The European Union Times |
- Israeli navy attacks Palestinian fishing boats off Gaza
- What Will Happen To You When The Dollar Collapses?
- Vandalism of apartheid-era statues sparks fevered debate in South Africa
- Over 2,000 people killed in Nepal earthquake
- UK’s super-rich double wealth over past decade
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Posted: 26 Apr 2015 09:39 AM PDT
 According to local media sources, Israeli gunboats fired at Palestinian boats while they were within Gaza’s territorial waters, on Sunday. “Israeli gunboats opened fire toward a group of Palestinian boats in the north of the Gaza Strip,” said Nizar Ayash, the head of Palestinian Fishermen’s Union in Gaza. Although no casualties have been reported yet, two boats were damaged. Israel has yet to comment on the incident. “The Israeli forces shoot at Palestinian fishing boats under the pretext that they go beyond fishing space specified for them,” Ayash added. In a similar act of violence last month, Israeli forces shot dead 32-year-old Palestinian fisherman Tawfiq Abu Reala. Around 4,000 fishermen work in Gaza, with more than half of them living below the poverty line. Israel had imposed a limit of three nautical miles on fishing in waters off the Gaza shore until last August. Israeli forces have frequently targeted Palestinian boats, well inside the radius. Under a ceasefire agreement reached between Israelis and Palestinians following a deadly 50-day Israeli war in August 2014, Tel Aviv agreed to immediately expand the fishing zone off Gaza’s coast, allowing fishermen to sail as far as six nautical miles off the shore. The agreement also stipulated that Israel would expand the area gradually up to 12 miles. Palestinian fishermen, however, say that the Israeli navy opens fire before they reach the agreed limit. Over the past two years, Israeli forces have carried out about 150 attacks on Palestinian boats, arresting nearly two dozen fishermen and confiscating nine boats. The attacks come as the Gaza Strip has been under Israel’s blockade since June 2007. The blockade has caused a decline in the standard of living as well as unprecedented levels of unemployment, and unrelenting poverty. Source           |
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Posted: 26 Apr 2015 09:34 AM PDT
 Historically, when a nation’s debt exceeds its ability to repay even the interest, it can be assumed that the currency will collapse. Typically, governments exacerbate the situation by printing large amounts of currency notes in an effort to inflate the problem away, or at least postpone it. The greater the level of debt, the more dramatic the inflation must be to counter it. The more dramatic the inflation, the greater the danger that hyperinflation will take place. No government has ever been able to control hyperinflation. If it occurs, it does so quickly and always ends with a crash. Although there are observers (myself included) who frequently discuss what a reserve-currency crash would mean to the world, there is little or no discussion as to how this would impact people on the street level, and perhaps that discussion should begin. When currencies crash, the state often tries to float a new currency. Sometimes, it’s accepted, sometimes not. Generally, the people of the country (and those trading within the country) move immediately to “the next best thing.” In 2009, when the Zimbabwe dollar crashed, several currencies were used, but the US dollar was the clear favourite, as it was the world’s reserve currency and therefore the most “spendable” currency. Not surprisingly, the Zimbabwean government fought the use of the dollar, as they wanted to retain control of the economy and the people. People were therefore penalised for using the US dollar and other currencies. And that’s what most governments do, but here’s where that idea usually falls down: First, the “black-market” currency is so desired by the now-jaded citizens that they do all they can to avoid the new official currency. Soon, most transactions, although illegal, are undertaken in the black-market currency. Second, since no one really wants the new currency, even the political leaders are soon using the black-market currency. Ultimately, the black-market currency is legalised (since it’s the only truly workable solution), and it often becomes the unofficial currency, if not actually the official one. First, the Euro Crash It’s safe to say that the EU, the US, and quite a few other jurisdictions are nearing currency crashes, and in all likelihood, the euro will go before the dollar. So, unless the EU has already prearranged a new euro, the US dollar might well be chosen as an immediate solution to the problem, as the US dollar is presently recognised and traded throughout Europe. Therefore, a relatively painless transfer could be made. Then, the Dollar Crash However, the dollar, which is presently praised as being a sound currency, is really only sound in relation to the euro (and some other lesser currencies). Once its less stable brother, the euro, collapses, the dollar will be exposed. As the US dollar is a fiat currency and is on the ropes, the US (and any other country that is using the dollar as its primary currency when the time comes) will experience a currency emergency at the street level that will be unprecedented. The big question that is generally not being discussed is: The day after the crash (and thereafter), what will be the currency that is used to buy a bag of groceries, a tank of petrol, a meal at a restaurant? Certainly, the need will be immediate and will be on a national level in each impacted country, affecting everyone. And Then… I have discussed for some time that the US will be prepared ahead of time with a new, electronic currency. This will serve three purposes: It will allow the US government to blame paper currencies for the crash, in order to distract the public from recognising that the government itself is the culprit. It will allow the US government to create a currency system that disallows the holding of tradable currency by the population—that is, a debit card would be created by banks through which all transactions must pass, assuring that all transactions are processed by (and thereby subject to the control of) a bank. It will allow the US government to have knowledge of every penny earned and spent by any individual or organization, allowing for direct-debit income taxation. If the US does institute such a system, US citizens will then become the most economically controlled people in the world, overnight. It’s likely that a black-market system would spontaneously be created by US citizens in order to bypass the new government system. A portion of daily trade would occur under the table. It would unquestionably be made illegal, and we can only speculate as to how prevalent it would become: 10% of all transactions? 30%? Anyone’s guess. Certainly, the government would crack down, and penalties might become severe. Elsewhere in the world, there would be greater freedom, but what would their currencies be? There are many countries that presently use the US dollar as one of their official currencies. After a crash, the greater the link to the US dollar, the greater the loss of economic freedom, although, in most such countries, the government is likely to be less efficient than in the US, which would work in favour of the individual. Such countries would also have the option of switching from the dollar to another dominant currency. With the euro and dollar gone, that currency might be the Chinese yuan. The difficulty with this possibility is that, presently, the yuan is not in common use on the street. Adoption of a currency such as the yuan would require a sudden switch in monetary policy, complete with teething problems. However, recent developments amongst the BRICS and others indicate that many countries are already seeing the writing on the wall and are readying themselves for the use of the yuan as an alternate. A Return to Precious Metals as Currency? A further possibility is taking place in Mexico today. Mexico is remonetising silver. A one-ounce pure silver Libertad coin will function in parallel to (and be interchangeable with) the existing paper peso. Banks will value the Libertad daily, based upon the silver price. Thus, Mexico will create a legal way for its citizens to protect themselves against devaluation of the peso, whilst creating an internal protection against currency crashes in other countries. If the Mexican government remains consistent in its plan, it will do more than simply help stabilise Mexico economically; it will serve as an example to other countries that when the Goliaths of the euro and US dollar fall, there is a very sound alternative. Further, the more countries that follow this policy, the more silver (and for that matter, gold) would become an international currency. It would matter little to a petrol station owner in Canada, Australia, or Chile whether his till was filled with coins marked, “Mexico,” or whether they said “Iceland,” “New Zealand,” or “South Africa.” After all, an ounce of silver is an ounce of silver, no matter what the issuing country is. As the Great Unravelling proceeds, we would be wise to monitor what happens with the Libertad in Mexico and watch for a similar return to precious metals in other jurisdictions. As this development progresses, we might wish to consider that, whatever jurisdictions are the most forceful in demanding the continued use of doomed paper currencies (or, worse, transferring into electronic currencies), we may choose to store our wealth, no matter how great or small, in a safer jurisdiction. Further, we may choose to reside in a jurisdiction where a currency crisis will be less likely to occur; to live under a government that does not seek to monitor and tax our every economic transaction. Source      |
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Posted: 26 Apr 2015 08:55 AM PDT
 How South Africa confronts symbols of its difficult past are being discussed in newspaper columns, television talkshows and mainstream politics. A 112-year-old statue of Queen Victoria has become the latest colonial or apartheid-era monument to be vandalised in South Africa, raising fears that a racially charged debate over the country’s heritage could spiral out of control. Splashes of green paint over the likeness of the former British monarch, which stands outside the city library in Port Elizabeth, were discovered on Friday and condemned by local officials as illegal and “absolutely disgraceful”. The attacks began a month ago when a student at the University of Cape Town flung a bucket of excrement over a statue of the British colonialist Cecil John Rhodes, which had enjoyed pride of place on campus since 1934. This sparked a vocal “Rhodes must fall” campaign, involving marches and sit-ins, that led to the huge bronze being removed from its plinth on Thursday before ululating crowds, some of whom splashed it with red paint or held placards saying “more than a statue”. By then the debate about how South Africa should confront symbols of its difficult past had spread far beyond the student union to national newspaper columns, television talkshows and mainstream political parties. Protesters spray-painted a statue of King George VI at the University of KwaZulu-Natal and tore down a bronze British soldier from his horse on a Boer war memorial in Port Elizabeth. The radical Economic Freedom Fighters party, led by the firebrand Julius Malema, vigorously joined the movement. Its followers daubed paint over statues of the former South African leaders Paul Kruger and Louis Botha in Pretoria and Cape Town respectively. An illustration by South Africa’s leading political cartoonist, Zapiro, in Friday’s Mail & Guardian newspaper showed a student defacing Rhodes’s statue, causing it to topple backwards and knock over statues of Kruger, Victoria and the Dutch pioneer Jan van Riebeeck like dominoes. The drive has sparked protests from white minority parties and the Afrikaans singers Steve Hofmeyr and Sunette Bridges, who sang the former apartheid anthem Die Stem in front of Kruger’s statue, watched by an audience of white people, some dressed in quasi-military uniforms. Bridges chained herself to the monument. AfriForum, a white civil rights group, warned that strong emotions around the debate meant that communities were becoming dangerously polarised. It added: “The Afrikaner is, from a historical perspective, increasingly being portrayed as criminals and land thieves. But apartheid freedom fighters are certainly not the untainted heroes government is making them out to be.” The Afrikaners are descendents of mainly Dutch settlers from the 17th and 18th centuries, and they dominated the white minority government before the end of apartheid in 1994. Some white activists claim they are victims of “reverse racism” from the African National Congress government. Concerns have been raised that Nelson Mandela’s principle of racial reconciliation, and archbishop Desmond Tutu’s dream of a “rainbow nation”, are unravelling. Bryan Rostron, an author and journalist, wrote in the Business Day newspaper: “After excrement was thrown at the statue of Cecil John Rhodes, they [students] have forced into the open what folk on all sides tend to say only in the safety and privacy of their own social circles: South Africa is still largely defined by race.” Max du Preez, a veteran journalist, added: “I think we have to accept that the dream of a rainbow nation now lies in pieces at our feet.” There has also been a sober national discourse involving judges, politicians, scholars and concerned citizens. Some have drawn comparisons with Germany, saying a statue of Adolf Hitler would be unthinkable, while others have called for new statues to be erected to stand “in dialogue” with those that already exist, which they say are an integral part of the national story. Many have observed that such changes are no substitution for deep and far-reaching transformation of the economy, where the black majority remains disadvantaged. Jonathan Jansen, the first black vice-chancellor of the University of the Free State, wrote in South Africa’s Times newspaper: “No, there is not a race war coming … This turmoil will pass. The reason is simple: the overwhelming majority of South Africans, black and white, believe in a middle path somewhere between reconciliation and social justice. “Our repeated mistake is to overreact to the extremists on each side of the political spectrum. They do not represent the heart of this beautiful country. They will spew hate speech to flag down public attention but that is the only weaponry they have.” For its part, the government has attempted to steer a middle course, acknowledging the need for change but condemning acts of vandalism. Nathi Mthethwa, the arts and culture minister, said on Thursday: “For far too long our heritage landscape has been viewed through the prism of our colonisers and we have got to challenge that. “But to come up with a blanket ban is not helpful. Each statue has to be examined on its own merits because each history is not the same. We want to keep them in a museum, not destroy them, because our policy of reconciliation is that we should forgive each other, but never forget.” Source      |
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Posted: 26 Apr 2015 03:50 AM PDT
 The death toll from Nepal’s massive earthquake has surpassed 2,000 in the Himalayan country and neighboring nations as the rescue operations continue in the region. Nepalese national police spokesman Kamal Singh Ban said Sunday that the number of confirmed dead from quake had risen to 1,953 in the country. This is while officials in neighboring India said the toll from the tremor stood at 53 and Chinese media reported 17 people had died in the quake in the Tibet region. In addition, at least 17 people perished in an avalanche on Nepal’s Mount Everest, which was triggered by the quake. Meanwhile, the US Geological Survey said a 6.7-magnitude aftershock hit an area northeast of the capital on Sunday, with climbers on Mount Everest reporting that the new tremor triggered more avalanches. The Saturday quake destroyed large parts of the oldest neighborhoods in Nepal’s capital, Kathmandu and the quake was also felt across India, Bangladesh, China’s region of Tibet and Pakistan. The magnitude 7.8 quake, with its epicenter outside Kahtmandu, was the worst to hit the nation in over 80 years. Source      |
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Posted: 26 Apr 2015 03:43 AM PDT
 The combined assets owned by the 1,000 wealthiest individuals in the UK have hit a new high of £547 billion ($831 billion), up from £250 billion posted in 2005. All these gains came flooding in despite surging unemployment rates all over Europe, creeping deflation fears and overall economic slowdown. Moreover, it is becoming increasingly competitive for the rich to find a place among the top 1,000 spot, with a minimum fortune of £100 million required. Sunday Times published its list on April 26, revealing the names of 117 billionaires, with 80 of them residing in London. On top of the list is the Ukrainian businessman Len Blavatnik with £13.17 billion, taking the spot for the very first time as well as pushing the brothers Sri and Gopi Hinduja with £13 billion out of the lead and into the second place. One of Blavatnik’s successful assets includes the Warner Music Group, which was purchased in 2011. The third spot went to the Galen and George Weston and family whose estimated worth is £11 billion. However, some of the billionaires suffered some losses, including steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal, whose fortune dropped to £9.2 billion and Chelsea Football Club chairman Roman Abramovich’s assets plunged to £7.29 billion. The list compiles the individuals’ land and property as well as financial assets like shares, but excludes bank accounts. Source     |
