Kreppan í BNA magnast hratt

ISM Services Index, sem mælir umsvif í þjónustugreinum hrundi
gjörsamlega í janúar og mældist 41,9 (gildi undir 50 merkja samdrátt)
en fræðingar höfðu reiknað með um 54. Þannig að þetta er massíf
hreyfing. Við getum því búist áfram við hruni hlutabréfamarkaðar þar í landi og aðrir markaðir munu án efa fylgja honum niður.

Men No Longer Needed?: Scientists Use Female Adult Stem Cells to Create "Female Sperm"

http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2008/feb/08020103.html 

By John Jalsevac

U.K., February 1, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - "'Female sperm', 'male eggs' and 'same-sex reproduction' - whether these terms fill you with hope or disgust, a reproductive revolution is already in progress," begins a recent New Scientist report on some of the most bizarre and disturbing scientific research being conducted by stem cell scientists.

"In a handful of labs across the world, biologists are trying to make genetically male cells develop into eggs, and female cells into sperm. If successful, their efforts might one day allow lesbian and gay couples to have children that are genetically their own," the report continues.

Scientists at Newcastle upon Tyne University in the U.K. claim to have already used adult stem cells to create primitive sperm, reports New Scientist. Karim Nayernia, a stem-cell biologist at Newcastle, made adult stem cells derived from male bone marrow develop into spermatogonia, and then coaxed the spermatgonia to undergo meisois, thereby becoming mature sperm with sufficient genetic information to impregnate a human egg.

According to the New Scientist report, Nayernia claims to have developed the spermatogonia from female bone marrow as well, but has not yet been able to make the female spermatogonia undergo meiosis.

Theoretically, were Nayernia to be successful in his attempt to create "female sperm", a lesbian couple could give birth to a child that is a composite of both of the partner's genetic material, with no man having contributed to the process of procreation.

Scientists are also working on developing a human egg from male stem cells. In such a scenario it would be possible that a human egg would be made using skin cells of one of the male partners in a homosexual relationship, which would then be impregnated with the sperm of the other partner. The fertilized embryo would then be implanted in the womb of a surrogate mother. 

In Brazil, stem-cell scientist Irina Kerkis claims to have already created sperm and eggs from male mouse embryonic stem cells. "We are starting experiments with human embryonic stem cells," Kerkis told New Scientist.

At the same time, in the U.S., patent analyst Greg Aharonian is attempting to obtain a patent for technologies that would allow scientists to create sperm or eggs, allowing same-sex couples thereby to have their own children.

In his patent application, Aharonian states, "The present invention includes methods for developing sperm containing a female's chromosomes, or developing eggs containing a male's chromosomes, and the sperm or eggs so produced."

In the "background to the invention" section of the application, Aharonian claims that this technology could overcome the "only" objection to allowing same-sex couples to "marry" - that is, their present inability to procreate.

"The main, if not only, objective reason for opposing same-sex marriage is that same sex procreation is impossible - two men cannot conceive a child that has genetic material only from both men, and similarly for two women," writes Aharonian.

"But is same sex procreation impossible, so that same-sex couples are forever denied equal protection under marriage laws? Or like brain surgery, face transplants and other 'unnatural' medical technologies, are there clinical techniques to achieve same-sex procreation?"

Aharonian told the New Scientist, "I'm a troublemaker."

As with most stem-cell technologies, however, there are safety concerns about the process. Reportedly Nayernia pioneered his "female sperm" techniques first on mice, impregnating female mouse eggs with sperm derived from female stem cells. The mice that were subsequently born, however, suffered severe health problems.

One other problem with creating "female sperm" is that such sperm would always lack the Y chromosome necessary to conceive a male child. Hence the process could only ever produce a female child.

There are also still a host of technological problems to be solved, which has lead some scientists to conclude that useable "female sperm" and "male eggs" are still a long ways off. "I think it will take far more than 10 years," said Robin Lovell-Bade of the London-based National Institute for Medical Research.

Seðlabankar heimsins hafa glatað bæði trúverðugleika og áhrifum

Frétt af mbl.is

  Vextir lækkaðir vestanhafs

Viðskipti | mbl.is | 30.1.2008 | 20:01
Stjórn bandaríska seðlabankans lækkaði stýrivexti um hálfa prósentu í kvöld og eru stýrivextirnir þá 3%. Er þetta í annað skipti á átta dögum, sem vextirnir eru lækkaðir til að styðja við bandaríska hagkerfið, sem sumir hagfræðingar telja að sé á barmi samdráttar.
Lesa meira

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Einhver pumpmaskína þrýsti Dow Jones upp um 230 punkta þegar fréttist af annarri vaxtalækkun seðlabankans á rúmri viku og vaxandi krepputali hagfræðinga. Reyndar er það nokkuð örugg þumalputtaregla að þegar hagfræðingar byrja að tala um kreppu hefur hún þegar staðið í amk. hálft ár ef ekki lengur. Hagvöxtur í BNA á fjórða ársfjórðungi var 0,6% á ársgrundvelli, sem sagt enginn - langt undir verðbólgu. Og nú eru þeir komnir með vextina undir verðbólgustigið líka og vonast til að halda öllum fjármálabólunum gangandi þannig. En markaðurinn tekur ekki lengur mark á þessum þreyttu og ráðlausu mönnum og Dow hrundi fljótt aftur um 250 punkta. Þar eins og hér hafa fjármálamarkaðir fyrir löngu vaxið ríkisstjórnum og seðlabönkum langt yfir höfuð. Þar er hið raunverulega vald og hinir stóru innherjar og nú munu þeir spila hlutina upp og niður eftir behag og græða feitt í báðar áttir.

Vextir lækkaðir vestanhafs

Húsnæðisspekúlantar í miklum vanda

Frétt af mbl.is

  Bankarnir bremsa

Viðskipti | 24 stundir | 30.1.2008 | 5:30
„Maður er hálfsjokkeraður yfir sinnaskiptum bankanna,“ segir Einar Páll Kjærnested, löggiltur fasteignasali, um skyndilega stefnubreytingu viðskiptabankanna í útlánum til nýbygginga.
Lesa meira

„Sá sem fær sér bíltúr í úthverfi Reykjavíkur hlýtur að velta því fyrir sér hverjir eigi að búa í öllu þessu húsnæði,“ segir Elín Sigfúsdóttir, framkvæmdastjóri fyrirtækjasviðs Landsbankans. „Við horfum auðvitað á framboðsþáttinn því við viljum að kúnnar okkar geti selt það sem þeir byggja.“

Amen.

Heilu hverfin standa hér á lager eins og hver maður sér og nú kaupa einhverjir spekúlantar í vanda "auglýsingatíma" í pólsku sjónvarpi í örvæntingu að reyna að fá pólska leigjendur hingað í þessi hverfi. Þetta er ótrúlegt hæp og fólki sagt að opinber þjónusta sé ókeypis, laun himinhá og hér drjúpi smjör af hverju strái. Það er greinilega eitthvað stórt við það að rúlla á hausinn.

Bankarnir bremsa

Spaugstofan afgreiddi Dóra sem gat varla látið sjá sig eftir það og flúði loks land. Dabbi og Geir hafa orðið ósýnilegir og nýi borgarstjórinn sést sjálfsagt ekki mikið úr þessu.

Þetta hefur verið afskaplega fyrirsjáanlegt ferli.

Mismunandi mikið útbrunnir og frasadrifnir miðaldra kallar sem teflt er fram í pólitíkinni. Það eru gangandi skotskífur fyrir batterí á borð við Spaugstofuna ...

IMF head in shock fiscal warning

Hvatt til sósíalískra aðgerða til að bregðast við skuldaframleiðslukreppunni.

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By Chris Giles and Gillian Tett in Davos

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/106230b0-cd29-11dc-9b2b-000077b07658.html

Published: January 27 2008 23:03 | Last updated: January 27 2008 23:03

The intensifying credit crunch is so severe that lower interest rates alone will not be enough “to get out of the turmoil we are in”, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the managing director of the International Monetary Fund, warned at the weekend.

In a dramatic volte face for an international body that as recently as the autumn called for “continued fiscal consolidation” in the US, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the new IMF head, gave a green light for the proposed US fiscal stimulus package and called for other countries to follow suit. “I don’t think we would get rid of the crisis with just monetary tools,” he said, adding “a new fiscal policy is probably today an accurate way to answer the crisis”.

Mr Strauss-Kahn’s words rip apart a long-standing global consensus that fiscal retrenchment in the US and Japan is needed to help reduce huge trade imbalances.

It comes as the IMF is due to release new economic forecasts this week which, he said, would show a “serious slowdown and it needs a serious response”.

The US Federal Reserve starts a regular meeting tomorrow and markets expect another half-point cut on top of the 0.75 percentage-point cut last week.

Mr Strauss-Kahn’s dramatic change in stance amazed Larry Summers, the former US Treasury secretary. He is known for saying that the IMF stands for “It’s Mostly Fiscal” because the organisation has to be tough with countries’ budgetary laxity.

But such is his concern about economic prospects if the US slows and other countries do not pick up the slack in world demand that he supported Mr Strauss-Kahn. “This is the first time in 25 years that the IMF managing director has called for an increase in fiscal deficits and I regard this as a recognition of the gravity of the situation that we face,” said Mr Summers.

The dark economic mood in Davos was reinforced at the weekend by John Thain, the new chief executive of Merrill Lynch, who predicted the problems in subprime mortgage markets would spread to credit card and consumer loans. “It will be a while before you see a return to normality in the banking system,” he said.

Thomas Russo, vice-chairman of Lehman Brothers, said: “Absent government intervention, the economic picture is very grey but with government intervention you have a decent chance of stabilising the picture.”

The IMF’s call for countries with strong fiscal positions to loosen their budgets gained approval from Christine Lagarde, the French finance minister, and Palaniappan Chidambaram, the Indian finance minister.

Ms Lagarde suggested Germany would be a prime candidate for fiscal loosening, while Mr Chidambaram said: “India may have some room, if necessary, for some fiscal stimulus.”

But in a rare direct reference to China, he called on Beijing to play its part. “China has huge headroom to stimulate domestic consumption.”

However, it is the global community’s lack of confidence that China will play ball in offsetting a slowing US consumer that makes greater fiscal laxity in many countries appear suddenly appealing.

But amid a sudden enthusiasm for fiscal stimulus packages, some voiced caution. Professor Ken Rogoff of Harvard University and a former chief economist of the IMF said aggressive fiscal easing generates “more harm than good in most cases”, leading to unsustainable budgetary position that require painful correction in the longer term.

Undarlegt veruleikaskyn í pólitíska rétttrúnaðarsöfnuðinum

Komonn folks, þetta eru listamenn með ákveðið listrænt konsept. Eins og algengt er með listamenn beita þeir ádeilu og hefur það farið í taugar vinstri og hægri komma svo lengi sem elstu menn muna. Félagi Stalín var með heilu stofnanirnar í að gera listsköpunina pólitískt korrekta sem og aðrir fasistar/terroristar til hægri og vinstri en sennilega gengur það nú ekki hér á landi nú á tímum.

Þetta væl hérna út í Spaugstofuna er sem sagt út í hött og jafnvel barnalegt - en sýnir í sjálfu sér hversu beitt og vel fram sett ádeila þeirra er. Þeir hafa platað pólitíska réttrúnaðarsöfnuðinn upp úr skónum enda telja helstu prelátar hans greinilega að um "alvöru" fréttaskýringaþátt sé að ræða. En skemmst er nú þess að minnast er einn safnaðarmeðlima taldi fyrir nokkru að nýjasta mynd Bruce Willis sýndi að tölvuþrjótar væru hin mesta (terrorista)ógn.

Dwarves zipped in suitcases steal from Swedes

By Lucy Cockcroft

Last Updated: 2:11am GMT 28/01/2008

 

Criminal gangs are using dwarves in a ruse to steal from the luggage holds of long-distance coaches, by hiding them inside suitcases, according to police.

The bizarre crime is on the rise in Sweden and officers say thieves have got away with thousands of pounds in cash, jewellery and other valuables in recent months.

	The dwarves hide themselves and their loot in bags

Gangs are said to sneak the dwarves into the luggage hold, hidden inside baggage.

Then, once the journey has begun, the stowaways are free to rifle through the bags of other passengers without fear of being apprehended.

Before the coach arrives at its destination the dwarves take their loot back into their suitcase, zip themselves inside and wait to be collected by their partners in crime.

Swebus, which takes thousands of British tourists on holiday across Sweden, is among the coach firms targeted.

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A spokesman said: “We have had reports about several thefts by dwarves on the stretch between Vasteras and Stockholm.

“We’re thinking of installing video cameras.”

Police in Stockholm have warned the scam is becoming a problem.

A spokesman said: “We are looking at our records to identify criminals of limited stature.”

Criminal dwarves have often been featured in books, film and folklore.

The Artemis Fowl book series by Irish fiction author Eoin Colfer has a character called Mulch Diggums, a kleptomaniac dwarf.

And in the Austin Powers spoof spy movies Dr Evil’s equally villainous side-kick is a dwarf named Mini-Me.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml;jsessionid=SPWBKCLOSRDCBQFIQMGSFFWAVCBQWIV0?xml=/news/2008/01/24/wdwarf124.xml

 

Það sem nánast enginn þorir að ræða

Er að ríkissjóður Íslands er í raun vita gjaldþrota. Það er vegna þess að seðlabankinn er aðeins með míkrógjaldeyrisvarasjóð miðað við skammtímaskuldir þjóðarbúsins og almenn umsvif bankakerfisins og gjaldeyrishreyfingar þess. Til þess að afla seðlabankanum gjaldeyrisvarasjóðs, til þess að geta varið krónuna (og hlutabréfamarkaðinn) ef svo illa skyldi vilja til að erlendir lánadrottnar krefðust skyndilega uppgreiðslu skuldanna (eða stórir spákaupmenn gerðu árás á krónuna), þyrfti ríkissjóður helst að leggja til amk. þetta 800-1000 milljarða sem hann getur skiljanlega ekki. Hann er því í raun gjaldþrota sem aftur þýðir að við höfum þegar misst efnahagslegt sjálfstæði okkar og verðum hirt og innlimuð í stærri kerfi á sínum rétta tíma.

Moody's segir Aaa einkunn Íslands á krossgötum

Þeir æla á lýðræðið rétt eins og fasískir hugmyndafræðingar þeirra gera og grenja síðan þegar vart finnast síkópatar til að kóa með þeim

Þetta er alveg gjörsamlega tútal lið. Grenjið í því hérna á blogginu er hreint yfirgengilegt. Skrílslæti? Það er nefnilega það. Djöfulsins fasistadót.