October 6, 8:52 PM - A Michigan witness reports watching a sphere crossing the sky that looked like a "bright white round ball,' according to testimony from the Mutual UFO Network (MUFON) database.
The witness was able to shoot a couple of photos and some video.
Following is the unedited report. Please keep in mind that most UFO reports can be explained as something natural or manmade. If MUFON investigates and reports back on this case, I will update this page.
MI, October 5, 2009 - White Sphere moving west to east. MUFON Case # 19834.
I went out my back yard to a field that is an old golf course. I had my camera with me as I usually do.
I noticed a bright white round ball in the sky. I began shooting pictures and then took some video footage of this object as it went from right to left (west to east).
I would estimate this object as being over a mile away. I continued taping until the object could not be seen as it passed behind the trees. There was no noise that i could detect.
It also looked to be shimmering, or reflective.
For more info: Visit MUFON on the web - the Center for UFO Studies - and InCahoots.TV.
Tuesday , October 06, 2009
The scale of the phishing attack on Hotmail could stretch further than first thought, with accounts on Google and Yahoo now threatened.
Microsoft confirmed on Monday that the popular email site had been the target of a scam which tricked users into revealing their passwords. This led to around 10,000 passwords being posted online.
The computer company said their servers were not responsible for the security breach and that individuals had been conned into handing over their details. But it has been reported that more lists have also been circulated with genuine account information relating to email on Google, Yahoo, Comcast and Earthlink, as well as other third-party web mail services.
Neil O'Neil, an ethical hacker and digital forensics investigator at secure payments specialist The Logic Group, said up to a million passwords could have been accessed.
"Making the breach public so soon after the attack occurred has allowed unethical hackers to access the passwords very easily, even though they were deleted a couple of days ago at the request of Microsoft," he explained.
"People tend to have the same password across many accounts — so there is a good chance that individuals have also compromised the integrity of their ebay or paypal accounts too.
"The list went through A and B, so you would think whoever released these has more. And if you do the maths, they could have more than a million passwords."
Hackers and cybercriminals attempt to trick people into handing over personal details, including email addresses and passwords. Internet users may be directed to false websites, set up to mirror legitimate websites, that feed information back to the criminals.
News of the scam broke when technology blog neowin.net reported an anonymous user had published confidential details on pastebin.com. Internet users are urged to change their passwords regularly and ensure anti-virus software is up to date to protect themselves from fraudsters.
A Microsoft spokesman said: "We are aware that some Windows Live Hotmail customers' credentials were acquired illegally by a phishing scheme and exposed on a website."
They added that they requested the details be removed from the internet and they launched an immediate investigation. The company are also taking measures to block the accounts which were hit.
A spokesman for Google said they were aware that some gmail accounts had been part of the phishing scam and said — while their servers were not responsible — they had taken steps to ensure security.
And a spokesman for Yahoo said they take great effort to protect their users' security and that they urge consumers to take measures to secure their accounts whenever possible, including changing their passwords.
Hyper-inflation has always been a currency event, not an economic event. The currency event has always been, for whatever reason it occurred, a loss of confidence phenomenon. Clearly confidence in the US dollar and its management is slipping. Historically when this currency event comes about the transition is extremely fast.
We have been doing a countdown to the beginning of the end, or that process acceleration. There are 33 days to go.......
A California man reports seeing an oval-shaped UFO and a one to two-foot-tall creature on his property September 30, 2009, according to witness testimony from the Mutual UFO Network (MUFON) database.
The oval-shaped craft was seen about 3 p.m. after the man reported seeing a reflection of the object off of a camper shell window.
At 9:50 p.m., the man said he went outside to feed his cat and saw “something flashing colorful lights” just off his porch steps that was no bigger than a baseball.
The man took two steps toward the object and realized it was being held by “something” that stood no more than one or two feet tall.
Both the man and the “creature” were startled and moved away from each other.
The witness claims he heard the object hit the ground, but when he went back to the area to look for it, nothing was there.
The following is the unedited witness statement from MUFON. Please keep in mind that most UFO reports can be explained as something natural or manmade. If MUFON investigates and reports back on this case, I will update this page
CA. September 30, 2009 – Oval craft scared my cat / Strange blinking lights in my yard later that night. MUFON Case # 19797.
Around 3:00pm I was watching my cat sitting in the yard from inside my house, looking out a sliding glass door. He was looking out into a field and then looked straight up. His ears went flat and his eyes were big and he ducked down and quickly ran to a tree to climb but stopped halfway looking up all around.
At that moment a saw a reflection of a black oval (off of a camper shell window in the driveway) moving away to the left. I have tall trees all around the house but only the sky can be seen in the reflection.
I went and picked up the cat and he was trembling and shaking.
Later that night at exactly 9:50 I went outside to feed the cat, as I stepped out of the door I saw something flashing colorful lights just off the porch steps in the yard no bigger than a baseball. It was very dark and I took 2 steps towards it and noticed that it was being held by “something” about 1 to 2 feet tall.
I was startled and jumped back and at the same time the “thing” was startled too and dropped the flashy thing and ran away super fast. I looked where “it” dropped the flashy light thing cause it was right in front of my pumpkin patch. I heard it hit the ground and later believe it bent a pumpkin leaf stem. Nothing there. I was terrified by then and went inside to collect my self.
STRIPES' PACIFIC STORM TRACKER BLOG: Updates on Melor
Midnight Japan time Tuesday, Oct. 6: All indications remain the same, except Typhoon Melor's forecast track keeps inching further northwest of the Kanto Plain toward the mountains of Central Honshu known as the Japan Alps. Okinawa getting buffeted by 50-mph gusts and rain bands as I type this; that should end late Wednesday morning. Landfall still forecast by Joint Typhoon Warning Center for 9 a.m. Thursday over Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture more than 200 miles west-southwest of Tokyo, at which point it will still be packing 80-mph sustained winds and 100-mph gusts.
YOKOSUKA NAVAL BASE, Japan — Most of 7th Fleet’s ships and fighter jets have left their bases near Tokyo in advance of Typhoon Melor’s impending arrival, officials said Tuesday.
As of 5 p.m. Tuesday, forecasters predicted Typhoon Melor’s eye to veer about 160 miles west of the Kanto Plain, which includes bases from all four branches of the armed forces. Meteorologists still expected Wednesday and Thursday to come with heavy rains and winds gusting up to 75 mph over inland areas such as Naval Air Facility Atsugi, 30 miles southwest of Tokyo.
The storm’s eye was projected to come ashore at Hamamatsu, packing 98 mph sustained winds and 121 mph gusts, as of Tuesday evening.
“This (typhoon) is one where we felt it prudent to get the ships out to sea for safety,” 7th Fleet spokesman Cmdr. Jeff Davis said.
The USS Shiloh, USS Fitzgerald and USS Lassen each left Yokosuka — about 35 miles south of Tokyo — on Monday. The aircraft carrier USS George Washington, USS Cowpens, USS O’Kane and USS Mustin left Tuesday, he said.
Most of the ships were already scheduled to get under way shortly, Davis said. Only the USS Lassen will return to port following the storm.
The USS John S. McCain, USS Stethem and U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Assateague remained at Yokosuka on Tuesday, as did multiple destroyers on the Japanese side of the harbor.
The USNS Able, a contracted ship owned by the Military Sealift Command, moved from its less-protected berth in Yokohama over to Yokosuka.
Meanwhile, fighter jets based at Atsugi flew out to sea to land on the USS George Washington on Tuesday, said Atsugi base spokesman Tim McGough.
Helicopter Anti-Submarine Squadron Light 51’s helicopters and the base’s C-12 airplanes are being secured in hangars, he said.
The military bases surrounding Tokyo are likely to get six to 10 inches of rainfall, Lt. Allan Howard of Naval Aviation Forecast Detachment Atsugi said Tuesday. Howard expects the heaviest rain between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. on Thursday.
Earlier this week, the storm’s eye appeared to be headed within about 30 miles of Yokosuka. Despite Melor’s turn to the west, the cool, dry air upstream of the storm will likely still mean high winds over the Kanto Plain, Howard said.
orld without firing a shot.
Source: Government Accountability Office
1. Civilian Agencies’ Development and Implementation of Insourcing Guidelines
New Guide Available from U.S. Government for Community and Faith-Based Organizations Working to Help Americans Stay Healthy from H1N1 and Seasonal Flu
Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
The new guide, which is available for download at flu.gov and www.hhs.gov/partnership or in hard copy from the Department of Health and Human Services, highlights ways organizations can contribute to flu response efforts by:
- Communicating health information effectively and quickly in a culturally relevant and trustworthy manner;
- Supporting vaccination efforts by encouraging people to get seasonal and 2009 H1N1 vaccinations according to federal recommendations and offering buildings and resources for vaccination distribution;
- Linking vulnerable and hard-to-reach populations to vital information and resources; and
- Expanding and adjusting organizational activities to help people stay healthy — for example, by supporting school-based flu response through child-care and youth programs, and ensuring healthy work environments for staff and volunteers.
Leafy Greens, Eggs, & Tuna Top List of Riskiest FDA-Regulated Foods
Source: Center for Science in the Public Interest
Leafy greens, eggs, and tuna are on the top of a list of the 10 riskiest foods regulated by the Food and Drug Administration. Those and seven other foods account for nearly 40 percent of all foodborne outbreaks linked to FDA-regulated food. That’s no reason to forgo the occasional salad Nicoise, says the Center for Science in the Public Interest, which authored the report, nor need one pass up tomatoes, sprouts, and berries, even though those foods are also on the list. But the nonprofit watchdog group says the presence of so many healthy foods on such a list is exactly why the United States Senate should follow the House and pass legislation that reforms our fossilized food safety laws.
The FDA is responsible for regulating produce, seafood, egg and dairy products, as well as typical packaged foods such as cookie dough and peanut butter — nearly 80 percent of the food supply. More than 1,500 separate, definable outbreaks were associated with the top 10 riskiest FDA-regulated foods, causing nearly 50,000 reported illnesses. Since most foodborne illnesses are never reported, these outbreaks are only the tip of a large, hulking iceberg.
+ Full Document (PDF; 406 KB)
Hat tip: PW
Proposed Medical Device Tax Would More than Double Taxes Paid By Companies, Raise Costs for Patients and Harm U.S. Competitiveness
Source: Advanced Medical Technology Association
The proposed $40 billion tax on America’s medical device manufacturers would result in a doubling of the tax burden already faced by these companies and would likely contribute to health cost growth, according to a new analysis released today by the Advanced Medical Technology Association (AdvaMed).
In addition, the study by Dr. Robert Carroll, former U.S. Treasury Department official in the Office of Tax Analysis and currently senior fellow at the Tax Foundation and executive-in-residence at American University’s School of Public Affairs, found the new tax would likely shift technological innovation abroad as the average tax rate for the device and diagnostics industry would rise from 23 percent currently to nearly 50 percent.
“These disturbing findings reaffirm that the $40 billion tax on medical devices over the next decade is neither sound health policy nor tax policy, will result in higher costs for patients and will cost jobs in this sector,” said Stephen J. Ubl, president and CEO of AdvaMed. “We urge Congress to reject the $40 billion tax.”
+ Full Report (PDF; 46 KB)
NOAA Reports Health of Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary
Source: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
A new NOAA report on the health of California’s Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary indicates that the overall condition of the sanctuary’s marine life and habitat ranges from good (highest rating) to fair (moderate rating), but identifies several threats to sanctuary resources, such as growing coastal populations, agricultural and urban runoff, vessel traffic and marine debris.
“The sanctuary was designated because of its extraordinary resources and qualities, and this report confirms its continued vitality,” said Paul Michel, Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary superintendent. “But it also reveals that expanding human population and activities require adaptive management strategies to preserve the sanctuary today and into the future.”
Prepared by NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries, the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary Condition Report rates the current condition of three marine environments: offshore, nearshore and estuarine. Four resource categories were considered for each of those environments: water quality, habitat, living resources and maritime archaeological resources.
+ Full Report
Monthly Labor Review — September 2009
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
Articles (PDFs) include:
+ Health care industries and the New York City labor market
+ Employment growth in the Kansas City, MO-KS, Metropolitan Statistical Area
+ Fifty years of BLS surveys on Federal employees’ pay
As Economy Impacts Halloween, Americans Get Creative
Source: National Retail Federation
One of the spookiest parts of Halloween this year may be the amount people plan to spend on their celebrations. According to the National Retail Federation’s 2009 Halloween Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey, conducted by BIGresearch, consumers are expected to spend an average of $56.31 on Halloween, down from $66.54 last year. Total spending on the holiday is expected to reach $4.75 billion.
Nearly one in three (29.6%) consumers say the state of the U.S. economy will impact their Halloween spending plans. Of those who will be affected, the largest majority (88.0%) plan to spend less overall. Others say they will be buying less candy (46.5%), using last year’s decorations without buying new ones (35.4%), making costumes instead of purchasing them (16.8%), reusing last year’s costumes (15.8%), and not participating in as many Halloween activities such as haunted houses or fall festivals (26.4%).
+ View full report and sample charts. (PDF; 49 KB)
+ View 2009 top costumes.
+ Watch a CNBC interview about Halloween spending with NRF’s Ellen Davis.
New Rules Protect Patients’ Genetic Information
Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Individuals’ genetic information will have greater protections through new regulations issued today by the U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS), Labor, and the Treasury.
The interim final rule will help ensure that genetic information is not used adversely in determining health care coverage and will encourage more individuals to participate in genetic testing, which can help better identify and prevent certain illnesses.
…
The interim final rule with request for comments and the notice of proposed rulemaking implement Title I of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 (GINA). Under GINA, and the interim final rule, group health plans and issuers in the group market cannot: increase premiums for the group based on the results of one enrollee’s genetic information; deny enrollment; impose pre-existing condition exclusions; or do other forms of underwriting based on genetic information. In the individual health insurance market, GINA prohibits issuers from using genetic information to deny coverage, raise premiums, or impose pre-existing condition exclusions.Further, under GINA and the new interim final regulations, group health plans and health insurance issuers in both the group and individual markets cannot request, require or buy genetic information for underwriting purposes or prior to and in connection with enrollment. Finally, plans and issuers are generally prohibited from asking individuals or family members to undergo a genetic test.
+ Full Document (PDF; 345 KB)
Taxing Soda Could Trim State Deficits (and Waistlines), Says Report
Source: Center for Science in the Public Interest
Even as 48 states and the District of Columbia are facing grim budget shortfalls, only 25 states currently impose special taxes on soda and other beverages with added sugar, and all of those taxes are very small. And according to a new paper from the Center for Science in the Public Interest, states could generate a total of more than $10 billion per year by levying a tax of 7 cents per 12-ounce can of Coke or Mountain Dew. If implemented by Congress in the form of a national excise tax, that $10 billion could make an important contribution toward paying for health coverage for all Americans.
Plus, says CSPI, the decrease in soda consumption due to a higher price would help reduce the incidence of obesity, diabetes and other costly chronic diseases. Americans spend approximately $147 billion a year on medical expenditures related to obesity, of which half is paid with Medicare and Medicaid dollars.
+ Full Paper (PDF; 225 KB)
New NPR/Kaiser/Harvard Poll Examines Public’s Views of the Role of Health Care Interest Groups in the Health Care Debate
Source: NPR, the Kaiser Family Foundation, and the Harvard School of Public Health
A new survey conducted jointly by NPR, the Kaiser Family Foundation, and the Harvard School of Public Health examines the public’s views and opinions of the role of health care interest groups in the ongoing federal health care debate. The survey examines whether people feel their views are represented in the ongoing legislative process and their level of trust in different groups.
NPR is reporting the poll findings in its coverage of the continuing health care debate in Washington, DC. on its news programs Morning Edition and All Things Considered.
The poll, Survey on the Role of Health Care Interest Groups, is part of a series of projects about health-related issues by NPR, the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, and the Harvard School of Public Health. Representatives of the three organizations worked together to develop the survey questionnaire and to analyze the results, with NPR maintaining editorial control over its broadcasts on the surveys.
Changes in the Distribution of Workers’ Annual Earnings Between 1979 and 2007
Source: Congressional Budget Office
Understanding how the annual earnings of workers have changed over time is integral to projecting possible changes in such earnings in the future and considering government tax and spending policies that affect workers. Last week CBO released a paper documenting changes in workers’ annual earnings during the past three decades.
The paper first describes changes between 1979 and 2007 in the annual (inflation-adjusted) earnings of workers ages 25 to 54. CBO found, as depicted in the figures below, that men with relatively low, median, and relatively high earnings (specifically, men at the 10th, 50th, and 90th percentiles of their earnings distribution) earned more than women in the same position of their own earnings distribution in 2007, and that those differences were smaller in 2007 than in 1979.
CBO also compared the differences in earnings between low, median, and high earners of the same sex in a given year. For men, the ratio of the earnings of high earners to those of median earners was larger in 2007 than in 1979, whereas the earnings ratio for median and low earners was roughly the same in the two years. For example, in 2007 men in the 90th percentile earned 2.4 times what men in the 50th percentile earned; that ratio was 1.8 in 1979. For women, in contrast, the ratio of the earnings of high earners to those of median earners was roughly the same in 2007 as it was in 1979, but the earnings ratio for median and low earners was smaller in 2007 than it was in 1979.
+ Full Paper (PDF; 779 KB)
Health Care Reform in Massachusetts: The Employer Response
Source: Health Affairs/Commonwealth Fund
As Congress and the Administration debate health care reform, it is instructive to look at the Massachusetts model, now in its third year. Health Affairs, the leading health policy journal, today released a study of workers in the Bay State who were interviewed in fall 2008 about their employer-sponsored health care coverage, following up on similar surveys in 2006 and 2007. Despite predictions that employers could reduce coverage or benefits under health reform, the results suggest the opposite, although premiums and out-of-pocket costs have increased for some employees in smaller companies.
+ Massachusetts Health Reform: Employer Coverage From Employees’ Perspective
Availability of Less Nutritious Snack Foods and Beverages in Secondary Schools —Selected States, 2002–2008
Source: Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (CDC)
Foods and beverages offered or sold in schools outside of U.S. Department of Agriculture school meal programs are not subject to federal nutrition standards (1) and generally are of lower nutritional quality than foods and beverages served in the meal programs. To estimate changes in the percentage of schools in which students could not purchase less nutritious foods and beverages, CDC analyzed 2002–2008 survey data from its School Health Profiles for public secondary schools. This report summarizes the results of those analyses, which indicated that, during 2002–2008, the percentage of schools in which students could not purchase candy or salty snacks not low in fat increased in 37 of 40 states. From 2006 to 2008, the percentage of schools in which students could not purchase soda pop or fruit drinks that were not 100% juice increased in all 34 participating states. Despite these improvements, in 2008, the percentage of schools among states in which students could not purchase sports drinks ranged from 22.7% to 84.8% (state median: 43.7%), and the percentage in which students could not purchase soda pop ranged from 25.6% to 92.8% (state median: 62.9%). The percentage of schools in which students could not purchase candy or salty snacks also varied widely among states (range: 18.2%–88.2%, state median: 61.2%). School and public health officials should increase efforts to eliminate availability of less nutritious foods and beverages at school, as recommended by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) (2).
New Report, Documentary Debunk Myth; Show that Heartland favors Health Care Reform
Source: Center for Community Change
Today, rural Americans cleared the air about their position on health care reform at the “Rural Issues in Health Care Reform” congressional briefing hosted by Reps. Tom Perriello (D-Va.) and Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.). Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-S.C.) and Rep. Steve Kagen (D-Wis.) spoke at the briefing. The antics of extremist tea baggers gave birth to the misconception that rural Americans were against health care reform when in fact the stories and findings of the new report and mini-documentary released at the briefing show otherwise.
“Rural communities have always been the geographic and moral heart of America,” said Sally Kohn, senior campaign strategist at the Center for Community Change. “What’s odd is that while members of Congress from rural states are wielding disproportionate power in the health care reform debate, rural voters have been largely invisible and ignored or portrayed as against reform. Not only do most rural Americans want health care reform, they need it even more than urban folks.”
According to the eye-opening report, “Sweet the Bitter Drought: Why Rural America Needs Health Care Reform,” rural Americans are more likely to be underinsured, less likely to have choices in insurance coverage, travel greater distances and often face shortages in health care providers, medical services and technology.
The briefing also included the release of a five minute documentary, “Health Care for the Heartland,” filmed at county fairs across the country this summer. Jean Chaud from Belgrade, Maine was among several rural community leaders to share her story with members of Congress. Jean talked about working at a small business in rural Maine, and trying to cover the costs for individual private insurance with two chronic medical conditions.
+ Full Report (PDF: 4.6 MB)
| U. S. Senate candidate Andy Martin calls for the imposition of martial law in Chicago | |
| The federal Justice Department is considering a new law to randomly force drivers to take roadside breath tests, regardless of whether police suspect they have been drinking, Canwest News Service has learned. | |
| A study found nearly a half-million youngsters a year require medical treatment in the U.S. | |
| There has never been a better time to be a consumer. America is on sale. | |
| Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke and former Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr. misled the public about the financial weakness of Bank of America and other early recipients of the government's $700 billion Wall Street bailout, creating "unrealistic expectations" about the companies and damaging the program's credibility, according to a report by the program's independent watchdog | |
| So as it turns out, even the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service has its own SWAT team. | |
| Fraud investigators in America have widened their inquiry into BAE Systems in a move that will further damage the defence giant's reputation and overshadow the company's attempts to win contracts in its most important market. | |
| The United States has reportedly established a secret military training camp just a few kilometres away from Islamabad. It is believed the camp is closely associated with private US defence contractor, DynCorp, which has made no statement on the issue. | |
| This is one of the inconvenient truths about renewable energy: sometimes it demands a huge amount of water. Certain types of solar farms, biofuel refineries and cleaner coal plants could consume billions of gallons every year. "When push comes to shove, water could become the real throttle on renewable energy," said Michael E Webber, an expert and the assistant professor at the University of Texas in Austin. | |
| Goldman Sachs stands to receive a payment of $1bn – while US taxpayers would lose $2.3bn – if embattled commercial lender CIT files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, people familiar with the matter said. | |
| The International Monetary Fund took on a bigger global role Sunday as its 186 member nations accepted the mantle of guiding a lasting economic recovery from the 20 largest economies. | |
| Janet Tavakoli is one of the foremost experts on structured finance and derivatives. Tavakoli made an outstanding presentation to the IMF last week on the fraud which led to the financial crisis. | |
| After decades in charge, the club of rich, industrialised nations is fast losing sway as a share of global economic power shifts towards big developing countries. | |
| Now, just this week, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank have begun adding their voices to the international choir calling for a new global reserve currency: | |
| The crisis is redrawing the world map of economic power as the influence of US consumer spending declines and major emerging markets like China and India take the lead, finance chiefs said. | |
| Like a vampire rising from it's grave each night to feed on the privacy rights of Americans, the Federal Bureau of Investigation is moving forward with programs that drain the life blood from our constitutional liberties. | |
| US President Barack Obama will not pressure Israel to publicly disclose its suspected nuclear weapons program, nor will he pressure the Jewish state to sign the nuclear Non-Proliferation treaty, the Washington Times reported on Friday. | |
SEVASTOPOL, October 6 (RIA Novosti) - Warships and aircraft from the Russian Black Sea Fleet are carrying out a series of anti-submarine warfare (ASW) exercises involving live-firing drills, a fleet's spokesman said on Tuesday."The aim of the exercises is to practice anti-submarine search-and-destroy missions. The drills involve warships, aircraft and a submarine from the Black Sea Fleet," the spokesman said.
According to the official, the Smetlivy destroyer and three ASW corvettes, assisted by two Be-12 Mail ASW aircraft will simulate an attack with torpedoes and depth charges on a "hostile" submarine near the Russian coast.
The drills will end on Thursday.
The fleet's ASW contingent comprises two ASW cruisers, an ASW destroyer, and at least six ASW corvettes.
The fleet has only one submarine in active service, a Kilo-class Alrosa vessel.
MAG DATE LOCAL-TIME LAT LON DEPTH LOCATION
y/m/d h:m:s deg deg km
map 1.8 2009/10/06 08:17:33 36.482N 89.542W 6.8 12 km ( 7 mi) S of New Madrid, MO
map 1.6 2009/10/06 02:07:52 37.718N 78.005W 6.4 14 km ( 9 mi) ESE of Columbia, VA
ISTANBUL (AFP) - The United Nations called on Tuesday for a new global reserve currency to end dollar supremacy which has allowed the United States the "privilege" of building a huge trade deficit.
"Important progress in managing imbalances can be made by reducing the reserve currency country?s 'privilege' to run external deficits in order to provide international liquidity," UN undersecretary-general for economic and social affairs, Sha Zukang, said.
Speaking at the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank in Istanbul, he said: "It is timely to emphasise that such a system also creates a more equitable method of sharing the seigniorage derived from providing global liquidity."
He said: "Greater use of a truly global reserve currency, such as the IMF?s special drawing rights (SDRs), enables the seigniorage gained to be deployed for development purposes," he said.
The SDRs are the asset used in IMF transactions and are based on a basket of four currencies -- the dollar, euro, yen and pound -- which is calculated daily.
China had called in March for a new dominant world reserve currency instead of the dollar, in a system within the framework of the Washington-based IMF.
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| Study Links Hypertension with Vitamin D Deficiency Up to now, it was mostly just a theory that low levels of vitamin D put people at risk for high blood pressure. But new research suggests this long held theory is set to become a theorem. From age level to activity level, alcohol abuse... |
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