17.8.11
Fear of the Executioners: The Sinister Power of the Rating Agencies
08/16/2011
Fear of the Executioners
The Sinister Power of the Rating Agencies
By Michaela Schiessl, Christoph Schult and Thomas Schulz
REUTERS
As the debt crisis worsens, governments fear the rating agencies, which have the power of life and death over whole economies. The Big Three helped to cause the 2008 financial crisis and are now accused of worsening the euro zone's woes. But a look behind the scenes shows that there are few alternatives to the mighty agencies.
The man who will decide on the financial health of entire countries this summer wears dark suits and square wire-rimmed glasses. He has graying hair, but his face is youthful. He speaks in a sonorous baritone tinged with a southern German accent. Yes, this ratings guru is from Germany....
the full article via.. spiegel.de
9.8.11
Ο Αρχηγαντώνης σε νέες περιπέτειες ... εμπρός για το Ζάππειο ΙΙΙ
Cameron vows to put 16,000 cops on streets with photos !
DAVID Cameron today vowed to put 16,000 police on London's streets after coming back to Britain to take charge of the riot crisis engulfing the country.
The Prime Minister condemned the "sickening" violence unleashed on communities as he promised to reclaim the streets.
His words came shortly before it emerged that a 26-year-old man shot in Croydon has died in hospital.
It was also revealed that a total of 525 people have been arrested so far.
Speaking outside No10, Mr Cameron — who later met police around the capital — pledged to "everything necessary to restore order to Britain's streets and to make them safe for the law-abiding".
Fresh fear ... special police teams are moving into Stoke Newington as London braced for another night of violenceRex
He added: "This is criminality pure and simple and it has to be confronted and defeated."
As the capital braced itself for another night of violence, the PM announced the move to nearly treble the number of officers in London.
Officers were drafted in from forces around the country. Lancashire sent 70 police and Greater Manchester Police sent 100 officers to boost London's cops.
Mr Cameron also said that Parliament will be recalled on Thursday to discuss the crisis.Video: Sony site in Enfield torched
PLUMES of smoke seen for miles after DADC building set alight by rioters
Mr Cameron's announcement followed an emergency Cobra meeting to decide how best to tackle the mayhem that has gripped the country for three days. Scotland Yard has revealed that plastic bullets could be used for the first time to disperse rioters.
A "rogues gallery" of suspects has also been published by the Met in a bid to trace more than 2,000 thugs who brought fear and chaos to the nation.
Police who released the CCTV images hope the public will name and shame them. The thugs — including six women — are being sought in connection with terrifying scenes of arson and looting.
Caught on CCTV ... hoodies on rampage
Meanwhile, shops across the capital closed early amid fears of fresh unrest. Among those that shut were pubs in Croydon, stores and offices in Greenwich and Wimbledon and Southside shopping centre in Wandsworth.
Other areas to see early closures included New Cross Gate, Stratford, Hayes, Enfield, Shepherd's Bush and Wembley.
Shop assistant Nadeem Shaikh, 43, said his store would also be closing early. He added: "We have to, what are police doing? Nothing. It is not safe for shops.
Closures ... shops are shutting up early amid fear of fresh violence
"A lot of places have been burned down, we have no boards or shutters so we are worried about what could happen. No customers will come later anyway, they are frightened."
This came after residents fed-up with the wrecking of their communities orchestrated a massive clear-up effort via Twitter.
As insurers estimated the total damage to reach tens of millions of pounds, kind locals encouraged people to come together to clean up the mess caused by looters.
Getting shirty ... Londoner's top reveals how majority of city's residents feel about looting
Several groups — armed with dustpans and brushes — gathered to help official street cleaners in their bid to remove torched cars, shattered glass and other debris.
And as volunteers mucked in to restore order in London areas including EALING, HACKNEY, CLAPHAM, ENFIELD and PECKHAM, one shop owner said: "I was devastated when I saw what happened last night.
"I was really angry so I thought I'd channel my anger in a constructive way. We have never met each other before, we just spoke on Twitter this morning."
Bristling against violence ... residents fed-up with riots raise their brooms in ClaphamTwitter
Heartless yobs caused further outrage this morning when a video showed a gang of youths mug a young lad after pretending to help him.
They found the boy sitting on the pavement with blood pouring from his mouth. On the footage it appears as though they are helping him up and consoling him.
But then one hooded lad opens his rucksack to nick something from it.
Protest ... female Londoner tells rioters what she thinks of them
Abdul Hamid, who posted the clip online, said: "This is evil. A poor lad, obviously in distress, sits bleeding on the ground. He is 'helped' up and then robbed. I hope these scumbags are caught."
Labour leader Ed Miliband today also called for order to be restored after visiting the aftermath of a riot.
Mr Miliband saw smashed windows and met people who had been affected by the violence and looting that broke out in Peckham last night.
More than 100 people gathered around him and he was inundated with questions about recent events.
Mr Miliband told shop manager Joseph Sailsman: "The first priority has got to be to restore public order and to restore calm to the streets."
The country has been left reeling by the orgy of violence and destruction. Terrifying photos of a woman leaping from a burning building shocked the nation.
The woman escaped the flames in Croydon, South London, by jumping into the arms of cops.
Clean-up ... residents muck in to help Hackney council staff clear debris
Her rescue came at a time when thinly-spread police struggled to cope with the escalating mayhem.
Hundreds of people were arrested last night after the worst rioting in decades as looting, violence and arson spread across London and other major cities including LIVERPOOL, BIRMINGHAM and BRISTOL.
In PECKHAM, a woman called Caroline told how her husband was dragged off his motorbike by a baying mob of 12 hooded youths, who beat and kicked him, then took his bike.
Hundreds of people in black balaclavas and scarves marauded along the borough's main street, launching petrol bombs at police. Bus services were suspended after one was torched and another smashed to pieces.
Torched ... pedestrians pass burned-out cars piled up in Ealing, West London
Tesco and Iceland were among two of the shops looted. Around 50 masked youths made off with champagne and beer.
Peckham-born England and Man United soccer star Rio Ferdinand tweeted: "London's burning, riots galore — what will this solve??"
HACKNEY descended into a war zone after the rioting broke out about 5pm. Senior cops were checking reports that the violence was sparked by a stop and search.
Three police cars were destroyed in daylight and another vehicle still ablaze as darkness descended.Video: Violence engulfs Clapham
REPORTER Mark Stone films looters before eventually having to flee
A 71-year-old man was pulled from his burning home after looters torched a newsagent below.
Police had to push back rioters and knocked down the pensioner's door as he pleaded for help.
Neighbour Andy Hutchins, 38, said; "He was out the window screaming for help. He came out crying his eyes out. It's dreadful. What has he done to deserve that?"
Yobs used bins and shopping trolleys to smash their way into a sports store. An off-duty bus driver said: "They were like animals. It's very frightening."
Support ... David Cameron meets police on the ground
A cyclist was attacked by five men who jumped on him and ripped his shoulder bag free. Other looters jeered as they fled.
With police already spread thinly, yobs in LEWISHAM ran amok and looted shops at will.
The gangs used wheelie bins and a car to build a barricade. Masked yobs also ransacked shops in CLAPHAM without a cop in sight.
Shopkeepers began boarding up their stores at 4.30pm after Scotland Yard warned them the area could be targeted.
Waves of thugs then swamped the area. Commuters were trapped inside Clapham Junction station by rioting. Looters were seen fleeing the area on stolen Boris Bikes.
Terrifying ... woman leaps from burning building into arms of cops
There were clashes between thugs and police in STRATFORD, BETHNAL GREEN, BARKING, East London.
Also in the East End, there were reports of commuters being attacked at MILE END. CHALK FARM and KENTISH TOWN in North London were hit.
A Sony distribution centre the size of a football pitch collapsed in flames in ENFIELD, North London, after being hit.
London football clubs including West Ham and Charlton were ordered by police to postpone home matches tonight because there are no spare officers to police them.
Inferno ... firefighters battle a blaze at a Sony warehouse in Enfield, North London
And the FA announced today that an England friendly against Holland at Wembley had been called off.
Trouble also hit upmarket East Dulwich, next to Peckham, where a Tesco Express was looted.
The rioting later spread to West London, as Ealing Broadway shopping centre was torched.
Shop windows were smashed in Birmingham as crowds gathered following rumours on social networking sites of a riot copying London's. Police set up an exclusion zone up to half a mile around the Bullring shopping centre.
Looters' targets included an Adidas store, an Austin Reed menswear shop, a camera shop and several mobile phone shops.
March ... crowds roam through Toxteth on Merseyside as the violence spread to Liverpool
Around 100 people have been arrested. Four people were said to be held on suspicion of aggravated burglary, four for violent disorder and one for breach of the peace.
The violence also spread into KENT after a mob of 15 youths started fires and caused criminal damage in the Medway area.
Ten arrests were made following the widespread damage in Chatham, Rainham and Gillingham.
Blazing ... cars are consumed by flames after they were set on fire in Ealing, West London
Last night's anarchy erupted despite pleas from the family of suspected gangster Mark Duggan, 29, whose shooting dead by police in Tottenham last Thursday sparked the attacks.
Hero PC David Rathband, 43 — who was blinded by a shot from gun nut Raoul Moat — urged the use of water cannon on rioters.
Thieves ... girl stuffing bags of food in her jacket is among people looting a Poundland in Peckham, South East LondonINFphoto.com
On the prowl ... a masked lout marauds through burning Hackney yesterday
Hell ... huge blaze guts Croydon shops
via thesun.co.uk
1.8.11
Να σταματήσει άμεσα ο κλεφτοπόλεμος κυβέρνησης-ιδιοκτητών ταξί
Αθήνα, 1 Αυγούστου 2011
«Να σταματήσει άμεσα ο κλεφτοπόλεμος κυβέρνησης-ιδιοκτητών ταξί»Από το γραφείο Τύπου της Δημοκρατικής Συμμαχίας, εκδόθηκε η ακόλουθη ανακοίνωση:Ο αρμόδιος υπουργός, κ. Ραγκούσης, αποφεύγοντας να μιλήσει συγκεκριμένα για τον τρόπο που θα γίνει η απελευθέρωση, ρίχνει νερό στο μύλο της πόλωσης και των ακραίων αντιδράσεων.
Οι αυτοκινητιστές υπερβαίνουν τα όρια του νόμου και της αυθαιρεσίας με αποκλεισμούς εθνικών οδών, αεροδρομίων και λιμανιών.
Με την παράνομη αυτή τους τακτική, πλήττουν καίρια το Τουρισμό που στις σημερινές συνθήκες είναι η μοναδική πηγή απασχόλησης και ρευστότητας για την πατρίδα.
Ο κλεφτοπόλεμος αυτός πρέπει να σταματήσει άμεσα.
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