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Sunday, December 28, 2008

Israel pounds Gaza for second day

By Nidal al-Mughrabi | Reuters | Sunday, December 28, 2008

GAZA (Reuters) - Israel launched air strikes on Gaza for a second day on Sunday, piling pressure on Hamas after killing more than 270 people in one of the bloodiest days in 60 years of conflict between the Palestinians and the Jewish state.

Dozens of Israeli armored vehicles massed along the Gaza border for a possible ground invasion and the U.N. Security Council called early on Sunday for a halt to the violence.

Israeli military affairs commentators said the Israeli offensive did not appear to be aimed at retaking the Gaza Strip or destroying the territory's Hamas government -- ambitious goals that could prove difficult and politically risky to achieve ahead of Israel's February 10 parliamentary election.

Instead, they said, Israel -- after an air bombardment on Saturday -- wanted to strengthen its deterrence power and force Hamas into a new truce that would lead to a long-term halt to cross-border rocket salvoes.

Israel said its warplanes carried out about 100 strikes on Saturday and that Palestinian militants had fired some 70 rockets at the Jewish state, killing one Israeli man.[read more]

VIDEO : 27th December 2008 - International Solidarity Movement (ISM) volunteers witness the devastation caused as over 200 Palestinians were killed by Israeli air-strikes

Friday, December 26, 2008

FROM INDIA WITH CAPATI!

WHY DO WE DEPEND ON US ?

The Japanese save a lot. They do not spend much.
Also Japan exports far more than it imports.
Has an annual trade surplus of over $100 billion, yet
Japanese economy is considered weak, even collapsing.

Americans spend, save little.
Also US import more than it exports.
Has an annual trade deficit of over $400 billion.
Yet, the American economy is considered strong and
trusted to get stronger.

But where from do Americans get money to spend?
They borrow from Japan , China , and even India .
Virtually others save for the US to spend.

Global savings are mostly invested in US, in dollars.
India itself keeps its foreign currency assets of over
$50 billions in US securities.

China has sunk over $160 billion in US securities.

Japan 's stakes in US securities is in trillions.
Result:

The US has taken over $5 trillion from the world.
So, as the world saves for the US , Americans spend
freely. Today, to keep the US consumption going, that is for
the US economy to work, the countries have to remit $180 billion every
quarter that is $2 billion a day to the US !

Otherwise the US economy would go for a sick.
So will the global economy.

The result will be no different if US consumers begin consuming less.
A Chinese economist asked a neat question.

Who has invested more, US in China , or China in US?
The US has invested in China less than half of what
China has invested in US.

The same is the case with India .. We have invested in
US over $50 billion.
But the US has invested less than $20 billion in India

Why the world is after US?
The secret lies in the American spending, that they
hardly save. In fact they use their credit cards to spend their
future income.That the US spends is what makes it attractive to
export to the US . So US imports more than what it exports year afteR
year

The result:

The world is dependent on US consumption for its growth.
By its deepening culture of consumption, the US has
habituated the world to feed on US consumption.
But as the US needs money to finance its consumption,
the world provides the money.

It's like a shopkeeper providing the money to a customer so that the
customer keeps buying from his shop. The customer will not buy; the
shop won't have business, unless the shopkeeper funds him.

The US is like the lucky customer.

And the world is like the helpless shopkeeper financier.

Who is America 's biggest shopkeeper financer?

Japan of course. Yet it's Japan which is regarded as weak.
Modern economists complain that Japanese do not spend,
so they do not Grow.

To force the Japanese to spend, the Japanese government exerted itself.
Reduced the savings rates, even charged the savers.
Even then the Japanese did not spend (habits don't change, even
with taxes, do they?).

Their traditional postal savings alone is over $1.2 trillions, about
three times the Indian GDP. Thus, savings, far from being the strength of Japan ,
has become its pain.

Hence, what is the lesson?
A nation cannot grow unless the people spend, not save. Not just
spend, but borrow and spend.

Dr. Jagdish Bhagwati, the famous Indian-born economist
in the US, told that don't wastefully save.
Start spending, on imported cars and, seriously, even
on cosmetics! This will put all nations on a growth curve.
'Saving is sin, and spending is virtue.

Before you follow this neo economics, get some fools
to save so that you can borrow from them and spend.
This is what US has successfully done in last few
decade.

Written by Dr Jagdish Bhagwati an economist
- share your thought

Thursday, December 18, 2008

Plundering the Congo & The Destabilization of Congo

Wayne Madsen: Congo has fallen prey to a lot of people that want to loot its natural resources. Ethnic divisions are being stoked by client states of the US who arm both sides.



Monday, December 15, 2008

Bush's Final F.U. - a host of last-minute regulations

With president-elect Barack Obama already taking command of the financial crisis, it's tempting to think that regime change in America is a done deal. But if George Bush has his way, the country will be ruled by his slash-and-burn ideology for a long time to come.

"It's what we've seen for Bush's whole tenure, only accelerated," says Gary Bass, executive director of the nonpartisan group OMB Watch. "They're using regulation to cement their deregulatory mind-set, which puts corporate interests above public interests." . . . . [what are these regulations - read more]

"It's going to be very challenging for Obama," says Bass. "Is he going to want to look forward and begin changing the way government works? Or is he going to look back and fix the problems left by Bush? Either way, it's a tough call."


Friday, December 12, 2008

Anwar Ibrahim on YouTube with Riz Khan.


Anwar Ibrahim [present leader of opposition and MP of Malaysia] talk about the opposition, the coming shadow cabinet, the economics, press freedom and foreign direct investment.



Mahathir on YouTube with Riz Khan

Mahathir justifying his identity as a Malay, being a political critic, relating Abdullah Badawi's highandedness his opinion on ISA and the US.





Thursday, December 11, 2008

The "Universal Declaration" of "Human Rights".

On December 10, 1948 the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted and proclaimed the "Universal Declaration" of Human Rights.
This animation brings all 30 articles to life using different techniques, from pen and ink to digital animation.



Today marks the 60th Anniversary of the "Universal Declaration" of "Human Rights" (UDHR). In commemoration, human rights organizations are using YouTube to inform citizens about the significance of the UDHR and the human rights violations that still plague our society.

Thursday, December 4, 2008

RPK & two others on Aljazeera.

Dec 3 – Malaysia Today editor Raja Petra Kamarudin said tonight that 99% of the rumours he reports on his website eventually turn out to be true.

Defending himself from a caller on a special interview with Riz Khan on satellite television station Al Jazeera who asked why he persisted in writing about rumours, he said time and time again he had been proven right with his stories. . . read more



Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Mumbai Attacks - Democracynow.org discussion.

Toll From Deadly, Coordinated Mumbai Attacks Tops 170, Two Top Indian Officials Resign, Tensions Rise Between India and Pakistan





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