PAS leaders come under fire from delegates

SHAH ALAM (Nov 23): Several delegates at the 59th PAS Muktamar today voiced their concerns and blasted the party leadership over various issues, including failure to step in during the Kedah PAS internal crisis and to raise issues concerning Sabah and Sarawak in Parliament.
Kedah delegate Nasir Zakaria criticised the party's leadership for not stepping in when Kedah PAS faced an internal crisis in the months prior to the 13th General Election and hinted that the crisis was the reason the state was lost.
"We are aware that there are many voices in and out of PAS saying that this defeat must not be repeated. So like the other delegates, we call upon the Electoral Post Mortem Committee to reveal their findings.
"As for our loss of Kedah, there were internal factors leading to it. In a family, children will argue with each other and being kids they can never resolve some of the issues. It's the duty of the parent to step in when things get out of control.
"A father must take quick action to stop things from escalating. Kedah does not want this kind of cancer (internal disputes) to topple another PAS led government. We don't want our constituencies to come under siege (when we are internally weak)," said Nasir.
He also pointed out that to win or regain the rural Malay support, the party must fulfil five criteria, namely integrity, defend the faith, defend the Malay rulers, have local personalities, and show concern for the Malays and protect them.
"PAS only fulfils two criteria while Umno fulfils all five. We are known only for defending the faith and for our integrity. We need to reposition ourselves through greater political education, " said Nasir.
'Sabah, Sarawak important states'
Sabah delegate Datuk Ali Akbar Gulasan also criticised the party's MPs for not taking up East Malaysia issues to Parliament.
"We have requested PAS MPs to speak up on our behalf and take up our issues to Parliament because we (Sabah and Sarawak PAS) don't have any presence there.
"We require their assistance but we have never received any response," he said.
Ali Akbar said PAS divisions in Sabah and Sarawak will receive more support if some of the party vice-presidents include Sabah and Sarawak in their portfolios.
"If you look at our opponent (Umno), they elect a Sabahan as one of their three vice-presidents. And BN has called Sabah and Sarawak as their fixed deposits.
"In this context, Sabah and Sarawak are very important states and PAS needs more strength to seize it from BN. Therefore, Sabah suggests that we divide the vice-presidents portfolios according to region, with Sabah and Sarawak being one region.
"Representatives from Sabah and Sarawak should also be part of the various Dewan and the Central Committee," said Ali Akbar.
Module on party struggle for supporters club
Taman Templer assemblyman Zaidy Abdul Talib urged the PAS central leadership to come up with a module for its supporters club to foster better understanding among members.
While PAS is an Islamist party, its supporters club comprises comprise non-Muslim members.
A "black and white" syllabus, Zaidy said, would not only help explain the party's struggle to non-Muslims but also help them understand the Islamic perspective better.
Currently, non-Muslims learnt about Islam through their experiences and interactions with the Muslim community, he said.
"The module would contain 'dos and don'ts' and list down the sensitivities of the various communities in Malaysia.
"The booklet can be distributed to everyone in the party to give a clearer picture about the brand of Islam practiced by PAS," Zaidy said when met by reporters after debating President Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang's keynote address this morning.
Zaidy also said the party should increase their engagement with NGOs whose cause mirrors the PAS' struggle, such as human rights of which he said was also found in Islam.
He had earlier cited the party's support for electoral reform group Bersih, which saw a multi-racial and religious participation
PAS, Zaidy said, can help increase support for the party if such initiatives were implemented.

Latvians mourn victims of roof disaster, among Europe's deadliest

Latvians were in mourning on Saturday in the wake of one of Europe's deadliest building disasters, with at least 51 killed after a roof caved in on shoppers in a busy Riga supermarket.

The small Baltic EU state began three days of official grieving over Thursday's tragedy -- Europe's third worst roof disaster in the last 30 years -- as rescuers kept combing the rubble for survivors.
Riga mayor Nils Usakovs said five people were still feared trapped inside the Maxima supermarket, whose roof crashed down during peak shopping hours around 6:00 pm (1600 GMT) on Thursday, in the Zolitude district of the Latvian capital.
"This has been a hard day for all of Latvia," Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis said late Friday on public television of the catastrophe that shook the nation of two million.
Three firefighters among the 200 rescuers who rushed to the scene were among those killed, while other rescue workers became themselves trapped inside during a second collapse.
"In Afghanistan you're prepared for death every day, but not when you are here at home," Afghan veteran Maris Utinans told AFP while working on the rescue effort late Friday.
Latvia will also observe a moment of silence on Monday for the catastrophe, its deadliest since independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, while police probe what caused the cave-in at the two-year-old supermarket.
It ranks in the top three of Europe's worst roof disasters of the last 30 years.
In 2006, 66 people died when a Moscow market roof collapsed. That same year, 65 people were killed in Chorzow, southern Poland, when a snow-laden roof caved in on an exposition hall.
Mourners at the disaster site late Friday lay heaps flowers and lit candles around the metal police barricades as volunteers handed out hot drinks to them and to rescue workers.
"It is a terrible tragedy for the city and the whole country. My friends and I just wanted to pay our respects by coming here to light a candle and lay flowers," Janis Berzins, 24-year-old Riga resident, told AFP.
Speculation about the possible cause of Thursday's cave-in has centred on plans to build a rooftop garden on the building.
A photograph published by Latvia's Diena daily Friday showed an aerial view of the roof prior to the collapse, covered in a garden with soil, shrubbery and a children's play gym.
Visiting the scene, Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis said police had launched a criminal investigation to find the cause of the disaster.
Run by the Lithuanian-owned Maxima chain -- Latvia's number two retailer after Rimi -- the supermarket was built in 2011 and was named one of the country's top three architecture projects that year.
Local council official Juris Radzevics said that plans had been submitted to the council to turn the roof into a green area.
"The project was submitted in accordance with all regulations but of course we will be looking at whether materials and works were carried out to the proper standards," Radzevics told the LNT television channel.
A police spokesman said emergency sirens had been set off in the store before the cave-in, adding they were probing who sounded the alarm and why.

Sultan declares Friday, Saturday as rest days in Johor from January 1

Johor's Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar has declared that the state's rest days will be on Friday and Saturday instead of Saturday and Sunday from January 1, a move that would have implications for the fast growing Iskandar economic corridor.

The much-anticipated decision to revert back to the Friday-Saturday weekend was announced during the investiture ceremony in conjunction with Sultan Ibrahim’s 55th birthday.
Prior to 1994, Johor had Friday and Saturday as non-working days.
"The decision was made following feedback from various quarters to allow Muslims to perform their religious obligation on Friday in a more peaceful manner" he said in his speech at the event held at Dewan Jubli Intan Sultan Ibrahim in the royal town, the Star online reported today.
Speculation has been rife about the change after a state government document was leaked on the internet.
Currently, states such as Kedah, Kelantan, and Terengganu have put Friday and Saturday as their off days.
Malaysia's sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional Bhd had poured in billions for the Iskandar zone, which has been fashioned after Shenzhen in mainland China, across from Hong Kong.
Iskandar, which has seen booming property market, has also begun to attract small-and-medium enterprises and industries while other industries mull their investments in the area.
But the new rest days could affect future investments as it is not in sync with neighbouring Singapore or other states in the west coast of the Malay peninsula. Among businesses and services that could be affected include banking and international colleges that cater to students from the island republic.
One business that could see an increase in visitors is the Legoland resort as the new weekend will attract visitors from Johor itself while others turn up on Sundays, say analysts. - November 23, 2013.
MORE TO COME

Boeing cargo jet takes off after mistaken Kansas landing

By Alice Mannette

WICHITA, Kansas (Reuters) - A Boeing cargo jet that was stranded overnight at a Kansas airport too small to handle the giant aircraft took off safely Thursday and landed a short time later at what had been its intended destination, officials said.
The Dreamlifter bound for McConnell Air Force Base in Wichita, Kansas, had inadvertently landed instead at the nearby Colonel James Jabara Airport run by the city, according to a statement by Boeing Co spokesman Doug Alder.
The bizarre spectacle made national headlines and drew gawkers to the smaller airport on Thursday, prompting traffic jams, car crashes, and road closures around the area.
The plane took off about 1:15 p.m. CST (2:15 p.m. EST) and landed at McConnell 20 minutes later. Airport officials and spectators applauded and sighed with relief when the massive plane's wheels left the airfield about 16 hours after the erroneous landing.
City officials said the 235-foot (72 meter) Atlas Air 747 Dreamlifter landed at Jabara late Wednesday by mistake, but did not say what led to the error.
The two pilots had taken off from New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport, officials said.
"Whoa," Wichita city officials said in a statement posted early Thursday on the city's official Facebook page. "The plane is too large for the runway and will need help departing."
Boeing contracts with Atlas Air to fly the plane and was looking into how the incident happened, Alder said.
The airport is equipped to handle small business planes but nothing as heavy as the Dreamlifter, which can carry about 800,000 pounds on takeoff. No cargo had to be removed from the plane for it to take off, Alder said.
The airport and plane escaped damage.
"I think it's hysterical. I couldn't stop laughing," said Kevin Schwerdtfeger, 33, a commercial pilot from Appleton, Wisconsin, who was in town for training and stopped by the airfield to watch the take-off. "I've heard of this before, but it's fairly rare."
Another pilot expressed sympathy for the crew and said he thought the whole situation was "kind of sad."
"I'm sorry for the pilots that landed there by mistake because their careers are in jeopardy," Steve McNulty, 65, said.
The 600-acre (243 hectare) Jabara Airport, which has one runway, one helipad and no control tower, is about nine miles from McConnell.
The 6,100-foot runway is about 3,000 feet short of what planes of that size and weight typically use to become airborne, according to local media reports.
The Dreamlifter is a modified 747-400-passenger plane that can haul more cargo by volume than any other plane, according to Boeing's website. It is one of four specially enlarged 747s that are used to move pieces of the 787 Dreamliner to factories for assembly into new jets.
(Additional reporting by Karen Brooks and Alwyn Scott; Editing by Scott Malone, Bernadette Baum and Maureen Bavdek)

JPMorgan gave $75K a month to Chinese PM’s kid

JPMorgan Chase has made many headlines recently. There’s a new investigation underway regarding the bank’s practice of giving lots of money to the kids of rich people abroad in order to gain influence illegally. They just topped the Financial Stability Board’s “Too big to fail” list. They just reached an agreement with the Justice Department to pay a record $13 billion for its fraudulent mortgage products. It’s facing an investigation as Bernie Madoff’s primary bank. And an ex-employee stands accused of hiding hundreds of millions of dollars worth of trading losses. The Resident (aka Lori Harfenist) discusses how she is getting a wee tired of this whole, too-big-to-fail thing.

Godfrey Bloom Quotes Murray Rothbard – The State Is An Institution Of Theft

• Debate: Action programme for taxation in the European Union for the period 2014-2020

Published on Nov 21, 2013

• European Parliament, Brussels, 21 November 2013

• Speaker: Godfrey Bloom MEP, Ind. (Yorkshire & Lincolnshire), Europe of Freedom and Democracy (EFD) group -http://www.godfreybloommep.co.uk

Dollar’s 30 Year Slide May Be Gold’s New Life: 2014 Outlook

by GoldCore

Today’s AM fix was USD 1,241.75, EUR 918.59 and GBP 766.75 per ounce.
Yesterday’s AM fix was USD 1,248.50, EUR 929.64 and GBP 775.76 per ounce.

Gold fell $1.50 or 0.12% yesterday, closing at $1,243.20/oz. Silver climbed $0.14 or 0.71% closing at $19.99/oz. Platinum rose $4.60 or 033% to $1,389.50/oz, while palladium climbed $3.78 or 0.53% to $714.75/oz.

Many traders and investors are still scratching their heads at the peculiar gold trading Wednesday which pushed gold below the important technical level of $1,250/oz. Support at $1,250/oz has been breached and gold is vulnerable of a fall to test support at $1,200/oz and the June 28th low of $1,180/oz (see charts below).

US Dollar Index – 1983 to Today (Bloomberg Industries)
And yet gold still seems to be stuck in a downtrend. This week’s sell off may have been due to trading shenanigans on the COMEX and many, including the UK Financial Regulator are asking questions as to whether gold price rigging is taking place.

Gold’s falls come despite there being many compelling reasons for gold to rally. These include uber dove Yellen at the Fed’s helm, the near certainty that the Eurozone debt crisis will erupt early in the New Year, signs ETF outflows are stabilizing and China picking up the slack with regard to physical demand, after India’s demand fell from near record levels.

Gold in U.S. Dollars, 5 Days – (Bloomberg)

THE U.S. DOLLAR has been on a 30 year slide versus other competing paper currencies, in particular the Chinese yuan. If the dollar’s decline, as measured by the DXY Index continues, gold may be the main beneficiary.

The dollar may be printed in unlimited quantities, though the global stock of gold increases by just 2% to 2.5% annually. Irrespective, of the huge increase in money supplies globally today. Indeed, should gold prices fall more, gold production is likely to begin falling.

This is seemingly lost on Janet Yellen and central banks, who continue to print money at record rates.

The smart money who understand gold’s importance as a diversification continue to accumulate gold.

The very poor state of the U.S. economy bodes badly for the U.S. dollar in 2014 which should help gold resume its multi year bull market.

Gold in U.S. Dollars, 1 Year – (Bloomberg)

DATA FROM THE INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND today shows that central banks continued to diversify into gold in October.

Turkey’s holdings rose the most, with the central bank adding a large 12.994 tonnes – 16.18 million oz vs. 15.762 million oz.  Kazakhstan’s gold reserves rose 2.4 tons and Azerbaijan’s gold reserves increased 2 tonnes last month.

Germany, the world’s second biggest holder of gold reserves, cut its bullion holdings by a tiny amount in October for the second time in five months.  Germany’s gold holdings dropped to 108.9 million ounces from 109.01 million ounces in September. The reduction was likely for domestic gold coin sales.

Gold in U.S. Dollars  and Suspensions Of COMEX Gold Trading – 3 Month (Bloomberg)

GOLDMAN SACHS Inc. has come out with another of their widely covered market predictions.

Gold, iron ore, soybeans and copper will probably drop at least 15% next year as commodities face increased downside risks even as economic growth in the U.S. accelerates, according to Goldman.

As we noted before, Goldman’s gold calls and crystal gazing have been poor at best. Indeed, some suspect that while Goldman is advising clients to sell, they may be on the other side of the the trade going long.

News This Week
* China to Start Interbank Gold Swap Trading November 25China, on track to overtake India as the world’s largest gold consumer this year, will start interbank swaps trading next week in a move to further open up the domestic precious metals market. China gold swaps to trade on China Foreign Exchange Trade System, according to a statement on CFETS website yesterday. Gold swaps to settle and deliver via Shanghai Gold Exchange.
(Bloomberg)

* China’s planned crude oil futures may be priced in yuan The Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) may price its crude oil futures contract in yuan and use medium sour crude as its benchmark, its chairman said on Thursday, adding that the bourse is speeding up preparatory work to secure regulatory approvals.

China, which overtook the United States as the world’s top oil importer in September, hopes the contract will become a benchmark in Asia and has said it would allow foreign investors to trade in the contract without setting up a local subsidiary.
(Reuters)

* Germany Lowers Gold Reserves in October, IMF Data ShowHoldings drop to 108.9 Million ounces vs. 109.01 Million ounces in September., data on IMF website show. (Note: Likely for domestic gold coin sales)
(Bloomberg)

* Gold-Put Options Surge as Futures Slump to Lowest in Four MonthsPut options on gold, giving the owners the right to sell Dec. futures at $1,200/oz and $1,250/oz, more than tripled on the Comex in New York after the metal slumped to a four-month low.
Puts giving the owner the right to sell at $1,200 rose to $2.30 from 70c on estimated volume of 1,259 contracts, the third most-active option.

Puts giving the owner the right to sell at $1,250 jumped to $15.10, the highest in a month, on estimated volume of 2,206 contracts, the most-active option
Futures for Dec. delivery fell as much as 2.6% to $1,240.20/oz, the lowest since July 9
(Bloomberg)

* China Oct. Silver Imports 230.8 Tons, Customs SaysSilver imports by China were 230.8 tons in Oct., compared with 243 tons in Sept., according to data released by customs agency today
(Bloomberg)

* UBS Estimates 36% of South Africa Gold Industry is Losing MoneyEstimate based on spot price of $1,260/oz, UBS says in report dated yday.
In 3Q, 28% of SA gold industry was loss-making, based on gold price of $1,330/oz
Sector lowered 3Q all-in costs by 20% q/q to $1,138/oz
“Further unit cost reductions will be challenging to deliver”
(Bloomberg)

* CME Lowers Gold and Silver MarginsCME lowers Comex 100 Gold futures (GC) initial margins for specs by 9.4 percent to $7,975 per contract from $8,800
CME lowers Comex 5000 Silver futures (SI) initial margins for specs by 11.1 percent to $11,000 per contract from $12,375
(Reuters)

ConclusionThere is likely a floor under gold prices at the $1,200 level and that should again provide strong support. There are no guarantees regarding price ever – particularly in the short term. However, gold production may fall at prices below $1,200 as it becomes uneconomical for many gold mines to operate profitably.

In South Africa, no longer the world’s largest producer, (which is now China) but still a major producer, there are estimates that 36% of the South African gold industry are loss making even at today’s spot prices – $1,250/oz. In 3Q, 28% of the South African gold industry was loss making, based on a gold price of $1,330/oz.

The short term technicals remain poor and the trend remains lower so we remain bearish for next week despite the strong seasonals. November, December and January are traditionally strong months for gold due to year end fund allocation and in recent years Chinese New Year demand.

It remains prudent to ignore short term noise and day to day price movements. Instead focus on physical gold’s importance, either in your possession or inallocated gold accounts, as financial insurance and as a vital diversification for investors and savers today.

Click Gold News For This Week’s Breaking Gold And Silver News
Click Gold and Silver Commentary For This Week’s Leading Gold, Silver Opinion
Like Our Facebook Page For Interesting Insights, Blogs, Prizes and Special Offers