Turkish Forum

Category: USA

Turkey could be America’s most important regional ally, above Iraq, even above Israel, if both sides manage the relationship correctly.

  • AMERICA: Where Do We Go From Here?

    AMERICA: Where Do We Go From Here?

    POOR  RICHARD’S   REPORT                860-522-7171

                                                                                    800-821-6665-watts

                                                                                    860-315-7413- *

                                                                                    860-208-0258Cell

     

                                 Where Do We Go From Here?

     

                The Oct 11-12 weekend edition of the Financial Times (the Salmon Colored paper) had all negative articles on the global stock markets. Not one positive one I could find. The NYSE reported 2,500 new lows out of 3,400 traded. The G-7 held an emergency meeting in Washington DC. With the pendulum so far to one side it has to swing back. Today Monday, Oct 13, 2008 at noon there are only 2 new lows being made and the markets are soaring. It will be a long time before we see the new highs in the popular averages. We are being  taught a valuable lesson about greed.

                This is just a rally or a dead cat bounce. Imagine a farmer haying his field for the last time before winter sets in. The birds will flock to pick over the bugs that have been exposed and they will grow slowly as the temperature cools down. When the frigid weather sets in it is time for reorganization. We have just been hayed.  Just like the farmer’s field the market will come back under new leadership.

                Congress can do what ever they please, but this is a free country with entrepreneurs seeking their pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. In this free spirit country we will seek new avenues for long term growth. If one invested in Wal-Mart in 1970 today that person would have made 5,300 times on their investment Just keep your eyes open around you.

                All the learned men are coming forth with idealistic reforms for the financial reform. They won’t be able to put humpty dumpty back together again. They don’t have the right glue.

                We need a comprehensive reorganization and reform of our global markets. Sounds impossible? Well, since everyone is down globally there is a sensible way to get it going.

                Congress should expand the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) from three members to 7 or 9. The other members would be made up of leading financial experts from member nations of the G-7.  Each member would have to be approved by a special US Senate committee to make sure their heads are screwed on right. Then they will be able to take our reforms back to their individual countries. Countries that do not follow our examples will not be recognized by participating countries. They will be playing an expensive form of Monopoly.

                The reason for this is if one country has an UPTICK RULE for short sales then the other members would be encouraged to enforce it on their own markets. The mandate should be “For the Common Good” and not how much money will be made. Get rich quick schemes attract individuals with smelly clothes and bad manners.    The reason for our own breakdown starts in Washington. Our Political parties were more intent on destroying the other instead of improving our lot. There is no love or forgiveness in Washington.  

                Events in Washington determine what direction our economy goes. That in turn affects the market place. We must keep watch on our politicians. The media is all over Sarah Palin, but ignoring errors made by Senator Biden during the vice presidential debate. He is chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee too. I think he has the beginning of Alzheimer’s.

                Now I have maintained for several months the Uptick Rule as many readers know.

                In the 1990’s the freedom to know was passed on to securities research. This was interpreted that the general public should know what a select few knew. It is a noble idea, but not very practable in the long term. Many corporations have no idea what they are going to earn. If they guide the investor in the wrong direction they can face stiff fines or a day or two in jail. So they give out in the ball park figures that as the year goes by they keep refining it. Brokerage firms that had paid a pretty penny for good analysts were up against the wall. The general public did not know who to believe.

                Here is how it worked in the past and should work in the future. An analyst calls on company A and meets with the high ranking officer. They discuss each division of the company and the officers tell the analyst if he is hi or low. Then the analyst leaves and writes up a report that is sent back to the company for approval. Then more notes are sent back and forth until they both agree on the figures. Now both sides know what company A can earn. The research manager approves the report and it is finally published. Here the research firm should have three days to contact their clients. After that grace period the information can be made public for a nominal fee depending upon the number of written pages. Then management is able to correctly guide other analyst in the right direction.

                Repeal the Investment Company Act of 1940. This was for the protection of the baby industry of mutual funds. Some baby! It is a gorilla messing up markets. Take away their hidden and real fees and you will see a better performance. That industry is top heavy with unnecessary “management”.  They should trade like Exchange Traded Funds (ETF’s) with normal stock exchange commissions.

                No net trades. Every investor should know how much he is paying for the security. It is called Transparency and bond traders hate it.

                Finally the media must be reined in. An analyst once told me that when he goes “on the air” he comes up with his most speculative idea. If it hits he has a chance of being in the big time, if he is wrong everyone will forget. (Except for the analyst who wrote up “Gold is Dead!”  when it was $40 and ounce!)

                There is one ad that over the years has met all ethical and legal requirements and that is the Oppenheim Mutual Fund ads. The one with the four hands and they say an intelligible disclaimer at the end.

                Two Classic ads were Merrill Lynch’s “We are bullish on America”. They did not say the stock market. This was during the bear market of 1973-1982. The second one was “Smith Barney – they make money the old fashion way – They earn it!”  Smith Barney did not say you were going to make money. 

                If one had done the opposite of 99% of the “talking heads” that person would be way ahead.  I consider commodity ads outrageous. “Gold has never gone down” is one ad that turns my stomach inside out. 1982 into 1990’s was a downtrend.  The most speculative exchange has or implies you can not lose. Pure trash!

                Business leaders fined or jailed should apply to the spouse too. That will slow everyone down. One can not hide money in family accounts.

                Our Congress will pass punitive laws in order to insure reelection, pounding their hollow chests while bellowing “vote for me”. Meanwhile a lot of good folks will be out of jobs, and the recession could deepen.

                The shock and the horror that has happened will take years for the market to recover. In the meantime old leaders will fade away and new spring growth will emerge with beautiful colors and soon what5 has past will be ancient history except to a painful few.

                One final thought. To increase consumer confidence and to help the “little guy” instead of just the mighty institutions, we should bring back the usury laws15%-30 on credit cards is downright immoral. If the Democrats are so intent on helping the poor; why not help the ones going to the “poorhouse”?

     

     

                                        Goodbye inflation – Hello Deflation

          

     

                                                                                                    Tuesday, October 14, 2008

     

     

     

     

    This report has been prepared from original sources and data we believe reliable but we make no representation to its accuracy or completeness. Coburn & Meredith Inc its subsidiaries and or officers may from time to time acquire, hold, sell a position discussed in this publications, and we may act as principal for our own account or as agent for both the buyer and seller.                           

     

    This is my new Home/Office number in Eastford Ct.

    I can be reached any where from 8:30am to 8:00pm a cell phone can not be used for transmitting orders.

      The cell phone is always on my person, but like me has to be recharged every night.

  • 18th Annual Houston Turkish Festival held in US

    18th Annual Houston Turkish Festival held in US

     

     
     

    [ 07 Oct 2008 17:57 ]

    Baku – APA. 18th Annual Houston Turkish Festival was held in the US. Press service of State Committee on Work with Azerbaijanis Living Abroad told APA that dance group of Houston Azerbaijanis’ Society also participated in the festival. 4000 people attended the festival. Our countrymen performed national dances “Chichekler”, “Uzum”, “Naz-naz” and “Arzu”.
    Houston-Azerbaijan Organization was established in 2004.

  • The Turkish alliance Anti-terrorist efforts and dividends

    The Turkish alliance Anti-terrorist efforts and dividends

    Tulin Daloglu
    Tuesday, October 7, 2008

     
    Last week, the House stumbled before passing the bailout bill. But in the end, its way was eased by the overwhelming bipartisan approval of the Senate, which gave Treasury Secretary Hanry Paulson what he wanted, more or less. Whether it’s the best solution to the financial crisis is open to debate. Clearly, there is a kind of connection between the war in Iraq and the tumultuous markets. In this election season, the $600 billion already spent in Iraq and the ongoing $10 billion a month being spent there is under increased scrutiny.
     
    But historically, the financial cost of a military action has never affected American will on the battlefield. “The antiwar people in Vietnam constantly talked about how much it was costing,” said John Mueller of Ohio State University at a recent event at the Brookings Institution. “But it’s basically blood that matters, actually being killed.” As the loss of American lives in Iraq significantly declined since the surge, Mr. Mueller argued, Americans’ approval or disapproval becomes less relevant; the people are able to tolerate it. “And so it may very well be that John McCain is right when he says we can stay there 100 years,” Mr. Mueller said. “Basically, if Americans aren’t being killed, no one cares in the least where they are.”
     
    The key issue about the war is neither the monetary cost nor whether or not going to war was the right decision. There is no bringing back the more than 4,000 American lives or the hundreds of thousands of Iraqi lives lost. Sens. Barack Obama and John McCain differ on how they would end the war. Neither of their plans can assure the outcome. But the other countries of the region have no choice but to bear the burdens that the war has created there.
     
    Turkey, for example, is a NATO ally of the United States – which has been attacked by Kurdish separatist terrorists who have found safe heaven in Iraq. Last week, the PKK once again attacked a Turkish border post, killing 15 Turkish soldiers. The funerals were held all over the country and broadcast live on Sunday, marking the end of Eid in this Muslim country and bringing together hundreds of thousands to pray for those lost in the attack. Such funerals have been seen in Turkish living rooms for more than 15 years now. Turks are fed up with this war; more than 30,000 of their people have been lost, and there is no end is in sight.
     
    Occasionally, there are arguments about the cost of fighting terrorism. If there were peace, that money could be spent in the Kurdish areas, where the PKK attacks most often. It’s the same as the American arguments about what the money spent in Iraq could have funded. The Turkish state surely has not always fought the separatist Kurdish terrorists with the right tools. They refused to acknowledge the Kurdish reality for too long. Yet if this trouble were to require solely domestic solutions, the situation could be less discombobulated today.
     
    Historically, the Western powers wanted to build an independent Kurdistan from the ashes of the Ottoman Empire – and that continues to haunt modern Turkey. Vahit Erdem, a member of the ruling Justice and Development party (AKP), told me in a recent interview in his Turkish Parliament office that the initial U.S. intention was to establish an independent Kurdish state. “But in time they saw it would create more trouble in the region than the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, [and] the U.S. changed its position,” Mr. Erdem said. “Now it sincerely supports Iraqi territorial integrity. In the beginning, they were – frankly – not supporting it.” Turkish public opinion has not yet been convinced, though.
     
    Now, as the region watches the U.S. presidential election, it isn’t clear which candidate would be more sympathetic. Both candidates have pros and cons. But it’s clear that while the debate in Ankara focuses on stabilizing Iraq, continued cross-border PKK attacks on Turkey raise the possibility that Turkey will launch a major incursion into Iraq in pursuit of PKK terrorists. While the United States calls for restraint, it launches raids into Pakistan’s tribal beltway for the same reason: to pursue terrorists that carry attacks into Afghanistan. This is an incredible double standard. It would be wise for the United States to physically go after the PKK terrorists in the Iraqi territories.
     
    While an independent Kurdistan will not be built by a rogue Kurdish terrorist group, a possible Turkish offensive which may not be limited to air strikes will halt Turkey’s accession talks with the European Union and strain its relationship with the United States. Then Turkey will be totally lost.
     
    While it will take years to stabilize Iraq, the United States needs Turkey for the foreseeable future to protect its national interests.
     
    Tulin Daloglu is a free-lance writer
  • Turkish army to transfer attacked stations, bombs PKK posts in N.Iraq

    Turkish army to transfer attacked stations, bombs PKK posts in N.Iraq

    Turkish warplanes hit outlawed PKK positions in northern Iraq on Saturday. Meanwhile, Ankara and military officials on Sunday warned the Kurdish administration in its southeastern neighbor to tackle the terrorist organization.

    The Turkish military says warplanes have bombed PKK separatist’s bases in northern Iraq, the General Staff said in a statement posted on its website.
     
     The bombs hit Iraq’s Avasin Basyan region on Saturday after the PKK attack that killed 15 Turkish soldiers on Friday, but added that no ground troops entered Iraq, the statement said, adding that the air raids only targeted the PKK bases and that the necessary precautions were shown to avoid civilian casualties.

     General Hasan Igsiz, the army’s deputy chief, called the press briefing after 15 Turkish soldiers were killed when a group of PKK separatists crossed into Turkey from their long-time bases in northern Iraq and attacked a border outpost under cover of heavy weapons fire from northern Iraq.

     Igsiz accused the leaders of northern Iraq of tolerating PKK separatists, press representatives joined to the meeting said after the briefing.

     “We have no support at all from the northern Iraqi administration (against the separatists). Let aside any support, they are providing (the separatists with) infrastructural capabilities such as hospitals and roads,” Igsiz quoted as saying at the meeting held at the General Staff Head Quarters in Ankara.

     “Our expectation is that (the PKK) be acknowledged as a terrorist organization there and that support for the separatists be eliminated,” Igsiz said.

     KURDISH ADMINISTRTION UNDER FIRE 

    Turkey’s Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan also urged Iraqi Kurds to take action against the separatist PKK, whose members sneaking from camps in the mountains of northern Iraq.

     Turkey has long accused the northern Iraqi administration of tolerating the PKK on their territory, where it says the separatists easily obtain weapons and explosives for attacks on Turkish targets across the border.

     The general also accused the northern Iraqi administration of failing to prevent PKK separatists from mixing with the local population, thus making it difficult for the Turkish army to target the PKK members through a series of bombing raids carried out in the region since last October.

     “Members of the organization are based very close to the local population in large parts of northern Iraq and they are exploiting this,” AFP quoted Igsiz as saying. “The northern Iraqi administration makes no effort to prevent this.”

     Igsiz also said that no Turkish ground troops entered Iraq after the attack but Turkish F-16s and artillery units pounded PKK positions just across the border.

     STATIONS TO BE TRANSFERRED

    Igsiz informed that five military stations, including Aktutun the target of Friday’s deadly PKK attack, would be transferred from their current mountainous locations along the border in southeastern Turkey.

     Works had begun last year to move Aktutun outpost to Bercar Tepe, Igsiz said, adding that the outpost would be moved by 2009.

     Friday’s PKK attack was the fifth launched against the Aktutun gendarmerie station, in which a total of 44 soldiers have been killed since 1992.

     MISSING SOLDIERS

    Igsiz said they could not still locate the whereabouts of the two soldiers who went missing after Friday’s attack, adding, “According to our assessment, the two soldiers may be dead.  Searches continue”.

     The terrorist organization was heading towards breaking point and leaned towards sensational actions in an attempt to find a way out, Igsiz added.

     Igsiz said there were no problems in the intelligence sharing mechanism with the United States.

     The latest PKK attack, involving over 300 separatist with heavy weaponry support, had raised questions on the intelligence provided by the United States among Turkish opinion makers. 

     

    HotNewsTurkey  October 05, 2008

  • Turkey to U.S. and Iraq: “Control your borders”

    Turkey to U.S. and Iraq: “Control your borders”

     Following the terrorist attack on a Turkish military outpost, Turkey on Sunday relayed “control you borders” message both to Iraq and the United States, which is leading the coalition forces in this country.

    According to diplomatic sources, Turkey gave a note to Iraq and urged  this country to take all necessary measures to find and punish the perpetrators  and to prevent any similar incidents.

    Sources said the Turkish Embassy in the United States was launching  initiatives with the U.S. officials as this country leads the coalition forces.

    15 Turkish soldiers were killed, 20 others were wounded and two soldiers  went missing, Friday in an assault staged by PKK terrorists from north of Iraq on  Aktütün Gendarmerie Border outpost in Şemdinli town of southeastern province of Hakkari. Turkish soldiers killed 23 terrorists in clashes that erupted.

     

    THE ANATOLIAN NEWS AGENCY  ANKARA

    05 October 2008

    Zaman

  • Conference on Energy Security and Diaspora in the Development of the U.S.-Azerbaijan Strategic Allied Relations ends

    Conference on Energy Security and Diaspora in the Development of the U.S.-Azerbaijan Strategic Allied Relations ends

     

     

    [ 03 Oct 2008 16:52 ]

    Baku-APA. The conference on Energy Security and Diaspora in the Development of the U.S.-Azerbaijan Strategic Allied Relations, which was organized by USAN and State Committee on Works with Azerbaijanis Living Abroad came to an end, Press Service of the State Committee on Works with Azerbaijanis Living Abroad told APA.
    About 300 Diaspora representatives attended the conference at University of George Washington. Former congressmen Greg Laughlin and Robert Livingston, Azerbaijani Ambassador to the US Yashar Aliyev, Elshad Nasirov, Vice President of SOCAR, Adil Bagirov, USAN Executive Director, Professor Tadeusz Swietochowski, Scientist on Azerbaijani Studies addressed the event.
    Ariel Cohen, Senior Research Fellow of Heritage Foundation on former Soviet countries stated that irrespective of victory of any political parties in upcoming presidential elections in the US, White House would continue relations with Azerbaijan on strategic cooperation for the purpose of protection of regional interests.
    On the second day of the conference, Valeh Hajiyev, First Deputy Chairman of State Committee on Works with Azerbaijanis Living Abroad, MP Asim Mollazadeh, Agshin Mehdiyev, Head of Azerbaijan’s Mission to UN, Elin Suleymanov, Azerbaijani Consul General to Los-Angeles spoke about the importance of close relations of Azerbaijani community with our country. Members of Network decided to strengthen relations with the Congress to gain broad support of the US on solution to Nagorno Karabakh conflict, as well as current priorities of Azerbaijani and Turkish Diasporas, Waiver of Section 907 of the Freedom Support Act .
    Appeals on our compatriots living in the US, American public communities, state bodies, presidential candidates and congressmen has been approved at the end of the conference. The appeals cover Azerbaijani realities, solution to Nagorno Karabakh conflict within the framework of Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity and the role of the US in this issue.