Archive for the ‘York’ tag

Japan Gears Up to Push Down the Yen

[at New York Times] – Prime Minister Naoto Kan said Japanese officials were in talks with their counterparts overseas to lay the groundwork for a possible intervention on currency markets.

Trichet Says E.U. s Profligate Members Should Lose Vote

[at New York Times] – Jean-Claude Trichet has suggested a sin-bin for members of the eurozone that contravene the financial laws of the region, which would have them facing temporary bans from political decision-making in the region, the president of the European Central Bank told The Financial Times.

Should Driving on the Beach Be Illegal?

Florida’s pristine beaches are public property–and they’re used to the usual traffic jams of tourists, wildlife and the occasional hurricane. In and around Daytona Beach, they’re also legal pathways for passenger vehicles, a century-old tradition that occasionally ends in death. Earlier this summer, The New York Times reports, 4-year-old Aiden…

Most Facebook users have low self-esteem: Study

Facebook is used mostly by narcissists and those with low self-esteem, says a Canadian study.

These type of people use Facebook as a self-promotional tool, says psychology researcher Soraya Mehdizadeh of York University.

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‘Infy not to be same post Murthy’

Thomas Friedman, Commentator and New York Times columnist said that IT bellwether, Infosys will never be the same after chief mentor and chairman Narayana Murthy retires from the company.

No Tax Cut Extension for Wealthiest Americans (CBS News)

The New York Times Reports That President Obama Will Not Extend Bush-Era Tax Cuts for the Wealthy

Gold futures soften as U.S. dollar gains vs euro

[at MarketWatch] – Gold futures weakened as the dollar gained against the euro amid rekindled worries about Europe s banking sector. Gold futures for December delivery were down $1.6 at $1,249.50 an ounce in electronic trade on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Noticed: Defriended, Not De-Emoted (The New York Times)

Is there a better way to handle it than just a cold, calculated click?

Coughlin Meets With Jacobs, Who Is Upset About His Role (The New York Times)

Running back Brandon Jacobs was upset after the Giants? game Thursday that his playing time is being reduced for Ahmad Bradshaw.

Blackwater created shell companies to get govt business: Report

The New York Times is reporting that the security company Blackwater Worldwide formed a network of 30 shell companies and subsidiaries to get government business after the company faced strong criticism for its conduct in Iraq.

Strong Yen Helps to Fuel Germany’s Export Boom

[at New York Times] – European companies tend to focus on the dollar exchange rate, but the yen’s recent rise is also giving a significant lift to German companies.

Man undergoes sex change to look like Lady Gaga

She has been at the receiving end of many scathing comments over her looks, but a Bulgarian fan of popstar Lady Gaga is undergoing a sex change operation to become her body double.

Penio Daskalov, 24, plans to have a full sex change operation and is enlisting cosmetic surgeons to turn him into a copy of Lady Gaga, reported New York Post online.

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4 Reasons Why Pay-Per-View YouTube is a Hard Sell

Earlier this year Google started offering online rentals of Sundance Film Festival movies. It bombed. According to the New York Times, Google made a paltry $10,709.16 from its $3.99 rental service over the course of 10 days, and the videos only garnered a combined 2,684 views. Perhaps the content was too niche for a broad audience, but those are still some mortifying numbers.

C.F.T.C. Issues New Forex Trading Rules

[at New York Times] – In its first implementation of the Dodd-Frank law, the Commodities Futures Trading Commission said Monday that it had published a new set of so-called final rules to regulate the retail foreign exchange market.

Serious concern if Chinese troops in Gilgit: India (NDTV)

The government has said it is independently verifying a report in the New York Times about the presence of Chinese troops in the Gilgit region of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, saying it would be a matter of serious concern if it turns out to be true.

Afghan prosecutor says Karzai tried to block graft probes

WASHINGTON – Fazel Ahmed Faqiryar, a leading prosecutor in Afghanistan, said President Hamid Karzai had fired him for refusing to block corruption investigations at the highest levels of government, The New York Times reported late Saturday.

Japan’s Leader Says He’ll Move to Rein In Surging Yen (at New York Times)

Japan’s policy makers are struggling over ways to put a cap on the yen, which hit a 15-year high against the dollar this week.

Agency approves financing deal on 2 WTC towers

NEW YORK – The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey formally approved a deal Thursday with the developer of the World Trade Center site over how to help pay for two towers.

Saudi Royal Backs Imam and Fox News (The New York Times)

In an awkward moment on Fox News this week, a pundit suggested that a Saudi stakeholder in the channel’s parent company funds radical madrasas all over the world.

Borrowing by Euro Zone Companies Falls 1.3% (at New York Times)

A 2.8 percent increase in lending to households offset the decline in corporate borrowing, so total credit to the private sector rose 0.9 percent.

Baradar – Our vote goes to the ISI

Back in March 2010, Indian officials were aware that Taliban leader Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar had been picked up by the ISI who conned the CIA into helping them locate the man in the crowded city of Karachi a few weeks earlier.

US officials at the time were effusive about Pakistan’s "cooperation" , hoping to use Kayani’s smooth assurances to chart their exit out of Afghanistan. In fact, the line coming out of Washington then was – guys, we told you the Pakistanis have stopped loving the Taliban and are turning them over to us.

Indian intel officials following Pakistan said, wait and see. In the past few months the US has had several epiphanic moments about Pakistan. The Wikileaks revelations in July removed the fig leaf the US was using all along. My view then was, and remains, that the ripples from WikiLeaks will make fundamental changes to the entire war outlook.

Anyway, seven months later, some people in Washington seem to have seen the light. Check out this New York Times story by Dexter Filkins. The most telling quote in the story is this: "We picked up Baradar and the others because they were trying to make a deal without us," said a Pakistani security official, who, like numerous people interviewed about the operation, spoke anonymously because of the delicacy of relations between Pakistan, Afghanistan and the United States. "We protect the Taliban. They are dependent on us. We are not going to allow them to make a deal with Karzai and the Indians."

It isn’t that the US has just discovered they had been duped by the ISI for the nth time. Matt Waldman, who wrote a fantastic paper called The Sun in the Sky – the Relationship between Pakistan’s ISI and Afghan Insurgents had a lot more on the subject.

"The ISI has apparently established parameters of Taliban conduct and strategy, reinforced by the threat of arrest. Independent contacts between the Taliban’s former military commander, Mullah Baradar, and the Afghan government, possibly with a view to negotiations, apparently breached these boundaries, and so he and at least seven other Taliban leaders were arrested by the ISI in early February 2010. It appears that the arrests were intended to send a message to both the Taliban and the United States that negotiations could only take place if the ISI had a major role in, if not control over, the negotiating process."

This view, Waldman says, "was echoed by Taliban commanders, most of whom doubted Pakistan’s support for negotiations. As a commander from a central province said: ‘The ISI arrests [of Taliban leaders] were done for their own interests; they don’t want peace in Afghanistan, and they don’t want them to talk to the Afghan government. If there is peace, it is not to Pakistan’s benefit.’"

"One of the southern commanders claimed: ‘If any one rejects that the ISI backs or controls the Taliban, he has a mental problem … all our plans and strategy are made in Pakistan and step by step it is brought to us, for military operations or other activities.

"Pakistan [the ISI] does not have only one representative on the Quetta Shura, they have representatives everywhere. As for Mullah Baradar’s arrest, do you think they didn’t know where he and others were before that? … the ISI have more than two, three or four [representatives] on the [Quetta] Shura. … Some [other members of the Quetta Shura] know they work for the ISI, but it’s not discussed. … The reality is that the ISI controls the leadership. Mullar Omar has strong support of Pakistan; he has to listen to them and do what they say.’

"Arguably, it is consistent with the arrest of Taliban leaders that showed an interest in talks with the Afghan government, and with the ISI sanctioning, perhaps even orchestrating, the replacement of Mullah Baradar with the more hard-line Qayyum Zakir.

"Both Haqqani commanders echoed the comments of Taliban commanders about the presence of ISI on the Quetta Shura. According to the senior commander: ‘Yes the ISI control the Quetta Shura. When Mullah Baradar and Mullah Omar talked directly to the Afghan government – peace talks – the ISI arrested Baradar … because they want peace talks to fail. I don’t know how many ISI are on the Quetta Shura … Honest Afghans who want jihad and are honest to their country, were disarmed, detained and became powerless … I know many good high-ranking [former] Taliban who are not supporting the fight in Afghanistan … the rest are listening to the ISI, [and] still have the control. I don’t like this. Without the support of the ISI, Afghans cannot do anything, can’t even have meetings. Both former and current ISI are on the Quetta Shura. New ISI members are not so reliable and do not have such a strong role in it; the former ISI have more credibility and influence. All the Taliban interested in the peace process are detained.’ — from The Sun in the Sky.

Pakistan’s ISI has over the past few months made it clear to all stakeholders in Af-Pak that all "peace" negotiations will have to be made through them, to emphasise the centrality of the Pakistani role in the resolution in Afghanistan. These stakeholders range from Taliban leaders, US officials and generals and all countries around them.

Indian nabbed at US airport with jihadist material (NDTV)

An Indian has been arrested for carrying jihadi literature at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, a media report said.

Vijay Kumar, 40, was arrested on Friday after security officials searched his luggage when they noticed him behaving strangely, the New York Post reported on Monday. Kumar said he is from Mumbai.

Roche Backs New Method for Drug Delivery to Cells (The New York Times)

Roche agreed to pay up to $1.1 billion to Aileron Therapeutics, which is developing a new type of drug technology called stapled peptides.

ISI tells Taliban: Don’t talk peace

Washington, Aug. 23: Pakistan’s military spy agency ISI has warned the Taliban not to open negotiations with the Hamid Karzai regime or the US without its permission.

Quoting top Pakistani security officials, New York Times said the Taliban leaders have been warned against carrying out free-lance negotiations, where Islamabad is excluded.

“The message from the ISI is: no flirting,” the

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Fair Game – Official Trailer [HD]

	Fair Game – Official Trailer [HD] Release Date: 5 November 2010 Genre: Action | Biography Cast: Naomi Watts, Sean Penn, Satya Bhabha, Bruce McGill, Sam Shepard Director: Doug Liman Writers: Jez Butterworth, John-Henry Butterworth Studio: Summit Entertainment Plot: A suspense-filled glimpse into the dark corridors of political power, FAIR GAME is a riveting action-thriller based on the autobiography of real-life undercover CIA operative VALERIE PLAME (Naomi Watts), whose career was destroyed and marriage strained to its limits when her covert identity was exposed by a politically motivated press leak. As a covert officer in the CIA's Counter-Proliferation Division, Valerie leads an investigation into the existence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. Valerie's husband, diplomat JOE WILSON (Sean Penn), is drawn into the investigation to substantiate an alleged sale of enriched uranium from Niger. But when the administration ignores his findings and uses the issue to support the call to war, Joe writes a New York Times editorial outlining his conclusions and ignites a firestorm of controversy.	From: trailers Views: 302 58 ratings
	Time: 02:09	More in Entertainment

Crude turns lower as stocks falter, dollar weakens (at MarketWatch)

Crude-oil futures reversed lower Monday as equities gave off some of their earlier gains and the dollar strengthened. Crude for October delivery retreated 16 cents, or 0.2%, to $73.67 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Sterling Raises $730 Million to Avert Foreclosure (at New York Times)

Sterling Financial said it has raised $730 million from private equity and institutional investors which will see Sterling Savings Bank, Washington s second-largest bank, avoid being seized and sold.

Pakistan may have tried to thwart Afghan talks: report

WASHINGTON, Aug 22, 2010 (AFP) – January’s capture of top Taliban commander Abdul Ghani Baradar may have been a bid by Pakistani intelligence to thwart talks between the Taliban and the Afghan government, The New York Times said late Sunday….

Shakira to be fined for stopping traffic?

Pop star Shakira may land herself in trouble for stopping traffic while shooting for a music video in Barcelona.

Authorities at the Spanish city are considering fining the Colombian singer for causing inconvenience to traffic as she filmed her video, reported New York Post.

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IRAN MAY HALT HIGH-GRADE URANIUM ENRICHMENT

WASHINGTON, Aug 20, (Agencies): The United States has persuaded Israel that Iran would take one year or longer to build a nuclear weapon, dimming the prospects of a preemptive strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities, The New York Times said late Thursda…

Raju takes over as VIT VC

The VIT deemed university in Vellore has got a new vice chancellor. Professor Raju, formerly dean, school of engineering technologies and director of science and technology programmes at the State University of New York assumed charge as vice chancellor of VIT deemed university recently.

Your Money: Can Smart Money Management Be Sexy? (The New York Times)

There are ways to broadcast your financial values and seek significant others who share your approach without coming off as a tightwad or a gold digger.

422,000 Loans Modified Under U.S. Program, Data Shows (The New York Times)

The pool of potential candidates, however, is shrinking rapidly. New trial modifications were down sharply in July.

Israel, Palestinians to resume direct talks: Report

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is expected to announce on Friday that Israel and the Palestinians will resume direct peace talks for the first time in 20 months, the New York Times reported.

Druckenmiller to Shutter His Hedge Fund (at New York Times)

Stanley Druckenmiller, the hedge fund magnate who led George Soros s famous bet against the British pound, is calling it quits.

Petraeus not for rapid exit from Afghanistan

Kabul, Aug. 16: Gen. David H. Petraeus, the commander of American and Nato forces, began a campaign on Sunday to convince an increasingly sceptical public that the American-led coalition can still succeed here despite months of setbacks, saying he had not come to Afghanistan to preside over a “graceful exit.”

In an hour-long interview with the New York Times, the general argued against any

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Treasury yields, dollar lower after Empire index (at MarketWatch)

Treasury prices stayed higher and the dollar lost ground against the Japanese yen on Monday after the New York Federal Reserve Bank s Empire State Manufacturing index rose to 7.1 in August from 5.1 in July, a smaller improvement than many analysts expected.

British TV stations receive Emmy nominations

NEW YORK- Two British television stations received International Emmy nominations Wednesday for their reporting from Taliban-controlled areas of Pakistan.

US intensifies strikes at Qaeda targets

The US military conducted in May a secret air strike against a suspected Al-Qaeda target in Yemen and killed a deputy provincial governor in the process, The New York Times reported late on Saturday.

Strategies: Double-Dip Recession? A Tipping Point May Be Near (The New York Times)

Amid fears of renewed recession, Treasury bonds are still ruling the roost.

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