Global recession - where did all the money go?

Monetary union has left half of Europe trapped in depression:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/comment/ambroseevans_pritchard/4278642/Monetary-union-has-left-half-of-Europe-trapped-in-depression.html

"The banks are fucked, we're fucked, the country's fucked.":
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2009/jan/19/economy-banking

Davos finds no answers to crisis:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/davos/7863684.stm

For many people, hearing that the money system is about to collapse, seems ridiculous. A year ago, I used to say banks have no money and assets were over priced by over a factor of ten. I also stated a modern run on the bank was likely. Today I have unfortunately gained myself credibility and this chart created by the Guardian explains just how bad things are in the banking world.

The Guardian's interactive display of invisible money:

Watch this slide show below:



Click next above to see all slides.

Full article here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/dan-roberts-on-business-blog/interactive/2009/jan/29/financial-pyramid


As an Intuitive blogger, I think people are going to realize quickly that this bank theory has now become a living reality. We hear about it in the mainstream news every single day after all.

"So what are we going to do about?" I hear you think!

Well, I believe we have already started to do something. Following eight long harmful years of a neoconservative right wing Bush Cheney mafia in power, we have managed to stand up . These evil fear mongering crooks sitting in office trying to brainwash people saying "either you are with us or against us" did not stay in power quite long enough to make this neoconservative regiem irriversable. We showed no fear. We actually did something, against all odds, and did it peacefully. We stood up.... We discussed... We blogged.... We campaigned.... We wrote songs... We listened to DemocracyNow.org and Michael Moore. We did something quite unbelievable. We did not let this tyranny win. We have managed in 2009 to put an end to an illegal torture prison in Guantanamo Bay. We started to bring back real values. This is the beginning of a new revolution. We will see dozens and dozens of changes in the near future, positive in the long run, but for now we are in a bloodbath of financial disaster,with a loss of hundreds of thousands of jobs. People are losing their jobs every day around the world. The situation is as bad as 1982 but looking more and more like the statistics of the Great Depression of the 1930s or even worse. We are in a polluted and corrupted state and it has got to change fast and it will. This is it folks. I had unfortunately seen this coming and we're living this unfortunate situation today. Obama is calling for middle class Americans to go green and go back to traditions of the past. We are extremely fortunate to have such a great figure to represent the world during this hard time. Hardships can bring a sense of unity and we're seeing this every day. The tone of news is changing and patriotism has demonstrated itself with a milder tone, but it will also see struggles. Saving money and becoming resourceful is no longer for greens or hippies, it affects everyone. Everyone is showing acknowledgment to the years and years of recovery it will take to hopefully recover from the damage created of madness these past years. Hang in there is all I can say as an intuitive blogger!

http://www.careermeta.com/layoff-tracking.html

Recent Job Cut Headlines

• Foxconn Technologies announced layoffs of up to 5% of its worldwide workforce,more than 450,000 in China alone. - 12/23/2008
• Dow Chemical to lay off 5,000 workers, close 20 plants in attempt to save $700 million by 2010 - 12/18/2008
• Omnicom Group (ad industry holding company) To Lay Off Roughly 3,500 Worldwide - Washington Post 12/18/2008
• Western Digital to Cut 2,500 Jobs - Bloomberg 12/17/2009
• Aetna Eliminates 1,000 Jobs to Reduce Costs for 2009 - Bloomberg 12/17/2008
• Bristol-Myers will layoff yet another 10%, bring the total to 8,000 layoffs. - FiercePharma 12/17/2008
• Sony to Cut 8,000 Jobs - 12/9/2008
• Wyndham Hotel Group to cut 4,000 jobs - 12/9/2008
• Anheuser-Busch InBev To Cut 1,400 US Jobs - CNBC 12/8/2008
• Bank of America Corp. to cut 35,000 jobs as it acquires Merrill Lynch & Co. - 12/4/2008
• AT&T Job Cuts to Include 12,000 Layoffs - 12/4/2008
• JPMorgan Chase to cut 9,200 WaMu jobs - CNN 12/1/2008
• GM to Close Nine Plants, Lay Off 30,000 - Fox News 11/22/2008
• Citigroup to Cut Another 52,000 Jobs, 20% of its workforce. - Fox News 11/17/2008
• Sun Microsystems cutting up to 6,000 jobs - Mercury News 11/14/2008
• Applied Materials outlook weak, to cut 1,800 jobs - Reuters 11/12/2008
• Google Layoffs: 10,000 Jobs Being Cut - PC World 11/24/2008
• DHL announced 9,500 job layoffs as it plans to cease air and ground delivery services in the United States by January 30, 2009. The actual cut is cut almost 15,000 people. - 11/10/2008
• Merck Plans to Cut7,200 more jobs, 12% of Work Force as Its Sales and Profit Fall - 10/22/2008 NY Times
• EBay to lay off some 10 percent of its workforce, roughly 1,000 full-time employees and hundreds of temporary workers. - 10/6/2008
• HP to cut nearly 25,000 jobs by 2011 - Computer maker to trim 7.5% of its payroll with half of cuts coming in the United States as it integrates outsourcing giant EDS. - CNN 9/15/2008
• Starbucks cuts 1,000 jobs - 7/30/2008
• Bank of America Corp to cut 7,500 jobs as part of its acquisition of Countrywide Financial Corp. - Business Journal 6/27/2008
• American Airlines expects to cut nearly 7,000 employees - 6/3/2008 NY Times
• NASA May Cut 8,000 Jobs From Space Program - Fox News 4/2/2008
• Yahoo to lay off 1,000 as profit drops - CNet News 1/29/2008

Layoff Tracking Websites

Many bloggers are tracking layoffs and jobcuts in more detailed level. If you are interested in full picture of industry-wide, global scale job cuts, they following blog are for you to enjoy. Take it easy, don’t be depressed by the bad news. Someday in the relatively near future, things will turn around for sure. Here are the layoff tracking blogs:

• TechCrunch Layoff Tracker - http://www.techcrunch.com/layoffs/
• LayoffBlog - http://layoffblog.wordpress.com/Layoff Tracker - http://layofftracker.blogspot.com/
• Screwdd -http://www.screwdd.com/
• F’ed Startups - News, Startups, Technology, Layoffs
• Vault Layoff Tracker - http://www.vault.com/companies/layoffs.jsp
• Layoffs and buyouts at U.S. newspapers - http://graphicdesignr.net/papercuts/
• CNET Tech layoffs Scorecard - http://news.cnet.com/tech-layoffs/

The Job-Cuts List

• Top 5 layoffs of 2008 - by FiercePharma
• The Layoff Kings: The Companies That Cut The Most In 2008 - by 247WallSt
• Recent layoffs at area technology companies - by Seattle Post
• Layoff List by Forbes
• Layoff List by Wired
• ClickZ’s Layoff Tracker for Digital Marketing Jobs
• The Web’s Top 10 Layoff Sites

http://www.nowpublic.com/tech-biz/layoffs-list-job-losses-2008-and-2009-ongoing

Expected job losses in 2009

• Japan's top 12 automakers - 25,000 combined layoffs expected
  
• Caterpillar - 20,000 layoffs
  
• KBG Toys - 15,000 expected layoffs
• Sprint Nextel - 8,000 layoffs (14% of staff)
• Pfizer Pharmaceutical - 8,000 layoffs (by end of 2011)
  
• Home Depot - 7,000 layoffs
  
• ING - 7,000 layoffs
• Phillips Electronics - 6,000 layoffs
  
• Intel - 6,000 layoffs (second round)
• Whirlpool - 5,000 expected layoffs
  
• Microsoft - 5,000 layoffs
• Ericsson - 5,000 layoffs
• General Motors - additional 2,000 layoffs over 2008 total
  
• Bell Canada - 1,500 early retirement buy outs
• Harley Davidson - 1,100 layoffs
  
• United Airlines - 1,000 layoffs
• BigLots - unspecified number of expected layoffs
• AK Steel - unspecified number of expected layoffs
• Waterford/Wedgewood - unspecified number of layoffs

A new chapter

The cleanup begins...

The Government has been ordered to release the minutes of two key Cabinet meeting discussions which paved the way for the invasion of Iraq

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/4361267/Government-ordered-to-release-Iraq-minutes.html

Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair meeting soldiers at the Shaiba Logistics Base in Basra, Iraq in 2005 Photo: PA

Downing Street refused to reveal whether it would comply with the ruling by the Information Tribunal, which follows a long-running legal battle to keep details of the meetings secret.

Obama Revokes Bush Executive Order on Presidential Archives

This could be interesting....

http://www.motherjones.com/mojoblog/archives/2009/01/11919_executive_order_13233_revoked_obama_bush_sue_me.html

On his first day in office, President Obama put former president Bush on notice. His administration just released an executive order that will make it difficult for Bush to shield his White House records--and those of former Vice President Dick Cheney--from public scrutiny by invoking the doctrine of executive privilege. Shortly after taking office, Bush handed down his own executive order, amending the Presidential Records Act to give current and past presidents, along with their heirs, veto power over the release of presidential records, which are considered the property of the American people.

Interestingly, an August 2007 Zogby poll has found 26.4% of Americans believe the US Bush administration allowed the September 11 2001 attacks following imminent intelligence threats to proceed for political reasons, but another 4.8% of Americans believe certain US government officials actively assisted in the attacks:

http://www.opednews.com/articles/1/Unanswered-9-11-Miracles-a-by-Allen-L-Roland-090123-116.html

"Hopefully this year, Pandora's Box will be fully opened regarding the abuses of power by the Bush/Cheney administration. Eventually, their treasonous 9/11 cover-up will be revealed and the world will reel in shock and disgust : Allen L Roland"

I am just glad the BUSH era is completely OVER as this was NOT America!




A brief time line of the Bush Years

FROM: WHAT THE HELL JUST HAPPENED?
http://www.esquire.com/the-side/george-bush-timeline-011509

(2000 Dec 13)

The U.S. Supreme Court stops the Florida recount, handing the presidency to George W. Bush. The Dow closes at 10,794.

2001

• January 15: Wikipedia is founded.
• June 7: The Bush tax cuts become law.
  
• September 9: Ahmed Shah Massoud, commander of the anti-Taliban forces in Afghanistan, is assassinated.
• September 11: Nearly 3,000 die in the 9/11 attacks.
• September 18: The first anthrax letters are mailed.
• September 20: The Office of Homeland Security is announced.
• October 7: The United States invades Afghanistan.
• October 26: The PATRIOT Act is signed into law.
• November 25: CIA interrogator Johnny Michael Spann is killed in Afghanistan; he is the first U.S. casualty in the war on terror.
• December 2: Enron files for bankruptcy.
  

2002

• January 1: The Euro enters circulation.
• January 23: Daniel Pearl is kidnapped in Pakistan.
• May 30: Clean-up operations at Ground Zero are completed.
• October 2: Congress passes a joint resolution authorizing the use of force in Iraq at the president’s discretion.
• The Beltway sniper attacks begin.
• October 4: The Dow closes at 7,528.40, in what will be its lowest ebb in the post-Internet-boom recession.
• December 9: United Airlines files for bankruptcy.
  

2003

• March 20: Coalition troops enter Iraq.
• April 9: U.S. forces seize Baghdad.
• 
• April 14: The Human Genome Project is completed.
• May 1: President Bush delivers his "Mission Accomplished" speech.
• June 3: The Dow closes above 9,000.
• August 14: A major blackout leaves 40 million Americans in eight states without power.
• December 11: The Dow closes above 10,000.
• December 13: Saddam Hussein is captured.
  

2004

• March 11: 190 die in the Madrid train bombings.
• April 28: The Abu Ghraib scandal is revealed.
• July 27: Barack Obama delivers his "Audacity of Hope" speech at the Democratic convention.
• August 19: Google goes public.
• September 8: The U.S. death toll in Iraq reaches 1,000.
• November 14: Colin Powell resigns as Secretary of State.

2005

• February 15: YouTube goes online.
• May 31: Mark Felt is revealed to be "Deep Throat."
• July 7: 56 die in the London subway and bus bombings.
• September 28: Tom DeLay is indicted on conspiracy charges.
• October 19: Saddam Hussein goes on trial.
• October 2: The U.S. death toll in Iraq reaches 2,000.
  

2006

• February 14: The Dow closes above 11,000.
• February 22: The al-Askari Mosque in Samarra, Iraq, is bombed, triggering Sunni-Shia ethnic cleansing across the country.
• June 7: A U.S. airstrike kills Al Qaeda in Iraq leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.
• October 17: The U.S. population reaches 300 million.
• October 19: The Dow closes above 12,000 for the first time in history.
• November 5: Saddam Hussein is sentenced to death.
• November 8: Donald Rumsfeld resigns as Secretary of Defense.
• December 30: Saddam Hussein is executed by hanging in Baghdad.
• December 31: The U.S. death toll in Iraq reaches 3,000.
  

2007

• January 9: The iPhone is introduced.
• April 25: The Dow closes above 13,000 for the first time in history.
• July 19: The Dow closes above 14,000 for the first time in history.
• July 21: The final book in the Harry Potter series is released.
• October 9: The Dow reaches what will be its all-time high unto date, closing at 14,164.53.
• October 18: Benazir Bhutto returns to Pakistan.
• November 3: Pakistan president Pervez Musharraf declares a nationwide state of emergency.
• November 23: The Dow closes below 13,000.
• December 27: Bhutto is assassinated.
  

2008

• January 2: Oil hits $100 per barrel for the first time.
• February 19: Fidel Castro announces his resignation.
• March 7: The Dow closes below 12,000.
• March 23: The U.S. death toll in Iraq reaches 4,000.
• July 15: The Dow closes below 11,000.
• September 15: Lehman Brothers files for Chapter 11 — the largest bankruptcy in U.S. history.
• September 16: The Federal Reserve lends $85 billion dollars to AIG — the largest such intervention in U.S. history.
• September 25: Washington Mutual collapses — the largest bank failure in U.S. history.
• October 6: The Dow closes below 10,000.
• October 9: The Dow closes below 9,000.
• November 4: Barack Obama is elected president.
• November 19: The Dow closes below 8,000.
• November 20: The Dow closes at 7,552.29, its lowest point to date in the global financial crisis.
• December 4: In Iraq, parliament passes a law forcing all U.S. troops to leave the country by January 1, 2012.

WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED IN JUST 8 YEARS?





Now check out what happened only this week... this is amazing:

How Obama set the tone for a new US revolution
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jan/25/obama-white-house

Action!

This sounds like action to me!

Obama had a constructive week (I would say)

• Tuesday (Inauguration day)
  

One of the new President's first acts was to suspend the Guantanamo Bay military tribunals for 120 days.

• Wednesday

Circulates plan to shut Guantanamo in a year. Orders pay freeze for senior White House staff. Orders restrictions on lobbyists. Opens government agencies to public scrutiny. Chairs economic and security briefings. Hosts "open house"at White House with Michelle Obama. Telephones Middle East leaders.

• Thursday

Orders the closure of Guantanamo in a year and a prisoner review. Also closes secret CIA prison network. Bans torture and rendition.

Names the Middle East and Aghanistan/Pakistan envoys at event also attended by the Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton. Tours the White House press room.

• Friday
  

Lifts abortion funding restrictions. Meets Congress leaders oneconomic rescue package. Telephones Gordon Brown.

Source: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/washington-feels-the-whirlwind-of-change-1514531.html


-

At last

20th Jan 2009

If you have a fast internet connection, you can zoom very close and see this picture in such detail, including the music scores the musicians were reading!

1

Obama's Inaugural Speech: Part I

2:48

2

Obama's Inaugural Speech: Part II

3:08

3

Obama's Inaugural Speech: Part III

3:45

4

Obama's Inaugural Speech: Part IV

4:52

5

Obama's Inaugural Speech, Part V

3:54

6

Inauguration: Barack Obama Sworn in As 44th Pre...

1:09

20 Jan 2009 and today Obama is about to inherit the following:

Here is more explanation outlining serious issues:

Can't wait for January 20th 2009

Pick him up with your mouse, drag the idiot around and give him a hard time : )