Luesse Lot

Thousands protested across Russia Saturday, voicing unrest and frustration with the continually sinking economy.

The protests were of criticism and displeasure over the economic policies and what they call the government's mismanagement of the economy, reported the BBC. The largest of the protests occured in Vladivostok where they called for Prime Minister Vladmir Putin to resign,while in Moscow the police arrested many.

Protests were uncommon to unimaginable after years of economic growth and prosperity among rising oil prices and the increase of government control over all of society. They are a result of growing public anger with the government and fear over what is in their and their country's future.

The BBC reports that the large protest in Vladisvostok was called by the Communist Party and joined by many others upset over the tariffs on foreign imported automobiles, which the city had prospered upon. In Moscow, authorities allowed around one thousand protesters to demonstrate in the capital, where they called for the return of centralized economic policies and chanted "Down with the police state" and "Russia without Putin", according to the New York Times.

The government had at first avoided acknowledging the country's economic downturn, and still has yet to make clear any comprehensive strategy to deal with the increasing unemployment and devaluing of the ruble, despite putting aside billions of dollars to support and bail out struggling banks and companies.

BBC:http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7862370.stm
New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/01/world/europe/01russia.html?_r=1&ref=world

Posted by luess004 at 3:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The House of Representatives passed Barack Obama's $819 billion stimulus bill Wednesday evening.

The bill was passed along party lines with an overall vote of 244 to 188, garnering no republican support despite the new president's serious efforts for a bipartisan backing according to CNN. Republicans claim the bill is too expensive and will not create new jobs, while Obama believes it will create a healthy environment for the American economy to prosper.

"I hope that we can continue to strengthen this plan before it gets to my desk.We must move swiftly and boldly to put Americans back to work, and that is exactly what this plan begins to do," said President Obama in a post-vote statement.

The economic stimulus plan is compromised of major tax cuts for people and businesses, as well as initiatives to put money into infrastructure repair, unemployment benefits, school renovations, and a green electricity grid.

The bill will likely be considered by the Senate next week, where the slimmer Democratic majority could create more resistance reported the BBC. The Democrats will need sixty votes for passage, which is expected, but the issue is about the extent of the support. They hope to have the bill on the president's desk by mid-february to be signed into law.

CNN: http://money.cnn.com/2009/01/28/news/economy/house_vote_wednesday/index.htm?cnn=yes
BBC: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7857276.stm

Posted by luess004 at 9:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Target Corp. announced Tuesday afternoon that it is laying off 600 employees from its headquarters staff, as well as cutting 400 other open positions.

The Star Tribune reported the layoffs amount to 9 percent of the Minneapolis-based corporation's headquarters staff, and will affect employees primarily in the Twin Cities area. In conjunction with the cuts, Target will also close one of its distribution centers later this year in Little Rock, Ark., affecting another 500 employees.

The news comes after a wave of job cuts and layoffs by companies nationwide. Monday, according to the Star Tribune, around 75,000 cuts were made by companies such as Home Depot and Caterpillar, amounting to some 170,000 total for the month of January. Richfield-based Best Buy also said Tuesday that it will be announcing cuts of its own on Feb. 19.

“We are clearly operating in an unprecedented economic environment that requires us to make some extremely difficult decisions to ensure Target remains competitive over the long-term,� said Gregg Steinhafel, Target’s president and CEO. The cuts come amidst a worsening economic recession, as consumers tighten their belts and purchase less clothing, electronics, and other discretionary products. After the worst holiday shopping season in 40 years, Target has also seen its stock drop 38 percent in the past year and faces a daunting levels of defaults in its credit-card portfolio.

http://www.startribune.com/business/38457219.html?elr=KArksLckD8EQDUoaEyqyP4O:DW3ckUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUac8HEaDiaMDCinchO7DU

http://www.twincities.com/ci_11564182?nclick_check=1

Posted by luess004 at 5:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Well I am just setting the blog up and making sure everything works. Hello Everyone, my name is Adam.

I would venture to guess that President Obama and his recent inauguration is on a lot of people's minds including my own. In that case and in the spirit of testing the blog, Ill throw a link here to the new White House website that the President and his team have constructed, as I think its an impressive and exciting tool we should use and understand, and is worthwhile being aware of and checking out. They hope for it to be "a central part of President Obama's pledge to make his the most transparent and accountable administration in American history", and we as citizens should utiilze it as a great way to hold him and his administration to just that. Exciting times!

http://www.whitehouse.gov/

Posted by luess004 at 5:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)