Month: July 2010

by PRABHAT PATNAIK

Under the Gold Standard the values of different currencies were fixed in terms of gold, which meant that the exchange rates between those currencies were fixed. Exchange rate movements therefore could not be used to enlarge net exports and hence domestic employment. At the same time governments were committed to the principle of “sound finance”, a commitment that lasted well into the Great Depression of the thirties; this meant that they insisted upon balancing budgets, which ruled out the possibility of State intervention through fiscal means for enlarging domestic employment. Since consumption expenditure depends upon the level of activity in the economy and investment expenditure upon the “state of confidence” of the capitalists, in the entire period spanning the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, capitalism did not have any internal economic mechanism for deliberately stimulating domestic employment. This according to John Maynard Keynes was a major cause for the competitive struggle among capitalist powers for annexing external markets, and hence of wars between them.

Keynes, however, was wrong on this score, not on his economic theory but on his facts.

M R Zine for more

by SYED SALEEM SHAHZAD

The attacks in the capital of Punjab province – also known as the country’s cultural capital – took place in the late evening, with the first bombing in the basement reserved for ablutions followed a few minutes later by one in the major prayer area. The shrine is dedicated to 11-century Persian Sufi saint Syed Ali Hajweri, also known as Data Gunj Baksh, who significantly contributed to the spread of Islam.

The attackers managed to penetrate a highly secured area to sow their destruction in the crowded shrine. Sufism, a mystical movement that relies on music, poetry and dancing to spread the word of Islam, includes Shi’ites and Sunnis. Radical groups consider it to be un-Islamic.

Asia Times Online for more

NEW INTERNATIONALIST

International efforts to protect the rights of the world’s aboriginal communities seem to be gaining strength. In April, as hundreds of indigenous leaders gathered for the ninth annual session of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, the government of New Zealand/Aotearoa declared it was ready to sign on to the international agreement that recognizes indigenous peoples’ rights. ‘Today, New Zealand changes its position,’ said Dr Pita Sharples, Minister of Maori Affairs, announcing that his country was ready to embrace the UN Declaration on the Rights of the Indigenous Peoples.

New Internationalist for more

A. G. NOORANI

If Ayub Khan persisted despite a keen perception of Nehru’s dislike of him, it was because he sought earnestly to settle Kashmir and get on with the job at home. “In my very frequent dealings with him in Pakistan, especially in the earlier years, I found Ayub Khan frank, open-minded and cooperative. He was straight-forward and quick in grasping the essentials of a problem and, once convinced, quick in decision. He often observed that it was senseless on the part of our two countries, which were destined to live together, to be in a constant state of confrontation. …He betrayed not a trace of religious bigotry or narrow-mindedness, and whenever he mentioned Prime Minister Nehru, he always did so in terms of respect.”

Frontline for more

by M. J. AKBAR

THE pessimistic definition of India-Pakistan relations is succinct. The two nations are walking on different pavements on either side of a street that has caved in and become an abyss. The two are always in each other’s sights, but there is no meeting point; neither has the psychological or emotional resources to mark out a zebra crossing since the traffic lights cannot be trusted. Nor does the distant horizon bend towards a common focal point.

Daily Star for more

(Submitted by Robin Khundkar)

by KELLY CHIBALE

Africa’s biodiversity has the potential to be a major resource for developing pharmaceuticals to treat endemic diseases such as malaria, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS. It is already the source of a wealth of traditional medicines used by at least 80 per cent of people on the continent.

But unfortunately, much of Africa’s biodiversity remains unexploited for health and economic benefits.

Science and Development Network for more

FINANCIAL TIMES

The US government and the Institute of Business Administration in Karachi, Pakistan, are to establish a centre for entrepreneurship at the school to support new businesses, help create Pakistani enterprises and link students with private sector venture capitalists.

The centre is being funded with an initial investment of PKR42.5m ($500,000, £330,000, €400,000) by USAid to develop the centre’s staff and build its capacity for expansion.

Financial Times for more

(Submitted by reader)

By B. R. GOWANI

Greeks protest against IMF austerity measures. PHOTO/Huffington Post

“People have dishes,
But nothing to eat:
They’re demanding food”
“Take away the dishes”
“Why?”
“Without the utensils,
They’ll gradually get used to
Having no food.”

“People have clothes
But no detergent”
“Take away the clothes
then, they will not need the detergent”
“But then they’ll be naked …”
“People who can’t afford detergent
Don’t deserve clothes”

“People are dying
Medications are too expensive”
“No problem, only the fittest need survive.
Besides, they’re of no use …
To the economy”

…

One of the guys
Listening to this conversation
Asked his friend:
“Who are these IMF and WB?”
The friend replied:
International Misery Fomenters and
World Baddies

Someone nearby shouted:
“International Mother ——- and
World Bug—-

B. R. Gowani can be reached at brgowani@hotmail.com

by JOSHUA BROLLIER and KATHY KELLY

(One of the best reports on where Pakistan stands today. A must read. Ed.)

Throughout the past several months, demonstrators burned tires nearly every day in the streets of Karachi, Rawalpindi, Lahore and other population centers as they voiced their opposition to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and it’s insistence on the implementation of a Value Added Tax (VAT) along with a proposed 11.3 billion dollar bailout package. In a special meeting convened by the Farmers Association of Pakistan, (FAP), participants said that the VAT would “totally kill the farmers and cause irreparable damage to the agriculture sector by making inputs more expensive.
…
We should also simplify our lifestyles and consumption patterns to require less of a share in the world’s resources, so that corrupt institutions like the U.S. government and the IMF do not have a pretext or a supposed mandate to continue interfering in the lives of others in order to serve the so-called U.S. “national interest.”

The Huffington Post for more