January 11, 2011

• NoteWorthy News 1-11-11
  
  aNNa’S NoTe:  It’s been a while… since September?  That’s horrible on my part.  But there’s been some things even as recent as yesterday that dropped my jaw, and it’s time for another one of these.  Both to catch me up AND show you something I found that… wha.  But backing up, first…

   FORECLOSURES STILL CLIMBING 
  http://www.boston.com/business/…oreclosure…ear/
  Sept 16 - Lenders took back more homes in August than in any month since the start of the U.S. mortgage crisis. 
  …In all, banks repossessed 95,364 properties last month, up 3 percent from July and an increase of 25 percent from August 2009, RealtyTrac said.  August makes the ninth month in a row that the pace of homes lost to foreclosure has increased on an annual basis.

  …Concerns are growing that the housing market recovery could stumble amid stubbornly high unemployment, a sluggish economy and faltering consumer confidence.  …More than 2.3 million homes have been repossessed by lenders since the recession began in December 2007, according to RealtyTrac. The firm estimates more than 1 million American households are likely to lose their homes to foreclosure this year [2010].
  aNNa’S NoTe: Wonder what the final number was.  At any rate, I kept this to show that the ‘recovery’ that everyone said we were having last year… wasn’t.  For the record.  And I don’t think it’s gonna be this year, either.  Brian and I actually went and looked at a foreclosed home just a week or so ago… LoL… ahem.

   INSIDER SELLING AT HIGHEST EVER TRACKED 
  http://www.cnbc.com/id/39850796
  Oct 26 – The overwhelming volume of sell transactions relative to buy transactions by company insiders over the last six months in key leading sectors of the market is the worst Alan Newman…has ever seen since he began tracking the data. The strategist looked at insider trading activity amongst… three of the most important leading sectors of the market have seen their executives classified as insiders sell more than 120 million shares of stock over the last six months. Top executives at these very same companies bought just 38,000 shares over that same time period, making for an eye-popping sell to buy ratio of 3,177 to one.

  …’Clearly, insiders are seeing great value only in cash. Their actions speak volumes for the veracity for the current rally.’  But the overall market doesnt seem to care. …Still ‘insiders normally buy early and sell early too. Longer term — 12 months out — it is more of a red flag.’

  …’These are folks that have had to dip into their stocks for the first time in years, as their salaries have been cut and their bonuses, outside Wall Street, have been significantly curtailed,’ said J.J. Kinahan, chief derivatives strategist for TD Ameritrade. ‘This may speak more to a cash flow problem, then a market belief.’

  Still Newman, who is also a favorite commentator of Barrons columnist Alan Abelson, sees the insider selling as just the latest reason, along with the mortgage foreclosure mess and fully invested mutual fund managers with no fresh powder to put to work, to be cautious on the market.
  aNNa’S NoTe: So not only is the foreclosure ratio bad, the markets are really bad, too.  As of October, the worst ever recorded.  What I find interesting is that they were only looking at the first six months of this trend.  They said if it went on 12 months, it would be a red flag.  This article was four months ago.  Wonder where we’re trending at the moment… may  have to look into that.

   MULTICULTURALISM 
  http://www.guardian.co.uk/…failures
  Chancellor Angela Merkel has declared the death of multiculturalism in Germany, saying that it had “failed utterly” , in what has been interpreted as a startling shift from her previous views. The German leader said it had been an illusion to think that Germans and foreign workers could “live happily side by side”.

  “We kidded ourselves for a while that they wouldn’t stay, but that’s not the reality,” she said at a conference…”Of course the tendency had been to say, ‘let’s adopt the multicultural concept and live happily side by side, and be happy to be living with each other’. But this concept has failed, and failed utterly,” she said, without elaborating on the nature and causes of this failure.

  Merkel’s verdict marks a shift in her previously liberal line on immigration which had always put her at odds with the more conservative wing of the party.  …Merkel faces pressure to take a tougher line on immigration, particularly on so-called “integrationsverweigerer” or those immigrants who show a lack of willingness to adapt to the majority culture, by, for example, refusing to attend German language classes.

  …Last week a study by the Friedrich Ebert foundation found more than 30% of people questioned agreed that …some immigrants had only come to Germany to take advantage of its social welfare, and therefore “should be sent home when jobs are scarce”.
  aNNa’S NoTe: I find this FASCINATING, because Merkel and the EU are ALL about a one-world union, a joining of all peoples together.  Suddenly, it’s become clear to them that it’s not working.  It’s actually bankrupting them.  And their issues are the SAME ISSUES we have here, can you believe it?  ((LoL!!))  Can I jump ahead a little and show you something else?

   A GREEK FENCE? 
  http://articles.cnn.com/…fence-proposal…RLD
  Greece’s decision to build a 12-kilometer (7.5-mile) fence along its border with Turkey in a bid to curb illegal immigration has caused mixed reactions, with humanitarian agencies saying the fence could prevent asylum seekers from reaching safety.

  The European Union border control agency Frontex has said that in October 2010, an average of 245 people per day crossed into Greece illegally, mostly from the overland crossing with Turkey in northeastern Greece.  …”These are not just Greece’s borders, but also those of the European Union,” Esdras said. “And people will carry on trying to reach a better life unless conditions in their home countries are improved. This is something governments should together be focusing on.”

   SOLANA (07) ON FENCES 
  http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com…the-wall-2011-01-03
  Illegal immigration has been a major problem for European Union countries, which many people believe can offer a better quality of life than they currently have.  …As we reported yesterday, Greece now mulls a plan to build a wall or a fence on the countrys border with Turkey, hoping that the flow of migrants through Turkey can be tackled. …The Turkish-Greek border is one of the most popular destinations for asylum seekers from countries such as Iraq, Pakistan and Afghanistan who are trying to reach Europe. Greece currently accounts for 90 percent of the EUs detected illegal border crossings, figures from the European border agency Frontex show.

  …In April 2007, Javier Solana who was the European Union foreign policy at the time, criticized U.S. plans to extend barriers on the Mexican border.  ‘A wall that separates one country from another is not something that I like or that European Union members like,’ Solana said at a news conference in Mexico City. ‘We don’t think walls are reasonable instruments to stop people from crossing into a country.’
  aNNa’S NoTe: Well, THIS should be interesting, shouldn’t it?  In October Germany (recall Merkel’s right-hand man is one of Solana’s lackeys) announces that ‘multiculturalism’ is dead, then four months later a fence is in the works.  Fun, fun.  ((snort!))  Can I stay on the same track for a moment?  Backing up, still, but…

   ASSININE ASHTON 
  http://www.google.com/host…iUCngg
  April 2010 – European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said Saturday she could not attend next month’s Middle East peace talks because of a China trip, and she had no place there anyway.  …The EU will “still have plenty more opportunities to contribute to the process and will be called upon to help support the talks.”

  The EU is part of the so-called Middle East Quartet, working along with Russia, the United Nations and the United States to try to bring peace to the region.

  Ashton said former British prime minister Tony Blair would represent the Quartet in Washington, but neither UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon nor Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov would be there, “as they respect that this is the best way forward and the spotlight should be firmly focused on the talks themselves.”  She said she…would be debriefed personally by US Middle East envoy Senator George Mitchell and Blair immediately afterwards.
  aNNa’S NoTe: This woman clearly doesn’t value her JOB.  No place in the Middle East talks?!  Hello, Solana RAN those talks when he was High Representative of the EU!!  She’s either not bright or has a political death wish.  So what happened next? Check THIS out!

   SOLANA SPEAKS OUT! 
  http://euobserver.com/9/31477
  Dec 10 - A large group of former EU leaders and commissioners, including Catherine Ashtons predecessor Javier Solana, has urged the Union to take sanctions against Israel on settlements. But Ms Ashtons reply indicates the plea will go unheard.  The letter warns in a note of urgency that “time is fast running out” because “Israel’s continuation of settlement activity … poses an existential threat to the prospects of establishing a sovereign, contiguous and viable Palestinian state.”

  The letter is signed by 26 notables including 10 former leaders of European countries, 10 former ministers and several former EU commissioners. …It also represents the first time that the forerunner of EU foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton, Javier Solana, has come out of the wings to challenge the newcomer.

  Ms Ashton says. “The European Union will continue to be at the forefront of efforts to advance the peace process and engage with both the Palestinians and the Israelis to find a way to resolve the conflict.”
  aNNa’S NoTe: HAHAHA!!  EU will continue to be a the forefront (which was SOLANA’S position) when she doesn’t even feel it’s her place to show up for talks?!  Every European big-wig is coming out of the WOODWORK to file grievance against her stance/actions – INCLUDING Solana!!  I told you… the man is NOT gone.  And as far as I’m concerned, he’s STILL the prime candidate for AntiChrist.  The Power that man has… and can I show you something REALLY kewl?!

   10 HORNS & a LITTLE HORN 
  http://www.jpost.com/International/Article.aspx?id=199012
  Twenty-six former European Union leaders, including the EU’s former top diplomat, Javier Solana, issued a letter last week calling for boycotts and sanctions targeting Israel due to settlement construction. Ten former European leaders signed the December 6 letter…

  In an interview with the BBC, Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor said the former EU leaders fixation on the settlements is ‘strange and harmful.’

  Tirawi expressed fear of an ‘explosion’ in the Palestinian territories, not only because of the settlements, but also due to the ‘threat’ to the Aksa Mosque in Jerusalem. ‘Ive been reading about warnings from an Israeli security official that parts of the Aksa Mosque may collapse,’ he said. ‘I have warned in the past and say now that we can speculate what would happen if one stone of the Aksa Mosque falls. I fear we are headed toward an explosion. This could be the trigger that would set a fire in the whole region.’
  aNNa’S NoTe: Check it:  the letter was signed 2010.12.06 (2010.6.6+6), 7 pages onge, by 10 former EU leaders plus Solana, probably at 66 Knightsbridge, London.  That’s 10 ‘horns’ and ‘a little horn’… that are called ‘fixated’ on Israel in a ‘strange and harmful way’.  If that wasn’t enough, we just had two ‘hints’ of things to come:  1) the collapse of the mosque on Temple Mount, and 2) the fires.  Oh, you DID hear about the fires, right?  Let’s back up again…

   ISRAEL BURNING 
  http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/ba…ntrol.html
  DEC 5- …After days of flames that gripped the Israel’s Carmel woodlands and mesmerized the nation, came the magic word everyone was waiting for. “Control has been attained,” announced Fire Chief Shimon Romach Sunday evening, and police officials allowed all but one evacuated community to return to their homes.

  Still, “control doesn’t mean it’s over,” cautioned firefighter Boaz Rakia, who expects renewed outbursts of flames in numerous hot spots. Firefighters will remain widely deployed, he said.  …Initial figures estimate the overall damage caused by the fire at $450 million, according to the Maariv daily…
  aNNa’S NoTe: There’s a lot of talk in Jewish circles, because in Jeremiah it says that Carmel will be laid to waste, and some Jewish (mystics) are even saying they’ve had ‘visions’ that Haifa would be burned as a sign of the coming Mosiach.  I don’t buy into the mystical thing, but Jeremiah I’m down with… although I think we have a LONG way to go, yet.  The horrors are only just beginning.  

   ERUPTIONS IN RUSSIA 
  http://www.breitbart.com/article…icle=1
  OCT 28 – The Klyuchevskaya Sopka, Eurasia’s highest active volcano, exploded along with the Shiveluch volcano, 45 miles (70 kilometers) to the northeast, the Russian Emergency Situations Ministry’s branch in Kamchatka said, adding that flights in the area had to change course.  Ash clouds from the remote volcanoes billowed up to 33,000 feet (10 kilometers) and were spreading east across the Pacific Ocean, vulcanologist Sergei Senyukov told Rossiya 24 television. Streams of lava flowed down the slopes of Shiveluch. 

  …The Emergency Situations Ministry warned Thursday that another volcano across the peninsula to the south, Gorely, has begun spewing gases and could erupt any moment. Gorely is located about 45 miles (70 kilometers) south of Kamchatka’s regional capital, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky.Kamchatka volcanoes are part of the “Ring of Fire” string of volcanoes encircling the Pacific.

  The Russian eruptions are not related to the recent activity of Indonesian volcanoes, said Lee Siebert, director of the Smithsonian Institution’s Global Volcanism Program. On Tuesday, eruption of the Mount Merapi volcano in Indonesia killed 33 people.
  aNNa’S NoTe: I chose this article because it mentions ALL of the major eruptions that have been going on around the world.  If I was keeping track of earthquakes last year, they’ve been joined by a growing list of eruptions this past year.

   FLOODING IN AUSTRALIA 
  http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/01/world/asia/01australia.html
  Jan 1 -  Rising waters have knocked out roads… trapping motorists, marooning entire towns and driving thousands from their homes as flooding stretched into its second week on Saturday. More than 200,000 people have been affected so far by the floods, local news media reported. The dangerous floodwaters that have spread across roughly half the state of Queensland, on the continent’s northeastern coast, showed no sign of retreating on Saturday as river surges continued to make their way toward the sea.

  On Friday, the city of Rockhampton, near the coast, was bracing for major flooding, with officials warning that the Fitzroy River, which runs through the city center, could reach levels not seen since 1918 by Tuesday. Roughly 30,000 residents in Rockhampton could be affected, officials said.

  The flooding began last week as Cyclone Tasha crashed into the northeastern coast. …About 300,000 square miles have been affected by the flooding, officials told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
  aNNa’S NoTe: I don’t know if you’ve been following, but I have a blogger friend in Australia who’s keeping me WELL updated.  There was a cyclone, followed by a flash flood followed by non-stop rains since BEFORE the X-mess holidays.  Australia is under water.  This article was from New Year’s Day.  A week and a half later…?

    WALLS OF WATER – INLAND TSUNAMI 
  http://nz.news.yahoo.com/au…-missing/
  Jan 11 – Australian police have launched a major search and rescue operation after devastating flash floods killed eight people, left more than 70 missing and threatened Tuesday to swamp the country’s third-largest city.  The death toll from the worst flooding in the state of Queensland in half a century was expected to climb, state premier Anna Bligh told journalists, saying the situation was grim and desperate.

  Four were killed in Toowoomba, a town west of Queensland state capital Brisbane, after heavy rains sent a 2-metre wall of water through streets Monday, carrying away cars and pedestrians.  “It just picked up cars like matchbox toys,” Toowoomba resident Debbie Huxley told Sky TV. “You would never have believed it unless you saw it.”

  Rivers in some areas rose more than 8 metres in an hour, catching residents and authorities completely by surprise.  Damage caused by floods in Queensland that started after heavy rains before Christmas could reach $6 billion
  aNNa’S NoTe: THAT’S a lotta water.  Wanna see some pictures of what they’re going thru?

  
  

  
  

  
  Y’know, I don’t want to inundate you, here.  ((pun intended))  Maybe I should split it into two NoteWorthies?   I think so.  I haven’t gotten to the news that I’m just fair ITCHIN’ to tell you… but at least now I’m a little caught up, and a little excited about things again (Solana, etc.).  More tomorrow…!!

  • 12:46 pm
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