http://campfire.theoildrum.com/node/6626#more
The New World Order. The Elite Meet.
Baltic Dry Index. 2502
LIR Gold Target by 2019: $3,000
Who are you going to believe, me or your own eyes?
Grouch Marx.
Serfs of the world know your place! And that place isn’t anywhere near Toronto Canada, at least not when the new Kings and Emperors want to strut their stuff for the new world order. Truly a gathering worthy of everything socialist, bureaucratic, undemocratic Brussels strives for. Canada’s Torontonians, get the bum’s rush treatment from their betters. Not to worry, it’s all for their own good, really it is. While Brazil’s President ducks this summer’s event due to disastrous flooding in Northeast Brazil, and Australia’s new Prime Minister ducks the summit too, she only took over mid week after a palace coup, the EU has sent along a full contingent lead by the unelected joke “President” of the EU, Belgium’s obscure and unaccomplished, Herman Van Rompuy, not to be confused with the unelected “President” of the EU, former Maoist, Portugal's Jose Barroso. Both are not to be confused with Jerzy Buzek, who also calls himself a president of the EU.
For puzzled other attendees, like the Presidents of Malawi, Argentina, Indonesia, Japan and South Africa, Van Rompuy is the EU President in the cream coloured suit usually accompanied by the elderly lady in mauve, Barroso is the EU President in the dark suit accompanied by the young lady in a dark coloured trouser suit and striped top. EU President Buzek, “the prof” to his friends in the EU “Parliament”, couldn’t make this summer’s junket in Toronto opting instead to co-chair the National Democratic Institute conference on transatlantic dialogue in Washington on Monday and Tuesday next week. No word yet on what EU lady will be accompanying him. Who needs Toronto and a cast of thousands sharing top billing, when there’s Washington DC at one’s disposal. Needless to say, the long suffering European taxpayers get to pick up all the bills. You really couldn’t make this sort of thing up.
Those are my principles, and if you don't like them... well, I have others.
Grouch Marx.
'Secret' law lets police arrest for failing to show ID near summit
The Ottawa Citizen June 25, 2010
TORONTO — The Ontario government secretly passed legislation giving police sweeping new powers for the duration of the G8 and G20 summits.
Police are now able to jail anyone who refuses to furnish identification and submit to a search while within five metres of a designated security zone in downtown Toronto.
Critics reacted furiously to the new rules, which remained unpublicized until Thursday when a 32 year-old man was arrested in Toronto for refusing to show ID to police.
New Democrat MPP Peter Kormos said Friday the provincial Liberals created a “Kafka-esque” situation where people could be arrested for violating rules they didn’t know existed.
------The Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA) said it was “extremely concerned” that the new measures violate constitutional safeguards.
Nathalie Des Rosiers, general counsel for the CCLA said the changes are contrary to Canadian law.
“You don’t have any obligation to speak to Canadian police, to give your name or the reasons for your existence unless you’ve done something wrong — unless you’re being detained or arrested,” she said. “So on its face, it’s a dramatic change from what our constitution guarantees.”
-----Premier Dalton McGuinty and his Community Safety Minister, Rick Bartolucci, defended the government action.
McGuinty said he attempted to “limit the intrusiveness” of the powers by applying them to a specific zone in downtown Toronto.
------Bartolucci, who is also the minister of correctional services, said the changes were voted in by a special five-member meeting of cabinet on June 14. The regulations were then posted on a relatively obscure government website, http://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca/.
He said the changes were demanded by Toronto police.
----The changes deemed Toronto’s downtown security zone — surrounded by a three-metre fence — a “public work” akin to a hydroelectric station or courthouse. Those fixtures are governed by a 1939 law known as the Public Works Protection Act.
Police can use sound cannons, but with limits: judge
Jill Mahoney
Globe and Mail Update Published on Friday, Jun. 25, 2010 10:50AM EDT Last updated on Friday, Jun. 25, 2010 3:59PM EDT
Toronto Police can use sound cannons during the G20 summit with restrictions, a judge ruled Friday.
The decision by Ontario Superior Court Justice David Brown means officers can use the voice function of Long-Range Acoustical Devices, but not the ear-piercing alert function.
Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair said police will abide by the ruling. Officials said the force would formally change its procedures to comply with existing Ontario Provincial Police protocol by Friday afternoon.
“We are committed that it’s … safe for the people of Toronto, safe for all the people engaged in protests and safe for our officers,” he told reporters.
Chief Blair said police consider the devices communications tools. Toronto Police obtained four in the lead up to the summit.
Trans-Atlantic Tiff Brewing Ahead of G-20 Summit
06/25/2010
The G-20 talks in Canada this weekend are to focus on shoring up the global economy but German commentators are not expecting much in the way of agreement. Ahead of the summit Germany and the US have been trading barbs about whether the best strategy is to save or spend.
A trans-Atlantic tiff has been brewing ahead of this weekend's G-8 and G-20 summits as the US and Europe disagree on how to best ensure recovery from the global economic crisis.
Ahead of the meetings at a lakeside resort north of Toronto, US President Barack Obama wrote a letter to the G-20 leaders urging a pro-growth policy in what seemed a thinly veiled criticism of German plans to slash spending in a bid to tackle the country's deficit. It "is critical that the timing and pace of consolidation in each economy suits the needs of the global economy," Obama wrote.
Chancellor Angela Merkel, however, is not backing down from austerity. On Thursday she told German public broadcaster ARD that her center-right coalition was going to "implement the efforts we have agreed to," adding: "I do not think we should relent."
-----Berlin is concerned at the spiralling deficits across Europe, particularly since Germany, Europe's largest economy, has been forced to shoulder the lion's share of the rescue package for Greece and other struggling European countries. To that end, Merkel's government announced sweeping cuts of some €80 billion ($98 billion) over the next four years in order to keep a lid on Germany's deficit.
Obama, meanwhile is concerned that the austerity measures in Europe could choke off the tentative recovery and even plunge the world into a double-dip recession, repeating the mistakes of the 1930s that led to the prolonged Great Depression.
German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble joined the debate this week with a guest contribution to the business daily Handelsblatt, writing that "governments should not become addicted to borrowing as a quick fix to stimulate demand. Deficit spending cannot become a permanent state of affairs."
The tit-for-tat interviews and letters ahead of this year's summit are a far cry from the unprecedented united front just two years ago.
Back in 2008 the G-20 leaders found it easy to agree on a response to the global economic crisis by assembling giant stimulus packages to restart growth and financial rescue plans for the frozen banking system. Now that financial meltdown has been averted and economies are tiptoeing towards renewed growth, divisions are opening up on how best to proceed.
Germany is not the only European country opting for saving over spending. The new government in London introduced a drastic budget on Tuesday aimed at tackling the deficit by cutting public spending and raising taxes.
http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,702854,00.html#ref=nlint
More than 150,000 remain homeless amid Brazil floods
By the CNN Wire Staff June 25, 2010 -- Updated 1457 GMT
Rio Largo, Brazil (CNN) -- Federal aid is flowing to rain-ravaged areas of northeastern Brazil and the number of missing has diminished to less than 140, but more than 150,000 people remained homeless or displaced Friday, the government said.
President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said Friday he will not attend this weekend's G20 meeting in Canada to attend to the emergency at home, the Agencia Brasil government news outlet reported. Finance Minister Guido Mantega will take Lula's place.
The death count in two hard-hit states still stood at 46 -- 29 in Alagoas state and 16 in Pernambuco, Agencia Brasil said.
There were nearly 75,000 homeless or displaced residents in Alagoas and more than 80,000 in Pernambuco, the national civil defense office said.
In addition, civil defense said, there were more than 19,000 homes in Alagoas that were damaged or destroyed, as were 79 bridges.
http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/americas/06/25/brazil.floods/index.html?hpt=T2&fbid=0ZR_3t_KNP9
China has also been suffering from disastrous flooding.
Heavy rains to pound China's flooded south regions again
BEIJING, June 24 (Xinhua) -- China's National Meteorological Center (NMC) warned Thursday that torrential rains are expected to pound the nation's badly-flooded southern regions over the next two days.
Heavy downpours are likely to hit many areas in provinces of Guizhou, Hunan, Jiangxi, Zhejiang, Fujian, and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region from Thursday to Friday, according to the NMC.
Torrential rain was also forecast for the country's north and west regions, including some areas in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, provinces of Yunnan and Sichuan, and Tibet Autonomous Region.
As of Wednesday, floods in south China had left 211 people dead and 119 others missing, causing direct economic losses to 43.3 billion yuan (6.3 billion U.S. dollars), according to the Ministry of Civil Affairs
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/china/2010-06/24/c_13367016.htm
Back in the real world of rapidly going bust Europe, the Greeks have apparently taken up German newspapers suggestion for raising cash. I wonder if anyone has thought to wire President Hu? But there again, maybe not.
Greece starts putting island land up for sale to save economy
Desperate attempt to repay debts also driven by inability to find funds to develop infrastructure on islands
Elena Moya guardian.co.uk, Thursday 24 June 2010 21.33 BST
There's little that shouts "seriously rich" as much as a little island in the sun to call your own. For Sir Richard Branson it is Neckar in the Caribbean, the billionaire Barclay brothers prefer Brecqhou in the Channel Islands, while Aristotle Onassis married Jackie Kennedy on Skorpios, his Greek hideway.
Now Greece is making it easier for the rich and famous to fulfill their dreams by preparing to sell, or offering long-term leases on, some of its 6,000 sunkissed islands in a desperate attempt to repay its mountainous debts.
The Guardian has learned that an area in Mykonos, one of Greece's top tourist destinations, is one of the sites for sale. The area is one-third owned by the government, which is looking for a buyer willing to inject capital and develop a luxury tourism complex, according to a source close to the negotiations.
Potential investors also looking at property on the island of Rhodes, are mostly Russian and Chinese. Investors in both countries are looking for a little bit of the Mediterranean as holiday destinations for their increasingly affluent populations. Roman Abramovich, the billionaire owner of Chelsea football club, is among those understood to be interested, although a spokesman denied he was about to invest.
Greece has embarked on the desperate measures after being pushed into a €110bn (£90bn) bailout by the EU and the IMF last month, following a decade of overspending and after jittery investors raised borrowing costs to unbearable levels.
The sale of an island – or convincing a member of the international jet-set to take on a long-term lease – would help to boost its coffers. The Private Islands website lists 1,235-acre Nafsika, in the Ionian sea, on sale by private interests for €15m. But others are on offer by private owners for less than €2m – less than a townhouse in Mayfair or Chelsea.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jun/24/greece-islands-sale-save-economy
Greek gov't denies report on sales of islands, large estate properties to Chinese, Russian |
ATHENS, June 25 (Xinhua) -- Greek government spokesman George Petalotis sent an official letter to "The Guardian" newspaper on Friday, categorically rejecting a report published in the English daily newspaper regarding "plans to sale Greek islands" to foreigners, especially Chinese and Russian, to tackle a severe debt crisis.
"I was deeply disappointed by the misleading article written by Elena Moya. The assertion that the Greek government is involved in the sale of any islands is wholly inaccurate," stressed Petalotis in his reply, noting that sale of privately owned islands in Greece is nothing new for years.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2010-06/26/c_13369944.htm
We close for today, while we await word from our overlords, with the IRS now wanting their piece of BP’s pensioners former dividends. Who’d have ever thought America’s IRS would become a BP victim too. Is the victim culture great or what? Looks like Mexico wants in on the game too. Stay long precious metals, I sense another bailout coming up.
Updated: IRS says it wants its share of BP payments received by oil spill victims
Published: Friday, June 25, 2010, 12:19 PM
WASHINGTON -- The Internal Revenue Service says oil spill victims who receive BP payments for lost wages will have to pay up come tax time.
Under current law, BP payments for lost wages are taxable -- just like the wages would have been, the IRS said in tax guidance issued Friday. Payments for physical injuries or property loss, however, are generally tax free. Payments for emotional distress? Taxable, though medical expenses related to the emotional distress are deductible.
BP officials have agreed to create a $20 billion fund for spill victims, as well as a $100 million fund to support displaced oil rig workers.
The IRS issued the guidance today to help spill victims sort through the law's complexities. The agency has posted tax information for oil spill victims on its website and plans to hold forums in seven Gulf Coast cities on July 17 to help victims with tax troubles or questions.
"As residents of the region cope with the evolving situation, I want to assure them that the IRS will be doing everything it can to provide tax help to those who need it," IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman said. "We encourage anyone who has an issue with the IRS to contact us and explain their hardship, and we will work with them to find a solution."
http://blog.al.com/live/2010/06/irs_says_it_wants_its_share_of.html
Mexico finds possible traces of oil spill on Gulf of Mexico beach
MEXICO CITY, June 25 (Xinhua) -- Officials from Mexico's northern state Tamaulipas have found traces on the Gulf of Mexico beach which might be from the massive oil spill in U.S. territorial waters, Mexican media reported on Friday.
Officials from the Civil Protection Agency were quoted as saying that they had found solid lumps of crude along Miramar close to Ciudad Madero, one of the state's most famous tourist beaches.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2010-06/26/c_13370420.htm
More Monday when we know just what idiotic things the G-20 going on G-200 have meddled with.
There's one way to find out if a man is honest - ask him. If he says, "Yes," you know he is a crook.
Grouch Marx.
GI.
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