Friday, August 12, 2011

伦敦有暴民,我们有暴警!(709 Bersih 2.0)

内长希山慕丁指出,类似伦敦的暴乱事件,并没有在我国发生,我国人民应该为此感恩。

说得对!很庆幸我国的人民 都是良民,没有像伦敦一样的暴民。这里只有无理无情的暴警。所谓暴警无理,但民间有情。人民应该感恩的不会是你们国阵吧?人民应该庆幸的,应该感恩自己是 一等一的良民!被如此的无理镇压都能沉住气,只是在 等待下一届大选利用手中的一票来回应他们的无情无理!

希山慕丁,人家是警察镇压暴民防止暴乱,你们是暴警镇压良民制造困乱,好不好?暴民跟暴警是有分别的,懂不懂?这样你都想把事实给扭一扭,转一转,来混淆人民?想乘机,也要动一动脑筋,别再习惯性的没经大脑就乱吐口水啦!

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

London riots: Violence erupts for third day

Fires have been burning in parts of London after a third day of violence and looting on the city's streets.

Shops were looted and buildings set alight as police clashed with youths. The trouble also spread to Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester and Bristol.

Violence first flared on Saturday after a peaceful protest in Tottenham over the fatal shooting of a man by police.

The prime minister is returning early from holiday to chair a meeting of the government's emergency committee Cobra.

David Cameron, who is on holiday in Italy, was due to board a flight on Monday night ahead of a meeting with Home Secretary Theresa May and Acting Metropolitan Police Commissioner Tim Godwin on Tuesday.

A government spokesman said the prime minister has been monitoring the situation on "an hourly basis".

'Mindless thuggery'

At least 225 people have been arrested and 36 charged following the riots across London over the past three days, Scotland Yard said.

It added that an extra 1,700 officers had been deployed across the capital on Monday night. Nine police forces from other parts of the country were assisting in providing support, as well as the City of London Police and British Transport Police.

Commander Christine Jones, from the Met, said: "The violence we have seen is simply inexcusable.

"Ordinary people have had their lives turned upside down by this mindless thuggery. The Met will ensure that those responsible will face the consequences of their actions and be arrested."

Monday's violence started in Hackney after a man was stopped and searched by police but nothing was found.

Looters in a convenience store in Hackney Shops have been looted across the capital

The trouble spread outside London on Monday evening and early on Tuesday, with police in riot gear being deployed in Birmingham city centre after scores of youths rampaged through the shopping area, smashing windows and looting from shops.

West Midlands Police also confirmed that a police station in Holyhead Road in Handsworth, Birmingham, was on fire.

In Birmingham, police said officers had made 100 arrests.

There were reports of cars being damaged in Manchester and of up to 200 youths with masks roaming through Toxteth in Liverpool.

Merseyside police said they were dealing with a number of incidents in south Liverpool, including cars being set alight.

Police in Bristol said they were dealing with outbreaks of disorder involving about 150 people.

Meanwhile in London:

  • Several fires broke out in Croydon, including one at a large sofa factory which spread to neighbouring buildings and tram lines
  • In Hackney 200 riot officers with dogs and mounted police were located around Mare Street where police cars were damaged
  • Looters raided a Debenhams store and a row of shops in Lavender Hill in Clapham, as well as shops in Stratford High Street
  • More than 100 people looted a Tesco store in Bethnal Green, the Met said, and two officers were injured
  • Cars were set on fire in Lewisham
  • A bus and shop were set alight in Peckham
  • Buses were diverted as the violence spread to Bromley High Street
  • There were reports of looting of phone shops in Woolwich High Street, in south London, and a torched police car
  • Shops and restaurants were damaged in Ealing, west London, and there was a fire in Haven Green park opposite Ealing Broadway Tube
  • Football matches at Charlton and West Ham which were due to be played on Tuesday have been postponed at the request of the police
  • At Clapham Junction looters stole masks from a fancy dress store to hide their identity
Map of London riots

The fresh violence prompted Mr Godwin to call on parents to contact their children and urge the public to clear London's streets.

In the first outbreak of violence on Monday, groups of people began attacking the police in Hackney at about 16:20 BST, throwing rocks and a bin at officers.

Start Quote

It looks like a war zone - I have never seen anything like it in all my life”

Christian Potts Ealing resident

Police cars were also smashed by youths armed with wooden poles and metal bars.

Looters also smashed their way into shops, including a JD Sports store, before being dispersed by police.

One resident in Croydon, who gave his name as Adam, said he saw two cars which had been set on fire.

He said: "One older woman was dragged out and they set the car on fire. Then another car around the corner was on fire, then we counted about 12 to 15 shops that had been looted.

"The looting started about three hours ago. I just came back into my apartment and the looting was still going on - not a single policeman."

Philippa Thomas reports from Hackney

Ealing resident Christian Potts, 29, was driving through the area when he witnessed the disturbances.

"It looks like a war zone - I have never seen anything like it in all my life," he said.

"There were about 25 to 30 masked youths on Haven Green and they just started tearing into a florist with bricks.

"It's a local family-run business so I can't see why they are doing this."

In Birmingham City Centre looters attacked shops, smashing windows and stealing items.

An eyewitness said windows have been smashed in McDonalds and Jessops near Birmingham Cathedral and a sign has been thrown through a gym window.

'Sheer criminality'

London's mayor Boris Johnson is cutting short his holiday to return to the city.

Home Secretary Theresa May also returned early from holiday, to meet Metropolitan Police (Met) chiefs to discuss their response to the violence.

At the scene

In a lane off Mare Street the wreckage of a burnt-out car still smoulders, surrounded by riot police.

I was talking to one young man who had received on his BlackBerry a list of places where he said there will be further trouble tonight.

He didn't tell me which places and stressed it is speculation. But he and a friend told me frustration with poverty in the area was boiling over.

On Mare Street there is the sound of crunching as police vans run over broken glass. Much of it from a bottle bank which was overturned providing makeshift missiles for rioters who lobbed the bottles at police.

Mrs May condemned the riots as "sheer criminality" and said those responsible would "face the consequences of their actions".

The trouble follows two nights of violence over the weekend which started after police shot a man dead in Tottenham.

Mrs May said: "The riots in Tottenham on Saturday night and the subsequent disturbances in other parts of London are totally unacceptable."

A peaceful protest in Tottenham on Saturday over the fatal shooting by police of Mark Duggan, 29, was followed by violence which spread into Sunday.

A candlelit vigil was due to be held at The High Cross in Tottenham on Monday evening.

Met Deputy Assistant Commissioner Stephen Kavanagh said there were "significant resources" on the streets, with a third more officers on duty than on Sunday.

He said: "When we have large numbers of criminals intent on that type of violence, we can only do that, get lots of officers there quickly and try to protect local businesses and local people."

But eyewitnesses reported as trouble spread across the city, there were often few police officers around when violence flared.

source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-14450248

Monday, August 8, 2011

Dow Jones Suffers Worst Day Since 2008 Crisis As Economic Outlook Darkens And Downgrade Risks Loom



NEW YORK -- Stocks suffered one of the worst sell-offs in history Monday, as investors adjusted to a new world in which the United States government doesn't have a perfect credit rating, and a fresh recession seems increasingly possible.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost more than 630 points, logging a drop of nearly 5.6 percent in its worst day since the depths of the financial crisis in late 2008. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index lost nearly 6.7 percent. The NASDAQ fell 6.9 percent.

The plunge eclipsed last Thursday's drop, which at the time was the worst day for the Dow since the 2008 crisis, and it comes after two weeks of nearly constant losses in stocks. Gloom pervades financial markets, despite the deal that Washington lawmakers struck last week to avoid a disastrous sovereign default, and despite reassurances from the nation's leaders that the economy's troubles will eventually be resolved.

A fundamental shift in attitudes is taking place, experts say, as financial players digest the possibility that the economy could begin to shrink.

"This negative possibility sitting there that we can articulate, and see, and almost taste at this stage, is a reason for stocks to go down," said John Richards, head of strategy at Royal Bank of Scotland in the Americas. "People are starting to factor in a double-dip recession."

The historic downgrade issued Friday by the rating agency Standard & Poor's amounts to the tip of an iceberg, as the company is in the process of reducing the ratings of credits associated with the federal government. These downgrades began Monday and are likely to continue, setting off new ripples of risk.

The mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which own or guarantee about half of all U.S. mortgages, saw their top grades docked by S&P on Monday. Federally backed debt issues of Tacoma, Washington and Miami, Florida, had their top grades lowered.

S&P docked the grades of bonds issued by Israel that are guaranteed by the U.S. government. It lowered the ratings of five U.S.-based insurers. It downgraded large institutions that facilitate investors' trades.

While the effects of these downgrades so far seem relatively muted -- some, like those for Fannie and Freddie, were expected -- the full risks might not yet have materialized, experts said.

One immediate effect was psychological.

"If there were people last week who were nervous about the economy and nervous about stocks, and needed some excuse to sell, this may well have provided the excuse," said Amar Bhide, a professor of international business at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University.

A stream of economic data in recent weeks has reinforced a pessimistic outlook: Economic growth has slowed, the manufacturing sector has weakened, consumer spending has fallen and unemployment remains high. It's a potentially malevolent mix, economists say.

Investors shunned risk Monday, piling into Treasury securities despite the tarnished rating of long-term U.S. government debt. With a sovereign debt crisis building in Europe, and with grim American economic prospects, investors were eager to lend money to the government that by many measures is still the most reliable borrower in the world.

As demand for Treasury debt surged, interest rates on the 10-year note neared 2.3 percent Monday, a low that recalled early 2009, when the economy was suffering from a devastating financial crisis. Gold, which investors treat as a safe haven, climbed to fresh highs on Monday.

Although borrowing costs remain at historic lows, the downgrade could potentially affect funds that are required to hold highly-rated securities. And over time, it could push up yields on a range of assets that are tied to U.S. government rates.

In a recent quarterly filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Morgan Stanley underscored this uncertainty.

"Because of the unprecedented nature of negative credit rating actions with respect to U.S. government obligations, the ultimate impacts on global markets and our business, financial condition and liquidity are unpredictable and may not be immediately apparent," the firm said.

But the direct effects of the triple-A downgrade are only part of the picture. Risks from the related downgrades could play out over the coming months and years, experts said.

"Fannie and Freddie are involved in securitizing mortgages, so if their costs go up, then implicitly we're going to see mortgage costs go up. Auto loans are going to go up, student loans are going to go up," said Andrew Lo, a professor of finance at the MIT Sloan School of Business.

"American voters are going to realize that the political impasse has consequences that will hit them in the pocketbook," he added.

The downgrades touched major components of the financial system. For some of these credits, especially in the municipal debt arena, ratings carry potentially greater meaning than they do for the U.S. government, which investors know is a safe bet. Downgrades could cause municipal investments to lose value, said Matt Fabian, managing director of the Concord, Mass.-based Municipal Market Advisors.

"When you start tampering with ratings that actually imply default risk, the implication is that default risk has increased for those credits," Fabian said. "There could be price declines. There could be selling in response to price declines."

These risks contributed to a broader picture of economic pessimism Monday, as investors lost appetite for holding risky assets like stocks.

And the stock market slide added a threat of its own, as hundreds of billions of dollars of wealth vanished.

"We're starting to whack consumer wealth again, which will impact spending," said Richards of RBS.

"That may have an immediate negative impact on consumer confidence, and possibly consumer spending," he added, "which is the last thing we need in an otherwise weakened economic environment."

source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/08/dow-jones-worst-day_n_921684.html