contributions

Iceland Risks Bankruptcy, Leader Says
By CHARLES FORELLE
REYKJAVÍK, Iceland — Saying Iceland was at risk of "national bankruptcy," Prime Minister Geir Haarde prepared to give regulators authority to take over the nation’s ailing banks as a worsening financial crisis all but cut off the island from the global financial system.
Credit lines to Iceland’s banks closed down Monday, Mr. Haarde said in a televised address. Late Monday, Iceland’s parliament was voting on an emergency law that (…)

Arundhati Roy on Obama, Bush and Kashmir
By Syed Hamad Ali
06 October 2008
The controversial author speaks to newstatesman.com about India and Kashmir plus her view that even if he’s elected Barack Obama will govern like just another white man...
Ever since she shot to global fame following her 1997 win of the Booker prize for The God of Small Things, Arundhati Roy seems to have concentrated her creative energy on raising awareness about pressing social and political issues.
This (…)

Kashmir Watch, October 6
By Abid Mustafa*
Lately, a number of contradictory statements between Europe and America over NATO operations in Afghanistan have raised awkward questions about the longevity of NATO’s mission in Afghanistan.
Already cracks in the alliance have started to widen over the success of NATO operations.
On 6/10/2008 the "Sunday Times" quoted Brigadier Mark Carleton-Smith as saying: ”We’re not going to win this war. It’s about reducing it to a manageable level of (…)

European Stocks Fall, Led by RBS, Barclays; U.S. Futures Drop By Michael Patterson
Oct. 7 (Bloomberg) — European stocks fell for a second day as concern that financial firms may need more capital overshadowed speculation central banks around the world will reduce borrowing costs. U.S. index futures and Asian shares declined.
Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc tumbled 39 percent after the bank had its credit rating cut for the first time in 10 years on a weak ``financial profile.’’ Asian (…)

Brazil, Argentina abandon US dollar
Tue, 07 Oct 2008 08:03:52 GMT
Brazil’s President Lula da Silva (R) and Argentina’s President Fernandez de Kirchner
Brazil and Argentina have launched a new payment system in their bilateral trade, doing away with the US dollar as a medium of exchange.
The two Latin American nations started the Payment System on Local Currency (SML) on Monday following a last month agreement inked by their presidents to use local currencies in a bid to end (…)

Financial storm hits US-allied Pakistan
Tue, 07 Oct 2008 01:09:54 GMT
Karachi’s KSE100 Index has lost more than a third of its value this year and the rupee has fallen 27 percent.
Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves have hit so low that the country can only afford one month of imports and faces possible bankruptcy.
President Asif Ali Zardari told the Wall Street Journal that Pakistan needed a bail out worth $100 billion from the international community to overcome the nation’s (…)

By Anwar Iqbal
Source: "The Dawn"
WASHINGTON, Oct 6: The United States said on Monday it’s “very supportive” of an Afghan reconciliation effort that could bring the Taliban back into the government in Kabul after severing their ties with Al Qaeda.
A CNN report claimed that the Taliban had already agreed to dump Al Qaeda, a militant group the United States blames for sponsoring the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the United States.
“We’re very supportive of an Afghan reconciliation (…)

The Terminator Cries Uncle By David Glenn Cox
Yes, Governor Arnold cries for his Uncle to save him! He warns Treasury Secretary Paulson in his best Austrian accent, "You must help us, ve are close to running out of cash to fund day-to-day government operations and we are unable to access routine, short-term loans.”
A year ago the pundits and experts assured us that it was the subprime market mess that was causing the stock market disruption. They predicted losses (…)