WHITE HOUSE

Japan Maritime Self Defence Force destroyer Ikazuchi (L) sails alongside the USS George Washington during their military maneuvers known as Keen Sword 2011, in the Pacific Ocean December 5, 2010.

Obama urges Hu to pressure North Korea

President Barack Obama on Monday urged Chinese President Hu Jintao to join the United States in denouncing North Korea's latest deadly military skirmish with South Korea and the North's pursuit of nuclear development. it marked the first time the leaders have spoken since a November 22 incident left four South Korean soldiers dead.

US-South Korea FTA: Whose win is it anyway?

South Korean Trade Minister Kim Jong-Hoon (L) talks with his U.S. counterpart Ron Kirk (R) during their meeting in Seoul November 8, 2010.
During the negotiations (with the U.S.), I did not think of Yeonpyeong Island or the USS George Washington. I have just mulled over the benefits and losses in terms of trade, South Korean trade minister Kim Jong-hoon said, apparently to refute criticism that Seoul gave away ground to the U.S. in the aftermath of the geopolitical crisis precipitated by last week’s shelling by North Korea on South’s islands.

EPA is 40 and no less controversial

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Director Lisa Jackson.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is 40 years old this week. It may have been born later, or it may not have been born at all, if not for a dedicated U.S. lawmaker and a burning river.
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Gold jumps to $1,414 per oz on doubts on U.S. economy

Gold rose almost 2 percent on Friday, ending the week on $1,414 an ounce just a few dollars below the all-time record, as the dollar tumbled after disappointing jobs data cast doubt on the strength of the U.S. economic recovery.
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Totally Standard Hyperinflation

No central bank ever began a hyper-inflationary policy because it feared inflation. Such disasters always come because of vanished credit and economic depression. And whether in Germany nine decades ago, or in Argentina twenty years back, or in Robert Mugabe's Zimbabwe around the turn of this century, stuff actually gets cheaper - not more expensive - in real terms during hyperinflation.
Job

Economy to get hit as jobless benefits to 2 mln Americans run out

A Senate wrangle over soaring budget deficits on Tuesday stopped the passage of a crucial extension of unemployed benefits to millions of Americans experiencing the sting of the worst jobs crisis in three decades. The failure of the lame duck Congress to extend benefits will cut off sustenance payments to two million people in December, adding to the woes of home losses, bankruptcies and foreclosures, besides also setting back the economic recovery. Here's a quick lowdown on the situation.
A woman walks past the U.S. embassy in Madrid November 29, 2010.

U.S. denies diplomats are spies

A spokesman for the U.S. State Department denied on Monday that his agency's diplomats were spies, after the release of hundreds of thousands of secret and unclassified cables by the Wikileaks organization.
Five Color Security Alert

US could scrap color-coded terror alerts

The United States is considering abandoning the 8-year-old color coded terror alert system amid criticism from U.S. lawmakers and public protests, according to media reports.
Sarah Palin's latest gaffe, calls North Korea an "ally"

Sarah Palin's latest gaffe: Calls North Korea an 'ally'

Within days after she announced her intention to run for the President, Sarah Palin, the former governor of Alaska, is caught up with yet another gaffe. This time, referring to North Korea as an ally of the United States.
Sarah Palin's latest gaffe, calls North Korea an "ally"

Sarah Palin's latest gaffe, calls North Korea an 'ally'

Within days after she announced her intention to run for the President, Sarah Palin, the former governor of Alaska is caught up with yet another gaffe. This time, referring to North Korea as an ally of the United States.
China's Premier Wen Jiabao

Focus shifts to China to gauge impact of North Korean attacks

A day after North Korea's artillery attack on the South Korean island, the U.S. decided to send the aircraft carrier George Washington and a number of accompanying ships into the region for joint exercises besides sounding China, the sole ally of Pyongyang, to restrain Pyongyang from further attacks.
South Korea fired first: North

South Korea fired first: North

North Korea said that it was South Korea which fired first and they had to fire in retaliation. The South Korean enemy, despite our repeated warnings, committed reckless military provocations of firing artillery shells into our maritime territory near Yeonpyeong island beginning 1pm (1500 AEDT), the AFP quoted a statement from the North's military supreme command.
U.S. Sen. Jon Kyl, R-AZ

OPINION: Forget the missiles, get Obama!

It’s now as plain as the beard on Lincoln’s chin. The Republican Party that Honest Abe helped to found – that is, in its current Limbaughian form -- does not give a hoot about American global security. All it wants to do is remove Barack Obama from the White House, and it does not care if its actions – that is, its inaction – wrecks the painstakingly constructed goodwill between the U.S. and Russia and pushes the entire world back toward the shadow of possible nuclear annihilation.
Sarah Palin's own 'American Dream'

Sarah Palin's own 'American Dream'

Sarah Palin, who announced her intent to run for the Presidential bid on Wednesday, seems to be reaching out to the American public in a rather tidy way. Her latest stint on reality TV, coupled with an unfaltering media management, could come along in her pursuit to the White House.
Michael Moore  sues the Weinstein Brothers over Fahrenheit 9/11

Left-leaning Democrats decry Obama 'sell-out' on tax cuts

A meeting between President Barack Obama and Congressional representatives originally scheduled to be held on Thursday has been postponed until Nov. 30, the White House said on Wednesday, signaling consensus on the extension of Bush-era tax cuts eluded leaders at the Capitol.
U.S. President Barack Obama speaks with former Republican Senate Whip Alan Simpson

Debt commission's proposal gets varied reception

Not unexpectedly, the preliminary proposal of President’s Obama’s bipartisan Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform has met with mixed reviews, from “unacceptable” to “most encouraging.”
A French High Speed Train (TGV) arrives at Marseille's railway station during a national strike.

U.S. high-speed railway: a matter of cost and demand

The federal government has committed at least $8-billion (and counting) for the development of a nationwide high-speed intercity passenger railway system in almost three-dozen states. Rail advocates have long dreamed of an extensive railway grid that will provide clean, speedy, energy-efficient travel.

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