18% to 50%, could be approved.

    The MAS is a political party formed basically by coca-growing campesinos (farmers or farmworkers), communists, admirers of Fidel Castro and indigenous people. The party is against the U.S. government and the alleged American influence in the region, neoliberalism and globalization.

    In December 2005, Morales won the presidential election in Bolivia to serve a five-year term. In the 2005 election, his victory marked the country’s first election of an indigenous head of state, but this claim gendered controversy due to the number of mestizo presidents who were elected or appointed before him. He was openly criticized by such figures as Mario Vargas Llosa, who accuses the President of fomenting racial divisions in an increasingly mestizo Latin America.

    Morales ran on a campaign of restoring coca farming in Bolivia, in spite of the U.S. program aimed at reducing the ability to grow coca to curb the cocaine industry. Morales is an Aymara Indian and former coca farmer himself, and has described his victory as a signal that “a new history of Bolivia begins, a history where we search for equality, justice and peace with social justice.”

    Morales is an admirer of Fidel Castro and he says he is also inspired by the President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela and Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Morales supports the creation of an anti-imperialist block formed by Latin-American and Arabian countries against the U.S., which is being organized by the Brazilian President.

    In August 2008, Bolivian unrest began against Morales and calls for greater autonomy for the country’s eastern departments grew. Santa Cruz, Beni, Pando, Tarija and Chuquisaca called strikes and protests to oppose the central government’s plan to divert part of the national direct tax on hydrocarbons in favor of its Renta Dignidad pension plan. Brief clashes occurred in the Santa Cruz de la Sierra between police and armed youths enforcing the strike. Violence between Morales’ supporters and opponents resulted in at least 30 deaths.

    In September 2008, Bolivian authorities declared a state of emergency in Pando, where Bolivian troops took control of the airport in the region’s capital, Cobija. Amid preparations to retake the city, 20 people were killed. In October 2008, the government and the opposition held talks following which resulted in the signing of a compromise agreement which set the referendum on 25 January 2009 and early elections on December 6, 2009.

    Morales in turn promised that he would not run again in 2014 after his likely reelection in 2009, despite the fact that he would be allowed to do so under the new constitution. The new constitution was drafted by the Constituent Assembly in 2007. The referendum set forth two questions: whether to approve the new constitution and whether to limit private estates to 1,000 or 5,000 hectares.

    Retrieved from “https://en.wikinews.org/w/index.php?title=Bolivia%27s_Evo_Morales_wins_referendum_on_a_new_leftist_constitution&oldid=4467331”

    Author of My Billion Year Contract reflects on life in elite Scientology group

    Thursday, January 14, 2010

    Wikinews interviewed author Nancy Many about her book My Billion Year Contract, and asked her about life working in the elite Scientology group known as the “Sea Org“. Many joined Scientology in the early 1970s, and after leaving in 1996 she later testified against the organization. Published in October, Many’s book has gone on to become one of the top selling new books on Scientology at Amazon.com.

    Retrieved from “https://en.wikinews.org/w/index.php?title=Author_of_My_Billion_Year_Contract_reflects_on_life_in_elite_Scientology_group&oldid=1659356”

    Salvage Yards For Cheap Parts

    byadmin

    One of the more expensive things about owning a vehicle is the repair costs that arise. Cars and trucks are great, but sometimes they break down. Parts and labor can cost a lot, and some parts can be hard find for older vehicles. This is where salvage yards Phoenix come in handy. This is a great place to find parts that are less than new parts. Because many of the vehicles are older at salvage yards, it can be also to find parts for older vehicles that one cannot locate easily otherwise.

    Automotive parts Phoenix AZ found in these yards can be just as good as new parts. In the instances where the new parts are no longer made for certain vehicles, they are then better. A person can usually call up the yard and inquire as to if the parts they seek could be in the yard. If they are, a person will either be responsible for taking them off the old car themselves, or an employee may do it for them. Some places will even deliver the part to a home, office, or repair center for a fee.

    Many Salvage Yards Phoenix will have a website up and running for customers. A person can go online in the comfort of their own home and browse the selection available. They can search for specific makes and models, and know if what they are needing will be in stock. Some of the the newest cars to the yard may not have been inventoried yet, so do not be shy about calling to double check that what is needed is not actually there.

    Many people are unaware that these places are also great for buying entire cars. Many of these vehicles have body damage and are available at a steeply discounted rate. This is a great place to get a first car for a teen driver, or a fixer up project for a father and son to bond over. They also buy cars that have been in accidents and cars that are no longer running. This can be a great way to raise funds if needed.

    ISS Expedition 10 returns to Earth

    Monday, April 25, 2005

    With two space walks, 78 million miles and six months on board the International Space Station under their belts, Commander-Science Officer Leroy Chiao and Flight Engineer Salizhan Sharipov, the station’s 10th crew, landed in Kazakhstan in a Soyuz spacecraft at 6:08 p.m. EDT Sunday.

    Also returning was European Space Agency Astronaut Roberto Vittori of Italy, who launched to the Station with the Expedition 11 crew and spent eight days doing experiments. He was aboard under a contract between ESA and the Russian Federal Space Agency.

    The re-entry of the ISS Soyuz 9 spacecraft was perfect, returning the astronauts to Earth 53 miles northeast of the town of Arkalyk after 192 days, 19 hours and 2 minutes in space for the Expedition 10 crew. The recovery team reached the capsule in minutes.

    They launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan last Oct. 13 at 11:06 p.m. EDT. During their increment they performed two spacewalks, continued station maintenance and did scientific experiments.

    Notable accomplishments included replacing critical hardware in the Joint Quest Airlock; repairing U.S. spacesuits; and submitting a scientific research paper on ultrasound use in space. Chiao was also the first astronaut to vote in the U.S. Presidential election from space. The crew completed two spacewalks, including experiment installation and tasks to prepare the Station for the arrival of the new European Automated Transfer Vehicle next year.

    Aboard the Station, Commander Sergei Krikalev and Flight Engineer and NASA Station Science Officer John Phillips, the Expedition 11 crew, are beginning a six-month mission. It will include the resumption of Space Shuttle flights and two spacewalks from the Station. Expedition 11 is scheduled to return to Earth on October 7, 2005. The two latest occupants of the station launched with Vittori from Baikonur April 14.

    Krikalev and Phillips will have light duty for the next two days, as they rest after completing a busy handover period. For the past week, they have been learning about Station operations from the two men who called the ship home since October. Chiao and Sharipov briefed Krikalev and Phillips on day-to-day operations and gave them hands-on opportunities at Station maintenance. Chiao and Phillips restored the Quest airlock to working order for future spacewalks and practiced operating the Canadarm2 robotic arm.

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