Republicans blasted the Internal Revenue Service on Sunday for targeting conservative groups seeking tax-exempt status, calling for a full investigation and pressuring the Obama administration to hold the agency accountable. “The bottom line is they used key words to go after conservatives. This is something you have to institute changes to make sure it doesn’t happen again,” House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa said on “Meet the Press.” “There’s got to be accountability for people who were telling lies about it being done.”
Did some officials hope never to reveal this wrongdoing? Did others hope it could quickly get lost in the weekend news cycle? Misguided, if so. We hope to hear Democratic leaders as well as Republican ones loudly saying so.
The agency said that it now has rules in place to make sure this sort of thing never happens again. How could such basic safeguards not have existed in the first place? And what are the new rules? In response to our questions, officials did not say.
FT社説、バラク・オバマ政権に降りかかった2つの災難について --------------------------------------------------------------------------- ttp://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/9a2ad1ac-bbcc-11e2-82df-00144feab7de.html#axzz2TCl9OV2q May 13, 2013 6:44 pm Barack Obama’s wobbly moment He must act on IRS and Benghazi controversies quickly オバマ大統領はIRSスキャンダルとベンガジ事件について、迅速に行動 しなくてはならない FT社説、13日
The probes may have been local ? though there are questions about whether senior IRS officials withheld knowledge of what its Cincinnati office had been up to. But many suspect it as the thin end of an anticonservative wedge. President Barack Obama needs to act decisively. The issue is bigger than the accountability of a federal agency, vital though that is. With questions mounting about his administration’s allegedly doctored account of the Benghazi consulate killings last September, he needs to avoid falling victim to the “second-term curse”. Of the two congressional probes, the IRS has the bigger potential to bring what little Washington business is under way to a halt. この2つの事件のうち、IRSスキャンダルのほうが、潜在的に遥かに重大であろう
Mr Obama is at a critical point in his second term. The glow of his re- election is fading, as are hopes that Washington’s climate will change for the better. He faces the spectre of drift and scandal that often disfigures presidential second terms, those of Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton included. Keeping control of the agenda is a prerequisite for second-term success. Losing control spells failure. Mr Obama needs to do what it takes to lay both the IRS and Benghazi controversies to rest. 2つのスキャンダルを迅速に解消できないと、第二期政権特有の方向性喪失とアジェ ンダの執行不可能に至るから、早急に行動すべきだ (注* 一般的に言って、FTも多くの欧州の新聞のようにオバマの応援団なので・・)
ttp://www.politico.com/story/2013/05/donald-trump-obama-might-have-lost-91248.html Donald Trump said Monday that if the details surrounding the IRS targeting tea party groups and last week’s Benghazi hearing had come out last fall, President Barack Obama might not have won reelection. “This is a big, big story that is probably going to get a lot bigger,” Trump said of the IRS scandal on Fox News. “This is a terrible thing. It’s just not supposed to happen. They have laws against it. If this were somebody else, this would be the biggest story.”
WASHINGTON (AP) ? The Justice Department secretly obtained two months of telephone records of reporters and editors for The Associated Press in what the news cooperative's top executive called a "massive and unprecedented intrusion" into how news organizations gather the news. 司法省はAP通信の2ヶ月分の通話記録を集め、編集してAP通信社の報道を監視していた。 AP通信の取締役は「前代未聞の通信社の取材行動への大規模な侵害」と言っている。
The records obtained by the Justice Department listed outgoing calls for the work and personal phone numbers of individual reporters, for general AP office numbers in New York, Washington and Hartford, Conn., and for the main number for the AP in the House of Representatives press gallery, according to attorneys for the AP. It was not clear if the records also included incoming calls or the duration of the calls. これはAP通信の記者個人の電話番号ごとに通話発信の記録、APのニューヨーク、ワシ ントン、ハートフォードなどの事務所への通話を記録したもの。
In all, the government seized the records for more than 20 separate telephone lines assigned to AP and its journalists in April and May of 2012. The exact number of journalists who used the phone lines during that period is unknown, but more than 100 journalists work in the offices where phone records were targeted, on a wide array of stories about government and other matters. 昨年の4月から5月にかけてAPの20本の回線、100人の記者の活動に関わるもの。
In a letter of protest sent to Attorney General Eric Holder on Monday, AP President and Chief Executive Officer Gary Pruitt said the government sought and obtained information far beyond anything that could be justified by any specific investigation. He demanded the return of the phone records and destruction of all copies. 司法長官宛のAP社長の抗議書簡は政府が正当化出来る範囲を超えて情報収集を行った としている。
The government would not say why it sought the records. Officials have previously said in public testimony that the U.S. attorney in Washington is conducting a criminal investigation into who may have provided information contained in a May 7, 2012, AP story about a foiled terror plot. The story disclosed details of a CIA operation in Yemen that stopped an al-Qaida plot in the spring of 2012 to detonate a bomb on an airplane bound for the United States. 政府はこれら情報収集の目的を示していないが、昨年5月7日の失敗したテロ計画につ いてのAP記事に関して関係者の犯罪捜査を行ったかもしれない。この記事はイエメン のCIAのオペレーションを明かしており、CIAがアルカイダの計画を阻止したと報じた。
In testimony in February, CIA Director John Brennan noted that the FBI had questioned him about whether he was AP's source, which he denied. He called the release of the information to the media about the terror plot an "unauthorized and dangerous disclosure of classified information." 2月の議会聴聞でCIAのべネット長官はAPの記事のソースについてFBIが聞き取りを行 ったと述べている。長官はソースが通信社に情報を明かしたことを「機密情報につ いて危険で承認されていない開示」であるとしていいる。
The White House on Monday said that other than press reports it had no knowledge of Justice Department attempts to seek AP phone records. ホワイトハウス広報官はこの件について報道されている以外のことは知らないと述べた(後略)
The latest revelations expand the scandal over the IRS targeting of political groups, which the agency initially said was restricted to low-level employees at an office in Cincinnati Ohio, where agents focused on groups including those with the words “Tea Party” and “patriot” in their names. “For the IRS to say it was some low-level group in Cincinnati is simply false,” Cleta Mitchell, an attorney representing one of the groups which believes they were targeted, told the Post.
A report in Roll Call in March 2012 revealed that leading members of Congress not only were aware that the Internal Revenue Service had begun investigating the political activity of would-be 501(c)4 Tea Party groups that winter, but showed to what an extent members of Congress had been actively putting pressure on the agency to take a closer look at tax-exempt conservative organizations in the wake of the Supreme Court's Citizens United ruling. Reported Janie Lorber in 2012:
Tea party outrage over a spate of IRS letters to conservative groups has revived a long-standing dispute over the agency's controversial role in policing politically active nonprofits. In January, the IRS began sending extensive questionnaires to organizations applying for nonprofit status as part of a broader project to understand whether social welfare organizations?which are not required to disclose their donors?are actually acting as political committees.
Campaign finance reform groups and lawmakers in both parties have repeatedly demanded that the IRS examine the activities of tax-exempt advocacy groups, which proliferated during the 2010 cycle and are on pace to play an even larger role in 2012.
Copper futures are down 2.3% to $3.29 a pound on the Comex. China is the world's largest copper market, and the drop is being driven by concerns about China's growth. We just saw a string of poor data, especially fixed asset investment and industrial production for the month of April. JP Morgan now expects Chinese GDP of 7.8% in Q2, down from 8%. They lowered their full-year projection to 7.6%, from 7.8%. Bank of America's Ting Lu sees downside risk to his Q2 forecast of 8.1%. Societe Generale's Wei Yao has been below consensus for some time and maintains her Q2 GDP forecast of 7.8%. Here's a look at what Copper futures are doing: JPモーガンは中国経済の成長率予測をQ2について8%→7.8%に引き下げ、全年度 について7.8%→7.6%に引き下げ、BoAはQ2予測を8.1%、ソシエテジェネラルは Q2を7.8%とみている
The attorney general has been in the middle of controversies over whether to shut down Guantanamo Bay prison and whether to try suspected terrorists in U.S. courts. He has defended the U.S. right to wage drone strikes, to stage the raid that killed Osama bin Laden, and to use lethal force against a leader of al-Qaida who was also U.S. citizen. He also was a lightning rod for conservative complaints about Fast and Furious, a federal sting that allowed U.S. weapons to fall into the hands of suspected gun smugglers on the theory that they could then be tracked to Mexican drug cartels. Instead, hundreds of the guns went missing, and many of them have been linked to crimes. One of them was the December 2010 killing of Brian Terry, a border patrol agent. Holder ended up being held in contempt of Congress, although he was not directly involved in the operation, run by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. Now we have the phone-records case, which the AP labeled a “massive and unprecedented intrusion” into its constitutional rights to gather and report the news. The news service suggested the move may have been part of a criminal investigation into who leaked the AP information about a CIA operation in Yemen that blocked an al-Qaida plan to explode a bomb on a plane headed for America. The story was published last year on May 7. It is unclear how Holder fits into the latest firestorm, but he's a battered survivor of many controversies and this could be the one that finally convinces him or Obama that it's time to go. ガンタナモ問題、無人攻撃機の問題、Fast and Furiousスキャンダル・・などの 数々の政治的問題で熱心なオバマ擁護者として生き延びてきた Eric Holder司法 長官だが、今回のAP盗聴事件では成り行き次第で(ついに)首が危ういかもすれない
We will know more when the Treasury Department’s IG report is finally released. But it should be kept in mind that the use of the IRS to target political opponents of an Administration is one of the greatest dangers of the tremendous power of this federal agency. That is why federal law (26 U.S.C. § 7217) prohibits any employee of the executive office of the President and Vice President, as well as Cabinet secretaries, from requesting “directly or indirectly” that the IRS investigate “any particular taxpayer with respect to the tax liability of such taxpayer.”
It’s unclear who in the IRS or elsewhere supported or condoned the wrongful conduct at issue, but it is important for the rule of law and the interests of justice that Congress aggressively pursue its oversight function to get to the bottom of this scandal and, most importantly, who instigated and authorized it.(ヘリテージ財団ブログから)
X-47Bの写真→ ttp://s.wsj.net/public/resources/images/OB-XL777_drone_G_20130514122813.jpg The Navy drone is more autonomous than the current generation of Air Force drones. While Air Force pilots remotely fly MQ-1 Predators and MQ-9 Reapers, the X-47B handles the complicated maneuvers required for taking off and landing on a carrier autonomously. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ttp://www.recordchina.co.jp/group.php?groupid=72292&type= 大統領報道官がセクハラで更迭…韓国の好感度、中国ではなぜか微上昇? ―中国版ツイッター 2013年5月14日 20時51分 レコード・チャイナ
"There are huge derivative books in Japan where there’s been tremendous amount of derivatives written assuming that rates would stay low forever. I think this could be on the verge of blowing up. This may be the start of it, this may get quiet, or it may get ugly right now. That will impact the American bond market and it will affect equities everywhere. So, it’s potentially dangerous." http://www.businessinsider.com/fleckenstein-abenomics-could-end-american-stock-rally-2013-5
Groups with "Progressive" in their names got little scrutiny, but Tea Party groups put on hold IRS inspector general blamed agency's leadership for "ineffective management" Attorney General Eric Holder says he has asked the FBI to investigate ルベラル系の組織はIRSから税免除の証人を得るのにほとんど問題がなかったが、ティ パーティなどの保守系NPOは承認が延期されてきた。USAトディの調査したIRSデータに よれば両者には大きな差が有る。司法長官はFBIに捜査を依頼した。
WASHINGTON -- In the 27 months that the Internal Revenue Service put a hold on all Tea Party applications for non-profit status, it approved applications from similar liberal groups, a USA TODAY review of IRS data shows.
The tax exemption requires that organizations have "social welfare" as their primary purpose, but IRS officials said the rules are unclear how much political activity they can engage in. IRSに依るNPOへの税金免除の承認は、それら組織が公共的福祉を目的とする場合に行われ るルールであるが、IRS高官によればNPOの政治的行動との関連については不透明であると いう(後略)
ttp://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324715704578482823301630836.html James Bovard: A Brief History of IRS Political Targeting One survey found that 75% of IRS respondents felt entitled to deceive or lie to Congress. By JAMES BOVARD IRSの行ってきた政治組織への狙い撃ちの歴史的事例について By JAMES BOVARD WSJ (IRSの政治利用というのはオバマ政権の発明ではない)
○President Franklin Roosevelt used the IRS to harass newspaper publishers who were opposed to the New Deal, including William Randolph Hearst and Moses Annenberg, publisher of the Philadelphia Inquirer
○President John F. Kennedy raised the political exploitation of the IRS to an art form. Shortly after capturing the presidency, JFK denounced "the discordant voices of extremism" and derided people who distrust their leaders?President Obama didn't invent that particular rhetorical line.
○Shortly thereafter, JFK signaled at a news conference that he expected the IRS to be vigilant in policing the tax-exempt status of questionable (read: conservative) organizations.(後略) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- *権力者が反対勢力に圧力を加えるために税金や税制を利用しIRSを私兵のように使う のはこれまでもあったこと、と論じる。
He will have to spend some of that precious time trying to clean up unexpected messes that have landed on his desk. How seriously off track his administration is will depend in large part on how skillfully Obama handles what is before him.
Lois Lerner, the senior IRS official at the center of the decision to target tea party groups for burdensome tax scrutiny, signed paperwork granting tax-exempt status to the Barack H. Obama Foundation, a shady charity headed by the president’s half-brother that operated illegally for years. ・・・ Lerner also appears to have broken with the norms of tax-exemption approval by granting retroactive tax-exempt status to Malik Obama’s organization. Lerner granted the organization a 501(c) determination and even gave it a retroactive tax exemption dating back to December 2008.
The group’s available paperwork suggests an extremely hurried application and approval process. For example, the group’s 990 filings for 2008 and 2009 were submitted to the IRS on May 30, 2011, and its 2010 filing was submitted on May 23, 2011. Lerner signed the group’s approval [pdf] on June 26, 2011.
It is illegal to operate for longer than 27 months without an IRS determination and solicit tax-deductible contributions. “The Obama Foundation raised money on its web page by falsely claiming to be a tax deductible. This bogus charity run by Malik had not even applied and yet subsequently got retroactive tax-deductible status,” Ken Boehm, chairman of the National Legal and Policy Center, told The Daily Caller. Boehm described Malik Obama’s attempt to raise money as constituting “common law fraud and potentially even federal mail fraud.”
Boehm doubted that the charity is doing what it says it’s doing and wondered why the charity was given tax-exempt status so quickly after the evidence of wrongdoing came to light.
The town is turning on President Obama ? and this is very bad news for this White House. ・・・ This is a dangerous ? albeit familiar ? place for a second-term president. Once the dogs are released, they bark, they bite and it takes a very long time to calm them down. Bill Clinton got hit early and often, and George W. Bush never really recovered from it. No doubt, the hysteria cools. But, once you hit this point, it takes time, often lots of it.
ベンガジ事件にとどまらず、オバマとの近しい関係が彼女をして政権から距離を 置くことを困難にさせている After a brutal 2008 campaign, she spent her time in Foggy Bottom cultivating an apolitical image ? aided by some aggressive political handlers ? while benefiting from the president’s broad popularity. The unusual void of top- tier Democratic talent made a presidential run all the more enticing. But with scandal lurking, all those advantages could end up being for naught. Clinton knows something about being embarrassed by a president. Her political hopes may be disappointed by another. これまでは彼女の将来のキャリアの為に有利な条件であった政権中枢との深い関係は 一連のスキャンダルの発生で逆作用に転じかねない
Forget Afghanistan, Syria, and the war or terror. Barack Obama's administration now finds itself embroiled in a three-front domestic war that threatens to undermine public confidence in the U.S. president's ability to lead the nation. アフガニスタンも、シリアも、テロとの闘いもそっちのけで、バラク・オバマは国内の 3つの戦いに巻き込まれている。それは大統領への国民の信頼と国を指導する能力に疑い をもたせる(3つの国内戦とは、ベンガジ事件、IRSゲート、AP通信へのスパイ疑惑) *この後にオバマ政権で司法長官の果たす役割(政府の行動の秘密主義と不透明性)につ いての批判があって興味深いけれど省略 For the president and his aides, the first item on the agenda is damage control. The administration is likely in full-blown (but secret) polling mode, seeing how high the tides of dissent and resentment will rise, and who they will envelop. My guess is that Holder is history. Right now, it looks as if Obama will survive, though probably as a lame duck, just four months into his new term in office. It is a sad fall for an administration that has always prided itself as having escaped the muck of ordinary politics. But not this time.
We are past the point where presidential protestations that the administration is innocent on all charges will be treated as evidence that it is covering up its own misdeeds. Cheap talk is dangerous in all professions, even in politics. The real tragedy is that the president and his attorney general believed overmuch in their own exalted rhetoric; the nation, and the world, is all the poorer because of their excesses. "Pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall." Proverbs 16.18 should now be required reading in Washington. *Eric Holder司法長官への非難が高まっており、恐らく彼は政権を去るだろうけれど オバマ大統領はレームダック化するもののそれ以上(弾劾)には及ばないのではないか という。
Most voters believe the Internal Revenue Service’s targeting of Tea Party and other conservative groups was politically motivated and think most of those involved should be severely punished. IRSがティーパーティや保守系の組織を狙い撃ちにしたスキャンダルで、世論調査に 答えた国民の大半は、その行動が政治目的であり厳しく罰せられるべきとした。
Just 16% of Likely U.S. Voters believe the IRS investigations of these groups were a coincidence, according to the latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey. Fifty-seven percent (57%) think the investigations were politically motivated. Twenty-seven percent (27%) are not sure. (To see survey question wording, click here.) ティーパーテイが狙われたのは偶然とする人は16%、政治的意図で行われたとみる 人が57%、よくわからないは27%
Fifty-five percent (55%) think it is at least somewhat likely that President Obama or his top aides were aware that Tea Party and other conservative groups were targeted by the IRS. Thirty-four percent (34%) consider that unlikely. This includes 36% who believe it is Very Likely the president or his top aides knew of the investigations and 13% who feel it is Not At All Likely. Eleven percent (11%) are undecided. IRSがティ−パーティなど保守系組織を狙い撃ちにしたことをオバマ大統領や幹部が 認識していたと見る人は55%、そうではないと思う人が34%。よくわからないは11%
Only seven percent (7%) of voters believe no disciplinary action should be taken against the IRS employees involved in the investigations. Twenty-nine percent (29%) feel they should be formally reprimanded. But most (57%) think those involved should be jailed or fired, with 16% who say they should be put in jail and 41% who believe they should be fired. IRSと行為者に対する処罰について必要ないと見る人は7%、懲戒処分が必要とする人 は29%、行為者を投獄或いは解雇すべきとする人は57%(投獄16%、解雇41%)
基本事項 “Rising supplies of US light, tight oil (LTO) have turned upside down, or at least called into question, the conventional wisdom about what oil is, how it is extracted, how much of it is left in the ground, and how it can be processed and used.” (クラッキング手法によるシェール石油などの)LTOは此れまでの常識を覆し採掘可能 埋蔵量など各種の見積もりについて、これまでの常識が通用しないところが発生
What’s Happening Now “The initial impact of the LTO [light tight oil] boom on global crude markets has been indirect: rather than seeking out export markets, the new supply has so far affected international crude markets mostly by backing out imports.” LTOのグローバル・エネルギー市場に与える影響は非直接的で米国産石油は輸出用では なく国内で使用されて石油輸入の減少になって現れている
What could happen later “It is impossible to ignore the possibility that current non-conventional technologies, as they spread and get both perfected and mainstreamed, could lead to a wholesale reassessment of global reserves.” 新たな非伝統的石油開発(クラッキングによる)が世界にどの程度広まり、主流に成る か否か、世界の石油の利用可能埋蔵量にどういう影響があるか今の時点で明言できない
What about natural gas? “The surge in US shale gas production and associated shifts in natural gas pricing are challenging the conventional wisdom about fuel switching and gas-in-transport.” シェールガスは米国内の天然ガス価格に大きな影響を与え、輸送用(業務用自動車、 トラックなどの)石油に代わる燃料となる可能性も
The US President Barack Obama has nominated one of his key national security adviser as his point man for East Asia. Currently Senior Director for Asian Affairs in the White House National Security Staff (NSS), Danny Russel, has been nominated yesterday for the post of Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs. He would replace Kurt Campbell, who was the architect of several policy initiatives in the first term of the Obama Administration, including the changes in the US policy towards Myanmar, the India-Japan and US trilateral dialogue.
Before joining the NSS, Russel was Director of the Office of Japanese Affairs at the Department of State. From 2005 to 2008, he was US Consul General in Osaka-Kobe, Japan.
Previously, he served as Deputy Chief of Mission at the US Embassy in The Hague from 2002 to 2005, and as Deputy Chief of Mission at the US Embassy in Nicosia, Cyprus from 1999 to 2002. From 1996 to 1999, Russel was Chief of Staff to the Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs. Earlier assignments included posts at the US Embassy in Seoul, Korea and with the US Mission to the United Nations. Before joining the Foreign Service in 1985, Russel was a manager for an international firm based in New York City.
WASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama on Wednesday named Danny Russel, a close aide with expertise in Japan, as the top US diplomat for East Asia charged with handling relations with the vast and growing region.
The Senate will need to confirm Russel as the assistant secretary of state for East Asia. Obama, announcing Russel and other nominees, praised them for their "depth of experience and tremendous dedication" to their work. Russel has served since 2011 as the White House's senior director on Asian affairs, helping flesh out the Obama administration's "pivot" policy of putting a higher priority on Asia at a time that China is gaining in clout.
As assistant secretary of state, Russel would be further on the frontlines of diplomacy. His nomination is likely to be welcomed in Japan, where officials are sometimes sensitive about remaining high on the US priority list. While involved on issues throughout Asia, the career diplomat has spent considerable time on Japan and previously served as the top State Department official on Japan and as consul general in Osaka.
Russel is considered more soft-spoken than his predecessor Kurt Campbell, a confidant of former secretary of state Hillary Clinton who was known for his high-octane style and punishing travel schedule. The White House has said that Obama will maintain a strong interest in Asia in his second term, but some pundits believe that the "pivot" strategy was largely an initiative of Clinton and Campbell.
Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Fla., said the resignation "is a necessary first step but more heads need to roll." Miller’s resignation was part of three-step plan Obama outlined to fix the problem. Vern Buchanan議員はIRSコミッショナーの辞任を「必要な最初のステップ」と述べた
The other steps are to put in place the safeguards recommended in the IG report and to work with Congress as it investigates. “The good news is we can fix this,” Obama said. オバマ大統領は再発防止策実施と議会の調査委員会への協力を約束している
Miller became acting commissioner after Commissioner Douglas Shulman completed his five-year term. Shulman had been appointed by President George W. Bush. The report lays much of the blame on IRS supervisors in Washington who oversaw a group of specialists in Cincinnati who screened applications for tax-exempt status. It does not indicate that Washington initiated the targeting of conservative groups, but it does say a top supervisor in Washington did not adequately supervise agents in the field even after she learned the agents were acting improperly. The Justice Department is also investigating the IRS targeting, as are three congressional committees. 公表された報告書はワシントンのIRSの監督部署に問題があるとしており、実際の不当 行為のあったオハイオ州シンシナティのIRSの監督が不十分という。ティーパーティな どへの狙い撃ちを始めたのがワシントンの本部であるか否かについて報告書は言及して いない。報告書はシンシナティの下部組織の不当行為があった後で適切な監督がなかっ たとしている。この事件について司法省と議会の3つの調査委員会が調査解明を進めている。
This rally could do with losing a little steam. Index gains of more than two thirds in six months have lifted the Nikkei 225 Average forward price/earnings ratio a quarter to 21 times, albeit still comfortably below its long-run average of 28. If upbeat consumers, rather than managers, are right, companies will be in for their first collective pleasant surprise in years. But if bosses are not being overly cautious, this is far enough. ttp://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/3/19de0d52-bde8-11e2-9b27-00144feab7de.html#axzz2TS3MGBU2 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- *LEXの言っていることはその通り。アベノミクスとは言え黒田日銀が出発したのが 4月であるからQ1に金融緩和やビジネスサイドの投資増加の見えないのは当然でJカ ーブ効果を考えればBoJの言うように夏以降、年後半からビジネスシドの軌道復帰が 現れないといけない。とは言え企業の次年度業績見通しをみると円安でトヨタのよう に過去最高レベルの利益云々というのも出てきていて、株価はそれを見ている。
Sam Ro | May 16, 2013, 6:10 AM Gold dipped below $1,400 yesterday, and today it is tumbling. The yellow metal is currently at around $1,373. In a 13-F filing, George Soros revealed that his fund slashed its holdings in the popular gold ETF GLD.
BEIJING, May 14 (Xinhua) -- Chinese scientists on Monday conducted an experiment in the high-altitude atmosphere and near-Earth space with the launch of a sounding rocket, it was confirmed on Tuesday. The National Space Science Center (NSSC) under the Chinese Academy of Sciences said the rocket was launched at 9 p.m. Monday from Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China. The experiment was designed to investigate energetic particles and magnetic fields in the ionized stratum and near-Earth space. According to a preliminary analysis by the NSSC, the experiment has reached expected objectives by allowing scientists to obtain first-hand data regarding the space environment at different altitudes.
ttp://freebeacon.com/china-conducts-test-of-new-anti-satellite-missile/ A U.S. official familiar with intelligence reports said the DN-2, as a high earth-orbit attack missile, is a significant advance for China’s program of developing asymmetric warfare capabilities for use against the United States. Others include cyber-warfare capabilities and anti-ship ballistic missiles.
It could not be learned if the latest ASAT test involved an impact with a target satellite.
A second official said the Chinese apparently disguised the ASAT missile test as a space exploration experiment. The website of the National Space Science Center, part of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, reported Monday that a sounding rocket was used in a high-altitude scientific exploration test.
“This experiment used a high-altitude space-exploring rocket, Langmuir probe, high-energetic particle detectors, magnetometers and barium-powder release experimental apparatus and other payload of scientific exploration to test and measure the ionosphere, the high-energy particles and magnetic fields of the near-Earth space strength and structure,” the notice said.
China in 2007 conducted its first successful hit-to-kill ASAT test against a weather satellite in low-earth orbit. The impact left tens of thousands of pieces of debris in orbit that continue to threaten both manned and unmanned spacecraft. Defense officials have said China’s ASAT weapons, including missile interceptors, lasers, and electronic jammers, are designed to disrupt satellite communications and navigation systems used extensively by the U.S. military in conducting joint warfare.
President Obama hasn’t begun to fix the big problem of Washington dysfunction, but he moved Wednesday to respond to public anger and reposition his sinking administration. He fired the acting IRS commissioner, released a blizzard of e-mails on Benghazi and backed a shield law to protect journalists. It was fancy footwork in public-relations terms but not a reaction to what’s really ailing the federal government. ・・・・ What should frighten the public is not the federal government’s monstrous power but its impotence.(ry
WASHINGTON, May 16, 2013 ? The Missile Defense Agency and Navy sailors aboard the USS Lake Erie conducted a successful flight test of the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense system yesterday, Pentagon officials reported. In the test, the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense 4.0 weapon system and a Standard Missile 3 Block IB missile intercepted a separating ballistic missile target over the Pacific Ocean.
A separating short-range ballistic missile target was launched from the Pacific Missile Range Facility on Kauai, Hawaii, and flew northwest toward a broad ocean area. The USS Lake Erie detected and tracked the missile with its onboard AN/SPY-1 radar. The ship, equipped with the second-generation Aegis BMD weapon system, developed a fire control solution and launched the SM-3 Block IB missile.
The most corrosive political scandals are the ones that feed a pre-existing story line ? which is why the White House could have difficulty putting the current ones behind it any time soon. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- オバマ大統領支持率と推移のグラフ(全ての世論調査の集計) ttp://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/other/president_obama_job_approval-1044.html
China Daily reported yesterday on a counterfeit condom factory busted in the southeastern province of Fujian, and two other underground factories uncovered by the police investigation : ・・・・
此れに関連してガーナ政府が中国から輸入された偽物Condomsが品質不良だとして 摘発したという報道も Bloomberg Businessweek’s coverage points to the government seizure of faulty imported condoms last month in Ghana, many of which were revealed to have been produced in China:
QUESTION: Hi, my name is Takashi from Japanese newspaper Asahi. Osaka City Mayor Hashimoto recently made a comment on the so-called “comfort women” issue, arguing that even though it is unacceptable from the moral perspective value, but the comfort women were necessary during the war period. And he also argued that it is not fair that only Japan is criticized by the United States and other countries, because there are other country military that were provided sexual service by prostitute. And do U.S. has any position on his comment or criticism against the United States?
MS. PSAKI: We have seen, of course, those comments. Mayor Hashimoto’s comments were outrageous and offensive. As the United States has stated previously, what happened in that era to these women who were trafficked for sexual purposes is deplorable and clearly a grave human rights violation of enormous proportions. We extend, again, our sincere and deep sympathy to the victims, and we hope that Japan will continue to work with its neighbors to address this and other issues arising from the past and cultivate relationships that allow them to move forward.
QUESTION: Do you describe this issue sex slave or comfort women? MS. PSAKI: Again, I don’t know that I’m going to define it. You kind of laid out the specific details there, and we have described this issue in the past as comfort women[ii].
>>684 脚注に [ii] Rather than focusing on the label placed on these victims, we prefer to address the fact that this was a grave human rights violation of enormous proportions. The United States is also committed to working with our partners and allies around the world to denounce modern-day slavery and trafficking in persons no matter where it occurs.
Dollar strength is the topic of this evening's Morgan Stanley FX Pulse. The basic gist is: It's about weakening yen, strengthening data, increasing US yields relative to the rest of the world (which makes the dollar inherently more valuable), weakening euro, and more hawkish tones from Fed folks. 飴のイールドの増加、ユーロの弱体化、円安の流れなどでドルの相対的強さが増している
Here's the commentary from Morgan Stanley: There has been a significant shift in global currency market dynamics over the course of the past week, driven not only by the JPY, but increasingly by the USD. We have discussed recently the potential change in the status of USD, with the US increasingly being seen as an investment destination and the USD being used less as a funding currency. ドルの相対的強さが増加している。円の弱さのみならず米国への投資の増加が背景に 米ドルが投資の通貨になってきている
This process has continued over the past week, with further strong data from the US leading to a renewed rise in US treasury yields. This rise in US yields now places the USD into the basket of yielding currencies, which suggest further support is likely to build over the over medium term. 米国国債のイールド増加が此れに拍車、この動きは将来、中期的に持続
The US data has continued to provide positive signals for the USD, with the renewed improvements in the labour market data of importance, given the Fed’s policy link to the unemployment rate. But, the positive news is broadening beyond the labour market, with a favorable impact on the US consumer also starting to become evident, while our US economists now see US Q2 GDP tracking at 1.8% instead of 1.2% The encouraging news from the labour market and elsewhere in the US economy has added to the USD support, especially as the tapering debate is intensifying once again. Indeed, most of the Fed speakers over the past week have been from the more hawkish camp, which has allowed the rise in yields to go unchecked, thus far. The Fed’s Plosser, although not a FOMC voter currently and a known hawk, has led the calls for tapering over the past week. Hence, we place emphasis on Fed chairman Bernanke’s response (next speech due Saturday). If Bernanke decides to address the rise in yields this could cause a pause in the USD recovery, but we would view this as likely to be very brief, providing a renewed USD buying opportunity, especially given the overall more positive signs of growth coming from the US economy. 勿論将来の金利はFRBの意思決定に左右されるがQ2のGDP成長率が1.2%ではなく1.8% であったことなど経済好転の見通しからFRBにも鷹派の声が強まっている。
Chinese hackers caught trying to steal secrets of our new stealth fighter as tens of thousands of cyber attacks are launched on jet manufacturer every week Lockheed Martin said it was being targeted by hackers from China Company is building new Joint Strike Fighter which is 'invisible' on radar Team of 'young geeks' battling against cyber attacks at British base By SEAN RAYMENT PUBLISHED: 20:58 GMT, 11 May 2013 | UPDATED: 20:58 GMT, 1
The IRS scandal has two parts. The first is the obviously deliberate and targeted abuse, harassment and attempted suppression of conservative groups. The second is the auditing of the taxes of political activists. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323582904578487460479247792.html Updated May 16, 2013, 7:20 p.m. ET This Is No Ordinary Scandal
後者は、国内メディアでは、あまり報告されていないけれど The second part of the scandal is the auditing of political activists who have opposed the administration. The Journal's Kim Strassel reported an Idaho businessman named Frank VanderSloot, who'd donated more than a million dollars to groups supporting Mitt Romney. He found himself last June, for the first time in 30 years, the target of IRS auditors.
LOUISVILLE, KY. ? An Army spokesman says one member of the Navy was killed and several others injured during a training exercise at the Fort Knox, Ky., Army post. Fort Knox spokesman Ryan Brus said Friday that the accident happened at 9:30 p.m. EDT Wednesday and involved members of a Naval branch at the post in central Kentucky. Brus had no other details and referred calls to Navy Lt. David Lloyd. Lloyd did not immediately return a call to The Associated Press.
>680 歴代の長官の中にも、結構代行のままで退任している例があるので、決して珍しくはないかと。 例えば二代前に当たる Linda E. Stiff さんは、2007/9/9 から 2008/3/23 まで、代行のままで 役目を終えてますし。 ※先代の Douglas H. Shulman は 2008/3/24〜2012/11/9 と、4年以上そつなく務めた人ですが
*このインタビュー中で慰安婦の問題も触れられていて、安倍首相は As I said at the outset, I have had my remarks only partially or mistakenly quoted by the mainstream media. Let me set the record straight. Throughout my first and current terms as prime minister, I have expressed a number of times the deep remorse that I share for the tremendous damage and suffering Japan caused in the past to the people of many countries, particularly in Asia. I have explicitly said that, yet it made few headlines
*いわゆる歴史の見直し、靖国問題について I never raised the issue of history myself. During [recent] deliberations in the Diet, I faced questions from other members, and I had to answer them. When doing so, I kept saying that the issue is one for historians, since otherwise you could politicize it or turn it into a diplomatic issue.
About the Yasukuni Shrine, let me humbly urge you to think about your own place to pay homage to the war dead, Arlington National Cemetery, in the United States. The presidents of the United States go there, and as Japan’s prime minister, I have visited. Professor Kevin Doak of Georgetown University points out that visiting the cemetery does not mean endorsing slavery, even though Confederate soldiers are buried there. I am of a view that we can make a similar argument about Yasukuni, which enshrines the souls of those who lost their lives in the service of their country.
As a further sign that all is not well in the Franco-German motor of Europe, the two countries will not issue a joint statement ahead of the next EU summit as Berlin had hoped. The development comes as France slips further into economic malaise. 独仏関係がギクシャクしている事の現れとして次回のEUサミットで両国は共同声明 をださない(ベルリンはそれを望んだのだが)フランスの経済低迷が影を落としている
英語の慰安婦サイト Comfort women were women and girls forced into a prostitution corps created by the Empire of Japan.The name “comfort women” is a translation of a Japanese name ianfu (慰安婦). Ianfu is a euphemism for sh?fu (娼婦) whose meaning is “prostitute(s)”. The earliest reporting on the issue in South Korea stated it was not a voluntary force, and since 1989 a number of women have come forward testifying they were kidnapped by Imperial Japanese soldiers.(下線は筆者が追加)
NBC's Lisa Myers reported this morning that the IRS deliberately chose not to reveal that it had wrongly targeted conservative groups until after the 2012 presidential election: 今日のNBCのニュースによれば、IRSはスキャンダルが内部で知られた昨年9月に、この 事実を大統領選挙の終わるまでは公表しないと決めた
he IRS commissioner "has known for at least a year that this was going on," said Myers, "and that this had happened. And did he share any of that information with the White House? But even more importantly, Congress is going to ask him, why did you mislead us for an entire year? Members of Congress were saying conservatives are being targeted. What's going on here? IRS代表代行は1年以上前にスキャンダルを知っていた。これがホワイトハウスに報告 されていたかは不明。重要なことは、この隠蔽が大統領選挙に絡んだ政治意図的なも のであったのかどうかで、議会の調査委員会はこの点に焦点をあてる。
The IRS denied it. Then when -- after these officials are briefed by the IG that this is going on, they don't disclose it. In fact, the commissioner sent a letter to Congress in September on this subject and did not reveal this. Imagine if we -- if you can -- what would have happened if this fact came out in September 2012, in the middle of a presidential election? The terrain would have looked very different." このスキャンダルが昨年9月に発覚していれば大統領選挙に大きな影響があっただろう (後略)
The Treasury Department’s inspector general told senior Treasury officials in June 2012 he was auditing the Internal Revenue Service’s screening of politically active organizations seeking tax exemptions, disclosing for the first time on Friday that Obama administration officials were aware of the matter during the presidential campaign year.
At the first Congressional hearing into the I.R.S. scandal, J. Russell George, the Treasury inspector general for tax administration, told members of the House Ways and Means Committee that he informed the Treasury’s general counsel of his audit on June 4, and Deputy Treasury Secretary Neal Wolin “shortly thereafter.” (関連)ttp://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/18/us/politics/irs-scandal-congressional-hearings.html
ttp://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/0cf5e1fc-be3b-11e2-9b27-00144feab7de.html#axzz2TgWlYers May 17, 2013 7:21 pm The name’s Bond, James Bond. I’m a programmer By Chris Morgan-Jones The world of cyber espionage is moving out of the shadows, writes Chris Morgan-Jones 私の名前はジェームス・ボンド、プログラマーである サイバースパイが闇から白日のもとに晒され大きな問題になってきた By Chris Morgan-Jones FT
This is the new world, and it stands every chance of going the wrong way. The Pentagon clearly realises this but governments everywhere are less alert than they should be. When the US administration is defending itself against charges of hacking its own citizens and the novel on the radio is about a clock-punching Chinese hacker, we will know the change is complete.