Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Politics : Formerly About Advanced Micro Devices -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Road Walker who wrote (540985)	1/5/2010 3:02:29 PM
From: TimF	Respond to of 1575535

Over the last 10 to 15 yes. ---------- China Losing More Manufacturing Jobs Than U.S. But Adding Service Jobs at a Rapid Pace July 8, 2004 China is losing more manufacturing jobs than the United States. For the entire economy between 1995 and 2002, China lost 15 million manufacturing jobs, compared with 2 million in the U.S., The Conference Board reports in a study released today. “As its manufacturing productivity accelerates, China is losing jobs in manufacturing – many more than the United States is – and gaining them in services, a pattern that has been playing out in the developed world for many years,” concludes The Conference Board study. According to Robert H. McGuckin, Director of Economic Research at The Conference Board and co-author of the study: “Increased unemployment has also accompanied the restructuring of the industrial sector, but per capita income has risen over the period.” The new report from The Conference Board, the global research and business membership network, is the result of a joint research project with The National Bureau of Statistics of China. The study is based on data for the 51,000 large and medium sized firms in China’s manufacturing, mining and the utilities industries. While the study focuses on the larger firms, according to McGuckin, “the same patterns are observed among smaller firms.” China is rapidly losing manufacturing jobs in the same industries where the U.S. and other major countries have seen jobs disappear, such as textiles. Matthew Spiegelman, Economist at The Conference Board and co-author of the study, notes: “The U.S. lost 202,000 textile jobs between 1995 and 2002, a tremendous decline by any measure. But China lost far more jobs in this sector –1.8 million. All told, 26 of China’s 38 major industries registered job losses between 1995 and 2002.”... conference-board.org ...The growth in manufacturing productivity is a worldwide phenomenon. According to Ward, productivity gains in China between 1995 and 2002 would have eliminated the need for about 37 million Chinese manufacturing jobs. Actual manufacturing job losses in both China and the United States were far less than these numbers, because while productivity gains were reducing demand for manufacturing workers, gains in GDP were increasing it. However, the total number of manufacturing jobs went down in both countries.[9] One of the biggest mistakes of trade opponents is thinking of the global economy in static terms: Jobs lost in the United States must mean jobs gained elsewhere. This representation of trade as a zero sum game is simply not accurate. The U.S. and world economies are dynamic things, growing and evolving daily. Rapid technological advances are driving down the cost in labor of manufacturing around the world. To resist this trend by adopting protectionist measures that subsidize less efficient producers is to buy into a world vision of lower productivity and slower growth, a poorer world in which everyone has less and produces less than they otherwise could... heritage.org ...The decline in manufacturing employment is not limited to the U.S. Since 2000, China has lost over 4.5 million manufacturing jobs. In fact, nine of the top 10 manufacturing countries, which produce 75 percent of the world's manufacturing output (the U.S., Japan, Germany, China, Britain, France, Italy, Korea, Canada, and Mexico), have lost manufacturing jobs but their manufacturing output has risen... townhall.com

To: Road Walker who wrote (540985)	1/5/2010 3:20:27 PM
From: one_less	1 Recommendation Respond to of 1575535

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Monday that internal unrest and a surge in al-Qaida activity in Yemen pose a global threat. ============= Yemen shows frictions with US over terror fight By LEE KEATH, Associated Press Writer Lee Keath, Associated SAN'A, Yemen – Yemen showed signs of friction Tuesday with the United States over the fight against al-Qaida, insisting it has the terror group under control, as the U.S. Embassy in San'a ended a two-day closure. Even as Yemeni forces have been hitting back against al-Qaida hideouts in recent days, comments by senior regime officials appear to reflect fears that Washington wants to snatch away the lead in directing the counterterror campaign. The government is deeply sensitive about appearing to be following an American lead before a population where distrust of the United States is high. The Yemeni complaints underscore how Washington and its allies have to step carefully as they work closer with the San'a government against al-Qaida. The government has little control outside the capital, leaving a power vacuum in large swaths of the mountainous, impoverished nations. Heavily armed tribes hold sway in many areas, and some have allowed al-Qaida fighters to take refuge there. The U.S. Embassy in San'a reopened its doors Tuesday after the two-day closure, saying Yemeni forces had tackled the feared threat. The British Embassy, which had also closed Sunday, resumed operations except for its consular and visa sections. Other Western embassies maintained heightened security Tuesday, including the French and Czech embassies, which were operational but closed to the public, and the Spanish and German embassies, which were restricting the number of visitors. The U.S. Embassy said in a statement on its Web site that "successful counter-terrorism operations conducted by government of Yemen security forces Jan. 4 north of the capital have addressed a specific area of concern," allowing the facility's reopening. It said the threat of terrorist attacks against American interests remained high and urged its citizens in Yemen to be "vigilant and take prudent security measures." On Monday, Yemeni security officials killed two suspected al-Qaida militants in a clash northeast of San'a. In addition, Yemeni forces arrested five others in the capital and the western region of Hodeida in recent days, the Interior Ministry said. However, several Yemeni security and government officials privately expressed anger over the embassy closures, saying they gave the impression Yemeni security forces were not able to protect foreign missions. The officials spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of U.S.-Yemeni ties. The Interior Ministry on Tuesday showed signs of indignation, touting the advanced training of security forces guarding embassies. "There is nothing to fear from any threats of terror attack," it said in a statement. "Security is good in the capital and the provinces, and there is no fear for the lives of any foreigner or foreign embassy." Security forces "have imposed a security cordon around al-Qaida elements everywhere they are present, and the security forces are observing and pursuing them around the clock," the ministry said. The U.S. has dramatically stepped up counterterrorism aid to Yemen, and President Barack Obama over the weekend promised a close partnership with San'a to fight the al-Qaida offshoot in the country. The group is blamed in the Christmas attempt to bomb a U.S. passenger jet. Yemen's government has enthusiastically accepted the aid and has vowed to act against the group, carrying out its heaviest strikes against its hideouts in years last month, with U.S. help. However, Yemeni officials have repeatedly said Western aid should be limited to training and funding counterterror forces, apparently worried that Washington will try to take a major role in directing the fight. They have repeatedly shown discontent over suggestions Yemen cannot handle the job itself. On Monday, Foreign Minister Abu Bakr al-Qirbi dismissed warnings by some in the United States that Yemen could spiral into greater instability like Afghanistan and Pakistan. "The situation in Yemen is different and cannot be compared to Afghanistan and Pakistan," al-Qirbi told journalists during a visit to Qatar, according to Yemeni media. "There is international concern over al-Qaida in Yemen, and Yemen is able to deal with these groups," he said. "But it is in need of help in training and preparing its counterterrorism forces, as well as economic aid because at the heart, the problem is economic." Over the weekend, the head of Yemen's National Security Agency, Ali al-Anisi, played down the threat of terrorism in his country, "Yemen is not a refuge for al-Qaida, as some claim. These are exaggerations." Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Monday that internal unrest and a surge in al-Qaida activity in Yemen pose a global threat. Clinton praised the Yemeni government for recent steps it has taken to combat extremists but said that at the London conference the United States and its allies will tell the Yemeni government that there are "expectations and conditions" it must meet for it to continue to enjoy support from the West.

To: Road Walker who wrote (540985)	1/5/2010 8:42:55 PM
From: tejek	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1575535

TOO MUCH HEAT IN THE SUNSHINE STATE.... Perhaps the most important political story of the day isn't out of D.C., but rather, about 900 miles south. On a conference call with reporters just now, Republican Party of Florida Chairman Jim Greer officially announced his resignation, effective on February 20. He took the opportunity to tear into his right-wing critics for wanting a smaller party and accused them of pulling apart the GOP itself in order to take him out. Greer is an ally of Gov. Charlie Crist, a relative GOP moderate who is being vigorously challenged in this year's Senate primary by the more conservative former state House Speaker Marco Rubio. Supporters of Rubio had been accusing Greer of mismanaging party funds and of being biased in Crist's favor, all of which Greer has strongly denied. In his resignation, Greer said he could no longer put the party through this divisive process -- but he clearly didn't mind taking some parting shots on the way out. Given that Greer was being forced out of his job by right-wing contingents, he felt largely unrestrained when it came to assessing the Republican factions that want to drag the party even further to the right. Greer said his detractors were so intent on ousting him, they were prepared to "burn the house down and destroy the Republican Party of Florida." He added that he came to realize that he "cannot be a participant in the shredding and tearing of the fabric of the Republican Party." This is obviously a significant blow to Crist and his Senate campaign -- the right-wing contingents that organized against Greer did so, in large part, to undermine Crist's Senate campaign and help former state House Speaker Marco Rubio (R). Chris Cillizza questioned today whether Greer's ouster is "a blow from which [Crist's already embattled Senate candidacy] cannot recover." But this is a story that's relevant far beyond Florida. Today's news has national implications. Evan McMorris-Santoro noted, "It's hard to overstate the importance of this resignation to the national GOP landscape." The Senate race in the Sunshine State has become something of a proxy for the larger fight within the GOP, which pits conservative Republicans against extremely conservative Republicans. A wide variety of party players from outside Florida have been weighing in, making it the epicenter of the larger dispute over the future of the GOP. Crist and his allies -- including Greer -- prefer a bigger party that can appeal to independents and center-right Democrats. Rubio's allies believe "moderates" need to be driven out of the party altogether, and they decided to start with taking out Greer. Crist, the sitting governor, tried to stop them ... and failed miserably. The right -- in Florida and nationwide -- now feels emboldened after claiming a high-profile scalp. Looking ahead, keep two angles in mind. First, this isn't a fight between Republican moderates and Republican conservatives, at least not in any meaningful sense. Olympia Snowe vs. Jim DeMint? That's the GOP center vs. the GOP right. Jim Greer, meanwhile, is perhaps best known for creating a national "controversy" in response to President Obama's plan to tell school children to do well in school. At the time, Greer threw a tantrum, accusing the president of trying to "indoctrinate America's children to his socialist agenda," adding that Obama "has turned to American's children to spread his liberal lies." Greer, in other words, was never a moderate/centrist, but he was still not right-wing enough for the Teabagger crowd. And second, one wonders if anyone outside the political world will notice any of this. Will the typical Florida voter realize that the state Republican Party is being hijacked by crazies? If so, there may be an electoral price to pay. If not, the problem will only get worse.