Bush bails out US car giants

With Christmas round the corner the American car industry has been given an early gift in the form of a massive $17.4 billion bail out. President Bush announced the loan on Friday, less than three weeks before he hands his office to President elect Barack Obama.

The reasoning behind the President’s decision was that allowing the US car industry to fail would not be "a responsible course of action". He said that not helping out the industry would leave Obama with added problems. There are conditions though. The firms must show they’ve spent wisely and not paid out in executive perks including the much publicised private jets. But sceptics suggest the problems in the automotive trade cannot be solved quickly. Speaking to
Channel Four News, Dr Daniel Griswold of the Cato institute said that other Foreign car manufacturers were not suffering the same problems and that Bush’s claims suggesting that the US car industry failure would be “too much to bear” were highly exaggerated [BBC].

It is not just US car manufacturers that are running into financial difficulties. As consumers tighten their belt car sales the world over are falling. Britain has seen massive drops in car sales with Jaguar Land Rover being of particular concern. The car firm, which employs about 15,000 in the UK, said last month that it faces "unprecedented trading conditions" as global sales for the whole of the car industry have fallen sharply since the summer. But there is unlikely to be the same help seen in the US. Business Secretary, Lord Mandelson told the BBC, "We are analysing very carefully what is going on in the [car] sector, and we will make good judgments in good time if it is appropriate for the government to take any action or if it is possible for us to do so". But he added there was not “an open chequebook” available.

The financial crisis has taken it toll in many sectors. Besides banking institutions, the retail market has been particularly hard hit. Today MFI, which filed for administration in November, finally closed its stores leaving 1,400 people out of work [BBC]. Woolworths is gradually winding up its business will all store due to shut by early January. Nearly 30,000 will find themselves unemployed when the 99 year old store finally closes its doors, a particularly sad legacy for a business that has survived the Great Depression and several economic downturns. It appears no business is immune from this current recession

Iraqi doctor guilty of terror attacks

A 29 year old Iraqi doctor has been found guilty at Woolwich Crown Court of launching terrorist bomb attacks in mainland Britain.
Bilal Abdullah and his accomplice had attempted to launch attacks in both London and Glasgow. Kafeel Ahmed and Bilal Abdullah had bought second hand cars and DIY supplies to construct their car bombs. Receipts and CCTV footage showed they had visited several B&Q stores and bought nails and other materials. Police believe they bought at least 5 vehicles to launch their attacks which began with London.

On the 29th June 2007 the two men arrived in the West End of London with their bomb laden cars. One was parked directly outside the Tiger Tiger night club while the other was left a short distance away. But both devices failed to explode and the terrorists fled to Scotland where they prepared for the attack on Glasgow airport. But for the two terrorists it went tragically wrong as they crashed their vehicle into the terminal building on the 30th June. As the vehicle became engulfed in flames Kafeel Ahmed himself caught fire and later died from his injuries. Bilal Abdullah survived to face trial and faces a life sentence in prison.

Karen Jones of the CPS said people at the airport and in London were lucky the bombs did not explode properly. She said the men’s intention was to kill and maim as many people as possible. However their incompetence saved many people’s lives. Dr Sidney Alford, an explosives engineer, speaking to the BBC described the terrorists’ bomb making skills as “amateurish” [BBC / CNN]. Another NHS doctor, Mohammed Asha, was cleared of helping the two terrorists.