Reporting

A quick look at news from around the world for Friday, Nov 21, 2008.

Buenos Aires, Argentina

In what turned out to be much less closer vote than anticipated, the Argentian Senate passed by a 46-18 vote a bill to nationalize the 401k pension plans of the Argentian people.

The controversial measure had created massive domonstrations both for and against the measure, and was expected to be a very close vote.

Last month saw the Argentian stock market plunge on news of the plan, a testament to the unease with which markets react to government intervention into personal retirement accounts.

The government of President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner has used the recent volatility of world markets, and the recent worldwide recession as a reason for the government takeover of personal 401k pension plans. Pension funds have lost more than 20% in the past year, much of it since the announcement of the nationalization plan.

As a result of the new bill, the government now become the largest institutional investor in Argentina, having already nationalized the pension plans of the post office, railway workers and water utility workers.

A similar plan to nationalize 401k plans in the United States is before the US Congress, awaiting action in the coming year.

A quick look at news from around the world for Friday, Nov 21, 2008.

Buenos Aires, Argentina

In what turned out to be much less closer vote than anticipated, the Argentian Senate passed by a 46-18 vote a bill to nationalize the 401k pension plans of the Argentian people.

The controversial measure had created massive domonstrations both for and against the measure, and was expected to be a very close vote.

Last month saw the Argentian stock market plunge on news of the plan, a testament to the unease with which markets react to government intervention into personal retirement accounts.

The government of President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner has used the recent volatility of world markets, and the recent worldwide recession as a reason for the government takeover of personal 401k pension plans. Pension funds have lost more than 20% in the past year, much of it since the announcement of the nationalization plan.

As a result of the new bill, the government now become the largest institutional investor in Argentina, having already nationalized the pension plans of the post office, railway workers and water utility workers.

A similar plan to nationalize 401k plans in the United States is before the US Congress, awaiting action in the coming year.

A quick look at news from around the world for Thursday, Nov 20, 2008.

Afghan-Pakistan cave

Al-Qaeda second in command Ayman al-Zawahiri, in a just released video, calls President-elect Barack Obama a "house negro." Using old video of Malcolm X in which he compares field negroes who hate their masters and house negroes who were loyal to their masters, al-Zawahiri attempts to portray Obama as a tool of the white man against Islam.

A quick look at news from around the world for Wednesday, Nov 19, 2008.

Barcelona, Spain

Proving the value of Adult stem cell research, a 30-year-old Barcelona woman has become the first person to receive a whole organ transplant from an organ grown from her own cells.

Professor Paolo Macchiarini and a team of doctors at the Hospital Clinic of Barcelona transplanted a trachea grown from her own Adult Stem Cells, into Claudia Castillo last June, but the procedure is just now being reported in the medical journal Lancet.

President-elect Barack Obama and former Ambassador Alan Keyes have history. When Sen Ryan of Illinois was forced to step down from his re-election bid due to sensational revelations about his sex life, Ambassador Keyes was recruited by the Illinois Republican Party to try to save that seat from Barack Obama. His bid failed.

A quick look at news from around the world for Tuesday, Nov 18, 2008.

A quick look at news from around the world for Monday, Nov 17, 2008.