Saturday, 21. February 2009, 04:54:10
secret bank accounts, tax havens, class war, business as usual
...
One of the things you learn in History class when you're growing up, is how Switzerland remained at peace through two world wars because they remained
neutral through those conflicts, and rarely does anyone bother to ask: if that strategy could have worked,
why didn't anyone else think of that strategy? That view is absolute nonsense, and if anyone bothers to question this, they are given an equally nebulous answer about how noone wants to take on the Swiss army-- like they are some crack Moussad-type outfit-- and there's absolutely no way of telling what kind of army they have because
they haven't fought a single war in at least a century! There's usually some vague, muttered reference to Swiss Army Knives, like an army of lederhosen-clad über-warriors brandishing corkscrews are going to drive off a German blitzkrieg!
Read more...
Wednesday, 28. May 2008, 04:33:21
let them eat sand, food prices, war, economy
...
I was planning on doing another post this morning before I went off to work, but then I saw this article, and knew I had to say something.
By
BRADLEY S. KLAPPER, Associated Press WriterTue May 27
GENEVA - The Red Cross warned Tuesday of a possible surge in "food-related violence" because of soaring prices that are increasing hunger around the world.
Most of the debate surrounding the global food crisis has focused on boosting aid to poorer countries, but there is also concern about the potential for violence as people become desperate for food, said Jakob Kellenberger, president of the International Committee of the Red Cross.
Kellenberger, whose agency serves as the guardian of the Geneva Conventions on the rules of war, said fallout from rising prices has already sparked violence, alluding to food riots that erupted in Haiti, Egypt and Somalia.
It's not just a matter of higher prices, he said. "It becomes a question of survival, of just having access to food."
Because this post was of a more serious nature than I usually get into in this blog-- and because of the fact that I usually do considerably more research for my newsblog, Media Vulture, I decided to do my full report there, titled
Let them eat sand.
Since I started my new job, which ends up consuming well over the normal 40 hours of work per week, I had to shape this story up in a hurry, so I'll ask you to forgive me if it's not the most well-crafted piece I've ever done there.
and btw... this thing about food riots spreading worldwide really has me quite upset.
(I've completely forgotten what I thought was so important when I left home this morning...)
WIDGETIZE