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Daily Reports are Highlighted in Red. They will proceed chronologically down the page and onto the next page each week or so as space is required. Quotations of newsfacts are highlighted in blue or grey. Namron Soar Editorial is in Black with notes in Grey. Daily pictures are posted in Gallery, click ’Pix’ button at top.

~~~~~~~ Friday May 16, 2008 The Height of Brinkmanship ~~~~~~~

A lot of the Fed actions and the Bankers responses seem to make sense at this point and the brinkmanship is exemplary...

As usual there is always the possibility that the doomsayers are wrong. The American power brokers somehow got away with killing Dr Martin Luther King and John F Kennedy without the truth ever coming out. There is no official admission that these most recent wars are not over terrorism but rather oil and now the web is rife with accusations that there were explosions that caused the twin towers to fall (Google twintowersstory on U-tube). None of the foregoing has had any real effect on the economy apart from the tarnish on reputation but recent chicanery in the real estate market, mega deficit figures, crashing banks and financial institutions getting bailout really do. Also the real power structure of the USA is the military industrial complex that needs war to survive and will find any way it can to cause one. Canada is like the stupid brother that gets bullied all the time and pretends that the US is a righteous nation driven by equality and freedom. Some of that idea is still true but deep down the US is fast becoming a rotten superpower bent on consumption, degradation of the environment and world domination at the expense of all else.

The world, on the other hand is mainly composed of mini USA’s that all espouse the same interests and all ignore any signs that things are going badly. Africa is a good example of the inadequacy of humans to cope with information as guidance. Any thinking race of people would curtail it’s birth rate when millions are starving or you would think so, but that never happened, millions continue to go through famine after famine. Also the work that Canadians like Stephen Lewis are doing for the aids victims in Africa is to be lauded but you just have to ask yourself; What are they thinking? Why do the people there keep having unprotected sex and transmitting the disease at such an enormous rate?? Why are humans such confounded idiots?

Now we see the Chinese trying to industrialize and doing it in the most uncontrolled way. The Olympics just happen to be in Bejing soon and the pictures we see of the facilities are obscured with a polluted haze as are many of the city street pictures we see on the tube. Chinese wear dust masks as the grope their way about on the streets of industrializing cities. The products that the Chinese export to the world are gaining in volume surpassing the Japanese and steadily increasing their reputation of shoddiness to the point that few now trust anything made or packaged there.

Worldwide our best effort at controlling pollution is called Kyoto and makes little sense, is having very little effect and being reduced to foolishness like carbon trading where polluters buy the right to continue with their bad habits. Consumers worldwide are clamoring for goods and could care less how much they pollute, generally speaking, and our only real hope is that the whole affair will collapse and manufacturing will grind to a halt and people will be forced to look for a system that is environmentally cleaner and not powered and controlled by money. Probably nothing like that will ever happen. The chances of humans figuring out their mistakes without being hammered on the head with a catastrophe are slim to none, given our reputation to date. The chances of humans giving up the influence and power of the almighty buck for a more humane and world friendly system are also very slim. So what could happen?

There is no doubt that the worlds peoples are fed up with themselves. Collectively as various civilizations we tend to do the same thing historically which amounts to a cyclical rise to an apex such as the Roman Empire followed by a collapse. Sometimes these collapses are survivable such as the English rise to the major world power as a manufacturer and colonizer followed by the giving up of most of the colonies to their own power structures and the loss of manufacturing to Japan. There are always hopeful signs such as the Swedish and Scandinavian industrial developments of sustainable and earth friendly practices and things like wind farms and geothermal heating. The problem is that most of these hopeful signs are far too tiny to have an effect on our rampant industrial growth and attendant pollution. Generally Canadians and Americans are getting fatter using more and more pollutant gasoline, using pollutant industrial systems like the tar sands and slipping farther and farther into debt. Lets have a look at the appropriate news stories.

Nsoar

~~~~~~ May Midmonth Economy Stories - A Mixed Bag ~~~~~~

Friday, May 16, 2008 - 1:48 PM PDT

Poll: Many see "depression" in U.S. economyLos Angeles Business from bizjournals

Many of the voters in a recent informal Los Angeles Business from bizjournals poll said they saw the economy currently in a "depression".

In the poll, 37 percent of voters said they saw the U.S. economy in a depression, while 25 percent saw it in an improvement. Twenty one percent of respondents answered "other" and 15 percent answered "what recession?".

Comments included: "Lingering downturn if not recession."

"I believe we are in a correction that will result in lower housing and non-fossil fuel economy and more emphasis on actual economic growth from segements with sound business ideas instead of the extra money that has been floating around the pass 20-years."

"By the end of the summer, the economic slowdown will be over. After all, it’s an election year."

"Income, jobs and access to funds are decreasing while costs of goods are increasing. Consumer confidence is down which is hurting the economy too. It’s snowballing."

"Basic cost centers have double or tripled: Food, Gas & Utilities."

"Temporary setback due to oil prices and consumer debt"

~~~~~~ Japan’s economy grows briskly despite credit woes ~~~~~~

TOKYO (AFP) - Japan’s economy grew at a faster than expected 3.3 percent annualised pace in the first quarter of 2008 despite a global credit crunch and US economic slowdown, official figures showed Friday.

The world’s second-largest economy remained in sound health as robust exports to China and other emerging markets offset weaker demand in the United States for Japanese cars and other goods.

A rebound in housing investment and rising consumer spending also helped to ensure a third consecutive quarter of positive growth for Asia’s biggest economy, which is gradually recovering from recession in the 1990s.

"Japan does appear to be in a sweet spot where demand for capital imports from Asia is offsetting weakness in consumer and auto exports to North America," said Societe Generale economist Glenn Maguire.

~~~~~~ NPR News - Is the Economy Looking Better? - by Jim Zarroli ~~~~~~

All Things Considered, May 16, 2008 . A few weeks ago, most economists were convinced that the United States was in a recession, or at least headed for one. But now some say they’re not so sure. Some key economic indicators suggest that growth hasn’t slowed as much as the doomsayers predicted. Are these numbers just a blip? Or has the impact of the sub-prime mortgage crisis on the economy been exaggerated?

~~~~~~ Scotiabank expert paints bleak picture of U.S. economy ~~~~~~

Fri, May 16, 2008 By HANK DANISZEWSKI, SUN MEDIA Says London might benefit from diversified industries

Canada car plants should pursue sales to new global markets and reduce dependence on the "sick" American economy, says a Scotiabank economist.

Speaking in London this morning, Aron Gampel painted a bleak picture of the US economy, saying it could continue to drag down the manufacturing sector in Southwestern Ontario for years to come.

But Gampel said growing consumer spending in countries such as China, Russia, Indian and Brazil is picking up the slack and the combined auto market in those countries could soon eclipse the US market.

"We have to have better reciprocity with other nations. We have to be able to send Canadian-made vehicles and parts," said Gampel, who is deputy chief economist for Scotiabank.