We The People Stimulus Package

Czech Republic: Second Victim of Worldwide Credit Crunch

ummmm this is huge news.... the czech republic is much more populated than iceland, whose government already failed due to the worldwide credit crunch. ---brandon

Czech Government Ousted For First Time In History; Another Economic Casualty


KAREL JANICEK | March 24, 2009 04:51 PM EST | AP


Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek reacts after the Czech Chamber of Deputies expressed no confidence in the center-right government in Prague, the Czech Republic, on Tuesday, March 24, 2009. The Czech Republic's three-party coalition government has lost a parliamentary no confidence vote, partly due to its handling of the economic crisis, and must step down. In the 200-seat lower house, 101 lawmakers, the minimum needed, voted Tuesday to oust the government. (AP Photo/CTK, Roman Vondrous)

PRAGUE — The Czech government collapsed Tuesday after losing a parliamentary no-confidence vote over its handling of the economic crisis.

It was a huge embarrassment for Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek, coming just days before a planned visit by President Barack Obama and midway through the Czech Republic's six-month European Union presidency.

The lower house of Parliament voted 101-96 to declare no confidence in the three-party coalition government, after four lawmakers broke rank with their parties and voted with the opposition. Three legislators were absent from the vote.

It was the first time a government has been ousted by parliament since the country came to existence after the 1993 split of Czechoslovakia.

Topolanek said he could resign after a planned trip to Brussels on Wednesday. "I take the vote into account and will act according to the Constitution," he said.

There has been no indication of whom President Vaclav Klaus might choose to form a new Cabinet. If three attempts to form a government fail, early elections must be called.

Topolanek's minority coalition took charge in January 2007, after months of difficult negotiations following 2006 general elections that resulted in no clear winner.

The government has struggled to resolve deep divisions within Parliament over whether to allow components of a U.S. missile defense shield on Czech territory, and whether to adopt the EU reform treaty to streamline decision-making in the bloc.

In recent months, opposition lawmakers also said they became frustrated with the government's response to the global economic slowdown. Before the crisis, the Czech Republic's export-oriented economy had been growing fast, but the country is expected to enter a recession this year. Annual industrial output fell 23.3 percent in January.

The opposition said the government acted too late and did too little _ approving a stimulus package only last month worth 70 billion koruna ($3.5 billion), including measures for investments in ecology and infrastructure along with tax cuts and loan guarantees.

"The government got what it deserved," said former Prime Minister Jiri Paroubek, who leads the opposition Social Democratic party. "It was not able to handle the affects of the economic crisis." Paroubek said, however, that he was not against Topolanek's government staying in office until the end of the Czech term leading the EU presidency.

The European Union executive said it trusted the Czech Republic would be able to continue its duties in the EU presidency.

"It is for the Czech Republic's democratic process under the constitution to resolve the domestic political issues; the Commission is confident that this is done in a way which ensures the full functioning of the Council Presidency," the European Commission said in a statement.

Meanwhile, it will likely be left to a new government to deal with the two other main issues in Czech Parliament _ the proposed U.S. missile defense project and the EU reform treaty.

The Czech Parliament's lower house has passed the so-called Lisbon Treaty, but the upper house _ controlled by Topolanek's own Euro-skeptic party _ has yet to vote on it. All 27 EU nations must approve the treaty for it to take effect.

The government's deal to allow a U.S. radar base near Prague is also up in the air. Topolanek was forced last week to withdraw legislation on the U.S. missile defense plan from lower house because he did not have enough votes to ensure it would pass.

The missile defense shield was likely to be high on the agenda during Obama's visit April 4-5 to Prague. Obama has never said if the U.S. will go ahead with the deal, brokered under President George W. Bush.

The opposition has argued against the missile defense plan because it could anger Russia, which has vehemently opposed the missile shield within its former sphere of influence. Washington has said the shield, also including 10 interceptor missiles to be housed in neighboring Poland, would protect Europe from attacks by "rogue states" in the Middle East.

source

the great crash of 2008

unfortunately after using beethoven's "moonlight sonata" as the soundtrack for the beginning, they sadly change to some drum-heavy hip hop sort of thing that's in just about every truth video, but it's well worth the watch.
this will show you just how extraordinary the crash of 2008 has really become

Hedge Fund Manager: Goodbye and Fuck You

LAHDE CAPITAL MANAGEMENT
October 17, 2008

PDF here

Today I write not to gloat. Given the pain that nearly everyone is experiencing, that would be entirely inappropriate. Nor am I writing to make further predictions, as most of my forecasts in previous letters have unfolded or are in the process of unfolding. Instead, I am writing to say goodbye.

Recently, on the front page of Section C of the Wall Street Journal, a hedge fund manager who was also closing up shop (a $300 million fund), was quoted as saying, "What I have learned about the hedge fund business is that I hate it." I could not agree more with that statement. I was in this game for the money. The low hanging fruit, i.e. idiots whose parents paid for prep school, Yale, and then the Harvard MBA, was there for the taking. These people who were (often) truly not worthy of the education they received (or supposedly received) rose to the top of companies such as AIG, Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers and all levels of our government. All of this behavior supporting the Aristocracy, only ended up making it easier for me to find people stupid enough to take the other side of my trades. God bless America.

There are far too many people for me to sincerely thank for my success. However, I do not want to sound like a Hollywood actor accepting an award. The money was reward enough. Furthermore, the endless list those deserving thanks know who they are.

I will no longer manage money for other people or institutions. I have enough of my own wealth to manage. Some people, who think they have arrived at a reasonable estimate of my net worth, might be surprised that I would call it quits with such a small war chest. That is fine; I am content with my rewards. Moreover, I will let others try to amass nine, ten or eleven figure net worths. Meanwhile, their lives suck. Appointments back to back, booked solid for the next three months, they look forward to their two week vacation in January during which they will likely be glued to their Blackberries or other such devices. What is the point? They will all be forgotten in fifty years anyway. Steve Balmer, Steven Cohen, and Larry Ellison will all be forgotten. I do not understand the legacy thing. Nearly everyone will be forgotten. Give up on leaving your mark. Throw the Blackberry away and enjoy life.

So this is it. With all due respect, I am dropping out. Please do not expect any type of reply to emails or voicemails within normal time frames or at all. Andy Springer and his company will be handling the dissolution of the fund. And don't worry about my employees, they were always employed by Mr. Springer's company and only one (who has been well-rewarded) will lose his job.

I have no interest in any deals in which anyone would like me to participate. I truly do not have a strong opinion about any market right now, other than to say that things will continue to get worse for some time, probably years. I am content sitting on the sidelines and waiting. After all, sitting and waiting is how we made money from the subprime debacle. I now have time to repair my health, which was destroyed by the stress I layered onto myself over the past two years, as well as my entire life – where I had to compete for spaces in universities and graduate schools, jobs and assets under management – with those who had all the advantages (rich parents) that I did not. May meritocracy be part of a new form of government, which needs to be established.

On the issue of the U.S. Government, I would like to make a modest proposal. First, I point out the obvious flaws, whereby legislation was repeatedly brought forth to Congress over the past eight years, which would have reigned in the predatory lending practices of now mostly defunct institutions. These institutions regularly filled the coffers of both parties in return for voting down all of this legislation designed to protect the common citizen. This is an outrage, yet no one seems to know or care about it. Since Thomas Jefferson and Adam Smith passed, I would argue that there has been a dearth of worthy philosophers in this country, at least ones focused on improving government. Capitalism worked for two hundred years, but times change, and systems become corrupt. George Soros, a man of staggering wealth, has stated that he would like to be remembered as a philosopher. My suggestion is that this great man start and sponsor a forum for great minds to come together to create a new system of government that truly represents the common man's interest, while at the same time creating rewards great enough to attract the best and brightest minds to serve in government roles without having to rely on corruption to further their interests or lifestyles. This forum could be similar to the one used to create the operating system, Linux, which competes with Microsoft's near monopoly. I believe there is an answer, but for now the system is clearly broken.

Lastly, while I still have an audience, I would like to bring attention to an alternative food and energy source. You won't see it included in BP's, "Feel good. We are working on sustainable solutions," television commercials, nor is it mentioned in ADM's similar commercials. But hemp has been used for at least 5,000 years for cloth and food, as well as just about everything that is produced from petroleum products. Hemp is not marijuana and vice versa. Hemp is the male plant and it grows like a weed, hence the slang term. The original American flag was made of hemp fiber and our Constitution was printed on paper made of hemp. It was used as recently as World War II by the U.S. Government, and then promptly made illegal after the war was won. At a time when rhetoric is flying about becoming more self-sufficient in terms of energy, why is it illegal to grow this plant in this country? Ah, the female. The evil female plant – marijuana. It gets you high, it makes you laugh, it does not produce a hangover. Unlike alcohol, it does not result in bar fights or wife beating. So, why is this innocuous plant illegal? Is it a gateway drug? No, that would be alcohol, which is so heavily advertised in this country. My only conclusion as to why it is illegal, is that Corporate America, which owns Congress, would rather sell you Paxil, Zoloft, Xanax and other additive drugs, than allow you to grow a plant in your home without some of the profits going into their coffers. This policy is ludicrous. It has surely contributed to our dependency on foreign energy sources. Our policies have other countries literally laughing at our stupidity, most notably Canada, as well as several European nations (both Eastern and Western). You would not know this by paying attention to U.S. media sources though, as they tend not to elaborate on who is laughing at the United States this week. Please people, let's stop the rhetoric and start thinking about how we can truly become self-sufficient.

With that I say good-bye and good luck.

All the best,

Andrew Lahde

source

Vote Out Bailout Backers

China's Billionaires Lose a Third of Wealth in Credit Crisis

Plunging property and share prices knocked a third off the average wealth of China's billionaires in the first fall for seven years.

By Malcolm Moore in Shanghai
Last Updated: 1:42PM BST 08 Oct 2008

Yvonne Xue, 44, board chairman general manager of Shanghai Si Tong Cable Industry and vice board chairman of Shanghai Huiyang Industry Company Photo: LAUREN GREENFIELD

Gome Chief Executive Officer Huang Guangyu [left] has topped the rich topped the list three times in the last five years Photo: REUTERS

Zhang Yin, director of Nine Dragons Paper lost $8.4 billion after shares of her scrap paper company dropped by 86% Photo: GETTY

The 50 richest people in China were worth $2.43 billion (£1.4 billion) on average, down from $3.63 billion in 2007, according to an annual list from Hurun.

Back in first place, with a personal fortune of USD6.3 billion, was 39-year-old Huang Guangyu, nicknamed the Price Butcher because of the discounts available at Gome, his electrical retail empire. Mr Huang has topped the list three times in the last five years.

His elevation knocked Yang Huiyan, the 27-year-old heiress who was given a controlling stake in Country Garden, an enormous property developer, into third place.

Miss Yang saw her personal wealth plummet from $17.5billion to $4.9 billion as the share price of Country Garden nose-dived and jitters derailed the Chinese property boom.

Zhang Yin, the chairwoman of Nine Dragons Paper, who was the first woman to top the rich list in 2006, lost $8.4 billion after shares of her scrap paper company dropped by 86 per cent.

Two more property tycoons also suffered badly. Xu Rongmao, chairman of Shimao, lost $4.4 billion and Zhang Li, co-chairman of Guangzhou R&F properties, lost $3.6 billion.

China was home to 101 people with $1 billion or more of personal wealth, declining from 106 last year, according to Hurun.