U.S Falls To 47th In Press Freedom Rankings After Occupy Crackdown

January 30, 2012

Daily Mail

By Ellen Connolly

“Remember when American used to be seen as the land of the free?” –KTRN

Sweeping protests around the world made it an extremely difficult year for the media, and tested journalists as never before, the annual report into press freedom reveals.

The annual report by Reporters Without Borders has been released, showing the United States fell 27 points on the list due to the many arrests of journalists covering Occupy Wall Street protests.

The slide in the United States places it just behind Comoros and Taiwan in a group with Argentina and Romania.

Reporters Without Borders said the heightened unrest around the world resulted in a significant shake-up of the group’s annual Press Freedom Index, which assesses governments’ commitment to protecting media freedoms.

The Paris-based non-governmental Reporters Without Borders has named “crackdown” the word of 2011 in an assessment of global media freedom during a year in which journalists covering sweeping protests were tested as never before.

The non-governmental organisation seeks to defend journalists’ freedom to work and combat censorship internationally.

Click here for the full report.

US’s Press Freedom Ranking Plummets

January 27, 2012

Daily Mail

By Ellen Connolly

Sweeping protests around the world made it an extremely difficult year for the media, and tested journalists as never before, the annual report into press freedom reveals.

The annual report by Reporters Without Borders has been released, showing the United States fell 27 points on the list due to the many arrests of journalists covering Occupy Wall Street protests.

The slide in the United States places it just behind Comoros and Taiwan in a group with Argentina and Romania.

Reporters Without Borders said the heightened unrest around the world resulted in a significant shake-up of the group’s annual Press Freedom Index, which assesses governments’ commitment to protecting media freedoms.

The Paris-based non-governmental Reporters Without Borders has named “crackdown” the word of 2011 in an assessment of global media freedom during a year in which journalists covering sweeping protests were tested as never before.

The non-governmental organisation seeks to defend journalists’ freedom to work and combat censorship internationally.

Despite the big changes, some constants remained. The country with the freest media in the world was Finland, followed by Norway, Estonia, the Netherlands and Austria. Eritrea was last, with North Korea just above.

The United States was not alone in the falling grades: Bahrain fell 29 points because of the crackdown in that country.

Click here for the full report from Daily Mail.

Are U.S. Stocks Tracking Asian Markets?

September 30, 2011

USA Today

By: Matt Krantz

Q: Have U.S. markets been following Asian markets lately, or the other way around?

A: If you want evidence of the global economy, you can see it on a stock chart. U.S. and Asian markets are increasingly tied at the hip.

Your question is an excellent one. Giving a full and complete answer could be the topic for a doctoral dissertation, and perhaps it already is one. There’s been some work done in the area, if you’d like more details you can check out a study on interlinked global markets.

But for just a quick-and-dirty analysis, investors can put exchange-traded funds that track Asian and U.S. stocks on the same stock-price chart to see how the two interact with each other.

There are many ways to do this comparison, but I’m comparing the iShares S&P Asia 50 Index fund (AIA) with the Standard & Poor’s 500 ETF. The iShares S&P Asia 50 Index fund contains a broad mix of large Asian shares, primarily from South Korea, China, Taiwan and Hong Kong.

You can use USATODAY.com’s free stock charting tools to do the comparison. Type in AIA in the Get a Quote box at money.usatoday.com to get the snapshot of iShares S&P Asia 50 Index fund. Select the Charts tab and below the graph in the Symbol Compare box enter SPY and Update Chart.

The first thing you’ll notice is that the two ETFs have moved very similarly within the past year. This is consistent with academic research indicating that markets of different countries are increasingly moving in lockstep with each other.

However, there are two important other things to note from the chart. First, notice how the Asian stock ETF was first to top out and start to decline in February 2011, and how U.S. stocks followed that decline.
The Asian stock ETF, meanwhile, is more volatile than the U.S. ETF. The ups and downs are more extreme and violent.

So it would appear Asian stocks and U.S. stocks, at least recently and using these two indexes, are somewhat closely related. But the Asian stocks tended to be the first to crack earlier this year and continue to deserve their reputation as being more volatile.

Click here for the full report from USA Today

China Shows Military Strength Ahead Of US Drill

July 20, 2010

Reuters

By: Ben Blanchard & Emma Graham-Harrison

China has shown off its growing military strength with naval exercises off its eastern coast, shortly before Washington and Seoul are expected to carry out their own drills which Beijing has criticised.

State television broadcast images on Tuesday it said showed the East Sea Fleet on recent manoeuvres, including helicopters and a submarine launching a long-range missile underwater.

It did not say exactly where or when the pictures were taken and it was not clear if they showed a drill that the official Xinhua news agency said took place over the weekend.

Xinhua said four rescue helicopters and four rescue ships were deployed in the two-day drill in the Yellow Sea, where the United States and South Korea are planning manoeuvres aimed at sending a message of deterrence to North Korea.

Beijing has condemned those drills, which many in China feel are also aimed at their country.

Zhu Chenghu, a strategic studies professor at the National Defence University, told the China News Service that the U.S.-South Korean drills were clearly aimed at sending Beijing a message as much as they were directed at North Korea.

“They will take place in the Yellow Sea, which is the entry point to China’s house, and they obviously want to show off their military strength,” he said.

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates dismissed concerns on Tuesday, saying the drills were routine.

Neither Xinhua nor state television mentioned the U.S.-South Korean exercises. But the official China Daily quoted experts downplaying the Chinese drill, which started on Saturday.

“The nature of the drill is very different from that of the US-ROK joint military action,” Beijing-based military analyst Peng Guangqian was quoted saying.

China’s exercises rehearsed how to defend against long-distance attacks, as well as exploring ways to integrate troops and civilians to tackle emergencies, Xinhua said.

Tensions in the Korean Peninsula have risen since the sinking in March of a South Korean warship killed 46 sailors. An investigation launched by Seoul but including international experts concluded a North Korean torpedo had hit the ship.

North Korea has denied responsibility and long-time ally China has not accepted the findings of the investigation.

China has repeatedly criticised the U.S.-South Korean drills.

“We resolutely oppose any activities in the Yellow Sea that may threaten China’s security,” Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Qin Gang told a routine news conference last Thursday.

China’s growing military clout and rising defence spending have raised concern in Asia, especially in Japan.

Taiwan, the self-ruled island China claims as its own, warned this week that its huge neighbour was still aiming missiles at it, despite warming business and trade ties.

click here to read full article

Secret Gold Swap Surprised The Market

Economic Data Suggests ‘Recovery’ is Fizzling

July 2, 2010

WASHINGTON

By CHRISTOPHER S. RUGABER

Fears that the economic recovery is fizzling grew Thursday after the government and private sector issued weak reports on a number of fronts.

Unemployment claims are up, home sales are plunging without government incentives and manufacturing growth is slowing.

Meanwhile, 1.3 million people are without federal jobless benefits now that Congress adjourned for a weeklong Independence Day recess without passing an extension. That number could grow to 3.3 million by the end of the month if lawmakers can’t resolve the issue when they return.

All of this worries economists. As jobless claims grow and benefits shrink, Americans have less money to spend and the economy can’t grow fast enough to create new jobs. Some are revising their forecasts for growth in the third quarter. Others are afraid the country is on the verge of falling back into a recession.

“We find the level and direction in jobless claims somewhat troubling and the increase is likely to feed double-dip fears,” said John Ryding, an economist at RDQ Economics in a note to clients.

New claims for benefits jumped by 13,000 to a seasonally adjusted 472,000, the Labor Department said Thursday. The four-week average, which smooths fluctuations, rose to 466,500, its highest level since March.

Claims have remained stuck above 450,000 since the beginning of the year. Requests for unemployment benefits dropped steadily last year after reaching a peak of 651,000 in March 2009. Economists say they will feel more confident about sustained job growth when initial claims fall below 425,000

Adding to that is the growing number of people who stand to lose government support while they search for work.

For the third time in as many weeks, Senate Republicans blocked a bill Wednesday night that would have continued unemployment checks to people who have been laid off for long stretches. The House is slated to vote on a similar measure Thursday, though the Senate’s action renders the vote a futile gesture as Congress prepares to depart Washington for its holiday recess.

During the recession, Congress added up to 73 weeks of extra benefits on top of the 26 weeks typically provided by states. Democrats in the House and Senate want them extended through November. Republicans want the $34 billion cost of the bill to be paid for with money remaining from last year’s stimulus package. Democrats argue that it is emergency spending and should be added to the deficit.

Some economists say they may revise their forecasts for growth in the third quarter if the benefits are not extended.

“People whose benefits are going to run out will simply not have the spending power necessary to help drive growth,” said Dan Greenhaus, chief economic strategist at Miller Tabak.

The housing market is also weighing on the economy. The number of buyers who signed contracts to purchase homes tumbled 30 percent in May, the National Association of Realtors said. And construction spending declined 0.2 percent in May as residential building fell, the Commerce Department said.

Both were affected by the expiration of government incentives to buy homes. Buyers had until April 30 to sign sales contracts and qualify for tax credits.

The tax credit’s impact also showed up in the jobless claims report. Greater layoffs by construction firms fueled the increase, a Labor Department analyst said.

Separately, the Institute for Supply Management, an industry trade group, said its manufacturing index slipped in June. But it is still at a level that suggests growth in the industrial sector, which has helped drive the economic recovery.

Surveys released Thursday in China showed a slowdown in factories’ growth as exports faltered and analysts worry that cutbacks in government lending will cool the economy’s rapid rise. Reports from Markit Economics also indicated that manufacturing sector growth in India, South Korea, Australia and Taiwan was slowing.

The industrial sector’s growth also cooled slightly in the 16 countries using the euro and the United Kingdom.

The troubling information on the economy comes a day before the Labor Department is scheduled to release the June jobs report. That is expected to show a modest rebound in private-sector hiring. Overall, employers are expected to cut a net total of 110,000 positions, but that includes the loss of about 240,000 temporary census jobs. Private employers are projected to add 112,000 jobs, according to a survey of economists by Thomson Reuters.

That would be an improvement from May, when businesses added only 41,000 workers. But the economy needs to generate at least 100,000 net new jobs per month to keep up with population growth, and probably twice that number to bring down the jobless rate.

The unemployment rate is expected to edge up to 9.8 percent from 9.7 percent in May.

Layoffs are rising in the public sector, as states and local governments struggle to close persistent budget gaps. New York City approved a budget Tuesday that cuts about $1 billion in spending and would eliminate 5,300 jobs from the city’s 300,000-person work force.

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Green Tea Blocks Lung Cancer

May 27, 2010

Natural News

By David Gutierrez

(NaturalNews) Drinking at least a cup of green tea a day may significantly decrease a person’s risk of lung cancer, according to a study conducted by researchers from Shan Medical University in Taiwan.

Cancer rates are significantly lower in Asia than in other parts of the world, and high consumption of green tea has been suggested as one of the potential explanations. Laboratory studies have suggested that the polyphenols in green tea can halt the growth of cancer cells, but the results of human studies have been mixed.

Click here for the full report.

Apple and Child Labor

March 1, 2010

Bloomberg.com

By Connie Guglielmo

Apple Inc. said three of its suppliers hired 11 underage workers to help build the iPhone, iPod and Macintosh computer last year, a violation it uncovered as part of its onsite audit of 102 factories.

“Apple discovered three facilities that had previously hired 15-year-old workers in countries where the minimum age for employment is 16,” the company said in a 24-page report on “Supplier Responsibility” posted on its Web site. The workers were “no longer in active employment at the time of our audit.”

Apple didn’t name its suppliers and manufacturers. The company visited sites in China, Taiwan, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, the Czech Republic, Philippines and the U.S. Apple also found three cases where suppliers “falsified records” to conceal underage hiring, more than 60 facilities where employees were overworked, 24 partners that paid less than the minimum wage and 57 who didn’t offer all required benefits.

“Apple’s Code sets a maximum of 60 work hours per week and requires at least one day of rest per seven days of work,” the company said. Apple also said it asked suppliers to end a practice “where wage deductions were used for disciplinary purposes.”

The company said it stopped doing business with at least one unnamed supplier after finding repeated violations and “inadequate actions” to address the problems.

Recruitment Fees

Apple’s review also found that at eight facilities, including suppliers in Taiwan, foreign workers paid excessive recruitment fees to hiring agencies to get jobs. The company said employees were reimbursed $2.2 million in fee overcharges over the past two years and that Apple has set a standard limiting such fees to the “equivalent of one month’s net wages.”

Apple “also created extensive training programs to educate workers about their right to a safe and respectful work environment,” Steve Dowling, a spokesman for Cupertino, California-based Apple, said today.

As part of that training, more than 128,000 workers received information outlining their rights and more than 5,000 supervisors and managers received training on their responsibilities to employees, Apple said in its report.

The company also established courses for workers to expand computer and technical skills and set standards for dormitories, medical treatment and pregnancy non-discrimination.

Apple rose $2.62 to $204.62 yesterday in Nasdaq Stock Market trading. The shares more than doubled last year.

Click here for the full report

Video of Pentagon Employee Selling Secrets to Chinese Spy

February 26, 2010

60 Minutes

“60 Minutes” has obtained an FBI videotape showing a Defense Department employee selling secrets to a Chinese spy for cash. The video, which has never been made public before, offers a rare glimpse into the secretive world of espionage and illustrates how China’s spying may now pose the biggest espionage threat to the U.S.

“60 Minutes” correspondent Scott Pelley’s report will be broadcast this Sunday, Feb. 28, at 7 p.m. ET/PT.

China may be the number-one espionage threat now. “The Chinese are the biggest problem we have with respect to the level of effort that they’re devoting against us, versus the level of attention we are giving to them,” says Michelle Van Cleave, once America’s top counter-intelligence officer who coordinated the hunt for foreign spies from 2003 to 2006.

“Definitely, without a doubt,” the Chinese focus most of their espionage on the U.S., says Fengzhi Li, who once recruited spies for China’s Ministry of State Security and is now in the U.S. seeking asylum.

The Chinese, says Van Cleave, have had the designs to all of the nuclear weapons in the U.S. arsenal for years and they have been after a lot more lately. “Virtually every technology that is on the U.S. control technology list has been targeted at one time or another by the Chinese,” she tells Pelley. “Sensors and optics…biological and chemical processes…all the things we have identified as having inherent military application,” says Van Cleave. “I think we are a real candy store for the Chinese and for others.”

In the videotape obtained by “60 Minutes”, Gregg Bergersen, a civilian Pentagon worker with a high-security clearance, is shown taking money, about $2,000, from the Chinese spy, Tai Shen Kuo. Bergersen then discusses how he will let Kuo look at secret documents. The documents included the types of weapons the U.S. was selling to its ally Taiwan as well as plans for a classified command and control system that was going to be used by Taiwan.

Bergersen clearly implicates himself on the videotape. “I’m very , very, very reticent to let you have it because it’s all classified, but I will let you see it,” he tells Kuo. “You know you can write all…the notes you want…it’s just I can never let anyone know…I’d get fired for sure on that,” says Bergersen. “Well, not even get fired, I’d go to *** jail!”

That’s where Bergersen is now, serving almost five years in federal prison for communicating national defense information. Kuo, a naturalized American citizen, was given 15 years for espionage. Both men pleaded guilty after being shown the tape and other evidence against them.

Click here for the full report

Your work is important, influential, even historic…

I’ve listened to a ton of talk radio from a handful of trusted sources, but after listening to a lot of those shows, I’d say to my self, “You know what? I kind of wish I hadn’t heard that because now I feel lousy and pessimistic. I actually feel a bit helpless.”

Then I found The Kevin Trudeau Show. Kevin doesn’t mince words when something serious comes up; he always says, “Look, don’t be worried, there are real, proven solutions, and I’m here to tell you what they are and where to find them. You are NOT helpless. Just know what’s going on so you know how to prepare. YOU have the power here, not them.” 

With that attitude, I’ve already been able to put that power to use in a number of ways. 1) When my wife asked me if her daughter (my stepdaughter) should get the H1N1 flu shot at her school, I knew without having to stop and think that the answer was NO, because I heard all about it months ago from Kevin Trudeau. 2) When my mother-in-law recently ended up in the emergency room (twice) in an apparent reaction to the Heperin, used in her dialysis treatments, I knew immediately the alternative course to urge, again from Kevin. 3) When my Dad warned me in a recent phone call that our family has a high incidence of diabetes and cancer, and to watch out for it, did I worry or run to the doctor? I did NOT. I knew already how to handle either situation if it comes up someday, which it won’t anyhow because I’ve learned from listening to Kevin’s show how to protect myself. Whether it’s what I eat, what to avoid, or how to rid myself of toxic poisons, I’ve got tons of things I’m continually expanding into my daily life that add to my health, vitality and longevity, all thanks to Kevin Trudeau.

Kevin always tells us not to worry and you know what? I don’t. I don’t worry at all anymore. And if I ever do start worrying someday, I’ll just get rid of that too because Kevin told me about the technique for it!

The Kevin Trudeau Show gives me vital information and I use that information to give myself freedom from fear and worry, whether it’s about health issues, the financial future, or what the government is up to. I don’t feel powerless anymore and that’s more than worth setting aside 3 hours a day…hopefully 5 days a week.

I want to send my heartfelt thanks to everyone involved in making this most excellent and entertaining radio program happen. Your work is important, influential, even historic.

Rick Dawson
Sha-Lu Township, Taiwan