Yearly Archives: 2013

Everything’s Fixed, Everything’s Great

"Much to the amazement of doom-and-gloomers, everything's been fixed and as a result, everything's great. The list is impressive: China: fixed. Japan: fixed. Europe: fixed. U.S. healthcare: fixed. Africa: fixed. Mideast: well, not fixed, but no worse than a month ago, and that qualifies as fixed. Everything's fixed, because everybody that can create their own money can do so without limit or consequence. It's a perpetual money machine, and that fuels a perpetual growth machine. No limits on credit and debt means no limit on spending. Free money for everyone and everything--it's unbelievably easy. The solution to every problem is at hand: create more money and credit, in ever larger sums." Continue reading →

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A Rare Sign of Fiscal Sanity in France

"France’s state auditor urged the government Tuesday to redouble efforts to limit spending rather than increases taxes… He said 'the spiraling welfare debt was particularly abnormal and particularly dangerous.' During his first year in power, President François Hollande relied on large tax increases to plug holes in public finances, including social programs such as pensions, unemployment benefits and health care. But economic stagnation in 2012, coupled with a mild recession at the start of 2013, has waylaid the plan, while both companies and households are crying foul over what some have called 'a tax overdose.'" Continue reading →

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Muslim beauty pageant challenges Miss World

"Muslim women in headscarves and elaborately embroidered dresses took to the stage Wednesday for the finale of an Islamic beauty pageant in Indonesia, a riposte to the Miss World contest that has sparked hardline anger. 'We’re just trying to show the world that Islam is beautiful,' Obabiyi Aishah Ajibola, a 21-year-old contestant from Nigeria, told AFP backstage in the capital, Jakarta, before the final got under way. 'We are free and the hijab (Muslim headscarf) is our pride,' she said, adding that the pageant was 'nothing like Miss World, where women expose their bodies'." Continue reading →

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No more beauty contests for kids in France

"The French senate has approved a proposal to ban beauty contests for girls under 16 to prevent what a parliamentary report called the 'hyper-sexualisation' of children. The measure follows a parliamentary report 'Against Hyper-Sexualisation: A New Fight For Equality' which called for a ban on child-size adult clothing, such as padded bras and high-heeled shoes. 'Let us not make our girls believe from a very young age that their worth is only judged by their appearance,' said the author of the report, former sports minister Chantal Jouanno. According to the proposal, organisers of such beauty pageants could face up to two years in prison and a 30,000-euro ($40,000) fine." Continue reading →

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France’s new ‘cat cafe’ is predictably full of rescued kitties

"France’s first 'cat cafe' opens on Saturday in Paris with an in house troupe of nine rescue cats ready and waiting to be made a fuss of by cat-loving customers. Already popular in Tokyo where there are dozens, cat cafes allow customers who cannot have a pet at home to enjoy a cup of something hot with a purring cat perched on their knees. Margaux Gandelon, the woman behind the new Cafe des Chats in Paris’s trendy Marais district, says the cats were carefully selected for their social skills and stresses that hygiene and their welfare are her top priorities." Continue reading →

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Dutch King tells citizens ‘to take responsibility’ as austerity implemented

"The king, who travelled through the streets of The Hague to address MPs and senators in an ornate horse-drawn golden carriage, said the transformation would be particularly noticeable in social security and long-term healthcare policies. The trade-dependent Dutch economy is in the fourth quarter of a recession and is struggling even as other European countries return to growth. The austerity measures will reduce Dutch households’ purchasing power by 0.25 percent in 2014. The budget announcement came with the government in free-fall in opinion polls. A poll said that the ruling Liberal-Labour coalition would lose around half its seats in parliament were elections held now." Continue reading →

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Hospital doctors join thousands protesting Greece’s austerity layoffs

"Greek doctors on Tuesday joined the latest wave of strikes to hit the debt-stricken country, with thousands of public sector workers protesting against government plans for lay-offs and redeployments. In Brussels, however, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said during a visit by Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras that the unpopular policy of austerity was showing results in Greece and must be pursued to the end. Teachers from schools and universities, civil servants and lawyers are also on strike, in protest at reforms that Samaras’ centre-left coalition government is undertaking in return for international bailout funds." Continue reading →

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Greece axes vacation bonus for civil workers using computers

"Recession-wracked Greece plans to scrap a perk for its civil servants who enjoy an extra six days of holiday per year — if they use a computer at work. Greece’s civil service union, Adedy, said the perk stemmed from a decision in the 1990s to give employees 20 minutes off per day to protect them from eye damage from staring at a computer screen. This was then extended on an annual basis, resulting in six days off per year. Now in its sixth year of recession, Greece has been obliged to adopt austerity measures, including pay and pension cuts that have caused widespread resentment, in return for a massive EU-IMF bailout deal." Continue reading →

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Farm subsidies on the rise in the world’s biggest economies

"Farm subsidies in the world’s biggest economies rose in 2012, the OECD said, reversing a long-term trend as governments poured more funding into agriculture despite strained budgets and high food prices. In its annual report on global farming, the OECD said state support for farming stood at an average of one-sixth of gross farm receipts in the 47 countries covered in the assessment, about 17 percent of total receipts in 2012 compared to 15 percent in 2011. The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development said the rise was unnecessary as high prices for farmers made the timing opportune for governments to cut subsidies that skew food markets and disrupt trade." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFarm subsidies on the rise in the world’s biggest economies