Wikileaks Iraq: Every Death Mapped – Guardian.co.uk

Wikileaks: Visualize Afghan Warlogs

http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=14200191&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=1&color=&fullscreen=1&autoplay=0&loop=0

Visualisation of Activity in Afghanistan using the Wikileaks data from Mike Dewar on Vimeo.

Lesson for Generals and Economists: It is Resources and NOT Toilet Paper Money that Counts

China Said to Widen Its Embargo of Minerals – NYTIMES.com

HONG KONG — China, which has been blocking shipments of crucial minerals to Japan for the last month, has now quietly halted shipments of those materials to the United States and Europe, three industry officials said on Tuesday.

Rare Earth Mineral

So what is a Rare Earth Mineral

A rare earth mineral is a mineral which contains one or more rare earth elements as major metal constituents. Yttrium is found in almost all rare earth minerals. Rare earth minerals are usually found in association with alkaline to per-alkaline igneous complexes, in pegmatites associated with alkaline magmas and in or associated with carbonatite intrusives. Perovskite mineral phases are common hosts to rare earth elements within the alkaline complexes. Mantle derived carbonate melts also are carriers of the rare earths. Hydrothermal deposits associated with alkaline magmatism contain a variety of rare earth minerals.

The majority of rare earth minerals are mined in Asia, with China producing 93 percent of the world’s supply, and more than 99 percent of the most valuable supply. – Wikipedia

So where is it used?

Yttrium ( /ˈɪtriəm/ IT-ree-əm) is a chemical element with symbol Y and atomic number 39. It is a silvery-metallic transition metal chemically similar to the lanthanoids and has historically been classified as a rare earth element. The most important use of yttrium is in making phosphors, such as the red ones used in television cathode ray tube displays and in LEDs.^[5] Other uses include the production of electrodes, electrolytes, electronic filters, lasers and superconductors; various medical applications; and as traces in various materials to enhance their properties. Yttrium has no known biological role, but exposure to yttrium compounds can cause lung disease in humans.^[6] – Wikipedia

Decline in Effectiveness of Monetary Tools

I Sense Blood: Afghans say US team found huge potential mineral wealth

BBC

Afghanistan may have more than a trillion dollars worth of untapped mineral deposits, a spokesman for the ministry of mines has suggested.

The statement came after reports in the New York Times of the work of a team of Pentagon officials and US geologists.

They discovered large quantities of iron and copper as well as valuable deposits of lithium.

However, questions are being asked about the timing of the release of the latest information.

The BBC’s Jill McGivering says that at a time of growing despair about Afghanistan and its government, the portrayal of the country as a potential goldmine could help to bolster international resolve and paint the country as a prize worth fighting for.

Lithium is an increasing vital resource, used in batteries for everything from mobile phones to laptops and key to the future of the electric car. Bolivia boasts the largest reserves.

Commercial Bankruptcies Rose 52 Percent in 2009 – AP

Just as I feared, although a month-wise breakup is not available, this provides a good picture that the recovery is fragile

Commercial Bankruptcies Rose 52 Percent in 2009

Commercial bankruptcy protection filings rose by more than 50 percent last year, according to data filed Thursday, showing how the recession continued to cull businesses even as the economy stabilized.

Toward the end of the year, however, the pace of filings abated, according to the data released Thursday by credit reporting agency Equifax Inc.

Commercial filings hit 117,659 last year, up 52 percent from the 77,638 filed in 2008, Equifax reported.

That’s nearly four times the number of filings in 2006, when such bankruptcy filings hit an all-time low near 3,000.

In the October to December period of 2009, filings were up only 12 percent and by December, filings were up only 3 percent compared with the corresponding period in 2008, according to Equifax.

The bankruptcies spread across the U.S., although California was one of the most hard hit.

In the fourth quarter alone, the Los Angeles, Sacramento and Riverside, Calif. metropolitan areas led the nation in filings, as they did in the second and third quarters. Other areas with a high number of filings in the fourth quarter included Portland, Ore., Denver, New York and Chicago.

BUSH IS BACK!!!!

Wishful thinking: White House adviser: World has united against Iran

So here is another of those American oddities…

WASHINGTON (AP) – A top White House adviser says the U.S. is making progress in its efforts to find allies to hold the line on Iran’s nuclear ambitions.

David Axelrod tells CNN’s “State of the Union” that at the start of the Obama administration, Iran was united while the world was divided on how best to deal with Iran.

Axelrod says the situation is now reversed – the world is coming together while Iran itself is divided.

He says he’s pleased with the cooperation that the Russians have offered and believes Moscow will support fresh penalties against Tehran.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev (dih-MEE’-tree med-VYEH’-dyev) said Saturday that punishing Iran even more because of its nuclear program is not the best option, but added that such a step can’t be excluded.

Top adviser Valerie Jarrett says on ABC’s “This Week” that a “strong world coalition” is coming together that will cause Iran to back down.

Source

A “strong world coalition”, is it?

Sorry to ruin the party, but this goes contrary to the a series of news earlier that…

China: Iran Sanctions ‘Counterproductive’ Source

PARIS — Russian President Dmitry Medvedev says his country is ready to consider new sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program. The Russian leader told reporters Monday at the start of a state visit to France that it would be “desirable” to avoid sanctions — and insisted that any should not harm the Iranian population. Source

Amid threats of an Israeli attack against Iran, Brazil’s president said Friday he has planned a visit to the country to prevent a “mistake” that was the prelude to the invasion of Iraq. “I am going there because I do not want the mistake that was made in Iraq to be repeated in Iran,” President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said, in comments reproduced by the state news agency ABR, DPA reported. Source

Also See

March,2008: BBC

Support for tough international action against Iran over its nuclear programme has fallen in the past 18 months, a poll carried out for the BBC suggests.

Spare-time Ideas: US Dollar Doom and Gloom

I hate to admit, I like to dedicate my idle time to odd ideas. So here is one..

If dollar collapses will the Giants survive?

Here is the crazy thought… If the Dollar collapses they will survive because they have already exchanged these then worthless paper notes for some stock or assets in foreign countries… especially emerging markets. And given the recent news flow this could be possible… just another spare-time thought… no offense. ( You May like this too)

Here is a probable support… UNCTAD keeps track of FDI Stock. So if you pull up Country Profiles of USA, Pakistan or India you will come across an interesting statistic.

Under FDI Stock you may find…

Developing economies (Dollar Millions)
Inward 4,275,982 (24.7% of GDP 2008)
Outward 2,356,649 (14% of GDP 2008)

Developed economies (Dollar Millions)
Inward 10,212,893 (25% of GDP 2008)
Outward 13,623,626 (33.6% of GDP 2008)

So in other words there has been a $3.6 trillion outflow from Developed Economies(if I am reading it right) and roughly $2 trillion inflow in Developing Countries.

But the magnitude is 25% of the total inflow so I am still thinking could it be possible.

Well for now … There you have it… Giants will survive or sort of.

IMF warns of economic riots, police ready for civil unrest

Source: Here and Here

The head of the International Monetary Fund urged governments to step up action to stem the global economic crisis or risk delaying a recovery and sparking violent unrest on the streets.

Using a speech last night in Madrid to issue his stark warning, Dominique Strauss-Kahn argued that government efforts to tackle the economic downturn so far have been uncertain and largely insufficient, which could lead to severe consequences. He singled out the eurozone nations as he attacked the inadequate global response.

His hard-hitting coments came as fears of a prolonged slumped intensified after China showed signs that its economy could be in more trouble than initially expected next year. Factory output in the rapidly growing economy registered the weakest growth in almost a decade last month.

…

Revealing his concerns of a deeper economic slowdown, he said that the IMF would probably cut world growth next year from its current forecast of 2.2%. He also predicted that China’s once red-hot economy will rapidly run out of steam.

“We started with China at 11% growth … China will probably grow at 5 or 6% [next year],” he said. “The possibility of a global recession is real. We realise something must be done.”

Reports indicate that Paulson threatened Martial Law

November 22, 2008 (LPAC) — Sen. James Inhofe (R-Ok.) said yesterday that it was Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson who personally told Congressmen that there would be martial law in America if they did not pass the bailout of the banks as demanded by the Bush Administration. On Oct. 2, Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Calif.) said on the House floor that “Many of us were told in private conversations that if we voted against this bill on Monday the sky would fall, the market would drop two or three thousand points the first day, another couple of thousand the second day, and a few members were even told that there would be martial law in America if we voted no.”

Source