Market comments for March 31st, 2011

I was listening to Art Cashin, of UBS Financial Services, on CNBC this morning, and he said that if we just had a few of the recent upheavals of Governments in the Middle East or concerns over a default of governments like Greece or Portugal, or an Earthquake of magnitude 9.0 in Japan followed by a tsunami and then a Nuclear Power Plant meltdown, any one of these normally would have caused the stock market to have tanked with at least a 10% correction. That is an interesting thought to ponder as it has been Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke who has single handedly kept the stock market artificially up at these lofty levels. Listen to Art Cashin below.

It is extremely difficult to time the market normally but with Bernanke using the printing presses of the Federal government, it is nearly impossible to predict the stock market moves. This is not good for the long run because when there is a disconnect from reality, there will be an unforeseen negative impact to our country, which will be much larger than any stock market drop would cause, That is where we're headed and there appears no way to prevent it. As a close friend of mine has stated to me many times, "We are all finished!" I would add that we are not now built on the Free Enterprise System, but rather a manipulated, controlled government which protects the wealthiest of us and doesn't care at all about the Middle Class or worse, the Poor and no better than that.

It's the end of the 1st quarter at the close of the market today. But tomorrow we will hear the Unemployment Rate numbers which doesn't count all of our unemployed. Most expect the number will "look" better. It's April Fool's Day too and if you believe the numbers the government discloses, then you too are a fool! We seem to be a gullible populace, aren't we. Just look at all the Birther's in the Republican Party. :))

Haitians deserve a chance at a better life. Will this be the beginning of a better future?

There is a terrible tragedy unfolding from the 7.0 earthquake in Haiti, the poorest of the island Nations in our Southern Hemisphere. These human beings have suffered so much from incompetent leaders they have had this past half century. These people deserve so much better than the hand they have been individually dealt. It is possible that with help from many Nations around the world, they can use this tragedy to free themselves of the past and help rebuild a better future for themselves and their children. I hope this time is the last time and the beginning of a less painful life for the Haitian people. Humanity cries out tonight for help. Hopefully the world will respond dramatically. Let's all help give them a chance at it by an outpouring of help and donations to charities like the Salvation Army and Red Cross.

I feel very blessed tonight I am not in their situation, as it could just as easily been an earthquake here in the San Francisco bay area. I am trying to learn as much as I can about what people need and some of the problems where people must fend for themselves. I am a first responder in my community and the importance of proper training is being driven home again tonight. Be more prepared for a tragedy so you can help yourself and your neighbors and not be a dependent on others charity and assistance. Learn to be a giver yourself.

Brown Accuses Myanmar of Being `Inhumane' to Cyclone Victims (reprint)

This story is so important I have copied and pasted it here from Bloomberg news, unedited.

Brown Accuses Myanmar of Being `Inhumane' to Cyclone Victims
By Demian McLean and Sarah Jones

May 17 (Bloomberg) -- British Prime Minister Gordon Brown accused Myanmar's military regime of ``negligence'' and being ``inhumane'' for its refusal to admit more relief workers and supplies to the cyclone-hit country.

Brown said Cyclone Nargis, which has left as many as 2.5 million victims at risk of disease and hunger, has created an ``intolerable situation'' in the country formerly known as Burma.

Since the storm struck on May 3, the government has barred most foreign relief workers, rejected offers of helicopters and boats and accepted only a trickle of the aid offered by the world. Brown is among the most vocal world leaders criticizing Myanmar's rulers, while France's envoy to the UN said yesterday that the Junta's resistance to delivery of aid was close to criminal negligence that would allow intervention by force.

``It is being made into a man-made catastrophe by the negligence, the neglect, the inhuman treatment of the Burmese people by a regime that is failing to act and to allow the international community to do what it wants to do,'' Brown said in an interview with the British Broadcasting Corp.'s World Service aired today.

China is backing Myanmar as it resists pressure from the U.S. and other nations to accept more international aid, saying other countries must show ``due respect.''

``We are shifting from a situation of non-assistance to people in need to a situation that could lead to a true crime against humanity if we go on like that,'' Ambassador Jean- Maurice Ripert told reporters after a meeting of the UN General Assembly. ``People are dying every day. We want action.''

Security Council

Ripert said France will press for Security Council action next week.

In a May 15 letter, 43 members of the U.S. House of Representatives asked President George W. Bush to support efforts by France and other nations to seek greater access to the disaster-hit area and to consider a humanitarian intervention, Agence France-Presse reported today.

The U.S. government, which today extended sanctions on Myanmar, isn't endorsing measures beyond diplomatic efforts at persuading the regime to accept more help.

``We're going to keep working the politics of this in the hopes that we can get more aid and, importantly, expertise down to those areas,'' State Department spokesman Sean McCormack in Washington said.

Opposition Calls

Brown has so far resisted calls from the opposition Conservatives to set a deadline for invoking the UN's ``responsibility to protect'' clause, citing private aid groups who said air-dropping relief would be ineffective and a ``distraction.''

``We will continue to use every international channel to pressure them to do what is the right thing by the people,'' Brown said today. ``The issue is not their survival as a regime, the issue is the survival of people who are desperately in need of help.''

United Nations emergency-relief coordinator John Holmes, who is due to arrive in Myanmar tomorrow to help expedite aid delivery, said this week that between 1.6 million and 2.5 million people have been ``severely affected'' by the cyclone and need help. The death toll from the storm has reached almost 78,000, the Associated Press cited state television as saying. An additional 56,000 people are missing.

Four more U.S. C-130 cargo planes landed in the Myanmar city of Yangon yesterday, and the contents of two of them were handed to charities instead of the regime, according to McCormack. He said it was the first time the U.S. has been able to ensure that aid has gone directly to international humanitarian groups in the country.

Relief Flights

At least four more U.S. relief flights are planned for today and tomorrow, McCormack said. About 10 Red Cross planes have arrived in the past week, with supplies distributed by locals.

The military regime today took a group of foreign diplomats on a tour of the cyclone-hit Irrawaddy River delta, AFP said, citing an unidentified diplomat. It's the first organized tour since the cyclone struck, the report said, without elaborating.

The cyclone is the worst natural disaster to hit Southeast Asia since the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, which killed more than 220,000 people.

Other countries must show ``due respect'' to Myanmar, said Wang Baodong, a spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in Washington, at a briefing yesterday. ``Myanmar is a sovereign country. In the end, rescue and relief work will have to rely on the Myanmar government and people.''

China's Role

China helped block French and U.S.-led efforts to discuss Myanmar's resistance to granting visas to aid workers last week in the UN Security Council. In 2006 and 2007, China opposed efforts to discuss the Myanmar crackdown on political opponents in the council.

In Myanmar, donated food, water and supplies have been accepted, with the provision that the military distributes them in almost all cases.

``International aid workers need unrestricted access to the disaster area and have to be able to work unhindered,'' German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said this week. The first German flight reached Yangon on May 15, carrying six water-purification systems that can supply 40,000 people daily.

About 30 medical workers from Thailand arrived in Myanmar today, along with $230,000 of supplies, AFP reported, citing Prat Boonyawongvirot, permanent secretary at the health ministry. They are part of a group of more than 100 medical staff from Asian nations that the junta has allowed in.

A French naval vessel loaded with 1,500 tons of food, shelter and medicine is set to arrive today off Myanmar's coast and would have small boats and helicopters deliver aid with or without the government's agreement, Ripert said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Demian McLean in Washington at dmclean8@bloomberg.netSarah Jones in London at sjones35@bloomberg.net.

China is doing its best to save lives after earthquake, unlike Myanmar

I have been first to criticize the Chinese government in the recent past. However, my heart goes out to them for there heroic effort to save lives in the aftermath of the 7.9 Earthquake. They have accepted help from Russia, Japan and other countries and have sent tens of thousands of troops on foot to help rescue survivors trapped under rubble and to clear roads and restore some services. There is limited things we can do to help them, but for one thing, we can pray for the families who are suffering.

Contrast this situation and the response by the Chinese government to that of Myanmar. Here we are a full 2 weeks after their disaster and aid still is only allowed to trickle into their country. This is not because the world has offered help. It is due to the paranoid leadership of the country. And while the world still watches, they continue to be resolute. I compare this to the atrocities of Nazi Germany when the rest of the world watched and stood by to see the Holocaust without doing a thing to stop it. The World must act through the UN to end this senseless and unnecessary catastrophe from occurring.

Bay area 5.6 Earthquake was scary and a reminder

I was relaxing on my bed about 8:05 pm PST when my bed and my house rumbled and swayed from side to side. It was truly scary as I wasn't sure whether this one was going to become the big one we all expect here in the earthquake active San Francisco Bay area. After the shaking stopped, which took about 10 seconds, I briefly thought about my earthquake supplies I had stored along with enough food and water for 2 weeks, and was very glad I took the initiative to be prepared. Luckily, no lights went out, no cracks were visible in my home and my wife and I were safe. I then went to the official web site for the U.S. Geological site and filled out their form asking if we had felt the earthquake and added my information to their database on the earthquakes in this area. The Map I have attached shows the level of activity in the area up to 7 days ago. You can link to the USGS by clicking here.

The 2 full days of Community Emergency Responsiveness Training I took a year ago seemed also to be a wise move. While I didn't need to use it with this earthquake, I am prepared if there is a larger more violent earthquake that is almost inevitable to happen in my lifetime. Are you ready for a disaster in your area? If not ask your local Firedepartment if there is any training you can take to be prepared for the type of disasters your area is most likely to have. They are most willing to assist you. Be safe and prepared.