Good to know the blatant media bias is still alive and well. The news that Obama had no idea about Mr. Blagojevich’s corruption, has been translated to “Obama’s integrity as a Senator unwittingly leads to exposure of the corrupt! Yay! Go Obama!”

For everyone that has been living in a cave for the last 6 months or simply failed to notice the daily play by play stockmarket updates: it is OFFICIAL.

We are now in a recession.

If the NY Times says it, it must be true. Apparently we’ve been in recession for a year now.

Of course it does not help that every time the DOW increases, traders rush to sell, to snatch the profits they feel they’ve ripped from the maw of the beast.

Also, it’s apparently not business owners’ problems that their businesses are failing. It’s the unknowable economy!!

I admit, from the beginning I have been opposed to the bail out–Americans living beyond their means, not my problem = their stupidity and the greed of wall street.

Auto Industry Failure–Yes it would suck that a gajillion people lose their jobs, but it’s ridiculous that I as a taxpayer should have to pay money to bail out a failing business, just because it’s considered a necessity.

CNN

The Auto Industry wants 25 billion (of taxpayer money) so they don’t have to file for bankruptcy. Thank you Senator Dodd for pointing out that this is due to automakers’ “shortsightedness”. Of course they argue that they provide 10% of the nation’s GDP, however propping up bad business is not exactly the ethos of capitalism. Anyone think that all these regulations wouldn’t be so necessary if that government didn’t selectively intervene so often.

Seriously, just read Atlas Shrugged. 

Maybe the Republican party is finally getting back to its small government roots–many oppose a measure of any kind which would provide the  Auto Industry with any more money because: they say it will only delay the inevitable.  But, the White House wants to modify outstanding appropriations and let them use that instead. 

Please let us return to our small government values!

Things of note (Al-Jazeera) :

1. 9 of 37 members of the cabinet did not appear for the vote

2. “There was a positive position taken on the part of the larger blocs and all the most important blocs,” Dabbagh said.

“They all expressed a positive position because they consider it the best [agreement] possible, because it will manage and end the military presence and guarantee the complete withdrawal of the troops.”

 

NY Times

1. Still needs to be approved by the parliament.

2. Leaders of the largest blocs believe they have enough support to pass the pact

3. By June 30th, American forces must be out of all urban areas

4. Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani: heavyweight shite cleric, played major role in pact

5. U.S. is prohibited from launching attacks on their neighbors (wtf!)

Opposition

 Sadr: Shite cleric, anti-us forces, wants to reject the pact 

Sunnis: afraid of shiites and Iran

So much for the afterglow.

Congo has had it’s share of turbulence and troubles over the years. It gained independence from Beligum in 1960, however it’s been racked with problems from the start.

1. November 1965:with Financial support from the United States and Belgium, Col. Joseph Mobutu took control of the country in a coup over President Kasavubu, he remained in power for 32 years.
2. A democracy of consecutive one party elections, human rights elections and extensive corruption reigned.
3. After the Cold War ended, the US dropped relations with Kasavubu like a hot potato.
4. 1997 Laurent Kabila took control, backed by supports from Rwanda/Uganda–Aug 1998, a 2nd attempted take over occurred. And angola, Chad, Namibia, Sudan and Zimbabwe joined the fray
5. Cease-fire mixed with fighting until Kabila was killed in 2001.And his son Joseph Kabila took control and inaugurated in Dec 2006. (cia.gov/publications/the-world-factbook)

Today: DR Congolese forces attempt to retake control from the rebel forces led by Mr. Nkunda; he claims he is protecting the Tutsis from the forces that murdered them in the 1994 genocide, he believes the Democratic Forces for Liberation of Rwanda are in league with the Congolese.

Mr. Kabila is not satisfied with the relationship between Mr. Nkunda and the Rwanda government (Governed by President Paul Kagame) because of its strong Tutsi affliations. (see Economist )

Tens of thousands are fleeing DR Congo as the Tutsi rebel army marches toward Goma.

Let the mess continue.

1.  People clog roads in Perubecause they can’t agree who gets da money from some mines in the ground
2. America’s economy still sucks
3. Nobody died voting in Zambia in the election between reigning president Rupiah Banda and Michael Sata. Mostly because the army made everyone behave. Banda = businessman and Sata is the leader of the patriotic front.
4. A lot of people are dying. Synchronized bomb attack in India, ,2 killed in Kabul after suicide blast by Taliban on Ministry, car bomb in Spain injures 16, Colombia decides civilians are actually insurgents
5. Truce in Congo, intended to prevent panic, holds for now. Although, apparently everyone is still fleeing. The government can’t do anything, and despite everyone’s (UN) efforts the rebels are kicking everyone’s asses.
6. Hamas thinks better, and decides to free Fatah prisoners–which means, yay more “reconciliation” talks!
7.  Obama (FL, VA, Missouri) and McCain (OH) are still fighting over a few states left. and spending lots of money on ad campaigns. They’re already predicting recounts in OH
8. Syria doesn’t like US all up in their business. They say we killed a bunch of civilians; but have you seen evidence?

In no particular order, I’m going to give a brief summary and critique of what I consider some of the most important issues going on around the world at the moment. The first to hit the chopping block………………

United States Economy

Most people seem to be in agreement the United States’ economy is in trouble. There’s all kind of statistics and numbers to support this idea, and there also seems to be a conception that the sky is falling, and everything is going to go to shit, and will never improve. 

BBC Stats:“Consumer spending, which makes up two-thirds of the US economy, shrank by 3.1%, the first contraction since 1991. The 0.3% fall followed 2.8% growth in the previous three-month period.”

The New York Times continues the joy and cheer, several of its experts believe unemployment will continue to rise based on the fact that technology sales are down, which indicates businesses are spending less, which translates to lower employment.

 The United States’ economy continues to fluctuate based on every new piece of information that emerges regarding the economy and major businesses.  According to the NY Times, the drop in GDP was less than analysts expected, there have not been 2 days of consecutive gains in over 30 days.  

Now, think about what’s happening in context; the majority of Americans have been overspending their means and have been in debt for a large amount of time now. Based on a number of factors, our economy is not growing: our stock market is down, GDP is down, and unemployment is up. However, if you realize the fact that our previous numbers were all techically inflated because of American overspending, in my opinion, we’re not moving into a bottomless freefall. It’s more like sinking to a natural bottom, which we will then move back up again from. Also, when you look at historical stock prices (I don’t remember where I read this, possibly here), there have been several times when the stock market has decreased sharply, each time around 30%, which is where we are now. If Warren Buffet is buying stocks, then hell no I’m not worried. However, if a loaf of bread starts to cost me $20, then maybe I’ll start to take heed of the falling sky rhetoric.  

In attempt to make this blog useful, versus just a compilation of what’s going on, I will begin addressing a combination of sources for different issues, including news outlets, more in depth analysis and opinion columns in order to give the most rounded view point possible, which is always a goal. I’ll also try to give a link summary of what’s going on around the world too. 

Wish me luck!

Because writing goals makes me more accountable:

1. One news overview post a day-for the next 4 weeks

2. One weekly in depth country or issue profile this is important

3. and for me (these won’t be published but if you’re interested I can share), 3-5 translated articles from farsi and/or arabic)

4. Also I want to start underlying biases/differences btw the 2 sources, and somehow incorporate these into my summaries. And perhaps make them a little more detailed. 

Stay Tuned!