Civil strife in Congo, Sudan and elsewhere in Africa has cost thousands of lives. The terrorist attacks on Mumbai were more than just a tragic reminder of the threat posed by terrorism: They also raised the issue of the responsibility of the state on whose territory this large-scale attack had been prepared. The situation in Afghanistan seems dismal. The Middle East remains a tinderbox. On top of it all, piracy has made a comeback, straight out of the dark ages.
The flows of migrants, social unrest in many countries (including some that are far from poor), the recent problems with contaminated food supplies, massive human rights violations - the list of the world's ills can go on and on.
There is an increasing sense of a world in turmoil, further aggravated by the crisis of the world economy.
Talking to people in different countries, again and again I hear these questions: What is happening? What is in store? Why have the world's political leaders failed to address effectively the old and new threats?
These are legitimate questions. To answer them, we must look at the underlying causes of recent events.
I am convinced that the root cause of the current widespread upheaval is the inability and even unwillingness of political leaders to correctly evaluate the situation after the end of the Cold War and jointly chart a new course.
The "winner's complex" - the fanfare of triumph sounded by the West after the Soviet Union left the international arena - obscured the fact that the end of the Cold War was not a victory for one side or one ideology. It was instead a common achievement and a common challenge, a call for major change.
But why change if, as Western politicians believed, all was fine? They would continue to lead the rest of the world with their unfailing doctrine of free markets and alliances like NATO, which were ready and eager to assume responsibility for peace in Europe and beyond.
From Europe's tempestuous youth by Ryan Harding
Last month a tide of turbulence and unrest swept across Greece in the form of virulent rioting and acts of aggression towards symbols of power and authority. While some leftist militant groups, such as Revolutionary Struggle, seized upon the state of unrest in Greece -perpetrating more severe acts of violence - this stage of tumult is symptomatic of a number of factors, which have not only led to disaffection amongst Greece's youth, but Europe's.
However, these cited factors, many of which are economically-related, may be somewhat of a red herring. In the search for the cause for the numerous localized riots across Europe as well as those wider spread and more destructive riots (such as the 2005 riots which gripped Parisian suburbs) what has become evident is that a subset of Europe's youth have displayed a propensity for uncivil disobedience, and, on the heels of this wave of riots and violence across Greece, seem to be at a crossroad.
Deconstructing Europe's youth
Withstanding high unemployment rates and a global economic downturn, has led to a population of youth in Europe who are disaffected and, quite frankly, angry. Unemployment rates for 18-25-year-olds are, in most instances, well above the national average, and this fact has often been adduced to help explain why it is that youth are at the center of social and political storms. Yet, beyond economics - which can be blamed, in part for the degree of upheaval in Greece and other youth-led riots in Europe occurring in recent years, and almost totally for the somewhat surprising riots, which occurred in Iceland - there is something greater.
Riots of recent years in Europe, from Belgian to Sweden, and from Italy to Spain, have had thematic similarities, sharing at least one of two common threads. The most salient thread - uniting a great number of these individual and isolated occurrences - is religious/ethnic or race-related.
From The U.S. looks ugly indeed, but it's all relative by Jack Crooks
* Emerging markets of all stripes have been cut-off from their funding sources. They're unable to make it up through exports in a world where consumer demand may have changed for some time.
* Russia's pure, energy-dependent economy is imploding and unrest is rising; some believe the Putin regime is in trouble of being toppled. This adds to the potential that Russia will lash out in order to whip up nationalist frenzy to divert attention from dwindling economic alternatives and freedoms.
* Social unrest in Russia will add to the riskiness of investing in Eastern and Central Europe, increasing the chances of country defaults in the region — Ukraine is already teetering! This will also add to Western Europe's banking woes since they are hugely exposed to emerging markets in Europe and elsewhere.
* Rising tensions across the Eurozone increase the rising risk within the system as Greece's and Italy's fiscal status deteriorates by the day. Unrest in Greece among youth and anarchists could be the tip of the iceberg for broader unrest across the Eurozone as unemployment rises.
* Global demand for exports has evaporated. And China, the world's biggest exporter, is feeling the pain in a big way. Factories across China are closing, unemployment is soaring, and social tensions are rising. This is a real wildcard. China knows its dependence on exports is coming around to bite them. Transition from an export-oriented to a consumer-driven economy doesn't happen overnight. China was already moving down the path of consumerism. But in the foreseeable future rising unemployment, falling reserves, and dwindling corporate profits will likely crush China's expected consumer growth in 2009.
* Latin America is highly dependent on rising commodity prices and exports. Already, Ecuador has defaulted on its bonds because of falling revenues as oil prices tumbled. And the prospect for a big rebound in commodity prices looks dim because global demand continues to weaken. Tensions are rising across the region, too.
From Naxalism of the 60s subject of Goutam Ghosh's next film
Kolkata, Jan 12 (PTI) Rallies, agitations, street violence, student unrest, processions .... Bengal has seen it all and is still seeing them. But what was it like in the tumultuous 60s and early 70s, and does it have any relation with today's Nandigram and Singur? Eminent film-maker Goutam Ghosh wants to explore the truth in his next venture 'Kalbela' which is based on a novel of the same name on the violent Nalaxism of those days.
The feature film, produced by NFDC and scheduled to premier on January 16, is based on the academy ward-winning novel of eminent Bengali writer Samaresh Majumder which is one among many written on those uncertain days.
The film seeks to present the then Bengal in the grip of Naxalite movement by tracing the principal characters from the sylvan, but simmering Dooars forest to the political cauldron of College Street, Presidency College campus and university, recapturing the saga of the failed movement, imprisonment and police torture.
"In a sense I feel the film is more relevant today in the Kolkata of new milieu, of new priorities, new values and new perspectives which is re-witnessing agitations, movements and violence, on a smaller scale though.
The student violence these days remind me about the days of our youth," Ghosh told PTI here. PTI
From CSF In Mesquite by Herb Reed
Anyway, Obama is boasting that he's going to add 2.5 million jobs to the American workforce, but how?
To answer this, an audio clip has been found to shed light on Emanuel and Obama's plans for the USA, better known as the “National Civilian Security Force” (NCSF).
In an interview with Ben Smith of the New York Daily News, Emanuel outlined their agenda for this military-style training, essentially a domestic draft.
Emanuel stated that we're going to have “universal civil defense” training, a civil service for those somewhere between the ages of 18 to 25.
Emanuel continued, “There can be nothing wrong with all Americans having a joint experience of what we call civil defense training, which will give people a sense of what it means to be an American.”
Wow, an American civilian militia much like that of Cuba, North Korea, China, Venezuela, and the old Soviet Union.
[ ... ]
To see how this CFS thing is a little closer to home than we think, allow me to refresh our memories so that we can see how this will possibly affect us locally.
This past year, the Boy Scouts in Mesquite didn't seem to be “Americans” nor “Patriots,” since one of the Queen's handmaidens had put a stop to them doing their “good will” in the community.
The scouts were going to give out yellow bags for food donations for the Salvation Army and The Angel Tree project as they have done every year.
However, thanks to a new law which was enacted by “Her Majesty's Court,” the Scouts were told that they couldn't be “peddling the neighborhoods” begging for food, because they didn't have a permit.
Then it was stated that the scouts were NOT going to get a permit, and if they did pass out their yellow bags, they would be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
Interestingly, Naomi Wolf, noted author and social critic, draws chilling comparisons between how Mussolini used legal means to gradually take away democracy in Italy and how the U.S. is going down a similar path.
Going down this same path, I bet that you didn't know that the police departments across the nation were ready for civil unrest (even suggesting martial law) when the bailout was to take place.
It was suggested that “social unrest” was feared by the International Monetary Fund Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn and the U.S. Army War College's Strategic Institute.
According to the War College, Pentagon resources and U.S. troops were to be used if needed to quell protests and bank runs, and military force was to be used against hostile groups inside the United States.
Furthermore, trends forecaster Gerald Celente said that America would morph into the first "undeveloped" nation of the world by 2012, and that there will be a tax revolution marked by food riots, squatter rebellions, and job marches.
Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano, Obama's supposed pick for Secretary of Homeland Security, would not provide comment on the possibility of civil unrest during the economic crisis.
'Nuf said, so are you ready for this?
Unheard of by me, but not my friend Sheyenne, there are FEMA Death Camps throughout America with two camps allegedly nearby with one in Cedar City, Utah and one in the Las Vegas, Nevada area.
From Unrest caused by bad economy may require military action, report says by Diana Washington Valdez
A U.S. Army War College report warns an economic crisis in the United States could lead to massive civil unrest and the need to call on the military to restore order.
Retired Army Lt. Col. Nathan Freir wrote the report "Known Unknowns: Unconventional Strategic Shocks in Defense Strategy Development," which the Army think tank in Carlisle, Pa., recently released.
"Widespread civil violence inside the United States would force the defense establishment to reorient priorities ... to defend basic domestic order and human security," the report said, in case of "unforeseen economic collapse," "pervasive public health emergencies," and "catastrophic natural and human disasters," among other possible crises.
The report also suggests the new (Barack Obama) administration could face a "strategic shock" within the first eight months in office.
Fort Bliss spokeswoman Jean Offutt said the Army post is not involved in any recent talks about a potential military response to civil unrest.
From Real Global Terrorists Giants by Zaheerul Hassan
The analyses of prevailing world over terrorism lead us to actual directors and masters i.e. FBI, CIA, RAW and Mossad. They are the ones who develop the plan, conspiracies, and sabotages activities world over to complete their grand- designs. These agencies operate from the same forum for joint ventures for terrorizing the world to create regional hegemony. We may term this group of intelligence agencies as “Real Global Terrorists Giants” who are on the job of annihilation of humanity and peace through their overt and covert actions against their neighbour countries and across the boundaries. Their self created anti terrorist approach are just based on their illogical thoughts and perception.
As a result of their irrational loom the world is facing, unrest, bleeding innocent people, deteriorating economy, lament conditions of general masses, insecurity, instability in developing countries, arms race, unjust, hanging UNO and Security Council. .On January 3, 2008 Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Sing instead taking steps against extremists Hindus allegedly asked Pakistan and Bangladesh to stop miscreants of using their lands. In fact America has selected Israel and India as her watch dogs in Middle and South Asia' the aim of US is to control the world economy through them. Efforts should be made by the nations of these watch dogs to stop their respective governments in becoming American's slaves, if these nation really believe in establishing permanent regional peace. As per internet reports there is a 'manual' on Irregular warfare (IW) which is officially used to be release only to 'students from foreign countries on a case-by-case basis is worth reading. The subjects covered in it enable us to know the inside motives of Chief of Theorists Giants Group.
The constituent activities of IW are: insurgency, counter insurgency, Terrorism, counter terrorism, Stability, security, transition, and reconstruction (SSTR) operations, Strategic communication (SC), PSYOP, Civil-military operations (CMO), Information operations (IO)'Intelligence and counterintelligence (CI) activities.
Though US Army has introduced this manual now but there agencies in collaboration of RAW and Mossad were already undertaking these tasks. Some of their actions are now become an open secret for whole world. The Association for Responsible Dissent estimates that by 1987, 6 million people had died as a result of CIA covert operations.
Some of overt and covert joint operations of terrorist's giants were, 1) Corrupting democratic elections in Greece, Italy, and dozens of other nations; 2) Involved in number of 35 assassination plots against foreign heads of state or prominent political leaders. Successful assassinations include democratically elected leaders like Salvador Allende (Chile) and Patrice Lumumba (Belgian Congo), 3) CIA-created dictators like Rafael Trujillo (Dominican Republic) and Ngo Dinh Diem (South Vietnam); and popular political leaders like Che Guevara,4) Unsuccessful attempts range from Fidel Castro to Charles De Gaulle. 5) Helped launch military coups that toppled democratic governments, replacing them with brutal dictatorships or juntas ,6) Undermined the governments of Australia, Guyana, Cambodia, Jamaica and more; 7) brutality against Kashmiris and Sikhs ,8) Crushing Palestinians, Supporting murderous dictators like General Pinochet (Chile), the Shah of Iran, Ferdinand Marcos (Philippines), “Papa Doc” and “Baby Doc” Duvalier (Haiti), General Noriega (Panama), Mobutu Sese Seko (Ziare), the “reign of the colonels” (Greece), and more; interference in Russia and China., killing of Benazir Bhutto, murder of President Kanyadi [sic] and opposing Pakistan Nuclear programme.
From Nervous Russia stomps dissent by Fred Weir
The collapse of oil prices and the Russian ruble have ignited relatively small protests against the government here. But reaction from the Kremlin has been fast and furious.
Nationwide rallies planned for Sunday are expected to draw even larger crowds and will be the next major test of a Russian leadership increasingly anxious over dissent.
Leaders of the still-influential Communist Party, which is staging the upcoming rallies, say the Kremlin's fears were on display during protests last weekend in Moscow and St. Petersburg, when thousands of riot troopers confronted a few hundred demonstrators from the Other Russia, a broad anti-Kremlin coalition, and arrested 150 of them.
"On its face it seems ridiculous to see thousands of cops beating up a handful of peaceful demonstrators; logic dictates that they ought to ignore us," says Eduard Limonov, leader of the banned leftist National Bolshevik Party. "But the authorities fear opposition and ... [as the economic crisis grows] they have good reason for that. They read the FSB [security police] reports and they know that we are very well organized and ready to lead in the case of mass social unrest."
Mr. Limonov was among those detained and allegedly manhandled by police last Sunday.
Communist Party leaders have called for a nationwide day of "anticapitalist" rallies Sunday against growing unemployment and price rises. Although it's never easy to predict how many protesters will show up, organizers feel safe in their forecasts that hordes of police will be on hand.
"Our authorities want no protests to be seen on the streets in order to maintain the illusion that they still have the support of the majority of the population," says Oleg Kulikov, a leading Communist State Duma deputy.
From China's year of pomp and vigilance by Wu Zhong
While the Chinese generally like the number "eight" as it sounds like the word for "fortune", the number "nine" may prove more significant in the modern history of China, at least it did during the second half of the 20th century.
Since 1949 when Mao Zedong proclaimed on Tiananmen Gate the founding of the People's Republic of China (PRC), many major historical events have occurred in years marked with the number "nine" at the end. These events will all mark their decade anniversaries this year.
Decade anniversaries are important in Chinese tradition. Even the Chinese sage Confucius said of himself: "At 30, I took my stand; at 40, I no longer had doubts; at 50, I knew the will of the heavens; at 60, my ear was attuned; at 70, I follow all the desires of my heart without breaking any rule."
Chinese Communist Party (CCP) authorities will organize grand ceremonies for some of this year's decade anniversaries, such as the 30th anniversary of Beijing's proposal for detente with arch rival Taiwan; the 30th anniversary of the country's establishment of formal diplomatic relations with the United States; and the 60th birthday of the PRC.
But other more sensitive anniversaries are more likely to unnerve them, such as the 50th anniversary of the failed Tibetan armed rebellion against Chinese rule, and the 20th anniversary of the crackdown on protesters in Tiananmen Square. Chinese authorities will be making every effort to prevent any commemorative activities for these events.
After the mammoth job of hosting last year's Summer Olympic Games, the agenda of China's leadership this year, aside from weathering the global financial crisis, will be dominated by organizing celebrations for the former and preventing dissent related to the latter.
From Pyramid Schemes in Colombia by Anastasia Moloney
The biggest pyramid company, DMG Group Holdings, boosted high-profile investors, including local celebrities and offered its customers too-good-to-be-true interest rates of up to 200 percent. The government eventually closed down DMG in November, sparking widespread protests among investors who looted its offices in a desperate attempt to withdraw their savings. Local mayors, taken by surprise, issued curfews to stem civil unrest.
So far, the Colombian economy has weathered the global recession relatively well in comparison to other countries in the region, such as Argentina and Mexico. But the collapse of dozens of pyramid schemes has led to the country's very own financial crisis. Local councils who invested in pyramid companies have seen their budgets shrink overnight and social projects put on hold.
In the past, President Uribe has been able to masterfully distance himself from the deluge of scandals that have confronted his government during his six years in power, from the so-called “para-politics” affair, which links lawmakers to illegal right-wing paramilitary groups, to human-rights abuses committed by the military.
But this scandal is different. The majority of DMG victims say the President is to blame. They say he failed to take action earlier and close down rogue pyramid companies. Journalists and judicial officials raised the alarm about pyramid schemes mushrooming across the country and their alleged links with drug money laundering two years ago. The affair has led many to question the Uribe government's competence and attention to financial oversight, and revealed long-running tensions between the President and attorney general's office.
During the height of protests in early November, in an unprecedented move, Uribe gave two television addresses within a week. In a rare admission of failure, he acknowledged that the government had not acted in time and tried to reassure investors that they would be compensated for their losses, estimated to be around $1billion. How this is possible, though, is unclear.
From World hunger crisis spiralling out of control
Without a rapid injection of funds, millions of people in Haiti, the Congo (DRC), Ethiopia, Kenya and other hunger hot spots will run out of food assistance by the end of March, when warehouse stocks run out. WFP is voluntarily funded, and relies on annual contributions for all of its programs.
Sheeran said that with a mere 1% of what has been tabled for financial rescue packages and stimulus packages in the United States and Europe, developed countries could fully fund the work of the World Food Program, and make a mark toward meeting other urgent hunger needs, for example feeding all 59 million hungry school children worldwide ($3 billion per year) and the establishment of a reserve fund for fast acquisition of food stocks for emergencies.
Funds are also needed to boost the agricultural production of small-holder farmers who have seen the price of seeds and fertilizers more than double since 2006.
"World leaders need to be confronted with the values implicit in the policy choices they are making," Sheeran said. "The world is poised to produce trillions for financial rescue packages. What will they produce for the human rescue?"
WFP's urgent call comes off the back of historically high food prices, followed by continued market volatility. The global financial crisis, which is enveloping the developed world, is spilling into the developing world as incomes are affected, and trade, capital flows and remittances slow.
This month, the Kyrgyz government asked WFP to help feed 600,000 people pushed into desperate hunger following a sharp decline in the remittances which account for 20% of the country's GDP.
The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) announced last week that another 40 million people have been pushed into hunger this year primarily due to high food prices, bringing the total number of hungry to nearly 1 billion worldwide. This increase comes after four decades of progress when the international community collectively helped to bring down the percentage of hungry people from 37% to 17%.
Sheeran noted that hunger can lead to civil unrest, as witnessed in Haiti, where people were killed and a prime minister was driven from office when food prices soared earlier this year. There were riots in dozens of other countries around the world.
From Beyond The Age Of Usury by Sharon Kayser
From one extreme to the other: in the sweatshop parallel universe, Chinese authorities ready themselves for mass social unrest. In a blunt statement, the chairman of China's largest sovereign wealth said that China won't rescue Western banks. There too, the government has decided to embark on a spending highway with £373bn bail-out package, and this may also imply the eventual dumping of the nefarious US dollar already affecting the rich city of Dubai where speculators are throwing in the towel as a lending drought bursts 'Desert Bubble'. The most comedic element in this grand scale drama is the story of Donald Trump who sues the banks for $3BN for having failed to foresee the housing collapse that is now damaging his reputation in order to avoid the $40M he owes in banking interests.
In the Vanity Fair December issue, a columnist wrote an extremely well articulated piece, which also reveals the latest estimate of jobs New York is going to lose, both on and off Wall Street, amounting to l60,000 to start with. Michael Shnayerson's intro reads like a hook scene:
... Even many of the wealthiest players are retrenching. Others, like the Lehman Brothers bankers who borrowed against their millions in stock, have lost everything. Hedge-fund managers try to sell their luxury homes, while trophy wives are hocking their jewelry. The pain is being felt on St. Barth's and at Sotheby's, on benefit-gala committees and at the East Hampton Airport, as the world of the Big Rich collapses, its culture in shock and its values in question.
Last week Bernanke said that he was not against the possibility to drive interest rates down to near zero if necessary but urged decisive action to protect the economy... the meaning of this can be found in the reason why The BofE contemplates radical plans to inject cash directly into the economy - the nuclear option - to be used only when interest rates approach zero; an action seconded by President Jean-Claude Trichet, hinting in the press conference to announce the ECB's 75 basis point rate cut that it may also consider "nuclear options".
The term **nuclear** ought to be taken literally in this particular case. If a well known market guru such as Marc Farber didn't let himself be duped, it should scare the hell out of you. In a recent CNBC interview, an outraged Farber calmly explained what the stakes were, as concluding that world central bankers were merely imploding the world economy.
From The Deflation Scam
And what does veteran investor Jim Rogers think about this? In a recent Bloomberg interview he predicted that the dollar is “going to lose its status as the world's reserve currency,” adding, “It will be devalued and it will go down a lot. These guys in Washington, they want to debase the currency.”
“They think that if you drive down the value of your money, it makes you more competitive, now that has never worked in history in the long term,” said Rogers.
Paul Watson of the Prison Planet states:
The head of the International Monetary Fund, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, warned that advanced nations will be hit by violent civil unrest if the elite continue to restructure the economy around their own interests while looting the taxpayer. Strauss-Kahn's comments echo those of others who have cautioned that civil unrest could arise, specifically in the U.S., as a result of the wholesale looting of the taxpayer and the devaluation of the dollar.
How long will it be before Americans realize the looming specter of hyperinflation spells disaster for their life savings? How long will it be before we see rioting in the streets on a par with the scenes witnessed in Iceland over the weekend, where the Icelandic krona has lost half its value in a matter of weeks?
I'm not buying the deflation argument. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised to see 10-12% inflation for the next several years. I've been buying gold coins since gold was $500/ounce and I've been adding to my position on pullbacks. Maybe in a few years' time, $850 gold and $12 silver may look like a bargain!
From The great depression and avoiding the next great war by Dallas Darling
This breach of international law and misguided nationalism witnessed the slogan “Today Germany! Tomorrow the World!” The idealism and rationale of the Locarno Treaty and the hope of the Kellogg-Briand Pact, specifically the goal of “uniting the civilized nations of the world in a common renunciation of war as an instrument of their national policy,” was quickly being dismantled.
The World did not avoid the Second World War. Neither did it prevent the Cold War and Global War on Terror. If all great movements in history are the result of an economic class struggle (as Karl Marx wrote), then they are also the result of an internal “human” conflict between choosing war and violence or peace and diplomacy in solving international crises. In choosing the former, humankind has not yet learned to master its will and emotions.
A good New Year's resolution would be to maintain a discerning spirit and inquisitive mind. It would also be to reject ignorance, greed, malice, hysteria, and militarism. In these times of economic hardship, people should try and pursue the idealistic policy of, “Today Justice! Tomorrow Peace!” If not, the entire world - not just Europe, Korea, Vietnam, Africa, Latin America, and now the Middle East and Gaza - may (at one time or another) become a vast “no man's land” and experience a “lost generation,” literally that is!
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