tagged w/ Global Economy
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Government obligations for Social Security and Medicare may soon exceed the combined net worth of every household and nonprofit organization in the country.
Prices dropped last year. But we still need to invest to protect ourselves from inflation. That's why our retirement-plan investing needs an inflation "tilt." You'll understand why in a few paragraphs.
How bad will future inflation be? I don't know. Neither does anyone else. It could be a normal inflation of 3% to 4% a year. It could also be a banana-republic 10% a month.
What we know is that all governments make promises they can't fulfill. Our government certainly has. Under both political parties, it has taken promise making to a high art. This is not hyperbole. The figures can be found in regularly published government reports.Government obligations for Social Security and Medicare may soon exceed the combined... more
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It is unclear if the shooter was among the wounded, despite earlier reports that he killed himself, an official said.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Attack is the deadliest on soldiers by a fellow soldier during Operation Iraqi Freedom
Shooter is in custody, senior defense officials say
Five killed and three others wounded in incident
Shootings took place at Camp Liberty in Baghdad
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U.S. soldier in Baghdad kills four fellow troops before killing himself, senior defense official tells CNN.
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It is unclear if the shooter was among the wounded, despite earlier reports that he killed himself, an official said..................................As the story has unfolded we have now learnt that there were FIVE SOLDIERS KILLED but not the one who killed them.
Monday's attack marks the fifth incident in which a service member was killed by a fellow service member during Operation Iraqi Freedom, according to the U.S. military.
• In March 2003, Capt. Christopher Seifert and Maj. Gregory Stone were killed at Camp Pennsylvania, Kuwait, in a grenade attack by another soldier.
• Sgt. Joseph Tackett was fatally shot in June 2005 by a fellow soldier in Baghdad.
• Seaman Anamarie Camacho and Seaman Genesia Gresham were killed in a non-combat incident in Bahrain in October 2007.
• A 39-year-old soldier was charged with killing Staff Sgt. Darris Dawson and Sgt. Wesley Durbin in Tunnis, Iraq, in September.
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Britain ends combat operations in Iraq:
The British military formally ended combat operations in Iraq on Thursday after six years of conflict by handing over control of its main base in Basra to an American brigade.
http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2009/04/30/britain-iraq.htmlIt is unclear if the shooter was among the wounded, despite earlier reports that he... more
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The Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) is an attempt to expand the failed North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) to every country in Central America, South America and the Caribbean, except Cuba. Negotiations began right after the completion of NAFTA in 1994 and were supposed to have been completed by January 1, 2005.
But an exciting thing happened: the FTAA was not signed on January 1st. Led by strong social movements across the hemisphere, countries like Venezuela, Argentina, Bolivia, and Brazil have said NO to a model that has increased poverty across the globe, and are instead searching for a better model of regional integration.
Add your support to the thousands of people who are organizing to show that NAFTA should not be expanded but should be replaced with an international system of cooperation that fosters social equality, human rights, cultural diversity, environmental sustainability, and community well being. We've stopped the FTAA - for now. And now we MUST STOP CAFTA!!
Groups around the hemisphere have also been working together on an alternative agreement that will offer a workable vision of what a fair trade agreement would look like (see www.asc-hsa.org).The Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) is an attempt to expand the failed North... more
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Take Action on President Obama's FY2010 Budget Request for Military Aid to Israel
Take Action on President Obama's FY2010 Budget Request for Military Aid to Israel
Take Action on President Obama's FY2010 Budget Request for Military Aid to Israel
President Obama has promised to “make a personal commitment to do all I can to advance the cause of [Israeli-Palestinian] peace from the start of my Administration.”
We want to help the President achieve this important goal. But we won’t get there through the same failed policies of the past. We need change and this means holding Israel accountable for its misuse of U.S. weapons as a first step toward peace and justice.
However, President Obama is expected to propose even more military aid for Israel at a time of economic crisis at home. As part of a ten-year agreement totaling $30 billion, the President is expected to ask for $2.775 billion in weapons for Israel in the budget he’ll be sending to Congress this year.
Ask President Obama to hold Israel accountable for its misuse of U.S. weapons to kill Palestinians and occupy their lands. Our country’s foreign policy should promote human rights, not enable countries to violate them. Send your letter to the President today below.
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/641/t/2439/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=26705
"Thank you for not including military aid to Israel in your recent FY2010 budget outline. However, I am deeply disturbed by the United States delivering more than 300 containers of munitions to Israel in March, as reported by Amnesty International.Take Action on President Obama's FY2010 Budget Request for Military Aid to Israel... more
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Children
“Life is becoming more violent for children in the Palestinian Territory. By the end of 2006 more than 120 children had died due to the conflict, more than double the number of child deaths in 2005. Many more have been injured, some for life.”
UNICEF, 2007
"Children have the right to be protected from being hurt and mistreated, physically or mentally. Governments should ensure that children are properly cared for and protect them from violence, abuse and neglect by their parents, or anyone else who looks after them."
Article 19 of the United Nations Conventions on the Rights of the Child
Children in Palestine: The Facts
60% of Palestinians in the Occupied Territories are under 19-years-old.
One in 3 Palestinian males aged 15-19 is an unskilled worker. Unemployment is a severe problem for young Palestinian men: 20% of 15-19-year-olds cannot find paid work.
20% of Palestinian females marry between the ages of 15-19. More than 1 in 10 subsequently divorce.
According to the United Nations Fund for Children (UNICEF): “Conditions have rarely been worse for Palestinian children.” One in 10 Palestinian children now suffer from stunted growth due to compromised health, poor diet and nutrition and 50% of Palestinian children are anemic, and 75% of those under 5 suffer from vitamin A deficiency.
UNICEF claims that roadblocks, barriers, checkpoints and soldiers are impeding health workers and patients, including child patients, from accessing health centers across the Occupied Palestinian Territory. Delivery of medication and equipment are also severely affected.
On March 8th, 2007 Khaled Daud Faqih died at a checkpoint between the village of Kafr’Ain and the city of Ramallah. His parents were trying to take him to Ramallah hospital, but were detained at a checkpoint by Israeli soldiers. Khaled Daud Faqih was 6 months old.
Rising poverty and unemployment is affecting school attendance across Palestine. In the 2005/6 school year the number of students whose families could not afford the NIS 50 ($11) school fee doubled from 29,000 to 56,000.
Up to 67% of families are living in poverty across the West Bank. In Gaza poverty rates have spiraled to 85% this year, severely affecting every aspect of children’s lives.
Increasing numbers of Palestinian children are now working to support their families instead of attending school. Palestinian children under the age of 14 can cross Israeli checkpoints without permits, and at least one thousand Palestinian children now cross into Israel every day, to work in garbage tips salvaging glass and metal. More than half of the Palestinian children who work in Israel, or Palestine, do not attend school at all.Children
“Life is becoming more violent for children in the Palestinian... more
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Measuring the water footprint of products and services is now becoming just as important as carbon footprints. Especially in places such as Australia, where drought has done much to damage not only the environment but the economy. Some companies now list the carbon footprint of their products on them. I don't think it will be too long before companies will also be listing their water footprint on their products as well, and I think that is a good thing.Measuring the water footprint of products and services is now becoming just as... more
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Southeast Asia will be hit particularly hard by climate change, causing the region's agriculture-dependent economies to contract by as much as 6.7 percent annually by the end of the century, according to a study released Monday.
The Asian Development Bank study identified four countries as especially vulnerable: Indonesia and the Philippines with large coastal populations facing rising sea levels, and Thailand and Vietnam where rice yields could drop 50 percent due to water shortages.
"You have to think about developing countries' capacity," ADB Senior Economist Tae Yong Jung said. "They are not really well prepared. Their capacity to handle extreme events is much lower than the developed world."
He said globally climate change would cost the equivalent of 2.6 percent of gross domestic product each year by the end of the century.
If nothing is done to combat global warming, the report said that by 2100 the four Asian countries would see temperatures rise an average of 8.6 Fahrenheit (4.8 Celsius) from the 1990 level. They would also likely suffer drops in rainfall leading to worsening droughts and more forest fires, more destructive tropical storms and flooding from rising seas that could displace millions of people and lead to the destruction of 965 square miles (2,500 square kilometers) of mangroves.
The economic cost, according to the report, would be 6.7 percent of gross domestic product by 2100.
The key for Southeast Asia would be protecting its remaining tropical forests which have fallen victim in recent years to widespread illegal logging and the expansion of palm oil plantations, the report found. Deforestation represents as much as 75 percent of the four country's emissions.Southeast Asia will be hit particularly hard by climate change, causing the... more
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From the article...>Despite signs of improvement in global markets, further coordinated actions are needed by governments and banks to ensure that a world economic recovery can take hold, a senior International Monetary Fund official said Tuesday.
"The unprecedented policy response, both in the financial and macroeconomic domains, is gradually beginning to restore market confidence," said Jose Vinals, director of the fund's monetary and capital markets department.
"But continued decisive and effective action is needed to preserve and strengthen these first signs of improvement and to help provide a more stable and resilient platform for sustained global growth," Vinals said in a briefing to discuss the IMF's latest Global Financial Stability Report.
The report indicated a significant deepening and spreading of the crisis beyond the mortgage-related assets in the U.S. responsible for sparking the turmoil. The IMF now projects that worldwide financial losses could top $4 trillion through next year, with the estimated damage from U.S. assets alone increased to $2.7 trillion from a previous forecast of $2.2 trillion in January.
Reflecting the widening scope of the crisis, loan losses and write-downs in assets originated outside the U.S. were also factored in for the first time. Losses from European assets are expected to reach $1.2 trillion through 2010, with estimates of $149 billion for Japanese assets and $340 billion for emerging markets.
Still, IMF officials sounded the most optimistic note yet about the crisis, saying recent improvements in some markets point to the possibility that write-downs could come in below those levels.
"Circumstances in some of the markets were worse than they are now" when the $4.1 trillion loss estimate was calculated at the end of March, Jan Brockmeijer, deputy director of the monetary and capital markets department, told Dow Jones Newswires after the briefing.
That figure is "slightly higher" than current mark-to-market write-downs would suggest, he said, adding that it would be too difficult to give a precise revision due to market fluctuations.
The market improvements have been "across the board" but not significant enough to alter the overall outlook, said Brockmeijer. Some of the biggest improvement has come from emerging-market spreads, which he said is in part due to the recent announcement of plans to triple the IMF's resources, and to countries like Mexico, Poland and Colombia lining up for the new flexible credit line to backstop sound economies.
"Certain emerging-market spreads have come in quite considerably since these liquidity facilities have been announced," said Brockmeijer.
Despite some positive signs, the IMF stressed the need for banks to raise a significant amount of additional capital, estimating that U.S. and European firms would need $875 billion more equity just to return to pre-crisis levels. U.S. banks are nearly halfway there, but European institutions have raised just a third of the capital that may be needed to restore market confidence, the report said.
"The key takeaway is that higher write-downs, together with market demands for both lower leverage and more stringent capital ratios will require financial institutions to hold more capital - whether raised in markets or provided by governments," said Vinals.
When asked about reports that the U.S. may convert some of the preferred shares it owns in banks into common equity - which would cover most of the need for capital among local banks - Vinals said it is a possibility, but that it is up to the government to decide.
Temporary nationalization may also be necessary for a "limited subset of cases" around the world, just long enough to stabilize the situation, said Vinals. But he also welcomed the Obama administration's public-private investment program to provide incentives for the private sector to buy up toxic assets.
"This is something which is useful in order to make private capital come back into tFrom the article...>Despite signs of improvement in global markets, further... more
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This year will be "very difficult" for the Russian economy, but the country will come out of the downturn, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has said.
He told the state Duma, or lower house, that a 3tn rouble ($90bn; £60bn) package of aid measures would help Russia survive the economic crisis.
"What we can definitely and must say is that Russia will overcome the crisis," Mr Putin said.
He said Russia would retain its place as one of the world's bigger economies.
"To achieve this, we must all work in a well-coordinated manner, as one team," Mr Putin said.
"Our actions must be not fussy, but prompt, responsible and well-balanced. They should be genuinely effective for both people and the economy."
His comments follow those of Igor Shuvalov, the first deputy prime minister, who last week said Russia could return to positive economic growth by the end of the year.This year will be "very difficult" for the Russian economy, but the country... more
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Safe sales rise as homeowners grow wary of banks and worry about crime.
Sales of home security safes have multiplied as homeowners worry about an increase in crime tied to the economic downturn and as confidence in banks and financial institutions wavers.
Several Denver security companies are reporting that sales of home security safes have doubled since the recession deepened last fall.
"With the economy not doing as well, people are scared of theft and are concerned about their house getting broken into," said Jennifer Wickhorst, an administrator with Englewood Lock and Safe. "Women want to lock up their jewelry, and people are using security safes for passports, checks and anything with personal information on it."
Read article at link-
Read and discuss-Safe sales rise as homeowners grow wary of banks and worry about crime.
Sales of... more
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How Israel brought Gaza to the brink of humanitarian catastrophe
The Guardian, Wednesday January 7 2009
Avi Shlai
The only way to make sense of Israel's senseless war in Gaza is through understanding the historical context. Establishing the state of Israel in May 1948 involved a monumental injustice to the Palestinians. British officials bitterly resented American partisanship on behalf of the infant state. On 2 June 1948, Sir John Troutbeck wrote to the foreign secretary, Ernest Bevin, (...)
(...)The only way to make sense of Israel's senseless war in Gaza is through understanding the historical context. (...)How Israel brought Gaza to the brink of humanitarian catastrophe
The Guardian,... more
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http://breakroomlive.com
BreakRoomLive with Maron and Seder is LIVE weekdays, 3-4pm from the Air America Break Room.
Marc interviews Peter Singer, a world renowned philosopher and ethicist. He is perhaps best known for his book, "Animal Liberation", and has most recently authored the book, "The Life You Can Save: Acting Now to End World Poverty."
Catch comedy sketches, interviews, political and cultural discussions, and interact with hosts and guests live: 3pm, M-F @ BreakRoomLive.com!
BreakRoomLive with Marc Maron and Sam Seder is a production of http://airamerica.comhttp://breakroomlive.com
BreakRoomLive with Maron and Seder is LIVE weekdays, 3-4pm... more
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updated 35 minutes ago: Hong Kong Hang Seng -663.17 -- Japan Nikkei 225 -390.89
US Markets DOW down triple digits in Pre-open.
WASHINGTON - The White House says neither GM nor Chrysler submitted acceptable plans to receive more bailout money, setting the stage for a crisis in Detroit and putting in motion what could be the final two months of two American auto giants.
President Barack Obama and his top advisers have determined that neither company is viable and that taxpayers will not spend untold billions more to keep the pair of automakers open forever. In a last-ditch effort, the administration gave each company a brief deadline to try one last time to convince Washington it is worth saving, said senior administration officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity to more bluntly discuss the decision.
Obama was set to make the announcement at 11 a.m. (1500 GMT) Monday in the White House's foyer.
"We think we can have a successful U.S. auto industry. But it's got to be one that's realistically designed to weather this storm and to emerge — at the other end — much more lean, mean and competitive than it currently is," Obama said.
Fiat alliance?
Frustrated administration officials said Chrysler cannot function as an independent company under its current plan. They have given Chrysler a 30-day window to complete a proposed partnership with Italian automaker Fiat SpA, and will offer up to $6 billion to the companies if they can negotiate a deal before time runs out.
If a Chrysler-Fiat union cannot be completed, Washington plans to walk away, leave Chrysler destined for a complete sell-off. No other money is available.updated 35 minutes ago: Hong Kong Hang Seng -663.17 -- Japan Nikkei 225 -390.89
US... more
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The US public will be “outraged” by Citibank’s $8 billion loan to Dubai just six weeks after the bank was bailed out, US House of Representatives domestic policy subcommittee chair-man has said. Dennis Kucinich commented on the Dubai loan and other US banking investments as a congressional panel released a report that strongly questioned Citibank’s actions. The report, shown to 7DAYS, cites the Dubai loan as the largest of the “questionable transactions” by banks after the US government bailed them out. It notes that the loan to Dubai’s public sector came on December 14, just six weeks after the US government gave Citibank a $25 billion bail-out.
The report notes the loans were not illegal and that it is not known if they were directly funded by bail-out funds. A Citibank official was quoted at the time as saying the $8 billion came from the bank’s own funds and third party sources. The report was released as the committee prepares to question banking chiefs about their use of bail-out funds.
“When the American people find that their tax dollars, which were supposed to be used to get us out of this financial crisis, are instead being used to ship jobs and investments overseas, there will be outrage,”Kucinich said.The US public will be “outraged” by Citibank’s $8 billion loan to... more
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By the wide stretch of the American River in Sacramento, history is repeating itself. Here, during the Great Depression of the 1930s, men and women who had lost everything and despaired of finding work built rough shelters and huddled around fires.
Now the spiral of job losses and house repossessions has left another wave of Americans homeless, and a new tent city is growing rapidly on lumpy, derelict land between the river and the railway tracks here in the capital of California.
There are more than 300 people living in scattered encampments stretching a couple of miles along the river bank. As many as 50 more arrive each week. Unemployment in Sacramento reached 10.4 per cent in January and California is suffering some of the worst repossession rates in the country, with as many as 500 people losing their homes every day last year.
Charity workers in the city can no longer cope with the number of people coming to them for help. The shelters are full, with one home that caters for women and children turning away 200 people a night.By the wide stretch of the American River in Sacramento, history is repeating itself.... more
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17 within the first 3 months of the year.
2008 Had a total of 25 Failures throughout the entire year.
All this on top of FDIC's Sheila Bair's admission that the FDIC coffers may dry up soon.
Please read article link posted here at Current-
http://current.com/items/89865144/bair_says_insurance_fund_could_be_insolvent_this_year.htm
Get ready folks, Times are about to get interesting.
Please read article at link-
Read and discuss-
1%17 within the first 3 months of the year.
2008 Had a total of 25 Failures... more
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Of course, it doesn't come close to the 515 BILLION dollars in defense spending this government budgeted for 2009- in a recession no less. However, are we to believe that China is increasing military spending just to increase soldier pay? Especially when we look at where they are positioning themselves in the world? And I find it so hypocritical for them to say they are not involved in any conflicts around the world when they are supplying weapons to those in Darfur killing people, and their undeclared marital law in Tibet where they are torturing and killing innocent people.Of course, it doesn't come close to the 515 BILLION dollars in defense spending... more
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A key question that is often asked about ecological agriculture, including organic agriculture, is whether it can be productive enough to meet the world’s food needs. While many agree that ecological agriculture is desirable from an environmental and social point of view, there remain fears that ecological and organic agriculture produce low yields.
This short paper will summarize some of the available evidence to demystify the productivity debate and demonstrate that ecological agriculture is indeed productive.
In general, yields from ecological agriculture can be broadly comparable to conventional yields in developed countries. In developing countries, ecological agriculture practices can greatly increase productivity, particularly if the existing system is low-input, which is the largely the case for Africa. This paper will focus mainly on evidence from developing countries.
A recent study examined a global dataset of 293 examples and estimated the average yield ratio (organic : non-organic) of different food categories for the developed and developing world (Badgley et al., 2007). For most of the food categories examined, they found that the average yield ratio was slightly less than 1.0 for studies in the developed world, but more than 1.0 for studies in developing countries.
On average, in developed countries, organic systems produce 92% of the yield produced by conventional agriculture. In developing countries, however, organic systems produce 80% more than conventional farms.
With the average yield ratios, the researchers then modeled the global food supply that could be grown organically on the current agricultural land base. They found that organic methods could hypothetically produce enough food on a global per capita basis to sustain the current human population, and potentially an even larger population, without putting more farmland into production.
Moreover, contrary to fears that there are insufficient quantities of organically acceptable fertilizers, the data suggest that leguminous cover crops could fix enough nitrogen to replace the amount of synthetic fertilizer currently in use.
This model suggests that organic agriculture could potentially provide enough food globally, but without the negative environmental impacts of conventional agriculture.A key question that is often asked about ecological agriculture, including organic... more
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GMW: Global resistance - U.S.A., NZ, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium
1. Leading Catholic hospital group bans food from GMOs and animal clones
2. Hungary to defy European Commission call to scrap ban on GMO crops
3. Italy, no quality brand for products employing GMOs
4. Japan laps up non-GM soyameal
5. Lobby Groups Welcome Abandonment of GM Trials in New Zealand
6. Join a large European march against GMOs
A global food revolution is taking place. It's time to take back our food and our planet!GMW: Global resistance - U.S.A., NZ, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Germany, Netherlands,... more
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