G.M. Closing 4 Plants in Shift From Trucks Toward Cars

Problem: Managers asleep at the wheel when a change hits that should have been obvious for at least the last 5 years. Consumers respond in logical, predictable fashion.

Solution: Fire people working for said managers, close plants, blame the consumers.

Responding to a consumer shift to more fuel-efficient vehicles, General Motors said Tuesday that it would stop making pickup trucks and big S.U.V.s at four North American assembly plants and would consider selling its Hummer brand.

The moves, announced Tuesday by the company chairman, Rick Wagoner, will slash 500,000 units from the automaker’s overall production, and pave the way for increased investment in smaller cars and passenger vehicles. Within three years, he said, trucks will account for less than 40 percent of the vehicles that G.M. produces in North America, down from about half today.

Mr. Wagoner said that rising gasoline prices had forced a “structural shift” by American consumers away from truck-based vehicles built by G.M.

“These prices are changing consumer behavior and changing it rapidly,” Mr. Wagoner said in announcing the cuts before G.M.’s centennial shareholders meeting in Wilmington, Del. “We don’t believe it’s a spike or a temporary shift. We believe it is, by and large, permanent.” NY Times

Here in Germany people will probably like this though. Even more German/European cars to be sold to America.

Guess which country has world-record exports, while the other has the world´s biggest trade deficit?

Bush vs World on Dollar

President Bush’s world:

President George W. Bush, under fire from Democrats who say he’s doing too little to help homeowners facing foreclosure, said he won’t be stampeded into “bad policy decisions” that might harm the economy.

“The market now is in the process of correcting itself, and delaying that correction would only prolong the problem,” he said today in his weekly radio address. “I believe the government can take sensible, focused action to help responsible homeowners weather this rough patch.”

Bush’s remarks echoed a speech yesterday, when he said the economy is going through a “tough time'’ and that the Federal Reserve and the Treasury Department will take “appropriate steps” to stabilize the financial system after a bailout of Bear Stearns Cos., the fifth-largest U.S. securities firm.” Bloomberg)

The real world:

“Sao Paulo, Brazil - Antique store owners in lower Manhattan, ticket vendors at India’s Taj Mahal and Brazilian business executives heading to China all have one thing in common these days: They don’t want U.S. dollars.

Hit by a free fall with no end in sight, the once mighty U.S. dollar is no longer just crashing on currency markets and making life more expensive for American tourists and business people abroad; its clout is evaporating worldwide as foreign businesses and individuals turn to other currencies.

Experts say the bleak U.S. economic forecast means it will take years for the greenback to recover its value and prestige.

Negative dollar sentiment is growing in nations where the dollar was historically accepted as equal or better than local currency - and dollar aversion is even extending to some quarters in the United States.

At the Taj Mahal, dollars were always legal tender, alongside rupees, for entry into the palace. But because of the falling value of the dollar, the government implemented a rupees-only policy a month ago. Indian merchants catering to tourists have also turned bearish on the dollar.

‘Gone are the days when we used to run after dollars, holding onto them for rainy days,’ said Vijay Narain, a tour operator in the city of Agra where the Taj Mahal is located. ‘Now we prefer the euro. It gives us more riches.’

In Bolivia, billboards feature George Washington’s image on a $1 bill alongside a bright pink 500 euro note, encouraging savers to turn to the euro to tuck away money earned abroad or sent home in remittances.

If the dollar’s going down … save it in Euros!!!’ say the signs popping up around La Paz for Bolivia’s Banco Bisa.” AP)

Turkish troops pull out of Iraq, both sides declare victory

The Turkish version of “mission accomplished”:

Turkey says its troops have been withdrawn from northern Iraq after an offensive against Kurdish PKK rebels.

In a statement on its website, Turkey’s military said it had achieved its goals, and there was no question of any foreign influence on the decision. BBC

Update: The PKK responds via Al Jazeera:

Ahmed Danis, a spokesman for the PKK, confirmed the Turkish troop pull-out.

He said: “We are observing military movements like empty military trucks coming from Turkey. The trucks are being loaded with troops and returning to Turkey.

“If they [Turkish troops] withdraw completely it would be a victory for Kurdistan and for the PKK.” Al Jazeera

Blair for President

I’d be fine with it, if in return the UK adopts the euro. Otherwise this would just be silly:

I’m told Tony Blair and Gordon Brown have discussed the possibility of Mr Blair becoming President.

That’s President of the Council, the new top European job created by the Lisbon Treaty.
Some want to find a high profile president to represent the European Union on the world stage at events such as the G8, the Bali summit and for meeting heads of state.

Gordon Brown is willing to give his backing but is waiting for a nod from Mr Blair. BBC blog

EU leaders agree new treaty deal - unified foreign policy

A unified voice for the EU in matters of foreign policy is on the horizon:

The new Reform Treaty is designed to speed up decision making in the expanded European Union. It will also create a new president of the European Council, a new EU foreign affairs chief, a reformed voting system and scrap vetoes in dozens of areas. BBC

Get off that couch and get on her Majesty’s Secret Services payroll

Talk about some odd form of cross promotion:

One of Britain’s intelligence agencies will embed advertisements into popular video games this month in a bid to attract new recruits, The Times reported on Thursday.

The Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), Britain’s intelligence listening post, will embed the adverts as billboards in video games including “Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Double Agent” in a bid to attract “computer-savvy, technologically-able, quick-thinking” recruits.

“We find increasingly we have to use less conventional means of attracting people … to go beyond glossy brochures and milk-round stalls,” a GCHQ spokeswoman told the newspaper.

“We will monitor the results from this campaign and are ready to change our recruitment methods … We know we can’t stand still,” the spokeswoman said, adding that GCHQ hoped to “plant the idea in the heads of younger players”. AFP

Saudis buy Eurofighters from UK

And there we thought rhw UK had wasted £19 billion on the Eurofighter. Some people seem to like them:

Saudi Arabia is to buy 72 Eurofighter Typhoon jets from UK firm BAE Systems, the Ministry of Defence confirms.
BBC

What could possibly go wrong?

Spain admits possible CIA flights

Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos has admitted Spain may have been a stopover for secret CIA flights. BBC

Merkel rules out military option for dealing with Iran

BERLIN - German Chancellor Angela Merkel has underlined there can be “no military option” for dealing with Iran’s nuclear programme, a spokesman said Monday.

“The door for negotiations remains open,” said chief German government spokesman Ulrich Wilhelm.

Wilhelm added: “The chancellor has expressed the view that there is no military option.”

US President George W. Bush has repeatedly said he does not rule out any option for dealing with Iran’s nuclear programme, which is widely believed to be aimed at building nuclear weapons. DPA

Danke! (This time for real.)

ORANGE?

Just woke up and still absorbing all the news. Some thought so far: Athis is just asininine: The British stop a flight heading for the US with actual terrorists on board. So the US goes to orange?

I take it we are keeping red for important things like elections? (Update: international flights to the US are on red, but still. The goal here is to not scare Americans too much, but enough to still think it’s all working.)

Quote: Attorney General Gonzales” “We are doing everything we can to ensure that americans can lead their normal lives.” Yeah, and apparently that’s not working. Meanwhile in split-screen on BBC World showed angry american tourists throwing out a large part of their belongings that they are not allowed to take aboard a flight.

TSA spokesman on BBC World. quote: “Don’t forget to enjoy your trip.” Right, because if you didn’t the House and Senate may stitch to Democrat control in the upcoming election.

Oh and don’t forget to carry on tampons outside their plastic covers and taste the feeding-milk for your baby in front of the security checkpoint staff. Otherwise the terrorists will be winning.

This is beyond absurd.

German cat gets deadly bird flu

Scary:

A domestic cat in Germany has become the first European Union mammal to die of the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu.

The cat was found dead at the weekend on the Baltic island of Ruegen, where dozens of birds infected with H5N1 have been found. BBC

Coming in second

For the entire time the olympics in Turin were on, U.S. TV stations were hyping how well the U.S. athletes were doing in terms of total medal counts. That’s not necessarily bad, but the way in which it was done – think drunk guy yelling: “We’re number ONE! YEAH!” and you get the idea –kept implying that the U.S. athletes just HAD to win because they were so much better, cooler, take your pick.

I mean, can you imagine anyone but the US of A get away with that? I certainly couldn’t imagine the German media pulling something like that. Well, other than that one time in in 1936.

That’s why I thought this was quite funny.

German Minister was informed about at least one torture case

It seems the German government knew about at least one case after all:

In May 2004, the White House dispatched the U.S. ambassador in Germany to pay an unusual visit to that country’s interior minister (Otto Schily). Ambassador Daniel R. Coats carried instructions from the State Department transmitted via the CIA’s Berlin station because they were too sensitive and highly classified for regular diplomatic channels, according to several people with knowledge of the conversation.

Coats informed the German minister that the CIA had wrongfully imprisoned one of its citizens, Khaled Masri, for five months, and would soon release him, the sources said. There was also a request: that the German government not disclose what it had been told even if Masri went public. The U.S. officials feared exposure of a covert action program designed to capture terrorism suspects abroad and transfer them among countries, and possible legal challenges to the CIA from Masri and others with similar allegations.

(…) While the CIA admitted to Germany’s then-Interior Minister Otto Schily that it had made a mistake, it has labored to keep the specifics of Masri’s case from becoming public. As a German prosecutor works to verify or debunk Masri’s claims of kidnapping and torture, the part of the German government that was informed of his ordeal has remained publicly silent. Masri’s attorneys say they intend to file a lawsuit in U.S. courts this week. Washington Post

This article is required reading. It’s such a chilling account of a man imprisoned and held for 5 months without any cause. It’s simply outrageous, especially since the German minister of interior knew about it but never went public.

Am I to assume that Schilly valued relations with the U.S. more than the rights of a German citizen? That cannot be allowed to stand.

I posted the article in its entirety after the jump.
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Angela Merkel becomes first female chancellor of Germany

With 397 of 612 votes Angela Merkel has officially been confirmed as Germany’s first female chancellor and received the title from President Köhler. After weeks of negotiations Merkel will be heading a “grand coalition” between her center-right CDU and the liberal SPD.

The BBC has more here.

Sometimes waiting pays off

An election that occurred four weeks ago is also still grabbing headlines. The question of who will emerge as new chancellor following the German general election has been settled — and it’s a woman — but the terms under which the new “grand coalition” will operate still have to be reached. The election managed to prove that democracy can be messy and take time, but it works as long as all parties involved are committed to it.

The long trek toward a new government started in May when Chancellor Gerhard Schröder’s party, the Social Democratic Party (SPD), lost a regional election in Germany’s most populated state, North Rhine Westphalia (NRW).

The left-leaning SPD has always received solid support from NRW, as the area includes many industrial areas and accounts for nearly a fifth of Germany’s gross domestic product. This time, the result was disastrous for the SPD. It only garnered 37.1 percent of the vote, the party’s worst result in the area in 50 years. Unpopular economic reforms that cut social benefits to make them economically feasible were blamed. The cuts had been aimed at lowering the nation’s unemployment figures and making its budget feasible, but all fallout was directed squarely at Schröder’s leadership and voters in NRW used the election to send a message.
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Lessons learned from IRA situation helpful elsewhere

In July the Irish Republican Army officially called an end to its struggle to oust British interests from the Irish isle. The organization, or precursors of it, had been fighting against the British for most of the last century and regularly resorted to acts of terrorism.

This makes the declaration about ending its “armed campaign” quite significant. It marks one of the few instances where a violent struggle between two interest groups has, for the most part, been put to rest. Any government finding itself in a similar situation should try to learn as much as it can from the situation.

There have been other instances when an end to the struggle seemed close, but it never fully materialized. Monday the result of a study conducted by the British government confirmed the IRA had indeed given up all its weapons as planned. This finding makes it likely that this time it’s for real.

The IRA had been bombing British targets. ranging from pubs frequented by British citizens to media installations such as the BBC headquarters in London to government buildings. The IRA’s tactics were similar to many — if not most — other organizations that employ terrorism as tactic to further its causes.
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IRA ‘has destroyed all its arms’

The IRA has put all of its weapons beyond use, the head of the arms decommissioning body has said.

General John de Chastelain made the announcement at a news conference accompanied by the two churchmen who witnessed the process.

“We are satisfied that the arms decommissioned represent the totality of the IRA’s arsenal.”BBC

German president officially dissolves parliament, makes way to new elections

German President Horst Köhler had been put into a tough spot when German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder, in an attempt to force early elections this September to regain a stable majority, called for a vote of non-confidence by his party members. Köhler had to decide by Thursday night if such an early election was permissible by the German constitution.

Historically such elections outside the usual 4-year scheme have only happened twice before. German officials decided in 1949 that the if the government was able to call elections it would make the newly formed Federal German Republic unstable. This was understandable as the Weimar Republic, the “Germany” that had proceeded it, had been plagued with such problems eventually making the rise of Adolf Hitler. But the constitution does not specifically ban such an action either, which was what made the previous two cases controversial but possible.

Köhler announced Thursday in a televised speech that he saw no legal precedent or constitutional statute that would block new elections on Sept. 18.
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New explosions on London’s public transportation system

New York Times:

British Police Evacuate 3 Subway Stations After Explosions

LONDON, July 21 - Just two weeks after a string of attacks on buses and subways in London that killed 56 people, the British police evacuated three subway stations in the city today after small explosions that sent commuters into a panic. But casualty numbers appeared to be low. The police said the Oval subway station in south London, Shepherd’s Bush in the west and Warren Street in central London had been evacuated. There was also a small explosion on the No. 26 bus in the Hackney Road section that blew out the bus windows, police said. New York Times

London attackers ‘meant to kill’

Emergency services in protective clothing were deployed at the bus site. The people behind the latest attack in London meant to kill, the head of the Metropolitan Police has said.

But Sir Ian Blair said: “The important point is that the intention of the terrorists has failed.”

Attempts were made to set off explosives at four locations, including three Tube stations and on one bus.

Mayor Ken Livingstone said it was not surprising London had been attacked a fortnight after 56 people died, adding: “We will get through this.”

Police sources say the blasts may have been near simultaneous and that they are being linked with the 7 July bombs.

They say a number of fugitives are being sought. Two people have been arrested in Whitehall. BBC

The Guardian also has an extensive article here.

Possible Al-Quaida ultimatum gives EU one month to pull out of Iraq

The Al-Qaeda terror network warned European nations to pull their troops out of Iraq within a month or face more attacks like the deadly London bombings, according to an Internet statement.

“This message is the final warning to European states. We want to give you a one-month deadline to bring your soldiers out from the land of Mesopotamia (Iraq),” said the statement signed by Al-Qaeda group the Abu Hafs al-Masri Brigades and dated July 16.

After August 15, “there will be no more messages, just actions that will be engraved on the heart of Europe.

“It will be a bloody war in the service of God,” said the statement, the authenticity of which could not be verified. Middle East Online

ABC News: London Bombers Have Ties to United States

One of the bombers in last week’s attacks made a direct phone call to a suspected recruiter for an extremist group in New York.

Authorities told ABC News that records show Mohammed Sidique Khan, the eldest of the bombers now believed to be the field commander of the attacks, had called a person who is associated with the Islamic Center, a mosque in Queens, N.Y. Yet, a member of that mosque claimed they had no knowledge of the phone call.

In addition to Khan, two other men linked to the London bombings also had direct ties with the United States. ABC News

FOX News accuses British press of being “anti-American,” head of BBC responds

The objective news reporting coming out of the UK in the aftermath of the London attacks has been very impressive. I wrote a column about that very topic last week (link). Some people at Fox News seem to be thinking though that straight reporting is “pro terrorist” and accuse the BBC of spreading “anti American” sentiments.

FOX News does not offer complete transcripts of the O’Reilly Factor, the show that made most of the allegations. The Guardian, the UK paper that was also accused of being “anti-Bush,” has some of the more outlandish quotes, though:

O’Reilly wondered whether the BBC would change its “anti-Bush… bash America” agenda following the London attacks.

“Will things change now? Don’t count on it. That’s because media like the BBC won’t stop at spin… The only way to defeat worldwide terrorism is for the world to unite and overcome differences in support of that greater good. Maybe the London killings will help in that effort. What say you, BBC?,” O’Reilly said in his regular Talking Points Memo feature.

On his Fox News show, O’Reilly also said: “What good does it do al-Qaeda to alienate the BBC and all of these major organisations that have basically not dealt with the threat in a realistic way?”

This prompted a guest to add: “In certain respects, the BBC almost operates as a foreign registered agent of Hizbullah and some of the other jihadist groups.”

(…) O’Reilly has also laid into the Guardian since Thursday’s bombings, asking one guest: “Have you read the Guardian lately? I mean, it might be edited by Osama bin Laden. I mean, that’s how bad the paper is.” Guardian

It’s ridiculous to suggest that a news organization such as the BBC is “pro terrorist” just because they report straight facts. Apparently Fox News is annoyed that the BBC will not label people as “evil” across the board and do not report unsubstantiated rumors. The same goes for The Guardian.

The head of the BBC TV news department responded in a column in the Guardian:

(P)eople have asked about the flow of information - and in particular whether the BBC was more cautious than other news sources. Let’s be clear that the BBC does not withhold known facts. We always want to be first with confirmed news, and it is non-negotiable in our journalism that we supply information as soon as we have it.

However, we will not report mere rumour and nor will we run casualty figures, as the most obvious example, without being able to verify them. At times last Thursday we were seeing other news sources running figures well above any official estimates, and in some cases those reports exceed the known death toll today. That isn’t the way the BBC operates, so on very rare occasions our information will be “later” than some of our rivals: accuracy is more important than speed, though we want to achieve both. This approach has been praised by commentators here and in the United States - where the LA Times and the Baltimore Sun are among the newspapers approving of the BBC’s restraint.

(…) A contributor to Fox said after the London bombings that “the BBC almost operates as a foreign registered agent of Hezbollah and some of the other jihadist groups”. On the Fox website today there is an opinion piece, “How Jane Fonda and the BBC put you in danger”. I am writing this in a building which was bombed by Irish terrorists. My colleagues and I are living in a city recovering from the wounds inflicted last week. If I may leave our customary impartiality aside for a moment, the comments made on Fox News are beneath contempt.
Roger Mosey, head of BBC Television News in The Guardian

The UK has more experience with terrorism than we should hope the U.S. will ever have. That is probably the prime reason why a terrorist attack on the U.S. was met with such hysteria and lack of regard for civil liberties.

FOX News reporters who suggest that the press in the UK is spreading “anti-American” sentiments by reporting straight facts shows yet again how certain American journalists forget that their first allegiance should be to deliver solid information, not to acting as an extension of a particular government.

Those who point out shortcomings in government policy are in the long run helping raise the bar. Shooting the messenger under the guise of “patriotism” will only limit the freedom of the press that took centuries to establish. And it really doesn’t matter if this happens while flags or waving or not, the effect will be detrimental either way.

London bombers ‘were all British’ and ’suicide bombers’

The BBC is reporting:

Detectives now believe the London bombings were carried out by four British-born men in what were possibly the country’s first suicide attacks.

Security sources said it was likely at least three of the men, said to be of Pakistani-origin, are dead after their belongings were found at the scenes.

The details emerged as explosives were found in Leeds and Luton after a series of raids. One man has been arrested.

The BBC’s Frank Gardner said an expert may have offered the bombers guidance.

The security correspondent said the suspected bombers - one of whom is thought to have been as young as 19 - may have been helped by someone who would have left the country before the bombs went off. BBC

U.S. could learn from the British

Last week’s attacks on London have been repeatedly called Britain’s equivalent of the attacks of Sept. 11, a comparison that should not be made. Not only does Britain have decades of terrorism experiences prior to Sept. 11, the way in which last week’s situation was handled by the British also showed that American officials and the American media still have a lot to learn.

Clearly the “first responders” that were involved in Sept. 11 rescue missions did an amazing job bringing as many victims to safety as humanly possible, often at the cost of the rescuers’ own lives. This is in no way an attempt to criticize these individuals.

But looking objectively at how the flow of information and management of the situation went in both instances, the way in which the situation was handled in London shows monumental improvements over the response Sept. 11 caused, and Americans should learn from the example.
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