After 7 Years, Talks on Trade Collapse

[Vandana Shiva's work is finally paying off. She believes that it is vital that the WTO rules, especially for agriculture in the third world and southern disticts must change. She says that it is a matter of survival. ]


GENEVA — World trade talks collapsed here on Tuesday after seven years of on-again, off-again negotiations, in the latest sign of India’s and China’s growing might on the world stage and the decreasing ability of the United States to impose its will globally. ...more

Russian Chinese Rearmament?

Folks are beginning to wonder about whether Russia and China are gonna tool up and make trouble. Here is my reply to a recent Free Republic article:

"... if it be of any comfort, both China and Russia now have fluctuating stock exchanges. Their economy are becoming more and more capitalistic and free-market driven. Putin will have to learn to watch every word he mutters; one phrase threw his market off significantly last week (RTS Index fell by 5.58%, MICEX - at 5.49%.). Both countries are playing by a new set of rules called "private property laws". Cool... huh! The people begin to dictate. History shows that common people who die in wars are uninterested in unnecessary dying, especially the Russians. Military spending, however, means opportunities for big business, lots of infrastructure, loans, jobs, and on and on. According to Greenspan open free markets balance, level and fatten up societies across the board. These nations need the US (always have), to teach them how to keep books, stay accountable, keep a handle on corruption, and maybe ... become profitable. Over taxing their people now will wreck their economy. They must first learn how to establish a significant and stable tax base. That could take many years. These governments are unable to have their economic cake and eat it too. Nobody is making any money yet. Between you and me, friend, ... probably never will. Whatever they make comes right back to the US. These nations are beholden to us because we are a wise and rational nation, know what we are doing, and have few ridiculous traditions we let get in the way of acting decisively. Their military build up is funded by Wall Street and their technology is borrowed. US interests invariably receive most of the profits from their oil. Take a good look at companies like National Oil Varco, NOV., without which there would be no sustainable drilling. Studying these country's development will be quite interesting over the next few years. Enjoy!"

Woman Goes from Trash Scavenger to Princess in India

"Dr. Pathak happens to be from India's highest caste. His interest in helping Dalits began at an early age.

"While I was a child at 13 years old, I touched an untouchable. For that my grandmother forced me to swallow cow dung, cow urine and Ganges water to purify myself," Pathak said.

He was dismayed at the experience and for the past 40 years has made it his mission to elevate the downtrodden. So far, his organization says it's helped more than 60,000 "untouchables" and installed more than a million of its eco-friendly, humane toilets in India alone." ... read on.

I Love America

i believe in America more now than ever before.
Why?
Because America loves it's neighbors
loves foreigners
and is willing to accept all people
regardless of race, color, creed, gender or social cast
and these are the very reasons we are hated
we share no prejudices, hatreds,
or willingness to overlook or sustain injustice
some say that it is through corporate greed that we embrace others
i say that our generosity is greater than our greed
and that profit and abundance are good things
that we seek to share with all people
rather than and elite few

Fannie and Freddie: All in the Family

The Banks have been loaning us money that is non existent. In turn they have been selling those loans to Fannie and Freddie. They have been buying those loans with money that is non existant. At the end, all the capital they needed to show was 1.4%. But, we needed to make a down payment of 20% to with the bank to get the loan.

1)Where did the people's down payment capital plus all the equity which has accrued go? That money represents real savings. Were does the people's savings continue to exist in the bank which issued the mortgage or in Fannie and Freddie?