Purveyor
Purveyor's JournalChrysler Uses Strong Presence In US To Notch $436M Second-Quarter Profit
Source: Associated Press
By TOM KRISHER | Associated Press | 1 hour, 40 minutes ago in
Strong sales in the U.S. and Canada powered Chrysler to a $436 million second-quarter profit.
It's a big turnaround from a year earlier, when Chrysler lost $370 million in the quarter, mainly because it refinanced government bailout loans.
The automaker, now majority owned by Italy's Fiat SpA, also backed an earlier forecast that it would earn about $1.5 billion this year. Such a performance would have been unthinkable three years ago, when Chrysler nearly ran out of cash and needed a government bailout to survive.
Chrysler is benefiting from its reliance on North America and limited exposure to overseas markets. Other car companies are losing money in Europe and seeing sales slowdowns in China and South America. But more than 75 percent of Chrysler's sales come from the U.S., while Canada accounts for about 12 percent. Sales in both countries are up in the past three years.
Read more: http://www.newser.com/article/da0bd3ao0/chrysler-uses-strong-presence-in-us-to-notch-436m-second-quarter-profit.html
Michigan thanks you Mr. President, for giving GM & Chrysler a chance to succeed. We will show our appreciation in November, indeed!
Corn Hits All-Time High; Heat Proves Relentless
Source: Associated Press
Corn prices raced to a record high Monday as the hot, dry summer relentlessly pounded crops across much of the country.
Corn for September delivery gained 21.5 cents, or 2.7 percent, to end at $8.20 per bushel, which was an all-time high. December corn rose 20.75 cents, or 2.6 percent, to end at $8.14 per bushel. Soybeans rose 2.6 percent.
Expectations are mounting that harvests will be smaller than anticipated for both crops because of the drought, which covers some two-thirds of the continental U.S. There is little rain in forecasts for August.
Corn fields, particularly east of the Mississippi River, have been hit the hardest. Some farmers are harvesting what they can salvage to sell for livestock feed. Others may forgo harvest and leave the fields alone, analysts say.
Read more: http://www.chron.com/business/article/Corn-hits-all-time-high-heat-proves-relentless-3747167.php
Put up as much summer produce as you can (canning can be fun, actually)...I fear of the winter grocery prices.
Washington's Nervous Gulf Allies Seeking More Firepower As Tensions With Iran Grow
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates - While Iran's military loudly trumpets every new project or purported advance in hopes of rattling the U.S. and its Gulf Arab allies, the U.S. is quietly answering with an array of proposed arms sales across the region as part of a wider effort to counter Tehran.
In the past two months, the Defence Department has notified Congress of possible deals totalling more than $11.3 billion to Gulf states such as Qatar and Kuwait, which are seen as some of America's critical front-line partners in containing Iran and protecting oil shipping lanes.
The proposed sales — including Patriot missile batteries and Apache attack helicopters — are still modest compared with massive Gulf purchases such as Saudi Arabia's $60 billion package last year. That deal included more than 80 new F-15SA fighter jets, missiles, radar warning systems and other equipment.
But the recent flurry of expected sales from U.S. firms, approved by the Pentagon and outlined in notifications to Congress, underscores the growing emphasis among nervous Gulf states on seeking quick upgrades to existing firepower and defensive networks.
MORE...
http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/Washingtons+nervous+Gulf+allies+seeking+more+firepower+tensions+with/7012347/story.html
Panetta: Sanctions Not Moving Iran Away From Nukes
TUNIS, Tunisia (AP) -- U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta acknowledged Monday that increasingly stiff international sanctions have yet to compel Iran to give up its nuclear ambitions. But he argued that more pressure eventually would lead Iran to "do what's right."
Iran's disputed nuclear program, which Tehran contends is only for peaceful purposes, is a prominent backdrop to Panetta's five-day tour of the Middle East and North Africa. On Wednesday he'll be in Israel, whose leaders have said they are contemplating a military attack on Iran to stop Iran from developing nuclear weapons, a step they view as a threat to Israel's very existence.
The Obama administration wants Israel to give sanctions and diplomacy more time to steer Iran off its nuclear course, although Panetta repeated the administration's standard line that "all options" are on the table in the event that non-military pressure does not work.
"These sanctions are having a serious impact in terms of the economy in Iran," he told reporters during a visit to the North Africa American Military Cemetery, where 2,841 U.S. servicemen killed in the North Africa campaign against Nazi Germany in 1942-1943 are buried.
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http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/M/ML_PANETTA_TUNISIA?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2012-07-30-13-08-47
Romney: ‘Providence’ And Culture Make Israelis Superior To Palestinians
By David Edwards
Monday, July 30, 2012 9:57 EDT
Palestinian officials on Monday accused presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney of racism after he told wealthy donors — including billionaire Sheldon Adelson — that Israelis were more economically successful because of their culture and intervention by God.
“And as I come here and I look out over this city and consider the accomplishments of the people of this nation, I recognize the power of at least culture and a few other things,” Romney remarked at a $25,000-a-plate fundraiser, adding that a climate of innovation and the “hand of providence” also played a part.
“As you come here and you see the GDP per capita, for instance, in Israel which is about $21,000 dollars, and compare that with the GDP per capita just across the areas managed by the Palestinian Authority, which is more like $10,000 per capita, you notice such a dramatically stark difference in economic vitality,” he said.
According to the CIA, Israelis had a 2011 per capital income of $31,400, while Palestinians had a per capita income of just $2,900.
MORE...
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/07/30/romney-providence-and-culture-make-israelis-superior-to-palestinians/
Panetta Goes to Middle East as Iran Dominates Israel Talk
Source: Bloomberg
Defense Secretary Leon Panetta heads today to the Middle East where tensions are rising over the democratic transition in Egypt, turmoil in Syria and Iran’s suspected advances toward nuclear weapons.
His trip to Tunisia, Egypt, Israel and Jordan has a security agenda, including new concerns about Syrian chemical weapons, along with election-season political stakes. Panetta is scheduled to arrive in Israel on the heels of a visit by Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, who has appealed to Jewish voters by attacking President Barack Obama as lacking sufficient commitment to Israel’s security.
One public source of tension between the Obama administration and Israeli leaders involves the urgency of military strikes against Iran’s nuclear sites. While the U.S. and Israel both say they suspect Iran is covertly seeking nuclear-weapons capabilities through uranium enrichment and other activities, the two allies have disagreed openly about how much time to give economic sanctions and negotiations to persuade Iran to give up much its nuclear program.
With a lack of progress in the negotiations, “the clocks in Washington and Tel Aviv are out of sync” on the timing for military action, said David Makovsky, a Middle East specialist at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. The Obama administration’s strategy is to see if Iran backs down as international sanctions increasingly hurt its economy, saying there is time for military action as a last alternative.
Read more: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-07-28/panetta-heads-to-middle-east-as-iran-dominates-israel-talks.html
Best Of Friends? CIA Considers Israel One Of Its Biggest Spy Threats
While US politicians boast strong ties with Israel, CIA officials suggest Israel is one of its biggest counter-intelligence threats. With spyware that rivals that of American agencies, it is extremely difficult to detect the extent of its spying.
In a CIA ranking of the world’s intelligence agencies and their willingness to help the US fight the War on Terror, Israel fell below Libya.
Speaking to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity, current and former US intelligence officials blame Israel for incidents that indicate attempts to acquire secret information.
One CIA station chief noticed that the communication equipment that he used to contact CIA headquarters from Israel had been tampered with, even though it was in a locked box. Another CIA officer based in Israel had his home broken into. While nothing was stolen, the officer noticed his food had been rearranged.
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http://rt.com/usa/news/cia-mossad-israel-espionage-311/
AP: US sees Israel, tight Mideast ally, as spy threat
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_US_ISRAEL_SPYING?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2012-07-28-09-25-08
Consumer Confidence in U.S. Falls to Lowest Level of Year on Labor Outlook
By Michelle Jamrisko - Jul 27, 2012 10:37 AM ET
Confidence among U.S. consumers dropped in July to the lowest level this year as the labor market and broader economy showed few signs of improvement.
The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan final index of sentiment declined to 72.3 this month from 73.2 in June. The gauge was projected to hold at the preliminary reading of 72, according to the median forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News.
A slowdown in hiring in the second quarter, which may reflect companies’ concerns about demand as Europe’s economy falters, is damping moods of Americans whose spending accounts for about 70 percent of the economy. Another report today showed the expansion cooled in the second quarter.
The drop “may well be more worries about Europe and fiscal policy and just the jitters in the equity market recently,” said James O’Sullivan, chief U.S. economist at High Frequency Economics in Valhalla, New York. At the same time, “we’re not seeing a collapse in confidence.”
MORE...
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-07-27/michigan-consumer-sentiment-index-decreased-to-72-3-in-july.html
Two Bexar County, Texas K-9s Dead After Night Left Inside Hot Cruiser
SAN ANTONIO -- The Bexar County Sheriff's Department says two of its K-9s have died after they were left inside a patrol vehicle overnight.
According to a statement from the Sheriff's Office, the dogs were "inadvertently" left inside the vehicle overnight and died from apparent heat exposure.
The deputy responsible, identified as Deputy Steve Benoy, has been placed on administrative leave as the Animal Care Services and the BCSO investigate the incident. He was described as a 23-year veteran who has been assigned to the K-9 unit for 13 years of his career with the BCSO.
According to the statement, Benoy is "completely devastated by the tragic accident."
Sheriff Amadeo Ortiz said in the statement, "Deputy Benoy has been a dedicated officer during his career; he has never received any discipline during his tenure with the Sheriff's Office. It is my belief that this is a tragic accident however; the Sheriff's Office is following standard procedures in conducting a thorough investigation."
MORE...
http://www.kens5.com/news/Two-Bexar-County-K-9s-reported-dead-163866306.html
The Left Should Take Pride In ‘Delegitimizing’ The Occupation
By Caroline Beck
Last week, a protest letter signed by 40 leaders of the American Jewish community and initiated by the Israel Policy Forum was sent to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, urging him not to adopt the recommendations in the Levy Committee’s report. In the letter, they said that the report’s recommendations, if adopted, would jeopardize Israel’s credentials as a democratic state, and harm the chances of achieving a two-state solution.
The Levy Committee’s main findings (page 83 of the report, in Hebrew) are that the laws of occupation do not apply to the West Bank, and that Israel has a right to settle all the land of Judea and Samaria. The report recommends, among other things, that the government of Israel remove administrative obstacles preventing the authorization of new construction in the West Bank, and that it refrain from demolishing unauthorized construction in the West Bank (despite a Supreme Court order), until such construction can be retroactively legalized. The report also recommends that land seized by military order should be utilized for settlement construction, and that the Israeli Civil Administration’s use of the ‘nuisance’ order, issued to halt and remove Israeli settlers who trespass onto private Palestinian agricultural land, be cancelled.
How surprising, then, that in a rebuttal letter to the Israel Policy Forum, Ambassador Alan Baker, a member of the Levy Committee (and former legal advisor to Israel’s Foreign Ministry), accused the letter’s esteemed signatories of adding “fuel to those who seek to delegitimize Israel’s right to exist,” by expressing their “incorrect and ill-advised assumptions about the report.”
The ludicrous conclusions of the Levy Committee’s report will no doubt do enough on their own to discredit its authors and propagators. But accusing people of delegitimization, as Baker accuses the 40 signatories of the IPF letter, will always be a trump card for the right in Israel (and the pro-Israel lobby abroad which supports it) as long as we, the left in Israel (and our liberal two-staters abroad who support us), continue to pretend that it is not our intention to delegitimize.
MORE...
http://972mag.com/the-left-should-take-back-delegitimization/51786/
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